When Trunks saw the number on the Scouter, he immediately blurted out in surprise,
"Huh—?"
"Uncle Licks, you trained with Uncle Tarble, so how come... you only gained 400 battle power?"
Only at the end did he realize that asking like that might not be very polite. His voice grew much quieter.
He even shrank his neck and gave an awkward little smile.
However,
Licks remained calm and offered his guess.
"Prince Trunks, how could my talent possibly compare to Prince Tarble's or Prince Vegeta's?"
"After training for a day under ten times gravity, I'm already very satisfied with this much improvement."
"I never would've dared imagine I could increase my battle power so quickly."
Trunks was surprised again. "Really?"
"Is that how it works?"
His little face made it clear he wasn't convinced.
Licks nodded firmly, utterly certain. "That's right. It must be."
Trunks looked doubtful, but slowly nodded his little head too.
At his age, he wasn't inclined to dig too deeply into a question.
Still, he wasn't stupid. He changed the subject and said, "Then I'll ask Dad later!"
"Uncle Tarble, Uncle Licks, let's go. It's almost time for dinner."
As soon as he finished speaking, he ran off without waiting for either of them.
From the look of it, he really was going to tell Vegeta about what he'd just noticed.
It was only a matter of time before someone found out. Trunks had simply brought the matter to light sooner.
As soon as Trunks was out of earshot, Licks said with heartfelt admiration, "Your Highness, your talent truly can't be judged by ordinary standards."
"I think... you may be the most talented Super Warrior among us Saiyans!"
Before coming to Earth, he had already witnessed Tarble's talent.
But he hadn't expected that, after training in the Gravity Chamber, it would become even more astonishing!
He clearly remembered that back then, the other man's daily increase in battle power had only been about twice his own.
But now?
It was more than five times his!
If that wasn't astonishing, what was?
If Tarble knew what he was thinking, he would definitely have said—
"You're still too young!
We've barely gotten started.
The Legendary Super Saiyan is the real monster!"
Still, with this golden finger, he had a chance to go toe-to-toe with the Legendary Super Saiyan!
It all depended on whether his basic training speed changed every time he broke through into a new transformation.
If his basic training speed increased along with it, surpassing the Legendary Super Saiyan wouldn't be an unreachable goal.
At the thought, a faint smile unconsciously curved his lips.
But outwardly, he maintained a humble demeanor.
"Licks, don't say things like that again."
"No matter how great your talent is, it doesn't change the fact that you're weak."
"Remember, without strength, everything else is just talk."
"So focus on training hard and getting stronger. That's what matters!"
Hearing such words again, so different from what he was used to, Licks regarded him with renewed respect.
"Yes, Your Highness. I'll remember your words!"
He had noticed that ever since Tarble recovered from his severe injuries three years ago, he seemed like a different person.
His personality hadn't changed much, but his way of doing things and the things he said were now completely different.
Licks couldn't figure out why, but he really liked this change.
The Tarble of today had an unyielding spirit and a firm determination to train and grow stronger. He seemed more like a Saiyan from a warrior race than ever before.
Tarble was pleased with Licks's attitude. He gave a slight nod, then headed out of the Gravity Chamber first.
Licks was the first person he'd bound to, so naturally he didn't want him to remain weak.
There was another, more straightforward reason: if a bound target died, the training effect would immediately decrease by the corresponding multiplier.
He didn't want that to happen. If he wanted to keep reaping the benefits, he had to make sure the sheep stayed alive.
The most direct and effective way to eliminate that risk was to make sure the fat sheep could protect himself.
Licks followed close behind. Even now, he hadn't forgotten his role as a bodyguard.
Whether because of the deeply rooted Saiyan hierarchy or the law of survival that favored the strong, he couldn't forget his place as a bodyguard.
He had to be given credit: he was very conscientious about this.
Among Saiyans, rebellion between people of different ranks was almost unheard of.
Soon,
the two of them reached the dining area.
As soon as Vegeta saw them, he asked about their training.
"Tarble, Trunks told me you gained 2,300 battle power after one day of training."
"Is that true?"
Tarble nodded calmly. "Yes, big brother."
"I trained for a full day, ten hours altogether, and only gained 2,300 battle power."
"At this rate, I wonder how long it'll take me to reach your level, big brother!"
After getting a definite answer, Vegeta's eyes widened. His surprise was plain to see.
"Tarble, I never imagined you had such a talent for training!"
"Do you know how much battle power I gained from a day of training under one hundred times Earth's gravity, before I became a Super Saiyan?"
As he spoke, he didn't wait for Tarble to answer. He held up his left hand, forming a six with his fingers. His voice was firm, but tinged with shock. "It was always around 6,000!"
"And you've only just adapted to ten times Earth's gravity, yet you can gain 2,300 battle power in a day!"
"Do you know what that means?"
"It means your training talent is several times greater than mine!"
"Even Kakarot can't compare to you!"
"I heard that back then, it took Kakarot six days to adapt to one hundred times gravity, and his battle power only reached around 90,000."
"If you trained under one hundred times gravity for the same amount of time, you'd gain around 120,000 battle power!"
"Tarble, you may well be the most talented warrior our Saiyan race has ever produced!"
"Kakarot was also a Low-Class Warrior, but he had talent that no ordinary Low-Class Warrior could possibly possess.
And you were also classified as a Low-Class Warrior at birth.
I think our old method of distinguishing Low-Class and higher-class warriors was completely wrong!"
He was a little worked up.
He thought he'd uncovered a long-hidden truth!
Kakarot!
Just you wait!
I might not be able to surpass you, but you'll never surpass Tarble!
Never!
The thought filled him with relief, as if he'd finally been able to let out a breath he'd been holding for a long time.
At the same time, his eyes burned with excitement!
That's right!
He really could see a chance to surpass Son Goku!
His temperament had changed a lot by now. Otherwise, he never would've put his hopes of surpassing Son Goku in someone else.
Ever since the Majin Buu incident, he had truly accepted that Son Goku was the greatest Saiyan warrior.
So he knew exactly how vast the gap between him and Son Goku was!
He might never catch up in his lifetime.
He'd kept training all this time simply because he didn't want to fall too far behind Son Goku.
He also wanted to see how far he could get by pursuing Son Goku throughout his life.
Of course,
outwardly, he was still as stubborn as ever, insisting that he wanted to compete with Son Goku.
After all, their battle promise had never truly been fulfilled!
Before you continue