Kakarot walked toward Frieza.
Frieza walked toward Kakarot as well.
One was the emperor of the universe, the most gifted of all, who had never trained.
The other was a Saiyan judged to be a Low-Class Warrior, diligent and eager to learn.
The two fated enemies began their second duel on Earth, a remote planet in an isolated solar system at the edge of the galaxy.
"Hyaaah!!"
"Hmph!!"
Kakarot and Frieza began their duel within a thousandth of a second. They collided head-on, unleashing a tremendous shockwave.
Kakarot had promised his son he would use his full strength from the very start and finish Frieza off. So the instant his arm collided with Frieza's, he transformed into a Super Saiyan!
In the first exchange, Frieza felt an unstoppable, brutal force slam him flying. Kakarot's fist crashed into his face.
"W-What...?"
Kakarot's second punch swept upward, sending Frieza soaring into the sky.
Just as Frieza tried to halt his momentum, the corner of his eye caught a dazzling blue light flaring beneath him.
Kakarot clasped his hands together and gathered his ki in one swift motion.
"Ka!"
"Me!"
"Ha!"
"Me!"
"Haaaaa!!"
"At this distance, there's no way you can hit me!" Frieza shouted mockingly.
But in the next instant, the Saiyan Kakarot appeared right in front of him.
The mighty Kamehameha swallowed the entire body of Frieza, emperor of the universe, in the blink of an eye...
And that was the end of it.
Super Saiyan Son Goku had utterly destroyed Frieza.
Kakarot's hair returned to normal. He descended from the sky and landed, then looked toward King Cold as he quietly regained his ki.
"...?"
The ability to sense ki had to be learned and trained before one could understand and master it. King Cold had no such ability.
He stared up at the sky. Only after his subordinates reported that Frieza's battle-power readings had disappeared completely did he believe that this Super Saiyan had truly destroyed his monstrous son.
"Impressive," King Cold said to Kakarot.
"You're next," Kakarot replied.
"Truth be told, we don't have any real conflict. My son was the one who had a grudge against you. We could rule the universe together." King Cold smiled at the Saiyan Kakarot.
"I can give you half the planets under my control."
"..."
"Well, Saiyan? What do you say?"
"Hey, Vegeta. We could create a new Saiyan planet out in space—a New Planet Vegeta. Then you could do whatever you wanted in this universe, just like before."
"It's over," Kakarot said to King Cold.
"I see."
The second battle erupted.
Amid a golden glow, Super Saiyan Kakarot drove his elbow deep into King Cold's abdomen. Blood and fragments of his innards flew from King Cold's mouth.
King Cold was larger than Frieza and even more imposing, but Kakarot hadn't expected the emperor of the universe from the previous era to be weaker than Frieza.
King Cold fought even worse than Frieza had.
King Cold had been retired for many years and hadn't fought anyone in a long time. His combat ability had long since deteriorated.
"Hyaaah!!"
Kakarot didn't even use a Kamehameha. A single massive Ki Blast was enough to blow King Cold to ashes.
"...Phew." He panted.
Kakarot returned to normal and suppressed all his ki.
Earth's crisis was over.
He turned back with a confident smile for his friends.
Son Goku still made everyone feel so safe.
Earth had been saved once again today.
"Dad!"
"Gohan!!"
Son Gohan launched himself through the air in a hundred-meter dash and flew into Goku's arms. Goku lifted him high overhead.
"Ha ha! Gohan, you've grown quite a bit!"
"Is Chi-Chi doing well?!"
"Dad! Mom's doing great, though sometimes she complains that you're never home."
BOOM!!!!
A massive explosion became the backdrop to the father and son's touching reunion.
It was Vegeta.
While they'd been talking, Vegeta had gone to kill all the technicians aboard Frieza's spaceship. He'd also destroyed the ship.
"What are you doing, Vegeta?"
Kakarot complained to Vegeta.
"Hmph!" Vegeta couldn't be bothered to explain to Kakarot. He folded his arms.
Son Goku set Son Gohan down and was about to go over and have a good chat with his other friends.
But Gohan tugged at Goku's pant leg.
"What's wrong, Gohan?"
"There's something very important I have to tell you..."
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, the air about Son Gohan changed completely.
In an instant, Goku felt that Gohan wasn't Gohan anymore.
"I'm from another world."
"There's something extremely important I need to tell you."
"Mr. Son Goku."
"Please gather your companions."
Shi Tianwu had possessed Son Gohan!
Shi Tianwu told Son Gohan about the future Androids.
Since Future Trunks hadn't appeared, Lu Bian and Shi Tianwu had discussed it and decided they would be the ones to inform Gohan and the others in this world about what was coming.
To make sure the adults took it seriously, Son Gohan and Shi Tianwu used the Chat Group's [Life Swap] function. Shi Tianwu's consciousness had entered Son Gohan's body.
"Goku, why did you gather everyone here? What does Gohan have to say?" Krillin asked Goku, confused.
"Hmm?" Bulma curiously studied Son Gohan. The way he stood with his hands behind his back looked just like her father, Dr. Brief.
"Good, everyone's here."
"Let me briefly introduce myself. I'm from another world, and right now I'm speaking to you through little Gohan's body."
"What I'm here to tell you is that three years from now, two terrifying enemies will appear on Earth. They'll drag the entire planet into a living hell."
"Not one of you will be able to defeat them. In the end, Gohan will be the only one left, struggling desperately against those two demons."
"What about Goku? Was Goku killed too?" Krillin asked anxiously.
"No. He died of an illness."
"A viral heart disease. Once it struck, it took his life in a very short time."
"What! How could that happen?" Krillin cried, raising his voice.
"A lot of things went wrong in the future. Piccolo died, and God died, so there were no more Dragon Balls on Earth. Korin ran short on Senzu Beans, making it difficult for you to recover from serious injuries. Your fighting strength also declined drastically..."
This was the original timeline of Dragon Ball, but the intervention Shi Tianwu made today would send this world's future down a different path.
Before you continue