After teaching Bulma the basic steps, the two of them sat cross-legged and began cultivating Spirit Control.
For Goku, this kind of training was already second nature.
In just a few dozen seconds, he slipped smoothly into the state—his ki flowing steadily, calm and controlled, blending with the surrounding environment as if he and the world had become one.
Bulma sat across from him, barely managing to imitate the posture.
But her eyelids kept twitching, and her fingers unconsciously tapped against her knee.
A moment later…
She felt absolutely nothing.
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Goku…"
"Hm?"
Goku didn't open his eyes, but the corner of his mouth lifted slightly—as if he'd known she would speak.
Bulma opened her eyes and looked around, then complained immediately:
"There isn't even a comfortable mat here! The grass is so thin—this ground is hard!"
Goku explained patiently, "Training means adapting to the environment. Besides, the air here is extremely pure. It's perfect for Spirit Control."
Bulma pouted. "But I've been sitting here for ten minutes… and I don't feel anything!"
"That's because you've been thinking about other things the whole time."
"What did you just say??" Bulma's tone rose.
Goku finally opened his eyes. "Bulma, meditation-type training isn't just closing your eyes and calling it a day. You have to empty your mind and feel the flow of ki inside your body."
"Feel the flow of ki…?"
"Yeah. Emptying your mind is step one. Try again."
Bulma rolled her eyes and fired back, "If my brain could go blank, I'd have invented a time machine already!"
Goku scratched his head. "Then… how about counting your breaths?"
Bulma sighed, closed her eyes again, and tried doing what he said.
"One… two… three…"
She lasted less than a minute before opening her eyes again.
"This grass is stabbing my butt!" she complained, scooting a little. "And there's an ant crawling up my leg!"
Goku opened his eyes and warned, "Bulma, please—focus!"
"I know, I know!" Bulma waved impatiently. "But it's too hard! My brain just won't shut up!"
She closed her eyes again.
This time, she lasted about twenty seconds.
"Goku, I just remembered something…"
Goku stared at her with the emptiest expression imaginable, like his soul had already left his body.
Bulma continued without shame:
"Our spaceship is faster now, but I found a bug. It doesn't affect safety, but… through that bug, I think I found something deeper. I think we could start researching time-space travel—"
Goku just stared at her.
His eyes looked like they contained nothing. Not a single thought.
Bulma realized she was interrupting his cultivation and casually pulled out her phone, lit up the screen, checked the time, locked it again, then stuffed it back into her pocket like it was totally normal.
Goku raised an eyebrow. "Bulma… if you're not interested, you don't have to force yourself to suffer. If you really can't get into it, why not just play a few games?"
Bulma immediately protested. "It's not that I can't get into it—It's just… I only drank a cup of coffee for breakfast. I'm hungry. How am I supposed to focus like that?"
Goku: "…"
"What's that look? You know the human brain needs glucose to function!"
"You're right, Bulma." Goku didn't even bother arguing.
Bulma scratched her head and stretched lazily. "I wonder how Bulla's training is going back home… Do you think Piccolo is reliable? What if he goes savage and eats them?"
Goku's mouth twitched.
"Bulma, you're so distracting I can't even train. Piccolo is a Namekian. He doesn't have 'savage instincts.' He doesn't even need food—just water and sunlight. You could cook a full feast right in front of him and he'd still have no appetite. And you're worried he'll eat people?"
Bulma nodded seriously. "Oh yeah… I almost forgot. Namekians really are like plant-people…"
"…"
Goku tried to salvage the situation. "Bulma, how about you do some research? Like invent a machine that automatically helps people enter a cultivation state?"
Bulma shook her head instantly. "How would I invent something like that when I don't even understand the principle behind cultivation?"
"You can't?" Goku scratched his head.
"Of course I can't," Bulma explained bluntly. "Science is built on knowledge we've already mastered, then expanded. Not 'making stuff up out of thin air.' And besides, computer logic and human thinking logic don't match at all. Even if you could translate perfectly between computer language and human language…"
Her voice started speeding up.
"But the cultivation content we just did is way too abstract. If I can't describe it with science—"
Goku threw up both hands. "Bulma, stop! Stop! Stop! I don't understand!"
Then he pointed toward the ship.
"Aren't you hungry? Go eat something first."
Bulma blinked. "Wait, why are you getting up? Not training anymore?"
Goku glanced toward the gravity chamber in the distance. "Now that Vegeta can transform into a Super Saiyan too, I want to spar with him. I think that'll improve me more than sitting here."
Bulma nodded. "Yeah. You should get more real combat experience."
Then she added, "Go set up the capsule house for me first, then you can go."
Goku muttered, "Just hope he doesn't refuse…"
A moment later, Goku stepped into the gravity chamber.
Vegeta was drenched in sweat, training under an absurd level of gravity.
He finished his current set and looked at Goku coldly.
"Kakarot. Why are you here?"
"To fight," Goku said. "Vegeta, let's spar. I want to test your Super Saiyan strength."
Vegeta's lips lifted slightly. "Hmph. Did watching me kill King Cold so quickly shock you?"
"Shock?" Goku scratched his head.
Vegeta puffed up proudly. "Exactly. Even if we both just became Super Saiyans recently—my strength is clearly far above yours when you first transformed, isn't it?"
Goku didn't know where this confidence came from, but he nodded anyway.
"Yeah, yeah, you're stronger. You killed King Cold in a few moves. Those Namekians were terrified."
Vegeta grabbed a towel and wiped his sweat. "Since you want to fight me, I'll grant your wish. But if we're sparring, you'd better take it seriously. Don't drag down my level."
He said that, but he was secretly watching Goku's reaction out of the corner of his eye.
Drag down your level my ass… Goku nearly cursed out loud.
