Terrifying Potential

Snake Way lay in the Other World, connecting King Yemma's palace to King Kai's Planet. It was a narrow, winding road.

Void stretched along both sides of the road. Once someone fell off, they would plunge into Hell.

After thanking King Yemma, Son Gohan, Son Goku, and Piccolo were led by an ogre to the starting point of Snake Way.

"Wow, this Snake Way is really long!" Son Goku sighed as he looked at the road stretching beyond sight.

"Legend says this road is a million kilometers long. Before reaching King Kai's Planet, Snake Way itself is part of the training."

Son Gohan silently did the math. A million kilometers was enough to run from Earth to the Moon and back, with distance to spare.

"Ogre, has anyone really ever reached the end of this road?" Piccolo's face turned green.

"Apparently, King Yemma succeeded once, a hundred million years ago."

That was the advantage of being a high-ranking god. They practically never died and lived as long as heaven and earth.

That was why so many people flocked to divine positions.

But Earth's Guardian could still grow old and die. Even warriors as powerful as Super Saiyans could not live for several hundred years.

Looks like I'll need to get myself a high-ranking divine position someday. When you're out in the world, connections matter—at least in the early stages, Son Gohan planned inwardly.

"Then let's just fly over with the Flying Technique. Good thing Chi-Chi prepared so much food, or we'd starve to death on Snake Way."

Son Goku and Son Gohan each carried a large pack on their backs, filled with ample food and water. If they rationed it carefully, it should be enough.

As for Piccolo, Namekians did not need food to sustain their lives. A little water was all he needed.

The three of them flew for nearly half a year before finally reaching the end of Snake Way.

Above Snake Way floated a tiny planet, less than a hundred meters in diameter. That was where King Kai lived.

"Whew, that wasn't easy." Son Goku reached up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Good thing we robbed—no, packed up—a lot of food from Snake Princess on the way. Otherwise, we really wouldn't have made it here." Son Gohan still felt lingering fear.

The food Chi-Chi had prepared for them could not possibly last half a year. They had rationed it as much as they could, but it was gone not long after they set out.

No wonder King Yemma had said it was difficult for living people to get here. They would starve to death halfway through.

"Is that King Kai's Planet?" Piccolo grew excited as well and flew toward it.

The moment he drew close, a tremendous force of attraction seized him. His entire body suddenly became heavy, and he uncontrollably slammed toward the surface of King Kai's Planet.

Bang!

With a dull crash, a clear human-shaped crater was smashed into the ground. Piccolo was stuck in it and could not even crawl out.

"Ah, I forgot to tell Uncle Piccolo to take off his weighted training clothes first." Son Gohan smacked his forehead.

"King Kai's Planet has ten times gravity. Wearing those clothes makes it impossible to move."

Hearing that, Son Goku hurriedly took off his weighted training clothes. He had no desire to end up as miserable as Piccolo.

Son Gohan and Son Goku had come prepared and cautiously approached King Kai's Planet, but the tenfold gravity still left them in a sorry state. At least they did not collapse onto the ground.

Piccolo also managed to climb up by himself and complained, "This is truly a hellish place!"

"Uuuh, uuuh."

A black gorilla appeared, raising both arms and constantly crying out.

"Is that King Kai?"

Piccolo also removed his weighted training clothes and could barely walk around King Kai's Planet like a normal person.

"That is King Kai's pet, Bubbles," Son Gohan explained.

"Hey, Lord King Kai, please guide our training!" Son Goku shouted.

A short, fat man walked out of the house. He had two antenna-like feelers on his head, wore round black sunglasses, and had the large words "King Kai" written across his chest.

"Training? Sure, but first you have to tell a joke that makes me laugh," King Kai said seriously.

"What kind of weird requirement is that?" Son Goku and Piccolo looked at each other.

"I'll do it!"

Son Gohan had prepared for this long ago. He immediately performed a solo comic routine by Guo Degang, and within ten-odd minutes, King Kai was rolling on the ground with laughter.

"You kid must be a genius. I agree to guide your training." King Kai wiped away tears of laughter.

"The Saiyans' planet has the same tenfold gravity as this place. Those two Saiyans targeting Earth are stronger than me, so you need to be mentally prepared."

Son Gohan and the other two nodded. Although King Kai was not very strong, like Master Roshi, he was an outstanding teacher.

"Put on those cumbersome clothes you just took off, then take turns catching Bubbles. You can only move on to the next stage of training after you catch him."

King Kai went into the house, brought out an iron block for Son Gohan, and had him chase Bubbles while carrying it.

"Alright, I'll catch him first!"

Son Goku took eleven days to successfully overcome the tenfold gravity and catch Bubbles.

Seeing Son Goku's performance, King Kai was somewhat shaken. This kid has exceptional physical talent. Perhaps he can bring out the full potential of the Kaio-ken.

"My turn!"

Not to be outdone, Piccolo caught Bubbles in only fifteen days.

King Kai felt that he had discovered another promising talent and was ecstatic.

"I'll go last!"

Holding the iron block in one hand, Son Gohan caught Bubbles in five days—twice as fast as Son Goku.

"Too... too terrifying."

Even King Kai was stunned. Could a mixed-race child born from a Saiyan and an Earthling have even greater potential than a pure-blooded Saiyan?

Next, King Kai brought out a hammer and had them strike his other pet, Gregory, a grasshopper that was extremely fast and could fly through the air.

In the end, Son Goku took fourteen days, Piccolo took twenty days, while Son Gohan succeeded in only six.

"Gohan, your potential is even stronger than I imagined!" Son Goku said with a smile, patting his shoulder.

"With this brat around, I won't be able to rule Earth." Piccolo still had not entirely given up his villainous ambitions.

"I still need to work harder." Son Gohan held himself to high standards.

There are always people stronger than you. Broly must have been far stronger than I am now when he was four. I absolutely can't slack off.

"Alright, now it's time for my real instruction. I have a special technique. Let's see how much of it you can learn."

"If used well, this technique can catch your enemy off guard and win the battle in one move."

King Kai called the three of them together. After observing them, he had found that all three possessed exceptionally powerful physiques, making them suitable to learn his special technique.

"Kaio-ken, it's finally here!" Son Gohan clenched his fists.

Besides the tenfold gravity of King Kai's Planet, this special technique was one of the main reasons he had come here to learn.

The Kaio-ken was a divine technique that precisely controlled the energy within one's body to multiply one's strength, speed, defense, and other abilities across the board for a short time.

However, it placed an enormous burden on the body and could even cause it to collapse outright. Using it at high multipliers or repeatedly pushing beyond one's limits could also shorten one's lifespan.

King Kai clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses.

"I can only teach the Spirit Bomb to two people. That Namekian has questionable intentions. Even if I taught him, he wouldn't be able to learn it."