A Glimpse of the Future

The moment Ron entered the house, he strode straight into the room where the Grand Elder was staying.

Though he had known from the start, as someone who had transmigrated, that the Grand Elder was enormous, seeing him in person was still a shock.

It wasn't just his size. His appearance alone was intensely startling.

Their eyes met, and Ron immediately sensed the Grand Elder's condition clearly.

His energy was weak, his life force scattered, his insides withered. He was like a candle flickering in the wind, seemingly on the verge of going out at any moment.

"Hello, Grand Elder of Planet Namek."

Ron spoke bluntly, but still showed the Grand Elder the most basic respect.

After all, he hadn't received any favors from the Namekians so far. In a sense, he was the one who had saved Planet Namek and its people, so they should have been the ones respecting and thanking him. But Ron wasn't going to quibble over something like that.

Simply put, he'd been influenced by the original story.

After all, though the Grand Elder in the original story was somewhat of a plot device, he had been portrayed quite successfully.

He had devoted his entire life to his people, and during the Frieza invasion, he had done everything he could to help the Z Fighters.

Even if he'd done so to secure powerful allies for his people,

there was no denying that the Grand Elder was kindhearted and sincere.

Right up until the moment he died, he had his people cooperate with the Z Fighters and make their wishes. As a result, the Namekians had successfully secured the main cast's support.

That alone showed just how wise the Grand Elder really was.

"Hello, Ron the Saiyan. I'm glad I could meet with you alone. On behalf of all the Namekians, I'd like to express my heartfelt gratitude... Thank you for defeating Frieza. Thank you for saving all my children..."

The Grand Elder forced himself to speak, his spirits flagging.

He paused several times during those few sentences, and the strain of saying so much at once seemed to leave him breathing much harder.

"Though I was the one who killed Frieza, the credit for resurrecting the Namekians doesn't belong to me. You should thank Kakarot and the people from Earth." Ron remained calm, unmoved by the Grand Elder's gratitude.

That was the truth, though the Grand Elder seemed to have his own way of weighing things.

He gave a slight nod, his weathered face warm as he continued, "If you hadn't defeated Frieza, my children couldn't have been resurrected so soon... And if you hadn't killed him, Planet Namek would have been completely destroyed... Even I owe it to you that I've been able to linger on a little longer..."

Ron didn't mind after hearing that.

If that was how the Grand Elder saw it, then so be it.

"No need for pleasantries. You wanted to meet me alone, and now I'm here. I assume there's something you need from me?" Ron got straight to the point.

That was the only reason he could think of.

Why else insist on seeing him alone?

The Grand Elder didn't want anyone else to know.

The Grand Elder nodded again, sorrow written across his aged face. "You're right. I do need something from you, which is why I wanted to meet alone... I'm fortunate to have lived long enough to see you... In the future I foresaw, you didn't exist. Frieza would destroy Planet Namek, and the Namekians would be left homeless... But everything that should have happened was overturned by you. Your arrival threw the destined future into disarray and changed everything..."

As the Grand Elder spoke, Ron was stunned.

He knew just how astonishing the ability to foresee the future could be.

So had the Grand Elder foreseen everything that happened in the original story from the beginning? Was that why he'd helped the Z Fighters without holding back?

No!

The future couldn't be set with absolute certainty.

Even with a fixed trajectory—even in the original story—

the smallest change could bring about a huge difference!

So even if the Grand Elder could see part of the future, he couldn't possibly see all of it.

Ron silently speculated, then reached a conclusion: the future the Grand Elder had seen had been completely changed by Ron's appearance. That was why he was so eager to meet this exception.

"You mean I wasn't supposed to exist or appear, but I did, and the most unlikely possibility came to pass." Putting aside his thoughts, Ron followed the Grand Elder's lead and probed.

The Grand Elder didn't react as Ron had hoped. His voice remained calm as he said:

"After being resurrected, I saw a glimpse of a new future—a future changed by you... It's very hazy, and I only saw a little... In that future, you'll become unimaginably powerful... You'll face countless hardships along the way, and our Namekian people will undergo great changes under your influence..."

Afterward, the Grand Elder drew another breath.

His words made Ron take a deep breath, too.

He would become unimaginably powerful...

That answer was certainly vague.

So powerful that the Grand Elder couldn't imagine it. With no point of comparison, Ron was genuinely taken aback.

After all, Ron had no idea how broad the Grand Elder's understanding was in this era.

Take Frieza, for example. In a sense, a power level of 120 million was incredibly strong.

But to Ron, that kind of strength made him a weak little ant.

"So you want to build a closer relationship with me because you saw that I'd become incredibly powerful, and you saw something happen between me and your people?" Some things weren't worth probing too deeply. Ron wanted to know the bottom line.

"Yes. I have very little time left, and my children will face many calamities in the future. Only you can protect and save them..." The Grand Elder nodded.

"You want me to become your people's guardian? Or maybe a good-luck charm?" Ron asked.

The Grand Elder didn't deny it. He continued, "I won't hide it from you. That is what I have in mind, though it would also have to be your choice... In return, I can unlock your potential in the final moments of my life and make you stronger... And my successor, Mulin, will help you summon Porunga to make wishes whenever you need to..."

He'd laid out all the benefits in one go.

Unlocking his potential and increasing his strength.

And making wishes with the Dragon Balls.

Those were exactly what Ron wanted.

"First, tell me exactly what dangers you saw that made you willing to offer so much."

"In the near future, perhaps in just a few months, an evil member of the Frieza Clan will come sweeping in again... When that happens, I hope you'll step forward once more to protect my children and my home... And then, in the more distant future, a tremendously powerful evil being will appear..."