Fleecing the Sheep

Son Goku tilted his head up at the Tree of Might, which was still growing wildly, his brow tightly furrowed.

"What should we do about this thing? If we don't stop it, the Earth's life energy will be drained dry." He added, "It'll become a dead planet."

Son Gohan looked at the tree for a few seconds.

"Simple."

He clenched both fists. A golden aura burst from his body, his hair standing on end and turning gold, his pupils transforming into emerald green.

The aura of a Super Saiyan, vast as an abyss and deep as the sea, spread in every direction.

The ground caved in around his feet, and the shockwave swept loose stones into the air.

Standing beside him, Son Goku's mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg. Staring at Son Gohan, he stammered in shock.

"Th-th-this—what kind of transformation is that?!"

Feeling the oppressive force wash over him, his throat went dry without him realizing it.

"This power... it's terrifying."

Son Gohan did not answer. Turning sideways, he drew his hands back to his waist as azure light gathered in his palms, growing brighter and brighter.

"Ka—me—ha—me—HA!!"

A thick azure beam blasted from his palms, trailing a long tail of flame as it shot straight toward the Tree of Might.

The beam struck the center of the trunk with an earth-shaking boom.

BOOM—!!!

The blaze of the explosion swallowed the entire Tree of Might.

The shockwave swept outward in a ring, peeling up a layer of ground as rubble and broken branches danced wildly through the air.

Son Goku raised an arm before his face, his feet driven back again and again by the blast.

When the flames cleared, the Tree of Might had been reduced to debris. The broken trunks, withered branches and leaves, and sprawling roots all turned into specks of light.

The life energy that had been drained away was returning to Earth.

A warm energy pulse filled the air, and the ground beneath their feet felt moist once more.

But Son Gohan knew that only the remaining life energy was returning. The part that had truly been consumed—those portions that had already borne fruit and been absorbed and transformed—could never come back.

He turned around and looked at Son Goku.

"Later, we can collect the Dragon Balls and have Shenron restore Earth's life energy."

Son Goku nodded, still too stunned by what he had just seen to fully recover. He stepped forward and inspected Son Gohan's golden hair and green eyes from top to bottom, finally unable to hold back any longer.

"Gohan, what exactly is that transformation? How did your battle power suddenly increase so much?"

"Super Saiyan."

Son Gohan released the transformation. The gold faded away, and his hair returned to black. Seeing Son Goku's curious expression, he continued explaining.

"Fifty times your normal battle power. The prerequisite is that your base battle power must exceed three million, plus—extreme anger."

"Three million... and extreme anger..." Son Goku scratched the back of his head, his expression eager to give it a try. "That's way too hard, isn't it?"

"It's fine."

Son Gohan turned his gaze toward the vast sea in the distance.

"I happen to have time. We'll train together and raise your battle power. Otherwise—"

He glanced at Son Goku.

"You're too weak."

Son Goku froze for a second, then burst into laughter. "Alright, alright, it's settled."

Over the next few days, everyone returned to their lodgings to rest and recover.

Son Gohan took the opportunity to stock up on supplies—food, drinks, seasonings, ingredients—stuffing everything into his Internal Space.

The Internal Space was not large, but he packed it full: grilled meat, ramen, instant rice meals, canned food, beverages, snacks. He even made another trip to the river, caught a bagful of small fish, packed them in plastic bags, and stored them in the space.

Once everything was prepared.

One morning.

Son Gohan, Son Goku, and the five-year-old Gohan of this timeline landed on a deserted island.

The vast ocean surrounded them, and the sea breeze carried a salty, damp scent.

There was little vegetation on the island, only bare rocks and sandy ground—perfect for fighting.

"This will do."

Son Gohan turned to face Son Goku and little Gohan.

"The two of you, come at me together."

Son Goku did not hold back. A red aura exploded around him—tenfold King Kai Fist. He kicked off the ground, turning into a streak of red light as he charged forward, his right fist filled with power and aimed straight at Son Gohan's face.

