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Inside a circular gravity chamber, Son Goku focused his breath and energy.
"Kame… hame… ha!"
A massive blue energy wave blasted from his hands, whipping around the central gravity-control pillar before curving back toward him.
Goku braced himself legs bent, arms crossed, every muscle taut.
BOOM!
When the light faded, he collapsed to the floor, completely spent.
"Yeah… that's the stuff…" Goku's body was weak, but the grin on his face was pure satisfaction.
In these nine days of training, he could clearly feel the transformation in his body. His battle power had multiplied several times over.
If someone scanned him with a scouter right now, they'd see his base power level at 100,000.
Because he hadn't brought any Senzu Beans from Korin Tower this time, every injury had to heal naturally, costing him time but giving him an unexpected advantage. Natural recovery made him acutely aware of his body's weak points, letting him target them in training.
One example was his lower body. Ever since losing his tail, his balance had been slightly off. This round of training fixed much of that instability not as good as when he still had the tail, but far better than before. His stance was now rock-solid.
Nine Days Earlier, The Lookout
When Piccolo left the Lookout, Gohan didn't follow. Instead, he turned to Mr. Popo.
"Mr. Popo… my battle power's been climbing too fast. My combat experience isn't keeping up. Dad's too far below me now, so… could I ask you to spar with me?"
He said it with a trace of nervousness.
From the way Popo had spoken earlier mentioning the Dragon God Zarama's name without even a flicker of reverence Gohan could tell that Popo's strength was unfathomable.
Kami and Piccolo hadn't noticed, because they didn't understand how terrifying Zarama was. A being who could stand on equal footing with Zeno himself. But Gohan knew. And if Popo could speak of such a being so casually… that was frightening.
He thought back over Dragon Ball's history. The more he recalled, the more he realized Popo was not simple at all.
Popo had served since the previous Kami, and this Kami had already ruled for centuries. The great cataclysm on Planet Namek happened around Age 260 now it was Age 760, a full 500 years later.
Kami had aged, his life nearing its end. But Popo? Not a single change.
And in the Buu Saga, Popo had casually sparred with Goten and Trunks both Super Saiyans. Sure, their power then wasn't enormous, but Super Saiyan was still Super Saiyan.
An ageless being with no visible limit to his strength, an unreadable expression, and the skill to create fighting dolls from clay dolls that, in Goku's youth, had given him hell.
Then there was Whis's comment in Dragon Ball Super, saying Goku showed traces of Ultra Instinct a technique even Gods of Destruction struggled to master.
Where did that come from?
Gohan remembered when Goku trained at the Lookout as a child, Popo had made a clay doll identical to him. The way it moved… there had been hints of instinctive dodging and automatic reaction.
Automatic reaction… dodging without thinking. Wasn't that the very foundation of Ultra Instinct?
If Popo could casually create a training doll like that…
The thought made Gohan's scalp tingle.
"Kami… you should put in a word for him," Kami said, stepping forward. "I don't have much time left. Earth's future will depend on them."
"Alright, Kami," Popo nodded.
For a moment, Gohan could have sworn he saw a trace of warmth in Popo's normally impassive eyes. Warmth.
Had he imagined it?
"Thank Mr. Popo, Gohan," Kami prompted.
"Thank you, Mr. Popo!" Gohan said quickly.
"Follow me," Popo said, walking toward a mysterious door.
The hinges creaked like it hadn't been opened in ages. Popo stepped inside; Gohan followed and froze.
"This is… the Hyperbolic Time Chamber? No, it doesn't have that crushing atmosphere, and the air feels normal…"
Before him stretched a white, endless space.
"This is a failed prototype," Popo explained. "A test version of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. It failed, but I kept it. In here, time flows exactly like outside, and the air is normal. The only difference is the sheer size. No day or night it's always the same."
"Forgive me for asking… but did you create the Hyperbolic Time Chamber?"
"If you already know it's a rude question, why ask?" Popo said, then relented. "Fine. I'll tell you. I advised the Kami from… let's just say, many generations ago. I didn't build it myself, but close enough."
Popo's "many" had so many "greats" before "grand-Kami" that Gohan lost count.
"Mr. Popo… Earth's entire history isn't even that long," Gohan muttered in disbelief.
"Civilizations rise and fall. This one's just the latest, I've lost track of how many there have been. Enough talk. You training or not?" Popo's words in that single day were more than he usually spoke in a year.
"Training! Right, no more questions. Should I start now, Mr. Popo?"
"Go all out. Show me what you've got. I'm not here to babysit you, I'll make a doll, and you'll fight that. Now, let's see your full power."
One hand behind his back, Popo lifted the other in invitation.
"Alright, here I come! Haaah!"
Gohan unleashed his full energy, transforming into a Super Saiyan.
"Super Saiyan, huh? Haven't seen one in over a thousand years," Popo murmured to himself.
Gohan didn't catch it.
"I'm coming, Mr. Popo!"
He shot forward right leg skimming the floor as he slid in, right elbow forward, left hand bracing for added force, aiming straight for Popo's chest.
But Popo was already there hand raised in perfect guard before Gohan struck, as if the attack had been guided into his block.
The instant they made contact, Gohan felt like he'd slammed into a pillar of unbreakable metal.
The backlash numbed his entire arm.
This only confirmed Gohan's suspicion: Popo knew Ultra Instinct.
Gohan rained down a flurry of blows, but every strike was effortlessly stopped either blocked before it landed or countered at the exact moment a weakness appeared.
Popo's feet never moved.
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