On the lawn of West City, a barbecue grill crackled as fat dripped onto the flames.
Yamcha sat back with an ice-cold can of beer in hand, proudly bragging to Puar about his recent glory days on the baseball field.
Nearby, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu silently continued doing push-ups.
Only Oolong, the pig-headed pervert, was busy drooling at every attractive woman who happened to walk by.
"Life doesn't get much better than this."
Yamcha let out a satisfied burp and narrowed his eyes contentedly.
A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.
"Comfortable, are you?"
Yamcha jolted so hard that the beer can in his hand crumpled with a loud crunch.
He slowly turned his head.
What greeted him was a bald head gleaming brilliantly under the sun and a row of perfectly white teeth.
"K-Krillin?"
Yamcha forced out an awkward laugh.
"When did you get here? Want some barbecue?"
"Forget the barbecue. It's time to eat suffering."
Grinning, Krillin grabbed Yamcha by the collar like he was picking up a chicken.
"Vacation's over, everyone."
"Earth is about to be visited by a group of monsters even nastier than Frieza."
"And you're still having a picnic?"
Tien immediately stopped exercising.
All three of his eyes lit up.
"Stronger than Frieza?"
"Much stronger."
Krillin's smile disappeared.
He pointed toward the sky.
"So I've prepared a special training package for all of you."
"If you don't come, you'll be relegated to cheerleader duty when the real battle starts."
Without hesitation, Tien grabbed Chiaotzu and stepped over to Krillin's side.
Yamcha wore a miserable expression and attempted one last protest.
"Well... my back's been acting up lately..."
"If your back's bad, that's even more reason to train."
Krillin waved his hand.
"Off you go."
A spatial rift instantly opened before them.
It was an advanced application of Yardrat's Instant Transmission.
A moment later, several bewildered Earth warriors were tossed directly onto the Lookout's plaza.
With them handled, only one particularly troublesome tsundere prince remained.
Outside Capsule Corporation's gravity chamber.
Krillin leaned against the doorway, listening to the thunderous impacts coming from inside.
Then he knocked.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
"GET LOST!"
A furious roar exploded from within.
"Stop bothering me!"
Krillin cupped a hand around his mouth.
"Vegeta, want to visit somewhere interesting?"
"It's a hundred times better than this gravity room."
"And you can see a real Super Saiyan."
The roaring instantly stopped.
Several seconds later, the thick alloy door slowly slid open.
Vegeta emerged, wearing a training suit soaked with sweat.
His eyes were dark and hostile.
An oppressive aura surrounded him, as if he wanted to tear someone apart.
"What did you say?"
His voice sounded like sandpaper grinding against steel.
"A real... Super Saiyan?"
Since nobody had told him about Goku's transformation on Namek, he still knew nothing about it.
"Of course."
Krillin pointed at himself.
"When have I ever lied to you?"
"Goku has already mastered the transformation."
"Don't you want to see where the difference lies?"
"Or are you scared?"
"Impudent fool!"
Vegeta's forehead bulged with veins.
His entire body trembled with rage.
As the Prince of All Saiyans, nothing irritated him more than being looked down upon by a low-class warrior and an Earthling.
"Fine!"
Vegeta snorted.
"I'll go."
"But if I find out you're playing games with me, I'll rip that shiny bald head off and use it as a soccer ball."
"Sure, sure."
Krillin shrugged.
"Just don't let your legs give out."
The next instant, both vanished.
The Lookout was already bustling with activity.
Goku was helping Gohan and Trillin warm up.
Piccolo sat cross-legged near the edge of the platform.
Although his eyes were closed, his pointed ears remained alert.
Together with the newly kidnapped Yamcha and the others, Earth's strongest fighters had finally assembled.
Kami and Mr. Popo stood near the entrance of the palace.
Cold sweat ran down their faces as they watched this group of troublemakers gather.
"Krillin, everyone's here."
Goku waved enthusiastically.
"When do we start?"
"Now."
