Dende, the new Kami

Son Gohan had two deep-seated worries in life.

The first was a lack of firepower.

The second was death.

He had actually experienced death once before.

So he wasn't afraid of dying. Instead, he felt that every extra day he lived was a bonus, and treasured it all the more.

Now that he had wished for extraordinary recovery and regeneration, his mindset had changed dramatically.

This world needed him alive far too much. Strictly speaking, his life no longer belonged to him alone.

And powerful survival abilities meant more ways to protect the people he wanted to protect.

They also meant more means and methods to eliminate his enemies.

Granted, this physique probably couldn't withstand Zeno's erasure or a God of Destruction's power of destruction.

Nor could it withstand an angel's angelic power.

But no matter how he looked at it, his survivability had improved enormously. That was beyond doubt.

Son Gohan felt wonderfully refreshed, his thoughts clear and unburdened.

He was close to breaking through to the next level.

Son Gohan had a feeling that, right now, he was only one catalyst away from breaking through to Super Saiyan 2.

In such a wonderful mood, even Shenron looked cute to him.

Just then, Shenron in the sky spoke again.

"Your second wish has been granted. Do you have any other wishes? I can grant one more."

As he spoke, Shenron looked at Son Gohan, his eyes filled with awe.

Though his body was enormous, making Son Gohan on the ground look as tiny as an ant by comparison.

There was one thing he understood perfectly well.

Son Gohan possessed terrifying power.

Power so immense that destroying the entire solar system would be effortless.

In the world of the strong, size was not the only measure of power.

Son Gohan glanced around at all the Namekians present, then rested his gaze on the Grand Elder. "Grand Elder, do you have any wishes?"

Grand Elder Moori shook his head. "No. We rarely need Porunga's help."

With a trace of hope, Son Gohan asked, "Oh, then I'd like to ask something. Is there any way to revive someone who was killed more than ten years ago?"

Grand Elder Moori shook his head. "Porunga cannot revive those who died naturally or have been dead too long. Their bodies are gone, and their souls have already been reincarnated."

"What if their bodies are still there, and their souls are still attached to them? They're dead, but they're currently training in Other World or with King Kai. Would that still be impossible?" Son Gohan continued.

"S-something like that can happen?" Grand Elder Moori looked shocked.

This completely overturned his understanding of life.

So Son Gohan explained the situations of Goku, Vegeta, and the others to the Grand Elder.

After listening, Grand Elder Moori marveled at the tale.

Still, he shook his head. "Porunga cannot revive people who died of illness, because that also counts as a natural death. As for the other situation you mentioned, upgrading Porunga's abilities might make it possible..."

"I'm truly sorry, Mr. Gohan. I had no idea so much had happened on Earth. Even Mr. Goku has passed away. What a terrible pity."

An upgrade might make it possible? Was Shenron's version too low?

Then I'll try upgrading him later. After all, Dragon Ball contradicts its own established rules all the time. Nothing unusual about that.

In truth, Son Gohan had already suspected this would be the answer, so he hadn't held out much hope when he asked.

As such, he didn't feel disappointed now.

There would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

Then again, those companions who had been dead for years might not even want to come back, right?

After all, life in Other World or with King Kai seemed carefree, without a single worry.

Sigh.

Then, for the third wish...

Son Gohan thought for a moment, then said to Dende, "In that case, Dende, use the third wish to ask for Planet Yardrat's location for me."

Once he had the location, he could go whenever he wanted.

For now, he still needed to find a new Kami for Earth, then bring him back to activate a new Shenron. That was the pressing matter.

After all, he couldn't take the newly appointed Kami to Planet Yardrat and train there for several years.

He could afford to wait, but Earth clearly couldn't.

As for why he didn't simply wish for Instant Transmission, Son Gohan had his own reasons.

Setting aside whether Shenron could grant that wish, even if he learned it, he couldn't teleport to Planet Yardrat without locating the Yardratians' energy signatures. Besides, learning Instant Transmission wasn't his only reason for going there.

Planet Yardrat had many other wondrous abilities beyond Instant Transmission, and Son Gohan was curious about all of them.

"Planet Yardrat's location?"

"Mm, all right." Dende nodded and made another wish to Shenron.

A red light flashed in Shenron's eyes, and a piece of information entered Son Gohan's mind.

It was Planet Yardrat's location.

Shenron's specialty was speed.

His efficiency was second to none.

Wish granted!

Shenron's booming voice rang through the sky. "Very well. All your wishes have been granted. Farewell, then!"

Immediately afterward, golden light burst from his body, and his draconic form dispersed.

The seven Dragon Balls, now turned to stone, fell with heavy thuds, leaving several deep pits in the ground.

Aside from their size, there were other differences between Planet Namek's Dragon Balls and Earth's.

Earth's Dragon Balls would fly off in every direction after the wishes were granted.

This was because the old Kami feared that Earth's endlessly greedy Earthlings would exploit a loophole to make wishes constantly, so he made the Dragon Balls harder to collect.

But he had never imagined that Bulma would later invent something like the Dragon Radar.

Namekians were peaceful and kind by nature, and rarely used the Dragon Balls, so the Grand Elder had arranged for the petrified Dragon Balls not to fly away after granting wishes.

These stone Dragon Balls would be returned to the seven great tribes to remain under their watch.