Little Gohan attacked from the side. Though young, he was already much faster, his small fist shooting straight for Son Gohan's waist.

Son Gohan raised his left hand and casually blocked Son Goku's heavy punch.

Fist and palm collided with a muffled boom, and the shockwave sent sand and stones flying from the ground. At the same time, he pressed down with his right hand, knocking aside little Gohan's tiny fist before flicking him on the forehead.

Little Gohan clutched his forehead and plopped down on the ground.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

"Not enough."

Son Gohan took a step back and crooked his fingers at the two of them.

"Again."

And so, a year passed.

The deserted island held nothing but the muffled impacts of fists and feet, along with explosions, from dawn to dusk.

The waves on the sea roared under the battle shockwaves, while the beach became riddled with craters, without a single patch left intact.

Son Gohan's training method was simple and brutal—make them fight; when they could no longer fight, make them take hits; when they could no longer take hits, feed them Senzu Beans; if that still was not enough, ration them.

By the end of the second year, Son Goku's base power level had surpassed three million.

Little Gohan's talent was even stronger than expected, and he had been forcibly raised to over two million as well.

Then, one day.

During an ordinary sparring match, Son Goku suddenly stopped.

He stood where he was, head lowered and fists clenched tight. He thought of the Earth that Turles had nearly destroyed, and of his helplessness when facing enemies—the resentment that had built up inside him finally ignited at that moment.

"AAAAAAARGH—!!"

His roar tore through the rhythm of the sea.

Golden aura erupted from within him. His hair stood on end, turning gold strand by strand, while his pupils became emerald green.

Rubble across the deserted island was blown away by the surging energy, and columns of water exploded across the sea.

Super Saiyan.

His power level successfully surged to 120 million!

Son Gohan stood opposite him, watching Son Goku's upright golden hair, a faint smile curling at his lips.

"It worked."

Over the past two years, he had not been idle either. In truth, he had been honing himself as well.

He had mastered the tenfold King Kai Fist. As for the Destructo Disc, he had only needed to watch it once; the talent accumulated over two lifetimes had given him an almost photographic memory.

Solar Flare, Artificial Moon—he learned them one by one, and could use them at will.

His foundation had also been tempered into something even more solid over those two years.

It was about time.

Son Gohan calculated the timing in his heart. It was time to go back.

Before leaving, he first went to the river and caught a pouch full of fresh little fish.

Then he used Instant Transmission to reach Korin Tower and handed the dried fish to Korin.

Korin's eyes lit up, and his tail shot high into the air. Without a word, he brought out another dozen or so Senzu Beans.

Son Gohan accepted them and weighed them in his hand—with his previous stock included, he now had over thirty Senzu Beans in his Internal Space.

That would be enough.

He said goodbye to everyone.

Son Goku stood in the courtyard, already able to maintain his Super Saiyan form. Golden-haired and green-eyed, he still wore that same simple-minded grin.

Little Gohan stood beside him, looking up at this "himself" from another time and space, with reluctance in his eyes as well.

"Take care."

Son Gohan nodded.

Instant Transmission activated.

Whoosh—

His figure vanished.

Deep in the universe, on a dead planet devoid of any sign of life.

Crimson rocks covered the entire surface of the planet. There was no trace of life.

The sky was dark red. Son Gohan landed on a boulder, crushed gravel beneath his feet, and swept his gaze around the area.

He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

It was time to take stock of what he had gained from this journey through time. More than thirty Senzu Beans, over a dozen Tree of Might fruits, King Kai Fist, Destructo Disc, Solar Flare, Artificial Moon, and the combat experience of this timeline.

More importantly, the Dimensional Seed had also been filled with energy through battle. Could the dark energy it absorbed take in all kinds of energy, encompassing everything and feeding it back into his own physical strength?

He had gained quite a lot.