Krillin walked toward the entrance of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Originally, only two people could enter at once, and each person was limited to two days of lifetime usage.
But to Krillin, rules existed to be broken.
He reached into his system storage and pulled out a card radiating golden light.
[Hyperbolic Time Chamber Enhancement Card]
"System, activate the enhancement card."
"Remove occupancy restrictions."
"Adjust gravity parameters."
[Ding! Authorization confirmed.]
[Enhancement Card activated.]
[Internal space expanded to unlimited size.]
[Base gravity adjusted to 100 times Earth's gravity.]
[Time flow unchanged.]
Boom!
The massive door swung open.
A scorching, crushing pressure surged from within.
Inside stretched an endless sea of white emptiness.
Pure.
Silent.
Infinite.
Krillin stood at the doorway like a demon guarding the gates of hell.
"Go ahead, everyone."
"Welcome to hell."
One after another, they stepped inside.
The moment Yamcha crossed the threshold, his knees buckled.
He nearly collapsed.
"Holy crap!"
"W-What kind of gravity is this?!"
His face turned crimson.
It felt as if his internal organs were being squeezed into paste.
"Only one hundred times gravity."
Krillin casually walked in behind them, as relaxed as if he were strolling through a park.
"That's just the starting price."
"In here, the air is thin."
"The temperature shifts are extreme."
"And gravity is one hundred times stronger than outside."
"Train here for a year, and only a single day passes in the outside world."
Vegeta steadied himself.
A hundred times gravity wasn't a problem for him.
Still, the oppressive atmosphere irritated him.
His eyes locked onto Goku.
"Kakarot."
"Enough wasting time."
"The bald guy says you can transform."
"Show me."
Goku scratched his head and glanced toward Krillin.
"Go ahead, Goku."
Krillin nodded.
"Let His Royal Highness see what the sky above the sky looks like."
"Got it."
Goku inhaled deeply.
His feet spread apart.
He lowered his stance.
No dramatic charging.
No lengthy buildup.
"Hah!"
A short shout echoed across the endless white world.
In that instant, dazzling golden light tore through the silent dimension.
Goku's black hair shot upward.
It transformed into brilliant gold.
His emerald eyes lost their usual innocence.
Only pure battle intent remained.
Golden flames of ki erupted around him like a blazing inferno.
The surrounding air twisted violently.
The aura was immense.
Violent.
Majestic.
Almost sacred.
The shockwave alone blasted Yamcha and Tien dozens of meters away.
They rolled across the white ground before finally regaining their footing.
Vegeta stood frozen.
His pupils trembled violently as he stared at the golden figure.
Deep within his Saiyan bloodline, he felt an overwhelming pressure.
The pride he cherished above all else shattered into dust.
So this...
This was the legendary Super Saiyan.
The realm he had dreamed of his entire life.
The power he had chased endlessly but never reached.
Why?
Why Kakarot?
Why a low-class warrior?
"N-No..."
Vegeta's lips trembled.
His fingernails dug deep into his palms.
Blood dripped onto the white floor.
"I am the Prince of the Saiyans..."
"I am the greatest prodigy..."
"Why...?"
Despair.
Jealousy.
Rage.
Self-loathing.
The emotions twisted together like venomous serpents gnawing at his heart.
Goku dismissed the transformation and returned to normal.
A worried expression appeared on his face.
"Vegeta, are you okay?"
"Honestly, you just need to get really angry."
"It's not that hard..."
"SHUT UP!!!"
Vegeta exploded with a hysterical roar.
He spun around and shot into the distant horizon of the Time Chamber.
Toward the endless wasteland waiting beyond.
"Leave me alone!"
"I'll train by myself!"
Krillin watched the prince disappear into the distance.
A mischievous grin slowly spread across his face.
"Looks like the stimulation worked."
He clapped his hands once.
Then turned toward everyone else.
"Alright."
"Show's over."
"From this point forward, everyone follows my instructions."
His eyes sharpened.
"The special training program..."
"Officially begins now."
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