Gohan took a long, slow breath and made up his mind to tell Trunks the truth.
As far as Gohan was concerned, Trunks was the one person in this world who truly belonged to the same era as him.
"What I'm about to say might be hard to understand... I'm not sure how it happened myself... but after I died, my soul merged with the body I have now." Gohan's voice was quiet and low. He looked up at the sky — and sighed, an old, weary sigh that had no business coming from someone his age.
"Huh? You're saying... you're my Master Gohan?" Trunks suddenly put it together. The shock and joy hit him at the same time, and his eyes went red in an instant.
Gohan gave a heavy, solemn nod.
"It really is you, Master Gohan!" Trunks stood there for one stunned moment — then tears spilled over, and without another word, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Gohan, his voice breaking. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"Trunks — look how much you've grown. That genuinely makes me happy." Gohan patted him gently on the back, and meant every word.
"Master Gohan — your arm. It's completely healed." Trunks gripped his arm tightly.
"Yeah... it's because I've been reborn..." Gohan nodded.
The two of them held on to each other, and the feeling that washed over them was the strange, fragile gratitude of people who had survived something unsurvivable.
The nightmare of that world — the way it had looked at the end — was something only the two of them could fully understand.
It had been so terrifying.
Those two Androids. So utterly terrifying.
After a brief exchange, a silence fell between them.
"So those two Androids are still out there causing destruction. Aren't they." Gohan said, his fists clenching tight, his eyes filled with hatred that had nowhere to go.
"Yes." Trunks nodded, his voice subdued. "I'm sorry, Master. I couldn't avenge you. I'm not strong enough to take them on."
"Trunks — don't you ever say that. The fact that you're alive is everything. And you made it here, didn't you? To a time where my dad is still alive." Gohan smiled and said it gently.
"Yeah." Trunks managed a smile too, wiping the corner of his eye.
"I only just reincarnated. It's been three days." Gohan admitted.
"Only three days?" Trunks blinked, thrown off.
"After I woke up in this body, my memories of this life are very limited — almost nonexistent, really." Gohan said, thinking it over. "But I've seen my dad... He's gotten incredibly strong. Even stronger than I imagined."
"I haven't met Mr. Goku yet." Trunks replied, and then asked, his expression puzzled, "Was it Mr. Goku who just took out Frieza?"
"No... it felt more like your father, Vegeta." Gohan shook his head and murmured.
"My dad? My dad can already transform into a Super Saiyan at this point?" Trunks scratched the back of his head, then something else struck him as off. "Wait — Master Gohan, didn't you always tell me Frieza wasn't worth worrying about? So why couldn't I even touch him after going Super Saiyan?"
"I found that strange too. Frieza has gotten a lot stronger." Gohan's voice was serious, and he thought it through. "I think it might be a butterfly effect from my reincarnation..."
"Or it could be that my arrival through the time machine changed things in this era." Trunks offered his own guess.
"Either is possible." Gohan nodded gravely, and then proposed, "So... the fact that the two of us know each other... the fewer people who know about that, the better. We can't predict what kind of ripple effects it might cause. If the Androids end up stronger in this timeline than in ours, they'll be even harder to deal with."
"Understood, Master. I won't say a word." Trunks grasped what Gohan meant immediately.
"Dad and the others have noticed us. They're on their way over." Gohan turned to look diagonally behind him.
Trunks gave a silent, knowing nod.
A short pause.
Trunks suddenly remembered — Frieza's remaining companion was still standing down there, drinking mineral water.
"Frieza still has one more subordinate! Down there!" Trunks called from the sky, pointing at Broly below.
"Who is that? Shouldn't it be Frieza's father?" Gohan was puzzled. He let his gaze settle on Broly. "How strange — it seems our presence has caused a lot more changes in this timeline than I realized."
"Yeah." Trunks' mouth twitched, suddenly uncertain. "Master — I brought medicine from the future for Mr. Goku's Viral Heart Disease... do we still need it?"
Gohan: ...
By now, Goku and the others had flown up to where Gohan and Trunks were hovering.
Goku naturally recognized Trunks at once and immediately called out a cheerful greeting.
Trunks: ????
"Ah... let me introduce you. This is my dad." Gohan pointed to his father.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Goku." Trunks stepped forward and bowed.
"Dad, this is my friend... Dai-Te." Gohan introduced Trunks to his father with the improvised alias.
(T/N: "Daite in Japanese means hold me/hug me")
Goku: ...
Dai-Te?
Gohan, that is a very creative name.
