Kashu led everyone toward the mountains hundreds of kilometers west of West City. Among the peaks stood a strange mountain shaped like a giant fist reaching from the ground toward the sky. Its summit had been shaved flat, forming a platform. A metal structure stood there. From a distance, it looked like a castle; up close, it was clearly a base combining Earth technology with alien technology. "This is..." Bulma's eyes widened. "This is Dr. Gero's Northern Laboratory!" "That's right." Kashu landed at the edge of the platform. "Dr. Gero had more than a dozen laboratories on Earth. This was the largest. He conducted research here after Android 16 was activated." Bulma approached the metal structure and carefully examined its exterior. "These materials and Capsule Corporation's technology are completely different... They're closer to the technology we found in the alien ruins." "That's because Dr. Gero found this technology in the ruins," Kashu said. "The ruins were on the far side of the moon, left behind by an ancient alien civilization. Dr. Gero spent ten years excavating them and brought back a wealth of technology and samples." He walked to the entrance and pressed his palm against the identification panel. It glowed blue, scanned his palm print, and the doors slowly opened. "You can open the door?" Krillin asked in surprise. "My father was Dr. Gero's assistant, and he had high-level access. I have his DNA in my genes, so the system recognized me." Kashu walked inside. The sight that greeted them left everyone stunned.
The hall was as spacious as a soccer field, with a ceiling dozens of meters high and enormous holographic projectors hanging overhead. Countless screens were embedded in the walls, flashing data and images. Various instruments stood across the floor, some running, others shut down. A huge circular device stood in the center of the hall, more than twenty meters in diameter. It was made of countless metal rings that rotated slowly. "What's that?" Gohan asked curiously, walking closer. "The Energy Aggregator," Kashu said. "It extracts energy from a planet's core and compresses it into a usable form. I used this device to modify Android 17, Android 18, and Android 16." Bulma's eyes lit up. "That's incredible... What's the energy-conversion efficiency?" "Close to one hundred percent," Kashu said. "Alien technology is far beyond anything we can imagine." He led everyone through the hall and into a room. Inside were dozens of culture tanks. Some were empty; others contained strange things—mangled mechanical limbs, beating artificial hearts, and bizarre biological tissue. "This is where Dr. Gero made the Androids," Kashu said. "There was once a life in every tank. Some were willing; others were... forced." Android 18 looked at the tanks, her body trembling slightly. She remembered being strapped to an operating table, injected with various drugs, and having an energy reactor implanted in her. Those memories had been suppressed, but they had never disappeared. Kashu walked over to her and gently patted her shoulder. "It's over," he said quietly. "All of that is behind you." Android 18 looked up at his face. His gaze was gentle. There was no pity or sympathy in it, only understanding. He truly understood her pain.
She nodded, took a deep breath, and pushed the painful memories back into the depths of her mind.
Over the next few days, everyone threw themselves into training. Kashu taught Goku and Vegeta how to compress their ki. He had them maintain their normal forms, then gradually transform into Super Saiyan Grade 1, and slowly compress their energy without letting any ki leak out. Goku learned quickly. By the third day, he had mastered the basic technique, compressing half the ki of his Super Saiyan Grade 1 form while doubling his strength. The golden aura no longer radiated from his body. He looked like he was in his normal state, but a casual punch could shatter a boulder. Vegeta learned more slowly, but he was tenacious. He trained sixteen hours a day, spending his mealtimes and sleep in the training room. Kashu designed a special training program for him, making him practice compressing his ki in a hundred-times-gravity environment. Gohan studied another technique with Kashu—the awakening of the Mystic Form. Kashu told him that transforming into a Super Saiyan was a shortcut: it drew out hidden potential through anger, but the method had its limits. True power did not lie in transforming, but in fully integrating one's potential into one's base form. "You have to forget about becoming a Super Saiyan," Kashu told Gohan. "Don't think about transforming or getting angry. You just have to... be yourself. Be a pure person, untouched by emotion." At first, Gohan struggled to understand. He was used to drawing out his power through anger, and being told to abandon it so suddenly felt like losing his way. But Kashu taught him to meditate, to feel every trace of energy flowing through his body, and to guide it from his core throughout his entire body. It was a method reminiscent of ancient martial arts, but more precise than the training of the Turtle School.
