“It’s good that everyone’s alright,” Hal glanced back, towards the Brief household. He’d first visited his little brother, then Bulma, a temporary goodbye as he travelled into space. “Now it’s time to set off… it might be years before I return…”

The ground pulled away as Hal took flight, mind on the future. He had other stops after Namek, especially if he wanted a chance to win in the tournament. A twist of the ring on his finger and he vanished from the Earth, a flash of light that brought him to a sunny, if slightly barren world.

“So this is the Grand Elder’s house…” the multi-domed structure stood just below, rooted atop a lonely spire of rock. Hal drifted down to the sparse lawn and peaked into the future. “Hello! I’m here to visit with the Grand Elder!”

Silence, followed by the creak of the aged door as it swung outward. A tall green figure stepped from within and shut the entrance behind him. Nail looked Hal up and down, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“The Elder is resting, he’s not accepting visitors,” Nail shook his head and gestured to the heavens. “You should leave our planet, outsider, the Elder’s naps often span months at a time…”

Hal activated his futuresight and pounced at the Namekian within his visions, full power at five times kio-ken. That path led only to death, as did his attempts at higher levels. Hal reached times-ten, before he left his visions and returned to the present.

“Let him come inside, Nail,” A deep, ancient voice rumbled from within the sealed house. Elder Guru opened the way on his own, something Hal had already seen from his first look into his three-minute-sight. “He has no ill intentions, and may solve a problem for us in the future…”

The Namekian guardian frowned, but waved for Hal to approach the house. Hal gave a bright smile, his three-minute-sight in constant activation as he farmed the Namekian’s potential selves for experience.

By the time they reached the massive bulk of the Elder, his kio-ken limit had stabilised at ten-times. He still always died before he reached his three minute limit, but that was to be expected. Nail’s power level was somewhere well north of forty-thousand, while he estimated his own sat much lower than that.

“Greetings, stranger,” the Grand Elder smiled as Hal stepped before him, eyes lost in the folds of his aged skin. “What purpose do you have on our humble planet?”

“I come with the hope to use Namek’s dragonballs, as well as have you unlock my potential,” After a glance at the future, Hal’s eyes flicked at Nail before he bent at the waist. “In exchange I have much I can offer, including a promise to defend your world from its future troubles.”

“Hmmm…” the Grand Elder leaned his massive body slightly forward, head angled as he gazed down at Hal. He waved Nail to silence before the man could speak and extended his hand. “Come, first we shall pull out whatever potential I can… we can discuss your need for the dragonballs when we’re done.”

Hal nodded and stepped forward. He kept his expression neutral as the calf sized palm settled atop his head. A gentle current of force trickled into his mind, a stream that worked its way to a core he wasn’t aware of. The Elder gasped as his ability contacted a bright yellow star. Suspended at the centre of Hal’s inner being, it released a soft golden glow.

“Your potential is vast, a mighty sun that could burn the heavens…” Guru swayed, his free hand gripped tight to the arm of his chair. He took a deep breath and steadied his frame, concentration on his face. “I can only awaken a small fragment, a refinement of the body and soul that will let you touch the surface of what could be…”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The current of Guru’s power wrapped around his inner star, a web that grasped at the plasma below. A solar flare drove Hal back to the real world, an explosive rush of power that echoed from every cell in his body. Ki leaked forth, suppressed after a quick dip into the three-minute-sight.

“I must be more than ten times stronger than before…” Hal flexed his fingers, lost in glow under his skin. He was more connected to his biofield than ever, ki fused perfectly with the versatile aura. “Your ability is truly amazing.”

“It is a gift of fate, a natural ability that I cannot teach to my people,” the Grand Elder shook his head as he leaned back in his chair. “I have released what little bit of your potential that I can, but much more remains untapped.”

“This is more than enough,” Hal smiled as he glanced at Nail and sank into his future sight. A regular kio-ken matched the Namekian blow for blow, while two times bought him a series of instant kills. “Especially if you let me use the dragonballs!”

“I still don’t believe this outsider can be of any help to Namek or its people,” Nail finally stepped forward, eyes bright. “If you want to use the dragonballs, then defeat me and prove your strength!”

Hal looked to the Elder, who nodded and released a deep sigh. Nail’s face flickered, the briefest show of a smile before his stoic mask returned. He waved to the door and led the way, a slight edge in his stride.

The Namekian halted after a short flight from the Elder’s house, a clear sign that he planned to go all out. Hal smiled, his three-minute sight in full swing. There were thousands of options that led to Nail’s defeat, but some ended better than others.

“Let’s start with just my base power,” Hal stretched out his limbs and cracked his back. It would be a thin line, but he could match the man with the use of his future sight. “I’d like to learn as much as I can from our battle.”

Nail tilted his head and frowned. He gave a small shrug and raised his fists, body held in a well practised stance. He extended one hand forward and motioned to begin. Hal flexed his biofield and the two stood face to face.

“A good speed, but not enough…” Nail lashed out, a forward lunge that Hal ghosted past. Guided by his visions, he twisted his body around the Namekian’s defences and planted a fist on his chest. Air huffed from his lungs, shock on his face.

“Your abilities are amazing, but even the most honed skills have flaws,” Hal danced back, just ahead of Nail’s counter blow. He rode the narrow band of possible futures, right around his enemy's grasp. “There is always a path through the walls, unless you’re facing overwhelming strength!”

Hal pivoted, a spin-kick that transformed to a high-speed twist. Head ducked below Nail’s arm, he drove his elbow home against the Namekian’s jaw. His rebound kept him just ahead of another counter and let him bury a knee against the man’s side.

Nail staggered back, face pulled tight as he wiped a small trail of blood from the corner of his mouth. Unlike Mr. Popo and King Kai, he wasn’t blessed with centuries of martial practice. Combined with his lack of Divine ki, the Namekian was ill prepared for an enemy that could see his possible responses.

“Your movements are impossibly precise…” Nail reset his breath and floated forward, more wary than before. “A perfect string of actions that counter my own.”

“I do my best,” Hal shrugged as they circled, separated by less than a metre. This style of combat was mentally draining, even on his Kryptonian brain. He had to maintain a near constant state of future sight, experience countless hours of the same moments on repeat. “But it’s time I picked it up a notch…”

A ripple of red flowed under his skin, the power of a normal kio-ken. Kept under the control of his biofield, his ki remained undetectable and well ordered. Hal flashed Nail a smile, before he launched into a vicious assault.

His palms turned aside the Namekian’s fists, while a knee halted the man’s kick in place. Hal slipped forward, head rammed full force into Nail’s skull. Hand’s extended in a flash, he trapped the green man’s wrists.

Nail shook his head, eyes unfocused, but Hal didn’t relent. A knee rose, faster than sight, connected to the Namekian’s jaw. Head tilted back from the force, Nail finally responded.

Both feet pulled up and in, pressed tight against Hal’s chest. He gave a mighty heave, legs extended to launch himself away. Purple blood misted behind the Namekian’s escape, his arms abandoned in favour of freedom.

“Practical, especially when you can regrow them in an instant,” Hal tossed aside Nail’s severed limbs and shrugged. “But the regeneration will cost you too much stamina for you to keep fighting.”

“Perhaps…” Nail flexed and both arms sprouted from his torso in a rush of green. He shook out his new arms and raised them in a guard. “But you haven't shown me your true strength yet, outsider.”

***Power Levels and other notes***

Hal: 80,000 (Max kio-ken: 10x)

Nail: 86,000

Guru: 2000

This universe’s Nail is a bit more than twice as strong as he received a potential unlock from the Elder.