Chapter 4: A Golden Opportunity!
---
"So, Trunks… are you as strong as my brother now?"
"I think so… Gohan-san has neglected his training for quite a while."
Goten stared in awe at his best friend, who now radiated an aura of dominance and overwhelming strength.
On top of that, he felt like Trunks' personality had changed a little in this form.
"Trunks, are you okay?"
"Ah… yes, I'm fine. It's just… it seems that Super Saiyan 2 affects the user's emotions a bit."
Trunks now understood what Gohan had felt—the arrogance—when he fought Cell in his Super Saiyan 2 state.
It seemed the Saiyan cells that loved battle so much also carried another trait: arrogance.
Thinking about it, Trunks remembered how often Saiyans had fallen into arrogance—especially the main heroes like Vegeta, Goku, and Gohan.
Every time their power increased, they would suddenly become prideful.
As he was lost in thought, Trunks suddenly felt Gohan's ki rapidly approaching.
When Gohan arrived, he was in his Super Saiyan form.
But when he looked at Trunks, he was shocked to see him truly in Super Saiyan 2.
Looking around and finding no enemies, then glancing at Goten, Gohan quickly came up with a dramatic scenario:
Goten must have been overpowering Trunks.
And since Trunks was Vegeta's son, he too must have had strong pride.
So, seeing Goten stronger than him must have provoked his anger and pushed him to evolve into Super Saiyan 2—defeating Goten with a single blow.
"Brother, whatever you're thinking… you're wrong."
Seeing Gohan staring blankly, Goten immediately guessed his thoughts.
"Even though Gohan-san is strong, he hasn't trained… maybe I have a chance against him."
"And if I defeat him, I'll get a ticket to advance to Super Saiyan 3, since I can already transform into Super Saiyan 2."
Thinking this through, Trunks decided to seize the opportunity.
"Gohan-san…"
"Trunks! Can you tell me what happened?"
"I don't know either. But I feel like I'm burning up inside, and I want to test my new strength."
Gohan looked at Trunks and understood.
After all, Saiyans loved to fight—especially after their power evolved.
"Alright, I suppose a quick fight won't hurt… after all, I've grown so weak."
"That's exactly why I want to fight you!"
Trunks smiled, taking a battle stance.
Seeing this, Gohan closed his eyes and began to focus.
After neglecting his training and retiring from battle following Cell's defeat, Gohan had grown weaker. He was still strong, of course, but transforming into Super Saiyan 2 now took him time.
"Haaaaaa!"
Goten leapt onto a tree branch and sat quietly, eager to watch.
Meanwhile, Trunks watched nervously as Gohan's power surged like a rocket, rising rapidly until he reached Super Saiyan 2.
But then… his power stopped growing.
This stunned Trunks.
So this is Gohan's Super Saiyan 2? He's so weak!
It made sense if you thought about it.
When Goku first fought Frieza and transformed into a Super Saiyan, his power had only risen to 150 million.
But after training and mastering the form into its "perfect" state, his power had skyrocketed to about three billion or more.
As for Gohan, he had been powerful—his Super Saiyan 2 against Cell had been overwhelming.
But since he had never trained to master it and had abandoned training altogether, his form was incomplete.
That meant Trunks, who had not only evolved into Super Saiyan 2 but had even reached a mid-level mastery, was naturally stronger than him.
You could say that Super Saiyan forms had four levels:
Low
Mid
High
Perfect
When Gohan first achieved Super Saiyan 2 against Cell, he was likely at Low, or maybe Mid.
But after years of neglect, he was now below Low—barely able to maintain the form.
Still, Trunks knew if he dragged out the fight, Gohan could quickly regain his former strength in the heat of battle.
I have to finish this quickly, Trunks thought nervously.
"Trunks, you're truly amazing. But don't underestimate me…"
Who's underestimating you, idiot?
Still… I hope you take it easy on me and lose quietly.
Gohan had battle experience and familiarity with Super Saiyan 2, so he could control his power better than Trunks.
Trunks decided he had to end this fight with one blow.
He got into position, charging ki between his hands.
"Don't you want to test your strength? Or maybe you think I'm not a worthy opponent?"
Feeling Trunks' condescending look and the pride swelling inside him, Gohan couldn't let it go.
He took his stance and began pouring all his power into a single attack.
"Ka… me… ha… me…"
Trunks looked straight into Gohan's eyes and smiled.
But suddenly, he vanished.
Though Gohan managed to track him with his eyes, he didn't dare lose focus on his energy buildup.
"Behind you!"
Gohan spun around, only to see Trunks preparing another technique—not the Kamehameha.
He raised his hands above his head and shouted:
"MAAAASENKOOOOO!"
"Damn it… Piccolo-san's technique!"
BOOOOOM!
A massive explosion shook the battlefield.
When the dust cleared, Trunks stood there, clothes torn and body scarred.
In front of him lay Gohan, collapsed on the ground, back in his normal state.
"Hahaha… Trunks, you're really strong. I lost so easily!"
"You could have beaten me if you'd launched your Kamehameha, right?"
"If I had fired it at that range, you would have died for sure… and maybe I'd have died too!"
Gohan had held back, afraid of hurting Trunks.
After all, he had neglected his training and lost proper control of his power—especially in a form he hadn't mastered like Super Saiyan 2.
[Ding! Son Gohan has been defeated!]
[You have obtained Son Gohan's techniques and abilities!]
[You have obtained an Advancement Ticket for Super Saiyan 3 (SS3)!]
[You have gained 500 million Power Units!]
Hearing the system notifications, Trunks couldn't contain his joy—he jumped around in celebration.
This made Gohan and Goten laugh out loud.
"To reach this level of strength without fighting many battles… and where did you learn Piccolo-san's technique?"
"Ah, that… I sparred with Piccolo-san once and saw him use it, so I tried practicing it over the past week."
Gohan was astonished at Trunks' talent.
But he didn't know that Trunks had gained all of Piccolo's techniques, abilities, and combat experience.
That was the only reason he had barely managed to win.
---
I hope you enjoyed this chapter ❤
Please 💚 support the story 😭 so we can continue together 🌹