On the seventh day, Gohan suddenly did it. As he sat meditating in the center of the training room, his body began to glow softly. It wasn't the golden aura of a Super Saiyan, but a silvery-white radiance, like moonlight shining on a lake. His hair hadn't changed color; it was still black. His eyes hadn't changed color, either; they were still dark brown. But his ki had undergone a qualitative transformation, changing from a raging flood into a deep ocean. The Mystic Form. Kashu stood outside the training room and watched the change in Gohan, nodding with satisfaction. "You did it," he said. "Son Gohan, you're now as powerful as a Super Saiyan 3. But you still look like an ordinary person." Gohan opened his eyes and felt the power surging through him. He clenched his fist gently, and the air around him trembled. "This is... the Mystic Form?" "More precisely, this is the initial stage of the Mystic Form," Kashu said. "You still need to solidify it further. Once you've fully mastered this form, your power will increase even more." Gohan stood up, walked over to Kashu, and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Mr. Kashu." "Just call me Kashu." Kashu smiled. "We're family now." After the Cell Games, New Vegeta City entered a period of peace unlike any it had known before. The Saiyan population surpassed a thousand, and the city underwent its fourth expansion, doubling in size. New Vegeta City now had its own schools, hospitals, shopping centers, parks, and even an amusement park. Saiyans and Earthlings lived together in harmony, their cultures blending to form a unique hybrid Saiyan-Earthling civilization. Bulma and Vegeta's relationship had subtly changed. Though Vegeta refused to admit it, after Trunks's prophecy about the future, he began to take Bulma seriously. The two started going out—though Vegeta called it "training"—and Bulma was overjoyed. Krillin and Android 18 (Lariz) had a happy married life. Android 18 was pregnant, and Krillin spent all day grinning like a fool. Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu became the "Guardians" of New Vegeta City. Though Tien had inherited the throne of the Three-Eyed Clan, he chose to remain on Earth and protect the land that had given him a new life. Piccolo and Gohan grew closer. Piccolo taught Gohan fighting techniques, while Gohan taught Piccolo to read and write. They were mentor and student, friends, and like father and son.
Kashu's three children—Kariel, Kabrun, and Kassis—attended school in New Vegeta City. Kariel inherited her father's talent and learned to transform into a Super Saiyan at nine. Kabrun inherited her mother's intelligence and could build simple robots at eight. Kassis inherited her father's extrasensory perception and could sense ki from a thousand miles away at eight. That evening, Kashu returned home. His three wives—Launch, Bulma, and Tights—were chatting in the living room. His three children—Kariel, Kabrun, and Kassis—were doing their homework in their respective rooms. "You're back." Tights looked up. "How was training today?" "Great." Kashu sat on the sofa, and Bulma immediately leaned toward him. "Kashu, Vegeta asked me to see a movie today!" Bulma said excitedly. "He said it was to 'study Earth culture through observation,' but I know it was a date!" "Congratulations," Kashu said with a smile. "You're not jealous?" Bulma asked, blinking. "What would I be jealous of? You're my wife. He can't steal you away." "You're so boring," Bulma pouted. Launch came over with a cup of tea. "Kashu, have some tea." "Thank you, Launch." Tights pushed up her glasses. "Kashu, I wrote a new book about Cell. I'd like you to check it for inaccuracies." "Sure, I'll look at it tomorrow." Three wives, three kinds of love. Kashu was grateful he had crossed into this world and met them. He went upstairs to check on the children. Kariel was practicing punches in her room, hitting the punching bag over and over, sweat soaking her hair. "Kariel, it's time to rest." "A little longer, Dad. I want to surpass you!" "We'll see when you're older." Kabrun was reading in her room, her desk piled high with physics, chemistry, and biology textbooks. She was only eight, but she was already studying high school material. "Kabrun, don't push yourself too hard." "I'm fine, Dad. Studying is fun." Kassis was meditating in her room, her silver eyes closed, her ki as calm as still water. "Kassis, how are you feeling today?" "Dad, I can sense a powerful presence approaching from somewhere in the universe." Kashu's pupils contracted. "What kind of presence?" "I don't know. But it's incredibly powerful, even more powerful than Cell." Kashu fell silent for a moment, then said, "Keep sensing it. Tell me right away if anything happens." "Okay." A new threat—the powerful presence Kassis had sensed was approaching Earth from the depths of space.
It was God of Destruction Beerus and his Angel, Whis. Beerus had learned from the Oracle Fish's prophecy that a warrior called the "Super Saiyan God" would appear decades later and become his formidable rival. He decided to wake early and go to Earth in search of this legendary warrior. On Earth, Kashu sensed Beerus's presence, too. "The God of Destruction... has finally arrived." Kashu clenched his fist. Kariel, Kabrun, and Kassis looked at their father, unsure what was happening. But they knew a new battle was about to begin.
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