Goku had a distinct feeling that there was some kind of secret between Gohan and this kid.
But Goku wasn't the type to go digging into other people's business.
If it was Gohan's secret, Goku was simply not going to pry.
"Nice to meet you!" Goku stepped forward and gave Trunks a warm handshake.
"Mr. Goku — please give me just a moment. Let me deal with Frieza's remaining associate first, and then there's something I need to speak with you about privately." Trunks said, and immediately turned, his expression going cold as he looked down at Broly.
Goku glanced over at Broly as well, and found himself genuinely puzzled.
Who is that?
Shouldn't the one here with Frieza be his father?
By now, Vegeta had returned to Bulma's side and was carrying her through the air toward Goku's group.
On the way over, Vegeta pointed out Trunks from a distance and said to Bulma quietly, "There — that's Trunks."
"He's so handsome! No wonder — he is my son, after all. He obviously got his good looks from me." Bulma laughed with unabashed delight.
Vegeta: ...
"Shouldn't sons take after their fathers?" Vegeta rolled his eyes.
"What would you know about it? Sons take after their mothers — daughters take after their fathers! That's just how it works!" Bulma said, deeply satisfied with this reasoning.
Vegeta had nothing to say to that.
"You said we have two children — is the second one a boy or a girl?" Bulma asked with a hint of anticipation.
"You hadn't given birth to the second child yet when I died... and then I reincarnated into this time." Vegeta lowered his head slightly.
"You never had it checked?" Bulma pressed.
"No..." Vegeta shook his head.
"Fine..." Bulma let it go and quickly moved on to the more pressing matter. "So — what now? Are you going to go introduce yourself to your future son?"
"We'll catch him alone when the crowd has thinned out." Vegeta suggested. "Too many people right now. Besides — that foolish boy came to this era to find Kakarot."
"Alright then... make sure we keep him for dinner later." Bulma insisted.
Vegeta silently agreed.
A moment later, Vegeta also caught sight of Broly standing down there, steadily finishing his mineral water. He paused.
Who is that?
Why has Trunks left one of Frieza's people alive?
Never mind — probably some small-fry with no significance.
Take care of him later.
Trunks was just about to fly down and deal with Broly when he happened to glance over and see his father in the sky, carrying his mother in his arms.
Trunks short-circuited completely.
No — that can't be right.
Dad. Mom. The two of you shouldn't be together yet at this point.
And Mom should still be with Uncle Yamcha.
So how are you already holding each other like that?
Does that mean... even if I revealed my identity, it wouldn't actually cause much of a problem?
This era's version of me should still be born, right?
Trunks instinctively looked over at Yamcha — and sure enough, there was Yamcha wearing a dark expression, visibly sulking.
Trunks turned to Gohan with a complicated, wry smile.
The changes our presence triggered in this timeline really are something else.
Gohan gave a quiet, knowing nod.
Trunks took a deep breath, extended his hand toward Broly in the distance, and prepared to fire an energy blast to eliminate him.
But at the very moment Trunks was about to act, Goku flickered out of existence and reappeared at Broly's side.
Broly was still in the middle of processing things.
Frieza told me not to do anything no matter what happened.
But you got blown to pieces.
Can you even come back from that?
How long am I supposed to wait?
Is there actually nothing I need to do?
Broly stood there genuinely uncertain.
Hm? Something just landed on me?
Broly immediately turned and looked around.
And at that precise moment, Goku appeared, right beside him.
"Hi there." Goku greeted him with an open, friendly smile.
"Oh... hi..." Broly gave a shy, awkward smile back.
"From the look of you, I'd have guessed you were an Earthling!" Goku circled around him with lively curiosity. "So how did you end up with Frieza?"
"I'm not an Earthling. I'm a Saiyan." Broly answered.
"What? You're a Saiyan too?" Goku stopped, visibly delighted. "Really? That's great!"
Broly scratched his head and stared at Goku with a baffled expression, not understanding why this person was so happy about it.
"I'm a Saiyan too." Goku said.
"Uh..." Broly was still puzzled.
Is meeting another Saiyan supposed to make you this happy?
"Hey, Vegeta! Get over here!" Goku called up to Vegeta in the sky.
"What?" Vegeta snorted.
"There's a Saiyan down here." Goku called.
Vegeta paused — and immediately descended toward Broly, Bulma still in his arms.
Trunks: ...
Trunks was completely at a loss.
No, seriously.
Dad. Mr. Goku. What is wrong with you two?
I just transformed into a Super Saiyan.
Isn't that enough to get a reaction?
