Super Saiyan Reawakens

Goten sat before Five Finger Mountain for three full days and nights.

His hand remained pressed against the stone surface without moving—his Origin Energy continuously scouring the fissure left behind by Sun Wukong.

The crack had widened from the width of a hair to the thickness of a needle tip—by the evening of the third day—Goten's fingers flickered with a faint light.

It was not the glow of Origin Energy—it was a layer of extremely pale gold—completely different from his Saiyan energy—it was the power Sun Wukong had left behind in the fissure, and it was responding to him.

He opened his eyes to find his hand glowing—it wasn't him emitting the light—it was something inside the mountain.

The light seeped out from the crack—growing brighter and brighter—a golden radiance.

Goten did not pull his hand away—he pushed his Origin Energy to the maximum—and the mountain began to tremble.

Zhi Zun Bao jumped down from the rocks and retreated a few steps—the mountain's tremors grew increasingly violent, and rubble tumbled from the peak, smashing craters into the ground. "It's collapsing!"

"It's not collapsing—" Zixia's voice trembled—she stared at the glowing fissure—"The Golden Cudgel is responding to him."

The mountain's shaking reached a crescendo—BOOM—a dull, thunderous roar echoed from deep within the mountain—and the fissure widened by another fold.

Golden light erupted from the crack, illuminating the entire Five Finger Mountain as if it were broad daylight.

Goten did not let go—he sensed an aura within that light—not the Golden Cudgel—but the physical body of Sun Wukong himself.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven of the A Chinese Odyssey world—he had stripped away his soul to reincarnate as Zhi Zun Bao, but his true body—the monkey king's form that had once wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace—was sealed in the deepest part of Five Finger Mountain.

The Golden Cudgel was not guarding this place waiting for Goten to pull it out—the Golden Cudgel stood watch here to protect this physical shell from being discovered by Tathagata, who might realize the soul had already departed.

He held his breath. That aura sleeping in the deepest part of the mountain lacked any conscious fluctuation—it was not a person—it was a husk.

A husk emptied of its soul, leaving only residual power behind.

But that power—even if it was just the lingering echo emitted by the shell—was enough to make the entire mountain tremble.

The light lasted for three breaths—then dimmed.

The mountain stopped shaking.

Goten's hand remained pressed against the stone—but the fissure no longer glowed. It hadn't vanished—it had retracted—suppressed once more by the pressure of the runes.

But Goten had felt it just now—that shell deep within the mountain—it had been stirred by his Origin Energy.

It was not an awakening—it was an unconscious reaction. Like a lamp extinguished for years—brushed by a gust of wind—the wick had flickered once before fading again.

That was not Sun Wukong responding to him—it was the residual power within the shell resonating automatically.

"Did you feel that?" Goten turned to look at Zixia.

Zixia's face turned pale—she nodded.

She had felt it—in five hundred years, she had never felt the echo of that power as clearly as she did in this moment—it wasn't a memory—it was the aura of the shell he had left behind—deep within the mountain—sleeping like an empty vessel.

The reason her Violet-Azure Treasure Sword trembled—was not because Sun Wukong was alive—but because the power sealed within that shell was so immense—that even the sword feared it by instinct.

Zhi Zun Bao stood not far away—he said nothing—but the hand gripping his wooden staff was trembling.

He had felt it too.

That sensation was indescribable—like someone reflecting your face across the surface of water—that face was you—and yet, it was not you.

That power sleeping deep within the mountain—was his shell—the empty vessel he had left behind five hundred years ago, containing the entirety of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's cultivation. It was calling to him.

Zhu Bajie broke the silence: "What do we do now?"

Goten stood up and looked at the fissure—it was more than twice as wide as it had been three days ago—but it still wasn't enough.

The Golden Cudgel was wrapped too tightly by the seals—he needed more power to tear an opening through the runes.

"Keep pushing."

Goten continued to scour the seal.

He hadn't closed his eyes for four days—but he didn't feel tired—the Origin Energy within him was circulating in a way he had never experienced before—like an engine pushed to its limit, every shred of energy was being squeezed out and forced into that fissure.

His Saiyan energy and Origin Energy were being forced into a deeper fusion by this extreme consumption—not by his own active choice—but as an automatic adjustment his body made to survive.

On the night of the fourth day—the Origin Energy and Saiyan energy within his meridians finally merged completely—no longer two parallel streams—they had fused into a brand-new power.

At the very moment the fusion was complete—his body involuntarily released a powerful aura.

His black hair—stood up slightly in the shockwave—golden flames burned at the tips—it wasn't pure gold—but it was no longer purely black—the tips shimmered with a faint golden light.

The Super Saiyan power, suppressed by the world's rules for so long—had finally reawakened.

He hadn't actively "touched" that threshold—he had possessed it all along.

Back in the Dragon Ball World, accompanied by Trunks and trained by Uncle Piccolo, he had long been able to transform into a Super Saiyan at will.

It was only after arriving in this world—that the world's rules had suppressed that power. This wasn't his first time transforming—it was his first recovery after being suppressed.

That long-lost sensation made every meridian in his body cheer—like a river frozen for ages—finally melting.

His hair turned gold—not the pale gold from before—but the true gold of a Super Saiyan.

Although it only lasted for a mere three breaths—the moment the golden hair appeared—the runes across the entire Five Finger Mountain flared with light.