An imperfect transformation

Time flew, passing in the blink of an eye.

Before they knew it, six months had slipped by.

Inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

Son Gohan and Trunks traded blows with a barrage of thuds.

Compared to six months ago, both of their hair had grown considerably longer.

Not only that, Trunks had also grown more muscular and a little taller.

Both were fighting in their base forms.

Yet the thunderous impacts rang out without pause, like thunderbolts from a clear sky.

Their strength was unbelievably immense.

Six months had passed, and both of their power levels had soared. They were on an entirely different level now.

But a closer look revealed something.

Trunks was panting, while Son Gohan remained calm and composed, handling him with ease.

Although he had only one hand now, he still carried an overwhelming presence, the air of an invincible warrior.

Boom!

Their fists collided, and an immensely powerful surge of energy erupted.

They broke apart immediately after contact, coming to a stop two or three meters from each other.

Panting heavily, Trunks said, "Gohan, you're incredible. I'm no match for you."

Son Gohan looked at him and laughed. "Haha, you've improved a lot too. Besides, I'm your teacher. It's only natural that I'm a little stronger than you."

"But you'll surpass me sooner or later." Son Gohan made sure to dangle a little hope before him.

"Stop teasing me, Gohan. Haha." Trunks laughed.

"All right, that's enough training for today. Get a full day's rest. We'll start the next stage tomorrow," Son Gohan said with a smile.

"Yay!"

"No yay allowed."

Son Gohan ruffled Trunks's hair, and the two returned to the rest area, laughing together.

They stripped off their sweat-soaked clothes and enjoyed a hot bath, then made rice balls and flatbread to eat before settling down for a good night's sleep.

The next day.

The two began attempting to train beyond the limits of Super Saiyan.

At that moment, Trunks had already transformed into a blond-haired, blue-green-eyed Super Saiyan, golden flames of energy blazing around him.

He threw punches and kicks as quick as lightning, and cries of "Ha! Ha! Ha!" rang constantly across the Hyperbolic Time Chamber's plaza.

Son Gohan sat cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed, repeatedly working through possibilities in his mind and piecing together new ideas.

He had lived two lives, possessing memories from both his previous life and this one, along with the powerful soul and insight born from the fusion of two souls.

The current Son Gohan's capacity for improvement and comprehension was not to be underestimated.

And he remained seated there for an entire week.

A week later.

Under Trunks's astonished gaze, Son Gohan stood up.

His brows drew together, and he clenched his teeth.

Then he abruptly tightened his right fist, a long "Haaah!" roaring from his mouth.

A whirlwind sprang out of nowhere around Son Gohan, spiraling upward and spreading in every direction.

Boom! A tremendous crash rang out.

A low peal of thunder sounded in the previously empty sky, and a bolt of lightning struck down.

"Aaaah!"

Son Gohan's long hair stood on end, turning golden, his eyes becoming blue-green as surging golden flames enveloped him. In an instant, he transformed into a Super Saiyan.

But his base power level was considerably higher than Trunks's, so transforming into a Super Saiyan widened the gap even further.

After all, the ordinary Super Saiyan transformation increased one's base power level fiftyfold.

As fierce winds buffeted his face, Trunks's eyes widened, and he marveled inwardly at Gohan's powerful energy.

I'm so jealous. When will I ever become this strong?

But Son Gohan's transformation was far from over.

His energy was still rising.

Two seconds later.

The muscles throughout Son Gohan's body suddenly swelled, and he instantly grew considerably taller.

A flash of golden light swept over him, his bulging muscles reflecting a dazzling brilliance.

Surging waves of energy flooded the area, forcing even Trunks to close his eyes.

"Ah, this!"

"Gohan has broken through the Super Saiyan bottleneck and reached a new level."

Trunks was shocked, but he was also thrilled for Son Gohan.

Looks like I'll have to work harder. Gohan is pulling farther and farther ahead.

Trunks thought to himself.

With the energy Gohan is showing now, the androids are nothing to fear.

He could crush them in this form.

It's hard to believe. The androids beat us senseless for twelve whole years, but after I buried Gohan once, he suddenly figured everything out.

His strength has skyrocketed in such a short time. He's become so powerful.

It's unbelievable.

Maybe I should let Gohan bury me once too?

While Trunks's imagination ran wild.

Son Gohan carefully examined the changes in his body.