I didn't exactly see either of you beside yourselves with excitement over me.
But one Saiyan shows up over there and you're both rushing over like that?
Vegeta quickly set Broly down and looked him over with sharp, appraising eyes.
A careful study confirmed it — this person did carry a distinctly Saiyan quality about him.
"I'm Son Goku. He's Vegeta. What's your name?" Goku asked pleasantly.
"I'm Broly." Broly gave his name.
"Definitely a Saiyan name." Vegeta nodded, analyzing. "Must be one of the lucky ones who survived on some planet somewhere — like you." He said to Goku.
"I get the feeling Broly's power isn't simple. We should have a proper spar sometime." Goku proposed eagerly.
"A spar?" Broly didn't quite follow.
"So — how did you end up with Frieza?" Vegeta asked.
"He came to the planet I lived on, killed my father, and I beat the tar out of him. After that he made friendly with me, took me to his father's planet, got me to kill his father, and said we were even... and then he said there was a lot of interesting stuff on Earth, so I came along." Broly gathered his thoughts and laid it out plainly.
Goku was completely stunned.
Right — I think Jaco moved Frieza to Planet Vampa.
So Frieza ran into Broly on Planet Vampa?
And this guy actually beat Frieza badly enough to make him play nice...
Goku genuinely felt that Broly was even stronger than he'd imagined.
Training with Broly — that might be what finally pushes me past Super Saiyan 4.
Vegeta glanced sideways at Broly.
This kid actually brought Frieza to heel?
Seriously?
Well — that said, this Broly does seem to carry a considerable amount of energy.
But compared to my Super Saiyan Blue — not even close.
At most he's at Super Saiyan level.
Or more precisely — the level my future self reached after coming out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. That would be the ceiling.
No higher than that.
"Anyway — Broly, do you like good food? Come with me, I'll take you somewhere great!" Goku said with barely contained enthusiasm.
Broly nodded vigorously.
"Just wait right here, I'll be back in a second." Goku said — and Instant Transmitted out of existence, reappearing beside Gohan.
"Dad... who is that? Is he a Saiyan too?" Gohan asked, puzzled.
"His name is Broly. An incredibly powerful Saiyan!" Goku said. "Gohan — Dad's going to take Broly somewhere to train. Let your mother know, and I'll come back to see you both when I can."
"Huh? Wait — " Gohan blinked, slightly lost.
"Dai-Te — you and Gohan have things to talk about." Goku called over to Trunks, and then Instant Transmitted away.
Gohan: ...
Trunks: ...
The two of them stood in the wind, thoroughly bewildered.
Whoosh!
Goku Instant Transmitted back to Broly's side and reached out his hand.
"Broly — come with me. I'll take you somewhere good." Goku grinned.
Broly instinctively extended his hand. Goku took it.
Vegeta opened his mouth, just about to say something.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, Goku had vanished with Broly.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, Goku materialized in the Sacred World of the Kais — directly behind Old Kai.
Then Goku craned his neck and peered over Old Kai's shoulder at whatever manga he was reading.
Broly immediately became curious and did the same, mimicking Goku's posture, leaning in to look.
"What are those two people doing in the picture? Why does the one with the braids look both pained and pleased at the same time?" Broly scratched his head with genuine confusion.
Goku: ...
Old Kai nearly leaped out of his skin. He sprang up from the ground, visibly furious.
"You again! What are you doing appearing behind me like that?" Old Kai snapped.
"Lord Old Kai — you're moving through that manga at quite a pace." Goku laughed.
"None of your business! I'm not showing you — serves you right!" Old Kai harrumphed, rolling his eyes repeatedly.
"Actually... Lord Old Kai — you could watch Vegeta and Bulma, you know. They're together now. You never know, one day they might get up to something similar." Goku leaned in and whispered conspiratorially in Old Kai's ear.
Old Kai's eyes lit up like candles. A thin trail of drool escaped from the corner of his mouth. He decided on the spot that this young man was showing real promise, and gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
"And who is this one?" Old Kai wiped the corner of his mouth and looked at Broly.
"Oh — his name's Broly. Remarkable fellow, also a Saiyan." Goku replied. "He says he beat Frieza!"
"Is that so?" Old Kai's eyes widened in surprise. He studied Broly up and down once more, taking a careful second look.
"I want to spar with Broly properly. Earth breaks too easily under that kind of fighting, so I brought him here." Goku grinned.
Old Kai: ...
Old Kai's expression went as black as a lump of coal.
What do you think my home is, exactly?
