Earth.
"Gohan, are you okay?"
The moment Gohan appeared out of nowhere, Goku rushed over to him.
"Relax, Dad, I'm fine. But you all need to power up. Fast." Gohan's face was clouded with unease.
Dragon God Salama's words had been like a time bomb planted in his heart.
"What happened?" Vegeta stepped forward.
"I'm not sure on the details yet, but I've been set up. It won't be long before terrifying enemies show up." Gohan shook his head.
Even he did not know exactly who, or what, those "unknown enemies" were.
"But right now, we've already hit our limits. Wanting a major breakthrough is…" Raditz sounded anything but confident.
"Don't worry. I'll help you. Open your eyes and watch closely. Yah!"
Gohan immediately transformed into the Super Saiyan God form.
A formless pressure washed over everyone, making them tense up on instinct.
"I can't feel his ki at all!" Goku's eyes narrowed.
"And the scouter can't read any battle power either." Vegeta tapped the device, only to see zero data.
"This is the Super Saiyan God. A divine state of the Saiyan race. I have a way to help you break into this form quickly.
"Once you reach this level, even after you return to your base form, your life level will quietly shift. Your base power will keep growing day by day.
"But here's the problem. If we want to use the shortcut, we need five pure-hearted Saiyans to pour their 'heart power' into another Saiyan. Only then can they transform into a Super Saiyan God."
As Gohan spoke, his gaze landed on Nappa and Vegeta.
"I… I…" Nappa stammered, completely unable to get a single complete sentence out.
"Forget it. For now, it's impossible. Neither Nappa nor I meet that condition." Vegeta frowned.
"Gohan, is there no other way?" Raditz asked.
"There is. This is godly ki, the energy formed when body, mind, and spirit evolve to the divine level. If you can comprehend it, you can become gods yourselves."
Gohan thought of the original Dragon Ball Super story, where Vegeta went alone to Beerus' world and awakened Super Saiyan Blue without the ritual.
He flicked out four strands of godly ki, sending them into each of their bodies.
"All right. Let's see who reaches this form first." Goku's fighting spirit flared. He walked off to the side, sat cross-legged, and sank into deep meditation to comprehend that wisp of divine power.
The other three were unwilling to fall behind and did the same.
"I knew it wouldn't be that simple. Looks like I'll have to find Broly.
"Even if the Legendary Super Saiyan bloodline is absurdly violent, Broly himself is like a blank sheet of paper, simple and kind.
"A pure-hearted Saiyan… Me, Dad, Uncle Raditz, Goten, and add Broly to make five. That will be enough.
"If they fail, I'll have to use this method as the backup plan."
Gohan made his decision.
He closed his eyes and began searching for Planet Vampa's location.
"Got it."
Whoosh.
Gohan vanished.
Planet Vampa.
From a distance, Planet Vampa looked like it had been battered by meteor showers for centuries. The surface was riddled with countless craters.
Gohan descended slowly, gazing down into one of the massive pits. Inside, the ground looked like a green prairie.
But Gohan knew that was no prairie. That was Planet Vampa's signature giant monster.
Around the edge of the crater, boar-sized spider-like creatures clung to the rim, sucking at the giant beast's body, drinking its blood.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, the "prairie" began to move. A colossal beast, shaped somewhat like a serpent, lifted its head. Its huge tongue lashed out, snatching up the spider-creatures.
Some escaped. Some were swallowed whole.
A special food chain. Two types of monsters relying on each other to survive.
The air on Planet Vampa was extremely thin. The difference between day and night temperatures was enormous. The environment was brutal.
Inside a cave…
"Beep… beep…"
Paragus froze, then stared blankly at the scouter in his hand before his eyes lit up with wild excitement. The long-term dullness in his gaze was instantly swept away.
"It… it's reacting. The scouter is finally reacting. Someone is finally on this planet… Broly, let's go!"
Broly tossed aside the monster leg he was eating and followed Paragus toward Gohan.
"Oh? They found me already? Heh."
Gohan hovered in mid-air, utterly calm as he waited for them to arrive.
Moments later, two figures shot into view.
"Great. Great. Hahaha!"
The instant he saw Gohan, Paragus burst into maniacal laughter.
Broly, on the other hand, looked confused, his gaze cold and guarded as he stared at Gohan.
"King Vegeta… you just wait. I'll kill you with my own hands.
"No. I'll throw you onto this filthy planet and make you choke down this disgusting monster meat and those nauseating spider egg fluids.
"King Vegeta!"
Paragus roared up at the sky.
All his resentment and hatred exploded in that instant.
Bloodshot veins filled his eyes. His body reeked with a foul stench, and the murderous hatred in his gaze made him look like a demon that had crawled out of hell.
"Ahem. Paragus, right?" Gohan finally spoke.
"You know me? And that tail… you're a Saiyan too? Did King Vegeta send you to kill us?"
Paragus's eyes finally turned toward Gohan.
His stare instantly fell on the furry tail wrapped around Gohan's waist.
