Dragon Balls (2)

'This is definitely Dragon Ball World'

The thought resonated firmly in Kaza's mind as his dark-yellow eyes opened, black Namekian garb draping around his body. 

The lore of Dragon Ball World was totally different to the original.

In this timeline, Kami had proactively used the Dragon Balls to seal Demon King Piccolo inside of his own body, fearing that the fighters of the Earth would be thoroughly wiped out if the Demon King was ever released again.

This resulted in Andoli, the Nameless Namekian, reforming again and resuming the post of the Guardian of Earth. In this version of events, the Great Catastrophe that ravaged Planet Namek and forced so many Namekians to become refugees was also caused by a Majin, an evil wizard desiring to gain control of the Namekian Dragon Balls.

Kaza was almost moved to tears as the memories played out within his mind, all of Andoli's trauma and emotion dumped on him in a single moment.

He shook his head vigorously, nearly loosing it from his neck.

'I'm not that guy and it's not my fault'

As understandable as it was for Andoli to lose composure and desperately try to avenge the horror that was done to his people, he was still attacking a totally innocent person.

Kaza didn't blame him for wanting to defend his pride but he couldn't deny the fact that Andoli's pride led to him being consumed.

'In any case, this confirms a lot'

Dragon Ball World was a fan-project, spearheaded by Kaza when he was back on Earth. It's core aim was to maximize the full plot potential of the Dragon Ball franchise, which meant that multiple critical story events were re-configured.

Most impactful among all of them was the survival of the Saiyans.

In this timeline, Bardock and King Vegeta along with a handful of Saiyans had managed to gain control of the Great Ape transformation, allowing them to unlock Super Saiyan 4 which was colloquially called Primal Saiyan.

This simple strength boost allowed them to repel Frieza and proliferate the Saiyan race across multiple galaxies, making their extinction borderline impossible. Their betrayal at the hands of Frieza also sparked a generational training effort which saw even the most low-level Saiyan quadrupling their Power Levels.

'That's only one change but it means so much for this timeline'

An obvious ripple effect of this was that Goku never came to Earth which meant that the Red Ribbon Army was never destroyed and they would continue to put pressure on the rest of the Earth, on the verge of taking over completely.

'And as if that wasn't enough, there are tons of unique Frost Demons and Majins in this timeline'

As Kaza meditated more on the situation, he realized that he had to increase his strength fast, danger guaranteed to appear sooner rather than later.

He let out an exasperated sigh and closed his eyes.

After he absorbed Andoli, he Ki Sense had markedly improved.

The word that came to mind when he reflected on his own Ki signature was "Ocean". There was a massive reservoir of energy dormant inside of him, waiting to be triggered by his will.

He stretched his Ki Sense outward, a supernatural kind of heatmap forming in his mind as he surveyed his surroundings with his Sixth Sense.

His eyes burst open.

"JACKPOT!" he screamed excitedly, jumping high into the air.

He immediately soared forward, super dashing towards Andoli's red stone house. 

Speeding through the door and floated up to Andoli's bedroom. He then cracked open a red and gold striped chest sitting on the corner of the room.

"I totally forgot all seven of the Dragon Balls are here!" he exclaimed fervently.

Naturally, Andoli's personality was a lot harsher than Kami's.

After seeing humans repeatedly make self-centered, trivial wishes, he resolved to confiscate the Dragon Balls, desiring to personally reward those who he found worthy.

The seven wish orbs gleamed with a soft orange glow, Kaza nearly losing balance as he hastily scooped them up from the drawer.

Before he could make another shout for joy, a sharp distressing pang struck his temples.

'Urrrrggggh!'

Andoli inside of him protested vehemently.

In Namekian Culture, exploiting the Dragon Balls for personal gain was seen as one of the highest forms of immorality, on the same scale as mass murder or rape.

The Dragon balls were revered as sacred, religious objects that were reserved as the reward for heroes of great renown, otherwise only usable in absolute emergencies. 

'How come it's not deeply immoral in Namekian culture to attack first without asking questions?'

The use of the Dragon Balls was already a concluded matter in Kaza's mind and no amount of guilt-tripping was going to convince him otherwise.

'They can be upgraded right?'

Kaza's eyes spun hastily around the room, quickly locking onto a miniature stature of Shenron. It was a stone replica of the Eternal Dragon inside of a glass orb, kind of like a snow globe. 

'There it is!' 

He hastily dropped the Dragon Balls and laid his palm on its outer surface.

'Take all of my energy and become way stronger!'

Technically speaking, the original creator of the Dragon Balls was still alive and since Kaza had absorbed him, in a roundabout way, he was the creator of the Dragon Balls so he could adjust their properties.

'It's actually working!!!'

Kaza heavily resisted the urge to burst out into laughter and jump for joy, gathering his focus which insisted on scrambling.

He discerned that the Dragon Balls were intentionally limited. Firstly so that some of the energy they accumulated was used to disperse the Dragon Balls after the wishes made expended a certain of energy. Secondly, so that the Dragon Balls transformed into stone after being used.

