The Return Journey

As New Planet Namek's third moon sank below the horizon, Bulma's ship landed beside the temporary camp at the edge of the canyon. The hatch opened, and she stepped out carrying a stack of repaired battle suits. Her gaze swept over the hundred-meter-wide crater in the wasteland before settling on Krillin's bandaged left shoulder. She fell silent for three seconds.

"Where's Frieza?"

"Sent back where he came from." Goku grinned. "Somewhere he can never leave."

"Porunga's wish." Bulma understood immediately. She set the battle suits on the ground, strode over to Krillin, grabbed his left arm, and carefully inspected the bandages. "A penetrating wound. He lost quite a bit of blood, but the bone's intact. Who treated it?"

"Piccolo," Krillin answered honestly.

Bulma glanced back at Piccolo, who stood at the canyon's edge. The young Namekian expressionlessly looked away. She did not press the matter. Instead, she took fresh bandages from the first-aid kit, unwrapped Piccolo's dressing layer by layer, and efficiently treated the wound again.

Thirty minutes later, everyone assembled on the ship's bridge. Goku and Vegeta had only recently returned from Planet Yardrat and had not yet changed out of their battle suits. Tien Shinhan and Piccolo sat side by side by the window. Nappa occupied two seats by himself, with spoils he had picked up from the Frieza Force ruins at his feet. Chiaotzu floated beside the console, using his telekinesis to help Bulma calibrate the course.

Talos was the last to enter the bridge. He had changed into a spare orange battle suit, his brown tail once again wrapped around his waist. His expression was almost exactly the same as when they had set out—but everyone present knew that this Saiyan had changed. His base power had surged from eighteen thousand to over forty thousand, and the stability of his threefold Kaioken had improved dramatically. Yet the real change was not in the numbers, but in how all of them fought. They had not won the final battle against Frieza through one person's absolute strength—they had used the Qi Resonance Net to twist all their power into a single rope. Krillin sustained the net, Tien Shinhan and Piccolo unleashed combination attacks, Goku and Vegeta served as the core, and Nappa held the rear of the formation—this tactical system had survived the ultimate trial in the final battle.

"What did the Grand Elder say?" Talos stopped in the middle of the bridge.

Piccolo spoke, his voice as cold and calm as ever. "All Namekians will relocate to New Planet Namek within thirty days. Reconstruction will take several years. The Dragon Balls will remain on New Planet Namek, guarded personally by the Grand Elder." He paused. "The Grand Elder asked me to tell you this—'New Planet Namek has repaid the debt it owed you.' I told him it wasn't a debt. It was a choice."

"What did he say?"

"He laughed. He said the Namekians had never had Saiyan friends in three hundred years. Now they did."

The bridge fell quiet for a moment. Goku leaned against the observation window, watching the shrinking emerald-green planet, his tail swaying gently. Then he suddenly said, "We'll come back, right? Once the Dragon Balls recover, we can bring Master Mutaito to see it. He said he's never seen a real Namek."

Bulma turned from the console. "Speaking of Dragon Balls, don't forget Earth has a set too. When Goku's brother and Vegeta first came to Earth, they caused quite a mess, and a few Dragon Balls were scattered—we'll need to gather them again after we get back. Also, after you all gave Frieza such a beating on Namek, his force may be leaderless, but conservative estimates put the remaining troops at over ten thousand combat ships spread across the galaxies. Once word gets out that Frieza has been banished, those remnants will start acting on their own. Some will disband. Some will seek revenge."

"So we can't relax once we return to Earth," Talos continued. "Frieza was only the beginning. His father, King Cold, is still out there, and he's no weaker than Frieza. Besides that, there's someone else on Earth—Dr. Gero. A surviving scientist from the Red Ribbon Army. He's been secretly gathering our combat data. If my calculations are correct, he has already begun creating androids designed specifically to counter Saiyans."

Vegeta leaned against the bulkhead with his arms folded, his expression unreadable. "Androids? What kind of worthy opponents can human technology create?"

"Don't underestimate him." Talos turned toward him. "Dr. Gero can create androids whose power exceeds the Super Saiyan form. Android 19 and Android 20 are only his public creations—the real threats are Android 17, Android 18, and Android 16. And Cell."

"Cell?"

"Dr. Gero's ultimate creation. A biological weapon cultivated by fusing Saiyan cells, Namekian cells, and Frieza cells that he collected. Your cells, my cells, Goku's cells, Piccolo's father's cells—they're all inside him."

Vegeta fell silent for a moment. Then the corner of his mouth slowly rose. It was not a sneer, but the distinct smile of a warrior hearing that a powerful enemy was coming. "Then let him come."

The ship entered faster-than-light cruise mode, and the stars outside turned into countless silver streaks. The trip back to Earth would take thirty-four days. Those thirty-four days would not be rest—they would be everyone's second round of special training.

Bulma installed a temporary gravity device in the training room, capable of simulating up to one hundred and fifty times Earth's gravity. On the third day, Krillin had his left shoulder bandages removed and immediately went into the training room, dragging Nappa in as a sparring partner to continue refining the Qi Net's ability to restrain heavy opponents. Nappa's heavy punch became tangled in the Qi Net, and he broke free half a beat slower than he had on Namek. "Your net's getting more and more annoying," Nappa said with a grin. Krillin grinned too—because in their training log, "more and more annoying" was the highest praise the Qi Net could receive.

