We arrived to silence.
That was the first thing that felt wrong.
No explosions. No shouting. No shockwaves ripping through the air. Just scorched earth, broken stone, and the faint smell of ozone hanging over a battlefield that had already decided its outcome.
Bulma slowed the flying car to a hover, eyes wide.
"…where is goku?"
My heart sank a bit.
I already knew the answer.
We landed carefully, stepping out onto ground still warm from energy blasts. Craters pocked the earth like open wounds. Trees were snapped in half, rocks melted into glassy lumps.
And at the center of it all was...
Piccolo.
He sat cross-legged, back straight, arms resting on his knees.
In front of him lay two bodies.
Raditz.
And Goku.
Dead.
Krillin froze.
Bulma gasped.
I felt a bit bad for goku, but he really needed this to happen for the future.
I guess going to get the senzu beans first, didn't help much i guess.
Piccolo opened one eye as we approached.
"You missed it," he said flatly.
Krillin took a step forward. "G-Goku…?"
"The massage," Piccolo said. No warmth in his voice.
Bulma covered her mouth as she saw goku's body with a clear hole in his chest.
Piccolo stood up, towering over both corpses.
"This saiyan told me everything before he died," he continued. "About 2 other Saiyans, they're coming in a little under 2 years."
My stomach twisted.
"How many?" I asked quietly, knowing the answer.
"Two," Piccolo replied. "And they're say they are stronger than this corpse" as he kicked Raditz's body.
Krillin swallowed hard.
Piccolo turned, and walked toward Gohan, who was sobbing beside Goku's body.
Without ceremony, he grabbed the child.
"Hey!" Krillin shouted.
"You can't..!" bulma yelled.
Piccolo didn't stop.
"I'm taking him," he said. "If Earth is going to survive, this child needs to grow stronger."
He looked back at us once.
"You're too weak to stop me, anyways."
And BOY he was right.
So he left.
Just like that.
A few minutes go by.
We stood there for a long time.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Goku was dead.
And i can tell krillin thinks he is useless.
Same buddy, same.
Krillin finally broke the silence.
"…we need everyone esle to know, about the saiyans."
I nodded.
Bulma wiped her eyes. "I'll call everyone."
And that was how the pieces started moving.
Hours later....
The Lookout was exactly how I remembered it.
Floating impossibly high above the clouds, serene and untouched by the chaos below. White stone. Open sky. A place that felt removed from reality.
Which made the news waiting for rest of us hit even harder.
Kami stood before us, hands clasped, expression grave.
"The Earth is in great danger," he said. "Two Saiyans will arrive in less than two years, as you all know."
Tien. Yamcha. Krillin. Chiaotzu. Everyone stood in a tense line.
Kami's eyes passed over us, then paused on me.
"You," he said gently. "Aren't you too young, to fighting world-ending dangers."
I nodded my head. "Yes, yes i am."
he agreed calmly. "But you have time."
Time.
Two years.
Two years to turn this weak body into a powerful one.
Two years to become the strongest in the z fights minus goku for now.
Training with Kami was different from Roshi's.
Roshi teaches the basis.
Kami refined what was left.
Every day was structured. Focused. Merciless.
Balance drills on narrow platforms miles above the ground. Meditation that forced you to confront fear instead of outrunning it. Sparring that punished sloppy movement and rewarded patience.
And me?
I trained like my life depended on it.
Because it did.
The difference this time was simple:
I had Senzu Beans.
And I abused that privilege shamelessly.
I pushed my body until my vision blurred, muscles screamed, and joints threatened mutiny, then healed and did it again.
Kami noticed.
At first, he said nothing.
Then one day, he stopped me mid-session.
"You cannot rely on shortcuts forever," he said.
"I know," I replied honestly. "But right now, I need distance."
He studied me for a long moment.
"…from what?"
I thought of gohan.
"From being too weak to matter," I said.
Kami nodded.
I didn't unlock full Ki controll in a dramatic explosion.
No aura.
No screaming.
No lightning.
Instead, one morning, I realized I could feel the others.
Their presence. Their movement. Their energy.
It was quiet.
Subtle.
But real.
Krillin noticed first.
"…hey," he said during sparring. "You're not breathing as hard."
I smiled. "Smartass."
Tien started taking me seriously.
Yamcha stopped teasing me.
Kami watched.
Always watched.
By the end of the second year, I wasn't the strongest.
But I wasn't weakest.
And for the first time since I arrived in this world.
I felt good.
The next day...
The sky darkened.
Not with clouds, but huge pressure.
Everyone felt it.
The ground vibrated softly beneath our feet.
"They're here," Tien said.
I clenched my fists.
Two figures streaked through the atmosphere and slammed into the earth in the distance, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
I exhaled slowly.
This was it.
No more training.
No more preparation.
No more second chances.
The Saiyans had arrived.
I stepped forward with the others, heart pounding, but steady.
Whatever happened next…
I hope for the best.
Ben power level: 1,880