This wasted about 15% of the energy they had absorbed over time.

Moreover, Andoli had altered the Dragon Balls so that a single ball could grant a wish. It was only that the power of the wish was massively reduced, the incentive to gather more Dragon Balls being to increase the power of a wish.

Kaza tried to compose himself again, exerting his concentration. The statue soaked in deep white Ki and the clear glass orb containing the statue expanded, Shenron's figure becoming far larger and striking.

The Dragon Balls behind also began to glow with a majestic magical energy, clouding Kaza's Ki Sense.

'This is just too awesome!' he celebrated.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Age 755/Earth/Hyperbolic Time Chamber - 15 minutes later)

'It's a little too quiet in here'

Soberness fell on Kaza like a bucket of ice-cold water as he emerged out of the door of that connected the Earth to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Modest plain white stretched out as far as the eye could see, a void-like eeriness clinging to the atmosphere.

It quickly became apparent why the area hadn't been abused the way it ought to logically.

Simply put, the Time Chamber wasn't a very pleasant place to be, the vibe more than a bit unsettling.

The only physical structure that was in the vast area was the Connecting Building.

It was a small circular structure with a yellow dome and two small wings with pink roofs, two massive hourglasses with green sand sifting slowly on both sides of the building.

The air in the Time Chamber felt like it had never been breathed before. Cold. Crisp. It made Kaza feel uneasy, just a little bit. Every sound he made echoed deep into the middle distance, his slightest action constantly rippling.

'I shouldn't waste too much time in here'

Kaza laid the Dragon Balls on the ground and called out without hesitation. 

"I summon the Immortal Dragon Shenron! Arise and grant my wishes!"

His voice echoed much further than he anticipated and he instinctively back dashed, his instincts confusing the tremendous display unfolding ahead of him for an attack.

KSSSSSSSSSSHT!!!

BZZZZZZZZZZT!!!

The sound of his voice was immediately drowned out by an ominous fizzing and crackling. The Dragon Balls themselves began to glow orange, the colour much deeper and intense than before. A thin veil of orange mist, shrouded them but each individual orb pulsed with such powerful light that their forms could easily be made out.

WSSSSSSHHHHHHTTTT!!!

Within the same second, a pillar of magical orange light ascended up into the air like a beacon. Kaza's Ki Sense went crazy as the density of magical energy released ahead of him caused his body to stiffen. 

An strange aroma filled Kaza's nostrils, like sudden rainfall in a ancient forest. It was faintly sweet, earthy and wet, which only added more to Kaza's soberness.

The pillar of orange energy tinged golden, writhing and twisting in the clear white sky. The figure of an entity then smoothly began to take shape, Shenron's dark red eyes the first thing to reveal itself. 

In order to release the tension building inside of him, Kaza released his aura. A clear white energy cloak that clung to his form, almost reminding him of his own strength and the lack of a need to be afraid.

Shenron's dark green scales then came into view, his dark brown antlers swooping menacingly by the sides of his head.

"Behold!" he proclaimed bluntly, his deep voice booming across the landscape.

"I am the Immortal Dragon Shen-"

He paused.

His eyes narrowed as he examined Kaza, a faint golden glow pouring off his skin as he spent from his abundant magical power to discern the nature of the strange being standing in front of him.

"You have absorbed my master," he declared solemnly.

Kaza's expression fell as he observed something like grief flash on Shenron's face.

It was the Eternal Dragon's solemn duty to grant the wish of any being who had assembled the Dragon Balls, even still he could help but mourn the loss of his creator.

'Now I feel like a bad guy'

Sincerely speaking, Kaza had only defended himself. His honest to goodness intention was just to converse with the Guardian of Earth to better get his bearings.

When Andoli responded with violence, he concluded that absorbing him was the best way to achieve his goal. In that moment, he couldn't see that his actions would produce this kind of effect.

Kaza shook his head violently, wondering why intense sadness was clouding his psyche. He honestly felt like crying which was baffling to him because he wasn't one to experience mood swings or let his emotions get out of control.

He spoke quickly, trying to alleviate the pressure of his emotions.

"I don't plan to keep him," he confessed quickly. "My first wish is for Andoli to be sent back to Planet Namek," he stated.

In the same second, Kaza's form parted like the jaws of an ancient creature, expelling Andoli from his body. The Namekian in black garb fell forward, his eyes groggily opening to discover Shenron in front of him.

"WAIT!!! I need-"

"As you have requested," Shenron declared gently, a tinge of gratitude in his voice.

Immediately the arc of a golden lightning bolt swooped down to where Andoli kneeled, striking him firmly. Before he could finish his sentence, his figure disappeared, blinking out of existence.

Kaza rubbed his eyes, trying to get himself together.

'What on earth is wrong with me? It's not like a did anything wrong, right?'

He took in a deep breath, shaking his head violently once more.

'In any case, I can't let this tremendous opportunity pass me by. I've already run this thought experiment before so I know exactly what to wish for to give me the perfect start in this world,' he thought with purpose.