"Hey, old man." Vegeta stood tall with arms crossed, greeting the Elder Kai in his typical blunt manner.
The Elder Kai frowned, clearly unimpressed by Vegeta's tone. "What do you want?" he grumbled.
"Unlock my potential, too," Vegeta said without hesitation. "I'll surpass Gohan."
Trunks stared in shock, momentarily speechless. He had never imagined his father would ask, no, demand, to have his potential unlocked, and so bluntly at that.
As expected, the Elder Kai gave an unimpressed snort. "Hmph. How rude."
"Uh, Elder Kai, about my dad--" Trunks quickly stepped in, trying to smooth things over.
Before he could say more, Vegeta powered up, straight into Super Saiyan 3. A golden aura exploded around him, lightning crackling as his hair grew long and wild. Everyone turned to look.
"If you won't help me," Vegeta said coldly, "then there's no point in me being here."
His presence radiated raw power and authority. Even Kibito and Shin felt it, the sheer pressure in the air made them flinch.
Sweat beaded on the Elder Kai's forehead. The whole area had gone tense.
Off to the side, Goku and Gohan, who had been deep in conversation, turned toward the source of the power spike.
"Vegeta! What the heck are you doing?" Goku called out.
Vegeta ignored him entirely, continuing to let his ki rise. The Supreme Kai ducked behind a tree for cover. Even from there, the pressure was overwhelming. Beside him, Kibito and the Elder Kai were also gripping the trunk to steady themselves.
The Supreme Kai glanced between Vegeta and Trunks, baffled.
"Is that really Trunks' father? He feels like a completely different person!"
Then a memory clicked.
This was the same energy, the same Vegeta, who had defeated Broly. Back then, he had been under Babidi's control... and sure enough, a faint M was visible on his forehead.
It wasn't just a power-up. This was Majin Vegeta.
The Elder Kai realized: this wasn't a bluff.
"Um, Elder! Maybe we should help Trunks' dad," The Supreme Kai whispered urgently. "He's... aggressive, sure, but he's thinking about the fate of the universe!"
Shaken by Vegeta's overwhelming energy and determined presence, the Elder Kai finally relented, mumbling, "You may have a point..."
He turned to Vegeta. "Fine. I'll unlock your potential."
Vegeta immediately powered down, his golden hair shortening and aura fading. The tension vanished. Trunks mentally gave his father a thumbs-up. Classic Dad.
"Follow me," The Elder Kai said, now noticeably more respectful.
Vegeta wordlessly followed. Just then, the crystal ball began to tremble violently.
Trunks turned to look. On the surface of the orb, a chaotic image played: King Cold, mid-battle with Cell. But this King Cold wasn't the one from the past; he had transformed into a monstrous third form, much like Frieza's.
More mysterious enemies were surfacing by the minute. Thankfully, they were too busy fighting each other to cause immediate trouble elsewhere.
Trunks' mind began racing with options.
Option one: Summon a Super Saiyan God. In this timeline, including Bulla, there were only five Saiyans. Then there was Broly. But to perform the Super Saiyan God ritual, six pure-hearted Saiyans were needed.
And Broly... Broly was a wild card.
Even if his rage could be tamed, his nature was destructive, violent, not exactly pure of heart. He was born different.
A true berserker.
At this point in time, Gohan and Videl weren't married yet.
In fact, Trunks had previously planted the idea, suggesting that Gohan take Videl into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train. But there was more to that plan than just power-ups.
He knew that locking two teenagers in a time-warped space with nothing but sparring and downtime? Yeah, emotional sparks would fly. And if things progressed… Pan might be born early in this timeline.
That would give them exactly six pure-hearted Saiyans on Earth.
Enough to summon a Super Saiyan God.
But the plan fell apart when Vegeta entered the Time Chamber ahead of schedule, locking everyone else out. Classic Dad. With the chamber sealed, the Super Saiyan God idea had to be shelved.
Plan B? Fusion.
Either the Fusion Dance or the Potara earrings. The dance required the two fighters to be similar in both size and power. The Potara earrings? No such limitations. Trunks had originally meant to ask the Supreme Kai for a pair of Potara... but Broly had knocked him out cold before he could even get the words out.
Now, with chaos stirring outside, and enemies clashing left and right, new fusion pairings had to be considered.
That's when Trunks noticed something odd. A little farther off, Goku and Gohan were standing side by side... awkwardly mirroring each other's movements.
"Wait a sec…" Trunks squinted. "That's the Fusion Dance!"
So that's why his dad was off brooding somewhere.
"Guess Goku Ojisan gave up on convincing Dad and went with Gohan instead," Trunks muttered to himself.
Across the clearing, Gohan was practicing the footwork with visible enthusiasm.
"Dad, this dance move is way cooler than my Super Saiyan transformation pose," He grinned.
"Right?" Goku laughed, scratching his head. "I think so too! But Vegeta keeps calling it ridiculous. Tch, whatever."
"I've got it!" Gohan suddenly said, eyes lighting up. "Let's just go for it! We're wasting time, if we don't act soon, Earth's done for!"
Goku nodded. "Right behind you, Gohan. Let's do this!"
The two spaced themselves out, took a deep breath,
"Fuuuu-sion! HA!"
A flash of white light erupted from their synchronized movement. Trunks stepped closer, curious to see the result.
And then… thud.
Standing in front of him was a scrawny, awkward figure with lopsided hair and ill-fitting clothes.
Fusion: failed.
Trunks sighed. "Yup... too far apart in power levels."
"Uh… Goku Ojisan? Gohan? Maybe ask Elder Kai?" Trunks suggested casually, keeping his tone light. He wasn't really trying to help with the dance at this point; he just wanted them to consult the Elder Kai and maybe finally get those Potara earrings.
The fused figure was barely able to walk. With no other choice, Trunks bent down and hoisted him over his shoulder. Again.
As he carried the pitiful fusion failure toward the Elder Kai, a sudden yell rang through the air.
It was Vegeta's voice, filled with rage.
"DAMN IT! THAT HURTS! What kind of potential unlocking is this?!"
Trunks looked over and burst into silent laughter. The Elder Kai had one hand planted firmly on Vegeta's lower back, and in the other?
His tail.
Yes. His tail.
Vegeta was struggling against the pain as the old Kai pulled with all his might.
"This is the source of your Saiyan power! You want to grow stronger?" the Elder Kai barked. "Then endure it!"
Vegeta's eyes widened as a memory surfaced.
[Wait… is that true?! Trunks said the same thing!]
The voice echoed in his head. Trunks' voice.
Vegeta clenched his jaw and growled, "Then stop messing around! Pull harder! Rip it out!"
Nearby, Trunks nearly dropped the fusion fail from laughter.
Yep. I knew this scene felt familiar. He gently set the weak figure down and rushed over.
"Elder Kai! Let me help you with that!"
A new idea was already forming in his mind.
A different path.
A different solution.
One that just might work...
(End of Chapter)
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