After that day, Kaito found time to visit both the One Piece world and the Naruto world again.
He spent some time hanging out with Shalria and the others, then went to check in on Kaguya, who was still pregnant.
To his frustration, there was still little movement from her belly. If he hadn't used his X-ray vision to confirm that the fetus was only just beginning to develop, he might've been tempted to use the Op-Op Fruit's ability to force an artificial birth.
And just like that, Kaito kept moving back and forth between the three worlds.
Before he realized it, more than a year had passed.
Eighteen and Seventeen had already graduated from high school, but neither of them seemed remotely interested in going to college.
Not that it was surprising—after all, for beings powerful enough to destroy worlds, the knowledge in textbooks didn't exactly hold much appeal.
Of course, Gohan was the exception.
Thanks to Kaito's presence, nearly every major crisis that should've hit Earth had passed quietly without incident.
In such a peaceful environment, Gohan buried himself in schoolwork, churning through practice problems one after another.
At this rate, he was evolving into a real-life Nobita.
But, as always, too much of anything brings its opposite.
Because of Chi-Chi's relentless pressure, Gohan had started to feel a bit rebellious and was slowly getting tired of studying.
Unfortunately, Goku didn't have much authority at home, so even if Gohan wanted to sneak out to train, it wasn't happening.
At least, not until the day King Cold arrived on Earth.
Yes—the father of Frieza himself.
Frieza had disappeared without a trace after his trip to Earth, and as a father, King Cold naturally came to investigate.
However, he wasn't exactly good at hiding his energy, so the moment his ship appeared, Goku and the others on Earth sensed it immediately.
His power was still formidable compared to theirs, but none of them were the least bit afraid—after all, Kaito was on Earth.
Kaito's presence was like that of Whis and Beerus in Dragon Ball Super: as long as they were around, no matter what happened, nothing could ever really get out of hand.
So Goku immediately asked Bulma to go contact Kaito, while he took Gohan, Krillin, and the others to the spot where King Cold's ship was landing.
Of course, Kaito had already sensed King Cold's arrival long before that.
By the time Bulma arrived at Eighteen's house, Kaito was already sitting comfortably on the couch with a smile.
Eighteen sat next to him, blinking her big blue eyes at the flustered Bulma.
Before Bulma could even open her mouth, Kaito already knew what she wanted.
He stepped forward, placed a hand on her shoulder, and in an instant, he and Eighteen vanished from the room.
...
On the other side, King Cold's ship had just touched down.
The moment he stepped out, he took one look around and was instantly impressed by Earth's environment.
As the former chairman of a galactic real estate development corporation, his first thought was—This planet would sell for a fortune!
Of course, he hadn't forgotten why he was here: to find his son, Frieza.
He immediately ordered his subordinates to use their scanners to search for any trace of Frieza's life energy.
Unfortunately, the grass on Frieza's grave was already two meters high—no life signal was coming from that anytime soon.
Still, since he was already here, he might as well look for clues.
Just as he was about to send his men to make some noise, Kaito appeared in front of him with Bulma and Eighteen.
The sudden appearance startled King Cold.
He frowned and asked,
"Who are you—"
Before he could finish, a golden energy blast shot out from Kaito's palm.
With a thunderous explosion, King Cold and all his subordinates were reduced to dust.
Bulma's mouth twitched twice.
She turned to look at Kaito's face and said quietly,
"...He's really dead?"
Kaito waved his hand dismissively and smiled.
"What else did you expect? No point talking to that kind of guy. Still, traveling all the way here just to die—kind of impressive, in a way."
Bulma stared at him for a moment, then said, almost in awe,
"Kaito, it's really good to have you on Earth."
Kaito said nothing, but Eighteen raised her chin proudly, tightening her hold on Kaito's arm in a showy, possessive way.
Bulma pursed her lips, just about to say something—
When suddenly, a young man's voice came from above.
"Um... I think I'm a little late?"
Bulma looked up.
A boy wearing a blue vest, with hair color strikingly similar to hers, was slowly descending from the sky.
It was Trunks—having just traveled back from the future.
(In the Z version his hair was white, but they changed it later... which actually makes more sense, since he's future Bulma's son.)
After landing, Trunks glanced at the smoking crater in the distance, his expression completely stunned.
This wasn't the future he remembered.
He had already found it strange that King Cold arrived on his own—but what happened next completely shattered his expectations.
The mysterious young man standing beside his "mother" had just wiped out King Cold with a single casual attack.
Trunks turned his head to look at Kaito—
And the moment he did, his entire body went cold.
Because up until now, Eighteen had been nestled close to Kaito, which meant he hadn't gotten a good look at her face.
But now, as she shifted slightly, he saw her clearly—and his blood ran cold.
Without hesitation, he drew the sword from his back, his voice trembling.
"E-Eighteen! You're out already!? What about Seventeen!? Where is he!?"
Eighteen blinked, utterly confused.
She had no idea what this middle-parted stranger was freaking out about.
And even stranger, only a handful of people knew the names "Eighteen" and "Seventeen."
Most of their friends still called them by their real names.
So how did this guy know?
She frowned and asked,
"What's your problem? I don't think I know you."
Trunks wiped the sweat from his forehead and said coldly,
"What are you planning, getting so close to my mom? Where's Goku-san and the others!?"
Eighteen sighed impatiently, stepping away from Kaito with her hands on her hips.
"You've been spouting nonsense since you got here. Don't you know it's rude to point a sword at people? Put it away before I get angry."
Whoosh!
Still on edge, Trunks reacted instantly.
The moment Eighteen moved, he flared into Super Saiyan mode and charged forward, sword raised.
"I won't let you androids destroy another world! Prepare yourself!"
And of course, since Eighteen was clinging to Kaito earlier, Trunks automatically assumed Kaito was some unknown android too.
Eighteen, however, easily sidestepped his slash.
Then she drove a fist into Trunks' gut.
Clang!
His sword fell from his hand.
Clutching his stomach in pain, Trunks staggered backward, his stance unsteady—
That single punch from Eighteen had nearly knocked him out of Super Saiyan form.