Goku's eyes fluttered open to sterile white walls and the steady beeping of medical equipment. His body felt strange - not painful exactly, but like he'd been sleeping for way too long. The kind of sleep that makes you feel more tired when you wake up.
"Goku!" Chi-Chi's voice cracked with relief. "Don't you dare try to sit up! The doctors said you nearly died!"
He turned his head slowly, seeing his wife's tear-stained face beside his hospital bed. Her eyes were red and puffy, like she'd been crying for days.
"Hey Chi-Chi," he said with a weak but genuine smile. "Sorry for worrying you. How long was I out? My stomach feels like it's eating itself!"
"A month," she replied, wiping fresh tears from her cheeks. "A whole month of not knowing if you'd ever wake up!"
"A whole month?!" Goku's eyes went wide. "Wow, no wonder I'm so hungry! Hey, have you heard anything from Gohan and the others? Are they okay out there?"
Chi-Chi's expression grew more worried. "We haven't heard anything since they left. Dr. Brief says that's normal - communication across that kind of distance is impossible with current technology."
Heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway, and Mr. Popo appeared in the doorway. The dark-skinned guardian's usually serene expression carried both grief and urgency.
"Mr. Popo!" Goku's face lit up with genuine happiness, though concern quickly followed. "Any word from the boys?"
"Nothing yet, Goku," Mr. Popo said softly. "But I'm afraid the situation may be more dangerous than we first realized."
Goku sat up straighter, his natural protectiveness overriding his physical weakness. "What do you mean? What's wrong?"
"Before Kami passed, he intercepted communications from deep space. Reports of someone called Frieza moving toward Namek - the same being who destroyed Planet Vegeta."
The color drained from Goku's face as the implications hit him. "The guy Vegeta was terrified of? He's going to the same place as Gohan? the one that sage told us about?"
"your son and krillen are facing the destroyer of worlds, Goku. Along with Sage, who may be the only other person in the universe except you with the potential to stand against such power."
Goku's stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, but for once he ignored it completely. "We have to get there. Now."
"Goku, you just woke up from a month-long coma!" Chi-Chi protested. "You can barely sit up!"
"Chi-Chi, that's our little boy out there, i might be reckless but even i know that it was a mistake to send him..... this is not something a 5 year old boy can handle" Goku said, his voice growing serious in a way she rarely heard. "And he's with friends who are like family to me. even sage has grown on us hasn't he? If there's even a chance they need help..."
He tried to stand but his legs wobbled dangerously. The month of inactivity had taken a serious toll.
Mr. Popo reached into his robes and pulled out a small cloth pouch. "Korin gave me this - the last senzu bean from his reserves. He said you'd need it."
"A senzu bean?" Goku's eyes lit up despite the gravity of the situation. "That'll do the trick!"
"Are you sure we should use the last one?" Chi-Chi asked worriedly.
"Your friends will need you at full strength," Mr. Popo said firmly. "And from what Kami sensed before he died, conventional power levels won't be enough for what's coming."
"Then bottoms up!" Goku said, taking the bean without hesitation.
The transformation was immediate and dramatic. Energy flooded through his body, washing away weeks of weakness. His muscles filled out, his posture straightened, and his ki blazed with renewed vigor.
"Amazing!" he exclaimed, jumping up and stretching. "I feel better than ever! Okay, how do we get to Namek?"
"Dr. Brief has been working on something," Mr. Popo said. "But Goku, you need to understand - even with the Kaioken technique at maximum power, you may not be strong enough for what awaits on that world."
"Then I'll get stronger," Goku said with simple determination. "I always do when people are counting on me. Besides," he grinned, "Gohan's gotten pretty tough himself. I bet he's handling things just fine!"
Chi-Chi grabbed his arm as he started toward the door. "Promise me you'll come back. Both of you."
Goku's expression softened, and he gently took her hands. "Hey, when have I ever broken a promise to you? I'll bring our boy home safe, and I'll come back too. That's not just a promise - that's a guarantee."
The warmth in his smile, the absolute conviction in his voice, reminded her why she'd fallen in love with this impossible man in the first place.
"Just... try not to enjoy the fighting too much," she said with a mixture of exasperation and affection.
