Raditz 1600 Vegeta 9000, the two brats go on a mission, I'll just slip away

Back then, Raditz, who had invaded Earth, had possessed a battle power of only 1,500.

To the current Gou Kong, that number was something he had already left miles behind. It was not worth mentioning at all.

But to Piccolo and Kakarot, whose battle powers at the time had only been three or four hundred, it had been an uncrossable chasm.

At that point in the original work, Raditz had relied on that battle power of 1,500 to force Kakarot into a dead end, even making him pay with his life before they had barely managed to stop him.

Raditz back then had been battered like a torn rag, yet he had still carried that despair-inducing strength.

But how old was the Raditz in front of him now?

Seven!

By the time the original Earth invasion came around, this kid would be at least twenty years older than he was now.

Although there was still a long time until that day, Gou Kong never believed this brat would be content with mediocrity and make no progress over such a long span.

Combined with the "careful training" he had given these two brats over the past few years, Raditz's battle power would definitely undergo a terrifying surge.

This was indeed a major matter with far-reaching consequences.

However, Gou Kong was too lazy to dig into it.

After all, the predetermined protagonist of this world was Kakarot. No matter how the plot changed, that guy would have the halo's blessing and would find some way to patch things back together.

The current situation was nothing more than the butterfly effect making this bunch stronger than they originally were.

Of course, Gou Kong himself had not been idle either.

Over these four years, he had accompanied the two brats in "sparring" during the day, while at night he frantically squeezed out his own potential.

Now, his battle power had long since skyrocketed from the initial 11,000 to 19,000!

It was a number that made even his own heart pound.

But to keep a low profile, the battle power he publicly claimed within Saiyan society had always remained around 9,500.

The reason he hid it was because he understood perfectly that the tallest tree in the forest would be the first to be destroyed by the wind.

Once a battle power of 19,000 was made public, forget about alerting King Vegeta—if it happened to reach that bastard Frieza's ears, then things would get interesting.

When that time came, there would be no need to wait for the planet-destruction countdown. Frieza would probably send someone over at the first opportunity to "invite" him for tea, or simply strike him down outright.

Once the situation deteriorated to that extent, it would truly become difficult to control.

It was precisely because of this concern that Gou Kong had warned Nappa long ago.

Although that oaf Nappa usually had a big mouth, surprisingly, he had really kept it sealed. Over the past few years, he had never leaked even half a word to anyone.

It seemed that Gou Kong's usual method of "tempering kindness with authority" had still produced results.

"Mm, things are much less troublesome now."

Gou Kong thought to himself.

After several years of exploration, he had completely mastered the technique of controlling his battle power.

Now, even if someone held a detector and scanned him directly, he could immediately rein in that terrifying energy of 19,000 so tightly that not a drop leaked out, disguising himself as an "ordinary expert" with only 9,500.

This way, even if Nappa really slipped up one day, it would not matter much.

As his use of "ki" grew increasingly practiced, Gou Kong's energy control had already reached a state of perfection.

Strengthening his physical body, using the Flight Technique, controlling the rise and fall of his battle power, detecting an opponent's energy—these skills had long since become second nature to him.

And among the many techniques he had mastered, the one he was proudest of was the "Energy Body-Forging Technique."

To put it plainly, the principle behind this technique was not complicated: during the process of releasing energy, he forced the excess energy that was about to dissipate out of his body meticulously and without the slightest gap into his muscle fibers.

This method could instantly increase the overall density and volume of his muscles, thereby unleashing terrifying strength far beyond his normal state.

If one had to find a similar reference, it would be the "full power" form Trunks had displayed during his decisive battle with Cell.

However, although Trunks's transformation had caused his strength to skyrocket, it had possessed a fatal flaw: his speed would drop drastically, and his body would become heavy and unwieldy.

But that shortcoming did not exist at all in Gou Kong's "Energy Body-Forging Technique."

While obtaining an explosive increase in strength, his speed and agility could still remain at their peak.

