He actually felt as though he had been seen right through.
It was a little unsettling.
Son Gohan had met the previous Grand Elder and had been fortunate enough to have his potential unlocked by him, so his memories of the old Grand Elder were vivid.
Compared to his predecessor, Grand Elder Moori was somewhat less capable, but his youth gave him a sharper edge.
But that was all there was to it.
Son Gohan had no reason to fear him.
The immense power within his body was the source of his confidence.
Son Gohan smiled. "Sorry for the trouble, Grand Elder."
Looking at Son Gohan, Grand Elder Moori recalled the boy with the bowl cut from over a decade ago. "Heh, no trouble at all. More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. You've changed so much, Mr. Gohan. What happened to your arm?"
Son Gohan said, "I'm afraid it's not a pretty sight, Grand Elder. A few years ago, I encountered a powerful enemy. I lost, and my opponent tore it off."
"I came to Planet Namek this time to ask Shenron to restore my arm."
Grand Elder Moori said, "Oh, that's a simple matter. Porunga can restore your arm in an instant, Mr. Gohan. Has that powerful enemy been defeated now?"
"Thanks to your blessings, Grand Elder, he's been destroyed," Son Gohan said with a smile.
"Oh, it seems a great deal has happened on Earth." Grand Elder Moori sighed.
As they chatted, each learned from the other how Earth and Planet Namek had changed over the past few years.
Compared to Earth's tumultuous history, life on Planet Namek had remained much the same, its people spending the past decade in peace and happiness.
A little while later, several more energy signatures approached.
Several Namekians descended from the sky, bringing the Dragon Balls.
Apart from the young Namekians delivering the Dragon Balls, another young Namekian accompanying them caught Son Gohan's attention.
The young Namekian was tall and slender, but not particularly muscular.
His most striking feature was his bright, lively eyes, clear and alert.
At that moment, the young Namekian was also studying Son Gohan.
Then they both spoke at once.
"Are you Dende?"
"Are you Gohan?"
Both froze for a moment, then scratched their heads and burst out laughing.
One look was enough to confirm it: they were the childhood friends they remembered.
Dende ran over to Son Gohan, his face filled with joy, but his brow furrowed when he noticed Son Gohan's missing arm.
"Gohan, what happened to your arm?" Dende asked, staring at the stump.
"Heh, as you can see, it got torn off. No big deal." Son Gohan smiled casually, as though he wasn't the one missing an arm.
Dende said, "If only you could regenerate lost limbs like us Namekians, Gohan."
"Yeah, that's why I came this time. I need Porunga's power to restore my missing arm," Son Gohan said frankly.
"Great! I can help you with that," Dende said with a smile.
Summoning Planet Namek's Shenron was different from summoning Earth's Shenron.
Both summoning Planet Namek's Shenron and making wishes required the Namekian language, which Son Gohan didn't speak.
Dende meant that he could summon Shenron for him and translate his wishes.
"All right. Thank you." Son Gohan nodded.
Seven orange Dragon Balls, each the size of a basketball, sat neatly arranged on the grass, gleaming with a mysterious luster.
The Namekians who had carried the Dragon Balls over took their places behind Grand Elder Moori without a word.
Grand Elder Moori looked at Dende and said gently, "Dende, summon Porunga."
"Yes, Grand Elder." Dende nodded respectfully, then walked up to the seven Dragon Balls, extended his hands, and spread his fingers over them.
Then he called out loudly in the Namekian language, "Come forth, Porunga, and grant my wishes!"
As Dende's words rang out.
Planet Namek, which never knew night, instantly turned pitch-black.
Dark clouds shrouded the entire planet.
Crack! Streaks of golden lightning flashed through the dark clouds.
The rumble of thunder followed.
Arcs of electricity flickered across all seven Dragon Balls on the ground before they erupted with brilliant golden light.
The golden light grew ever more intense, until it was impossible to keep one's eyes open.
Soon, a massive pillar of light shot into the sky, piercing the dark clouds above.
After piercing the clouds, the golden pillar spiraled high overhead and began to take shape.
In just a few breaths, the golden pillar became an enormous Western-style dragon.
The dragon crouched among the clouds, hundreds of meters long, his scales gleaming with imposing splendor.
Porunga was several times larger than Earth's Shenron.
He also looked a little like the genie from Aladdin's lamp.
But Son Gohan thought Earth's Shenron looked much cooler than the one before him.
After all, a Western-style dragon looked like an oversized lizard, which really didn't suit Eastern tastes.
The dragon lowered his head through the clouds, his two house-sized eyes glowing blood-red. His voice echoed across the sky. "Humans who have summoned me, state your wishes. I can grant you three wishes..."
Sure enough, it was just as Son Gohan remembered.
Planet Namek's Shenron could grant three wishes.
Not only that, but after the incident with Frieza, the Grand Elder had upgraded the Dragon Balls.
Previously, although Shenron could grant three wishes, each wish could only revive a single person.
After the upgrade, however, Shenron no longer had that limitation.
Dende turned to Son Gohan and asked, "Gohan, do you want your first wish to be restoring your arm?"
Son Gohan shook his head. "No. Ask Shenron to restore my body to its most perfect condition."
Just restore my missing arm? What a joke.
I have to make the most of this wish.
"All right." Dende nodded, then looked up at the enormous dragon and spoke a sentence in the Namekian language.
"That is simple."
Shenron's voice rumbled, and red light flashed in his eyes.
Immediately, Son Gohan felt his body begin to change.
First, the scar on his face vanished. Then a tingling sensation spread through his left shoulder, and a complete left arm grew out of nowhere.
Son Gohan was delighted.
He moved his left arm and clenched his fist, his joints crackling like beans popping in a pan as he felt the surging power within.
His newly grown arm felt completely natural. Perfect.
Next, all the hidden injuries left inside his body by years of fighting were healed.
His facial contours were also subtly adjusted, making Son Gohan look even more handsome.
His height increased by ten centimeters, from 176 to 186 centimeters.
A furry tail also grew back, swaying in the wind.
His weight shot up by more than twenty kilograms.
At that moment, Son Gohan's body had reached its most perfect condition. Porunga certainly lived up to his reputation.
Son Gohan clenched his fists, and a powerful aura burst from his body, golden flames of energy wrapping around him.
Surging waves of energy swept outward.
Every Namekian around him was terrified, feeling as though an ancient, savage beast had awakened before them.
A fist-sized bead of sweat dripped from Shenron's forehead.
Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying, even for a dragon.
What an overwhelmingly powerful energy.
It's too frightening.
Shenron in the sky hesitated, then spoke again in his rumbling voice.
"Th-the first wish has been fulfilled. State your second wish."
Dende looked again at Son Gohan, who radiated overwhelming might like a golden god of war.
Son Gohan reined in his energy and carefully considered his options.
There was no one in this world who could bail him out.
He had to ensure his own survival first.
If anything happened to him, this world would be finished.
So he said, "For my second wish, give me incredibly powerful regeneration and recovery abilities like Majin Buu's."
"All right." Dende nodded and spoke to Shenron again in the Namekian language.
Red light flashed in Shenron's eyes as he granted Son Gohan's wish once more.
Unlike the changes brought by the previous wish, Son Gohan didn't even feel any difference in his body this time.
But he knew he now possessed incredibly powerful recovery and regeneration abilities like Majin Buu's.
In that instant, his sense of security soared.
Before you continue