Earth, Mount Paozu.
Beside Son Goku's house stood a gravity chamber. Dressed in his orange martial arts gi, Goku was just about to head inside to train.
Chi-Chi, wearing a qipao, hurried over, her face filled with anxiety.
"Goku! Gohan's been gone for so long—how can you not be worried at all?!"
"Gohan's doing fine. You don't need to worry about him."
Ever since returning from King Kai's place, Goku had already heard about this from Chi-Chi.
It turned out that during the time he was taken to the Other World by Kami, Gohan had been taken away by someone else.
"You know where Gohan is? Then who was it that took my Gohan?!"
"You actually know that person too… but I can't tell you right now."
"Why not?!"
Tears welled up in Chi-Chi's eyes as she threw herself into Goku's arms, pounding his chest with her fists.
"I want my Gohan! Go bring him back for me!"
"Chi-Chi!"
Goku grabbed her shoulders, frowning.
"Trust me—Gohan will be fine. And right now, I need to focus on training. I don't have time to bring him back!"
Chi-Chi knew that Goku was training to face the Saiyans who would invade Earth in six months.
But as a mother, she couldn't accept her child being away from her.
"If you don't have time, I do! As long as you help me—"
Before she could finish—
Goku looked straight into her eyes and shook his head.
"Gohan's almost four years old now. This is the perfect age to build his foundation in martial arts. It's not suitable for you to raise him right now… he needs that person instead."
Seeing that Chi-Chi still wanted to argue, Goku pulled her into an embrace and spoke in a low, steady voice:
"Have you forgotten what Big Brother Gran said before? He said that in the future, Gohan might die because of his dream of becoming a scholar. Can you really accept that?"
"..."
This time, Chi-Chi fell silent.
Seeing her finally calm down, Goku gently released her.
"I'm heading into the gravity chamber to train."
Chi-Chi obediently nodded.
"…Mm."
Goku let out a quiet sigh of relief. With no more hesitation, he turned and walked into the gravity chamber.
At the same time.
On a narrow mountain path across the valley, a master and servant stood quietly observing.
"Whis, Son Goku's growth rate is a bit slow, isn't it?" Beerus said, hands clasped behind his back as he looked toward the gravity chamber.
"He's been back from King Kai's place for a while now. If we measure using the universe's combat power scale, Son Goku is currently at around 18,000."
Holding his staff, Whis smiled lightly.
"That rate of improvement is indeed somewhat slow. But there's no need to worry—if nothing unexpected happens, in about half a year, he should experience a rather explosive breakthrough."
Half a year later?
That would be exactly when Vegeta and the others arrive on Earth.
The timing… was perfect.
Thinking of this, Beerus found himself mildly intrigued by the impending clash between these "insignificant beings."
"Let's go. I want to take a look at Son Goku's son. That little one's talent seems rather frightening as well."
Beerus stepped off the path, heading toward another part of Mount Paozu.
"Yes."
Whis followed closely behind. In truth, he had already become aware of Gohan's existence a year ago.
As they walked, Beerus spoke again:
"Whis, Earth really is an interesting place."
"Oh?"
"Oh what? Didn't you once say that after accumulating so much martial arts heritage, Earth would only produce one truly outstanding individual? But now, Goku's son seems just as impressive."
In an instant, Beerus arrived at a mountain range five hundred li away from Mount Paozu.
A river flowed through the mountains. In the water, a small child was swimming, while on the riverbank sat a green figure in meditation.
They were none other than Son Gohan and Piccolo.
"Did I ever say there would only be one?" Whis replied, slightly annoyed.
Beerus hesitated.
"…Didn't you?"
"I most certainly did not say that."
Dropping the topic, Whis turned his gaze to little Gohan.
"This child is indeed remarkable. The potential within him… even I find it difficult to fully comprehend."
"Even you can't understand it?" Beerus asked, surprised.
After all, this was Whis—the Angel.
"I truly can't fully grasp his potential."
Whis nodded, then shook his head.
"Though, that's not entirely unusual. A person's potential is, by nature, limitless. What I can typically perceive are those whose martial limits are clearly defined at a glance."
"But…"
He paused, then continued:
"This child—and in fact, these Saiyans as a whole—I find them rather difficult to read."
He sighed helplessly.
"Lord Beerus, if not for Gran, would you ever have known that Saiyans could even transform into a Super Saiyan Four state?"
Beerus: "..."
How would I know that?! If I did, would I have ordered Frieza to wipe out the Saiyans? he grumbled inwardly.
Of course, it was just a passing thought.
If anyone angered him, he wouldn't care about their talent anyway.
"Now that we've seen the kid, let's go. It's time to head back and eat."
Beerus turned around.
"Hmm?"
Whis looked surprised.
"Lord Beerus, why aren't you saying you want to take Son Gohan back to the Realm of Destruction for training this time?"
It wasn't an unreasonable question.
After all, when Beerus first saw young Goku, his immediate instinct had been to sack him up and take him away.
"Not this time. Like you said—Earth is a good place for them to grow. Leaving them here is just fine."
Beerus slowly rose into the sky, heading back toward Bulma's estate.
Watching his departing figure, Whis chuckled softly.
Lord Beerus seems to have grown a bit more… considerate.
"Lord Beerus, wait for me!"
Seeing Beerus about to vanish, Whis quickly followed.
Meanwhile.
In the river, little Gohan suddenly lifted his head, his round eyes filled with confusion.
"Uncle Piccolo, did you hear someone talking just now?"
"I didn't."
Piccolo opened his eyes. Seeing the child about to continue, he snapped coldly:
"If you interrupt my training again, I'll smack your backside!"
"Uncle Piccolo is so mean!"
Gohan stuck out his tongue before diving back into the water.
Piccolo's lips twitched.
A year ago, this little brat had been terrified of him.
Now?
He'd gotten this bold.
But…
Having a little companion like this around…
wasn't so bad.
The moment that thought surfaced, Piccolo shook his head violently.
Damn it! I'm Piccolo—the reincarnation of the Demon King! How could I think something like that?!
"Hmph. Son Goku, just you wait. I'll train your son into a true demon… and then I'll make you father and son fight each other!"
Piccolo turned toward Mount Paozu and let out a cold snort.