Split Up

In the first month after Cell's embryo was sealed away, the beach at Turtle Hermit House enjoyed a rare stretch of peace. Nappa no longer pestered Android 17 for a fight every day—because a three-minute match had taught him the fundamental difference between infinite energy and Saiyan blood in a battle of endurance. Nappa lay on the beach, gasping heavily, while Android 17 stood beside him expressionlessly, without so much as a bead of sweat.

"Still want to fight?"

"Tomorrow!" Nappa stubbornly replied, though the corners of his mouth were turned up.

Talos sat at the entrance of Turtle Hermit House, leafing through the report on Cell's cells that Bulma had sent over. One eye tracked the data, while the other kept watch over the subtle movements at the far end of the beach. Lazuli sat beneath a palm tree with a Turtle Hermit School basic martial arts manual spread across her knees. Krillin had given it to her—not lent it to her, but given it. "I've memorized this one ages ago. Keep it and read it. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me, or Talos, or Goku—forget Goku, he can't explain anything. Just ask Talos."

She had been flipping through it for several days already. Her combat instincts had come naturally, but the breathing techniques and flow of qi described in the manual were fields she had never encountered before. When she reached the chapter on "Circular Qi Flow" on page thirty-seven, she suddenly stood and raised a hand toward the sea. A golden ki blast erupted from her palm, cleaving a gash several meters deep into the ocean's surface. She lowered her gaze to her palm—this attack was more concentrated than any strike she had launched before.

Krillin ran over from afar. "That move just now—its stability improved by at least thirty percent! You only read about the principle of Circular Qi Flow in that manual for a few days, and you already applied it in actual combat?"

Lazuli withdrew her hand, her tone calm. "No one taught me before. Dr. Gero only implanted combat instructions into me. He never made me understand the principles." She paused. "Thank you for the book."

"No need to thank me! I memorized that manual a long time ago, so keep it and take your time reading! Ask me anytime if there's something you don't understand!"

Lazuli looked at his bright, clean smile. The faintest trace of warmth flickered through her blue eyes, but she said nothing more. She merely turned to page thirty-eight.

Lapis jumped down from the roof of Turtle Hermit House, rolling his neck as his eyes swept over Goku and Vegeta sparring on the beach. Two masses of golden aura crossed at high speed across the sand, repeatedly battering against the threshold of Super Saiyan 2.

"I want to try that too." Lapis pointed toward the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

"You have an infinite-energy build, so you don't need a Super Saiyan transformation." Talos closed the report. "But the Hyperbolic Time Chamber can help you explore the maximum-output mode of infinite energy. Your current fighting style relies too heavily on basic martial arts, and there's still plenty of room to improve the compression precision of your energy blasts. Go in with Vegeta—he wants to develop Super Saiyan 2, while you want to break through your output limit. Your training directions complement each other perfectly. A year inside is only one day outside."

Vegeta gave a distant snort, but did not refuse.

That afternoon, Vegeta and Lapis entered the white stone door deep within The Lookout. The white light spilling through the crack in the door turned the entire Lookout silver as Mr. Popo slowly shut it. Two warriors who had each reached the pinnacle of their own fields—one the proud prince of the Saiyans, the other an artificial human who had never bowed his head—would spend a year inside.

Meanwhile, Piccolo stood on the rooftop of Turtle Hermit House, staring absently in the direction of Planet Namek. Ever since Cell's embryo had been sealed away, he had stood there alone for a long while every evening.

"The Dragon Balls on New Planet Namek have been restored." Talos walked to his side. "The Grand Elder sent word—Porunga can now grant three wishes at once. If you want to go back, you can leave anytime."

"It's not because of the Dragon Balls." Piccolo fell silent for a moment. "The Namekians are my people, but I was born here and grew up here. My father was King Piccolo, but I am not him. The day you asked me to safeguard the Dragon Balls, the Grand Elder placed his hand on my head and said I had no evil in my heart—that was when I suddenly understood something. Namekians have no surnames, no families. Before Frieza came, they rarely even left their own villages. But I'm not a Namekian who grew up on Planet Namek. I have a master, companions, and an older martial brother who talked to me outside my cocoon every day."

He looked toward the coastline, where Goku and Krillin could faintly be seen chasing and roughhousing. "So I'm not leaving. But New Planet Namek needs warriors—not for war, but to help train the next generation of combat-type Namekians. The Grand Elder said that the Namekians have gone too long without training warriors. After Frieza, they need to learn how to protect themselves."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Two years. New Planet Namek orbits twin stars, so two years there are only equal to six months on Earth. I'll return after two years—with Porunga's new wishing incantation. The Grand Elder said this incantation can grant three wishes at once."

"Then go." Talos nodded. "The door to Turtle Hermit House will always be open."

