Trunks and Gohan were silent for a while.
Memories from the past decade flashed through their minds.
Trunks' eyes welled up.
Gohan sighed in relief, a weight lifted from his heart, and he felt much more comfortable.
His power, which had been stagnant, loosened and grew stronger again.
Though not by much, Gohan was pleasantly surprised.
This meant the bottleneck had been broken, and Super Saiyan Second Stage was within reach.
Trunks wiped his eyes and said, "It's finally over."
Gohan looked at him and smiled.
"Let's go home."
"Yes, home." Trunks beamed.
The two, who were both brothers and master-disciple, rose into the air and flew towards Capsule Corporation.
...Three days later.
The news was playing on TV.
"Next, we will report on some news regarding the Androids."
"To all survivors on Earth, according to reliable sources, the two Androids who plagued humanity for 12 years have been killed by a mysterious powerful individual. From today onwards, we humans... are free."
The news wasn't long, but it shocked everyone.
Every human with flesh and blood choked up, many knelt and kowtowed, thanking the unknown mysterious individual for their intervention and saving all of humanity.
Twelve years of suppressed emotions erupted; some cried, some laughed, singing and dancing, slaughtering chickens and sheep.
At Trunks' home.
The three of them ate and watched the news on TV.
Bulma took a small bite of fruit, then looked at Gohan and said,
"Gohan, I was the one who reported the news of the Androids' demise to the kingdom, but I know you've always been low-key, so I hid your names. You don't mind, do you?"
Gohan tore off a chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks bulging, then replied,
"Of course not, this is perfect."
"Mm." Bulma nodded, smiling, "Gohan, you've become even better than your father now."
Gohan pulled a clean chicken bone from his mouth, placed it on the table, and said,
"Haha, I'm still far from it. Trunks is also very outstanding."
"Of course, Trunks is also excellent. He's been with you all these years, Gohan, you've taught him very well."
Hearing Bulma's words, Trunks couldn't help but puff out his chest.
He looked very happy.
Having spent almost two years in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Trunks was significantly taller than he was two days ago. Bulma marveled that her son had truly grown up.
Bulma continued, "But speaking of which, why do both of you have golden hair all the time now?"
"It's a form of training, Mom," Trunks quickly answered.
"Training? Alright then." Bulma didn't press further.
She didn't understand it anyway.
Gohan pondered for a moment, then looked at Bulma and asked, "Aunt Bulma, I want to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"It's like this, do you still remember Fortuneteller Baba?"
"Fortuneteller Baba? Oh, I remember her. I met her once when I was young; she lives in the desert, where she has a palace. Why do you ask?"
"I need to find her for something, Aunt Bulma. Do you still remember the way? Could you take me there?" Gohan's eyes lit up.
Bulma readily agreed: "Of course, no problem. We'll leave after we finish eating."
"Mm-hm."
"Brother Gohan, can I come along?" Trunks asked.
"No problem, let's all go together," Gohan said.
Soon after dinner.
Bulma took out a Capsule and threw it onto the open ground with a "BOOM!", transforming it into an airplane.
The three boarded the plane, flew out of West City, crossed the desert, and arrived at a lush green oasis. Then Bulma piloted the plane to land.
It was hard to imagine such a vibrant oasis in the middle of an endless desert.
Trunks and Gohan, both visiting for the first time, looked around with curiosity.
Deep within the oasis, a peculiarly shaped palace stood, which must be Fortuneteller Baba's residence.
The three walked towards the palace.
They soon arrived in front of the palace.
But the palace gates were tightly shut, giving Gohan a bad feeling.
Gohan and Trunks exchanged glances.
Because they couldn't sense any presence inside the palace.
This meant that there might be no one in the palace.
However, it also didn't rule out the possibility that Fortuneteller Baba was somewhat otherworldly and had no discernible presence.
After all, Fortuneteller Baba was not an ordinary person to begin with.
She was a messenger from the Other World.
Bulma walked up and knocked on the door.
Waiting for a response.
But the result was not good; after waiting for a long time, there was no response from inside.
Fortuneteller Baba was, most likely, not in the palace.
"It seems like there's no one inside," Bulma said, a little helplessly.
