If only I had a scouter, Meruem couldn't help thinking. Sure, that device can't serve as a final measure of true strength.
But it can estimate a rough battle power, at least. Otherwise, how am I supposed to know where my people actually stand? What tier am I at? Who can be provoked and who absolutely can't? And the Dragon Ball world is absurdly vast, packed with all kinds of bizarre races. What is the Chimera Ants' greatest specialty? Predation!
If we seize those races' genes—take everything that makes them what they are—what will my Chimera Ant army become? If I command millions, even tens of millions, of troops on the Ginyu Force's level, we could even go toe-to-toe with Frieza.
Just imagining it is deliciously tempting.
Of course, Cell and Buu tier are out of the question. Enemies at that level can't be compensated for with numbers.
Still, Meruem was only thinking out loud. A battle power in the hundreds of thousands isn't a joke. In the whole universe, aside from a few freakish races, there aren't many like that.
Frieza, the so-called emperor of the universe, has only Ginyu at 120,000 under him. His brother Cooler has a mech squad with several fighters in the hundreds of thousands.
But those with 100,000 are counted on one hand. That tells you how rare they are.
"Ha—me—ha—me—HA!!!" Meruem might have been zoning out, but Goku wasn't. He unleashed his signature and strongest ki wave, the Kamehameha.
"Careful!" True to his famed kindness—he has never killed a single person in his life (movies don't count)—Goku even called out a warning when he saw Meruem distracted mid-fight.
A massive beam tore forward from Goku's hands toward Meruem. Goku knew full well how potent his Kamehameha was—powerful enough that even Demon King Piccolo wouldn't dare take it head on, and easily able to pierce mountains and earth.
"That's… that's Goku's ki! He's gotten stronger again. But who is he fighting?" Piccolo stared hard toward the Lookout.
"What a nuisance." Meruem had been spacing out the entire time and only reacted when the ki wave was nearly on him.
Even then, he simply swatted at it like shooing a fly.
Goku's strongest strike was slapped apart—slapped apart. Apart.
"Eh?! How… how did that happen!" Goku rubbed the back of his head in chagrin. He knew the gap between them was big, but this was too discouraging.
"…" Kami wiped the sweat pouring from his brow, silently grateful he hadn't antagonized this man.
When your strongest—Goku—goes all out and can't so much as scratch him, that says enough.
"How are you that strong? How do you train? If you're this powerful, you must be the strongest person in this world, right?" You had to hand it to Goku—his mindset was excellent. In moments, he bounced back from disappointment.
"The strongest? Me? No. Maybe in other worlds. But in this one, there are many far beyond me," Meruem said, leaving Goku puzzled.
Kami, however, seized on that one phrase—this world. Perhaps he'd begun to understand.
"Wow, there are fighters even stronger than you! Guess I need to keep training. I really want to fight them." Goku fixated on a different point than everyone else, as expected of anime's most famous battle junkie.
"Heh… you will." Meruem looked at Goku, expression unreadable, and spoke with meaning.
In a few years, you'll meet your brother Raditz, Dragon Ball Z will begin, and you'll face the universe's gods, kings, demons—top-tier masters one after another. Meruem then spent only three short days on the Lookout, but in that time he had already mastered every method and technique for using ki Kami could teach, and even improved on them.
Even Kami had to marvel at Meruem's talent. It was the first time in his life he'd seen anything like it.
No matter how complex the move, once Meruem grasped the principle, he could replicate it perfectly in no time.
Frightening talent.
During that period, Tien, Krillin, and the others also came to the Lookout to ask about what happened, and they too were stunned by Meruem's power. So there really was someone this terrifying in the world. They threw themselves into training even harder.
For reasons unknown—perhaps rattled by Meruem's might—Kami started training the Dragon Ball warriors early, though he was supposed to begin only after Raditz attacked Earth. Of course, Goku was included.
Those years in the original plot where the Z-Fighters' growth made no sense had now been put to use. Raditz would be in for a surprise when he arrived.
"I'm heading out, Goku. It's been great meeting you these last few days. But I'm leaving. Oh, by the way—heard you know Bulma at Capsule Corp? Do you know where she lives?" Standing at the edge of the Lookout, Meruem spoke to Goku.
He'd learned everything worth learning here. No point staying any longer. Time to go.
"Huh? You're leaving already? I still have so much to ask you. You're really strong. Bulma… Bulma… Right—her place is roughly at XXX in West City. Oh, and Yamcha should be around there too." Goku pressed his head, thought for ages, and finally managed to name a place.
For a battle maniac, remembering a location was asking a lot. The fact that he could give one was already impressive.
"Thanks. Tell Kami and the others goodbye for me. I'm off." After floating up with Bukujutsu and bidding Goku farewell, Meruem shot toward West City.
Bukujutsu, now that was a useful skill. Far better than his earlier method of staying aloft. At first Meruem flew by relying on Truth-Seeking Orbs. The downside was obvious: once he left them, he would fall.
Nen doesn't let you fly—unless your Nen ability specifically is flight.
Later, after devouring Abe no Seimei's power in the Nura world, Meruem managed to fly using onmyō arts.
But the flaw was clear—it was draining, and required constant attention. With Bukujutsu, he could cruise on a trickle of ki. Most importantly, ki-flight was faster; in theory, as long as you can withstand it, speed can increase without limit.
West City—the largest city on Dragon Ball's Earth, and the most prosperous.
Capsule Corp, the world's biggest company, naturally owned the city's largest estate.
And Bulma, as the president's daughter, lived in West City's grandest mansion.
Meruem didn't care about any of that. Money, power—such things were fleeting clouds to him. If he wished, conquering the world would be easy.
"Oh my, Bulma—there's a friend here to see you. My, my, and what a handsome young man. I'd love to try going on a date with him." The speaker was Bulma's mother, a voluptuous woman.
"My friend? You mean Goku? But Mom, you've met Goku before." Bulma was puzzled, but she still came downstairs from the upper floor.
"So handsome—!" At first glance, Bulma cried out and rushed forward, hugging Meruem's arm. It had to be said, before marrying Vegeta, Bulma really was boy-crazy. Any handsome guy could sweep her off her feet.
Odd, though—he didn't sense any strong ki nearby. Wasn't Yamcha supposed to be here? As one of the Dragon Ball warriors, even second to last (Chiaotzu being last), his ki shouldn't feel like an ordinary person's.
That left only one conclusion: either they'd had a fight, or Bulma had argued with him over his womanizing.
"But… who are you?" Bulma's next line was an instant facepalm. Hugging a stranger's arm without even knowing him?
"Ah, right. I'm a friend of Goku's. I heard the world-famous genius Dr. Brief is your father. I'd like your and his help with something." Why was Meruem looking for Bulma? To build a scouter? A gravity chamber? Of course not.
He needed Bulma for two things: a Dragon Radar and a spaceship. Meruem had no intention of staying on Earth forever, but he didn't yet have the ability to survive freely in space. Even if he did, he'd still need a ship to reach other planets.
If he only flew, Dragon Ball might end before he reached Namek. And he couldn't use Instant Transmission—basically a god-tier cheat.
"What do you need me and Dad to do?"
Meruem explained that he wanted help building a spaceship and a Dragon Radar.
As for Earth's ability to build a spaceship—Meruem didn't worry. There was Goku's childhood pod and Kami's ship; a refit would do. Dr. Brief had done it in the original.
"Piece of cake!" Bulma thumped her chest in assurance. For her, these were simple. Making a new Dragon Radar wouldn't even take minutes.
"By the way, do you have a girlfriend?"
(End of Chapter)
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