Battles seem to be an unchanging theme in the Dragon Ball World.
But in reality, in the real world, battles always take up a very short amount of time. Of course, training doesn't count. If it were Vegeta and Goku, they really would be fighting and training every day.
But neither Ling An nor Gohan had the habit of training every day. Ling An didn't train at all; after all, she had a cheat, and she could gain battle power even without training. As for Gohan, although he wasn't as enthusiastic about training and fighting as his father, he still wanted to become stronger, so he would train from time to time, but he basically couldn't train every day either.
Some people always think that Chi-Chi forced Gohan to study, thus turning him into Nobita Gohan. But in reality, Gohan was never that keen on training. Of course, it wasn't that he wasn't interested at all. Gohan also had aspirations for learning, or rather, for a peaceful life.
The Gohan from the Future Timeline, due to the pressure of the Androids, though he didn't go down the path of becoming a scholar, understood the importance of strength, but he didn't reach the level of Goku and Vegeta, who were single-mindedly focused on training.
So, that night, after chatting, Gohan and Ling An went to sleep and rested.
They slept until daybreak.
The next morning, while they were still eating Mr. Popo's prepared breakfast, Ling An and Gohan saw Piccolo standing at the edge of the Lookout, a grim expression on his face.
"Uncle Piccolo, what's wrong?" Gohan asked, a little puzzled. He had a rough idea of Piccolo's strength after yesterday's battle. It was a power even greater than the Androids, and yet someone had managed to make such a strong person look so grim. A thought struck him, and he said, "Could it be... Cell?"
"Hmm."
Piccolo nodded, arms crossed, and said in a low voice, "Cell just went on TV and announced that he's holding a martial arts tournament called the Cell Games. He specified the time and place and invited more people to participate."
"That Cell guy, is he trying to involve ordinary people?" Gohan frowned.
"Not necessarily," Ling An said, finishing her breakfast. She clapped her hands and stood up. Looking at Piccolo and Gohan's inquisitive gazes, she said softly, "Cell has already shown some of his power, so ordinary people might not have the courage to go. At most, there might be some ignorant martial artists."
"Of course, it's also possible that humans will try to attack Cell with powerful weapons. Cell might not have thought of that, but as long as Cell shows this kind of power, the kingdom will definitely send forces to retaliate."
The power Cell displayed had surpassed the imagination of ordinary people, but it hadn't made the kingdom understand just how strong he really was. In this situation, the kingdom couldn't possibly stand by. Gohan and Piccolo understood this with a little thought.
They couldn't do anything about it, or rather, they didn't think it was necessary to get involved. After all, letting humans resist was fine. As for any sacrifice, they could always use the Dragon Balls to revive them later.
"Since Cell is so confident, we should use this time to train. Nine days from now, we'll make sure Cell understands that underestimating your enemy is the most foolish thing to do. Among everyone here, you have the best chance of defeating Cell!"
Piccolo said, glancing at Gohan.
"I understand!" Gohan nodded slightly. But his determined expression soon softened, and he smiled gently. "Uncle Piccolo, you don't have to worry too much. Ling An is much stronger than I am. With her current abilities, she could easily defeat Cell, she just isn't sure of a one-hit kill. Also, my father from this world is here. He might be able to deal with Cell too."
"We have many ways to defeat, or even eliminate, Cell."
"Let's hope so."
Piccolo turned and continued to look down at the world from the Lookout. He agreed with some of what Gohan said, but only to a certain extent.
Piccolo wasn't so optimistic about Goku being able to deal with Cell. He believed that Goku's power after leaving the Hyperbolic Time Chamber would definitely far surpass his own, but he doubted Goku could defeat Cell. After all, Vegeta was a reference. According to the Saiyan race's natural talent, Vegeta's bloodline was far superior to Goku's. Even though Goku entered Super Saiyan earlier than Vegeta, he was probably only slightly stronger.
As for Ling An, to be honest, even with Gohan's assurance, Piccolo still didn't trust this person of unknown origin very much. Even though she was close to Gohan, such a person was still too strange for Piccolo, who had absorbed the memories of the Guardian of Earth. As a former god, he knew very well that nothing strange could be trusted one hundred percent. So, even though Ling An was incredibly strong, he wouldn't place all his hope on her.
