It really is hard to tell with the naked eye, but everyone here is a Martial Arts Master with a solid foundation—how could they not feel the change in Qi.
As for Observation, they're not that interested; after all, whatever it can do, Qi can also do.
But this Armament, once combined with Qi, really is insanely powerful.
If they can get the hang of it, their combat power is definitely going to skyrocket, right?
After joking around for a while, everyone pulled their focus together and started enthusiastically training with Mr. Popo.
...
In the blink of an eye, two months passed.
On the night before they were to leave the temple, Shano sat alone at a table on the edge of the plaza, gazing into the distance, enjoying the mountains and rivers below.
The night wind blew past, very pleasant.
For these two months, aside from eating and sleeping, he'd poured all his energy into grueling cultivation, rarely having time to relax like this.
But.
The effort hadn't been wasted; after these two months of training, he was even more certain he'd come to the right place.
First of all.
Just as he'd expected, after mastering "Qi," his body's upper limit and energy ceiling had both expanded into an unbelievable new realm—and were still constantly climbing.
That layer of shackles had really been shattered with ease!
Second.
Shano had noticed something else.
Qi and Haki weren't just simply coexisting; once combined, they produced a mysterious change.
He could feel the two kinds of energy inside him gradually fusing, forming some entirely new Power.
This was a whole new path.
But to fully develop it clearly would still take time, and guidance from someone on a far higher level.
Which meant…
"Thinking about something?"
The Immortal's voice came from behind. Leaning on his cane, he slowly walked over and sat beside Shano, smiling as he said:
"You're heading to Lord King Kai's place tomorrow. Are you ready, sir?"
"Yeah."
Shano nodded. "Thank you for your and Mr. Popo's guidance. These two months, I've gained a lot."
"Not at all, I should be the one thanking you."
The Immortal shook his head and sighed:
"You not only helped Earth resolve the Saiyan crisis, you also generously taught us the training method for Armament Haki. That's an enormous favor to me and to Earth's martial arts world."
"We're just learning from each other." Shano didn't think much of it. "By the way, how are Wukong and the others doing?"
"Very well!"
Speaking of this, the Immortal's eyes flashed with relief. "That kid Wukong has incredible talent. He's already proficient in using Dual-Colored Haki. Kling and Tien Shinhan aren't lagging behind, either. Bulma specially sent a combat power detector, and after testing, Wukong's combat power seems to have shot up to around 3000. The others have all reached about 1000."
As for Mr. Popo, needless to say, his combat power easily surpassed 2000, which gave the Immortal quite a shock.
"That's good, then."
Shano smiled.
This progress was way faster than in the original timeline, and the feeling of being able to help was pretty great.
"Do you want to test your own combat power?"
The Immortal asked again, "I can have Mr. Popo bring the detector over right now."
"No need."
Shano stood up, stretched lazily, and looked toward the night sky in the distance:
"We can check after I come back from King Kai's place. It won't be too late then."
With his current speed, even taking Wukong along, he'd need less than a week to run through Snake Way and reach King Planet.
As for convincing King Kai, that was nothing he needed to worry about. Telling cold jokes—that kind of thing was perfect to leave to Wukong.
"Everything's ready; there's just one thing left."
Shano glanced at the Immortal again, blinking as he said, "That thing I asked you to help arrange earlier—you didn't forget, right?"
"Ah, of course."
The Immortal slapped his forehead. "Look at this old man's memory. I actually came here to deliver that to you, and then went and forgot while we were talking."
He took a cloth bag from his robe and handed it over. "These are the Immortal Beans you wanted. There are thirty-six in total. It's not much, but it's Garling Immortal's entire stock for this year."
"That's plenty."
Shano took the cloth bag, looked at the bulging pile of Immortal Beans inside, and nodded in satisfaction.
There was a time.
He'd only had one pitiful little Immortal Bean, treated it like a treasure, and kept it stored away for over a year.
If he hadn't been forced into a life-or-death situation by the incarnation of Imu descending to the Lower Realm, he would never have been willing to eat it.
