Chi-Chi had not noticed that Son Goku had woken up. With her eyes closed, heartbroken tears streamed down continuously.
Until little Gohan hurried over.
"Hah... Hah..."
Little Gohan was out of breath. He had rushed back because Cooler had come to Earth a few months ago, the Dragon Balls had been used up, and since no one knew Instant Transmission to go to New Planet Namek, Son Goku had been struck down by the illness.
Things were different now, however. Son Goku had been reborn and returned, merging into a single entity with this Son Goku in a flawless soul synergy, and his potential had risen once again.
Seeing his mother crying endlessly, little Gohan felt his heart tighten, fearing he had arrived too late.
Outside, meanwhile, Vegeta sensed that Kakarot's energy had stabilized.
"Hmph, Kakarot, you are this prince's target. If even a mere illness could kill you, it would be underestimating the Legendary Super Saiyan!"
The proud prince already knew Kakarot was not going to leave, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth—though of course, this wasn't because he was happy Kakarot had survived.
It was because he, Vegeta, would finally have the chance to defeat Kakarot fair and square, proving that he was the strongest Saiyan and the universe's premier warrior.
Inside the house, once Son Goku felt he could control his body, he sat up and pulled Chi-Chi into an embrace.
"Chi-Chi, I'm back. Don't worry, I won't ever leave by myself again."
He was speaking to his past self, who had once departed with Shenron. If not for him leaving back then, the Supreme Kai might have been able to give the Potara earrings to him and Vegeta while still alive, and with Vegito taking the field, the outcome would have been hard to predict.
Looking at the man holding her tightly, Chi-Chi felt the tears in her eyes well up even more fiercely.
Thinking it was impossible for Goku to get better, but now seeing his illness cured, Chi-Chi was overwhelmed with emotion and joy. She usually doted more on Gohan, but that was because Gohan was weak, whereas Goku was the strongest person in the world.
It was only in these past few days that she had discovered this man had weaknesses too, and that he could leave her behind.
"Goku, that's wonderful! It's so wonderful! You're not leaving. In the future, I won't stop you from training anymore, but you have to promise me you'll take good care of your health."
"If you hadn't woken up today, what would Gohan and I have done?"
Goku's heart was a mix of intense emotion and anguish.
So, did I succeed? Here in the house are a young Chi-Chi, little Gohan, and my father-in-law, Lord Ox-King.
Yet I still failed to protect you all in the end. This second time, I will not fail again!
Holding Chi-Chi gently, Son Goku said, "Chi-Chi, I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to keep watching over you and protecting Earth forever. This time, no matter who comes, I won't leave."
Son Goku then looked at little Gohan standing behind Chi-Chi, thinking to himself, "Gohan really was so cute when he was little."
Chi-Chi had buried her face in Goku's chest.
"I believe you, because you are Son Goku."
Feeling Son Goku's energy stabilize, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, and Yamcha finally relaxed their tightly furrowed brows.
Krillin was still shaken with lingering fear. "That's great! I knew it, Goku. All that talk about an incurable disease was nonsense. You're the strongest person alive—how could you ever be brought down by an illness?"
As he spoke, tears welled in Krillin's eyes. Son Goku was his lifelong companion since childhood; when he learned that Shenron couldn't be used and that no one on Earth could cure Son Goku, his heart had plunged into utter despair.
"Tien, that's wonderful. Goku is going to be fine."
"Chiaotzu," Tien Shinhan nodded in response.
Yamcha stood rooted to the spot, smiling foolishly. "Ha, haha! I told you so. Goku isn't going to die that easily."
Piccolo also turned his head away with a smile, glancing toward Son Goku's house.
"Old Son, you'd better hang in there. If you dare to leave us so irresponsibly, the next time we meet, I'll definitely teach you a lesson as Gohan's father."
Bulma looked at the baby Trunks in her arms who had stopped crying, and then at the reactions of the others. Unable to sense energy herself, she was just about to ask what had happened when she spotted Son Goku.
"Yo, Vegeta!"
"Tch! Kakarot, there was no need to use Instant Transmission for such a short distance. Besides, I've learned Super Saiyan myself. Consider yourself lucky you didn't manage to run away, because next up, you're going to witness the greatest Super Saiyan in history!"
In West City, a man with the hairstyle of Son Goku's Super Saiyan 2 appeared, opening his eyes just then.
"Congratulations (*^_^*) to the Host for successfully traveling through time and space to the Dragon Ball World. You are currently in the timeline of the Dragon Ball future world during the period when Son Goku died of a heart disease."
"The Android crisis will arrive in three years. Please accept the Newcomer's Gift Pack, Host."
"Congratulations (*^_^*) to the Host for acquiring Saiyan bloodline, base combat power increased to 3 million, mastery over *ki*, a Scouter with an unlimited maximum ceiling, and 10 Senzu Beans!"
The System's voice rang out and quickly vanished.
Xie Yi looked at the city before him. This place seemed to be West City from the Dragon Ball world. He never expected that while he was at home reviewing Dragon Ball, he had casually muttered, "I really want to go and save that desperate future world," and then after falling asleep that night, he had transmigrated.
The version of him back there probably woke up the next day only to be discovered as a vegetable by people.
Since he had arrived in the Dragon Ball world—a place where fists did all the talking—and even possessed a System, he was determined to become the strongest person in the Dragon Ball world.
Gods of Destruction, Angels, the Grand Minister, Zeno—they could all just wait for him to surpass them!
It was a pity, though, that he probably wouldn't get to meet the Son Goku of this spacetime. While he wanted to save the future world from the television show, he also wanted to catch a glimpse of the living Son Goku.
"Sigh!"
"Whatever, Vegeta is still around; this proud prince is worth meeting too. But before that, I have to become a Super Saiyan. After all, the prince should be able to transform by this time period."
"If I don't want to get beaten to a pulp by his unreasonable strength, I need to secure some power to guarantee my own safety first."
As Xie Yi was pondering how to transform next, an electronic tone sounded in his mind.
Dimension's Strongest System: "Beep beep! Little bro, your mission has arrived!"
"Mission Option 1: Resurrect Frieza, the Emperor of the Universe. Reward: Super Saiyan Full Power transformation."
"Mission Option 2: Fight a battle against Vegeta."
Reward: Kaio-ken (upper limit depends on the Host's physique)."
"Mission Option 3: Act as a salted fish for three years."
Reward: Salted Fish King (Title). Possessing this title reduces the probability of encountering danger while lying flat by half."
"Huh? Huh?! Huh?!"
He was dumbfounded. What kind of choices were these? One was asking him to march to his death, another was getting him beaten up—or possibly killed, since the current Vegeta hadn't fully turned kind yet—and the third was...
System: "Please make your choice quickly, Host! Otherwise, you will be erased!"
"Damn it! System, I just want to know if you have a grudge against me. What kind of choices are these?!"
System: "3!"
"2!"
"Crap, you're playing dirty!"
Xie Yi was just about to start cursing out the System when the countdown began. It was obvious that once time ran out, he'd be finished!
"1."
"Fine, I choose option two! Option two."
System: "Host has chosen successfully. Current mission: Resurrect Frieza. Time limit is one year. Please hurry, Host."
"Fine?" Xie Yi stared blankly up at the sky.
"Haha, great, I said 'fine' and it turned into option one. Haha, why don't you go, System..."
"Please mind your language, Host."