In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed since Vegeta left Earth.
After Bulma and Dr. Briefs worked day and night, the new spacecraft modifications were finally complete.
Kami's spaceship was also brought over. Once Bulma transferred the data, they successfully locked onto Namek's location.
There would be five people on this trip: Goku, Bulma, Krillin, Piccolo, and Tien.
Gohan was supposed to go too, but Goku decided against it. The kid was only four—there was no reason to drag him into hardship for no benefit.
The system didn't have any missions either, and for safety's sake, Goku didn't bring him.
He didn't even want to bring Bulma at first—
but without Bulma, no one could handle the ship.
And with her personality, she loved adventure anyway, so the lineup was decided in the end.
Once the supplies, fuel, and everything else were prepared, Goku and the others finally boarded the ship bound for Namek.
Bulma sat firmly in the pilot's seat. "Five seconds until launch—everyone buckle in and hold tight!"
"Strapped in!"
Everyone answered at once.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Launch!"
With the final countdown complete—
Whoosh!
The spacecraft shot into space like a bullet.
Dr. Briefs and Mrs. Briefs looked up at the sky, and the ship vanished instantly from sight.
They couldn't help marveling.
"Not bad at all. That ship is fast—gone in the blink of an eye. Must be more than a hundred times faster than an airplane…"
Mrs. Briefs smiled, squinting up at the sky. "Yeah, it disappeared instantly. I hope Bulma brings back some alien specialties."
Bulma's ship was moving so fast it was almost approaching light speed.
The moment they broke through the atmosphere, everyone except Goku and Bulma turned pale.
Krillin and Tien even collapsed onto the floor.
Not from fear—
but from the intense discomfort of weightlessness, and the crushing pressure of breaking free from Earth's gravity.
If they hadn't been inside the ship, their bodies might've collapsed under that kind of acceleration.
Bulma was fine because she had built herself a spacesuit.
She'd even made one for Goku, but he found it too bulky and refused to wear it.
Still, after experiencing the launch, Goku suddenly gained a clear insight.
Why was it that even with extreme anger, you still couldn't become a Super Saiyan unless your battle power reached a certain level?
He thought he understood.
A transformation that multiplies battle power by fifty would impose a terrifying load. If the body wasn't strong enough, it simply wouldn't be able to endure it—might even break apart from the strain.
Maybe that was a built-in Saiyan protective mechanism.
Across Saiyan history, almost no one had ever trained their body to the point where they could withstand even Kaioken x20.
So even though the "trick" to transforming was simple—extreme rage—
Super Saiyan remained incredibly rare, hailed as a warrior that appeared once in a thousand years.
The real reason was that the Saiyans of Planet Vegeta were too weak. They never trained to the physical threshold needed to survive the transformation's output.
Once they were completely beyond the atmosphere and gravity layer, everyone's discomfort faded.
Bulma removed her helmet and let out a long breath.
"Whew… we've finally passed the gravity layer. You can move around freely now!"
Krillin pushed himself up off the floor, still shaken. "Is it over? I seriously thought I was going to die just now…"
Tien's legs were still a little weak too. He stood and grimaced. "Yeah… it felt like carsickness. I almost threw up."
Piccolo closed his eyes coolly, meditating as if it hadn't affected him at all—
but the faint sheen of sweat on his forehead betrayed him.
From their conversation and their conditions, Goku felt even more confident about his earlier conclusion.
It wasn't that Krillin had to "die" to make him furious enough to break a limit.
It was that he first needed to reach the physical threshold to endure the transformation—then anger would naturally trigger it.
Bulma stretched lazily. "The reason you all felt awful earlier was the pressure on your bodies while we accelerated out of the planetary speed range.
But it'll be fine from here—everything will stay stable until landing.
The trip should take about seven days. Feel free to do whatever you want."
Everyone nodded, finally relaxing.
Krillin stared out the window. The blue Earth was shrinking rapidly.
"So that's our Earth… It looks so small."
Goku said, "That's because the ship is too fast.
We're almost out of the solar system already, so Earth looks tiny."
Krillin nodded.
"I never thought I'd end up in space… I just hope we don't die out here."
Goku glanced at him. "If you're scared of dying, why'd you come?"
Krillin scratched his head with a sheepish smile. "I'm hoping we run into the kind of 'adventure' you talked about.
I really want to get stronger… I feel like I've hit a wall."
Goku spoke seriously. "Don't worry. On this Namek trip, we're all going to get stronger."
"Your mindset is insane, Goku," Krillin said.
Tien watched Earth fade into the distance, a hint of worry on his face. "I just hope Chiaotzu can take care of himself."
Krillin looked at Tien. "Relax. Earth is safe—what could happen to him?
Besides, Master Roshi can look after him.
Stop overthinking it. Why don't we meditate and train, Tien?"
Tien nodded. The two sat facing each other and began meditating—training through mental sparring.
Piccolo had already been sitting with eyes closed. Now that he knew the ship would fly smoothly for days, he also sank deeper into meditation and training.
Watching them, Bulma sighed enviously. "I'm jealous… you guys can kill time like that."
Then she turned to Goku. "Goku, are you going to train too?"
Goku shook his head. "It's only a few days. I'm not training.
You'd be bored alone, so I'll keep you company."
Bulma immediately grabbed his hand, her eyes curving into happy crescents. "Goku, you're the best.
The ship's already set to autopilot…
How about we go relax in the lounge?"
Goku rubbed the top of her head and nodded. "Sure.
I'll even give you a massage—help you loosen up.
You've been working overtime on this ship for half a month. You've earned it."
At the mention of "rest," Bulma's face turned red.
She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Secret… I added soundproofing to the lounge."
Goku chuckled, the hand on her head ruffling her hair a little harder.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Bulma pouted and huffed. "Stop messing up my hair! You're going to rub me bald!"
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