第29章 敌人是谁

Time did not bend to human will. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.

The blue sea surrounded a lone island, waves lapping against the shore one after another. A pink little house stood quietly upon the island.

The cloudless sky stretched endlessly overhead, and the sun made the sea glitter. A gentle sea breeze carried a pleasant warmth, rustling the few coconut trees.

Son Gohan had come to Kame House as a guest. He lay on a lounge chair, leisurely reading a magazine and enjoying the sunshine.

Yamcha and Krillin were sparring out on the sea.

"Uncle Krillin, after you launch your Destructo Disc, try not to let it go out of control. Make it like Uncle Yamcha's Spirit Ball."

"Split the Destructo Disc into six blades, sealing off six directions at once, then have them attack back and forth through the air. That'll do much greater damage to an enemy."

Master Roshi lay on another lounge chair, engrossed in an illustrated album. Every so often, he let out a lecherous chuckle before taking the time to respond halfheartedly.

"Gohan, with you guiding them, I have it much easier."

Over the past year, all the Z Fighters had spent two years training bitterly inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

Their strength had undergone earth-shaking changes, but they had reached a bottleneck. To make another breakthrough, they had to endure brutal combat.

"Grandpa Roshi, how do you like the gift I brought you from space?" Son Gohan poked his head over and asked quietly.

"Wonderful, wonderful! It's my first time seeing beauties from outer space!"

Master Roshi could not put down Son Gohan's gift. No one knew how many times he had gotten a nosebleed from it.

While on Yardrat, Son Gohan had first learned Instant Transmission, then secretly visited many planets by himself.

Every time he returned, he brought back quite a few carefully selected illustrated albums and packed them into a large box. By the time he left Yardrat, they had become several large boxes.

Once, aboard a spaceship, Krillin had wanted to look through the books Son Gohan brought back, but Son Gohan hurriedly stopped him.

Son Gohan told him they were study materials from different civilizations, meant for when he became a scholar in the future. Krillin immediately lost interest.

After reaching Earth, Son Gohan gave the several boxes of books to Master Roshi.

Though they did not understand the language and could not recognize a single word, it did not affect their appreciation of the pictures in the slightest.

"Grandpa Roshi, don't tell anyone I gave these to you," Son Gohan reminded him again.

Son Gohan had bought them to cater to Master Roshi's tastes and show filial respect to his elder. He had never once opened them himself.

"Don't worry, I understand." Master Roshi gave him a knowing look. Back when Krillin had first become his student, he had also shown the old man respect in this way.

Son Gohan looked up at the azure sky and thought, I'm eight years old. I'll finally be grown up soon.

"Hm?" Son Gohan suddenly sat up. He sensed powerful energy battling in the distance.

"It's Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu's energy!" Krillin and Yamcha stopped their sparring and stared solemnly in one direction.

"Come on, grab my shoulders!"

Son Gohan sprang to his feet, took Krillin and Yamcha with him, and instantly teleported into the distance.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The moment they appeared, they heard an endless barrage of explosions.

The ground had collapsed into a broad, deep square pit. Rubble and dust churned through the sky, while the pit continued to widen and deepen.

Tien Shinhan repeatedly unleashed the Neo Tri-Beam, precisely bombarding a single point without pause as if he intended to drill straight through the Earth.

"Gohan, Krillin, Yamcha, you're here. I knew you would sense my energy once I unleashed it at full power."

Tien Shinhan looked quite relaxed and still had the mood to greet them.

"Are you fighting androids?"

Krillin peered into the pit and saw two people desperately trying to fly upward. Every time they were about to escape the pit, Tien Shinhan's Neo Tri-Beam slammed them back down to the bottom.

Boom!

"I don't know who they are." Tien Shinhan remained focused on blasting the pit.

"Chiaotzu and I were training when these two suddenly appeared. They attacked without saying a word and tried to kill us."

"I can't sense their energy when they fight, but they're terrifyingly strong. I can only barely suppress them with the Neo Tri-Beam. I have no way to defeat them."

Chiaotzu's face was pale as he nodded from the side. "Good thing Tien was here."

Son Gohan recognized the two men in the pit at once. They were Android 19 and Android 20. Their combat power was enough to rival an early Super Saiyan.

For Tien Shinhan to suppress both of them by himself, even temporarily, was already remarkable.

But weren't these two supposed to appear on an island southwest of the Southern Region three years later?

"Uncle Tien Shinhan, take a break. I'll deal with them." Son Gohan had many doubts. He wanted to capture these androids and interrogate them properly.

"They can't kill me." Only then did Tien Shinhan stop, with a trace of pride in his tone.

Chiaotzu stood beside him and fed him another Senzu Bean. Tien Shinhan was instantly full of energy again.

"A year ago, when Chiaotzu and I were heading to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train, we passed by Korin Tower. Korin gave us quite a few Senzu Beans."

"If you hadn't come, I was confident I could keep them pinned down for an entire day."

Son Gohan held his forehead and gave a wry smile. He really had turned a bag of Senzu Beans into a pack of cigarettes.

After saying that, Tien Shinhan looked around in confusion. "Logically, everyone should have sensed the energy I unleashed at full power."

"Why are only you three here? Goku, Piccolo, and Vegeta should have arrived long ago too."

"Yeah, there's no reason Goku and the others wouldn't come!" Yamcha slapped his thigh in strong agreement.

Son Goku and the others could all use Instant Transmission. Even if one of them had been delayed by something, it made no sense that not a single one had appeared by now.

Son Gohan frowned. Something beyond their expectations must have happened.

Android 19 and Android 20 flew out of the deep pit. They brushed the dust off themselves and looked coldly at the group.

After taking Tien Shinhan's Neo Tri-Beam head-on again and again, they were completely unharmed. There was not even a scratch on them.

"Son Goku and the others can't come. Someone has already gone to kill them." Android 20 sneered, his aged face sinister.

His hair and beard were completely white, his body thin and shriveled. Two red R's were emblazoned on his hat—the symbol of the Red Ribbon Army.

The moment Android 20 finished speaking, powerful energy suddenly erupted from the east and west. Fierce battles were clearly underway.

"Dad's, Uncle Piccolo's, Uncle Vegeta's, and Trunks's energy... Why are there so many powerful enemies!?"

Son Gohan sensed carefully but could not detect their opponents' energy. Their enemies were most likely all androids.

"How is that possible?" Krillin stared in disbelief, unable to accept it.

Son Gohan also found it unbelievable. It was simply too difficult for the enemy to ambush all four of them at once.

After training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Trunks's strength had soared. Vegeta had also successfully become a Super Saiyan, while Son Goku had reached full-power Super Saiyan.

Adding Piccolo, who could rival Super Saiyan 2, where could the androids have gotten such overwhelming strength?

Even if Perfect Cell acted personally, he should not be capable of it, right?

Seeing the terrified, bewildered looks in their eyes, Android 20 burst into laughter. "You have no chance of winning. To avenge myself on Son Goku, I prepared for a full fifteen years!"

"I know the strength of every person around him like the back of my hand."

Son Gohan smiled as well. To deal with the androids, he had already trained for two and a half years.