One's Own Path

The Grand Elder of Namek had passed away. Before his death, he had entrusted his legacy to the elder Moori. The Namekians were steeped in grief, and even the excitement from Son Wuling and Vegeta's recent duel had been washed away.

"Thank you, Son Wuling! I never thought I would get to be young again!"

The Grand Elder looked one last time at Son Wuling, Son Gohan, and Videl, then vanished with a smile. His body shattered like an illusory bubble, and the Dragon Balls turned back into stone with the Grand Elder's death.

"Farewell, Grand Elder. Thanks to you, I was able to find the path of cultivation that belongs to me, so I no longer have to train aimlessly."

Son Wuling watched the Grand Elder leave this world. When Namekians died naturally, their bodies dispersed like bubbles.

Ever since his grandfather had taught them how to train, Son Wuling had spent more than ten years searching for a method of cultivation suitable for Earthlings in this world of Dragon Balls, one that could break the shackles of life!

In the original Dragon Ball story, Krillin and Tien Shinhan had kept chasing after the others, but there was a limit to both their talent and the potential of Earthlings. Yamcha had given up martial arts later on, while the rest were even more ignorant, confined to a tiny circle and unable to see how vast the world truly was.

There was no need to mention the Androids. Even Piccolo later became incapable of standing on the front lines. The stage belonged only to Goku and Vegeta, those two Saiyans, while Earthlings became a joke.

Son Wuling had never complained about having no system or cheat ability. Nor had he ever considered making a wish to Shenron to change his bloodline or anything of the sort. He wanted to forge a martial path that belonged to Earthlings—and now, he had found it. After more than ten years of searching, he had finally found it.

At this moment, Namek's new Grand Elder, Moori, endured the pain of the Grand Elder's passing and organized the other Namekians, taking on his new responsibilities.

King Kai sent word that Son Goku had killed Frieza and flown away from Namek in a spaceship. However, he had not headed toward Earth, leaving Son Wuling, Bulma, and the others speechless. Sure enough, Son Wuling had been right.

Kame House was too small, so Bulma brought all the Namekians to live at her home, along with Vegeta. Bulma's father, Dr. Brief, used their spaceship as a model to build another one. It even had an identical Gravity Room, though it was much smaller.

At Son Wuling's suggestion, the new Grand Elder Moori modified the Dragon Balls. Earth's Dragon Balls could revive many people at once, while their Namek Dragon Balls could not, so he improved them accordingly.

With everything finally settled, Videl and Son Gohan returned home with Son Wuling. The instant Satan and Chi-Chi saw Videl and Son Gohan, they burst into tears and hugged them tightly.

"Dad!"

"Mom!"

Son Wuling smiled in relief at the side. The new Grand Elder Moori had already remade the Dragon Balls, but it would take another 130 days for the modifications to be completed. During those 130 days, all the Namekians would temporarily stay at Bulma's house.

"I missed you so much, my Gohan! Your clothes are all torn up! Waaah... Wuling, how did you take care of Gohan? He's only five years old! You let him wear so little—what, did you think he was you?"

Chi-Chi saw that Son Wuling's martial arts uniform was also in tatters. All the Namekians and Vegeta had left with Bulma, and even Piccolo had gone with them. He seemed to have much to say to his fellow Namekians.

As for spare clothes, they were still on the spaceship. Son Wuling had overlooked that. From now on, he would keep a change of clothes in a Capsule whenever he went out. Even Videl's purple martial arts uniform was in tatters.

"Mom, it has nothing to do with Uncle Wuling. I was too useless. Uncle Wuling was even killed by that big villain Frieza while protecting me!"

Son Gohan immediately refuted her, clenching his fists unwillingly. Only after experiencing it firsthand did he understand how painful and enraging what Son Wuling had described before truly was.

Son Gohan made up his mind. His voice was clear and loud, his eyes glistening with tears. He still could not let go of Son Wuling's death. "Mom, Uncle Wuling, Videl, and Dad—I will definitely become stronger. I don't ever want to see any of you disappear before my eyes again."

"Me too, Master Wuling. Dad, everyone, I want to become stronger! Master Wuling, please keep training me. I want to become stronger and surpass Vegeta—and that big villain Frieza!"

Videl clenched her fists, raised her head, and looked at Son Wuling with utmost seriousness.

"Of course!"

Son Wuling helped Videl straighten her hair. Everyone had gained greatly from this trip to Namek. The moment he had seen Videl bring back the Dragon Balls, with that strong and unyielding look on her face, he had already decided to raise her as his successor. More importantly, Videl was an Earthling, just like him.

Son Wuling glanced teasingly at Satan and said, "Videl, you can already help me train your dad now. Let your dad see how much you've grown!"

"Yes..."

Videl excitedly clenched her fists. Like a child receiving a beloved toy, she was brimming with excitement and could not wait to show off.

"Wuling, you... you died?"

"Master Wuling, you...!"

After hearing Son Gohan's words, Ox-King, Chi-Chi, and Satan looked at Son Wuling with worry written all over their faces. Satan would not start going on about ghosts or anything like that anymore, because he knew about the Dragon Balls. When the sky and earth had gone dark, they had understood that Krillin had summoned Shenron.

"Yes. I died."

Son Wuling remained calm. Looking at Son Gohan and Videl, he pointed at his tattered martial arts uniform and smiled. "Krillin used the Dragon Balls to bring me back to life. Dying feels awful. I don't want to experience it again. As for everything else, we'll talk later. Let's change clothes first!"

One hundred and thirty days passed, and Satan finally learned Flight. He could fly now.

On this day, Son Wuling, Son Gohan, Videl, Satan, Chi-Chi, and Ox-King arrived at Bulma's home.

Because of him, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, Krillin, and Piccolo, who had originally died, had all survived instead. Yet he himself had died once!

Even though he knew what might happen next, Son Wuling still watched calmly as Dende summoned Shenron!

Krillin, Master Roshi, Yamcha, and blue-haired Launch were also there. Aside from Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu, all the Z Fighters were gathered here!

The sky darkened, and Namek's Shenron stood above West City, causing panic among the pedestrians. However, after the city issued an announcement saying Capsule Corporation was testing a new high-tech product, the people of West City returned to normal.

"Dende, sorry to trouble you. Tell Shenron to bring Goku back!"

Son Wuling spoke to Dende.

"Mm! Okay!"

Dende spoke in the Namekian language, and a flash of red light passed through Shenron's eyes!

"I'm sorry, but that wish cannot be granted. Son Goku refused it. He said that he will definitely return."

Shenron answered in an ancient voice tinged with beastly savagery, completely different from Earth's Shenron.

"What?"

Other than Son Wuling, who had already known, Chi-Chi, Son Gohan, and the others were all deeply confused. Why was Son Goku unwilling to come back?