"I'll try," Goku laughed, "but you know how I get when there's a really strong opponent around!"
They made their way to Capsule Corp, where Dr. Brief was waiting in his lab, surrounded by blueprints and electronic components. His usual cigarette hung from his lips as he looked up from his work.
"Goku! Excellent timing! I was just putting the finishing touches on the most incredible project of my career!"
"Hey Dr. Brief!" Goku waved enthusiastically. "What kind of project? Something that goes fast?"
"Fast?" Dr. Brief laughed. "My boy, this thing will make your Flying Nimbus look like it's standing still!"
He led them to a massive hangar where the strangest ship Goku had ever seen sat gleaming under work lights. It looked nothing like human technology - organic curves blended with crystalline formations, giving it an almost living appearance.
"Whoa!" Goku's eyes went wide with wonder. "It looks like it's alive! Did it grow instead of getting built?"
"In a sense, yes," Mr. Popo said quietly. "This is the ship that brought Kami to Earth three hundred years ago. Namekian bio-technology that responds to the pilot's life force."
"Kami came from space in this thing?" Goku walked around the ship, touching its smooth surface with amazement. "Cool! It feels warm!"
"That's the bio-mechanical systems recognizing your ki signature," Dr. Brief explained proudly. "Fascinating technology! The ship literally bonds with its pilot!"
"Like the Flying Nimbus!" Goku said excitedly. "Except this one goes to other planets!"
Dr. Brief wiped his hands on a rag, practically bouncing with scientific excitement.
"I've spent weeks studying this technology and integrating it with modern systems. Enhanced engines, improved navigation, better life support - and the best part..."
He paused dramatically.
"We can reach Namek in six days instead of the four months your friends needed!"
"Six days?!" Goku's excitement reached new heights. "That's amazing! We could catch up to them!"
"Well, maybe not catch up exactly," Dr. Brief corrected. "But we'll arrive not too long after they do."
"How can you be so casual about this?" Chi-Chi demanded. "You're talking about fighting beings that could destroy planets!"
"Because worrying won't make me any stronger," Goku replied with surprising wisdom. "But training will! And protecting the people I care about always makes me fight harder than I thought possible!.... and sage, i dont know how to explain it but fighting along him was something else.. im sure he can agree on it, i need to help him, it will already be rough for him to face freiza, thats the man who destroyed hi- well our planet"
Dr. Brief activated the ship's systems, and the hangar filled with a soft, harmonious humming. The crystalline formations began to glow with inner light.
"She's responding to you already," he observed. "The ship wants to go home."
"Then let's not keep her waiting!" Goku said, practically vibrating with excitement.. his determination blazed brighter. "Then i better get going! My friends are counting on me!"
Chi-Chi hugged him tightly one more time.
"Promise me you'll be careful. Promise me you won't do anything too crazy."
Goku hugged her back, his warmth and strength reassuring even in the face of cosmic dangers.
"I promise I'll be as careful as I can be while still protecting everyone. That's the best I can do."
"I suppose it'll have to be enough," she sighed. "Just... come home to me. Both of you."
"We will," Goku said with absolute conviction. "That's a promise!"
==================================================================
Meanwhile, across the galaxy, Vegeta's attack pod hurtled through the void toward the same destination. Inside, the Saiyan Prince brooded on his plans for revenge.
His pride still burned from the humiliation on Earth - defeated by a low-class warrior and a five-year-old child. But more than wounded pride drove him now.
He was no longer Frieza's soldier. That life had ended the moment he chose to retreat instead of die for his master's cause. Now he was a rogue, a defector with nothing left to lose.
"Frieza," he snarled, his hands clenching into fists. "You destroyed my planet, enslaved my people, turned me into your attack dog. you even made me fight my own people. But I'm done being your servant."
Information intercepted from Frieza Force transmissions had revealed the truth about Namek's Dragon Balls. Immortality. True, eternal power that would finally allow him to face his former master as an equal.
The irony wasn't lost on him - he'd spent years as Frieza's most loyal enforcer, and now he planned to use that same ruthless efficiency to destroy his former master.
"The Prince of all Saiyans bows to no one," he muttered, his aura flickering with suppressed power. "Soon, the universe will remember why our race was feared."
