A Saiyan's Journey

{Transitioning to Zuke}

"Your power has suddenly increased a lot," 

Moro remarked, staring at Zuke as they continued their journey of learning and cultivating magical energy.

Moro had the ability to extract and devour energy using magic. This energy wasn't limited to the planet's internal energy but also included the energy of living beings on the planet. Therefore, Moro could sense that the energy within Zuke's body had suddenly surged, indicating a significant boost in his strength.

Of course, Moro didn't know that after their training session yesterday, Zuke had spent over two months in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with Merus, drastically increasing his power. Thanks to the Saiyan trait of growing stronger after near-death experiences, Zuke's power had skyrocketed several levels, jumping from around 40,000 to a level where he could easily defeat Frieza.

Although Zuke wasn't sure of his exact power level, he estimated it had surpassed one million, likely reaching the strength of Frieza's first transformation—roughly speaking.

Zuke wasn't sure if Saiyans existed over ten million years ago, but Moro clearly didn't recognize him as one. Otherwise, given Moro's sensitivity to energy, he would have immediately identified Zuke's race.

"Heh, if your physical strength wasn't enough before, perhaps now you can start trying to devour energy," Moro suddenly said, noticing Zuke's silence as he continued to practice the magical energy cultivation method Moro had taught him.

"What do you mean?" Zuke stopped his training and looked up at Moro, pressing for an explanation.

The reason Zuke had been learning magical energy from Moro was twofold: firstly, he was intrigued by the unique magic that could be used with magical energy, and secondly, he wanted to learn how to devour energy. Zuke had previously considered various shortcuts to power, such as compressing his lifespan or seeking the Spirit Fruit from the movies, but none had succeeded. In comparison, Moro's method of devouring energy to increase combat power seemed relatively straightforward.

Now that Moro mentioned he could start devouring energy, Zuke was naturally very interested. Despite only having trained for a few days, his control over magical energy was already quite good.

"Indeed, you're not as docile as the Galactic Patrol thinks," Moro said with a sinister grin. Zuke's interest in devouring energy showed that he had considered using it to boost his strength, much like Moro himself. However, the Galactic Patrol undoubtedly viewed such actions as illegal.

"Simply put, you can now use magical energy to absorb others' energy. Although the absorption speed might be slow at first, with practice, you'll get better," Moro explained.

"Is that so? I see," Zuke nodded. Earlier, Moro had taught him how to generate suction with magical energy. He had thought it was just a basic technique, but it turned out to be the very method used to absorb energy.

In the original story, Moro had used this technique to absorb the energy of all living beings on Planet Namek, even affecting Goku and Vegeta, preventing them from transforming into Super Saiyans. This method not only boosted one's own "ki" but also weakened the enemy's, making it a win-win strategy.

"Can I devour planetary energy as well?" Zuke asked. After all, planetary energy was far more potent than the energy of living beings, and he couldn't help but be tempted.

"Haha... no, you can't. Your constitution is different from mine. Planetary energy and biological energy are not the same. You can absorb biological energy, but planetary energy is out of your reach," Moro laughed, dismissing Zuke's hopes. Devouring planets was Moro's innate ability, something that couldn't be learned through training.

"Besides, your magical energy is still far from sufficient. You'll need to learn a lot more before you can control planetary energy," Moro added.

Hearing this, Zuke abandoned the thought of summoning the "Black Bird." Initially, upon hearing that he could devour energy, his first thought had been whether it was time to consume Moro to gain his ability to devour planets. However, since Moro said he wasn't ready yet, Zuke decided to spare Moro's life for a little longer, at least until he could confirm his ability to control planetary energy.

...

After three hours of training with Moro, Zuke left the prison and returned to the cube-shaped spaceship. Inside, Merus was already waiting for him. Today, Merus had saved some time to train with Zuke.

However, the first thing Merus said upon Zuke's arrival caught him off guard.

"Mr. Zuke, your tail has grown back."

Zuke was stunned and quickly turned to look behind him. Sure enough, his tail had fully regrown without him noticing. Saiyan tails don't grow gradually; instead, they reappear all at once once they reach a certain stage. In the original story, Goku's tail had suddenly reappeared during a critical moment in the World Martial Arts Tournament.

Although Zuke had only been in the Dragon Ball world for a short time, he had spent months training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. The passage of time in the chamber also affected physical growth, so it had taken Zuke several months for his tail to regrow. In fact, it was quite slow by Saiyan standards.

The regrowth of his tail meant that Zuke could now transform into a Great Ape. But more importantly...

Zuke reached out, grabbed his tail, and gave it a firm squeeze. Fortunately, he didn't feel any weakness. It seemed that, like Vegeta and Nappa, Zuke's identity had also trained to overcome the weakness of his tail, ensuring it wouldn't render him powerless if grabbed.

In fact, most Saiyans trained their tails, with Raditz being one of the few who neglected this. Considering Raditz's background... he was originally an elite warrior, but due to his lack of training, his combat power as an adult was pitifully low, barely on par with the Saibamen. Given his lazy attitude toward training, it made sense that he wouldn't bother strengthening his tail.

"Good thing there's no moon at the Galactic Patrol headquarters," Merus joked, waving his staff as he watched Zuke fiddle with his tail.

Zuke smirked. In truth, the regrowth of his tail didn't bring him much benefit. He wasn't sure if he could maintain his sanity after transforming into a Great Ape, and it seemed this timeline didn't have Super Saiyan 4 either.

To be continued…

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