The others had clearly felt the change in Krillin too. The surge in his power was impossible to fake.
Tien and Yamcha could barely contain their excitement.
They had eagerly offered their heads to the Grand Elder.
Raditz wasn't in a hurry. Once they had all finished, he checked their power levels.
Compared to their power levels before, they had all grown eight or nine times stronger!
Krillin and Yamcha were around 1,500, while Tien was already close to breaking 2,000!
Chiaotzu was a little weaker, at just under 900.
But even Chiaotzu, the weakest of them, was now close to Goku and Piccolo's level!
I hope Goku and Piccolo won't take too hard a hit when Krillin and the others get back—especially Piccolo.
Will this wake-up call leave you completely dejected, or make you fight even harder to catch up?
"Raditz, you're next."
"Okay."
Raditz walked over. The others quieted down, their eyes following his every step.
"Have you guys noticed? Even though we're stronger now, we still can't see through Raditz," Krillin said.
The others nodded in agreement.
Raditz closed his eyes.
As Raditz understood it, the Grand Elder's potential unlock simply drew out the power that remained untapped within the body.
Different people had different levels of development in their training, so the power drawn out varied as well.
For the same person, the more completely they had developed their potential, the less power could be drawn out.
Of course, the power drawn out this way didn't run dry all at once. The body would grow, and potential would accumulate over time.
Raditz didn't expect his power to increase by as many times as Krillin's or Tien's.
"All done." The Grand Elder withdrew his hand.
Raditz: "..."
That's it? I didn't feel a thing.
Wait!
Raditz's heart suddenly began to race. Faintly, he seemed to hear a Great Ape roaring, and a wave of unease swept over him.
Before it could erupt, Raditz forced it back down.
"Phew—"
"Thank you, Grand Elder." Raditz let out a breath and bowed in thanks.
"It was nothing. I merely guided your power, and it took no toll on me." The Grand Elder smiled. "However, I have a small request."
"To be honest, I've taken an interest in your strength."
"I have a feeling that Namek will face a situation we can't handle before long. When that time comes..."
The Grand Elder's expression turned solemn. "I hope you'll lend us a hand, so the Namekians don't vanish from the universe. At the very least, please help preserve the seeds of our civilization."
The Grand Elder wasn't asking Raditz to save Namek, only to give his people a chance to survive.
He had a vague sense that Raditz might not be able to deal with the source of the coming disaster.
"I will. The Namekians won't be wiped out," Raditz promised.
After leaving the Grand Elder's home, the group immediately returned to Moori Village. This time, they traveled much faster than before.
Krillin and the others were excited too. Now that their strength had increased, they couldn't wait to get home.
Bulma had been waiting at their temporary lodgings for quite some time. After meeting up with Raditz, they walked together to an open area.
The seven enormous Dragon Balls had already been gathered and arranged before them.
Moori walked up to Raditz and asked, "Have you decided what you want to wish for?"
"Yeah. Let's get started," Raditz said.
Moori nodded and recited an incantation in Namekian Language toward the ground. "Come forth, Shenron!"
Dark clouds blotted out the sun, turning the sky into a black curtain.
A golden light shot into the sky, then transformed into Porunga's immense dragon form.
"So that's Namek's dragon..."
"He's huge! Much bigger than Earth's Shenron!"
"And he looks different, too!"
"Here, he's called Porunga, which means 'God of Dreams,'" Moori explained to the people from Earth.
"Raditz, you can make your wishes now."
"Okay."
"My first wish is to master Supreme Kai Shin's Instant Transmission."
Raditz addressed Porunga, while Moori translated everything into Namekian Language in real time.
Instant Transmission was an incredible technique he absolutely had to master.
Supreme Kai Shin's Instant Transmission differed from the Instant Transmission used by the Yardrat. It didn't require sensing someone's energy to locate them.
As long as you knew the exact location, you could teleport there directly.
It was the better option by far.
Earth's Dragon Balls hadn't been able to grant that wish. He wondered if Namek's could...
"I cannot grant that wish!" Porunga said.
Raditz: "..."
"That is a power only the gods can master. Mortals cannot attain it," Porunga kindly explained.
All right, then. I'll have to settle for the Yardrat's Instant Transmission.
However, he didn't plan to use a wish for it.
He could simply head to Yardrat later. Its coordinates were on his star map.
"Then can you grant me the ability to survive in space? Is that possible?" Raditz continued.
"If you mean altering your body to withstand the environment of space..."
"I'm afraid I cannot. Your strength far surpasses that of my creator."
"However, I can offer you a way to use your energy to form a protective barrier that will let you survive in space."
I see. That works too, Raditz thought.
If it meant changing the structure of his body, he wouldn't have agreed to it.
He nodded to Moori, and his first wish was fulfilled.
"Please raise Earth's durability to the level of the World of the Supreme Kai," Raditz said, making his second wish.
Earth had suffered one disaster after another. Anyone with a bit of fighting power could destroy it.
What if someone played dirty and bombarded it from outer space?
He had to make sure it wasn't so easy to blow up.
Porunga: "..."
First it's a power only the Supreme Kai can use, and now it's the durability of the World of the Supreme Kai.
Are you trying to make things difficult for me?
"I cannot grant that wish." This time, Porunga didn't even bother to explain.
Raditz knew the wish was a bit much. He had just wanted to give it a try.
"Then raise it as much as you can."
Even if it couldn't match the World of the Supreme Kai, some improvement was better than none.
Porunga's crimson eyes shone with golden light. "I will fulfill your request to the best of my ability."
Raditz had already decided on his third wish, but there was no hurry to make it. He turned to Bulma and the others. "I'm going to wish for you to return. Get ready."
Bulma immediately understood what he meant. "Raditz, you're not coming back with us?!"
"Yeah. I still need some time to visit another planet," Raditz said apologetically.
"Once I'm done, I'll be able to come back whenever I want."
Bulma felt reluctant, but she didn't try to stop him.
In front of everyone, she kissed Raditz on the cheek. "Be careful."
"Okay."
The dragon vanished, and Bulma and the others returned safely.
Only seven white stone spheres remained where they had been.
In Raditz's eyes, the golden energy inside the Dragon Balls had grown very faint. But on closer inspection, he could see that it was slowly recovering.
Before long, it would be as full as it had been before.
Based on his earlier experiments, the energy produced by the Seed of Miracles inside him could shorten that process.
Could I create Dragon Balls too? Raditz couldn't help wondering.
"Maybe I should ask the Grand Elder first..."