Drawing the Z Sword

In a flash.

Son Gohan appeared in the depths of space.

Barren, uninhabited planets surrounded him. He floated in the vacuum, feeling the subtle change within his body. Earth's Shenron had granted him the ability to survive in space, and he felt no discomfort whatsoever.

He was searching for an aura.

Planet after planet swept past his senses. Suddenly, at the edge of his perception, he touched that aura—sacred, ancient, and utterly distinct.

That had to be it: the Sacred World of the Kais.

With a thought from Son Gohan, Instant Transmission activated.

Whoosh—!

His figure vanished from space. The next second, his feet landed on a lush green grassland.

The air here was completely different from Earth's. The life energy was denser and purer. The grasslands stretched as far as the eye could see, with rolling mountain ranges in the distance.

"Who goes there?!"

A furious shout shattered the tranquility.

Kibito appeared before Son Gohan in an instant. His tall body blocked the way, his face filled with vigilance and hostility as he sized up the child before him.

"This is not a place you should be! Leave immediately, or suffer the consequences!"

Son Gohan did not move.

He raised his head to look at Kibito, his tone calm.

"Before long, the universe will face a tremendous crisis."

Kibito frowned deeply, dismissing him outright.

Son Gohan continued, making the situation sound grave.

"People from the Demon Realm will invade this universe."

"The entire universe will be affected. If we wait until then to find a solution, it will be too late."

"Utter nonsense!"

Supreme Kai Shin's voice came from behind him, his face full of disbelief. He looked Son Gohan up and down, and seeing that he was merely a seven- or eight-year-old child, his tone became even more contemptuous.

"You're just a child. Where did you hear such things? You're talking nonsense."

Son Gohan ignored them.

He took a deep breath, and the energy within him suddenly erupted.

Boom—!

Golden energy surged into the sky. His hair stood up and turned gold, while his pupils became emerald green.

A shockwave burst outward from him in every direction, whipping the leaves of distant trees into a loud rustle.

Kibito and Shin both took a step back.

"Th-This is—"

Their faces were filled with shock.

They had never expected this child to possess such tremendous power.

Ignoring their reactions, Son Gohan rose into the air and flew toward the depths of the Sacred World of the Kais.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Shin shouted after him.

Son Gohan did not answer.

The Sacred World of the Kais was vast, with mountain ranges rising and falling endlessly. He flew at high speed through the air, his gaze sweeping over every peak.

Then he saw it—a straight mountain with a flat summit, like a massive stone pillar thrust into the sky.

A sword was embedded at its peak.

Son Gohan landed on the mountaintop.

The sword was planted at the very center. Its blade was long and slender, buried deep within the rock. No one knew how many years it had stood there, as though time itself had stopped flowing around it.

The Z Sword.

Son Gohan reached out, flexed his hands, and gripped the hilt with both hands.

"Keep dreaming!"

Shin and Kibito caught up and landed not far behind him. Shin wore an expression of eager mockery.

"Even the Supreme Kais couldn't pull that sword out. How could a little child like you possibly—"

Son Gohan ignored him.

Gripping the hilt with both hands, he took a deep breath and exerted himself sharply.

The muscles in his arms tightened, veins bulging. The rock beneath his feet creaked and cracked, but the Z Sword did not budge in the slightest.

Not enough!

Still not enough power!

Son Gohan gritted his teeth, and the energy within him erupted once more!

Boom—!!

Super Saiyan 2, full power.

The golden aura became even more violent than before, with arcs of lightning crackling as they coursed through it.

His hair stood up even more sharply, and the entire mountain trembled. Loose rocks rolled off the edges and crashed down below.

Son Gohan exerted himself again.

The muscles in his arms swelled as he let out a low roar, channeling all his strength into his hands.

Creak—

The sword moved.

Then—Clang!!!

A clear metallic ring resounded through the sky.

The Z Sword had been pulled free.

Son Gohan suddenly raised his hand, holding the sword high overhead. Its blade gleamed coldly beneath the pale golden sky.

Shin and Kibito stood frozen in place, both so shocked their jaws dropped.

"H-How is this possible..."

"A sword that not even the Supreme Kais could pull out, and he actually..."

Son Gohan slowly descended and landed in front of Shin, gripping the legendary divine sword in his hand, his expression unreadable.

"I need you to do something for me."

Shin had yet to recover from his shock. "W-What?"

"Summon the strongest alloy steel in the universe."

Shin froze for a moment, seemingly about to object.

But Son Gohan stepped forward. Still in Super Saiyan 2, golden aura and lightning churned around him, and an overwhelming pressure bore down on Shin.

He raised a hand.

