"Are we really just going to sit here and watch?"
Piccolo's low grumble broke the tense silence of their spectatorship. The proud Namekian shifted uncomfortably, his arms crossed tightly. Being part of the action, even if it ended with him beaten and waiting for Goku to save the day, felt more natural than this passive observation.
Rhode glanced at him, a faint, knowing smirk on his lips. "What's the matter? You're only comfortable when you're the one lying on the ground looking up?" he retorted, his tone dry. Piccolo, you'd better get used to it, he thought privately, considering a future where power disparities would only grow more extreme. Your days as a front-line brawler against the top tiers are numbered.
"Uncle Piccolo, it's okay! Dad can win now!" Gohan chimed in, his young voice earnest. Though he too felt the strange idleness of not fighting, the outcome was clear. Slug was a spent force, his energy a fading ember, while Goku—restored to peak condition and with Kaio-ken at his command—held all the cards.
"See, Piccolo? Even Gohan gets it," Krillin added, unable to resist a friendly jab.
Teased by Rhode and ribbed by Krillin, Piccolo's irritation finally boiled over. He scowled at the battlefield where Goku, now clearly dominant, was nonetheless letting the fight drag on, savoring the challenge. "Hey! Kakarot!" Piccolo bellowed, his voice echoing across the ruins. "Stop playing with your food and finish this!"
"Hehe!" Goku shot a sheepish grin over his shoulder, scratching the back of his head. Piccolo was right. With a determined glint in his eye, he focused.
BOOM!
A familiar crimson aura erupted around him—Kaio-ken! Power amplified, Goku became a blur of decisive violence. He gave the staggering Slug no quarter, overwhelming him with a final, devastating flurry of blows that left no trace of the villain behind. Then, soaring into the sky, he unleashed a brilliant Ki Blast that tore through the planet-smothering darkness, bathing the battered Earth in sunlight once more.
Thud.
Goku landed lightly back amidst the group. "Dad!" Little Gohan immediately rushed into his arms, the adrenaline of the battle finally giving way to a child's relief and lingering fear. Goku held him close, offering quiet comfort.
Once Gohan had calmed, Goku turned his attention to their mysterious savior, his expression open and grateful. "I'm Son Goku. Thank you for your help. What's your name?"
"Rhode," he replied, his demeanor calm. Meeting alternate Gokus was becoming a habit, but this one had provided unique and valuable data.
"You're a Saiyan, right?" Goku asked, his eyes flicking to the tail coiled at Rhode's waist. He quickly added, "I mean, we've had some Saiyans come to Earth before. But you're nothing like them!"
"Indeed," Rhode said, knowing he referred to Vegeta and Nappa. The mention pulled his thoughts briefly to his own world, to Vegeta's fate under Frieza's thumb—a situation he had given little thought to during his peaceful time on Earth.
Their conversation was interrupted by a new arrival. "Oh! You're all in one piece! Thank goodness!"
They looked over to see Yajirobe, slightly out of breath, his characteristic sword at his side and a small pouch in his hand. "Yajirobe! What took you so long?!" Krillin exclaimed, his relief tinged with annoyance. If not for Rhode's timely healing, Yajirobe's late arrival with the Senzu Beans could have meant doom for them all.
"I got here as fast as I could!" Yajirobe shot back defensively, wiping his brow. He wasn't built for these world-ending scrambles.
Goku, ever forgiving, just smiled at the exchange. He took the pouch from Yajirobe and offered it to Rhode. "We don't have much to repay you with. But if you'll accept them, please take these."
Inside were several precious Senzu Beans.
"I will," Rhode said, accepting the pouch without hesitation. Each bean was a lifeline, a currency of immense value. As he pocketed them, a stray thought crossed his mind—back in Turles's timeline, he had considered procuring a batch from Korin's Tower. Perhaps here, the means were different, but the utility remained the same.
With the battle concluded, the skies clear, and the debt of thanks given, a moment of peace settled over the group. For Rhode's clone, the mission was complete: the data on the miraculous Kaio-ken state was secured. Now, it was only a matter of time before his true self emerged from the Time Chamber, armed with new power and the insights gleaned from this chaotic, cinematic world.
The regret was fleeting. He had been too idealistic then. The Senzu Beans in that timeline were a dwindling, precious resource, already carelessly depleted. It was better to leave them for the warriors who truly called that Earth home. Besides, his personal reserves—stockpiled in his own Time Chamber and supplemented by his mastery of the Recovery Technique—were more than sufficient.
After the battle, Rhode's clone had accepted Goku's invitation, following the group back to the tranquil familiarity of the Son family home in the mountains. Two days of peaceful observation passed before the clone's head snapped up, his gaze sharpening. He walked outside without a word, his sudden focus drawing the curious Z-Fighters after him.
In the clearing, the air before them rippled and tore. A spatial gate shimmered into existence, and from it stepped Rhode—but this was a different Rhode. His casual clothes were fresh and unmarked, his bearing carried a new, profound weight, and an aura of immense, restrained power radiated from him like heat from a sun.
"This… there are two Uncle Rhodes!" little Gohan blurted out, eyes wide.
"Rhode, this is…" Goku began, looking in confusion between the familiar clone and the newly arrived figure.
The clone offered no explanation. He simply walked toward his original and, upon contact, dissolved seamlessly into him, memories and experiences reintegrating in an instant.
Rhode (the true one) let out a slow breath as the totality of the past days settled within him. A satisfied smile touched his lips. "Allow me to properly introduce myself," he said, his voice now carrying a deeper resonance. "I am Rhode. The one you've spent time with was a clone."
"A clone?!" Goku's curiosity ignited, his fighter's mind fascinated by the technique. "That's amazing! It felt completely real!"
Now grounded in his full power and armed with the clone's observations, Rhode's priorities were clear. He focused on Goku. "That state you entered during the fight—the one with the golden hair and the wild power. Can you access it at will now?"
Goku's enthusiastic expression faltered into one of sheepish frustration. He scratched the back of his head. "Ah, about that… I've been trying, but I still have no idea how I did it. Sorry, Rhode."
"I see," Rhode replied, the word laced with a tinge of disappointment. The Pseudo Super Saiyan state remained an elusive mystery.
Yet, that disappointment was minor, overshadowed by the monumental gains from his training. Two years within the Hyperbolic Time Chamber—a period of explosive growth fueled by his unique constitution, past accumulations, and the latent potential of his Saiyan blood—had yielded staggering results. His battle power, once in the tens of millions, had skyrocketed, decisively shattering the hundred million barrier.
But progress, as he'd discovered, was not a straight line. Upon surpassing that colossal benchmark, his rate of increase had plummeted, hitting a tangible bottleneck. A final month of training yielded minimal returns, signaling that raw conditioning alone would take him no further.
Now, cleansed of the Chamber's dust and radiating with power that made the very air around him hum, Rhode stood before them. The path forward was clear. The clone's data was analyzed, his base power was honed to a new peak, and the lessons from Goku's transformation were etched in his mind. All that remained was the final, critical catalyst.
He had left the Time Chamber not because he was finished, but because the next step in his evolution could not be found within its sterile, endless horizon. He needed the pressure, the emotion, the spark that only the chaos of reality could provide. The quest to unlock Super Saiyan had entered its decisive phase.