Levos rubbed his chin in thought. "The last two Dragon Balls have fallen into Frieza's hands. If we want to summon Shenron, we'll need to get them back."
"Frieza's power is way beyond mine," Goku muttered, gritting his teeth. A flicker of defiance sparked in his eyes.
Piccolo furrowed his brow. "Even though we've got more allies now, I doubt all of us together could take him down."
"We've got this many people and we still can't beat that little runt?" Gamma 2 exclaimed in disbelief.
Future Trunks replied seriously, "Don't forget about King Cold. His power is nearly on par with Frieza's. Either one of them alone could crush us."
"My bad... I've been slacking since I beat everyone in the Other World..." Goku said, clearly blaming himself.
A wave of despair swept through the group.
Levos tried to redirect their focus. "Goku, back in the Other World, did you come across any skills or techniques that could help us power up?"
Goku folded his arms and fell into deep thought. A moment later, his eyes lit up. "Oh! What if we use Fusion?"
"Fusion?" Dende asked, startled.
"You know about it too?" Goku tilted his head in surprise.
"I heard about it back on Namek," Dende said, excitement creeping into his voice. "I've never seen it myself, but it's a sacred technique of the Metamoran people. It allows two individuals to combine into one, forming a much stronger warrior."
"That's right!" Goku nodded enthusiastically. "One of the Metamorans I met taught me the technique!"
"Wait, seriously? Is it really that strong?" Piccolo asked, eyes narrowing.
The others lit up with anticipation and crowded around Goku.
"Well... probably," Goku scratched his cheek sheepishly. "I learned the technique, but I never got to use it. There wasn't anyone with a similar power level in the Other World."
He quickly explained the rules of Fusion. Both people needed to be similar in size and power level, perfectly synchronize their ki, and perform a mirror-image set of dance moves. A single misstep could ruin the fusion or, worse, cause a dangerous failure.
"Goku! Hurry up and teach us!" someone urged.
"Alright!" Goku nodded. "But keep in mind, it took me a whole week to learn it. We don't have much time, so everyone, pay close attention and take it seriously!"
Everyone gathered around, fired up with determination.
"I'll demonstrate the moves first," Goku said, his face dead serious.
"Fuuu... sion..." He extended both arms to one side and rose onto his toes. "Like this. Pay close attention to the angle of my arms."
"Then, move your arms to the other side while stepping toward your partner." He bent his knees and shuffled sideways in small steps.
"This part is exactly three steps. Don't forget that."
"Ha!" He struck a one-legged pose with the other knee raised. "At this point, clench your fists. Watch the angle of your legs carefully!"
"Then finish like this. Fingers pointed and touching your partner's!" Goku completed the final pose.
"Make sure that outer leg stays completely straight!"
He looked up. "Got all that?"
"Uhh..." A bead of sweat rolled down Piccolo's forehead.
The group exchanged awkward glances.
"D-Dad... do we really have to do those moves?" Gohan asked hesitantly.
"Of course, Gohan," Goku nodded sincerely.
Noticing everyone's strange expressions, Goku scratched his head. "You guys didn't get it? Hmm, okay then. Piccolo, help me demonstrate!"
"Me?! Why me?!" Piccolo was horrified.
"You're the smartest one here," Goku beamed. "I bet you memorized the whole routine already."
Piccolo stood frozen, clearly torn inside.
Levos quickly jumped in. "Piccolo, you're the best teacher among us. Thanks to your guidance, Gohan once made incredible progress."
"...Alright, fine." Piccolo wiped the sweat from his brow and reluctantly agreed.
Goku gave his son some encouragement. "Gohan, you've got the most potential of any of us. If you fuse with someone, you might become our strongest warrior. Make sure to memorize the movements."
"Got it, Dad." Gohan nodded with steely resolve.
Piccolo exhaled slowly, clenching and releasing his fists over and over.
"Alright, let's begin. No pressure, Piccolo!" Goku grinned.
"Fuuu..."
"Sion..."
"Haaaa!"
Goku finished the move looking relaxed, while Piccolo stood trembling, his face glistening with sweat.
"Piccolo, you've gotta yell when you pose," Goku reminded him. "We didn't quite get it right, so let's go again."
"A-Again?!" Piccolo's face turned green, well, greener. "And I have to yell too?!"
"You can do it, Uncle Piccolo!" Gohan cheered.
Everyone was looking at him with hopeful eyes.
"F-Fine..." Piccolo grumbled. "This is so humiliating... But I guess I'll have to get used to it eventually..."
Taking a deep breath, he bellowed, "Let's go, Goku! Hurry up!"
"Fuuu... sion... ha!!"
A short while later, Piccolo begrudgingly finished the entire routine, his expression frozen in embarrassment.
"That was great, Piccolo! You really put your voice into it!" Goku gave him a big thumbs-up. "Everyone else, did you get that?"
Levos massaged his cheek, which had cramped from holding back laughter, and said calmly, "Piccolo's demonstration was flawless."
He then offered a proposed pairing list for training.
"If we sort by power level, Goku and Future Trunks should fuse. Gohan and Present Trunks can pair up. That sound alright?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"As for you, Piccolo, we don't currently have a fusion partner with a matching build. I'll leave it to you to guide the others through the routine."
"Gamma One, let's give it a try!" Gamma Two was already hyped, elbowing his companion playfully. "I think these moves look super cool!"
Gamma One replied calmly, "We androids don't emit ki. We can't use this technique."
Hearing that, the others let out a disappointed sigh.
Gamma One, however, seemed quietly relieved.
Levos glanced at the time. Less than an hour remained before the tournament officially began.
He approached Mr. Popo. "Any news from Merus?"
Mr. Popo shook his head. "No one has contacted me. I tried calling over, but there's been no response."
According to their arrangement, Merus was supposed to arrive on Earth no later than three hours from their last contact. Now, with no word from him, Levos had to prepare for the worst.
He turned to Goku. "Goku, can you take me to King Kai's planet?"
"I can. What do you need over there?"
"I want to learn the Kaio-Ken technique."
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