Goku's excitement was a visible aura, overriding his caution. "You know Piccolo's spot, and you're stronger than me. Let's go!"
He turned to Gohan. "Gohan, I have to go train for a little while with Kaito. I'll be back for dinner with Mom. Be good!"
Gohan nodded wide-eyed, clutching his dinosaur toy.
Goku returned to Kaito. "Alright, I'm ready. How are we getting there so fast?"
"Grab my shoulder," Kaito instructed. "We're taking the shortest possible route."
The yard, Goku's house, and the entire landscape vanished in a blinding, instantaneous blur. Goku's surprised gasp was stretched thin by the sheer, crushing velocity. The trip across the world took less than a single, comprehensible second, replacing the warm countryside with the thin, sharp air of a remote, jagged plateau.
Kaito slowed with the same seamless control. Goku stumbled, his body fighting the intense spatial dislocation he had just experienced. He dropped to one knee, breathing hard.
"We moved faster than anything!" Goku gasped, half-disoriented, half-thrilled. "How did you do that?"
"It was just speed," Kaito said, his voice flat. "And you barely handled a fraction of it. You have a lot of work to do."
A sharp, familiar voice cut through the air before Goku could recover.
"Goku. What are you doing here?"
Piccolo stood across the plateau, arms crossed, his cloak billowing slightly. His expression was a perfect mask of cold hostility, but his eyes were narrowed, fixed entirely on Kaito. Piccolo, sensing his Ki, felt the chilling, inexplicable void Kaito was projecting—a pressure he had never encountered before.
He followed your Ki here, Piccolo," Kaito stated before Goku could speak. "He didn't know how to find you, but I did. We are here to talk about the alien that will arrive on Earth in less than ten days."
Piccolo scoffed. "You have no power, human. You're a zero. How could you possibly know anything about me or any threat?"
"His power is real, Piccolo," Goku insisted, staggering back to his feet. "He's fast, faster than anything."
"I know the name of your strongest attack," Kaito stated simply, his gaze unblinking. "And I know the exact weakness of the man who is coming to attack this planet."
Piccolo's Ki flared instantly, his hand rising, green energy crackling around his fingertips. "My strongest attack is a secret! You know nothing!"
"You call it the Special Beam Cannon," Kaito supplied calmly, the name ringing out across the silent plateau. Piccolo froze. He had never spoken that name aloud. "It's a devastating technique, but it takes too long to charge. If you rely on it as a surprise attack in one week, you and Goku will both fail."
Kaito pressed the final, most shocking detail. "That alien, the one in the armor, is not just a threat. He is your brother, Goku. You are not human; you are a Saiyan, a survivor of a warrior race."
The revelation was a hammer blow. Goku went utterly silent, trying to process the concept of a brother, a warrior race, and a lie that had defined his entire life.
Piccolo lowered his hand, his shock overriding his aggression. The name Special Beam Cannon, combined with the revelation of Goku's hidden lineage, was irrefutable evidence. He still hated the idea of an alliance, but the urgency was now a cold, knotting reality in his stomach.
"You speak the truth," Piccolo stated, the concession tasting like ash. "And you want an alliance with me."
"I want survival," Kaito corrected. "We have less than ten days. You can face this threat at your current strength, which will certainly lead to your deaths, or you can spend the next seven days training under a new regime that will allow you to survive this fight and, eventually, face the far greater threats that will follow."
Goku, finally regaining his voice, looked at Piccolo. "I'm in, Piccolo. This is too big to face alone."
Piccolo stared at Kaito for a long, tense moment, the crushing pressure of Kaito's suppressed power still subtly grating on his senses.
"Fine," Piccolo spat, his green eyes flashing with intense determination. "Seven days. We train under your regime, Kaito. But if you waste our time, or if I detect even a hint of deceit from you, I will not hesitate to kill you myself."
[...CRITICAL MISSION: RADITZ ENCOUNTER. ALLIANCE FORMED...]
[...NEW TRAINING OBJECTIVE GENERATED: MASTERING THE CORE...]
Kaito smiled, a satisfied expression washing away the previous tension. "Excellent. The time for small training is over. Let's start with your Ki control."