Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
*****
"Gohan? George?"
On the way to the preliminary arena, they bumped into Videl, who was also heading toward the staging area.
Videl wasn't overly surprised by Gohan's presence—though she was puzzled by his ridiculous outfit—but she was completely stunned to see George among the competitors.
"Videl, keep it down! Don't call me Gohan. Call me the Great Saiyaman!" Gohan whispered frantically, adjusting his turban and sunglasses. This tournament was being broadcast globally, and many of their classmates were watching; he absolutely could not afford to have his identity exposed.
"Didn't Gohan tell you? I learned the basics of Ki from him a while back, and I've been training lately," George explained with a laugh. Before Videl could press for more details, he gave her a meaningful wink. "I'll head to the arena first. I won't interrupt your pre-match date with Gohan."
"What... Date?!" Videl's face flushed crimson, her interrogation instantly derailed.
George quickly caught up with the main group, walking alongside Goku.
"Mr. Goku, Gohan mentioned that you learned a technique from King Kai called the Kaio-ken?"
The Kaio-ken was a technique developed by King Kai to amplify one's Ki. It essentially used Ki to stimulate the physical body, allowing the user's battle power to increase by several, dozens, or even scores of times for a short duration. The exact multiplier depended on the body's durability and the user's precision in Ki control.
When Goku first fought Vegeta, his limit was fourfold. By the time he reached Namek, gravity training allowed him to push it to twentyfold.
George wasn't a Saiyan; he couldn't transform into a Super Saiyan. Therefore, the Kaio-ken was the perfect bridge for his small avatar to break through its combat limits. Crucially, he possessed the two most important requirements for the technique.
In terms of Ki control: as a Multiversal-level powerhouse—even in this small fragment—his command over energy was absolute. In this world, he suspected that aside from the vanished Creator, very few could rival him in finesse. His current "upper limit" was only due to his low soul power in this body.
The soul had limits, but the body did not. George followed the Warrior Pathway, which focused primarily on physical reinforcement. Though he was currently only at Sequence 1, with a battle power in the tens of billions, his pure physical toughness far surpassed that of Goku or Vegeta.
The strength of Goku and Vegeta lay in their Super Saiyan transformations and Ki reinforcement. For example, Krillin currently had a battle power in the hundreds of thousands, but if he didn't use Ki to protect himself, a bullet could still pierce his skin. Saiyan bodies were far superior to humans, and Goku and Vegeta were superior to ordinary Saiyans, but heavy weaponry like missiles or nuclear warheads would still pose a threat to them if they were caught off guard.
George, however, possessed the body of a Sequence 1 Hand of God, coupled with the development of the Genetic Lock. A nuclear bomb to the face wouldn't leave a scratch. Once he ascended to Sequence 0, the Twilight Giant, his physical form would reach a qualitative peak.
If he learned the Kaio-ken, he wouldn't be limited to ten or twenty times. His limit could potentially reach hundreds or even thousands of times over. The amplification would be more staggering than a Super Saiyan transformation. And this was just a small avatar—his main bodies were even more terrifying.
"The Kaio-ken? Yeah, that's a technique King Kai taught me," Goku said, sounding a bit nostalgic. "Too bad I rarely use it anymore."
Before he could go Super Saiyan, he could maintain a tenfold Kaio-ken for prolonged combat. But the Super Saiyan transformation provided a fiftyfold increase—far more efficient. He had tried stacking Kaio-ken on top of Super Saiyan, but it was incredibly difficult at first. The transformation made his emotions volatile, and the sudden power surge made Ki control vastly harder. Stacking the two put an immense strain on the body.
Later, during his training in the Other World, his control improved to the point where he could use "Super Kaio-ken," as seen in his match against Pikkon. But once he achieved Super Saiyan 2 and 3, the Kaio-ken became redundant. A tenfold Kaio-ken on a Super Saiyan 1 was only a sixtyfold total boost. Super Saiyan 2 was a hundredfold, and Super Saiyan 3 was four hundredfold.
"Mr. Goku, would I have the chance to learn the Kaio-ken?" George asked directly. With someone as pure-hearted as Goku, there was no need for word games. If he could, he would; if he couldn't, he'd say why.
"Sure, but I only have one day on Earth. I'm afraid it might be hard to learn it that fast," Goku nodded. King Kai never said the technique was a secret. The problem was that even when Goku wanted to teach Krillin and the others, they couldn't learn it. Even with sufficient control, their human bodies couldn't handle the physical burden.
"It's alright. I'm a fairly quick learner. I'll only need ten minutes of your time later," George smiled.
