Planet Namek.
Two and a half months had passed since Vegeta departed.
Seventy five full days had come and gone.
Fifty days remained before the Dragon Balls would awaken again.
On a lonely island near the Grand Elder's home, Son Goku stood alone… attempting his fifth breakthrough.
Ever since Vegeta took to the stars, Goku understood one thing completely:
If he could not reach the realm of a Super Saiyan, he would never stand beside Vegeta again.
Once.
Twice.
A third attempt.
Again and again every half month…
And failure each time.
Until now.
In these two and a half months, his strength had soared beyond anything in the original timeline.
He had no doubt that the Goku who fought Vegeta back then was weaker than he was now.
"This time… I will succeed."
He clenched his teeth, expression taut with resolve.
His ki spiraled upward in a roaring wave.
The eruption tore through the sky, a crushing invisible pressure spreading like an enormous net.
"YAAAAAAAHHH!"
His scream sounded almost hysterical, filled with obsession.
His energy rose higher.
And higher.
If Vegeta had been here, he would have seen it at once:
Goku's base combat power had passed six million.
Two months of training on Namek, under relentless pressure and the memory of Vegeta's overwhelming power, had driven him to surpass the original Goku who trained a full year on Yardrat.
When ambition and desperation aligned, the impossible became real.
The island shook under the explosive ki, winds twisting sand into storms.
Pebbles and boulders rose helplessly into the air.
Across the water, Krillin, Gohan, and Nail stood watching with solemn eyes.
"Will he succeed this time…? This is already the fifth attempt," Krillin whispered.
He wanted Goku to succeed more than anyone, yet doubt was natural after so many failures.
He did not understand the truth:
Goku no longer lacked power.
He lacked the emotional spark.
The ignition.
In the original story, it was Krillin's death that birthed Goku's Super Saiyan rage.
Without that moment, Goku could not force it by strength alone.
"Dad can do it," Gohan said firmly. "His energy is even stronger than half a month ago."
His faith was absolute.
Nail folded his arms.
"Becoming a Super Saiyan… there must be some special condition. Something deeper than power. If that condition is missing, the transformation will not happen."
Krillin and Gohan exchanged looks.
They knew the idea was right, but neither understood what that missing piece was.
Sometimes Krillin wondered:
If Vegeta were here…
Maybe he could say one sentence…
And Goku would awaken immediately.
Their resentment toward Vegeta had long burned away.
After Namek's battle, they felt something strange instead.
Trust.
Even reliance.
"Let's keep watching," Krillin murmured. "Goku has always been a genius. He might figure out the path on his own."
Nail nodded.
"We have grown stronger these two months, yet the gap only widens. His growth is… unnatural."
Their voices faded as Goku continued.
He widened his stance, aura pushed to its highest point.
Sweat poured down in streams.
His entire frame quivered violently.
He did not look like a man breaking through.
He looked like someone enduring agony.
His nerves, his muscles, his bones, his spirit… all strained to the very edge.
If this were his first or second attempt, he could bear the pressure.
But after four failures, the mental weight had become suffocating.
Goku felt it clearly.
If he failed again, something inside him would shatter.
He would never surpass Vegeta.
He would never stand beside him again.
"Damn it… what am I missing? My power is not weaker than Vegeta was… And Vegeta already achieved it long ago!"
His voice broke with frustration.
Inside his body, Saiyan energy boiled like a storm.
His nerves trembled with violent sparks.
Something in his cells began to shift.
Extreme emotional stress wrapped around him.
Desperation.
Shame.
Fear of falling behind forever.
And then—
An image flashed in his mind.
Vegeta's cold eyes.
Vegeta's limitless power.
And a humiliating scene:
The next time they met…
What if he had still not become a Super Saiyan?
What face would he have left?
What pride?
A crack formed.
This was not simple anger.
Not pain.
Not sorrow.
It was humiliation, willpower, longing, pride, rivalry…
All twisting together into a single burning spark.
He refused to fail.
He refused to be left behind.
He wanted to stand beside Vegeta.
He needed to.
"BREAK!"
His roar split the sky.
His ki exploded outward.
Something inside him snapped open—
And the final wall shattered.
~~~~~~
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