Capturing the giant fish alive

Kid Goku folded his arms and said dismissively, "Old geezer, you didn't make enough food. It wasn't even enough for me alone! Go make some more. Hurry, hurry, or I'll starve to death!"

Being called an old geezer by his grandson in front of a stranger left Son Gohan somewhat embarrassed. He silently gathered the bowls and chopsticks from the table and carried them into the kitchen.

Kid Goku looked Jiang Nan up and down again and demanded, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

Jiang Nan flashed a toothy grin. Seeing that Kid Goku's battle power was only 4 at the moment, he couldn't resist giving him a scare. In a sinister voice, he said, "King Frieza sent me to Earth to take you back!"

Kid Goku went pale with fright. Although he had been only three when he left Planet Vegeta, Frieza had been such a terrifying presence there that the mere mention of his name could frighten children into silence.

"Y-you... How did King Frieza know I came to Earth?!" Kid Goku asked in terror.

"Is there anything in this universe King Frieza doesn't know?" Jiang Nan countered.

"Ah, ah, uh..." Kid Goku was too frightened to get any words out.

A few months earlier, Kid Goku's father, Bardock, had put him into a spaceship and sent him to Earth. Before his departure, Bardock had told Kid Goku, who was still called Kakarot then, that he would come back to pick him up in a few months.

After arriving on Earth, Kakarot had unexpectedly been taken in by an old bachelor. He had originally wanted to leave and live on his own, but Mount Paozu was full of wild beasts. With a battle power of only 4, he couldn't survive alone. Left with no choice, Kakarot had stayed with Son Gohan.

To his surprise, the old man even wanted Kakarot to be his grandson. How could the proud Saiyan Kakarot put up with that? You want me to call you Grandpa? You should be calling me Grandpa!

Fortunately, when the old man saw that Kakarot refused to call him Grandpa, he didn't force the issue. Instead, he began caring for him in his own clumsy way. Son Gohan even gave little Kakarot a name that shared his surname-Son Goku. He called him Goku all day long, until Kid Goku thought his head would burst.

Kid Goku had been eagerly waiting for his father, Bardock, to come to Earth and pick him up. When he did, Kid Goku would make him kill the old geezer to vent his anger. But after all that waiting, one of Frieza's men had shown up instead?!

Just then, Son Gohan returned to the main room. Kid Goku darted behind him, clutched his trouser leg, and said anxiously, "Old gee-G-Grandpa, this man's a bad guy! Frieza sent him to take me back to Planet Vegeta. Hurry and chase him away! No, kill him!"

Son Gohan said in surprise, "This child actually called me Grandpa! But Goku, you're talking nonsense again. What's all this baffling stuff about Planet Beta? Your Uncle Jiang Nan is here to see me. Don't be afraid."

Son Gohan didn't take Kid Goku's words seriously at all. He had lived deep in the mountains for years. Although he had found Son Goku inside a spaceship that crashed on Mount Paozu a few months earlier, he hadn't recognized it as a spaceship, assuming it was merely some strange vehicle.

This was the first time Kid Goku had called him Grandpa, and Son Gohan couldn't stop smiling. He turned to Jiang Nan and said, "My young friend, sorry you had to see that. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Why don't you wait a moment? I'll catch a fish from the nearby lake."

At Son Gohan's words, images of delicious food sprang into Jiang Nan's mind. He really was hungry, too, so he said, "Sir, let me come with you."

Afraid Jiang Nan might hurt him when no one was looking, Kid Goku stuck close to Son Gohan, his little hand gripping the hem of Son Gohan's clothes without letting go.

There was a large lake not far from Son Gohan's home. After the three arrived at its shore, Son Gohan unhurriedly stripped naked. He neatly folded his clothes and stacked them on a dry rock by the shore, then picked up a stone from the ground and tossed it into the middle of the lake.

Jiang Nan stole a glance at Son Gohan. Though the old man was short and scrawny, with dry, sagging skin all over his body, the muscles in his limbs were still clearly defined.

The stone fell into the lake, sending ripples spreading across its surface. Beneath them, a dark shape swam slowly upward, gradually approaching the surface.

At that moment, Son Gohan suddenly sprang forward. Light as a swallow, he raced across the water. When he reached the dark shape, he abruptly bent down and thrust a hand into the water, catching a giant fish by its mouth.

The giant fish thrashed in pain, trying to shake Son Gohan off. But his movements were deft. He flipped with its momentum, gripped its mouth with both hands, and gave a mighty swing, sending the giant fish flying.

While the fish had been underwater, only its enormous dark outline had been visible. Now that it was entirely out of the water, its shape became clear. What a huge, fat fish!

The fish was over two meters long, its silvery-white scales reflecting dazzling sunlight. Who knew how many years it had lived to grow so large? Unfortunately, today it would end up in someone else's stomach.

"Catch it, my young friend!"

Son Gohan's voice rang out from the middle of the lake. Jiang Nan understood at once. He stepped forward, raised his hands to catch the fish's head, then flung it onto the shore away from the water. The huge fish landed on the ground dozens of meters from the lake.

The fish slapped its tail hard against the ground, trying to struggle back into the water. But it was too far from the shore to cover that distance. No matter how it thrashed, its efforts were futile.

Son Gohan swam leisurely ashore, then settled into a horse stance and channeled his energy through his palms. Within a few breaths, his skin began to redden. Only then did Jiang Nan realize that the old man was evaporating the water off his body.

After getting dressed, Son Gohan walked over to the giant fish. He thrust his hand into the soft part of its belly and pulled, easily slicing its abdomen open.

Son Gohan tore out the giant fish's innards and tossed them back into the lake, then took hold of its body and dipped it into the water for a rinse. With that, the fish was cleaned.

Chuckling, Son Gohan grabbed the fish by its tail and dragged it toward home. Kid Goku laughed too and sat on the fish's body, as though riding in a cart.

Although Saiyans were savage and warlike, Kid Goku was still a child, and his childish innocence shone through at that moment.

It looks like even if Son Goku never hit his head, living with a kind old man like Son Gohan long enough would still change him, Jiang Nan thought.

Or perhaps Son Goku wasn't bad by nature in the first place. Not every Saiyan loved fighting and violence. Wasn't his mother, Gine, a gentle Saiyan?

When they returned to Son Gohan's house, the old man went around back and found several pieces of wood to build a roasting rack. He skewered the giant fish with a long piece of wood that extended out at both ends and placed it on the rack, then lit a fire beneath it.

Kid Goku sat beside the fire, staring fixedly at the fish as its flesh slowly changed color over the heat. Drool dripped from his mouth onto his legs.