Twenty-five years! A full twenty-five years of Custodes enhancement surgery—and even that was the shortest, fastest outcome.
If they were in the Dragon Ball World, Axis was confident that in twenty-five years he could reach at least Super Saiyan 1, perhaps even Super Saiyan 1 Full Power. As for Super Saiyan 2, that didn't seem entirely out of reach either.
Axis wasn't especially gifted. He was just a Low-Class Warrior, with an initial battle power of only six when he was born.
After only a few months in the growth tank, Axis had been sent to a low-level planet to carry out a mission.
It was only thanks to the soul of an adult, combined with the efforts he'd made after transmigrating, that he'd reached a battle power of over 150 and completed his mission, returning to Planet Vegeta.
In terms of natural talent, he was nowhere near Nappa or Raditz. And compared to the protagonist, Kakarot—come on, the guy was the protagonist!
After coming to the Warhammer Universe, without powerful enemies and all kinds of pressure, Axis might never break through to Super Saiyan in his entire life.
In the Dragon Ball World, he could still lie low, find a planet to train in peace, build up the S-Cells in his body, and try to transform into a Super Saiyan.
He could even use the Dragon Ball to find treasures, such as the Tree of Might, or seek out the Grand Elder on Planet Namek and Old Kai to unlock his potential, improving his natural talent after the fact.
But the Warhammer Universe wouldn't give him time to settle down and train, slowly building up the S-Cells in his body. Endless war was waiting for him!
Even Space Marines, whose lives far surpassed those of ordinary people and who theoretically could live for over a thousand years, rarely lasted that long. Three or four hundred years was already about the limit, and some didn't even live to see two hundred.
And that was during the Great Crusade! The average age at which a Space Marine died in battle was less than a hundred.
So, if Axis wanted to grow stronger in the Warhammer Universe, he had to undergo enhancement surgery. The Custodes surgery would comprehensively strengthen his genes.
Axis had a theory: the Saiyans' strength was connected to the S-Cells in their bodies. If he underwent comprehensive enhancement through Custodes Surgery, would the number of S-Cells in his body increase dramatically? Could his Saiyan bloodline even revert to an ancestral state, or undergo a new round of evolution?
The Broly from the old and new movies had appeared in two forms: one was the Legendary Super Saiyan, and the other could use the power of the Great Ape from birth. In truth, both were examples of an ancestral state.
If he underwent Custodes gene enhancement and comprehensively strengthened his Saiyan bloodline—
If ordinary humans could become that powerful after Custodes surgery, what would happen to a Saiyan?
Axis felt he had the right to reach for the Legendary Super Saiyan—the realm of the Legendary Super Saiyan.
Instead of just an ordinary Super Saiyan.
The Legendary Super Saiyan!
It was the true form of the Super Saiyan: an unparalleled berserker with terrifying, overwhelming strength.
And Custodes enhancement surgery would grant him a cool-headed mind, a body even mightier than that of the Legendary Super Saiyan, greater stamina, faster reflexes, and stronger regenerative abilities.
He'd also grow to three meters tall, becoming even more powerful than Broly after transforming into the Legendary Super Saiyan.
So those twenty-five years would be worth it! Besides, after becoming a Custodian, his lifespan would stretch into the thousands of years. That was far better than a Saiyan's hundred-year lifespan.
Axis nodded, bowed to the Emperor, then turned and left with Leman Russ. Tomorrow, he'd have to say goodbye to his adoptive father.
Back in their cabin, Axis and Leman Russ sat facing each other in silence.
After a long while, Leman Russ was the first to break the awkward silence.
"Work hard, boy! I'll be waiting for you in the Legion twenty-five years from now. By then, you'd better be stronger than me."
"Of course. Surpassing you won't be hard. I'll have you beaten in a few years at most," Axis replied.
"What an arrogant kid. Have you forgotten how I dealt with you when you turned into a Great Ape?"
"You only won because I told you the tail was my weak point. Otherwise, you'd have been pounded into a meat pie."
"Tch! If I hadn't been worried about hurting you, you little Wolf Cub, I could've beaten that Great Ape form of yours to a pulp with my fists."
"Hahaha! No way. When I transformed into a Great Ape, my battle power increased tenfold. It shot up to 4,000," Axis said.
His battle power had been 400 at the time, so after transforming into a Great Ape, it became 4,000.
And with the Great Ape's ferocious strength and defense, Russ would've needed at least 6,000 battle power to beat him.
Saiyans were invincible among those of equal rank.
Axis recalled the day he'd transformed into a Great Ape. The battle had been incredibly savage, and he'd even destroyed the terrain for miles around.
When he regained consciousness, Leman Russ had been lying beside him, nearly exhausted and covered in blood. That fight hadn't been nearly as easy as Russ made it sound.
Axis understood that when he'd turned into a Great Ape, he'd nearly killed Leman Russ.
"But you had no reason. You were just a beast, and I'm very good at dealing with beasts, boy. Even without cutting off your tail, I could've handled you that day," Russ said.
"Heh."
The mood in the room began to lighten. Father and son talked about all sorts of things: eating contests, hunting contests, and more!
"My little Wolf Cub, when you return to the Space Wolves, I'll throw you a special celebration.
"After you leave, I'll brew a cask of the finest Fenrisian Mead with my own hands and seal it away. When you come back, I'll open it, and we'll drink together," Russ said.
By Fenrisian custom, Axis was supposed to wait until he turned sixteen to drink, with Russ giving him his first cup of mead.
But Leman Russ decided to change things a little. He'd brew a cask of mead, wait for his little Wolf Cub to return, and then drink it with him.
"One cask might not be enough! You'll have to brew at least a hundred. You know how much I can eat," Axis said.
Russ burst out laughing. "All right! I'll brew two hundred casks."
Father and son spent a pleasant evening together!
The next day, the Emperor handed Leman Russ a Gloriana-class Battleship, along with more than a dozen Destroyers, Battle Barges, and Frigates.
He also entrusted Russ with tens of thousands of Space Marines from the Sixth Legion, the Space Wolves, along with a large contingent of Tech-Priests from the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Imperial Army's mortal auxiliaries.
Afterward, he took Axis aboard the Emperor's Dream. The Warp-Rift Engine started up, and the Emperor's Dream entered the Warp, beginning its journey back to Holy Terra.
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