Trunks asked, "Gohan, what was that new idea you mentioned?"
At that moment, Son Gohan was like a selfless teacher, answering his student's questions and guiding him into a new world.
Son Gohan said, "Trunks, remember this: no matter what transformation we use, our bodies are the foundation of everything, and the most important thing."
"Transforming is just a matter of finding a trigger within our bodies, then activating it to gain tremendous power for a short time."
"But the stronger our bodies are to begin with, the more power we can unleash. The stronger our physiques, the more power we can withstand."
Trunks nodded, only half understanding. He thought he understood why Gohan had insisted on the first stage of training.
Son Gohan continued, "So we need to train our bodies diligently and persistently, constantly improving our overall physical condition. That way, we'll be stronger and more stable after transforming, and able to handle even more power."
"Got it, Gohan." Trunks took the lesson to heart.
Though Gohan seemed to have gone around in circles for ages without getting to the point.
Does everyone turn into this once they become a teacher?
Help...
"As for the new direction I mentioned, it naturally has to do with our bodies' basic attributes and the habits they develop."
Trunks perked up his ears.
Son Gohan continued, "Let's make an assumption. Suppose we treated Super Saiyan as our everyday base form, training in it, getting used to it, and overcoming its difficulties."
"Trunks, what do you think would happen?" Son Gohan asked, looking at him.
Trunks thought for a moment, then said excitedly, "When we transform again, will our power multiply dozens of times, just like it does when we turn Super Saiyan now?"
Son Gohan was speechless.
You really dare to dream.
Still, not bad. You're starting to use your head.
Son Gohan said, "Nothing that dramatic, but it will definitely reduce our ki consumption considerably and let our bodies withstand much greater power. The process will be difficult, though. We'll need to spend a lot of time adjusting to it and overcoming its problems, until we master it."
"Just hearing that gets me excited, Gohan. I'm with you. Whatever you say, I'll do it." Trunks slapped his thigh, brimming with enthusiasm.
"Let's eat first," Son Gohan said.
"Oh, okay. Come to think of it, I'm a little hungry too." Trunks paused.
After eating, they trimmed their hair and began their first attempt.
First, they turned Super Saiyan, then suppressed their auras.
They tried to maintain the form like that.
Unfortunately, their attempt ended in failure after a few minutes.
After all, transforming into a Super Saiyan made them extremely volatile, irritable, and aggressive.
But once they suppressed their auras, their angry, agitated minds quickly calmed down.
As their emotions settled, the transformation faded on its own.
That made maintaining the form difficult, let alone turning it into a habit.
Time flowed by, and a month passed.
In the plaza of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
"This is really hard, Gohan. I can't keep it up for long at all," Trunks said, bent over with his hands braced on his knees.
"Keep practicing." The golden-haired Son Gohan slowly worked through a jumble of punches.
It just looked a little strange with only one arm.
Another month passed.
"Haha, it's finally getting better! I can keep it up for most of the day now," Trunks said with a laugh.
"I can already maintain it for several days. Keep at it."
Trunks wilted like a frostbitten plant. "All right. I'll keep at it."
Six months later.
"Gohan! Gohan! I've gotten used to it now. I can even stay Super Saiyan while I'm asleep!" Trunks told Son Gohan, as if showing off a prized treasure.
"Good, very good. Trunks, you've improved a lot. I'm proud of you." Son Gohan generously gave him a thumbs-up.
"It's really not easy getting praise out of you, Gohan," Trunks sighed.
Son Gohan merely smiled without answering.
After half a year, Trunks had finally reached that point naturally.
Son Gohan, however, had actually completed his second stage of training three months earlier.
Looking back on that time, pots had shattered while they cooked, bowls had shattered while they ate, and beds had shattered while they slept.
Those made for some pretty entertaining memories.
If the Hyperbolic Time Chamber hadn't automatically restored everything, the wrecked rooms alone would have been enough to leave them both miserable.
In the blink of an eye,
a full year had passed since master and student entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train.
"Gohan, what do we do next?" Trunks asked, looking up after their meal.
Son Gohan said, "We enter the third stage: consolidate, review, and gain new insights by revisiting what we've learned."
Trunks was utterly baffled.
What the heck does that mean?
There was neither sun nor moon in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and another half year passed.
Trunks had fully grown into a handsome young man.
