Hathaway stood up from the grass as well, drawing her gaze away from the bright full moon above her. She asked, "Gohan, what would happen if Goku see the full moon?"
As she spoke, her eyes remained on Kakarot, who was still sitting on the ground. Suddenly, as if something long dormant had finally reached a breaking point, little Kakarot let out a low growl—more like the roar of a giant beast. Rip! His clothes suddenly tore apart, and the child's tiny body began to expand uncontrollably.
The Phoenix soared higher into the sky.
"Step back, ma'am," Son Gohan warned her.
"No need," Hathaway replied, shaking her head. Though she was shocked by Kakarot's sudden transformation, she wasn't panicked in the slightest. Partly it was due to her nature—but mostly, it was because Taro was right beside her, calm and unmoving. If her husband wasn't worried, then she had no reason to be either.
"ROAR!!!"
Kakarot threw his head back and howled. His limbs and body expanded like a balloon, muscles bulging out across what had been a soft infant's frame. As the cool wind blew across his skin, wild brown-black fur burst forth, spreading all over his body. Crack! A massive, thick tail lashed out behind him. The Phoenix hovering above gave a surprised wobble, let out an angry shriek, and looked ready to swoop down and give this monster a lesson.
"Back!" Taro called out just in time.
The Phoenix had no choice but to grumble and fly back obediently.
Hathaway's eyes widened. She hadn't expected Kakarot to transform like this just from seeing the full moon. His personality was already a bit wild—but to think he could become an even wilder, enormous great ape?
As the transformed Great Ape Kakarot loomed toward them, Taro raised his hand and struck at him from afar with a sharp, invisible force. Gohan was startled at first but quickly came to his senses. Surely Master wouldn't hurt Goku… But that was where he miscalculated. Taro understood the Saiyan physique far better than Gohan, and thus saw no need to hold back.
The great ape was still howling at the moon, reveling in the transformation, when a tremendous force struck him head-on. His roar was abruptly cut off as he was hurled backward. Boom! Boom! Boom! The massive body tumbled across the earth, flattening trees in its path.
"Quit that racket. You're giving me a headache," Taro snorted.
"Master," Gohan called out.
"Heh, you brat," Taro turned with a grin, tapping Gohan's forehead with a finger. The boy had only had a grandson for a year and was already doubting his own Master?
Gohan caught the meaning in Taro's words and let out a bitter chuckle. It was his concern that had clouded his judgment.
Taro gestured for him to stay calm, then gently tapped Hathaway's hand wrapped around his arm. She understood immediately and let go. Taro rose into the air, floating toward the black-furred great ape now thrashing on the ground and trying to get up amid the ruined forest.
Backlit by the moon, Taro's figure cast a shadow over the giant below.
"Grrr…" the great ape growled lowly, confused about what had just struck it down. Its blood-red eyes suddenly locked onto the small figure floating in the sky. Driven by instinct, it suddenly figured out how to stand. Without a second thought, it raised one massive hand—each finger as large as a shield—and swiped.
The huge palm, spanning several meters, whipped up a violent gust.
It was said that the great ape form boosted a Saiyan's strength tenfold—but that was a generalization. In Kakarot's case, with a base power level of only 2, this transformation skyrocketed his strength far beyond tenfold—maybe even dozens of times more. There might've been a baseline threshold for this transformation. That giant slap, with its raw power and sheer size, carried real weight.
BOOM!
But Taro didn't dodge, didn't flinch. He raised his hand and caught the slap with the back of his palm. The great ape roared on the ground, channeling all its strength into the attack, digging deep trenches beneath its feet—but it still couldn't move the man hovering midair even an inch.
Then Taro flipped his hand, grabbing the giant ape's fingers and giving a jolt. The monstrous beast was lifted off the ground and hurled into the sky with a single toss. Taro followed, ascending even higher. As the ape began to fall, he raised his hand again. A massive, white Ki hand grabbed the ape by the neck mid-fall. Taro stared directly into the beast's blood-red eyes.
"Kakarot…"
He called out slowly, but the great ape showed no response. Taro raised a brow. Was it that lower-class warriors lost all self-awareness in this form? Or was Kakarot simply too young to maintain any control?
In any case, it didn't matter for what he intended to do.
By forcing Kakarot into this transformation, Taro had already achieved his goal—drawing out all of the latent violent impulses buried deep within Kakarot's psyche. To Taro's eyes, the mind of this great ape was now a swirling vortex of chaos and rage. Any ordinary spiritual practitioner who attempted to probe it would've likely suffered a mental backlash.
But not Taro. His current spiritual strength was no less than the legendary Holy Mage Ivan of old.
---
Son Goku was only Son Goku in the original story because of one accident—one coincidence. Did Taro not understand that?
He understood it better than anyone.
He didn't believe in so-called "fate" or "narrative inertia."
And he certainly wasn't the type to sit and wait for things to play out as he hoped.
So...
If coincidences, accidents, and miracles couldn't be trusted, then he would create his own miracle.
"Sleep… sleep…"
Taro's eyes turned into pitch-black whirlpools, like two bottomless voids, gazing deep into the red eyes of the raging great ape.
Under his gaze, the monstrous body gradually quieted. Not because the transformation was undone, but because the ape's mind had been shaken to its core. All the chaos, the rage, the bloodlust—it was forcibly drawn together by an overwhelming power, sealed into a tight knot, and tucked deep into a corner of the ape's consciousness.
Taro's voice became distant, dreamlike. "Sleep now… Kakarot…"