"Speaking of which, Lord Old Kai — I have a feeling something is off about Vegeta." Goku scratched his head and looked over at Old Kai.
"Off how?" Old Kai raised an eyebrow.
"He's gotten a lot stronger. Unreasonably stronger." Goku mused, and the thought came to him suddenly. "Do you think Vegeta might have also reincarnated?"
Old Kai: ...
Old Kai was genuinely at a loss for words.
Is reincarnation becoming some sort of trend?
You reincarnating was one thing. Then Frieza reincarnated.
And now you're telling me Vegeta reincarnated too?
Are you having me on?
"Impossible. Absolutely out of the question." Old Kai waved the idea away decisively.
"I don't think it's very likely either... which is why I came to ask you. Maybe you could use that sphere to keep an eye on Vegeta — you might be able to see something." Goku chuckled.
Old Kai's expression darkened as he turned to glare at Goku with undisguised exasperation. "You think I have nothing better to do?! I am the Supreme Kai — I have work! I am not going to spend my time keeping surveillance on Vegeta!"
"I mean... it's just that you're sitting here reading manga all day..." Goku muttered quietly.
"What was that?!" Old Kai's mustache bristled as he glowered.
"Nevermind... I'll just find a chance to ask Vegeta directly." Goku shrugged, completely unbothered — and frankly rather hoping that Vegeta had reincarnated.
"Then go ask him directly." Old Kai said with a dismissive huff.
"Also... I have a feeling something is off about Gohan too." Goku scratched his head again.
"Don't tell me you think your son reincarnated as well." Old Kai rolled his eyes to the heavens.
"I don't think that's very likely either..." Goku said, genuinely uncertain, then added more seriously, "But for some reason — it seemed like he knew Trunks."
"Trunks — the one you mentioned? Vegeta's son from the future?" Old Kai peered at him.
Goku nodded firmly.
"He's your son, not mine. You have a mouth, don't you? Just ask him yourself!" Old Kai said with obvious irritation, as though Goku's persistent questions were cutting into his reading time.
"Fair enough." Goku accepted this and let it go.
If it comes to it, I'll just find a moment to ask Gohan.
"Oh — has that medicine for my Viral Heart Disease been found yet?" Goku asked.
"Of course it has. Something this simple isn't exactly a challenge for the Supreme Kai." Old Kai sniffed, then produced a small purple herb and tossed it over to Goku.
Goku caught it and stared at it with a blank look.
"Eat that. Your heart condition will be repaired before it ever has a chance to develop. No Viral Heart Disease." Old Kai explained.
"Wait — really? That's even better than the antidote. I remember that medicine only works once the illness has already started." Goku said, pleasantly surprised — and immediately bit into the herb and chewed it up as he kept talking. "I was actually going to tell you, Lord Old Kai — now that Trunks has shown up, he probably brought the antidote with him. You didn't need to go to the trouble."
Old Kai decided he was done engaging with Goku.
I went and found the medicine. And now you're telling me it wasn't necessary. Do you think that's an appropriate thing to say?
The moment Goku swallowed the purple herb, his body felt as though it had been washed clean from the inside out — a deep, spreading sense of ease he couldn't quite put into words.
Even more surprisingly, Goku noticed his power had risen noticeably. Without doing anything at all, he had quietly surpassed his own peak.
"This... this herb is that powerful?" Goku said, genuinely astonished.
"It's not the herb that's remarkable — your heart was already compromised. Clearly restricted blood flow." Old Kai gave him a flat look and offered the straightforward explanation. "The herb repaired your heart and let it function properly. That's why your energy went up. Your power genuinely did increase."
"Incredible. Lord Old Kai, you've done me a tremendous favor!" Goku said, bursting with gratitude.
In this moment, Goku had not only recovered to the peak strength of his GT-era self — he had surpassed it. And his body itself had been fundamentally improved.
The Viral Heart Disease would never trouble him again.
With the excitement still buzzing in his chest, Goku turned his eyes eagerly back to Broly.
"Didn't you say there would be good food?" Broly asked.
"Oh — right, there is." Goku reached into his pocket and produced a Senzu Bean, tossing it to Broly.
Broly caught it and turned it over in his hands with a look of total bewilderment.
Just looks like a plain old bean.
This is supposed to be good?
Author's Note: Should this book be retitled "Dragon Ball: So Everyone's Reincarnating Now, Huh?"
To be continued…
As you guys can see the chapter's length has started to double as compared to the starting chapters so starting monday 1 Chapter per day will be posted and 4 chapters on Sunday will be posted.
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