Dad's Here

Golden light tore through the night sky.

It was neither a meteor nor a spaceship. It was ki.

Pure, overwhelming, suffocating ki.

I looked up and saw a meteor streaking down from the horizon. More precisely, it was a figure carrying enough energy to light up half the sky, hurtling toward Namek's surface at extreme speed.

The dust kicked up by the shockwave rose a hundred meters high.

When the light faded, a familiar figure stood there, black hair whipping in the airflow, his orange martial arts uniform still bearing the distinctive Capsule Corporation logo from Bulma's family.

"Dad's here," I murmured.

Krillin's eyes widened beside me. "That's... that's Goku?! This ki... how is that possible?!"

Tien Shinhan's face went deathly pale. "The scouter... the scouter exploded."

That was right. The scouter had been completely destroyed. A power level signal of 800,000 had directly burned that piece of junk into scrap metal.

Over on the Ginyu Force's side, the scene was even more spectacular.

Recoome staggered backward, the arrogance gone from his face, replaced by pure terror. He pointed in Goku's direction, his lips trembling, but he could not force out a single word.

Burter was worse off. Half his face was still smoking, and the spot where my ki blast had struck him was twitching. When he tried to move, his knees gave out and he dropped straight to the ground.

Jeice, the second-in-command who had always remained calm, looked pale as paper. He instinctively took three steps back, then seemed to remember something and abruptly turned toward Ginyu.

Ginyu's own reaction completely caught me off guard.

He was smiling.

Not a bitter smile, not a cold one—it was the wild delight of a hunter who had discovered unparalleled prey.

"Kakarot..." Ginyu licked his lips, greed gleaming in his eyes. "The Saiyan prince? No, you're a legend among Saiyans. The legend from when Planet Vegeta was destroyed... a Saiyan combat prodigy."

He turned to Vegeta, his smile growing more sinister. "I originally wanted to switch with you, but now it seems... Son Goku, you're the perfect vessel. A power level of 800,000, along with your bloodline and potential—"

"Shut up." Vegeta cut him off coldly, though there was a faint weakness in his voice. "If you've got what it takes to switch with him, then try it."

That bastard was provoking him.

No, Vegeta knew the original plot? No, he didn't. But he knew Goku.

And I—I was the only one on the entire battlefield who knew what would happen next.

Ginyu made his move.

He was still unbelievably fast. With his power level of 120,000 fully unleashed, his whole body turned into an afterimage as he lunged straight at Goku, who had just landed.

"Dad, watch out!" I shouted instinctively.

But Goku seemed not to hear me.

Or rather, he simply did not consider Ginyu a threat.

Ginyu thrust out his palm, firing a blinding beam of light—his signature technique, the body-switching skill.

Damn it! Just like the original!

I desperately wanted to stop him, but my injuries left me unable to move. All I could do was watch helplessly as that light struck Goku.

No... wait.

"Dad, don't move!" My voice tore at my throat. "He's trying to switch bodies with you!"

I didn't know whether Goku understood.

But sometimes, battle instinct reacted faster than the mind.

Goku twisted aside, and the beam grazed his left shoulder.

At that moment, I saw Goku's body suddenly stiffen.

"Dad!!!"

Ginyu burst into wild laughter. "Too late! The switch has already—"

His words came to an abrupt halt.

Because Goku moved.

He did not dodge. He charged forward.

Golden ki flared from Goku's body—not the ordinary Super Saiyan form, but the Kaio-ken.

Threefold Kaio-ken.

Fourfold.

"Five—"

I sucked in a sharp breath. Goku was forcibly suppressing the switch!

Ginyu's expression finally changed. "How is that possible?! How can an ordinary Saiyan's body withstand this—"

"Because I'm not an ordinary Saiyan."

Goku's voice was calm.

He raised a hand, golden light gathering in his palm. An 800,000 power level amplified by the explosive force of Kaio-ken.

An energy blast.

A simple, straightforward energy blast.

Yet its power was enough to move mountains and fill seas.

Ginyu was sent flying.

Not with the smug triumph of a successful body swap, but crushed by pure, overwhelming violence. He slammed into the distant mountains like a cannonball, punching through three peaks before finally coming to a stop.

The battlefield fell deathly silent.

Recoome, Jeice, and Burter—the three members of the Ginyu Force—were all sprawled on the ground. Not because they had been defeated, but because they had been terrified into collapse.

I had imagined this scene before I transmigrated: a Super Saiyan utterly crushing the Ginyu Force.

But seeing it with my own eyes...

It was a hundred times more thrilling than the anime.

"Gohan."

A familiar voice pulled me back to reality. Goku had already walked up to me, wearing that gentle smile of his.

"Dad!" Krillin rushed over excitedly. "How are you here? Weren't you supposed to still be on Planet Yardrat?"

