Son Gohan was puzzled but followed his master's instruction, raising his head and extending his senses upward. He knew Taro was pointing toward something beyond the house, so he pushed his perception further and further into the sky, yet detected nothing unusual at first.
Glancing at his master and Hathaway, he saw no reaction from Taro, so he continued expanding his awareness—beyond Earth's atmosphere, into the void of space.
Then, a flicker.
A faint shadow passed through his senses, so fleeting he almost dismissed it as an illusion.
"Huh?"
Son Gohan's brow furrowed. He swiftly retraced his focus, chasing after the anomaly. When he finally locked onto it, his eyes widened.
"Incredible speed! What is that?"
Adjusting his perception to match the shadow's velocity, he muttered, "Strange… its energy is so weak, yet it moves this fast?"
Taro stood. "That's enough. Let's go outside."
Son Gohan tensed. As he rose, he realized—the faint, high-speed energy was descending straight toward Taro Island.
Hathaway set down her magazine and gave him a knowing look, which only deepened his unease. 'What's going on?'
"Come along, Gohan. No dawdling." Hathaway smiled, following Taro outside.
Son Gohan hurried after them.
---
Outside, Son Gohan squinted at the sky. The object was unbelievably fast—in mere moments, it had breached the atmosphere and was now hurtling toward…
The mountain summit.
"Let's go up."
Taro's psychic energy enveloped Hathaway, lifting her effortlessly as they floated toward the peak. Son Gohan leaped after them, soaring dozens of meters with a single bound before flying alongside them.
At the cliff's edge, the red-feathered phoenix perched on the giant boulder, watching them approach with curious eyes.
Son Gohan chuckled. "Still playing with that rock, huh?"
Hathaway smiled. "It must sense the life energy inside. It's always been fascinated."
Over the years, Taro had explained the boulder's true nature to her.
Son Gohan nodded. He had asked his master long ago about the creature sealed within—its energy, though suppressed, had been steadily growing.
'Sooner or later, it'll break free on its own…'
---
Flashback – Years Ago
"Master, why keep Piccolo's descendant alive?" Son Gohan had once asked.
"Call it giving him a chance." Taro had glanced at the sky. "And… if he dies, so does someone in the sky."
"The Kami of Earth?!"
"They were once one. Even now, their fates are tied."
Son Gohan had been stunned. "But Master… you wouldn't spare a demon just for that. There's more, isn't there?"
Taro had flicked his forehead. "The Kami's death means nothing to me—he'll be fine in the afterlife. But if he dies… certain things stop working."
'The Dragon Balls.'
Son Gohan had looked at the boulder. "So… this one might still change?"
Taro had said nothing, only murmuring, "Perhaps. It depends on what he remembers… and what he lets go."
---
Present
Son Gohan snapped back to reality as a blazing white light tore through the clouds, streaking toward them.
"It's here." Hathaway watched calmly.
Taro stood with his hands behind his back, the phoenix now perched on his shoulder, equally curious.
"Is it a person? A machine?" Son Gohan's sharpened vision pierced the glare—a spherical pod, hurtling at terrifying speed.
As Taro raised a hand, Son Gohan grinned.
"No need for you to trouble yourself, Master!"
With a laugh, he shot upward, a blazing white aura erupting around him as he rocketed toward the falling object.
Hathaway frowned. "Can he handle that? The impact—"
"If he can't, then his training was wasted." Taro's voice was calm. "Watch."
High above, Son Gohan's power surged with every meter he climbed, his aura thickening into a roaring inferno of ki. His eyes locked onto the pod—now close enough to see clearly.
Time to catch a falling star.