"You'd better not try anything," Kale warned. "I've trained on all kinds of planets. I've met plenty of criminals who love schemes. If you behave in the Galactic Patrol Prison, you can at least earn release when your sentence ends. But if you keep reoffending, you'll be executed."
"Got it," Cell said obediently, nodding. "I'll reform."
I just need her cells.
And I need to figure out how to get my tail back to the way it used to be.
What a mistake.
I should've listened to Android 21.
If nothing else works… can I spit Android 21 back out?
No idea if that's even possible.
I'll take it one step at a time.
Kale walked over to Vegeta, crouched, and tapped his shoulder a few times.
"Hey, wake up, old man. Stop sleeping," Kale said.
Vegeta slowly came to, and the first thing he saw was Kale.
He jolted, scrambled up, and stared at her in disbelief.
Then he seemed to remember something and whipped his head toward Cell.
There—Cell stood cuffed.
Vegeta felt it like a knife in the chest.
You're kidding me. Kale beat Cell?
So that's the Legendary Super Saiyan for you.
Did I lose again?
The bitterness hit hard.
"You're awake," Kale said, grinning.
Vegeta stared without a word.
"You're pretty banged up." Kale gestured. "Go back and let Merus-nii heal you."
"You beat Cell?" Vegeta finally asked.
"He surrendered," Kale said with a smug little laugh.
Vegeta: "…"
Vegeta glanced at Cell.
Cell smiled back at him, eyes full of mockery.
"Cell, you don't surrender easily." Vegeta snorted.
"Don't tell me what to do." Cell huffed. "I feel like it."
"Hmph." Vegeta grunted, shot up into the sky, and vanished in an instant.
"Hey!" Kale shouted after him. "Work harder! We're both future Gods of Destruction, and I'm already ahead of you!"
Vegeta's body jerked so hard he almost fell out of the air.
Ahead of who?
You're ahead of me?
No.
I won't accept that.
Am I really worse than some little kid?
I'll leave you in the dust.
Vegeta sped up, swaying as he flew toward Kami's Lookout.
"I'll call someone to take you back to the Galactic Patrol maximum-security prison," Kale said. She raised her left hand and spoke into her watch.
The call connected quickly.
"Jaco, it's Kale," she said.
"Ah… Kale." Jaco sounded surprised. "What's up?"
"I caught a prisoner on Universe 6's Earth." Kale kept it straightforward. "He broke Galactic Law—probably killed a lot of innocent people. Come take him to the Galactic Patrol Prison."
Over the years, Kale had helped Merus capture plenty of criminals.
Her courage had grown with every job.
She wasn't the trembling little girl from Namek anymore.
"Universe 6's Earth?" Jaco froze, then gave an awkward laugh. "You've got to be kidding. Kale, Universe 6 isn't our jurisdiction!"
"Jaco, think bigger," Kale said quickly. "Don't forget—I'm from Universe 6 too."
Jaco had no comeback.
These past few years, the channel between the two Earths had stabilized.
The Galactic Patrol had also upgraded their receivers.
Calling between Universe 6's Earth and Universe 7 worked without much trouble now.
With that in mind, Jaco could only sigh.
"Fine. I'll come over," he said. "But I'm on an assignment out here. It'll take me a few days to get to you."
"That long?" Kale blinked.
"Yeah. Keep an eye on him until I arrive," Jaco said. "Then I'll take him back and lock him up."
"Alright." Kale agreed. "That's fine."
After the call ended, Kale turned to look at Cell.
Cell was already listening with his ears practically pricked up.
So there really is a Galactic Patrol Prison?
It's got to be full of strong people from across the universe, right?
If I could absorb their cells, wouldn't my body improve even more?
No—wait.
Frieza is already an emperor of the universe. How strong could the guys in that prison really be?
No point chasing distant targets.
If I absorb the Legendary Super Saiyan's cells, my body will evolve. That's all I need.
"So…" Kale thought for a moment, then spoke to Cell. "Looks like you'll have to put up with staying with me for a while."
