“Good… that’s it!” King Kai hovered at Hal’s back, hand pressed to his pupil’s shoulder to follow the path of his ki. “Now complete the circuit, but be care…”
An eruption of yellow-red flame overshadowed the Kai’s words and tossed him across the lawn. Jaws strained to the limit, Hal ground his teeth as the Kio-ken magnified his power. The first level only brought a one-point-five times multiplier, but this was his first successful activation of the technique.
A deep sigh slipped past his lips as he sank into his three-minute-sight. He blitzed forward within the infinite possibilities, fists raised as he confronted the horrified Kai. Within his time space, he was free to beat on the old fellow as much as he liked.
The Kai’s face hardened across all his visions, palms raised to deflect and block. A chop of the hand, the flick of a wrist, Hal’s endless copies began to thin, killed before they reached their three minute limits.
Hal’s legion of selves frowned. The tempo had shifted, with him placed firmly on the defensive. Less and less options existed, his three-minute-sight reduced to a handful of possible futures.
A flare surrounded his multiple perspectives, the unstable ripple of his ki as he pushed the Kio-ken to times two. The burden on his body was still nonexistent, but the overspill of energy was hard to control.
“Two minutes left…” Hal’s increase in power had opened more paths and expanded his vision from the small number of paths. “Gotta push for control, then test the limits of my body.”
Two, then two and a half. Only seconds remained, but the more experienced Kai was still able to survive. At the three minute mark Hal returned to reality, disappointed at his draw. His active kio-ken stabilised, reigned in by his sudden increase in experience.
“Very impressive! You’ve finally managed it, and it’s so well controlled!” King Kai shook his head as he picked himself up from the grass. As the squat fellow made his way back to his side, Hal activated his three-minute-sight several times over and gained even more control. “It’s like you’ve been practising for years… maybe you were born to use this technique?”
“You’re just a good teacher,” Hal smiled as he cancelled his kio-ken. He’d spent over a month with the old Kai, learning to better manage and control his Ki for this moment. “I think once we’ve practised a few more days, I’m going to visit home and see how my brother is getting along.”
“Before you run off home, I was hoping you could make me a promise…” King Kai clasped his hand and gave his best salesman’s smile. “There will be a tournament in the otherworld in just over a year, I’d like you to represent me as my chosen warrior!”
“The otherworld tournament…” Hal frowned, that event hadn’t happened in the main timeline. This opened up the possibility for plot points from both the movies and games to exist. “Sure, I’ll come back by then to compete, but I’m not sure I’ll be strong enough to win.”
Pikkon was no slouch. He battled a post Cell Goku, and continued to grow in power from that point on. This tournament was happening far earlier than it should, but he doubted the strange green man would be much weaker than he remembered.
“Excellent! Now let’s get back to training, you still haven't reached perfection in your control!”
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“Sir, we’ve finally scouted a world rich in life!” A Saiyan warrior bent the knee, a look of anticipation on his face. He held up a holo-projector and displayed a lush jungle world. “The average power level of the inhabitants is around five hundred, mostly mindless beasts and primitive tribes.”
“Good work, Daiz,” Turles leaned forward and motioned for his soldier to rise. Excitement increased his heart rate, as if he was engaged in fierce combat. “How far?”
“We can be there in a bit over a month, longer if we’re careful to avoid detection,” Daiz tapped at his projector and showed the course. “At the longest, it will take us two months, but not even Freiza would be able to follow our footsteps.”
“Send word to the others,” Turles rose to his feet and cracked his neck. “We leave immediately… follow the quiet course. If we encounter trouble before we can plant the tree, it would be the end of our dreams.”
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Hal pressed off the ground, foot raised to dig into King Kai’s gut. The blue-skinned deity rocketed away, only to return around the curve of his small world. A knee brought him to a stop, broken and bloody as Hal held him by the collar.
Every vision within his three-minute-sight had similar results, so long as his kio-ken was greater than five. Four was enough half the time, but five was just right to run through his opponent without issue. It had taken three days for him to reach the unaware Kai’s limits, a sign for him to seek out a stronger opponent.
“Thank you again, King Kai,” Hal slipped from his three-minute-sight and bowed at the waist. He was truly grateful for the Kai’s teachings; they would let him step up far sooner against the threats that were on his to-do list. “I promise to return for the tournament, hopefully with a few new pupils for you to teach!”
“Good-good!” King Kai rubbed his hands together, a competitive leer on his face as his eyes gazed into space. “Even if you can’t win, you’ll still be able to place closer to the top than my past entries!”
“No promises there!” Hal rose into the air and gave a final wave. He would stop by to check on Goku and the others, before he made his way to Namek and beyond. “I’ll do my best, but some of the competition might be well beyond me.”
King Kai paid his words no mind and waved him off. He continued to mutter about showing up his rival, so Hal left him to it. Time was money, especially when it had been more than a month since he’d bathed in the light of the sun.
“I wonder how I’ll measure up to the Namekians…”
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“Come on Goku, let’s get lunch and call it a day!” Launch rested her hands on her knees, exhausted after hours of combat with her closest friend. “We can’t spend every second training, or we’ll both collapse.”
“Alright, what did you want to do instead… we could tag team against Mr. Popo?” Goku tilted his head, unable to put out suggestions that were not related to combat. “Or maybe Kami has some new techniques he could show us?”
Launch sighed as she grasped the Saiyan’s hand and dragged him toward the Lookout’s entrance. She had spent a year with Goku in the time chamber and he’d never once lost his focus on getting stronger.
“I was thinking we could visit the city,” Launch shook her head as Goku’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe stop at a few restaurants and do a little shopping?”
“Restaurants?” Goku licked his lips, eyes unfocused at the mention of food. They passed into the Lookout before the Sayain snapped back to reality. “Ok, but we have to stop at every one that looks tasty!”
“Fine, but I also want to get some new clothes,” Launch smiled at her victory and hurried Goku along. “I’m sick of wearing the same old gi every day, especially when we’re going out like today!”
Goku looked down at the weighted, blue and white uniform that Kami had given him on his first day. It was tattered and torn, marked by hours of combat. At least she changed to a new uniform every day, then laundered them all on the weekends. Goku might not even wash his at all.
“What’s wrong with our clothing?” Goku scratched his head and shrugged. “It’s nice and heavy, so it helps with our training… plus it cleans itself as you fight!”
“NO IT DOESN’T!” Launch swatted the back of Goku’s head, a streak of blond in her blue hair. Her work with Kami and Master Popo had led to a closer connection to her other self. They could see through eachothers eyes, boost their effectiveness in combat by lending ki and tactical support. “You have to wash it yourself… no wonder you stink!”
Launch shifted course, on target for the baths. She would chuck the Saiyan in, clothes and all, if he tried to resist. No way was she going to the city with a smelly hobo boy!
“Ok-ok, but I’ve never really washed anything,” Goku sighed as she kicked open the door to the washroom and tossed him inside. “I would just jump in the river when Brother and Grandpa complained about the smell…”
***Power Levels and other notes***
Hal: 8000 ( 40,000 with 5x kio-ken)
King Kai: 6000 (18,000 with his max limit of 3x kio-ken)
King Yemma: 3000
Bubbles: 1000
Gregory: 1100
King Kai was always a bit weak to me, especially for a being with god ki, so I amped his power a bit. The three times kio-ken numbers would be used only on the brink of death, and probably kill him.