Chapter 143: Concussion – Goku Awakens

Having reverted from the terrifying Ozaru, Son Goku was now wrapped in Son Gohan's coat, fast asleep.

The group reunited in front of the old castle, still shaken by the overwhelming presence of the Great Ape.

"This was so dangerous," Dr. Omori scolded Jaco. "Why didn't you warn us earlier?"

Jaco crossed his arms. "With an elite like me here, how could there be any danger? Besides, if I didn't let you witness such a shocking transformation, you'd have been fooled by this Saiyan kid's innocent appearance. 'How could such a cute child possibly destroy Earth?' that's what you'd think, right?"

Dr. Omori responded gravely, "Well, you're not wrong..."

"Do you still think that way now?" Jaco asked.

Dr. Omori looked at the sleeping boy in Son Gohan's arms. He seemed no different from how he had been before tonight, making it hard to associate him with the monstrous Great Ape from earlier. Sighing, he said, "I wasn't the one who subdued the Great Ape, so I don't think I'm qualified to judge. If it's about protecting Earth from such a beast, I believe Mr. Son Gohan should be the one to speak."

Everyone turned to look at Son Gohan.

"Well," Son Gohan pondered for a moment before turning to Jaco. "Young man from space, as long as Goku doesn't have a tail or look at a full moon, he shouldn't transform again, right?"

Jaco warned, "Let me remind you once more: Saiyan tails can grow back! And in many cases, their regrown tails don't grow back little by little but suddenly regenerate completely. Unless you're by his side every day, you can't predict when the tail will suddenly reappear. As for avoiding the full moon, that's hardly a guarantee. Unless you plan to imprison the boy for life. But if you're thinking of imprisoning him, you might as well kill him now."

"Goku?" Tights asked, confused by the name Son Gohan had just mentioned.

Yamiru explained that it referred to the boy with the monkey tail — well, the boy who used to have a monkey tail. That boy was now named Goku.

Then, addressing everyone, he said, "I don't think this is a problem."

With all eyes on him, Yamiru continued, "On Earth, there are so many incredible things — magic, sorcery, immortals, superpowers, ancient legends, and ethereal myths. If we put our minds to it, completely removing Goku's tail so it never grows back should be entirely possible, right?"

"..."

Everyone stared at him, dumbfounded. Jaco muttered, "You can actually do that?"

While others found his reasoning novel, Yamiru treated the idea as a given. For him, ensuring Goku's tail never regrew was just an obvious solution to the problem.

"Besides!" Yamiru clenched his fist with a smile. "Even if something unexpected happens, we just have to become stronger than Goku's transformed state! And he has such an obvious weakness: his tail. After transforming, he doesn't even have a clear mind. Cutting off the tail of such a clumsy opponent should be doable even if we're weaker than him!"

Jaco squinted at him in discontent. "You're awfully confident. Clearly, you don't understand why Saiyans are called a warrior race. Their scariest trait is their unreasonable growth potential." Seeing that the other Earthlings seemed to have made up their minds and accepted Son Gohan and Yamiru's perspective, Jaco sighed. "I just hope you won't regret this."

"I understand Saiyans' terrifying growth potential better than you," Yamiru thought. "But that's exactly what makes this both a challenge and a source of motivation."

"We'll protect what needs protecting and drive away what needs driving away," Dr. Brief said nonchalantly, lighting a new cigarette. "From Earth's cultural perspective, if Goku's personality changes so drastically before and after transforming, then they're essentially two different people. Destroying an innocent Son Goku just because of fear of the Great Ape's transformation is not something I can agree with."

Jaco saw that they had made up their minds and decided not to intervene further.

"He sure can sleep," Bulma noticed, observing how deeply Son Goku was asleep in Son Gohan's arms. "It looks like he has an injury on his head. Could he have hurt his brain?"

"Oh, right," Son Gohan remembered Jaco's punch to the Great Ape's head earlier. "Could it be that the young man from space hit him too hard?"

After feeling around his grandson's body, Son Gohan was somewhat relieved. There was indeed an injury on Goku's head, and when touched, the sleeping child would frown unconsciously.

Mrs. Brief suggested, "Let's take him to West City for an examination."

Everyone readily agreed.

Yamiru mused to himself, "Could this be the moment Kakarot became Son Goku? Did it happen because of Jaco? But in the manga, it was described as him hitting his head on the rocks in a valley, leaving him critically injured. Jaco's punch shouldn't have been that severe..."

Under the cover of night, two aircraft landed in the Brief family's courtyard in West City.

The unconscious Son Goku was taken to the medical room for examination.

After waiting for a long time, Dr. Brief finally came out to reassure everyone. "It's just a mild concussion. After a good night's sleep, he should be fine. However, he might experience some memory loss. Since children's memories are not fully developed, this might cause him to forget everything he barely remembered from before the age of four."

Tights looked over at Yamiru. "Forgetting his time on Planet Vegeta might actually be a good thing, right?"

Yamiru replied, "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't."

Bulma tilted her head. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"As the saying goes, 'Like parents, like child'" Yamiru muttered, almost to himself. "From what we've seen over the past few days, Goku doesn't seem inherently bad. At most, he's mischievous and playful. I find it hard to imagine that his parents could have been the kind of cruel and heartless Saiyans Jaco described."

Of course, they weren't.

Even if Yamiru hadn't read Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, often regarded as a prequel to Dragon Ball, he knew from various sources that Goku's mother, Gine, was a "non-typical" Saiyan — gentle and caring. Judging from Goku's age and the fact that the communication device in his space pod had been disabled, Bardock's personality must have been more positive as well.

Jaco interjected, "But Planet Vegeta is gone. If he loses his memory, isn't that for the best?"

Dr. Omori nodded. "Let him live as an Earthling. Mr. Son Gohan, I assume you feel the same way?"

Son Gohan responded warmly, "Whether he's a Saiyan or an Earthling doesn't make much difference to me. As long as he grows up healthy and upright, that's all that matters. Saiyan or Earthling, the path he walks will be his own to decide."

The group couldn't help but admire the wisdom of this martial artist who had spent most of his life in training.

Even Jaco, the alien from outer space, seemed moved by Son Gohan's philosophy. Stroking his chin, he muttered, "That's... quite an advanced perspective."

The next day, Jaco boarded his fully repaired spacecraft and disappeared into the sky.

Before leaving, he promised Dr. Omori and Tights that he would stay in touch and visit Earth occasionally. Of course, he claimed it was to monitor the Saiyan's growth and, if necessary, ridicule Son Gohan and the others for their decision before eliminating the Saiyan. However, Tights suspected Jaco's real motive was his love of Earth's cuisine.

As for the unconscious Son Goku, he didn't wake up until the afternoon.

When he opened his eyes, he seemed dazed for a long time.

It wasn't until Son Gohan called out to him from the bedside that Goku reacted, though his expression remained blank. He clearly didn't recognize the people he had spent the past few days with.

However, when they touched him, he didn't seem particularly resistant.

Dr. Brief conducted another quick examination and confirmed that the boy's body was fine. He was brimming with energy, like a little wild animal.

His head injury left no lingering effects — unless memory loss counted.

Yamiru, meanwhile, watched the now-dazed Son Goku nibbling on an apple in his hospital bed, lost in thought.

It suddenly struck him that the question of "Kakarot or Son Goku" might never have been a question at all.

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