But perhaps because Vegeta's genes were too dominant, Trunks wasn't particularly tall or large.
With his handsome face and a physique that looked slim in clothes but muscular without them, he was the very picture of a cute young heartthrob.
Son Gohan hadn't changed much. After all, he was already in his early twenties, and his body had long since finished developing.
Still, a year and a half of training had made him look more powerfully built.
His facial features were more defined, giving his handsome face a cool edge.
The scar on his face added an even wilder, untamed quality.
Recently,
Son Gohan had noticed that his body seemed to have reached a bottleneck, and his strength was increasing very slowly.
He was practically standing still.
He knew that pushing too hard could be counterproductive.
Over this year and a half, both of them had made tremendous progress.
If they forced themselves to keep training, serious problems might arise.
Balancing work and rest was important too.
Sometimes, taking a proper break worked better than blindly pushing on.
So Son Gohan stopped forcing it.
After consulting Trunks, the two left the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Mr. Popo was already standing outside the door.
Although his face was pitch-black and they couldn't make out any expression, they could still sense his surprise.
He looked at the golden-haired Son Gohan and Trunks, marveling at them.
They've changed so much!
Just standing there, they gave off an unfathomable air, impossible to read.
Seeing Mr. Popo, Son Gohan greeted him. "Mr. Popo, why are you waiting for us by the door?"
Mr. Popo came to his senses, looked at master and student, and said,
"I was worried you might exceed the time limit, so I came to remind you. I didn't expect you to come out early, after just a day and a half. Hehe, still, it's truly impressive that you managed to train in there for a year and a half."
If it weren't for this bottleneck, I could train for two and a half years, Son Gohan thought.
Instead, he said, "Thank you for worrying about us, Mr. Popo. It was fine in there, except for the food. It would be even better if you could prepare some meat next time."
"Exactly!" Trunks wholeheartedly agreed.
"Hehe, I'm sorry, but meat won't keep in there. I'll go prepare some food for you both now. Mr. Gohan, Trunks, please wait a moment," Mr. Popo said.
Food?
At the mention of food, Son Gohan and Trunks swallowed furiously.
For that entire year and a half, they had eaten rice balls and flatbread every day.
They had both nearly gone mad.
Meat! I want meat! Lots and lots of meat!
It was as if several little figures were screaming wildly inside each of their minds.
Right now, they felt they could eat an entire dinosaur.
A short while later,
Mr. Popo finished preparing a huge tableful of food.
The two Saiyans tore into it like starving ghosts, sweeping through every dish. The chaos rivaled an earth-shattering battle.
Mr. Popo stood beside them, stunned into silence.
The scene was rather familiar.
It reminded him of the time Goku had stayed at the Lookout to train.
It had to be said that Mr. Popo, who had lived for countless years, was an excellent cook. Son Gohan and Trunks both ate until they were half full.
"Thank you for the meal, Mr. Popo," Trunks said politely.
Then the two leaped off Kami's Lookout, plunging straight toward the world below.
The wind howled in their ears as they returned to the gray, gloomy world.
"Trunks, did you get enough to eat?" Son Gohan asked, turning his head.
"No, Gohan." Trunks rubbed his stomach.
"All right, let's have some barbecue first. Once we've eaten and drunk our fill, we'll go kill the androids," Son Gohan said with a smile.
"Yeah, okay," Trunks replied.
They landed in a forest and spotted one of the dinosaurs found everywhere in the Dragon Ball world.
"Trunks, you're up." Son Gohan found a tree, leaned comfortably against it, and gave Trunks a meaningful look.
Trunks understood and lunged forward instantly.
He picked one lucky dinosaur at random, gutted it, and set it over a fire to roast.
Before long, fat was sizzling and spattering off the golden-brown dinosaur, and its mouthwatering aroma filled the forest.
"Here, Gohan."
Sweating profusely from his work, Trunks tore off an entire dinosaur leg and handed it to Son Gohan.
"Mmm, smells great. Let's make up for that year and a half."
Master and student feasted heartily, and soon all that remained of the dinosaur was a bare skeleton.
Just then,
the sound of a broadcast came from a nearby city.
[We interrupt this program with the latest news on the androids!]
[The location just attacked was Tai Cool Hot Town, 200 kilometers south of Eastern City...]
Heh, looks like we've got work to do.
Having eaten and drunk their fill, master and student broke into grins.
Before you continue