Life in the Time Capital was relaxed and comfortable, with people from various universes and races gathering together. Some appeared to be close relatives of the Frieza race, but their temperaments were quite different. They practiced to improve their strength during peacetime, went out to perform missions when assigned, and lived very regulated lives.
Ordinary patrol members received nearly three months of vacation annually. Under the premise of not touching temporal taboos, the God of Time Realm didn't interfere with personal freedom. Trunks could often return to the future timeline, treating the Time Capital assignments as work.
After following Kais around for some time, Raditz and Trunks had gradually figured out the general structure and important locations of the entire Time Capital. Raditz had also taken the time to tell Trunks about the Namek Dragon Balls, as well as some terrifying enemies like Majin Buu that would appear in the future.
While they were resting, a message rang through Raditz's communicator.
Highest level of urgency? Raditz flipped the switch.
"Raditz, something's wrong! Something's terribly wrong!"
This was Bulma's voice! Her iconic tone shocked Raditz's eardrums, and he couldn't help but hold the device away for fear of being deafened.
"What happened?"
"Cell has awakened! He absorbed Androids 17 and 18 and became a perfect being!"
"Cell... is he still alive?" Raditz's expression changed slightly, his brow furrowing. "I clearly excluded Cell and Dr. Gero when I made the wish. Then there's only one possibility—he wasn't killed by the explosion!"
"Ah..." Bulma verified his conjecture and was shocked. After a moment, the communicator crackled again. "The two of them are going to hold a martial arts tournament to challenge all Earth's fighters, saying that if everyone fails, they'll destroy Earth."
"Two?" Raditz was stunned.
"One from the future, and one from this era."
Raditz was startled and fell silent. He remembered destroying the relocated research institute and burning the entire area without leaving any trace. Had Cell not been there at the time? But the android positioning device hadn't shown signals from either Cell, because this guy was special...
The two Cells presented a problem. There was only one pair of Androids 17 and 18. How would they divide them?
"Which one became the perfect body?" Raditz asked.
"Goku said they both did! I can't explain the specifics, so come back soon."
"Understood." Raditz said in a deep voice.
Two Cells, two perfect bodies—this matter wasn't simple.
"Trunks, let's go. It's time to return."
"Yes!"
Trunks had also heard clearly that Cell was another culprit who had devastated the future, and Cell must be eliminated in this era.
The two said their goodbyes to Chronoa, then went straight back to Earth.
The sun was shining brightly on Earth, and the sky was clear. Except for Cell's recent battle and destruction, nothing had changed, and everything remained peaceful. There were tall buildings in the city, and people came and went on the streets.
The perfect Cell didn't seem to want to destroy Earth and kill humans—it was no fun for him to deal with such low-strength creatures.
Raditz brought Trunks to Bulma's house, where Goku and Vegeta told Raditz about the matter in detail, with the half-disabled Android 16 adding parts of the story.
"Is that so? I have some admiration for that bastard Boundless, leaving a disaster behind even after death." After listening to the explanation, Raditz smiled slightly.
"Hmph, you're still laughing! It's due to your negligence." Bulma complained while holding baby Trunks.
"I think Raditz has done well. Such a bastard must be terminated by my own hands!" Vegeta's anger at being knocked down hadn't dissipated, and he clenched his fists, looking ready to explode at any moment.
His pride didn't allow him to fail, especially when he fell behind Kakarot, which made him even more resentful. Super Saiyan full power, and Super Saiyan 2—the two were mountains standing before him, obstacles he must overcome.
"By the way, isn't Android 18 with Zangya? Where is Zangya?" Raditz didn't see Zangya and asked.
"Zangya was severely injured and is now recuperating in the treatment room. It'll take half a day to recover," Bulma said.
The corners of Raditz's eyes twitched slightly, and his heart suddenly filled with rage. Cell's transformation into a perfect body wasn't a threat to him. If he could defeat Vegeta, he could fight Cell. Who made Vegeta have the constitution of a secondary protagonist?
But seriously injuring Zangya was Cell crossing the line. Couldn't move at high speed? Couldn't use Solar Flare? Couldn't launch sneak attacks with concealed energy? If Cell could absorb Android 18 in a dozen different ways, why did Raditz have to beat him personally?
Raditz stood up coldly, the shadow on his face making everyone tremble. Anyone could see that Raditz was furious at this moment, like a volcano about to erupt—once it erupted, it would definitely cause worldwide devastation.
"Ten days, right?"
"Yes..."
"I'll make him regret becoming a perfect body in ten days!" Raditz snorted coldly.
Everyone watched Raditz walk out the door, still feeling endless chill hit their hearts, the lingering oppressive feeling extremely heavy. They didn't know how long it took before breathing became a little easier.
"Huh... Vegeta, what are your plans?" Goku asked.
"I'm going to train in that room, Kakarot. I will surpass you this time! And that Cell!"
"Father, I want to train with you." Suddenly, Trunks approached with a blush on his face. "Well, I think... if you train in pairs, the effect might be better."
During the few days at home, the two always entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train at different times. They were father and son, but separated by a timeline. Vegeta always looked at Trunks from a distance but refused to take the initiative to close the gap.
Trunks had never seen his father's true face before. Although it wasn't the same timeline, he also wanted to know the cold but attractive Vegeta his mother had described.
"Do as you please, as long as you don't get in my way." Glancing at Trunks, Vegeta turned sideways, crossing his arms.
"I think I have to go to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train. It would be too embarrassing to be left behind." Krillin rubbed his head and laughed.
Tien also nodded: "Then let's work together. It'll be more effective if we're at the same level."
They had all learned Kaio-ken and mastered many special Earth techniques. It would be great if they could fuse them together or use coordination to achieve better effects. Seeing that others had made great progress, as martial artists, it was difficult for them to restrain their inner restlessness.
Outside the treatment room, Raditz watched Zangya recover slowly, his expression cold. Seeing figures flying toward the temple one by one in a blink of an eye, Raditz looked up and followed.
Goku was now at full power, and Gohan was almost there—it was truly a gift for a nine-year-old child to have this level. Vegeta and Trunks would definitely be formidable after a year of training, and Super Namek Piccolo and the other fighters were also getting stronger.
The self-proclaimed Cell had no idea how far their strength would grow!