"If only we could find Master Roshi, given their relationship, he should be able to contact Fortuneteller Baba," Gohan said.
Bulma said, "That old pervert has been out of contact for over ten years. He was probably killed by the Androids, sigh."
Master Roshi was either dead or had been hiding in a safe place for over ten years.
But given his personality, the probability of him being killed by the Androids was higher.
After waiting for another half-day, the three eventually returned empty-handed.
At Gohan's suggestion, the three then went to Penguin Village.
Unfortunately, they couldn't find the robot loli Arale.
Penguin Village did exist, but it was also largely destroyed, a scene of desolation.
Arale and Dr. Senbei Norimaki were nowhere to be found, as if they had vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.
They wondered if they didn't exist in this world or if they had gone somewhere else.
The three returned to Trunks' home once again.
Bulma continued repairing the spaceship; according to her, it would be fixed in another day or two.
Trunks was asked by Bulma to stay home and help.
Under Trunks' aggrieved gaze, Gohan went to the Lookout alone.
Stepping onto the Lookout again, Gohan immediately stated his purpose.
"Mr. Popo, can you contact King Kai?"
King Kai was Gohan's objective this time.
Even going to Fortuneteller Baba was to contact King Kai.
He wanted to know the address of New Namek through King Kai.
This was his third plan: to go to New Namek.
Mr. Popo said, "I can, but Mr. Gohan should know that I cannot interfere with mortal affairs. What are you trying to do?"
Gohan said with a smile, "This doesn't fall under mortal affairs. I'm just asking you to contact King Kai. It's just a normal communication between deities."
"Ah, that's true," Mr. Popo said, seemingly enlightened.
"That's right, to be frank, I'm looking for King Kai to find a new Kami for Earth. Please help me contact him quickly," Gohan said.
Find a new Kami for Earth?
Mr. Popo immediately became excited and contacted King Kai.
His method of contact was very simple and crude, seemingly without any technical sophistication.
But Gohan knew that he couldn't do it yet, and there must be some mysterious key to it.
Mr. Popo looked up and shouted into the air, "King Kai, King Kai, are you there? Popo needs to speak with you."
Gohan wasn't surprised, as he had seen even more outrageous things.
Although this method of contact seemed a bit primitive, it was effective, and that was all that mattered.
Sure enough, not long after, King Kai's voice echoed from the sky.
"Oh, it's Popo. What's up?"
Mr. Popo immediately said, "It's like this, King Kai, it's not me who needs you, it's Goku's son, Gohan, who wants to speak with you. I told him to talk to you directly."
"Oh, alright." King Kai's voice boomed from above.
Mr. Popo said to Gohan beside him, "Mr. Gohan, you can speak with King Kai by placing your hand on my shoulder."
"Oh, okay." Gohan nodded, placing his right hand on Popo's shoulder.
The next moment, he felt a mysterious power connecting him to King Kai.
He could now speak with King Kai.
King Kai said, "Are you Goku's son, Gohan? What do you want from me?"
Gohan said, "King Kai, I'd like to know the address of New Namek."
King Kai said, "New Namek? Oh, I remember now, that's the new planet you wished for with Shenron over ten years ago, for the Namekians to live on, right? Let me check."
"Yes, that's the one."
After a while, King Kai's voice came again.
"Found it. New Namek is in the Vega constellation, 35th main galaxy, first planet. Gohan, what do you need the Namekians for?"
Gohan's heart was filled with joy as he silently noted the location King Kai mentioned, then replied, "Thank you, King Kai. I'm going to find a new Kami for Earth."
"Oh, so that's it. Do you have anything else? If not, I'm busy racing... no, I'm busy working now." King Kai said hurriedly.
Gohan: "..."
I heard that, King Kai.
"Are my father and the others there now?" Gohan asked, somewhat curiously.
What exactly are those people doing?
King Kai replied, "Goku? They're not here right now. They went to Grand Kai's place to participate in a martial arts tournament. Anything else?"
"Oh, no, that's all. Thank you, King Kai." Gohan said.
"Alright, goodbye!" King Kai hastily logged off, rushing off to race.
Gohan stroked his chin, pushing aside those miscellaneous emotions.
His expression gradually became joyful.
Thus, everything went smoothly.
Third Plan: ♦