Son Goku began to gather his energy and explode with power.
"Hraaaaaah! Yaah!"
As Son Goku's ki surged, he first transformed into Super Saiyan 1, followed instantly by Super Saiyan 2 with lightning crackling all around him.
In the final stage, a massive wave of ki converged toward Son Goku, accompanied by a roar.
His long golden hair reached his waist, his brow bone became prominent, his eyebrows vanished, and his pupils turned a cold, ruthless jade green. Paired with his stern expression, he radiated an overwhelming evil aura, enveloped in a golden flame with dense bolts of lightning dancing around his entire body.
The towering aura burst directly out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Super Saiyan 3.
Achieved.
Vegeta felt this ki inside the gravity room, snapping his head up to look straight toward Kami's Lookout. His entire body was trembling—not out of fear, but from sheer frustration.
*Kakarot! It's your ki! To think your energy could reach all the way out here... Super Saiyan 2 couldn't possibly produce this kind of pressure. Could it be...?!*
Vegeta hurriedly flew toward Kami's Lookout, maintaining the Super Saiyan Full Power state.
Inside, he burned with intense anger, yet also harbored a deep longing—a longing for the power that lay beyond Super Saiyan 2.
Gohan and Piccolo, whose combat power was lower, felt like mere grains of sand in the vast ocean under this terrifying pressure, feeling exceptionally insignificant.
Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu also began rushing toward Kami's Lookout.
Master Roshi removed his sunglasses and sighed.
"This ki is simply too immense. Let's just hope it's not an enemy."
The closer Krillin, Tien Shinhan, and the others got, the more distinctly they felt the overwhelming pressure.
Meanwhile, Kami on Kami's Lookout was already drenched in sweat.
Upon noticing the Earth shaking and feeling this unshakeable ki, Xie Yi became even more determined to grow stronger. He had no idea whose ki it was, but he had the System.
"System, is this really a period in time before the Androids have even appeared?"
"Host, I can only tell you not to be nervous. This is Son Goku's ki."
This brief explanation left Xie Yi even more bewildered.
*No way, did I wake up in the wrong timeline?! Are there other time-travelers too?*
*Wasn't Son Goku supposed to have passed away from a heart disease by this point in the future timeline?*
*And yet... Vegeta's strength is way too different from the original story, but as long as Son Goku is still alive, anything is possible. This ki right now is definitely Super Saiyan 3.*
*The form that only appeared during the Majin Buu arc has shown up already? You've got to be kidding me—compatriots bumping into each other? If he finds out about me from Vegeta, will I even survive?*
While Xie Yi was lost in wild imaginations, Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolo arrived at Kami's Lookout ahead of the others.
"Kakarot?"
Looking at the menacing Son Goku, Vegeta tensed up, Gohan felt somewhat scared, and Piccolo immediately put his guard up.
"Yo! Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan."
If an untransformed Son Goku had greeted them like that, it would have felt warm and familiar, but in his Super Saiyan 3 state, his aura of chilling menace left the three of them momentarily frozen.
*Oh no, this isn't my timeline! Vegeta and the others are still quite weak right now—did I end up scaring them?*
Son Goku immediately reverted to his Base Form.
"Vegeta, I called out to you, why didn't you answer?"
With Son Goku's signature naive voice returning, Vegeta finally snapped.
"Kakarot! You'd better explain clearly what form you just took! Was that Super Saiyan 3?!"
Vegeta frowned deeply, urgently demanding an answer.
Son Goku replied earnestly, "Vegeta, what you saw just now was indeed Super Saiyan 3. At the same time, I feel like you should find a way to grow your tail back, because I sense that going beyond Super Saiyan 3 requires the assistance of a tail."
"A tail?"
Prompted by Kakarot, Vegeta looked at the tail wrapped around Son Goku's waist, remembering how he used to claim that the tail was a Saiyan's true source of power.
Having his answer, Vegeta regained his confidence.
"Kakarot, just wait for me to surpass you!"
Having dropped that bold declaration, Vegeta had rushed over in a hurry, and now left in an equally hurried fashion.
Piccolo finally recovered his composure by then and asked Gohan with concern, "Are you alright, Gohan?"
Hearing Piccolo's voice, young Gohan's trembling body steadied.
"Uncle Piccolo, thank you. I'm fine now."
"Hmph."
Then, Gohan turned to Son Goku to ask permission and explain the reason for coming here.
"I see!"
Son Goku clapped his fist into his palm and said to Gohan, "Gohan, I know very well what kind of talent you have. Since Piccolo is going to train you anyway, and Chi-Chi has given you a few days off, do your best, Gohan! You've got to get even stronger."
With Son Goku's approval, Piccolo felt at ease. Though he had long known that Son Goku would agree, nothing felt more reassuring than getting a direct response firsthand.
Krillin and the others also arrived at Kami's Lookout and ran into Son Goku and the rest.
Krillin asked, "Goku, do you know whose immense ki that was just now?"
Son Goku looked at his best friend and said, "Krillin, it was me, of course."
"I was transforming into the ultimate form beyond Super Saiyan, past Super Saiyan 2, into Super Saiyan 3."
"This..."
Krillin felt like his brain was about to suffer from oxygen deprivation trying to process his best friend's explanation.
He could only mumble vaguely in response.
"So it was Goku surpassing Super Saiyan! That's great, as long as Goku is around, Earth is safe."
Yamcha, Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu also chimed in agreement. "With Goku here, Earth is secure, but we need to push past our own limits too."
"It's so great to have Dad here."
Hearing everyone's trust in him and his son's affectionate concern, Son Goku couldn't help but moisten his eyes, his voice trembling as he said, "Everyone... I will definitely protect... all of you."
"Son!"
Hearing Son Goku's words, Piccolo looked over at him.
The others remained blissfully immersed in the joy of Goku's newfound strength.