"The sky suddenly turned dark! Could it be that Shenron is appearing? Did someone gather the seven Dragon Balls?" Krillin and Master Roshi were both shocked. As far as they knew, aside from their group, no one else should have the ability to collect the Dragon Balls... not without the Dragon Radar!
Bulma rushed out of the house with the baby in her arms, staring at the pitch-black sky in astonishment. "Already?! That fast?!" But after thinking carefully, if that person's ability was to suddenly appear and disappear… then with a Dragon Radar, collecting all seven Dragon Balls from around the world in such a short time wasn't entirely impossible.
Master Roshi asked, "'That fast'? Bulma, do you know who gathered the Dragon Balls?"
"That guy from just now—he took the Dragon Radar from me," Bulma replied, still cradling her baby, who had already fallen asleep after feeding. She didn't even lift her head.
"That guy from just now…" Krillin and Master Roshi exchanged glances.
Roshi stared out toward the distant, dark sea and horizon, murmuring to himself, "Who exactly are you… a disciple of Mutaito… Taro… the same name, same school, even a similar face to mine… someone who shouldn't exist…"
"What does this 'Master Taro' want to do by summoning Shenron?" Krillin wondered. "And what about Goku? Didn't he just take Goku away? How did he suddenly collect all seven Dragon Balls?"
As he spoke, Goku returned from behind Kame House. He was also staring up at the darkened sky. Hearing the conversation, he said, "Anyway… this guy wouldn't do anything bad to Earth."
Krillin remembered how Taro had slain Frieza and the others and rescued the fallen Goku. He couldn't help nodding. But as he looked at Goku, who was quietly gazing at the sky, he had a strange feeling… that something had changed in him in just that short span of time.
---
In the remote northern mountains, Taro had found the seventh Dragon Ball marked on the radar.
The sky darkened across the globe. A green dragon burst from a beam of golden light and soared into the heavens, asking Taro, who had summoned him, what wish he desired to make. Taro recalled some details from the original story— even Earth's Shenron could extend its power to the Sacred Realm of the Kais.
And so, his wish was:
"Shenron, transport me to the Sacred World of the Kais!"
Earth's Shenron listened to the mortal's request, lowered his head, his eyes glowing a brilliant red, and spoke in a solemn voice: "That wish… is simple…"
Taro narrowed his eyes. Immediately, he felt an invisible force envelop his body. In an instant, the world shifted around him. This spatial transition was unlike anything he had experienced before—passive in nature, driven by Shenron's power. So, the moment Shenron said "simple", Taro calmed his mind and focused, trying to feel everything clearly.
The scenery around him was no longer the mountain range in Earth's north. It had transformed into a vast, boundless plain. The spacetime and physical matter here were unusually stable and solid. Taro took a deep breath… the natural energy saturating this realm was so dense it felt like it couldn't even be absorbed fast enough.
Looking more closely, Taro recognized the place. It looked very similar to the ruined wasteland he had once visited in the Sacred World of the Kais during training. But unlike that desolate place, this one was teeming with life and vitality—no sign of the post-apocalyptic death he had seen before.
He soared into the air, scanning the area. Squinting, he spotted the mountain peak he was looking for and instantly teleported to its summit. At the same time, he sensed two auras rapidly approaching due to his sudden appearance. They seemed surprised by his instant movement, then immediately teleported over as well.
"Who are you?! A mere mortal, and you dare intrude into the Sacred World of the Kais?!" shouted a tall man with long hair—Kibito, the attendant of the Eastern Supreme Kai, and master of Instant Transmission. After bringing the Eastern Supreme Kai here, he immediately demanded answers from Taro.
The Eastern Supreme Kai, his refined face calm but stern, approached Taro standing beside the Z Sword stuck in the mountaintop and asked in a low voice, "There's something unusual about you… Who are you? I've never seen you before. Also, you came directly to this mountain—were you looking for the Z Sword?"
"Please, don't be hostile, Lord Supreme Kai… As you can see, I'm just a mortal," Taro said with a slight smile. He looked down at the sword deeply embedded in the mountaintop, which was exactly the same as the one he'd seen in the desolate version of the Sacred World. "I just have a few questions… for the old man who lives inside this sword."
"The old man who lives inside the sword? What do you mean? Are you saying there's someone inside the Z Sword?" The Eastern Supreme Kai frowned.
Kibito clearly didn't like Taro at all. With a cold snort, he said, "Even if everything you're saying is true, so what? How do you plan to meet this so-called old man in the sword? This sword has been sealed in the Sacred World of the Kais since ancient times. Do you think you can pull it out?"
As the Supreme Kai's attendant, he could clearly sense Taro's strength.
Even if he was stronger than Frieza, it wouldn't be by much.
At this level, Lord Supreme Kai could erase him with a flick of his finger—how could someone like that possibly draw the Z Sword, a blade even the Supreme Kai couldn't wield? And now he had the nerve to claim there was some old man living inside the sword?
The expression on the Supreme Kai's face clearly showed he was thinking the same thing as Kibito.
But Taro didn't mind. He wouldn't have come here without some confidence. And besides—so what if he couldn't draw the sword? At worst, he'd just go back. What was the big deal? He smiled, exhaled, focused his energy, and reached out with one hand to grip the hilt of the Z Sword.
Cold.
Heavy.
Ancient.
But… he wasn't teleported to some strange dimension.
A flicker of thought passed through Taro's mind, but his hands didn't slow. He shouted lowly, pouring all of his strength into the effort… but the Z Sword didn't budge an inch. Not even a quiver.
White ki erupted from his body, a blazing aura of power—his full strength unleashed.
Even at his peak, Taro couldn't move the divine sword buried in the mountain. Kibito exhaled in relief and let out a cold snort. The Supreme Kai remained silent, watching Taro without a word.
Taro, however, wasn't particularly surprised by the outcome.
After all, in the original timeline, even Gohan had to transform into a Super Saiyan to draw this sword! And back then, what level was Gohan at? His Super Saiyan—though still just "Super Saiyan 1"—was clearly at "Full Power Super Saiyan" level! That was a world apart from the lower-tier Super Saiyan level Frieza represented.
"So, what will you do now?" the Supreme Kai asked in his refined voice. "Since you can't draw the Z Sword…"
"Heh…" Taro interrupted with a calm laugh. "I just wanted to test my raw strength a little… and as expected, it's not enough." He shook his head, closed his eyes, and then opened them again. "But brute force… is the most foolish way to solve things in this world."
At this moment, the mountain in his eyes was no longer just a mass of rock. The Z Sword embedded at the peak had become one with the mountain's flow of ki—intertwined, yet slightly distinct. It was like an alien presence forcibly embedded into the whole.
So Taro reached out once more and gripped the hilt of the Z Sword.
And this time, he didn't use brute strength.