The pod's navigation system chimed. Namek appeared on his viewscreen - a green jewel spinning slowly against the star field.
His scouter crackled with energy readings from the planet's surface. Multiple high power levels, some familiar, others completely unknown.
"Interesting. It seems I'm not the only one with business on this world."
A cold smile crossed his features. If some of those energy signatures belonged to the fighters from Earth, so much the better. He had scores to settle with them as well.
Competition would make victory even sweeter.
The pod's engines fired for final approach, carrying the Saiyan Prince toward his destiny - and toward a confrontation that would reshape the balance of power in the universe.
================================================================
The ship touched down with a soft thud on Namek's emerald surface. Strange blue dust kicked up around the landing jets, and the alien landscape stretched endlessly before them.
Three suns hung in the green-tinted sky, casting overlapping shadows across rolling hills covered in aquamarine grass. Crystalline formations jutted from the ground like frozen lightning, creating a landscape that seemed both beautiful and otherworldly.
"It's beautiful," Gohan whispered, his face pressed against the viewport. "Nothing like Earth, but somehow... peaceful."
The five-year-old's wonder was infectious, but Sage's enhanced senses were already detecting problems.
"Peaceful on the surface," he said grimly, his wild hair catching the strange tri-solar light filtering through the cockpit. "But these energy signatures I'm picking up - they're massive. And moving."
Krillin joined them at the observation window, his expression troubled.
"Those explosions we saw from orbit... think they're still happening?"
"Without a doubt," Sage replied, his dark eyes studying the sensor readings with growing concern. "Multiple power levels across the planet. Some beyond anything we faced on Earth."
The implications hung heavy in their cramped ship. Four months of training, pushing their bodies to new limits, achieving remarkable coordination - but they might still be completely outclassed.
"So what's the plan?" Gohan asked, his young voice steady despite the obvious magnitude of what they faced.
Sage stood slowly, his lean frame unfolding with controlled grace. His red gi was freshly cleaned for their arrival, the white sash tied with military precision around his waist. His Saiyan tail, fully regrown during their journey, swayed behind him with restless energy.
"We do what we came here to do. Find the Dragon Balls, make our wishes, get everyone home alive."
He moved to the equipment locker, retrieving communication devices and emergency supplies with economical, focused movements.
"But we move carefully. Stay alert. Avoid confrontation unless absolutely necessary."
"Any idea where to start looking for Dragon Balls on an entire planet?" Krillin asked, strapping on his gear with practiced efficiency.
Gohan closed his eyes, extending his ki sense across the alien landscape. His power had grown remarkably during their journey - the gravity training and constant sparring had pushed his young body to new levels, but more importantly, he'd learned to channel his emotional surges into focused energy.
"I can feel something... different. Not human, not Saiyan, but familiar somehow."
"Namekian energy," Sage realized, his analytical mind cataloging the sensation. "If Piccolo came from this world, there should be others like him. They'd be our best source of information."
The airlock cycled open with a soft hiss, and Namek's atmosphere rushed in to greet them. The air was thicker than Earth's, rich with moisture and carrying scents of growing things - but underneath lurked something else.
The metallic tang of ozone. The acrid smell of discharged energy weapons.
Recent battle.
Sage stepped onto alien soil first, his enhanced senses immediately cataloging potential threats. The gravity was slightly lighter than Earth's, making their movements feel almost buoyant after months of training under increased weight.
His wild appearance was even more pronounced in the alien environment. The tri-solar lighting cast strange shadows across his bestial features, making his predatory nature seem perfectly suited to this otherworldly landscape.
"Stay close," he instructed, his voice carrying easily in the thinner air. "We don't know what we're walking into."
They moved across the landscape in loose formation - Sage taking point with his analytical scanning, Gohan in the center using his remarkable ki awareness, Krillin covering their rear with his tactical experience.
The terrain was challenging but not impossible. Rolling hills covered in that strange blue-green vegetation, crystalline formations that seemed to hum with barely audible energy, and in the distance, spiraling structures that looked grown rather than built.
"This place feels ancient," Gohan observed, his young voice filled with wonder. "Like it's been here forever, but still alive somehow."