A golden energy blast gathered in his palm, hovering above Shin's head. The energy poised to fire made everything clear.

This was not a request! Nor was he asking for an opinion.

Shin jumped in fright and waved his hands repeatedly. "Alright, alright, alright! I'll summon it! I'll summon it!"

He hurriedly used his divine power, twisting space. A massive block of metal emerged from the void and crashed heavily onto the ground.

With a muffled boom, the ground was smashed into a depression, dirt spraying everywhere.

The alloy steel was pitch-black all over, its surface as smooth as a mirror. Just looking at it was enough to know its hardness would not disappoint.

Seeing this, Son Gohan gently dispersed the energy blast in his hand.

Then he gripped the Z Sword with both hands and took a deep breath.

With all his strength—he slashed!

"Haaah—!!"

The blade tore through the air with a piercing whistle and slammed viciously into the alloy steel.

Clang—!!!

The sound of metal striking metal hurt their eardrums.

Then came a sharp crack.

The upper half of the Z Sword flew away, spinning through the air before embedding itself in the distant grass.

"This..."

Shin's face went pale in an instant.

"How is this possible? This is the legendary strongest divine sword!"

Kibito was speechless as well, staring fixedly at the broken sword.

Just then, a faint wisp of smoke rose from the break in the sword.

The smoke slowly gathered, taking the shape of a person.

The old man wore traditional Supreme Kai robes. He was small and thin, with a somewhat shifty-looking face, pointed ears, and eyes narrowed into slits.

He coughed twice, looked around, paused briefly at Shin and Kibito, then revealed a look of disdain.

"Supreme Kais of the younger generation are so useless these days."

The old man's tone was full of contempt.

"To think you actually needed an outsider to pull out the Z Sword."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. How embarrassing."

Shin and Kibito flushed red from the scolding, lowering their heads without daring to say a word.

Son Gohan looked at the old man and raised a hand in greeting.

"Hello, Old Kai."

The old man coughed and puffed out his chest. "I am the fifteenth-generation Supreme Kai, not Old Kai."

He looked around again, apparently dissatisfied with the situation, muttering under his breath.

Son Gohan had no time to wait for him to finish complaining. He stepped forward and stated his purpose directly.

"A great crisis is coming to the universe. The Demon Realm will invade the main world again. When that happens, countless lives will suffer, and the entire universe will be dragged into it."

"I'd like to ask you, Old Kai, to use your divine power to unlock my potential."

"Impossible!"

Old Kai's answer was resolute. He crossed his arms, turned his head away, and made his stance perfectly clear.

"My divine power is not something I use casually. Principles are principles—there's no room for negotiation!"

Son Gohan was not surprised.

Just as expected.

He fell silent for a moment, a trace of regret appearing on his face as he sighed.

"Then there's nothing to be done."

He slowly pulled something from his robes.

A pornographic magazine, its cover a riot of colors and its contents too explicit to describe.

"This treasured publication that I've kept hidden for generations can only be destroyed along with this universe. What a pity. What a pity."

Old Kai's gaze drifted over.

His throat bobbed.

"Ahem."

Old Kai coughed twice, forcing a righteous expression onto his lecherous face.

"But then again, protecting the universe is my bounden duty!"

He strode up to Son Gohan, circled him once, then secretly leaned close to his ear.

"That magazine... is it really that good?"

Son Gohan kept a straight face, though he could not help laughing inwardly.

"Don't worry. I'll give you some first. Once my potential has been unlocked, I'll give you all the rest."

"Good, good." Old Kai nodded in satisfaction and sat cross-legged before Son Gohan. "Come, come, sit down. I'll unlock your potential right away."

Son Gohan followed his instructions and sat cross-legged.

He took several colorful magazines from his robes and handed them to Old Kai.

Old Kai snatched them up, his eyes immediately locking onto the covers as his fingers skillfully flipped through the pages.

"There's still plenty of time," Son Gohan reminded him.

"I know, I know." Without even looking up, Old Kai stared fixedly at the pages. "Don't rush me. I'm reading."

He extended one hand casually toward Son Gohan.

Son Gohan silently calculated in his heart.

In the original story, time had been tight, and Old Kai had unlocked his potential under pressure.

Yet even so, Gohan had shot straight from Super Saiyan 2 to becoming the strongest individual fighter, his power even surpassing Super Saiyan 3 Son Goku's.

But now—

He had all the time in the world, and Old Kai was completely engrossed in his reading. There was no way he would stop anytime soon.

The ritual could be completed in full, and the potential unlocked would be many times greater.

Just how far would it go?

Feeling the warm current slowly spreading through his body, Son Gohan's lips curled upward.

This was truly something to look forward to.