The gravity on King Kai's planet felt like a layer of thick glue, clinging to every inch of skin.
Goku was darting across the grass like a monkey whose tail had been stepped on, chasing a nimble little orangutan named Baburus.
Baburus was quick and agile, making faces all the while as it weaved between the few trees scattered across the tiny planet.
From time to time, it even tossed a banana peel with uncanny precision, sending the future universe's strongest fighter sprawling face-first into the dirt.
"Damn it! Don't run!"
Goku wiped the mud off his face, panting heavily.
Ten times Earth gravity still required some getting used to.
Not far away, Krillin was lounging in a chair, legs crossed, holding a glass of chilled juice he had seemingly conjured from nowhere, watching the scene unfold with utter leisure.
"Goku, lower your center of gravity. Don't rely on brute force."
Krillin took a sip of his drink, like a retired elder observing the antics of youngsters.
"You're trying to catch a monkey, not prove who's the toughest."
"Krillin, aren't you training?"
Goku called back amid his frantic chase.
"King Kai said if we don't catch it, we don't eat!"
"Catch it?"
Krillin glanced at the mischievous Baburus and, in the next instant, vanished.
No wind, no air burst, not even a blade of grass stirred.
Baburus was about to mock the bald kid when suddenly, it felt a tight grip on its neck.
Krillin had appeared behind it, lifting it by the scruff like a chick, while stuffing a banana into its mouth with the other hand.
"Done."
He tossed the stunned orangutan in front of King Kai.
"Time to eat."
King Kai pushed up his sunglasses, his jaw almost hitting the ground.
This was ten times gravity! And this bald kid hadn't even broken a sweat?
"That doesn't count! You're cheating!"
"This is basic physical training!"
"Basic training?"
Krillin tapped his bald head.
"All those hundreds of push-ups I do every day aren't for nothing. King Kai, don't waste time let's get to the real stuff."
Meanwhile, far away on Earth,
The desolate Dinosaur Plains were lashed by fierce winds, sending grains of sand stinging across the barren landscape.
Piccolo hovered in the air, arms crossed, looking down coldly at two tiny figures below.
Four-year-old Gohan, wearing his little outfit with the character for "Son," was huddled behind a rock, shivering.
Tears and snot smeared his face as he kept crying out, "Dad! Mom!"
Nearby, four-year-old Terrin, wearing a tattered jacket, gripped a long bone he had found, his eyes scanning the area with sharp alertness.
"Listen up, kids."
Piccolo's voice was as cold as ice.
"The bald one entrusted you to me, so I won't go easy. Survive in this wilderness, and I'll come back for you in six months. Die, and it's just bad luck."
With that, Piccolo vanished in a flash of white light.
"Waaah… I want to go home…"
Gohan sobbed louder, curling up into a tiny ball.
"Shut up!"
Terrin snapped, his small face twisted into a fierceness far beyond his years.
"If you keep crying, you'll just attract wolves! You're a crybaby, and you're a Saiyan kid too!"
Terrin was scared too, but the cunning of Krillin and Bulma's rationality flowed in his veins, and there was that inexplicable confidence inherited from the One-Punch Man gene.
"Dad said fear comes from lack of firepower."
He swung the bone stick in his hand.
"As long as we kill whatever wants to eat us, we're safe."
Gohan sniffled, looking up at his tiny companion, half a head shorter, eyes full of fear and confusion.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
A ten-meter-tall Tyrannosaurus peeked out from behind a rock, its drooling maw dripping with stench, eyes fixed on the two little "snacks."
"Momma!"
Gohan screamed, instinctively trying to run, but his legs refused to obey.
Terrin didn't move.
He stared straight into the dinosaur's eyes, feeling the faint stir of energy inside him.
"If Dad were here, he'd solve this with one punch."
He gritted his teeth.
"I can do it too!"
The Tyrannosaurus charged, jaws wide, aiming to engulf them.
"Move!"
Terrin shoved Gohan aside, rolling in the opposite direction.
The dinosaur's teeth crushed a rock, sending shards flying.
Terrin didn't flee. Using the brief moment when the dinosaur lifted its head, his tiny body launched like a cannonball, concentrating his energy into the bone stick, and slammed it onto the dinosaur's toe.
"Break!"
Crack!
Though the power gap was immense, this was no ordinary strength it carried the One-Punch Man factor.
The dinosaur let out a deafening roar, staggering in pain.
"Good! Crybaby, run!" Terrin shouted.
But Gohan was frozen, staring at Terrin in shock.
The enraged Tyrannosaurus swung its massive tail.
Terrin, mid-air, had nothing to brace against and was about to be crushed.
"No!"
Gohan's pupils constricted sharply.
In an instant, fear peaked and transformed into pure rage.
Boom!
A huge burst of energy erupted from Gohan. Veins bulged on his forehead,
His body blurred, and in a flash, he appeared before Terrin, hands planted firmly against the tail.
Bang!
The two children were slammed back into a cliffside, dust and debris flying everywhere.
After a while, the rubble shifted.
Terrin crawled out, grimy and battered, spitting out some blood-streaked saliva.
He looked at Gohan, unconscious but unharmed, and cracked a crooked grin.
"Hah, not bad…"
Terrin pulled out the last piece of compressed biscuit from his pocket, shoving most of it into Gohan's mouth, keeping a small piece for himself.
"Eat up. From now on, we're brothers. This wilderness is ours."
…
Back on King Kai's planet.
On the third day, Goku finally caught Baburus. He then spent the next five days giving a thorough beating to a cricket named Gregory.
"Good. Basic training is over." King Kai stood with his hands behind his back, observing his two disciples.
One was bruised and battered but fierce, the other immaculate, still tending a small barbecue grill while roasting fish.
"Next, I'll teach you the true secret technique Kaioken."
King Kai's expression turned serious.
"This is a technique that multiplies the energy in your body in a short time. Strength, speed, and defense all increase accordingly. But…"
He paused, eyes behind his sunglasses fixed on Goku.
"The strain on the body is enormous. If you lose control, the body could collapse under the surge of energy."
"With your current physique, Goku, double is your limit. As for Krillin…"
King Kai's gaze shifted to the bald kid sprinkling cumin on the fish. He couldn't quite read him.
"This body… I can't quite figure it out."
Krillin flipped the fish, commanding mentally.
[Host: Krillin]
[Species: Human (30% One-Punch Man template fusion)]
[Power Level: 6000 (normal)]
[Special Physique: Limiters broken (unlimited physical strength, no pain threshold, infinite energy capacity)]
[Current Task: Master Kaioken and shock King Kai. Reward: All stats +200, Charisma +5]
"No limit, huh…" Krillin's lips curved into a playful smirk.
"This just got interesting."