"The Namekians have had centuries to develop their bond with their world," Sage replied, his enhanced hearing picking up the subtle harmonics in the crystal formations. "Everything here is integrated - technology and nature working together instead of fighting each other."
After an hour of careful travel, they crested a hill and froze.
Below them stretched a valley containing what could only be a Namekian village. Distinctive rounded buildings with organic curves that flowed seamlessly into the landscape. Crystalline formations integrated into the architecture, creating structures that seemed to breathe with their surroundings.
But the village was burning.
Smoke rose from a dozen buildings, their bio-organic walls blackened and cracking. Craters dotted the ground where massive energy attacks had impacted. Scattered debris told the story of a methodical, one-sided battle.
"No," Gohan whispered, his young face stricken with horror. "We're too late."
Sage's expression hardened as he studied the destruction with his analytical mind. The attack patterns, the weapon signatures, the tactical approach - all spoke of overwhelming force applied with surgical precision.
"This wasn't random destruction," he said grimly, his dark eyes cataloging details others might miss. "Someone was looking for something specific. They interrogated the villagers systematically, then eliminated all witnesses."
"The Dragon Balls," Krillin realized, his fists clenching with anger. "Someone else is here for the same reason we are."
"And they're not being polite about it," Sage added darkly, his tail lashing with suppressed fury.
They descended into the valley carefully, alert for any signs of survivors or continuing threat. The devastation was thorough, designed to leave no loose ends or potential sources of information.
Bodies of Namekians lay scattered among the ruins - elderly, young, all showing signs of interrogation before execution. The methodical cruelty spoke of professional soldiers following orders without conscience.
"Animals," Krillin spat, kneeling beside one of the fallen villagers. "These people never hurt anyone."
But as they approached the village center, Gohan suddenly stopped.
"Wait," he said, his ki sense picking up something the others had missed. "I sense something. Someone's still alive up there."
They moved toward the largest building, its organic walls partially collapsed but still standing. The structure's bio-luminescent panels flickered weakly, like a dying heartbeat.
Inside, they found a single Namekian elder. His green skin was pale with shock and injury, his eyes slowly opened to reveal large black eyes. he was sitting on a throne around rubble
He looked remarkably like Piccolo - the same distinctive antenna-like protrusions, the same inherent dignity written in his features - but older, more weathered. His simple white robes were torn and stained with the aftermath of battle.
" who are you, what do you want.... are you the ones who killed my people? no.... your energy is different"
"We came looking for Dragon Balls," Krillin said carefully, not wanting to reveal too much until they understood the situation. "We heard they might exist on this world. we dont know what happened here but this is urgent"
The elder's eyes widened with sudden understanding and what might have been hope.
"Dragon Balls..." he repeated slowly. "Then you must have known one of our people. Only someone familiar with Namekian power would travel across the galaxy seeking them."
"We knew Piccolo," Gohan said softly, his voice heavy with the grief of loss. "He was our friend. Our teacher. He died protecting us."
The elder's weathered face crumpled with emotion. Tears began to flow freely down his cheeks as he struggled to sit up.
"Piccolo... a warrior's name, strong and proud. Tell me, did he find honor in his final moments? Did he die as a true protector should?"
"The greatest honor," Sage confirmed, his voice carrying deep respect despite his wild appearance. "He sacrificed himself to shield this boy from an attack that would have killed him. He died defending an innocent life, thinking only of protecting others."
"And his last words were about how proud he was," Gohan added, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. "He told me he was proud of me, and that I should take care of everyone."
The elder wept openly now, but his tears carried joy as well as sorrow.
"Then he found what our people are meant to be," he said with quiet pride. "Not just guardians of mystical power, but shields for the innocent. Protectors of life itself."
He managed to pull himself into a standing position, wincing with obvious pain from his injuries.
"My name is Guru. I am the eldest of our people, keeper of our history and the one who long ago created the Dragon Balls you seek."
"You made the Dragon Balls?" Krillin asked in amazement. "All of them?"
"Long ago, when our race was young and our planet was whole and beautiful," Guru replied with a sad smile. "But others have learned of their power. They came here seeking the same resurrection you desire, but their intentions were far from noble."
