Aeris took a deep breath.
Then she began to power up.
Right now, she wanted to see just how far her strength had risen.
Boom…
That simple burst of ki was enough to make the ground around her start shaking. Stones began to tremble, then slowly rose into the air as if gravity had stopped mattering.
"HAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
Aeris's aura kept climbing.
The terrifying pressure of it was so immense that even the Namekians far away could feel it.
"As expected of a Saiyan… such horrifying growth speed. It really leaves people speechless," the Grand Elder murmured as he slowly opened his eyes and looked in Aeris's direction.
"Grand Elder? I-Is that really Sister Aeris's ki? It's terrifying…" Dende asked from beside him.
The Grand Elder did not answer.
He only watched calmly in Aeris's direction, as though he could see through all obstacles and observe her directly.
Of course, Aeris knew none of this.
At that moment, she was completely immersed in the feeling of her own strength. It was intoxicating.
She kept pushing her aura higher and higher. The ground beneath her finally stopped being able to withstand the pressure and began to crack apart.
This kind of overwhelming power made Aeris feel almost drunk with delight. It made her want to find out exactly where the limit of this strength lay.
So naturally…
She did exactly that.
Because she was too excited, she failed to notice that something inside her had started breaking loose.
A certain invisible shackle had opened.
Lightning began crackling around her body.
Her aura started changing.
Her hair began flickering between black and gold.
"HAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Aeris could feel her ki becoming even stronger. That fresh breakthrough sent her excitement soaring to a whole new level.
In the end, her hair changed completely from black to gold.
More precisely…
A yellow-green gold.
Her aura turned the same color.
Only then did Aeris finally come back to herself.
"This… what is this…"
She stared at her own appearance, then quickly gathered ki into a makeshift mirror of ice.
"This… what the hell is this? Why did my hair change color…?"
Then her eyes widened.
"No… this looks a lot like the state that person in my dream was in…"
Aeris's expression turned thoughtful.
"Could this be… some kind of inheritance?"
Because she had been abandoned as a child, Aeris had never heard of Super Saiyans.
Then again, even if she hadn't been abandoned, she still probably wouldn't have known. Only a tiny handful of people even knew about such a thing in the first place.
She took a moment to feel out her current strength.
And then…
A very strange thought rose in her mind.
Why did it suddenly feel like she was invincible?
She had always gotten a bit arrogant in battle, sure, but this was different. This was an almost instinctive swelling of confidence, the kind that made her feel like nothing in the world could stop her.
It left her dazed for a second.
That feeling…
It almost seemed inborn.
Still, Aeris got herself under control quickly enough.
Whatever.
She would just be more careful in future fights.
With that, she returned to normal.
She still had no idea why her hair had suddenly changed color, but one thing was clear: she had become stronger.
And that power seemed to exist only in that transformed state.
It also drained her faster than usual, but the trade-off was an outrageous increase in strength.
Just thinking about it made her feel amazing.
Carrying that wonderful mood with her, Aeris headed back toward where Dende and the others were.
The moment the Grand Elder sensed her return, he offered his congratulations sincerely.
"Child… cough, cough… congratulations on becoming stronger once again…"
"Grand Elder… your body…" Aeris frowned. Seeing how much weaker he had become left a bitter feeling in her chest. When she had first arrived here, he hadn't looked nearly this frail.
It seemed that after unlocking her potential, his decline had accelerated.
Seeing the guilt on Aeris's face, the Grand Elder smiled and comforted her.
"There is no need to blame yourself, child. This is only because my life is nearing its end… It is simply one of the trials that all living beings in this universe must one day face…"
"Thank you… Grand Elder…"
The Grand Elder smiled kindly and gently patted her head.
And just like that, Aeris spent a stretch of time living there.
"Little Dende~ guess what big sis brought you today?"
Aeris bent down with both hands hidden behind her back, smiling at him.
"Candy?" Dende guessed.
Aeris instantly looked disappointed.
"Aw… Little Dende got smarter. You can even guess it now."
Dende blinked. "I smelled it."
Aeris could only sigh. This kid's nose was way too sharp.
As for why she had candy at all, it was because she had managed to recover a few capsules containing some of her stored belongings. The candy had been among them.
The only good news was that none of her most important things had been lost. What disappeared were only items she could live without.
Of course, what Aeris regretted most was the food.
Thinking of that immediately made her miss Earth.
Well…
More specifically, Earth's food.
Granted, going back to Earth would only take one Instant Transmission.
But she still did not want to return yet.
Now that she knew Namek also had Dragon Balls, and that their power was even greater than Earth's, Aeris had another plan.
She wanted to see whether Namek's Dragon Balls could solve one of her biggest problems—
The fact that she still could not breathe freely in space.
That was a fatal flaw.
Sure, she could use ki to wrap around herself and survive for a short time, but that was only something to do in emergencies.
Using ki that way was similar to holding your breath, but not exactly the same.
It was more like forcefully converting your own energy into oxygen to keep yourself alive.
And once your strength ran dry…
You died.
So Aeris wanted to use Namek's Dragon Balls to wish for the ability to move freely through space.
Even if it only extended the time she could endure it, that would still be huge.
Aeris shook her head and forced herself to stop thinking about all that.
These days, she was living among the simple and honest Namekians, eating and staying alongside them.
Not literally alongside them, so don't get weird ideas.
She had her own room there.
While staying on Namek, Aeris had been learning healing techniques from Dende. The healing technique she already knew was usable, sure, but if someone took truly massive damage, it would not be enough.
And in that regard…
Aeris had no choice but to admit that little Dende was absurdly gifted.
His healing was ridiculous.
No exaggeration—if you weren't already dead, Dende could probably drag you back from the edge.
As for Aeris, her healing technique had only improved in speed and become a bit more versatile than before.
That was about it.
Her talent simply wasn't invested in that area.
While Aeris was still buried in the sea of learning, Nail came to find her.
"Aeris. The Grand Elder wants to see you."
"Alright, I'll be right there."
After saying a quick word to Dende, she left with Nail.
On the way there, Nail spoke with her about training. After all, among everyone he had met, Aeris was by far the strongest.
"Aeris… if only I could become as strong as you are. Then if real danger came, I'd be able to protect my people."
Nail had once believed he was already strong.
But now things were different.
From Aeris, he had learned that the universe was filled with powerful beings—so powerful that even Aeris herself had once been chased around helplessly.
Aeris smiled at him.
"You have something you want to protect. That's nice. Honestly, sometimes I envy you. You have things you care about. Things you want to protect. But me…"
She lowered her gaze slightly.
"Even now, I still don't really know what it is that I care about. Or what I actually want to protect."
"No matter where I go, all I ever do is watch… or witness things. Maybe that's the price for gaining strength."
After saying that, Aeris tossed Nail a necklace.
The necklace was made of connected beast fangs, with a green gemstone set in the center.
"I got this by accident somewhere out in space a long time ago. This little thing brought me luck before. It even saved me a few times. Now I'm giving it to you. I hope it brings you what you want too."
Nail froze when he caught it, then looked at the necklace in surprise.
Still, he thanked her sincerely.
A thing like this had to mean a lot to Aeris.
If she was giving it to him now, then he would treasure it properly.
After all, wasn't this the proof of friendship between them?
"Thank you. I'll take good care of it."
Seeing that expression on his face made Aeris smile from the heart.
"Then it's settled… my friend."
After that, neither of them said much more until they arrived before the Grand Elder.
"Child… you've come."
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