"Don't worry about his learning speed. Ten minutes is plenty," Piccolo interjected from the side. His hearing was so sharp he caught every word. He wasn't sure if George's body could handle the strain, but he had firsthand experience with George's terrifying rate of comprehension. To George, even a complex move like the Kaio-ken was probably just a matter of looking at it twice.
"Wow, sounds like you're really something!" Goku exclaimed, impressed. He knew Piccolo well; if the Namekian was that confident, it had to be true.
"Piccolo, you seem pretty close with George," Krillin remarked curiously. Gohan had only introduced George as a classmate who knew their secrets, so the others were still in the dark about him.
"He trained with me for a month. You could say he's... half a disciple," Piccolo said flatly.
Goku and Krillin looked shocked. They hadn't expected George to have such a connection with Piccolo.
"In that case, your strength must be quite decent?" Krillin asked. To earn Piccolo's personal guidance and praise, George's talent had to be top-tier.
"I'm just good at learning techniques. I'm not very experienced in actual combat," George replied modestly.
Krillin felt a small wave of relief. He had been worried his chances at the fifth-place prize money were shrinking. Right, he thought, even with talent, how much could a human gain in just one month? He was likely still the strongest human on Earth.
Relieved a bit too early, aren't you? Piccolo glanced at Krillin and shook his head. George wasn't just a fast learner; his power growth was staggering. Even though George was currently suppressing his Ki, Piccolo was certain George had already surpassed Krillin. If his growth had continued at the pace he showed on the Lookout, George might already be pushing a battle power of a hundred million.
"I can't believe how many people are here!" Goku marveled as they entered the internal preliminary hall. There were hundreds of contestants packed inside—far more than in previous tournaments.
"Hmph. Just a bunch of small fry," Vegeta muttered, crossing his arms. His eyes were fixed on only one opponent: the low-class warrior Kakarot.
"Ah! You—You all!!!"
A middle-aged man in a suit and sunglasses came running over, looking ecstatic. It was the tournament announcer, one of the few people who knew the truth about Goku and his friends' real power.
"Fantastic! You've finally come back! Without you, the World Martial Arts Tournament just hasn't been the same. The level of these other fighters is just too low." As someone who had seen "true" martial arts, the previous tournament had felt like a snooze-fest to him. "But please... try not to destroy the arena this time!"
George's attention, however, wasn't on the announcer or his friends. He scanned the entire preliminary hall, his eyes quickly landing on two contestants with unusually high power levels.
That must be the Supreme Kai, Shin, and his attendant, Kibito.
George knew he was in a parallel timeline of Universe 7. Universe 7 was unique for having had multiple Supreme Kais simultaneously, though only the East Supreme Kai remained.
In the Dragon Ball world, the highest authority was Zeno, who could erase universes with a thought, though his actual combat prowess was non-existent. The strongest fighter was the Grand Minister. The Grand Minister's children were the Angels, distributed across the universes to guide and oversee the Gods of Destruction to maintain universal balance.
The Supreme Kais were the equals of the Gods of Destruction, responsible for creation and stability. Their combat power usually wasn't high by divine standards—ranging from several billion to over a hundred billion—but they were still gods.
Below them were the Grand Kaio and the four directional Kaios (North, South, East, West). Below them was the Check-in Station, led by King Yemma, who judged the souls of the dead. Even the most powerful beings were suppressed by Yemma's authority upon death. Below that were the planetary Guardians, like Kami or Dende.
The universe also contained Heaven, Hell, and the Demon Realm.
George liked the system of Heaven and Hell—it ensured that good was rewarded and evil punished. The Demon Realm was a separate dimension ruled by a Demon King, whose power was usually on par with a Supreme Kai.
Universe 7 originally had five Supreme Kais—six, if you counted the sealed Old Kai. But most were killed or absorbed by Majin Buu. Only Shin remained. Majin Buu was a primordial being who had absorbed vast amounts of evil over eons. He had been awakened by the wizard Bibidi and led on a rampage through the Sacred World of the Kai.
After killing the Western and Northern Supreme Kais and absorbing the Southern and Grand Supreme Kais, only Shin was left. Influenced by the gentle nature of the Grand Supreme Kai he had absorbed, Buu became the relatively kind, candy-loving Fat Buu. This allowed Bibidi to finally control him with magic, eventually sealing him on Earth. Shin had taken that opportunity to ambush and kill Bibidi.
Now, it seemed the legacy of that ancient evil was about to resurface.
(End of Chapter)