Time passed like scattered dust, gone in the blink of an eye.
In the blink of an eye, a full year had gone by.
West City. Capsule Corporation.
The Earth Dragon Balls had once again regained their former brilliance, and everyone gathered in the courtyard of Bulma's house.
With a loud shout: "Come forth, Shenron!"
A mighty Eastern-style dragon descended from the sky. Through a single wish, all those who had died during the chaos on Earth a year ago were brought back to life.
Among them was Mr. Popo.
At the Lookout...
Mr. Popo had returned to the living world. Quietly, he walked toward Kami.
"Kami Sama, is something wrong?" Mr. Popo asked the elderly guardian.
As the God of Earth, watching his planet restored once more brought a satisfied smile to Kami's face, but peace did not come to his heart.
Too many disasters have occurred on Earth recently. And yet his own power remained feeble.
As the one meant to guard this world, that powerlessness was deeply painful.
"Mr. Popo, I've made my decision. I'll fuse with Piccolo. Only then will I truly fulfill my duty to protect Earth."
Mr. Popo widened his eyes, looking at the sorrowful Kami with a heavy heart.
"Kami-sama, there are already so many powerful warriors on Earth now. Don't you think… fusion is unnecessary? You're just overthinking things."
Mr. Popo wasn't wrong. Even Kami himself knew that, even if he fused with Piccolo, their power would still fall short compared to Earth's warriors.
"Heh… Mr. Popo, I'm old now. Do you remember that young Namekian called Dende?"
Mr. Popo blinked, then replied: "You mean that incredibly talented Dragon Clan child we met in the afterlife?"
Kami nodded meaningfully. After arriving in the Other World and reconnecting with other Namekians, Kami had come to realize Dende's existence.
He continued, "I once thought I was a genius among Namekians… but that little fellow is even more outstanding than I am."
"Kami Sama, do you mean…?" Mr. Popo asked.
Kami sighed and said, "I want him to become Earth's new Guardian. I want him to take my place. So, I've already asked Trunks to contact him."
Just as his words fell, the sound of synchronized footsteps echoed from the platform.
Zzzzt---! Tap---!
The arrivals were none other than Trunks and Dende. Since Dende had been dead for many years, and had only been revived recently, he still looked like a young child.
Nervously, Dende turned to Trunks and asked, "Brother Trunks, is this… Earth?"
Trunks scratched his head. Dende was actually about the same age as Gohan, so being called "big brother" felt a little awkward.
"Yup, this is Earth. And this is Earth's current Kami, you two should've met before, right? Well then, Kami-sama, I've brought Dende as requested. I have other matters to attend to, so… bye!"
With that, Trunks once again activated Instant Transmission, vanishing from the Lookout. Over the past year, Trunks had gone back to Planet Yardrat, where he successfully learned Instant Transmission.
Zzzzt---!
Scene shift, Trunks reappeared in the Kaiō God Realm.
"Oww!! That hurts!!"
A string of agonized moans echoed from a spiky-haired man with a crab-like hairstyle. Son Goku was hugging a block of the universe's hardest metal, his butt completely exposed.
Behind him stood Elder Kaiōshin, administering… training.
Having been fully revived, Goku had now re-adapted to his body, and had finally met all the physical conditions needed to transform into Super Saiyan 4.
Today, he would break through the chains that had held him back for years.
At the same time, in the Kaiō God Realm, Vegeta was also present, standing by and watching, eagerly awaiting the moment when Son Goku would finally transform into Super Saiyan 4.
"Dad, how's it going?" Trunks walked up to Vegeta.
Vegeta stood with his arms crossed, his gaze never leaving Goku for even a moment.
"It should be soon."
Fwoosh---!
Just as he finished speaking, a furry tail suddenly burst out from Goku's backside.
"Ahhh!! That hurts!!" Goku howled in pain.
Elder Kaiōshin wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "All done. That came out much faster than last time."
He gently patted Goku's tail, looking quite satisfied with his handiwork.
Thanks to Vegeta's earlier experience of having his own tail pulled out, this time the process was much smoother for Goku.
Elder Kai, still not done, added with a sly grin: "Hey, Goku, don't you have a son too? Want me to pull his tail out while I'm at it?"
Goku immediately stopped wailing and snapped back to normal. "Gohan? Nah, I think he's busy lately. Got himself a girlfriend and all."
Then, he stood up, turned to Trunks and Vegeta, and said: "Trunks, Vegeta! Alright, let's move on to the next step!"
Vegeta scoffed. He hadn't expected Goku to get his tail back so quickly. Under Vegeta's control, an artificial moon slowly rose into the sky.
Soon, the Blutz Waves from the artificial moon began affecting Goku's body.
In a flash, his body enlarged dramatically, his mouth grew sharp fangs, and golden fur began to sprout.
A massive golden Great Ape now stood on the ground.
"ROAAARRR!!"
However, this transformed Golden Great Ape Goku hadn't regained his rational mind! This was a common flaw among lower-class warriors.
Now, in a berserk state, Goku began destroying everything around him.
"As expected, Goku Ojisan still can't regain his sanity like Dad and I can…" Trunks muttered under his breath.
At that moment, the Golden Great Ape fired a beam of energy from its mouth.
Everything in its path was reduced to nothingness.
Elder Kai and Shin scrambled to dodge and run for their lives.
"Hey! Kakarot!!" Vegeta suddenly shouted at the ape.
The Golden Great Ape turned and locked eyes with Vegeta for a second.
"ROAAARR!!!"
But it was no use, Goku still hadn't regained his senses. He lunged at Vegeta, claws outstretched.
"You bastard! Kakarot! Is this how you plan to get stronger?! What a joke!!"
In that instant, Vegeta transformed into Super Saiyan 4, unleashing a devastating wave of power. He tilted his body and dodged Goku's attack with ease.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
With a few heavy blows, Vegeta began beating the ape back step by step.
"Wake up, damn you, Kakarot!!" Vegeta shouted. "If you won't snap out of it, I'll beat the sense back into you!!"
His merciless fists slammed into the berserk Goku, showing no hint of restraint.
The Golden Great Ape howled in pain again and again; even Trunks couldn't help but feel Vegeta's approach was rather brutal.
"Final Flash!!" Vegeta roared as a massive energy wave gathered in his hands.
Just as Vegeta was about to unleash a killing blow, the Golden Great Ape suddenly began shrinking rapidly. Vegeta grunted and stopped his Final Flash, stepping toward the now-transformed Goku.
"Hmph. Not bad, Kakarot. You didn't disappoint me after all."
Through Vegeta's fists and fury, Goku conquered his inner beast.
And thus, another Super Saiyan 4 was born.
(End Of This Chapter)
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