Across the vast wilderness.
Four year old Gohan had already begun to strike back against dinosaurs.
Though he was only four, the fusion of two souls had awakened his combat power.
His current battle power was around seven hundred, placing him among the strongest beings on Earth.
Dealing with a single dinosaur was naturally no challenge at all.
Unfortunately, the dinosaur had no idea of this. Seeing a small child approach, it assumed nothing more than an easy target and charged forward with savage ferocity.
It never realized that the child only needed to swing his walnut sized fist once to unleash an overwhelming force.
A violent gust exploded outward, sending the dinosaur spinning backward before it crashed heavily into the mountain wall.
High in the sky, Piccolo had been watching Gohan the entire time.
When he saw the child knock a dinosaur away with a single punch, tension clearly surfaced in his eyes.
As the originator of Earth's martial arts lineage, he could instantly judge the raw power contained in that strike. At the same time, he could tell that the punch lacked refinement and technical mastery.
"Hmph. It seems leaving this kid here wasn't a bad idea after all. His strength is already close to mine."
That thought made unease creep into his heart. According to his original plan, this child was merely a tool to be used against the Saiyans.
If the Saiyans were defeated, then Gohan himself would become Piccolo's next opponent.
After a moment of contemplation, Piccolo decided to descend and take a closer look. At least for now, the child possessed the power needed to face the Saiyans.
Moreover, while Gohan had strength, he lacked technique, so he posed no real threat to him yet.
Down in the wilderness below.
Gohan dragged the stunned dinosaur aside and promptly tore off its tail, planning to roast it while leaving the remaining parts for later use.
This was what he called sustainable utilization.
With his current physique, starting a fire by rubbing sticks together was effortless. He quickly set up a simple grill and began roasting the meat.
At the same time, his thoughts turned to the future.
Since he had already arrived in this dangerous Dragon Ball world, he needed to start planning as early as possible.
After all, although his talent was decent, the opponents in this world were far too absurd. Some could undergo complete transformations after only a few months of training, while others were powerful enough to defy all limits without training from childhood.
Not to mention the many exceptionally dangerous figures who would appear later, such as those brightly colored children.
Any one of them possessed the power to destroy the Earth at any moment.
If he wanted to live properly in this world, he had to eliminate those dangers, or more precisely, surpass them.
Because of this, his dream of becoming a scholar was destined to be abandoned. It was time to prepare for a true struggle against overwhelming forces.
No matter what, the immediate priority was surviving the upcoming Saiyan invasion.
Originally, he could have gone straight to Aunt Bulma for help, but there was a problem. He did not know the way, and he could not fly or use techniques like that yet, so all he could do was wait here for Uncle Piccolo.
Just as he was worrying himself into a headache over this, a white cape unfurled across the sky.
A moment later, the green faced Piccolo landed in front of him.
Maintaining a composed posture with his arms crossed, Piccolo looked at Gohan and said, "You brat… you truly possess unfathomable power. That Son Goku was far too naive. If he had trained you earlier, perhaps he wouldn't have died."
Only then did Gohan remember that his father was already gone.
A wave of unfamiliar sorrow surged through his heart.
But in the next instant, the sadness faded, because he understood the reality of this world. Death was not the true end, since the Dragon Balls could revive anyone at any time.
He steadied his emotions, picked up a piece of roasted dinosaur meat, and said, "Uncle Piccolo, want some?"
Seeing the familiar invitation, Piccolo's expression darkened slightly. "I'm not like you humans. I don't need this kind of thing to survive."
"Oh."
Gohan replied simply and immediately started chewing on the meat. It tasted somewhat like free range chicken, but firmer, with a richer and more distinctive flavor.
Seeing the change in Gohan, Piccolo's expression eased slightly. "It seems you've returned to normal during this time. Now it's time to begin training. But I must warn you, my training is extremely brutal. You'd better be prepared."
Gohan took a large bite of meat and answered, "I understand. But Uncle Piccolo, I don't think training like this will be any more effective than my dad's training."
Piccolo looked up at the sky and sneered. "Who knows what that old god did to him. Either way, I will never lose to that guy."
Gohan countered, "Even so, for masters like you and my dad, standard training methods probably won't lead to much improvement anymore."
Hearing this, Piccolo paused to think, clearly realizing that Gohan was right.
At his current level, it was difficult for him to achieve any significant breakthroughs. Even training Gohan now, he lacked confidence in the results.
Noticing the shift in Piccolo's gaze, Gohan continued, "If we want to keep up with my dad's progress, shouldn't we focus on weighted training?"
"Weighted training? Hmph, I mastered that long ago."
As he spoke, Piccolo touched his cape. The garment was enchanted and weighed far more than an ordinary cloak, at least several hundred pounds.
However, as his strength grew, the effect of the cape gradually diminished.
Gohan glanced at the cape and then asked, "Uncle Piccolo, do you have any magic that can increase gravity?"
"Increase gravity?"
"For example, adjusting Earth's gravity so we can experience around ten times normal gravity directly. That kind of training would be extremely effective."
A flicker of contemplation passed through Piccolo's eyes. If they could truly train under such conditions.
Without a doubt.
His power would rise dramatically.
But the problem was that he did not understand such magic. That old god might know, but should he go ask him?
Leaving aside whether Kami would even agree, he would never lower himself to ask.
Absolutely not.
With that thought, his expression turned cold and severe as he declared, "Even without such things, I will surpass Son Goku. I, Piccolo the Demon King, am the only one destined to rule this world."
Seeing his expression, Gohan reminded him, "But if it's equipment like that, I think Aunt Bulma might be able to make it."
"Bulma?"
As Son Goku's long time rival, Piccolo naturally knew who Bulma was.
That woman was indeed regarded as a genius among humans.
But for the proud Piccolo, seeking help from humans was completely unacceptable.
"Hmph. I already told you, there's no need to look for such things…"
Halfway through his sentence, Gohan stepped closer and said quietly, "Uncle Piccolo, you wouldn't want my dad to come back from training and completely surpass you, would you?"
At those words, Piccolo's expression changed violently.