A Month of Special Training

The afternoon sun shone brightly over Mount Paozu.

"Gohan! Are you ready?"

On the hillside, Goku rubbed his hands together, as excited as a child with a new toy. Across from him, Gohan took a deep breath and assumed a standard fighting stance. His four-year-old body stood perfectly straight, his gaze as sharp as an unsheathed blade.

"Come on, Dad. Don't hold back."

The moment he spoke, Goku vanished from where he stood with a whoosh. Gohan's pupils contracted, and he instinctively dodged to the side.

Boom!

The spot where he had just been standing exploded into a crater.

"Nice reaction!" Goku's voice came from behind and to the side as his fist tore through the air toward Gohan's back. Gohan pivoted, sliding two meters across the ground, then fired a ki blast backward. It exploded at Goku's feet, sending dirt flying everywhere. Goku charged out of the dust cloud, grinning even wider. "Hahaha! Amazing, amazing! Again!"

Father and son darted across the hillside, their figures crossing at high speed as the dull thuds of fists and kicks colliding rang without end. A month was enough time for Gohan to undergo a complete transformation.

A month ago, he had still been a walking bomb who could barely control his ki and would reduce stones to powder with a casual punch.

But now?

"Ha!"

Gohan gave a low shout, crossed his arms before his chest, and forcibly blocked one of Goku's punches. His small body slid three meters backward, carving two deep furrows beneath his feet, but he stubbornly stayed standing.

"Not bad, not bad!" Goku withdrew his fist, his eyes shining brightly. "Your power level has to be at least three hundred, right? You're even stronger than Krillin was when he first started training with me!"

Gohan shook out his numb arms, the corner of his mouth twitching. Three hundred? He had secretly checked yesterday. At full power, he was probably over five hundred. He had just been hiding it because he was afraid this guy would get too excited and go all out. If that happened, he would be in serious trouble.

"Dad, you cheated again." Gohan panted. "You said you'd only use a power level of two hundred."

Goku scratched his head and gave a foolish grin. "Oops, I got serious without thinking. It's because you've improved so fast, Gohan."

Gohan: "..."

Trying to reason with a battle maniac was worse than trying to discuss martial ethics with Chi-Chi.

He plopped down on the ground, grabbed the water bottle, and gulped down several mouthfuls. Saiyan bodies were ridiculous. After training at such intensity, they recovered astonishingly quickly.

"By the way, Gohan." Goku sat down as well, suddenly remembering something. "That bad guy you mentioned before... is he really coming?"

Gohan paused mid-drink. The dream he had casually made up a month ago had not seemed important to Goku at the time. But as Gohan's talent became more and more outrageous over the past month of special training, Goku seemed to have gradually taken it to heart.

"Yeah, probably soon." Gohan set down the bottle, his tone unusually serious. "Maybe within the next few days."

Goku fell silent for several seconds, then broke into a broad grin. "That's great! I finally get to fight someone strong!"

Gohan: "..."

He knew it! Saying anything had been pointless! Was fighting seriously the only thing in this guy's head? That was your biological brother! He was coming to capture you and turn you into an invader! Could you at least act a little more solemn about it?!

He took a deep breath and told himself to stay calm. He could not expect common sense from a Saiyan.

"Dad, that bad guy is really strong." Gohan tried to keep his voice serious. "Much stronger than you. Don't let your guard down when the time comes, or you could really die."

Goku froze for a moment, then reached out and ruffled Gohan's hair, his smile brilliantly carefree. "Don't worry! Dad is the strongest! Besides, I've got Gohan to help me, right?"

Looking at that utterly untroubled smile, Gohan swallowed the complaint that had reached his lips.

...Forget it. As long as he was here, he would never let the tragedies of the original story happen.

After a month of special training, he was no longer the powerless transmigrator he had been at the beginning. He had mastered ki, possessed a power level of over five hundred, and had learned the Kamehameha and the Flight Technique—though he was still not very proficient with the latter. Whenever he flew, he wobbled around like a drunken bee.

But it was still not enough. Raditz had a power level of fifteen hundred. Even Goku and Piccolo working together had only barely been able to match him. With Gohan's current strength, if they really fought, he would probably be taken down in one punch.

"Dad," Gohan suddenly said, "let's play something different. Sparring all the time is getting boring."

"Sure, sure!" Goku immediately perked up. "What are we playing?"

Gohan pointed at the distant valley. "Go lure over the biggest Tyrannosaurus Rex there. I'll race to the mountaintop before it catches me. Whoever loses does the dishes tonight."

Goku's eyes lit up. "That sounds fun! I'm going right now!"

Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, he shot away with a whoosh.

Gohan watched his retreating back, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. Chasing dinosaurs, throwing rocks, dodging ki blasts... Over the past month, Goku's teaching methods had been bizarre enough to broaden his horizons. Meditating beneath waterfalls, catching rabbits blindfolded, competing with wild boars at rooting up the ground—all under the name of "core strength training."

Ridiculous as it was, the results had been unexpectedly good. Especially his control over ki, which had improved at an incredible pace. Now, he could release and withdraw it freely, and no longer had to worry about awkwardly blowing up half a mountain with a casual punch.

Roar!!

A thunderous roar came from the distance, and the ground began to tremble faintly. A Tyrannosaurus Rex more than ten meters tall charged out of the valley. Goku stood atop its head, waving his arms excitedly. "Run, Gohan! I brought it over!"