It was obvious Vegeta still hadn't recovered from the mental inflation caused by his sudden power boost.
Goku smiled. "Vegeta, Namek won't have many people living here anymore anyway. As long as we don't blow up the planet, we can go all out."
Vegeta nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking!"
Soon, the two flew into the wilderness, heading farther into a barren region.
After Vegeta swallowed a Senzu Bean to fully restore his stamina, the Saiyans' first spar began.
Vegeta threw every punch with extreme seriousness, every movement cautious and sharp—terrified that this "low-class warrior" might gain any advantage and make him lose face.
Goku, meanwhile, kept increasing his output, steadily testing Vegeta's upper limit.
And as he loosened his own power…
Goku realized something shocking.
Vegeta was already much stronger than Frieza.
Not just battle power—
But technique, reaction speed, instincts, combat experience…
In every category, Vegeta outclassed Frieza, that natural-born stats monster.
Goku couldn't help thinking—
Vegeta really was a true all-rounder.
The spar grew more intense.
Both of them quickly let go of restraint.
Vegeta's fist grazed Goku's cheek, detonating a shockwave in the air.
Vegeta's mouth curved with triumph.
He'd landed a hit—Goku didn't fully dodge.
"What's wrong?" Vegeta sneered. "Slowing down?"
He drove his knee toward Goku's stomach. Goku dodged.
Vegeta instantly followed up with his Prince-style pressure combo.
Goku didn't back down—he blocked, countered, and traded.
Their punches and kicks collided, sending ripples through the sky.
Mountains collapsed across hundreds of miles.
The ocean erupted into towering waves again and again.
No one knew how long it lasted.
Eventually, Goku lay flat on the ground, completely drained.
Vegeta lay down too—only a few seconds later.
But even then, his lips curled upward.
Goku panted and said, "Not bad, Vegeta. You became a Super Saiyan months after me, but you're already at this level. Honestly… fighting you is way more fun than training alone."
Vegeta panted. "Kakarot. We tested too many techniques this time. Next time, I'm going full power from the start. Otherwise, you might think you can last."
Goku laughed. "If you want to beat me in a few moves, you've still got a lot to train. Next time—try hard enough to force me to go all out from the start."
Vegeta stood up and flew back toward the ship.
Even while flying, he was already replaying the spar in his head.
Every exchange had been razor-thin.
Every opening was dangerous.
And that feeling—
That feeling of teetering on the edge of victory and defeat—
It made his blood boil.
In midair, Vegeta glanced back at Goku lying on the ground.
Kakarot… that bastard is pretty strong.
More than once, I was this close to losing.
Vegeta clenched his fist.
If I don't want him to surpass me again…
I have to train harder!
He returned to the gravity chamber and plunged back into brutal training.
From outside, Goku sensed Vegeta's rising battle power and smiled faintly.
"Work hard, Vegeta."
Goku got up and flew back too.
That spar had reminded him of something important:
If he relaxed even a little—
Vegeta the ultimate tryhard might actually catch up.
Time passed.
Vegeta trained even harder.
Every two days, he sparred with Goku again.
They stole experience from combat, patched weaknesses, polished instincts, and advanced at a terrifying speed.
Bulma, on the other hand, simply couldn't develop the mindset needed for meditation training.
So she tinkered with science experiments inside the ship, or learned to cook new dishes.
Just like that—
A month passed in a blink.
Cooler's ki drew closer.
The two Saiyans finally stopped training.
They waited.
Vegeta leaned against a tree, eyes closed, conserving energy.
Lanqi had only packed a few days' worth of food for Goku, but Bulma had learned plenty of recipes by now.
She laid out an entire feast, making sure Goku was fully fueled for the coming fight.
Goku looked at the spread and called out casually, "Hey, Vegeta! We're about to fight—come eat something good."
Vegeta opened one eye and glanced over. "No need. I already ate a Senzu Bean. If I don't train, I won't get hungry for ten days."
Goku spread his hands helplessly. "Ate a Senzu, huh… Then you're missing out."
So Goku ate happily.
Hours later—
An extremely powerful ki entered the atmosphere.
Above the clouds, a massive spherical ship descended slowly toward the wasteland.
The moment the hatch opened—
A biting cold swept across a hundred miles, as if even the air had frozen.
Cooler stepped out…
With three subordinates behind him.
And there, waiting, stood Goku and Vegeta side by side.
Cooler smiled.
"Heh. Waiting for me here? Not bad. Almost makes this trip worth it."
Vegeta lifted his fist. "You're Frieza's brother—Cooler?"
Cooler blinked once, then nodded casually. "That's right. Technically, I don't operate in Frieza's territory… yet you know me. Seems my reputation is bigger than I thought."
Vegeta sneered. "Enough talk. You came here to die. Let me show you the power of a Super Saiyan!"
Golden aura erupted from his body.
In an instant, Vegeta transformed—golden hair, green eyes, fierce ki roaring into the sky.
Cooler studied him with clear curiosity—like this was his first time seeing the legendary transformation.
One of his men, Salza, couldn't resist and activated his scouter.
"My lord, let me read his battle power."
The device beeped rapidly.
Cooler's scouters were far more precise than Frieza Force models, with a higher measurable limit.
But even so…
The numbers skyrocketed so violently that Salza's face changed instantly.
Vegeta wasn't even fully powered up yet—
And the scouter had already surpassed one hundred million.
"No wonder…" Salza muttered in shock. "No wonder he could kill Frieza…"
In the next instant—
BANG.
The scouter exploded on his face.
Cooler's brow twitched.
"Salza, stop using that garbage."
He stared at the smoking remains.
"A Super Saiyan's battle power is obviously past the hundred-million range. You can't read it."
Then his eyes narrowed.
"And if you idiots keep popping scouters like fireworks, we'll have a real problem…"
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