His expression grew grim as painful memories surfaced.
"They wore armor marked with strange symbols. Called themselves soldiers of someone named Frieza. Elite warriors seeking the seven orbs to grant their master immortality."
The name hit Sage like a physical blow. The color drained from his face, his breathing became shallow and rapid, and for a moment his carefully maintained composure cracked completely.
His tail went rigid with shock, his wild hair seeming to bristle with unconscious energy discharge. The bestial features that marked his years of isolation became more pronounced as primal fear and rage warred within him.
"Frieza," he whispered, the word carrying decades of suppressed terror and racial trauma. "He's here. On Namek."
"You know this name?" Guru asked, studying Sage's extreme reaction with growing concern.
"Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta," Sage said, his voice barely controlled as memories of his father's warnings flooded back. "He killed my entire race - billions of Saiyans - except for a handful of survivors scattered across the galaxy like seeds on the wind."
His hands were shaking now, the composed warrior facade giving way to the traumatized survivor beneath.
"He's the most powerful being in the known universe. A tyrant who destroys civilizations for sport. If he's here, if he wants immortality..."
"We're in way over our heads," Krillin finished grimly, understanding the full scope of what they faced.
Gohan looked between his companions, seeing real fear in their eyes for the first time since he'd known them.
"How strong is he? Stronger than Vegeta?"
"Strong enough that Vegeta - who defeated all of us combined without breaking a sweat - served him out of absolute terror," Sage replied, his voice hollow with the weight of cosmic-scale threat.
"Strong enough to destroy entire planets with a casual gesture. And now he's hunting the same Dragon Balls we need to bring our friends back."
The full magnitude of their situation settled over them like a suffocating blanket. They'd traveled across the galaxy to resurrect their friends, only to walk directly into the path of the universe's most feared destroyer.
But Guru was watching them carefully, and in his ancient eyes, something like hope was beginning to kindle.
"Perhaps," he said slowly, "fate has brought you here for more than simple resurrection. Perhaps the universe has finally provided champions worthy of standing against such evil."
The elder struggled to his feet, his injuries making every movement painful. Sage moved to help him, his wild appearance contrasting sharply with his gentle assistance.
"Come. I will show you something that might help."
He led them deeper into the damaged building, to a chamber where crystalline formations grew from floor and ceiling. The crystals pulsed with soft, rhythmic light, creating an almost hypnotic pattern that seemed to resonate with their heartbeats.
"These are memory crystals," Guru explained, his voice gaining strength as they entered the sacred space. "They record and preserve knowledge, experiences, power itself. The accumulated wisdom of our people, stored in living stone."
The chamber was breathtaking in its alien beauty. Crystals of every size and shape created a natural cathedral, their surfaces reflecting and refracting the tri-solar light filtering through cracks in the damaged ceiling. The air hummed with barely audible harmonics.
"Incredible," Gohan breathed, his young eyes wide with wonder. "They're alive, aren't they?"
"In a sense, yes," Guru confirmed, touching one of the larger formations with reverent care. "Each crystal contains the essence of experiences, the emotional resonance of events both great and terrible."
He touched one of the larger formations, and it flared with brilliant light. Images formed in the crystal's depths—battles across the galaxy, warriors of incredible power, civilizations rising and falling under an expanding shadow of tyranny.
The images were more than mere recordings. They carried emotional weight, the fear and despair of countless worlds as their defenders fell one by one to overwhelming force.
And then, suddenly, images of Saiyans appeared. Not the proud warriors of legend, but broken servants carrying out genocide on countless worlds. Their faces were hollow, empty of the fierce pride their race was known for.
"Your people became Frieza's instruments of destruction," Guru said softly, his voice heavy with ancient sadness. "An entire warrior race enslaved, turned against everything they once stood for."
Sage watched in horror as the crystal showed Saiyan attack pods descending on peaceful worlds, his people - his proud, noble people - reduced to mindless destroyers following orders without question. it brought up unwanted memories
"But some among them retained honor," Guru continued, touching another crystal. "Some retained the will to resist."