Gohan: "..."

You called that bringing it over? You were riding on its head! Of course it was going to chase you?!

Even as he complained internally, his feet did not stop. He sprang away with a whoosh, racing toward the mountaintop. The Tyrannosaurus Rex pursued him relentlessly, its enormous feet pounding the ground with booming steps.

As he ran, Gohan found time to glance back, and the corner of his mouth twitched again. Goku really was standing atop the Tyrannosaurus Rex's head, holding onto its horns and swinging like he was on a playground. So this was not training him—it was training the dinosaur, wasn't it?

The boy and dinosaur gave chase, quickly reaching the middle of the mountain. Gohan's speed increased more and more, ki coursing rapidly through his meridians. Every step allowed him to spring more than ten meters forward. The wind on his face carried the fresh scent of grass and trees. This feeling of freely unleashing his power was addictive.

"I made it!"

Gohan reached the summit first, standing with his hands on his hips as he panted. A few seconds later, Goku leaped up as well. Behind him, the Tyrannosaurus Rex crashed into the mountainside and fainted with a pitiful howl.

"Gohan, you ran so fast!" Goku clapped and cheered. "You were ten seconds faster than yesterday!"

"Of course. Who do you think I am?" Gohan said, proudly lifting his chin.

His mindset was completely different from when he had first arrived in this world. Back then, his head had been full of I'm done for, I'm going to die, and he had been anxious beyond belief. But after a month of special training and watching his strength soar with his own eyes, his confidence had grown steadily stronger.

The plot? That was meant to be broken. What was Raditz? What was Vegeta? With Son Gohan's potential and the plot buff of an omniscient perspective, as long as I had time, even Frieza would be polishing my shoes!

Just then, Goku's expression suddenly changed.

"Hmm? That ki is..."

He abruptly turned toward the eastern sky, his brows drawing tightly together. It was a presence he had never felt before—cold, brutal, and carrying a suffocating pressure.

Gohan's heart gave a violent jolt as well.

It was here.

Though that ki was still far away, so faint it was nearly impossible to detect, he could never mistake it. It was a Saiyan's ki—Raditz's ki.

The month had passed even faster than he had expected.

"Dad," Gohan said, looking up at Goku with a calmness that surprised even himself, "do you remember that bad guy I told you about?"

Goku slowly nodded. The smile vanished from his face, replaced by an unprecedented gravity. He could feel it—the owner of that ki... was extremely strong.

"He's here," Gohan said softly.

The wind suddenly stopped.

The leaves on Mount Paozu no longer rustled, and the birdsong vanished as well. It was as though the entire world had fallen silent. An invisible pressure filled the air, weighing heavily on their hearts.

Goku took a deep breath and slowly clenched his fists. His gaze sharpened as ki began spilling uncontrollably from his body, making even the pebbles on the ground float slightly.

"He's strong." Goku's voice was low, but his excitement was impossible to hide. "Really strong."

Looking at Goku's profile, Gohan suddenly felt at ease.

That was right. No matter what happened, he would not be fighting alone. Standing beside him was Son Goku, the man who could never be knocked down. Sure, this guy wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, and sure, he was a battle maniac...

But as long as he was here, there was nothing to fear.

"Dad, let's go home." Gohan tilted up his head and flashed a bright smile. "Mom must be getting worried."

"Huh? Oh, okay."

Goku blanked for a moment, then smiled too. He scooped Gohan into his arms and headed down the mountain. But after only a few steps, he could not help looking back toward the eastern sky, the smile on his lips impossible to suppress.

Resting on Goku's shoulder, Gohan looked in that direction as well.

Raditz, are you ready? This time, the script won't go the way you want it to.

Meanwhile, in the dense forest west of Mount Paozu.

A green-skinned figure in a white cape slowly raised his head and looked toward the eastern sky. Piccolo's brow was tightly furrowed, his face filled with gravity.

"What is that ki...?"

He had been meditating when a terrifying presence from the horizon suddenly startled him awake. It was so powerful that even his heart had trembled, carrying a savage aura that seemed bent on destroying everything.

Piccolo then turned toward Mount Paozu, his expression complicated. A month ago, he had sensed an unusual ki appearing there. At first, he had assumed it was Son Goku, but after examining it more carefully, he realized something was wrong. Though the ki was not weak, it was far too immature—fluctuating wildly and unstable.

Later, he discovered that it had actually belonged to Son Goku's son. A four-year-old child possessed such terrifying potential? Piccolo's fingers slowly tightened. His original plan had been to wait for Son Goku to die, then snatch the child away and train him into his subordinate. But now...

That terrifying ki from the sky filled him with intense unease.

"It seems things have become interesting," Piccolo murmured, though there was not the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

He could sense a massive storm closing in. And at the center of that storm was Mount Paozu.

Piccolo slowly rose to his feet, and his green figure vanished into the depths of the forest. No matter what, he had to go take a look.

As the sun set, the scent of food drifted from the little house on Mount Paozu. Chi-Chi, wearing an apron, busied herself in the kitchen, while Goku and Gohan sat across from each other at the dining table and secretly winked.

Dinner was warm and lively. No one would have guessed that a crisis capable of changing the world was silently drawing near.

After dinner, Gohan returned to his room, pushed open the window, and looked up at the night sky.

The moonlight was still clear, and the stars still shone brightly. But he knew this peace would not last much longer.

Raditz, see you tomorrow.

(End of Chapter 3)