'So it's true, Uncle Goku holds a special place in Dad's heart.'
Big T thought to himself.
Lott stood up and placed a hand on Big T's shoulder.
Big T raised his hand, index and middle fingers together, touching his forehead, ready to perform Instant Transmission.
"Wait, Dad! I want to go too!"
Pan, as if suddenly remembering something, jumped up and clung to Lott's shoulder like a koala.
Whoosh!
The next second, the family of three vanished simultaneously.
"They left in such a hurry?"
Toyomi, the eldest of the Fujiwara Sisters, blinked in astonishment.
Her impressive bustline was in no way inferior to Hancock's or Robin's from the Planet Pirate.
"It feels like Goku-san holds a special position in Lott's heart."
Chika also, for once, dropped her usual playful antics, speaking with a serious expression.
"Cough~"
Prime Minister Fujiwara suddenly cleared his throat twice, drawing everyone's attention.
"Members of the Hero Association, please come with me. I'd like to discuss the reconstruction work for X City and other related matters with you all."
The Cooler's invasion and the commotion caused by Lott's family were too significant.
The city's reconstruction, civilian casualties, and a series of other issues needed the Hero Association's handling.
And also-
Prime Minister Fujiwara looked at Dr. Briefs, Bulma's father, and said, "Dr. Briefs, please join us as well."
On the way to Totsuki, Lott had told Prime Minister Fujiwara to find a way to keep the Briefs Family on Planet Terra.
This family was a treasure.
The Prime Minister hadn't yet found a way to win over Bulma, but he was trying his best to get close to her father.
It took considerable effort to barely convince Dr. Briefs to join the Association's highest council.
Before leaving with the Prime Minister, Senzaemon whispered to his two granddaughters, "Wait for me in my office."
Erina and Alice were taken aback but obediently headed to the Headmaster's office at Totsuki Academy.
On their grandfather's desk, they saw a fruit they had never seen before, with a peculiar shape.
Paramecia-type: Kuku Kuku no Mi!
…
Soon, in the office usually used by the Totsuki's Elite Ten-
The entire Hero Association's management had gathered.
"My apologies, the seats are a bit small. The Hero Association's meeting room doesn't have this issue."
Senzaemon, as the host, apologized to Neptune.
Not just the seats… when Neptune couldn't fit through the door earlier, Genos had simply blasted it open.
"No problem, no problem~"
Neptune waved it off dismissively.
"First, let's welcome our new colleagues... Mr. Neptune, Dr. Briefs."
Prime Minister Fujiwara stood up and gestured towards the two new faces.
Everyone present stood and applauded.
"And one more... Dr. Kuseno."
Prime Minister Fujiwara then turned towards the door.
An elderly man with mushroom-cut hair, well past sixty, walked into the conference room.
"Hello, everyone. I believe it's our first meeting?"
Dr. Kuseno greeted with a somewhat shy smile.
Prime Minister Fujiwara introduced him, "Dr. Kuseno is the scientist who previously assisted Genos-kun with his cyborg enhancements. He will also be responsible for the city's reconstruction work from now on."
Upon hearing this, all Association members looked at Dr. Kuseno with curiosity.
This was previously Metal Knight's job.
Genos, who had pulled out a chair for Dr. Kuseno, said coldly, "After Bofoi's death, Dr. Kuseno took over his research and mastered all of Metal Knight's technology. Reconstruction is no issue for him."
Recommending Dr. Kuseno to join the management was also Genos's idea.
Besides Lott, this old man who had saved him and performed his cyborg enhancements was the person Genos respected the most.
"Oh ho~ Friend, you're a scientist too? We should discuss things sometime."
Dr. Briefs reached out a friendly hand to Dr. Kuseno.
"Not at all, I'd be showing off my meager skills in front of a master like you."
Dr. Kuseno replied somewhat sheepishly.
The gap between his level and the Briefs Family's was like the difference between a Saibaman and a Saiyan.