After barking out a rapid string of questions, Paragus's vigilance soared. His hand slid to the shock remote at his waist.
"Calm down. I wasn't sent by King Vegeta. Planet Vegeta was destroyed by Frieza after you left. There's no King Vegeta anymore.
"Your hatred… you can let it go.
"As for me, I'm the grandson of Bardock, the low-class warrior who was also exiled. My father is Kakarot, Bardock's son."
Gohan tried to loosen the knot in Paragus's heart.
Paragus had once been a loyal high-ranking fighter under King Vegeta, even serving as a colonel in the royal army.
"What? Dead? Planet Vegeta is gone too?"
Paragus's gaze went blank. The hatred boiling in his chest turned into a heavy, suffocating frustration.
"Thirty years. I've spent thirty whole years on this wasteland searching for my son Broly.
"The ship's anti-gravity core broke down, so we had no choice but to stay here, eating monster meat and choking down disgusting egg fluid for three decades.
"The only thing that kept me alive was my hatred and desire for revenge against King Vegeta. And now you're telling me he's dead, Planet Vegeta is gone?
"Then what is the point of everything I've endured? You tell me, what is the point?!"
Paragus had been struck with too much at once.
His mentality was swinging wildly between rage and collapse. He was teetering on the edge of madness.
"Why? Why is it that, even though we were both exiled, Bardock's line still gets to have descendants while I've been rotting on this planet?"
Paragus suddenly redirected his hatred toward Gohan.
"Now that's just unreasonable. I'm giving you face here. You'd better take it," Gohan said, his expression hardening, his tone going cold.
"Hahaha. That cold, arrogant attitude… you really are like Bardock.
"You don't have the right to talk to me like that. You're just the brat of a low-class warrior.
"You don't deserve it. Broly, kill him!"
Paragus's killing intent flared as he gave the order.
"I… don't want to."
Broly, who had grown up on this planet alongside wild beasts, had developed a natural ability to sense malice.
Otherwise, he would never have become friends with that green-furred giant creature.
Even though Paragus had killed that friend.
It was ironic. A Saiyan with the Legendary Super Saiyan bloodline, yet his heart was so pure and simple.
When Gohan saw Broly's expression, he instantly understood.
This Broly was the new Broly, not the old raging one who did nothing but scream "Kakarot."
"Broly, you dare disobey me?"
Paragus whipped out the remote and pressed down.
"Ah!!"
Broly dropped to his knees, body trembling, as the electric collar at his neck crackled with savage currents.
Gohan's brows twitched. A ki blast shot from his fingertip, blowing the remote to pieces.
The device exploded in Paragus's hand. Broly staggered to his feet, a flicker of gratitude in his eyes.
"Paragus, he's your son, not a beast," Gohan said, clearly disgusted with how Paragus treated Broly.
"What do you know? Once Broly goes berserk, he can't tell friend from foe. He'll kill me too.
"If I don't control him, I'd be dead already.
"You idiot. You destroyed the remote. Now I have to rebuild it.
"Broly, I said kill him!"
Paragus was still trying to order Broly around.
"I refuse."
Broly's rejection was firm. From Gohan, he felt the same kind of gentle kindness he had once felt from Ba.
Ba, the green-furred giant. When Broly first trained, he improved his speed by dodging Ba's attacks. He never hurt Ba, and after many encounters, the two became friends.
But when Paragus saw this, he was furious. He personally ambushed Ba, tearing off one of the creature's ears. After that, Ba never looked at Broly again.
Broly had been both hurt and angry, but he never raised his hand against Paragus. Instead, he kept Ba's ear, wore it at his waist, and treated it as a keepsake of their friendship.
"Damn it. You won't listen to me? Fine. If you won't kill him, I'll do it myself.
"He's just the son of a low-class warrior. I may be old, but killing him will still be easy."
Seeing no other choice, Paragus decided to attack personally.
"How ridiculous. Go ahead, try," Gohan said, crooking a finger in open provocation.
At the same time, he was thinking:
Should I kill Paragus?
If this man could not let go of his hatred, he would become a huge shackle on Broly's future.
"Arrogant brat. Even Bardock wouldn't dare talk to me like that!"
Paragus had not fought in thirty years. The moment he moved, he was full of openings.
He leapt up, throwing a clumsy "superman punch" straight at Gohan.
Gohan moved a beat later, but his timing was perfect. His fist smashed into Paragus's face, heavy and precise, sending blood spurting from his nose.
Broly stiffened, ready to intervene.
A breeze blew past, lifting the fur-skirt at his waist.
Those memories of playing and training with Ba filled his mind.
He forced himself to stop.
Maybe… he wanted Gohan to teach Paragus a proper lesson.
"Broly!!" Paragus screamed in pain.
Broly hesitated no longer. He rushed in front of Gohan and said, "You… leave."
"No. Kill him. Then we can steal his ship and escape this planet!"
Before Gohan could answer, Paragus was already shouting.
Gohan's brows knit together. A wave of killing intent spread from his body.
Broly sensed it instantly. His body went rigid, every muscle tensed.