So, in Piccolo's view, the only hope they had of defeating Cell was the Gohan from the Future Timeline. It had to be said, great minds think alike; Piccolo's assessment was very similar to Goku's, except the former was betting on Future Gohan, while the latter was betting on the Gohan of this world.
"As long as he can break through to Super Saiyan 2, as you said, Ling An, maybe there's a way to eliminate Cell."
Gohan clenched his fists, constantly encouraging himself. Ling An, hearing this, smiled and said, "If there are no surprises, Super Saiyan 2 can indeed eliminate Cell, but the fear is not being able to kill him in one hit, causing Cell to revive. In that case, even breaking through to Super Saiyan 2 may not be enough, so Gohan, you may still need to work harder."
Super Saiyan 2 was a hundred-fold increase in power, but Ling An already possessed that kind of power. Although her combat power multiplier cards weren't as exaggerated as Super Saiyan, her base combat power was strong. Therefore, with Gohan's current base combat power, even if he broke through to Super Saiyan 2, he would only be roughly equal to her. With such power, defeating, even eliminating Cell, wouldn't be difficult, but again, it was still difficult to say it could 100% eliminate Cell.
Cell could revive even after self-destructing. If they couldn't kill him in one hit with even greater power, eliminating him would be almost impossible. In the original story, Gohan suddenly killed him with a force of will, which was one way, but this was, after all, the real world, and Gohan might not be able to do that.
So, the safest and most reliable way was to keep raising Gohan's base combat power. Forget about two or three times, even if his base combat power increased by two times compared to now, after the Super Saiyan 2 boost, he could have four hundred times the combat power. With four hundred times the combat power, no matter how freakish Cell was, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.
Of course, all of this depended on Gohan being able to break through to Super Saiyan 2; otherwise, they could only grind away at base combat power. But both Ling An and Gohan understood that grinding away at base combat power was probably even harder than breaking through to Super Saiyan 2.
"I will work even harder. Ling An, if I can't deal with Cell at that time, and the others can't solve it either, the last hope is on you." Gohan looked at Ling An with utmost seriousness.
Hearing this, Ling An waved her hand. "I will step in if necessary, but Gohan, you need to try and deal with the enemies you can handle. Believe in your potential. The power you can unleash will make anyone take notice."
Ling An wasn't just trying to comfort Gohan either. Anyone who's read the original story knows that both Gohan and Trunks, despite losing their Saiyan battle instincts, have far surpassed pure-blooded Saiyans in terms of talent.
After becoming Nobita Gohan for many years, Gohan was still able to achieve a Beast Form that rivaled the realm of the gods through his own power. Remember, both Vegeta and Goku trained for years and only mastered the divine realm with the help of the angel Whis.
And Trunks? At first, he was almost helpless against Goku Black, but later on, he could even harm Goku Black and Zamasu. This shows just how terrifying the talent of Saiyan descendants mixed with Earthlings is.
Perhaps Gohan's and Trunks' talents were only below that of Cell, who had fused various genes. So even though she had a system, Ling An was confident that she would become stronger and stronger, but she wasn't necessarily sure she could maintain a complete combat advantage over Gohan.
The Future Gohan wasn't Nobita Gohan, nor was he the Future Trunks who hadn't trained properly. He had been taught by Piccolo and Goku, and he had fought against the Androids for years. If he trained hard, he could definitely reach a very high level.
Ling An was absolutely certain of this.
But these words were extraordinary for Gohan. He hadn't expected Ling An to think so highly of him. He stared at Ling An for a few moments, and then a determined smile appeared on his face. "Ling An, since you believe in me so much, I definitely won't let you down. What's Cell anyway? I'll definitely eliminate him and become the strongest!"
"Yes!" Ling An nodded heavily in response.
Piccolo, who was standing to the side, heard the words and glanced at the two young men. After merging with Kami, his already mature mind had become even more composed and seasoned. Looking at the full-of-fighting-spirit Gohan, he simply curled the corners of his mouth slightly, without speaking.
Time passed quickly. Less than a few hours remained until Goku and his son had been training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for a full day. At this time, Vegeta and Trunks had also arrived at the Lookout. After everyone gathered together, they stood in front of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, waiting for the two of them to finish their training.
....
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