Piccolo did not say thank you. Namekians did not say thank you. He simply placed a hand over the character "Turtle" on his chest and gave a slight nod. That evening, he flew directly from Turtle Hermit House toward The Lookout—where a Namekian single-pilot spacecraft modified by Bulma was parked. As night fell, a point of light rose from the top of The Lookout, trailing a pale green tail flame as it vanished into the southern sky.

Bulma had been working continuously in the underground laboratory beneath The Lookout for who knew how many days. Hundreds of arrays of Cell samples lay beneath the microscope, every group labeled with its source—Saiyan, Namekian, Frieza's race, insectoid alien. She extracted trace cell samples from the sealing orb Talos had given her and conducted a crucial experiment in petri dishes: simulating Cell's cell-fusion process in an artificial environment, then precisely interrupting it 0.3 seconds after fusion began with energy pulses simulating Krillin's Qi Net.

The results made her hands tremble slightly. Petri dish number forty-seven—the sample simulating the fusion of Saiyan and Namekian cells—produced an explosive reaction similar to a "near-death amplification" after the fusion was interrupted. Its rate of cell division instantly tripled.

"Cell's cell fusion has a fatal weakness. Every time he tries to fuse two different types of genes, there's an energy-convergence window lasting 0.3 to 0.5 seconds. If the fusion is precisely interrupted during that window, the cells suffer a reverse backlash—the cellular damage caused by the failed fusion is incorrectly replicated during subsequent divisions, creating an accumulating effect similar to 'genetic internal injuries.' In other words, if we can use the Qi Net to precisely interrupt Cell every time he fuses, not only will he be unable to evolve, he'll keep weakening himself."

"How precise does it need to be?" Talos asked.

"Submicron-level. At present, Krillin is the only person on the team capable of that degree of precision. But this research has greater long-term value—viewed from the other direction, Cell's cell-fusion technology can be used for positive enhancement. If we can extract the 'Saiyan Near-Death Amplification Factor' from Cell's cells and activate it independently without triggering fusion, then theoretically we can greatly increase a Saiyan's recovery speed. But that part of the research is still very preliminary. We need more samples."

"There are plenty of samples. There's still enough larval tissue in the sealing orb." Talos glanced at the cryogenic storage cabinet in the corner of the lab, then turned toward the door. "Keep this report confidential for now. Other than Krillin, don't let anyone else access it yet. If Cell's cell-fusion technology is abused, the consequences would be no less dire than another Cell."

Bulma nodded. She turned back to the microscope and continued observing the next sample. But the corners of her lips lifted slightly—being trusted like this made her feel, more than ever, that she was not merely "support staff," but a true scientist of this team.

Meanwhile, inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Vegeta and Lapis's sparring had continued through who knew how many days and nights. Under one hundred and fifty times gravity, neither showed any sign of physical decline—one had Saiyan blood constantly breaking past its limits, while the other possessed inexhaustible infinite energy. Vegeta's Final Flash made breakthrough progress in Super Saiyan 2, the purple patterns interwoven through its golden aura becoming denser; Lapis developed his own ultimate move, Infinite Barrage—using his inability to tire to maintain every strike at maximum output, unleashing hundreds of punches in succession without any loss of power.

"Infinite energy paired with precise output—we should try it with Krillin once we get out," Lapis said between punches.

Vegeta did not answer. Yet in his mind, he was already simulating tactical models for Lapis and Krillin fighting together—Battle Simulation had activated automatically, placing everyone's abilities onto an invisible chessboard.

At Planet Namek's orbital synchronization point, Piccolo's spacecraft slowly descended onto the emerald-green land of New Planet Namek. The Grand Elder's palace stood directly beneath the largest moon, where pale golden light poured down from its surface and bathed the entire palace in a soft glow. The Grand Elder sat on a stone seat in the center of the palace, his aged body like a mountain weathered by time, yet the light in his eyes remained gentle and resolute.

Piccolo knelt on one knee before him and stated the purpose of his journey. The Grand Elder remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking. "The training methods of combat-type Namekians have long been lost. After King Piccolo split away three hundred years ago, we sealed away all combat knowledge. But there is no evil in your heart. You are qualified to inherit this knowledge." He placed his hand atop Piccolo's head. Ancient incantations and combat techniques transformed into countless images that flooded Piccolo's mind—every image a lost combat memory, every syllable branded deep into his neurons.

"Two years from now, you will become the strongest warrior in Namekian history. Not the strongest in power—but the steadiest in heart. Go back and tell your companions that New Planet Namek will always welcome the Turtle Hermit School."

Piccolo rose and gave the Grand Elder a solemn bow. As he left the palace, the third moon was rising over the horizon, its pale golden light spilling across the entire land. He lowered his gaze to the black character "Turtle" on his chest, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly—he had never told anyone, but this character had been the first syllable he heard while sleeping within the cocoon.