New images formed—a group of Saiyan warriors refusing orders, turning against their own kind to protect innocent populations. Fighting hopeless battles against overwhelming odds, their faces showing the fierce determination that was the true Saiyan heritage.
"They died for their defiance," Guru said quietly. "But they died as warriors should - protecting the innocent rather than destroying them."
"Your father was among them," Guru said, looking directly at Sage. "Toma was his name right?. He died fighting Frieza's forces after launching escape pods carrying Saiyan children to distant worlds."
sage did not cared to ask how he knew toma was his father
Sage stared at the crystal images, seeing his father's face for the first time since childhood. Toma looked exactly as he remembered—proud, determined, uncompromising in his principles. But now he could see the weight his father had carried, the burden of knowing his race's true fate.
In the crystal's depths, he watched his father moving through a Frieza Force facility, systematically sabotaging attack pods while other defiant Saiyans held off pursuing soldiers. Each pod that launched carried a child - innocent lives sent to distant worlds in desperate hope they might survive.
"He knew about Frieza's plan to destroy Planet Vegeta," Guru continued, the crystals showing images of Frieza's forces preparing the planet's destruction. "Spent his final days launching escape pods carrying Saiyan children to distant worlds. You were one of them. his son right?"
" unfortunately most of the pods were intercepted before making it too far by freiza's force.... they were not spared, but some like you survived, though you were much older than the rest"
"How do you know all this?" Sage asked, his voice hoarse with emotion as he watched his father's final battle play out in the crystal's depths.
"Because he came here. To Namek. Seeking our Dragon Balls to undo Frieza's evil."
The revelation hit like lightning. "My father was here?"
"Twenty years ago. Alone, desperate, carrying the weight of his race's extinction. We could not help him—our Dragon Balls cannot affect events on that scale. But we gave him something else."
Guru moved to another crystal formation, this one darker, more complex. Its surface was shot through with veins of deep purple and gold, and when he touched it, power flowed through the chamber like electrical current.
The crystals around them began to resonate in harmony, their light growing brighter as ancient power awakened. Sage felt something stirring in response - not the violent fury of his violet transformation, but something deeper, more fundamental.
"We unlocked his true potential. Showed him the path to power beyond normal Saiyan limits. He left here transformed, determined to face Frieza one final time."
The crystal showed Toma's transformation - his power exploding beyond anything Sage had imagined possible. Golden light blazed around his father's form as he achieved something that seemed impossible for their race.
"Did he succeed?" Gohan asked quietly, though the sadness in Guru's eyes already suggested the answer.
"He died in the attempt. But not before passing that knowledge to others. The power lies dormant in Saiyan bloodlines, waiting for the right conditions to awaken."
The crystal showed Toma's final battle - facing Frieza's elite forces with power that dwarfed anything the tyrant's soldiers had ever encountered. He fought with the fury of a dying race, but even transformed power couldn't overcome the sheer numbers arrayed against him.
"But his sacrifice wasn't meaningless," Guru continued. "The knowledge he gained, the potential he unlocked - it lives on in those who carry Saiyan blood."
Guru looked directly at Sage, then at Gohan. "That power lives in both of you. The ability to transcend normal limitations, to become something beyond what your race has ever achieved."
Sage felt something stirring deep within his chest, not the violent fury of his violet transformation, but something quieter, more profound. It was as if barriers he'd never known existed were beginning to crack.
"The legendary Super Saiyan," he whispered, childhood stories his father had told him suddenly taking on new meaning.
"Not legend. Potential. But potential that requires more than anger or desperation to unlock."
Guru moved to the chamber's center, where the largest crystal formation reached toward the ceiling like a frozen tree of light. "Your father learned this truth too late. Power born from rage alone burns bright but briefly. True transformation requires something deeper."
"What?" Gohan asked, his young voice filled with earnest curiosity.
"The will to protect. Not to destroy, not to conquer, but to shield the innocent from harm. Your father discovered this in his final moments, but by then it was too late to master."
The elder raised his hands, and the crystals began to sing with harmonious resonance.
"I can awaken that potential in you, as I did for your father. But the choice must be yours."
"What's the cost?" Sage asked, his analytical mind automatically searching for drawbacks.
"There is no cost, only responsibility. With great power comes the obligation to use it wisely. Your father understood this. The question is whether you do."