After Shenron disappeared, the dark clouds quickly dispersed. Within a few breaths, Planet Namek's skies were clear again, and sunlight once more bathed the land.

Son Gohan approached the Grand Elder. "Grand Elder, I have one more favor to ask."

Grand Elder Moori said, "There's no need to be so formal, Mr. Gohan. Please speak freely. It is an honor for Planet Namek to help our benefactor."

Son Gohan said, "Here's the situation. Earth needs a guardian now, so I'd like to ask you to let someone go to Earth and become its new Kami."

Grand Elder Moori said, "Oh, of course that's no problem, though we will need his consent as well. Do you have someone in mind, Mr. Gohan?"

Son Gohan pointed to Dende beside him. "Yes, Grand Elder. I'd like Dende."

Dende looked a little stunned at being singled out.

The Grand Elder smiled at Dende. "Dende, would you be willing to go to Earth and become its Kami?"

Dende looked dazed. "C-can I really do that?"

"Dende, while your combat abilities are ordinary, you are an outstanding member of the Dragon Clan with a very well-rounded set of abilities. Of course you can become Earth's Kami," Grand Elder Moori said.

Son Gohan added, "Dende, is there something worrying you? Do you not want to go?"

Dende gave a startled "Ah!" and hurriedly shook his head. "No, no! I'm just worried I won't be up to the job."

"It's all right. You have to believe in yourself. You heard what the Grand Elder just said, didn't you? He said you're an outstanding member of the Dragon Clan. Would he lie about that? You'll definitely become an excellent Kami," Son Gohan said.

"Then I'll give it a try," Dende said.

When a good friend needed help, of course he had to do his part.

Being needed felt really good.

Dende liked that feeling very much.

At that moment, Dende felt a little nervous, but also very happy.

"Hahaha, great!" Son Gohan laughed.

After exchanging a few pleasantries,

Dende said goodbye to the Grand Elder and the others.

For a race like the Namekians, who didn't need to eat, saying goodbye really was just saying goodbye.

There was no need to spend hours eating and drinking.

Son Gohan took out a Hoi-Poi Capsule and tossed it onto an empty patch of ground, where it turned into a spaceship.

Everyone was astonished by what he had done.

Son Gohan offered no further explanation and called for Dende to hurry aboard.

The two boarded the spaceship. Son Gohan quickly tapped in Earth's coordinates and pressed the launch button. The ship vanished into the sky, racing out into the vast universe.

Just like that, another half month passed.

One day, a spaceship arrived above Earth and landed safely.

Son Gohan and Dende had arrived.

The two jumped out of the spaceship, and Son Gohan put it away again.

After storing the ship, Son Gohan first scanned Earth by sensing its energy. Once he confirmed that everything was safe, he said to Dende, "Come on, Dende. Let's head to Kami's Lookout first."

"Mm, all right." Dende nodded.

The two rose into the air and flew toward Kami's Lookout.

A short while later, they arrived at Kami's Lookout.

Trunks and Bulma arrived almost at the same time.

That was because Trunks had rushed over with Bulma as soon as he sensed Son Gohan's energy.

Upon seeing Son Gohan, Trunks ran over in delight, looking him up and down with an excited expression.

"Gohan, you're finally back! This is great! Wow, your arm grew back! Ah, my gosh, you've even got a tail! So cool, so cool! You're so cool!"

Son Gohan raised a hand and ruffled his hair, laughing as he scolded him. "You little rascal. We've only been apart for a month. Since when did you become such a chatterbox?"

"I haven't! I'm just so happy," Trunks said with a laugh.

"Mr. Gohan." Mr. Popo greeted him from nearby as well.

Son Gohan smiled and nodded at him.

"Gohan, you've gotten more handsome. The scar on your face is gone, your left arm has grown back, and you look taller, too. Hahaha! I hereby declare that you're now the most handsome man I've ever seen!"

Bulma laughed with her hands on her hips, seeming to have returned to the way she had been more than ten years ago.

Then she looked curiously at Dende beside Son Gohan. "Is this the new Kami you found?"

Son Gohan grinned. "Hehe, that's right, Aunt Bulma. You've actually met him before."

"Ah, really?" Bulma looked at Dende in surprise.

"..."

Unfortunately, Namekians all looked almost exactly alike, and she couldn't remember who the Dende standing before her was at all.

The only one she could recall was Piccolo.

Dende looked a little embarrassed. He still remembered Bulma.

Though more than ten years had passed, Bulma had taken excellent care of herself and hadn't changed much. She had merely become more mature.

Son Gohan smiled as he introduced him. "Let me introduce everyone. This is Dende, the new Kami I went all the way to Planet Namek to find."

"Aunt Bulma, back on Planet Namek, he was the Namekian child who went through all those hardships with us-the one who could heal people."

"Oh, now that you mention it, I remember!" Understanding dawned on Bulma's face.

"Hello, Miss Bulma. It's been a long time," Dende greeted her.

"Hello, hello," Bulma replied.

She was also very happy to see an old acquaintance.

"Dende, this is Trunks. He's Aunt Bulma's son and also my student. And this is Mr. Popo, the guardian of Kami's Lookout. He'll be helping you with your duties from now on," Son Gohan introduced them one by one.

"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you both." Dende nodded very politely.

Trunks was polite too, nodding in reply. "Hello, Dende."

Mr. Popo bowed to Dende. "Greetings, Kami. Please just call me Popo from now on."