His "limbs" brimmed with strength, wave after wave of powerful energy coursing through his body.

Son Gohan felt every pore open, and what flowed through his veins seemed no longer to be blood, but scalding magma.

His muscles bulged and knotted, as though he possessed an inexhaustible supply of strength.

Before long, however, Son Gohan discovered an extremely serious problem.

But it was one he had expected.

"This form leaks energy," Son Gohan said helplessly.

Indeed, his open pores were not only greedily drawing in air, but also releasing his energy.

His strength was immense, but the drain was astonishing.

According to Son Gohan's estimate.

In this form, his strength had increased to at least seventy times that of his base form.

It was considerably stronger than an ordinary Super Saiyan.

But the energy consumption was simply staggering.

He could not sustain that drain at all. It was utterly unsuited to a prolonged battle.

In other words, this transformation had a major flaw.

Even so, this form was more than enough to deal with Android 17 and Android 18. Killing them would take no effort at all.

Looks like...

Before he expended too much energy, Son Gohan pressed onward, deciding to try another form.

"Aaaaah!"

His already powerful aura boiled up once more.

And it continued to climb.

Trunks was completely dumbfounded. He fell onto the ground, not even caring whether his backside hurt.

Under his horrified gaze, Son Gohan's body grew taller and larger again.

A terrifying aura swept through the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

Even knowing that it was Gohan, Trunks could not help feeling a little afraid.

If he was a hulking muscleman before, doesn't this make him practically a monster?

Trunks swallowed and shifted his backside.

Gohan looked a little frightening now.

His muscles had swollen like slabs of granite, and golden flames of energy crackled all over his body.

Fortunately, Son Gohan's face looked fairly masculine now, with a scar across his eye.

If that had been Trunks's face instead, the result would have been utterly outrageous.

The sheer visual impact would have been too overwhelming to imagine.

Son Gohan exhaled and began moving.

He tested his punches, kicks, and speed, then shook his head and simply returned to his base form.

Seeing Son Gohan's aura disperse, Trunks also breathed a sigh of relief.

That last form was still an imperfect transformation.

It had indeed increased his strength to ninety times that of his base form.

But it had an enormous flaw.

In terms of raw strength alone, this form could already rival Super Saiyan 2. It was immensely powerful.

Yet this form not only consumed energy at a horrifying rate, but also cut his speed in half. Its drawbacks were enormous.

No matter how strong he was, it meant nothing if he could not hit his opponent.

Once his energy ran out, he would be completely at their mercy.

This form sacrificed speed in favor of strength, throwing everything badly out of balance.

Trunks walked over, envy written across his face. "Gohan, you were incredible just now. You actually scared me. That was amazing! If I were an android, I'd turn around and run the moment I saw you."

Son Gohan flexed his fist and looked at him seriously. "Trunks, those two transformations were actually imperfect. They greatly increased my strength, but their drawbacks were far too obvious."

Son Gohan then carefully explained the advantages and disadvantages of both transformations to Trunks.

He continued, "But I've already come up with a better idea. I think half a year should be enough."

"If it still doesn't work, we can spend another year studying it. We still have time."

"Ah, okay. Sure."

Trunks clicked his tongue in wonder.

Gohan really is amazing. His mind works so quickly.

His transformations just failed, and he's already come up with a new idea.

I haven't thought of anything yet.

As his student, he wanted to learn how to do that too.

So jealous.

Son Gohan grinned.

This was probably the advantage of standing on the shoulders of giants.

Although Son Gohan's comprehension was strong now, he had not come up with all these transformations himself.

These transformations had been mentioned in the "original story."

But knowing something in your mind and being able to do it with your body were entirely different things.

The process of turning his mental knowledge into physical ability had taken Son Gohan quite a bit of time.

Had his comprehension been any weaker, he might have wasted even more time.

After all, he had no one to guide or teach him now.

Putting something into practice based entirely on a vague concept in his head was no easy task.

As for why he had tried these two failed transformations rather than skipping straight ahead to replicate Super Saiyan 1's full power form.

Son Gohan had his own thoughts on that.

As the saying went, only with a solid enough foundation could a building rise higher and stand more securely.

Only by walking a path himself could he learn where its pitfalls lay, then avoid or fill them in next time.

In life, no step was wasted. Every step counted. (Clichéd, but reasonable.)