And now? He casually mentioned it to the Immortal, and got handed such a huge stash.
In the next ten months, whenever he gets tired running along Snake Way, or pushes himself too hard training on King Planet, he can just pop one and instantly go back to full HP and keep going.
It's seriously a broken-level item.
Too bad he can't bring any back to the Pirate World.
"It's getting late. I'm going to head back and get a good night's sleep."
Shano put away the Immortal Beans and waved at the Immortal. "Then I'll see you tomorrow morning, Immortal."
"Mm, good night."
The Immortal hesitated, then nodded.
Watching Shano's back as he walked away, he opened his mouth, but swallowed his words again.
Over these two months, he'd watched Shano getting stronger day by day at a speed visible to the naked eye, and there was a question that kept bugging him.
With Lord Shano's current strength, does he really still need to go to King Planet to be able to beat those two Saiyans?
It kind of feels like his current level is already enough…
Shano naturally had no idea what the Immortal was thinking.
He strode toward his bedroom, looking up at the star-filled sky along the way, with only one thought in his head.
Ten-times gravity on King Planet, the adorable and easy-to-get-along-with North King Kai, plus the insanely broken Kaioken and Spirit Bomb… It's an unquestionable training Holy Land.
I, Shano, am coming!
.........
Time flew by like a white horse galloping past a crack.
Before anyone noticed, ten months had gone by.
It had already been a full ten months since Shano and Son Wukong left Earth for King Planet. During these ten months, Earth remained as usual, without any real changes.
West City, Capsule Corporation.
In Bulma's lab, a shrill alarm suddenly sounded.
"What's going on?"
Bulma, who was in the middle of modifying Raditz's ship, jumped in fright and rushed over to the radar, looking at the monitor screen.
On the screen, two massive red dots were closing in on Earth at an astonishing speed.
"Eh? They're here—already?!"
Bulma was shocked, flustered as she grabbed her phone. "Hey, hey! Can everyone hear me? This is bad! Those two Saiyans are already about to reach Earth! They're a full five days earlier than the one-year time we were told before!"
"Five days early?"
Kling's surprised voice came through the line. "They're in that much of a hurry? All of us are still training up at the temple."
"Then get down here already!"
Bulma snapped. "What are you waiting for? Also, will Wukong and Lord Shano make it back in time?"
"No need to worry about that. Big Bro Shano contacted Master Mutaito a few days ago and said he and Wukong would return early. At this point, they've probably almost finished running Snake Way."
Good…
Bulma let out a breath. Her sense of security right now was entirely pinned on those two guys, especially that mysterious and powerful Mr. Shano.
"Still, we've gotta be prepared on both fronts."
Kling said in a low voice, "Bulma, send us the predicted landing point. We'll head over right away and intercept those two Saiyans first!"
"Okay! I'll send it to you now!"
————
Earth, southwestern desert.
It was just noon, the blazing sun scorching the sand, the air itself twisted by the heat.
Whoosh!
Two spherical ships streaked across the sky like meteors, trailing long streams of flame, before finally crashing down deep in the desert with a thunderous boom, kicking up a storm of sand.
Clack.
The hatch slowly opened.
"Man, that was a comfy nap. We finally made it, Vegeta."
Nappa shoved open the hatch and threw a thick arm over his eyes to block the sun. "Tch, what a crappy planet—this light is way too harsh."
"This is desert terrain. That's normal."
Vegeta hovered in midair with his arms crossed, glanced around, then said coldly:
"The detector shows Raditz's ship crashed to the north. Let's head over. I'm very interested in that Saiyan bloodline… Huh? He's flying this way on his own?"
With one hand on his scouter, he raised his head in surprise toward a certain direction. "Combat power is 3300. That matches the data Raditz sent before. Mm, that should be the guy."
"Three thousand three? Seriously? After a whole year, he only went up by three hundred?"
Nappa froze for a second, then couldn't help tilting his head back and laughing out loud:
"If I remember right, Vegeta, you praised him before, said he was young and talented, didn't you? Hmph, looks like this brat's nothing special after all!"