The Supreme Kai returned

There was a theory in his memories of his previous life.

When a Golden Great Ape regained its reason and bore the great ape power in a human body, that would be the day Super Saiyan 4 emerged.

But Son Gohan had been born an ape this time around. Sorry about that.

He had indeed remained clearheaded.

Yet he couldn't return to human form from his Golden Great Ape state and become a Super Saiyan 4.

It always felt as though something was missing.

And that had caused the transformation to fail.

Son Gohan wasn't discouraged. He felt this was perfectly normal.

He hadn't been reborn for very long, and he still had a long road ahead of him.

Nothing could be accomplished in one leap. He couldn't reach the pinnacle of the universe in a single day.

Those absurdly overpowered protagonists he'd read about in his previous life, who collected check-in rewards in the womb and came out punching Zeno and kicking the Grand Priest, were a template he was destined never to follow.

All he could rely on were his foreknowledge and his relentless efforts.

An hour later,

Son Gohan and Trunks returned to human form once again.

They restrained themselves from looking at the full moon overhead, or they would undergo another transformation and get no sleep that night.

After spending half the night at it, both of them were exhausted.

Trunks decided he couldn't be bothered to go home and planned to spend the night at Son Gohan's house.

The two rubbed their eyes as they made their way to the front door.

Just then, the Supreme Kai and Kibito, who had disappeared earlier, appeared out of thin air again.

Trunks watched the two strange fellows warily and quietly clenched his fists.

He was ready to give them both a good beating.

Son Gohan, however, merely yawned without showing any surprise.

He had already expected the Supreme Kai and Kibito to come back.

Afraid that Son Gohan would send them away the moment he saw them, the Supreme Kai hurried to speak as soon as he appeared.

"Sorry to disturb you both. I'm the Supreme Kai of this universe. I mean you no harm. I'd just like to be friends with you. Would that be all right?"

Seeing the exalted Supreme Kai humble himself to such an extent displeased Kibito, but there was nothing he could do.

Of course, Son Gohan knew he was the Supreme Kai.

The Supreme Kai's appearance and clothing were so distinctive that it was hard not to recognize him.

Son Gohan glanced at him and yawned. "Oh, got it. But I'm really tired today. Whatever it is, let's talk tomorrow."

He was sending them away just like that? Kibito found it unbelievable.

Lord Supreme Kai had already revealed his identity!

"You..."

The Supreme Kai quickly stopped Kibito and said with an appeasing smile, "All right, then. Get some rest. We'll come back tomorrow."

"Don't come too early, either. Come in the afternoon," Son Gohan said.

"All right!" The Supreme Kai pulled Kibito away, leaving in a hurry.

Watching the two disappear in an instant,

Trunks, who still had no idea what was going on, asked Son Gohan, "Gohan, who exactly were those two?"

"Didn't he just tell you? The Supreme Kai," Son Gohan said.

"A god? A god like Dende?" Trunks pressed.

"Trunks, I'm really tired. Let's talk tomorrow. Good night."

With that, Son Gohan ignored him and went into his bedroom. Without even taking his clothes off, he flopped down and fell asleep. (~o~)zZ

"Whose divine rank is higher, then?"

Trunks was still wondering whether Kami or the Supreme Kai ranked higher.

The Sacred World of the Kai.

The Supreme Kai sat in silence for a while, then said to Kibito:

"Kibito, go find out exactly what has happened on Earth over the years."

"And find out who those two Saiyans are."

"Yes, Lord Supreme Kai." Kibito left to carry out his orders.

The next day,

Son Gohan didn't wake up until eight in the morning.

After waking, he discovered that Trunks was still curled up asleep on the sofa.

Son Gohan went out and woke him with a kick.

"Why didn't you sleep in a bedroom? Is the sofa more comfortable?"

Trunks rubbed his bleary eyes and stared blankly for several seconds before saying, "I was thinking about something last night, and I fell asleep here while thinking."

"Thinking? About what?" Son Gohan asked curiously.

