West City was not far from the Capsule Corporation, though not exactly close either.
With Bardock's battle power, it was enough to compare Earth to a "small place". Planet Vegeta's gravity was ten times stronger than Earth's, and its size was naturally much larger than Earth's. When converted to planetary surface area, it was far beyond Earth's. Bardock and Gine flew to West City by themselves.
Boom—
Bardock was enveloped by a white energy wave, speeding through the blue sky and white clouds.
Gine's speed couldn't match Bardock's, so she flew behind him and laughed. "Bardock must really miss this kind of freedom... this feeling of being alive, right?"
Beep, beep, beep... A golden cloud caught up with Gine in flight.
"Dad flies so fast," Goku said, sitting on the cloud and looking ahead. He couldn't even see Bardock's trail anymore. He sighed, "I don't know how to fly like that!"
Gine flew alongside the Flying Nimbus and smiled. "Do you want to learn? Mom can teach you."
Goku grinned. "Sure!"
He was innocent, enthusiastic, and direct. Honestly, aside from the change in titles, there was no difference in how he treated Gine and Bardock compared to others.
However, Gine could sense that Kakarot, Goku, remembered them.
Saiyans were actually a very pure-hearted race when it came to emotions. They didn't have the societal conventions of family, such as the deep emotional bonds of marriage, father-son, or sibling relationships. Just because someone was your father or your brother didn't mean you automatically felt anything toward them. For Saiyans, emotions were built through actions, not just by saying it. Goku would cry when reunited with his deceased son, Gohan, and he would get furious at Krillin's death, but he wouldn't shed a tear when he and Raditz perished together. At that time, Raditz, although officially Goku's older brother, was, emotionally, a true enemy, a stranger.
But for Gine and Bardock, it was different for Goku.
"..." Sitting on the Flying Nimbus, Goku occasionally glanced at the side profile of the woman next to him, feeling an overwhelming sense of familiarity. He had seen this face a long, long time ago, even though he couldn't recall many details. But Goku remembered her voice. He waved his tail and flashed a happy smile. Gine noticed him smiling and flew over to land on the Flying Nimbus, pulling Goku into her arms.
Goku leaned back in Gine's arms and looked up. "Mom can sit on the Flying Nimbus too?"
Gine blinked and said, "Mom might become the next Earth deity someday~"
"Wow..." Goku exclaimed, then after a moment, asked, "Can Dad sit on the Flying Nimbus too?"
"Should we catch up and ask him?" Gine suggested. Goku nodded eagerly and shouted, "Let's catch up! Flying Nimbus, please!"
The Flying Nimbus sped up—
Back in the plane behind them, Tights crossed her arms and chuckled, "Goku's so happy."
Bulma, wearing the battle power detector, curiously checked the readings in all directions. Hearing this, she responded, "He's always like this, so cheerful and innocent."
"But Bulma, aren't you still a kid?" Son Gohan laughed, "You should be more lively."
"Is that so?" Bulma questioned, then quickly smiled, "Well, whatever~!"
Yamiru, piloting the plane, smiled and said, "Time to speed up, hold on tight."
---
As Yamiru's plane landed in the Capsule Corporation's courtyard, Bardock's family was already being warmly received by Mrs. Brief.
From far away, one could hear Mrs. Brief enthusiastically praising Bardock's strong, handsome appearance...
Tights frowned, "Mom's really out of it! Aunt Gine's right there!"
Yamiru and Bulma remained calm, as Mrs. Brief had always been this way. Bulma remarked, "It seems like this is how Mom met Dad. Even though they just met, she immediately asked him out... Dad probably agreed at that time? I don't really understand."
"They're both a bit... out there," Tights commented with a laugh. "But they make a good pair, it's nice."
She glanced at Yamiru, and at that moment, Yamiru met her gaze with a knowing look.
The two held hands, shared a gentle kiss, and exchanged a smile.