"With this, the Association's highest council is replenished..."
Prime Minister Fujiwara's expression gradually relaxed. His gaze swept over everyone present, his aged yet sharp eyes faintly exuding a dangerous glint as he said, word by word:
"Perhaps even a bit too replenished..."
Upon hearing this, most of the members present shuddered inwardly.
After all, on Planet Terra, the position of a Hero Association's core members was comparable to that of a Celestial Dragon on the Planet Pirate.
Although the power wasn't as absurd, the status was similar.
Unless you were someone exceptionally capable like the Great Elder or Dr. Briefs, no one would willingly give up this position.
Prime Minister Fujiwara thought for a moment before saying, "However, this issue isn't urgent for now. Let's first discuss the city restoration work."
'Phew-'
Most council members inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
Especially the head of the Yukinoshita Family, who was nearly scared out of his wits.
He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt Prime Minister Fujimura's gaze had drifted towards him when mentioning downsizing.
Even the 'colleagues' sitting near him were subtly glancing his way.
…
Meanwhile, Lott's family had already arrived at their destination via Big T's Instant Transmission.
Seeing the devastated state of Earth before them, Big T sighed with emotion, "This scene is almost identical to how Earth looked after being destroyed by Majin Buu in our timeline."
After Goku's defeat and death, Buu had also gone on a rampage and massacre on Earth.
Although the number of corpses on the streets wasn't as exaggerated as here-
It's because Buu preferred turning people into candy using his ability rather than simply 'killing' them.
"Eh? Pan, where are you going?"
At that moment, Big T noticed Pan flying eastward.
"What's that girl up to?"
Lott raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know!"
Big T was equally confused.
Lott used his Ki sensing.
'That guy Goku wasn't dead yet.'
'No need to rush to see him. Let's follow Pan first and see what she's up to.'
The father and son followed behind Pan. Noticing the words on a sign amidst the ruined city below, Big T murmured, "Orange Star City... Oh! Dad, this city is called [Goku City] in our timeline."
"Huh?"
Lott looked at Big T, one eye wider than the other.
"This is the city closest to Mount Paozu, right? Gohan-nii attended elementary school here. Later, after Uncle Goku saved Earth multiple times, the citizens renamed this city Goku City."
Hearing Big T's explanation, Lott understood.
'Wasn't this the Satan City plot?!'
In the original work, the Earthlings mistakenly believed Mr. Satan defeated Cell and saved the world, so they renamed his hometown [Satan City].
'It seemed Goku's identity being exposed wasn't all bad for him.'
'Although he was morally burdened, at least his credit wasn't stolen by someone else.'
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, light blue energy balls erupted from the ground, rising into the sky before raining down on the city like a storm.
Their power was negligible to Lott and the others, but for ordinary people, it was a complete disaster.
The dazzling energy waves smashed into the streets.
People on the roads fled in terror.
Big T followed the source of the ki and turned his gaze.
What met his eyes was an alien that looked like a catfish.
"An alien? Strange, Frieza's Ki has already left Earth's vicinity. Why are there still aliens here?"
From the other party's attire and the Frieza Force logo on the armor, Big T immediately identified him as one of Frieza's underlings.
But that was precisely what confused him.
Because before coming to Earth, he had sensed Frieza's Ki had already left Earth.
Chances were, he was scared off by Lott.
So why were there still Frieza's men on Earth?
"Hmm? That ugly guy, I remember he's..."
Lott also recognized the catfish-like alien below, though he couldn't recall the specific name.
He remembered this alien was the first enemy Vegeta killed after returning from Earth and arriving on Namek in the original work.
Originally, his strength was on par with Vegeta's.
But because Vegeta had returned from the brink of death once, his power increased greatly thanks to the Saiyan's unique trait, allowing him to easily kill the other.
And through this catfish's death, the audience learned that Saiyans possessed the bug-like trait of becoming stronger every time they returned from near death.