"I was wondering whether Kami or the Supreme Kai ranked higher. I thought about it all night." Even now, Trunks hadn't figured out whose divine rank was higher.

"The Supreme Kai ranks higher than Kami," Son Gohan answered.

"Really? I thought Dende was more powerful."

"Stop thinking about it. Hurry up and get washed."

Son Gohan urged him to go wash up.

Then the two found something to eat and flew to West City.

After arriving at Capsule Corporation, the first thing Son Gohan did was ask Bulma to make a device that emitted Blutz Waves.

Bulma had no idea what Blutz Waves were and was completely bewildered.

Son Gohan had no choice but to explain the mechanism behind a Saiyan's transformation into a great ape.

Only then did Bulma understand, and she promised to make time to build a Blutz Wave emitter.

Son Gohan asked, "Aunt Bulma, is that spaceship fully charged yet?"

"Not yet, but it's already at eighty percent. It won't be long," Bulma said.

"You can put charging the spaceship aside for now. Work on that Blutz Wave emitter first," Son Gohan said.

Bulma paused. "Uh, why?"

Son Gohan smiled. "Eighty percent is enough, and I've discovered a better method now. You can focus on developing the emitter and the Time Machine."

He'd discovered a better method?

What method could possibly replace a spaceship?

Bulma didn't understand, but she didn't ask any further questions.

Not long after lunch, Videl came again.

This time, Son Gohan didn't teach her anything. Instead, he had her practice the Flight Technique on the lawn by herself.

Videl didn't object. She smiled at Son Gohan, then happily went off to practice.

Son Gohan wasted no time. He entered the Gravity Room, set the gravity to five hundred times normal, and did a thousand one-finger push-ups to warm up.

Then he began his daily training session of a little over two hours.

The two hours passed quickly. By the time he emerged from the Gravity Room, Videl had already left.

The people waiting for him now were the Supreme Kai and Kibito.

As soon as they met, the Supreme Kai said with a beaming smile, "Mr. Gohan, we meet again."

"Yes. Hello, both of you." Son Gohan greeted them with a smile.

Then he led the Supreme Kai and Kibito to a Dessert Shop and had a robot serve several desserts and cold drinks.

They chatted as they ate.

At first, the Supreme Kai and Kibito had no intention of eating mortal food, but they couldn't resist Son Gohan's enthusiasm. They took a small taste, then couldn't stop.

Son Gohan nodded in satisfaction at their inexperienced reactions. Earth's food is the best in the universe. Did you think that reputation was just for show?

I've got them eating out of my hand.

Looking at them, Son Gohan smiled. "Lord Supreme Kai, was there something you wanted to see me about?"

The Supreme Kai hurriedly wiped the cream from the corner of his mouth and quickly regained his composure.

Then he said, "I told you last night. I'd like to be friends with you, Mr. Gohan."

Son Gohan gave him a meaningful look, then said, "You did your homework after going back, Lord Supreme Kai..."

"Ah, what makes you say that?" the Supreme Kai asked in surprise.

"It's simple. You didn't know my name last night."

An awkward smile hung on the Supreme Kai's face. Not a trace of his divine dignity remained.

Seeing his embarrassment, Son Gohan didn't press the matter. He smiled and said, "It's an honor to be friends with you, Lord Supreme Kai. I was just too tired last night. Sorry."

The Supreme Kai was immediately overwhelmed by the unexpected courtesy.

Son Gohan hadn't been like this last night. His cold, unapproachable manner had rather frightened him.

He hadn't expected him to be so friendly today.

"Ah, it's fine, it's fine. Rest is important, of course."

"Heh, right? Well, since we're friends, and I've treated you to such delicious food, shouldn't you give me something in return? A meeting gift or something, just a little gesture?" Son Gohan asked with a chuckle.

"Huh?" For a moment, the Supreme Kai and Kibito couldn't wrap their heads around it.

A meeting gift?

What was that?

Did mortals always give gifts when they met?

Hmm, on second thought, that did seem reasonable. The mortal world had a phrase, 'returning the favor.' This was probably what it meant.