Cell couldn't have wanted it more. He nodded again and again.
"Let's go," Kale said.
She took Cell up into the sky, and the two of them flew toward Capsule Corp's headquarters at an easy pace.
"Gohan-nii's planet is pretty nice," Kale murmured, watching the landscape drift by. She spread her senses and tried to find Gohan's ki.
But she couldn't find him at all.
"Hey—have you seen Gohan-nii?" Kale asked, turning to Cell.
"Gohan?" Cell paused, then nodded. "I saw him earlier. No idea where he went after that."
"Where could he be? I can't sense him at all." Kale scratched her head.
Cell extended his senses too. Sure enough, he couldn't find Gohan's ki.
But he didn't think much of it.
When there's no fight happening, people often suppress their ki. Not being able to sense someone was normal.
Piccolo's ki was missing too.
Whatever. Those two can't cause me any real trouble.
…
Inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Smack!
Golden light flared around Gohan as he transformed into a Super Saiyan.
Thud-thud-thud!
He and Piccolo crashed into each other in a fierce exchange.
"Nice, Gohan! That's it!" Piccolo blocked everything Gohan threw at him, praising him openly.
Gohan sped up, tightening his rhythm.
Thud!
Their fists met again, and they both pulled back.
Piccolo smiled, looking at Gohan with growing fondness the longer he watched.
If only I had a son like this…
"Gohan, you're incredible." Piccolo's smile widened. "In just a few days, you've learned to control Super Saiyan whenever you want."
"That's because Piccolo-san taught me well." Gohan rubbed the back of his head.
"Next, let's see if we can push beyond Super Saiyan," Piccolo said with a grin.
"Piccolo-san… I think I've already touched the key to going beyond it." Gohan looked a little embarrassed as he said it.
"W-what? You've already found the key?" Piccolo stared, stunned and thrilled.
"I'll try…" Gohan's expression turned serious.
Piccolo nodded hard.
"AAAAAAH!"
A much larger surge of energy poured out of Gohan. The golden light flooded across his entire body.
His hair spiked higher.
A powerful aura erupted from him and blasted outward.
"That ki…!" Piccolo froze, sweat sliding down his face, but his eyes shone with excitement.
"Piccolo-san… this is it." Gohan grinned like an idiot.
"Gohan… when did you figure this out?" Piccolo asked, still shocked.
"Just this morning," Gohan said, scratching his head.
"You're unbelievable…" Piccolo exhaled. "Vegeta needed two months to push beyond Super Saiyan, and you did it in just a few days." He paused, then let out a small breath of relief. "Good thing you didn't train in here with Vegeta. He'd lose his mind."
"Piccolo-san…" Gohan said, flustered.
"Yeah?" Piccolo prompted.
"I think… I'm touching the edge of another breakthrough." Gohan scratched his head again.
Piccolo: "…"
"Another breakthrough?" Piccolo stared like he'd been hit.
"I'll try. I don't know if it'll work." Gohan grew even more serious.
"AAAAAAH!"
Gohan roared again. His body shifted fast, muscles swelling larger and larger.
His power expanded outward in a heavy wave.
"That's insane…" Piccolo went blank.
How can his energy be this huge?
"Piccolo-san, with power like this, beating Cell should be easy, right?" Gohan asked with a smile.
Piccolo studied him and slowly shook his head. "It'll be difficult."
"Huh? Why?" Gohan blinked.
"Those swollen muscles boost raw power, but they kill your speed," Piccolo explained. "No matter how strong you are, it doesn't matter if you can't hit your target."
"You're right." Gohan nodded quickly. "That makes sense."
"After sparring and training with you these days, I think using Super Saiyan as your baseline is the best route," Piccolo said, thinking it through. "I've got a training plan for you. Try it and see if it works."
"What plan?" Gohan asked.
"From now on, stay in Super Saiyan all the time—unless you absolutely can't," Piccolo said. "Then start training from the fundamentals again. If your dad were here, I think he'd choose the same approach."
"Stay Super Saiyan all the time… unless I can't?" Gohan repeated, surprised. "So I can only go back to normal when I sleep, and I stay transformed the rest of the time?"
