Time passed, and before they knew it, a year had gone by.
"Goku, are you leaving?"
Batra spoke reluctantly as he and Goku walked through the palace. He knew Goku was leaving today.
"Yeah. I've troubled you all for a year now, so it's time I left. Someone's waiting for me back home, too." As he spoke, Goku couldn't help thinking of Bulma. He hadn't seen her in a year, and he missed her more and more.
"Your partner back home? You two really must love each other. I've lost count of how many times you've mentioned her this past year."
Batra silently condemned Goku. So he deserved to be a single dog, did he?
"Yeah. Come on, let's go see Elder Pybara together. He's helped me a lot with my Ki control this past year. I should say goodbye and thank him before I go." Goku hadn't forgotten how much Pybara had helped him.
In fact, it had taken Goku only a month to master the four martial arts. He had spent the remaining eleven months training his control over Ki.
And in a little over a year, his base Power Level had risen to 32 million. Perhaps because he had broken through to Super Saiyan, his base Power Level had skyrocketed.
If he had had help raising his Power Level over the past year or so, he might have reached 40 million already.
Now, his control over Ki had finally improved another step. It might have been only a tiny bit, but at his level, every little improvement took considerable time and effort.
Just as the two stepped into the elder's room, his voice rang out.
"Goku, you're leaving today, aren't you?"
"Yes. I came especially to thank you for teaching me this past year." Goku walked up with a grin and put an arm around Pybara's shoulders.
Over the past year, Goku had grown very close to Pybara and Batra. They were just short of calling each other brothers.
"Oh, think nothing of it! It's mainly because you're so talented. After a year, I have nothing left to teach you. Everything you've achieved is thanks to your own efforts!"
Pybara meant every word. He had never seen anyone as talented as Goku.
"I was just being polite, you know?" Goku said shamelessly.
The other two's faces darkened for a moment, but they weren't surprised. After a year, they were used to it.
"By the way, Goku, let me leave you with one more thing before you go. To put it in Earth's terms, the martial path has no end. It can benefit you all your life, so please don't stop exploring it."
Pybara looked serious as he spoke to Goku. He didn't want a genius like Goku to lose his passion for exploring the martial path.
"Yeah, I will!" With that, Goku placed two fingers against his forehead and vanished with a swish.
Pybara stared at Batra in shock. Batra seemed to suddenly realize something and hurriedly said to him:
"Oh, right, Elder, I forgot to tell you. Goku improved Instant Transmission. As long as he's been somewhere before, he can teleport there directly without even sensing Ki."
Pybara froze for a moment, then laughed.
"Haha, he really is like a monster. By the way, Goku will pass the improved Instant Transmission on to you, won't he?"
Hearing that, Batra scratched his head awkwardly. Goku had taught him, but the problem was that he hadn't managed to learn it!
"Um... Elder, Goku did teach me, but I couldn't learn it. Still, I wrote it down." By the end, Batra couldn't help looking rather pleased with himself.
????
Pybara was full of questions. It was the first time he'd seen someone so proud of failing to learn something.
"Bring me what you wrote down. Let me see it."
Batra hurriedly took out several sheets of paper and handed them to him. Pybara looked them over.
After a long while, Pybara gave an awkward laugh.
"Haha, that's Goku for you. Put these pages in the collection hall. Let's see if anyone can learn it in the future. We have to believe in the wisdom of future generations!" Pybara felt so awkward he could have dug out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.
Batra couldn't help looking down on Pybara. He couldn't learn it himself, so he'd started talking Goku up and saying they had to believe in the wisdom of future generations. After spending so much time with Goku, neither of them was any good.
Batra was self-aware enough to know he wasn't any good either. It couldn't be helped. This was mostly Goku's influence, so he couldn't be blamed.
Goku: "Oh, yeah, right!"
After traveling through space for five or six days, Goku arrived at a planet with a thriving commercial scene. He planned to buy some gifts for Bulma there.
After getting off his spaceship, Goku headed to the planet's most famous shopping street.
As expected of the most famous shopping street, it was packed with people. There were aliens of all shapes and sizes.
That person looks a lot like a Namekian. This one has three eyes and must be from the same bloodline as Tien Shinhan. Holy shit! An alien that's golden and shiny all over!
It was Goku's first time seeing such a variety of aliens. His interest piqued, he began looking around.
"Hey, buddy, are you a Saiyan?" An alien who looked a little like an Earthling came over and asked Goku.
His name was Aku, and he worked on this shopping street. His job was to get customers to spend money, and the more they spent, the higher his commission.
There were many others like him on the street. Quite a few of them had noticed Goku, but they had also seen the tail behind him. The Saiyans' formidable reputation throughout the universe kept them from approaching.
Although the Saiyans seemed to be extinct, that didn't change how powerful they were as individuals. Besides, wasn't there a Saiyan right in front of them?
"Yeah, I came here to buy something." Goku could clearly tell that he was a little different from the others. Was he a salesman?
"Oh, buddy, you've come to the right place! Our Planet Beyond is a famous commercial planet, and this is its most famous shopping street! Whatever you want to buy, I can give you some recommendations."
Aku's eyes instantly gleamed. Saiyans were usually powerful, and powerful individuals tended to have plenty of money. It looked like he might land a big deal this time.
"Women's products." Goku felt that he was somewhat up to no good, but he couldn't sense any malice. Moreover, something about Aku's aura felt familiar to Goku, which was a little strange.
Even if he did have malicious intentions, it didn't matter. His Power Level was only in the tens of thousands. Goku could stand there and let him hit him without anything happening.
"Women's products?"
Goku couldn't help sighing.
"Yeah! I've been away a little too long, so I'm bringing my partner back home some gifts. You understand why I need to bring gifts, right? Things will end badly for me if I don't!"
"Holy shit, you too..."
Aku was about to say more, but Goku stopped him.
"Hey, just keep that between us. Don't say it out loud." Goku leaned close to Aku's ear and whispered.
When Aku looked at Goku now, he felt a sense of kinship in their shared plight. He hadn't expected a pure-blooded Saiyan to be afraid of his wife too. Aku decided to cheat Goku out of a little less money.
For no other reason than brotherhood. They were fellow sufferers! But he still had to make a living, didn't he? So he'd cheat him out of a little less.
Even so, Aku could tell that his situation was different from this Saiyan's. He was a live-in son-in-law who endured constant ridicule and sarcasm in his wife's family. Only his wife treated him a little better and kept comforting her.
Aku had just one thing to say to his wife's relatives and friends: they had eyes but couldn't see.
He was the only person on the planet whose Power Level had broken ten thousand and reached five digits. He had simply wanted to stay ordinary and live a normal life with his wife.
Goku knew nothing about Aku's family situation. If he did, he would surely have shouted:
"Holy shit! A Dragon Ball live-in son-in-law!"
"I understand, I understand!" Aku gave Goku a reassuring look.
"Since you want women's products, I'd recommend some beauty and wellness products. Let me tell you, Planet Beyond has a kind of skin care product that can gradually increase hip and bust measurements. Take a look." Aku took out a piece of transparent electronic glass and began showing him all kinds of beauty products.
Goku leaned over to look and was instantly amazed by the variety of beauty products. There were so many, and their functions were so comprehensive and awesome.
"This one firms and whitens the skin, and this one prolongs life and youth..." Aku introduced them one by one.