“Where is Kakarot?” Vegeta didn’t waste time, his voice dripping with ice.
Dende looked completely baffled.
Shouldn’t Goku be at his own house?
Why look for him here?
“I don’t know!”
Vegeta frowned, staring intensely at Dende.
The young Guardian trembled in fear under the heavy gaze.
Seeing the genuine confusion in Dende’s eyes, Vegeta realized he wasn’t lying.
“Isn’t he in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber?”
Dende immediately shook his head.
“No.
Goku can’t even enter the chamber anymore.
He already used up his two lifetime entries.”
Realization hit Vegeta like a physical blow.
That’s right.
A person could only enter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber twice in their entire life, and Kakarot had burned through his chances years ago.
‘Hmph!
That bastard Alex played me!’
Realizing he had been tricked, he subconsciously clenched his fists, a surge of raw anger rolling off his body.
‘Alex…
one day, I will defeat you.
I don’t care if you’re a god!’
Meanwhile, completely unaware that he had just earned Vegeta’s fiery grudge, Alex returned to his dojo.
He lounged in his chair by the front gate, enjoying the cool breeze.
He mentally calculated how many days it would take Jaco to arrive.
Waiting around like this was such a waste of time.
According to the Dragon Ball Super timeline, Lord Beerus was going to wake up in exactly one month.
And the very first thing he would do upon waking was search for the Super Saiyan God—which would lead him straight to Earth.
Beerus arriving on Earth was an unpredictable, walking apocalyptic event.
Alex knew he had to reach the God of Destruction’s level—or surpass it—within this strict one-month window.
Reaching Beerus’s level in a single month was a massive challenge.
Right now, in his Super Saiyan God form, his power level was somewhere in the Sextillions.
Compared to Beerus, they were still leagues apart.
Fortunately, the Sextillion multiplier was anchored to his base power level.
The higher his base stats climbed, the exponentially stronger his Super Saiyan God form would become.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the system chimed.
“Ding!
Disciple Goku has increased his base power level by 1.8 Billion.
‘Oh?
Goku jumped up again?’ Alex grinned.
‘As expected of the main protagonist.
Just practicing the Ultimate Kaio-ken netted him a 3.8 billion total increase to his base form.
I have a feeling he’s still got a lot of room to grow in there!’
“Ding!
Disciple Yurin has increased her base power level by 650 Million.
Host receives a double boost of 1.3 Billion.” “Current Host Base Power Level: 18 Billion.”
‘Oh?
Yurin actually went up by 650 million?
Did she finally grasp the core concepts of the Celestial Arts?’
Alex knew full well how complex the Celestial Arts were.
If she could fully comprehend and master the techniques, it was an incredibly potent discipline.
In future battles, she could actually be a massive help to Tien.
But Alex quickly sobered up from his excitement.
Earning a few billion base power today was great, but it was still a far cry from matching Lord Beerus.
‘This isn’t enough.
I need to speed up the disciple recruitment process.
I can’t just sit here waiting for them to deliver themselves to my doorstep.’
He pondered his options.
Who else on Earth had exceptional potential?
Gohan?
As the first human-Saiyan hybrid, his potential was undeniably insane.
During the Cell Games, his one-handed Kamehameha was legendary, capturing the hearts of fans everywhere.
But sadly, ever since that fight, the guy had buried his head in textbooks and completely neglected his martial arts.
By the time the Frieza Force came for revenge, he struggled against low-level grunts.
What an absolute waste of limitless potential.
If Alex tried to recruit Gohan right now, the scholar wouldn’t be interested.
And someone with zero motivation to train wouldn’t last in the Super Hyperbolic Time Chamber anyway.
Recruiting Gohan had to be put on the back burner until the time was right.
Who else?
Goten?
Trunks?
They were just kids.
That left Piccolo and Krillin.
Piccolo wasn’t exactly arrogant, but he was incredibly proud and fiercely independent; he likely wouldn’t accept an unsolicited offer to become a disciple unless he asked for it himself.
As for Krillin, he was basically retired.
Why sweat it out in training when he could stay home cuddling his beautiful Android wife?
‘Crap!
Thinking about it like this, aside from Vegeta, there aren’t really any high-potential recruits left on Earth!’
Wait.
Who else participated in the Tournament of Power later on?
Frieza!
Android 17!
Those two had terrifying potential, easily on par with Goku.
However, Frieza was currently wrapped in a cocoon in Earth’s Hell.
To recruit him, Alex would need to resurrect him first, which meant gathering the Dragon Balls.
Without a Dragon Radar, that was a massive hassle.
Next time he visited Bulma, he’d have to ask for one.
For now, Android 17 was the best target.
Over the years, 17 had been working as a park ranger on an isolated island.
He didn’t care much for human interaction and preferred the company of animals.
But despite his isolated lifestyle, he never once slacked on his training.
That was exactly why he performed so brilliantly during the Tournament of Power.
He was literally the last man standing!
Deciding on his course of action, Alex took to the sky.
He flew at breakneck speed, expanding his senses to sweep the planet.
He didn’t know exactly what 17’s energy signature felt like, but he knew 17 was incredibly strong.
If he found a massive power source on a remote island, that had to be him.
About fifteen minutes later, Alex arrived in the airspace above a massive, lush green island.
Down below, he could sense a remarkably strong, quiet presence.
The owner of that strength had to be Android 17.
Alex descended.
The island was dotted with peculiar rock formations sculpted by the wind and sun—some looked like flowers, others like human figures, and a few even resembled paper cranes.
It was a bizarre, natural artistry rarely seen elsewhere.
Down on the sandy beach, a few crabs scurried past.
Towering ancient trees formed a dense, rolling canopy that swayed like green ocean waves in the breeze, looking as if they might swallow the entire island whole.
“Gotta admit, the scenery here is breathtaking,” Alex murmured.
“17 really knows how to live.”
Just as he prepared to fly toward the powerful presence, he caught sight of a sleek speedboat tearing across the water, heading straight for the shore.
Something felt off.
‘Could it be…?’