"That's exactly it." Piccolo nodded.
"Yes, sir. I'll try it!" Gohan answered without hesitation.
Piccolo-san wouldn't steer me wrong.
…
At Capsule Corp's headquarters.
Krillin got back first, carrying Android 16.
"Bulma, can you fix him?" Krillin asked, looking hopeful. "He looks like he ran out of power."
"I'll see what I can do." Bulma pointed to a nearby table. "Put him over there."
Krillin laid Android 16 down on the table.
Seeing Krillin arrive with Android 16 didn't surprise Merus and the others. They only glanced over calmly.
Bulma pulled out a tester and checked Android 16.
"He's got power. It's just a short circuit…" she muttered. "Great. I'm an electrician now…"
Krillin: "…"
"Leave it to me." Bulma looked up at Krillin. "Fixing him shouldn't be a problem."
"Thanks, Bulma." Krillin's head dipped, sadness filling his eyes.
Android 21 was gone.
And it felt like his love vanished with her.
"Krillin, don't be sad," Bulma said gently. "Love will come again."
"What are you talking about…?" Krillin forced an awkward laugh. "Me and Android 21? Love? You're joking now too, Bulma."
He hurried off with that excuse, not wanting to stay.
…
Kale and Cell continued flying toward Capsule Corp.
As they traveled, Cell suddenly spotted a familiar figure through the clouds below.
"Goku!" Cell's eyes lit up.
Kale blinked and looked at him.
"I ran into an old acquaintance," Cell said with a smile. "Mind if we go say hello?"
"Goku… him?" Kale nodded slowly, then looked down.
Sure enough, she quickly found Goku on the ground.
Isn't this Goku the Supreme Kai Jiren is supposed to measure up to?
Might as well take a look.
Whoosh!
They descended and landed in a mountain courtyard.
"Goku! So you're here!" Cell snorted. "Piccolo told me you went to the future! Interesting."
Bardock: "…"
Bardock silently looked Cell over, then glanced at Kale beside him, saying nothing.
"Ah… a monster!" Gine gasped, her face going pale. "All those people disappearing from cities… was that this monster?"
"Let's ask." Bardock's gaze hardened as he looked at Cell. "Those people who vanished for no reason—was that you?"
"Of course." Cell didn't even feel ashamed—he looked proud. "Who else would it be?" He grinned smugly. "Goku, you've got time to mess around here? Funny. You didn't come fight me yourself—you sent Vegeta to challenge me instead."
"Who is this 'Goku' he's talking about?" Gine asked, confused. "I've heard that name before… isn't that the assassin group's boss, Tao Pai Pai? Is 'Goku' another name for you?"
"No." Bardock shook his head. "He's mistaken."
"So you and that Goku look alike?" Gine blinked, eyes wide.
"Almost exactly the same," Bardock replied with a small nod.
"Huh? How can two people be identical?" Gine froze.
Bardock didn't answer.
Telling her that Goku was his son would only hurt her now.
Gine didn't have her past-life memories anymore.
"You're not Goku?" Cell frowned. "Now that you mention it… yeah, you feel different. Colder."
"You really don't look like Goku-san," Kale said, scratching her head as she studied Bardock.
"You're with the Galactic Patrol, aren't you?" Bardock said, recognizing the uniform.
Kale was wearing Galactic Patrol gear, so it wasn't hard to tell.
Bardock had lived for over a thousand years. Back when he wandered the universe, he'd encountered the Galactic Patrol before.
He knew enough to read the signs.
"Yes. I'm with the Galactic Patrol." Kale nodded. "He's Cell. He broke Galactic Law, so I arrested him."
Bardock stayed silent.
As a God of Destruction, what the Galactic Patrol did was beneath his concern.
"So what's your connection to Goku?" Cell couldn't help asking.
They looked far too alike.
No connection at all didn't make sense.
"You're not worthy of that answer," Bardock said coldly, dismissing them. "Leave. Don't disturb our peaceful life."
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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