Sage looked at his companions—Gohan's earnest young face filled with determination beyond his years, Krillin's steady courage despite facing cosmic-scale threats, then back at the crystal images of his father fighting impossible odds for the sake of others.
The weight of legacy pressed down on him. His father had died trying to unlock this power, trying to stand against the darkness that had consumed their race. Now that same darkness was here, on Namek, seeking to become truly unstoppable.
"We came here to save our friends," he said finally, his voice growing stronger with conviction. "If this power helps us do that, then yes. I accept."
Guru nodded solemnly, then turned to the youngest among them. "And you, young one?" he asked Gohan. "You carry both human and Saiyan heritage. The awakening will affect you differently, perhaps more powerfully."
Gohan considered for a long moment, his five-year-old mind grappling with concepts beyond his years. But when he spoke, his voice carried wisdom that seemed impossible for someone so young.
"Will it help me protect people? Like Mr. Piccolo protected me?"
"It will give you the strength to stand against evil, no matter how powerful."
"Then I want it too."
Guru nodded and raised his hands toward the chamber's ceiling, and the crystalline formations began to pulse with increasing intensity. The memory crystals started to sing in harmony, their resonance building to a crescendo that made the very air vibrate with potential.
"This may hurt," he warned, then pressed his palms against both Saiyans' foreheads.
Power exploded through their bodies like lightning, not the familiar ki they'd trained with, but something fundamental, transformative. Sage felt barriers within himself cracking, limitations he'd never known existed simply dissolving.
His wild hair seemed to glow with inner light, his red gi rippling with energy discharge. But most dramatically, his violet transformation—previously accessible only through rage—now felt natural, controllable, like breathing.
Gohan's transformation was even more remarkable. Golden energy erupted around his small form, his power level climbing beyond anything he'd achieved before. But unlike previous occasions, he remained completely conscious, completely in control.
When the light faded, both Saiyans stood transformed. Not just stronger, but fundamentally different. The potential their father had died to unlock was now theirs to command.
"Incredible," Krillin breathed, sensing their elevated power levels. "You both feel... transcendent."
"This is just the beginning," Guru said, his voice weak from the effort of awakening their potential. "True mastery will take time, training, understanding. But you now have the tools to face what's coming."
He moved back to the memory crystals, touching another formation. New images appeared—a map of Namek, showing the locations of the remaining Dragon Balls.
"Four balls remain unclaimed. Frieza's forces have three, as do the other Saiyans hunting them. But the seventh..." He paused, looking directly at them. "The seventh is here, hidden within this village's heart. I give it to you freely."
The crystal formation at the chamber's center began to glow, and slowly, majestically, a Dragon Ball rose from its depths. Not orange like Earth's version, but deep blue-green, pulsing with Namekian power.
"One down, six to go," Sage said, carefully taking the artifact. It was warm to the touch, alive with potential.
"Be careful young saiyan" Guru continued. "remember that Frieza himself has come to Namek. Not just his soldiers, but the tyrant himself. His power is beyond comprehension, beyond anything you've faced."
"Then we'll have to become stronger than anything we've ever been," Gohan said with simple determination.
"Can it be done?" Krillin asked. "Can anyone actually defeat Frieza?"
Guru was quiet for a long moment, consulting memories and possibilities only he could see.
"Perhaps. If you can unlock the full depth of your awakened potential. If you can gather allies strong enough to stand with you. If you can remember that true strength comes not from power alone, but from fighting for something greater than yourself."
He looked at each of them in turn. "Your father believed it was possible, Sage. He died believing that someday, someone would rise strong enough to end Frieza's reign of terror."
"Then we'll honor his belief," Sage said, his voice carrying new conviction. "We'll gather the Dragon Balls, resurrect our friends, and if necessary..."
He paused, feeling the weight of destiny settling on his shoulders.
"We'll finish what my father started."
Outside the damaged village, explosions continued echoing across Namek's green landscape. Somewhere out there, the most powerful being in the universe was hunting the very artifacts they needed.
But for the first time since arriving on this alien world, they had hope.
And power.
And the unshakeable determination to bring their friends home—no matter what stood in their way.