Boom!
A dense wave of ki surged outward, shooting past the boundaries of Earth.
Turles disappeared along with it, his body dissolving and melting under the sheer force of the energy attack.
In the end, he vanished completely into the vast depths of the universe.
Below, Gohan remained suspended, still in the posture of firing energy blasts. Though visibly exhausted, his chest rising and falling violently, he maintained his stance.
The intense crimson aura surrounding him gradually dissipated with each breath.
Feeling Turles' presence entirely gone, he finally exhaled a slow, relieved breath.
This was the first life-or-death battle he had faced since beginning his training. Despite his outward calm, a part of him still trembled with unease.
After all, his opponent had been a reincarnated warrior. Who knew what abilities he might have possessed?
If Gohan had lost due to carelessness, it wouldn't just have been a wasted chance at this match. The consequences could have drastically altered the world itself.
Fortunately, he had won.
[Congratulations! You have won the match! You will now return to your original world!]
The system immediately issued a voice prompt after detecting Turles' death, signaling it was time to return.
Whoosh!
A violet halo flashed across Gohan's body.
His figure shimmered slightly before returning to normal. Yet this Gohan seemed entirely unaware of the recent battle, almost stumbling to the ground.
Clearly, while he was still Gohan, he was no longer the same Gohan who had fought Turles so fiercely.
He blinked, eyes wide, scanning his surroundings. "I… I wasn't dreaming, was I? Did I really do all that?"
"Gohan?"
Goku, watching from a distance, noticed something unusual about his son.
Flying over, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Dad!"
The moment Gohan saw him, a spark of joy lit up his eyes, and he rushed into his father's arms.
Goku embraced him tenderly.
Ruffling Gohan's bowl-cut hair, he smiled warmly. "Gohan, did you learn the Kaio-ken? Did you fight anyone?"
Gohan tilted his head slightly and replied, "I… I don't know. I feel like I had a dream. I dreamed I learned the Kaio-ken from you, Dad, and fought a bad guy who looked a lot like you…"
His memories of the battle were still hazy and confusing.
"A dream?"
Confusion crossed Goku's face. He couldn't quite make sense of what had happened, but considering Gohan's actions today, they were far from normal.
"Yes!"
Gohan obediently nodded.
Goku still didn't understand, so he simply asked, "Can you still use Kaio-ken?"
"I… I think I… forgot…"
Gohan's tone carried a hint of guilt.
"I understand. That's fine. If you want, I'll teach you again."
"Yes! I want to learn!"
"Seems like your dream was extraordinary!"
…
Back in the original world, Gohan returned to the Gravity Room.
Having won the match, he waited for the results, eager to see what reward he would receive.
[Congratulations! You have completed your first match and emerged victorious!]
[Battle Rank: B]
[Reward Acquired: Humanoid Great Ape Transformation]
"Humanoid Great Ape Transformation."
When he saw the reward, the image of the new Broly flashed in his mind.
This power allowed the Great Ape form to merge seamlessly with the base form.
Yet, from what he remembered, even prodigies like Broly lost most of their consciousness when using this transformation.
Reflecting on this, Gohan questioned the system's logic.
[The Humanoid Great Ape Transformation grants you a method of training, allowing you to understand and fully master this power!]
Upon receiving this message, Gohan chose to begin the transformation.
The next moment, a full moon-like orb rose before his eyes.
A deep crimson light filled his vision, staining his pupils.
Within his consciousness, a Great Ape erupted, accompanied by an unbounded, savage power.
The newly born ape emerged into a new world.
His rational mind clashed with his primal instincts, but thanks to the system's guidance, he quickly mastered the power.
Essentially, this was a contest between mental discipline and inherited Saiyan strength.
Since his mental fortitude already surpassed that of an ordinary person, mastering this was not difficult.
In that special space, time flowed differently from reality. After an unknown period, Gohan achieved full mind-and-body harmony, able to unleash Great Ape power while remaining in his humanoid form.
Although his muscles naturally swelled, he could be considered fully proficient in this skill.
In humanoid Great Ape form, his latent abilities would multiply tenfold.
This was clearly more stable and easier to control than Kaio-ken.
Thus, although he had just learned Kaio-ken, it was now outdated.
Observation Post.
The deities had long sensed two powerful ki auras entering Earth.
An immense pressure seemed to envelop the planet, even terrifying the gods themselves.
Furthermore, they had just received word from King Kai, who had miscalculated the timing, meaning Goku would arrive later than expected.
This only deepened their unease.
Although they knew Gohan and Piccolo were undergoing special training, they trusted Goku more, trained directly under King Kai.
After all, King Kai's status as a deity in this universe was high, and having lived countless years, his martial techniques were unmatched on Earth.
"Goku might be late. Mr. Popo, inform them of the situation!"
"Yes, Lord!"
With that, Mr. Popo set off toward the Otherworld.
Meanwhile, in a city to the west,
The streets were bustling and noisy.
Suddenly, two unidentified flying objects plummeted from the sky.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Before reaching the ground, a resonating sound echoed, drawing the attention of the pedestrians.
Many looked up, bewildered.
Though Earth's technology was advanced at the time, they had never seen anything like this.
Boom! Boom!
Before they could react, two spherical ships crashed to the ground.
The deafening impact created massive craters tens of meters across, with shockwaves rippling like an earthquake.
The entire city was affected, countless people thrown to the ground.
After recovering, they peered at the source of the commotion.
From the two massive craters, two figures emerged.
One tall, one short, both clad in specialized armor.
They looked human, though a tail-like appendage curled from the center of each armor.
Both surveyed the surrounding life with mocking eyes, as if every human on the ground were mere livestock awaiting slaughter.
"So this is Earth? Not bad!"
"Ha! They look curious. Let's greet these chirping little creatures!"
"Watch your words. Don't forget why we're here!"