In his memories of his previous life there was a saying.
When the Golden Great Ape regains its reason and endures the ape's power in a human body, that is the day Super Saiyan 4 appears.
But now Gohan was born an ape—sorry about that.
He was indeed staying conscious.
Yet he couldn't return to human form while in Golden Great Ape state and transform into Super Saiyan 4.
It felt as if something was missing.
And so the transformation failed.
Gohan wasn't discouraged; he felt this was normal.
He had only been reborn for so long; there was still a long road ahead.
Nothing can be accomplished in one day, no one can reach the Universe's peak overnight.
Those Heaven-Defying templates from his last life—check-ins inside the womb, punching Zeno and kicking the Grand Priest right after birth—were destined to have nothing to do with him this life.
All he could rely on was his foresight and unrelenting effort.
An hour later,
Gohan and Trunks returned to human form once more.
They restrained themselves from looking at the full moon again, or they'd have to go through another round of transformation and would get no sleep tonight.
After half a night of toss they were both exhausted.
Trunks didn't even plan to go home; he decided to stay at Gohan's place for the night.
The two brothers rubbed their eyes as they reached the doorstep.
Just then, the Supreme Kai and Kibito who had vanished earlier reappeared out of thin air.
Trunks warily eyed these two weirdos, quietly clenching his fists,
ready to give them a sound beating.
Gohan merely yawned, showing no surprise.
He had long expected the Supreme Kai and Kibito to come back.
Afraid Gohan would drive them away the moment they met, the Supreme Kai hastily spoke the instant he appeared.
"Sorry to bother you. I'm the Supreme Kai of this Universe. I mean no harm; I'd just like to be friends with you—may I?"
Seeing the mighty Supreme Kai being so humble, Kibito felt displeased yet could do nothing.
Of course Gohan knew he was the Supreme Kai.
The Supreme Kai's appearance and outfit were far too recognizable to miss.
Gohan gave him a glance, yawning. "Oh, got it. But I'm really sleepy today; let's talk tomorrow."
They were being dismissed? Kibito found it unbelievable.
The Supreme Kai had clearly stated his identity.
"You—"
The Supreme Kai quickly stopped Kibito, smiling apologetically. "All right, you two rest; we'll come again tomorrow."
"Don't come too early—afternoon is fine," Gohan said.
"Okay!" The Supreme Kai pulled Kibito and swiftly left.
Watching the two vanish in an instant,
Trunks, still confused, asked Gohan, "Brother Gohan, who on Earth are those two?"
"Didn't he just say? The Supreme Kai," Gohan replied.
"A god? Like Brother Dende?"
"Trunks, I'm really sleepy. Tomorrow, okay? Good night."
With that, Gohan ignored him, walked into the bedroom, clothes still on, and flopped down to sleep (~o~)zZ.
"Which god rank is higher?"
Trunks kept wondering whether Kami or the Supreme Kai was greater.
Kaioshin Realm.
The Supreme Kai sat in silence for a while, then said to Kibito:
"Kibito, go find out what's happened on Earth these years."
"Also, check who those two Saiyans are."
"Yes, Lord Supreme Kai." Kibito accepted the order and left...
The next day,
Gohan didn't wake until eight in the morning.
When he got up, he found Trunks still curled up asleep on the sofa.
Gohan went out and kicked him awake.
"Why didn't you sleep in the bedroom—was the sofa more comfortable?"
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Trunks stared blankly for several seconds. "I was thinking about stuff and just fell asleep here."
"Thinking about what?"
"I spent the whole night wondering whether Kami or the Supreme Kai is higher ranked," Trunks said—he still hadn't figured it out.
"The Supreme Kai outranks Kami," Gohan gave him the answer.
"Really? I thought Brother Dende was stronger."
"Stop thinking, go wash up."
Gohan hurried him to the bathroom.
After a hasty breakfast the two flew toward West City.
Arriving at Capsule Corporation, Gohan's first request was for Bulma to build a device that emitted Blutz Waves.
Bulma had no idea what Blutz Waves were and was completely lost.
Gohan had to explain the Saiyan Great Ape transformation principle to her.
Bulma finally understood and promised to set aside time to make a Blutz Wave emitter.
Gohan asked, "Auntie Bulma, has that spaceship been fully charged?"
Bulma said, "Not yet, but it's at 80%. Almost there."
Gohan said, "Forget charging the ship for now; focus on the Blutz Wave emitter."
Bulma blinked. "Huh, why?"
Gohan smiled. "Eighty percent energy is enough, and I've already found a better method—you can shift your focus to the emitter and the time machine."
Found a better method?
What could replace a spaceship?
Bulma didn't understand, but she didn't ask further.
Not long after lunch, Videl arrived again.
This time Gohan didn't teach her anything; he simply had her practice Bukujutsu on the grass by herself.
Videl said nothing. She smiled at Gohan and happily went off to train.
Gohan didn't waste time; he ducked into the gravity room, set it to 500x gravity, and used one finger to do 1,000 push-ups as a warm-up.
Then he began his daily two-plus hours of Cultivation.
Two hours passed quickly; when he came out, Videl had already left.
And the ones waiting for him had switched to the Supreme Kai and Kibito.
At first sight the Supreme Kai beamed, "Mr. Gohan, we meet again."
"Hey there," Gohan greeted with a smile.
He then led the Supreme Kai and Kibito to a dessert house and had robots serve several sweets and iced drinks.
They chatted while eating.
Originally the Supreme Kai and Kibito had no intention of eating Mortal food, but unable to resist Gohan's enthusiasm they took a small bite—and then couldn't stop.
Watching their uncultured expressions, Gohan nodded in satisfaction, thinking: Earth's cuisine is number one in the Universe—think that's just hype?
Total win.
Looking at them, Gohan laughed, "Lord Supreme Kai, what did you come to see me for?"
The Supreme Kai hastily wiped cream from the corner of his mouth and quickly regained composure.
He said, "I mentioned last night—I'd like to be friends with Mr. Gohan."
Gohan gave him a meaningful look. "Lord Supreme Kai, you did your homework after you went back..."
"Ah, what do you mean?" the Supreme Kai asked in surprise.
"Simple—you didn't know my name last night."
An awkward smile hung on the Supreme Kai's face; there was none of a god's dignity left.
Seeing his embarrassment, Gohan didn't press further and said with a smile, "It's my honor to be friends with Lord Supreme Kai. I was just too tired last night—sorry."
The Supreme Kai was instantly flattered.
Last night's Gohan had kept him at arm's length; it had scared him a bit.
He hadn't expected such warmth today.
"Ah, no problem—rest is important."
"Heh, right? Since we're friends and I've treated you to such great food, shouldn't you show some gesture—say, a small meeting gift?"
"Huh?" The Supreme Kai and Kibito's minds couldn't process it for a moment.
A meeting gift?
What was that?
Do Mortals give gifts when they meet?
Well, on second thought it made sense—among humans there's the concept of reciprocity, so that must be it.
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