"After learning Instant Transmission there, I kept looking for you guys." Goku scratched his head. "Come to think of it, it really was a long trip."

A single Instant Transmission. Instant Transmission across half the universe.

I looked at the man before me, my heart filled with complicated emotions.

As a transmigrator, I knew all too well what Son Goku was like. A cheat character who could make the entire universe give him the green light whenever he needed to get somewhere, a martial arts fanatic who treated training like breathing, and a family member more dependable than anyone when it truly mattered.

"Dad..." I said softly.

"Hm?"

"Your left shoulder." I pointed to where the body-swapping light had grazed him. "Does anything feel wrong?"

Goku froze for a moment, looked down at his left shoulder, then looked back up with his signature goofy grin. "I don't feel anything? It's just a little itchy."

I let out a sigh of relief.

It had not left him completely unaffected, but this was far better than in the original story. At least his entire body had not been swapped away.

That information advantage had been well worth using.

"Gohan, how did you know that technique could swap bodies?" Goku asked curiously.

"Because I'm a transmigrator—uh, because I saw a similar technique on Planet Yardrat." I hurriedly covered up the slip. "That alien said Captain Ginyu's exchange needed to lock onto its target. You moved at the time, Dad, so it only grazed your shoulder."

"I see." Goku nodded seriously. "Gohan, you're amazing."

How could I be your son if I wasn't amazing? I grumbled inwardly.

Krillin leaned in. "Goku, what's your power level now, anyway? The scouters all burned out!"

Goku thought for a moment. "Probably... I'm not really sure either. But if I go all out, I should be able to fight."

What did he mean, "should be able to fight"? Did he know he was showing off?

Vegeta snorted coldly. "Kakarot, you came too late. If it hadn't been for this brat—"

He pointed at me.

"The prince of Planet Vegeta would have nearly died here."

Vegeta's expression turned extremely ugly, but he did not refute it.

Because he knew it was true.

In the distance, Ginyu's corpse rolled down from the mountain ruins. That body, which had been exchanged countless times, had finally lost all signs of life.

And I, Son Gohan, stood beside my father, looking over the devastated battlefield.

Namek's night sky remained deep and boundless, but the eastern horizon had already begun to pale.

Dawn was coming.

Before I transmigrated, I had thought that it would be wonderful if I could change the tragedies of the original story.

Now, I had done it.

Even if I had only changed a little.

That little bit... was enough to put my mind at ease.

"Dad." I turned to Goku. "Let me fight with you in the battles ahead."

Goku smiled, a pure warrior's smile. "Of course. Gohan, we'll fight together."

Morning light spilled over the land.

A new battle was about to begin.

Krillin came over and patted my shoulder. "Gohan, that shout just now was absolutely crucial! How did you know Ginyu was going to swap bodies?"

"Because I know people like Captain Ginyu all too well." I shrugged. "The greedier they are, the easier it is for them to expose a weakness."

Krillin looked at me with admiration. "When did you become so amazing, Gohan?"

"Ever since I stopped being that little brat who only knew how to cry." I smiled faintly.

Tien Shinhan silently watched everything, then bowed deeply. "Son Goku, thank you for coming to rescue us. Son Gohan... thank you too."

"Don't be so formal." Goku scratched his head. "We're all comrades."

Comrades.

The word sent ripples through my heart.

In the original story, Krillin had died on Namek, and Tien Shinhan had nearly bitten the dust too. But now, they were both still alive.

The Ginyu Force and Frieza, the final boss, were still out there, but at least—at least Krillin had survived.

That was enough.

The smoke on the battlefield gradually dispersed.

Recoome, Burter, and Jeice—the three defeated stragglers—lay sprawled amid the rubble, staring blankly up at the sky.

The once-arrogant Ginyu Force now looked like wild dogs with their teeth pulled out.

This was probably what they meant by "what goes around comes around."

When I watched this part before being transported here, I had wondered: what if someone had warned Goku in advance that Ginyu could switch bodies...

Now, the answer stood before me.

History had already been rewritten.

"Dad," I said, looking at Goku, "Frieza should still be waiting for us."

Goku's eyes lit up. "Perfect. I want to meet him too."

"Calm down, Kakarot," Vegeta snorted. "Don't forget that you haven't recovered to your peak condition yet. The backlash from the Kaio-ken—"

"It's fine." Goku smiled. "Gohan is here. We'll take him on together."

Vegeta froze for a moment, then turned his head away.

But I noticed the faint upward curve of his lips.

The battle wasn't over yet.

But standing beside the strongest Saiyan in the universe at that moment, I felt for the first time that perhaps the future really could be changed.

Morning light pierced through the clouds and spilled across Namek's land.

My story had only just begun.