Goku kept pestering Talos to teach him the Kaioken. Talos demonstrated the basic method of circulating qi once in the training room, and after watching it three times, Goku could already perform a complete circulation cycle. The Saiyan battle instinct in his blood gave him a far greater awareness of his body than ordinary people, but the key to the Kaioken was not learning it—it was controlling the multiplier. "Start at one times. You are not allowed to exceed two times. Your body still hasn't fully adapted to the gravity changes on Planet Yardrat, and the Kaioken will amplify the burden on your meridians."

"Got it!" Goku activated the onefold Kaioken, red aura erupting through the training room. He excitedly threw punches at the air, then activated another onefold—then another onefold. The red aura of the twofold Kaioken made the lights in the room hum and shake.

"You said one times just now." Talos remained expressionless.

"One times plus one times is two times, isn't it?!"

Talos was silent for a second. "Lie down."

Goku obediently lay down, because the strain from the twofold Kaioken had already begun to hit him.

Tien Shinhan and Piccolo repeatedly refined an extended version of the Third Eye Link in a cramped compartment at the rear of the ship. Tien Shinhan's Third Eye Beam had become more focused than before, allowing him to strike an opponent's weakest joints at the exact moment Piccolo's extending arms wrapped around the target. Piccolo learned to alter the direction of his arm attacks midair, and with Tien Shinhan's Volleyball Fist barrage, the two no longer needed eye contact to coordinate. Chiaotzu used his telekinesis to toss rubber balls around the compartment, and the two attacked simultaneously, knocking every ball down—not one got through, and neither accidentally struck the other.

Vegeta trained the hardest. Ten thousand push-ups under one hundred and fifty times gravity. Then came simulated combat drills, in which he replayed another battle against Frieza in his mind—every simulation ended with Frieza being defeated, but each one became harder and more complicated than the last. He no longer fought alone. More and more teammates appeared in his simulations. Sometimes Goku broke in from the flank. Sometimes Krillin's Qi Net locked down Frieza's movement. Sometimes Tien Shinhan's Third Eye Beam disrupted the rhythm. He told no one the details of these simulations—but the training room recorders captured all of them.

On the twentieth day of the return trip, Bulma made a shipwide announcement from the bridge. The main screen displayed the latest intelligence from Earth: Frieza Force remnants had reduced their activity in the North Galaxy by sixty-seven percent, and most combat ships had withdrawn from the star systems around Earth; faint energy readings of unknown origin had been detected near the Red Ribbon Army ruins; communications with Turtle Hermit House were normal, and Master Mutaito had received word of their return; Kami had sent the latest intelligence from The Lookout through Mr. Popo—Future Trunks might arrive soon.

"Future Trunks?" Goku tilted his head. "That name sounds kind of familiar."

"Vegeta and Bulma's son. He comes from another future destroyed by Cell. He's coming to warn us."

The bridge went silent for a full five seconds. Bulma slowly turned to look at Talos. "What did you say?"

"Future Trunks. Vegeta and Bulma's son," Talos repeated. "He comes from the future. He'll arrive on Earth soon."

Bulma's mouth twitched, and she slowly turned toward Vegeta. Vegeta looked even worse than she did—not angry, but completely at a loss over what expression he was supposed to make after having his life spoiled for him.

"I have a son?" Bulma's voice was very quiet.

"In the future. But that future may not be our future. Trunks comes from a timeline destroyed by Cell. He'll bring medicine to save Goku—in that future, Goku died of viral heart disease. If he arrives on time, it means the Cell in our timeline has not yet reached his perfect form." Talos paused there, allowing everyone to process the sheer amount of information. "Once we return to Earth, we split up. Tien Shinhan, Piccolo, Nappa, the three of you will continue refining the connection between the Third Eye Link and frontal firepower. Goku and Vegeta will go to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with me. Krillin, your Qi Resonance Net can already withstand impacts on Frieza's level, but there's still room to improve—this time, I'll teach you an advanced application of the Qi Resonance Net: Severance."

"Severance?" Krillin froze for a moment.

"Run your Qi Net in reverse. Not to connect, but to cut off the opponent's energy flow. Use the thinnest qi threads to precisely enter their energy nodes and disrupt their attacks. This technique is more effective against androids—especially infinite-energy androids—than any direct attack."

Krillin looked down at his palm. After a moment of silence, he nodded firmly.

The ship continued onward. The thirty-four-day journey home was both a recovery period and a preparation period. Frieza had been banished, but more dangerous enemies were taking shape in the shadows. Everyone knew there would not be peace for long after they returned to Earth. But before then, they still had thirty-four days. Thirty-four days were enough for a team tempered by blood and fire to find its own rhythm and direction.

On the final day of the journey, everyone completed one last simulated battle in the training room. Tien Shinhan and Piccolo's combination attack hit every virtual target with precision. Krillin's Qi Net successfully formed the beginnings of Severance. Goku and Vegeta completed their first coordinated two-man maneuver under one hundred and fifty times gravity—not fighting separately, but advancing in staggered formation as a combat unit. Nappa held the rear of the formation, controlling his punches with precision rather than blasting away without restraint.

"That was a good fight." Nappa grinned.

The ship passed through Earth's atmosphere. Blue oceans and green continents slowly spread across the observation window, and the beach by Turtle Hermit House glittered in the sunlight. Master Roshi stood on the sand with the pink house behind him and a pot of freshly cooked seafood porridge at his feet. Old Master Zhao stood beside him, holding Talos's daughter. The baby waved her tiny hands at the ship growing ever larger in the sky.

Talos stood before the observation window, looking at the blue planet. Every departure, every return, it always looked the same—quiet, beautiful, worth protecting with everything they had.

"We're home," he said.