This was the trump card Gou Kong took pride in.

Of course, this technique was not perfect either.

Its greatest drawback was that it consumed stamina extremely quickly and could not be maintained for long.

Moreover, compared with a freakish transformation like the Supreme Kai's, which not only caused strength and speed to surge across the board but even multiplied total energy several times over, Gou Kong's "body-forging technique" did seem somewhat shabby.

"How exactly should this thing be optimized further?"

Gou Kong would occasionally sink into deep thought.

He always felt this technique still had potential to be dug out; he simply had not found the right direction for the time being.

However, even as a half-finished product, its power was already astonishing enough.

In this world where heroes were judged by battle power, being able to rely on technique to inflict effective damage on opponents whose battle power far exceeded one's own was itself a huge advantage.

Thinking back to the beginning, when he had spent every day frazzled over increasing his battle power, now that he had figured out the way to use energy, everything had become smooth sailing.

Sure enough, no matter what system it was, the foundation lay in control over energy.

"Hah—!"

Gou Kong drained the bottle of water in one gulp and casually crushed the empty bottle flat.

He looked at Vegeta and Raditz lying on the ground like dead dogs, the corner of his mouth curling into a wicked grin. Then he casually flung the soaked towel in his hand onto their faces.

"Mmgh!"

"Cough, cough!"

With their faces suddenly covered by the towel, the two of them immediately let out a burst of suffocating struggles.

Right after that, they roughly yanked the towel off their faces and shot upright, their movements perfectly in sync, as if they had rehearsed it.

Seeing their highly synchronized reaction, Gou Kong couldn't help bursting into laughter, not caring who had started it first.

"What—what are you doing?" Vegeta snapped first, his little face flushed red as he roared.

"I'm tired and resting, and you suddenly pull a prank like that? Trying to smother me?" Raditz complained from the side too, his voice thick with exhaustion.

"Yo, you're awake?" Gou Kong raised his brows teasingly, easily dodging the towel Raditz angrily threw back at him, then waved a hand. "Ah, sorry, sorry. My hand slipped."

As he spoke, he bent down and picked up the empty water bottle that had rolled onto the ground, casually tossing it into the trash can nearby.

His gaze swept over the two little guys, and he asked in a seemingly casual tone, "Oh, right. I heard from that big mouth Nappa recently that starting tomorrow, you two are getting sent out on a mission? A long-term job, too. You'll be going to several planets, and if everything goes smoothly, it'll take more than a year before you can come back?"

Gou Kong's words sounded plain, but there was a hidden agenda beneath them.

He had been waiting for this chance all along. Only after these two brats left Planet Vegeta would it be convenient for him to carry out his escape plan.

Vegeta said nothing, merely giving a cold snort, which counted as an admission.

The little guy was busy dismantling the scouter on his wrist. The fierce battle just now had cracked its screen.

And Raditz?

The guy actually lay flat on his back again the moment Gou Kong finished speaking, muttering, "I'm dead tired, don't bother me," and in less than three seconds, a faint snore drifted out.

"Heh, asleep already?"

Gou Kong raised an eyebrow, walked over, and lightly prodded Raditz in the side with the tip of his foot.

"Hey, brat, wake up. You haven't even set off yet, and you're already lying flat?"

Raditz smacked his lips in his sleep, rolled over, and left his back facing Gou Kong. His meaning was obvious: don't make noise, I want to sleep.

Seeing this scene, the smile on Gou Kong's face deepened.

This kid really was carefree. He had just been beaten flat, and in the blink of an eye, he could sleep this soundly.

Still, that was fine too. The more heartless and carefree someone was, the easier it actually was for them to survive in the cruel universe.

He turned to look at Vegeta.

The little prince wasn't asleep, but he wore an expression that warned strangers to keep away, fully focused on repairing his scouter.

That concentration of his really did have a bit of his old man King Vegeta's shadow.

"Looks like Planet Vegeta is finally going to be quiet."