Gore, Lanno, and Luo Ling settled into life at the Mount Paozu camp. Gore quickly became Bardock's right-hand man. Every day, he helped Bardock handle the camp's daily affairs—distributing supplies, arranging patrols, and coordinating training. His steady, reliable nature earned everyone's trust.
"Gore, why do you follow Bardock?" Reg asked him one day.
"Because he saved my life," Gore replied. "During a battle, I was surrounded by Frieza Force soldiers. Bardock charged in and rescued me. From that day on, I swore that whenever he needed help, I'd be there."
"And now? How are you helping him?"
"By helping him rebuild the Saiyans." Gore looked at the busy people in the camp. "It's what he wants, and it's what I want to do, too."
Lanno became the camp's "handyman." If a spaceship broke down, they went to him. If a piece of equipment malfunctioned, they went to him. Even if a pot or a pan broke, they went to him. He was cheerful and loved to joke, and before long, he'd become one of the young people's friends.
"Lanno, why isn't this gravity room working?" a warrior asked.
"Don't rush me. Let me take a look." Lanno crawled beneath the gravity room and tinkered with it for a while. "There! The wiring came loose. You Saiyans train so hard that you've shaken the equipment apart."
"Can you fix it?"
"Easy. But take it a little easier next time you train. This thing isn't meant to be used as a punching bag."
"Hahaha!"
Luo Ling, meanwhile, was having a harder time adjusting. She was used to being on her own and letting strength do the talking, but here, strength wasn't everything. She tried to establish her place through force, only to be effortlessly subdued by Kashu. She tried ordering people around, but no one listened to her.
"Luo Ling, you're going about it the wrong way," Gine told her one day.
"What way?" Luo Ling replied coldly.
"The way you deal with people." Gine handed her a cup of hot tea. "Here, no one is your subordinate, and no one is your enemy. Everyone is equal. You need to treat them as equals."
"I just want them to get stronger," Luo Ling said. "The Saiyans need strong people."
"You can't train strong people by ordering them around," Gine said. "Look at Kashu. He never orders anyone around. He sets an example, then lets others decide for themselves whether to follow him."
Luo Ling fell silent. She thought of Kashu on the training ground—always patiently teaching every child, never hurting anyone or losing his temper. Yet everyone respected him, and everyone was willing to listen to him.
"Maybe you're right," Luo Ling murmured.
From that day on, Luo Ling began to change. She stopped speaking in a commanding tone and started talking with the others. She joined group activities and even began teaching the children combat techniques.
"Big Sister Luo Ling, how are you so strong?" a four-year-old girl asked, looking up at her.
"Because Big Sister trains every day." Luo Ling crouched down and patted the girl's head. "You should train hard, too. One day, you'll be even stronger than me."
"Okay!" The girl nodded emphatically.
Looking at the girl's innocent smile, Luo Ling felt a warm glow rise in her heart. This was what she fought for—to let these children grow up in peace, without suffering the hardships she had endured.
Gore had always been curious about Kashu. How could a seven-year-old boy earn the wholehearted respect of more than a hundred Saiyans? He decided to put Kashu to the test himself.
"Kashu, I'd like to spar with you," Gore said one evening.
"Why?" Kashu asked. He was sitting beside the training ground, watching the sunset.
"I want to see how strong you are."
Kashu glanced at Gore and nodded. "All right."
The two stepped onto the training ground. Gore took off his weighted clothes and released his full power—12,000 in battle power. His fist cut through the air as he drove a straight punch toward Kashu's face.
Kashu didn't move.
Gore's fist stopped an inch from Kashu's nose—not because he had chosen to stop, but because an invisible force had blocked him.
"What?" Gore's pupils contracted.
"Your attack is too direct," Kashu said. "You have good strength, Mr. Gore, but your moves lack variety. In a real fight, your opponent won't just stand there and let you hit them."
Kashu reached out and lightly tapped Gore's fist with his right index finger. Gore felt a gentle yet irresistible force push him backward. He stumbled more than a dozen steps before regaining his balance.
"I lost." Gore lowered his hand, fully accepting the result. "Your strength really is far beyond mine."
"You're not bad," Kashu said. "You just need more practice. Mr. Gore, you still need to refine your control over ki. Starting tomorrow, you'll practice ki sensing with everyone else."
"All right."
From that day on, Gore joined Kashu's training sessions. He progressed quickly. A month later, his ki-sensing range had expanded to ten kilometers. Three months later, his battle power had risen from 12,000 to 20,000. Six months later, he had learned the Flight Technique and Ki Blast.