After receiving a message from his wife, Dr. Brief, who was out walking the cat, quickly returned.
After observing Bardock and Gine's appearances after being resurrected, he listened to Bulma's brief explanation of the situation. Stroking his chin, he said, "A high-gravity training environment, huh... This would have been tricky to set up before we had access to Jiora's anti-gravity technology, but now that gravity technology is quite advanced, it should be a simple task. Bulma, let's work together on this. We should be able to finish in three days, right?"
Bulma responded, "I think two days will be enough."
Dr. Brief, petting the cat, sighed, "This is difficult! After all, installation is quite troublesome..."
"You're talking about installation? Don't tell me you're referring to that audio equipment you recently got..." Bulma said, her small face full of disbelief. "That kind of thing isn't necessary!"
Dr. Brief asked Bardock, and Bardock replied that Saiyans didn't need background music.
"Alright, then. It should take about a day more to complete," Dr. Brief said regretfully. "It'll probably be made into a capsule-type room. Considering the level of destruction Bardock is capable of, the materials for the room will need to be specially designed... I remember the materials used in the Jiora and Gak ships were quite good. What do you think, Bulma?"
"I agree, but the proportions of several alloys..." Bulma and Dr. Brief continued their discussion as they walked off.
---
While waiting for the gravity room to be finished, Tights, her mother, and Gine gathered together to chat. The mother and daughter seemed to be explaining various Earth women's lifestyles to Gine, leaving her dazzled. She thought she had already understood Earthlings' way of life when she was in her soul form, but she didn't realize there were so many things she hadn't experienced.
In the afternoon, while Goku, Yamiru, Son Gohan, and Bardock were discussing martial arts, Tights and her mother took Gine out for a shopping trip.
They all really liked this sweet and innocent Saiyan lady, and since they already liked Goku's mother, they found her even more adorable. The clothes that Tights had given Gine earlier were just spare ones from the capsule house, not exactly the most fitting or stylish, and the lingerie wasn't properly arranged at that time. Now, Gine was only wearing a tank top.
After a fun shopping spree, they returned to find that the four men were still messing around in the yard.
Son Gohan, now older, was more interested in health and wellness, so he was talking more than moving. Yamiru and Goku, however, looked bruised and battered, lying on the ground, gasping for air. Bardock, on the other hand, hadn't even broken a sweat, as though nothing had happened, continuing to discuss Earth martial arts with the other three.
They had tested Son Gohan's theory from last night through actual combat.
"...You were right," Bardock said. "When battle power is below two or three hundred, the comparison between actual battle strength and battle power numbers isn't proportional. But as battle power increases, the gap between them gets smaller, until it's nearly negligible, and the battle power number becomes almost equal to the difference in actual strength."
Son Gohan pondered, "When we are weak, both the body and ki can be enhanced through training, but it's clear that the body strengthens more easily and more noticeably, which ends up restricting the growth of ki. On the other hand, martial artists who are weak don't have good ways to train their ki... Perhaps there's a critical point, where the increase in ki will eventually break through the body's constraints... That might be the point where the battle power numbers align with actual strength!"
Yamiru murmured, "When the ki becomes stronger, so much so that the body becomes secondary, just a vehicle for the ki... When that happens, martial artists might be able to directly train their ki, just like how we used to train the body to increase ki. At that point, ki's growth will likely enter a rapid acceleration phase!"
"Maybe..." Son Gohan murmured to himself. "But where exactly is the critical point, where the growth of the body is overtaken by the growth of ki? I've never seen it, and Master Roshi never reached it... As for Master Roshi's master, I don't know if he ever touched that limit."
Yamiru silently thought, "If such a critical point exists, where ki's growth will leave the body behind and soar freely... Based on Master Mutaito and King Demon Piccolo's abilities, and the data from the main characters' collective battle powers in the Saiyan saga, the critical point is likely somewhere between 300 and 500!"