"Gore, you're improving so quickly," Lanno said enviously.
"Because I have a great teacher." Gore looked at Kashu, who was instructing the children in the distance. "That boy really is something special."
Luo Ling made the most progress of the three. She already had a strong foundation, with a battle power of 18,000. Under Kashu's guidance, her ability to sense and control ki improved dramatically. Three months later, her battle power had risen from 18,000 to 30,000. After six months, it reached 50,000. A year later, she broke through the 100,000 mark.
"You're the most talented female Saiyan I've ever met," Kashu said.
"Don't flatter me," Luo Ling said, rolling her eyes. "I just don't want to lose to you."
"Lose to me?" Kashu laughed. "You still have a long way to go."
"I know! But one day, I'll catch up to you!"
Kashu looked at Luo Ling's determined gaze, feeling a flicker of admiration. This Saiyan woman had a fighting spirit and perseverance that rivaled anyone's.
"I'll be waiting."
One day, in the middle of training, Luo Ling suddenly felt a new power surging inside her. Her ki began to fluctuate wildly. Her hair flickered between gold and black, and the air around her started to twist.
"This is..." Kashu stopped training and came over to her. "The threshold of Super Saiyan. Luo Ling, don't resist it. Let it erupt naturally."
Luo Ling clenched her teeth as the ki inside her grew more and more turbulent. Finally, with a furious roar, her hair turned from black to gold, her eyes changed from brown to pale green, and the air around her exploded as golden flames of ki shot into the sky.
"I did it!" Luo Ling stared at her golden hands, her voice filled with disbelief.
"Super Saiyan," Kashu said with a nod. "Luo Ling, you're the first female Saiyan to reach this level."
Luo Ling's battle power skyrocketed from 100,000 to five million—a fiftyfold increase. She felt her strength surging out without end, like a river bursting through its banks.
"So this is Super Saiyan..." Luo Ling clenched her fists. "Kashu, can I beat you now?"
"You can try."
Luo Ling charged at Kashu and punched toward his chest. Kashu reached out and gently caught her fist in his right hand.
"Your strength is impressive, but it's still not enough," Kashu said. "Super Saiyan is only the beginning, not the end."
Luo Ling withdrew her fist and ended her transformation. Her golden hair returned to its short red color.
"Then what's the end?"
"There is no end." Kashu looked up at the sky. "The path to becoming stronger goes on forever."
A year later, Gore, Lanno, and Luo Ling had fully settled into life at the Mount Paozu camp. Gore had become Bardock's most trusted deputy. He was in charge of the camp's defenses and training, leading the warriors on daily patrols of the surrounding area to keep the camp safe. His battle power had surpassed 30,000. Though he had not reached the Super Saiyan level, his control over ki had become exceptionally refined.
Lanno had become the camp's "handyman" and "life of the party." He was responsible for maintaining all the equipment and spaceships, and he also doubled as the camp's storyteller. Every night, he would tell stories by the campfire—the history of the Saiyans, strange tales from across the universe—and make the children laugh.
"Uncle Lanno, tell us another one!" the children pleaded, crowding around him.
"All right, all right. One more," Lanno said with a laugh. "Once upon a time, there was a Saiyan named Bardock..."
Luo Ling had become the camp's "valkyrie." She taught the children combat techniques and protected the camp in times of danger. She had stabilized her Super Saiyan transformation and reached a battle power of five million, making her the second-strongest person in the camp after Kashu.
One night, the three of them sat on a hillside outside the camp, gazing at the stars.
"Gore, what do you think will happen to us in the future?" Lanno asked.
"I don't know," Gore said. "But at least we have a home now."
"Home..." Luo Ling murmured, repeating the word. "I haven't had a home in a long time."
"Now you do." Gore looked toward the camp, where the lights were bright and the children's laughter rang out. "That place is our home. The Saiyans' home."
"Bardock really did it," Lanno said with a smile. "He led more than a hundred Saiyans and built a new home on Earth."
"More than a hundred," Gore said. "Newborns keep arriving, and our population is growing. Maybe in a few decades, the Saiyans will have recovered. Then we'll take revenge on Frieza."
Luo Ling clenched her fist.
"Revenge can wait," Gore said. "For now, we need to get stronger and protect our home."
The three fell silent for a moment, then stood up together and headed back to the camp. Under the moonlight, their shadows stretched long behind them.
On the roof of the tallest wooden house in the camp, Kashu sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, meditating. He sensed the three of them and smiled faintly.
"Gore, Lanno, Luo Ling." Kashu opened his eyes. "Welcome home."
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