Chapter 144: A New Resolve and the Kamehameha

From the clues Yamiru had gathered so far, Saiyans were no different from other races in their fundamental nature.

They weren't inherently good, but neither did they deserve to be vilified as innately evil.

At least, from what Yamiru had witnessed over the past few days, the Kakarot he interacted with wasn't all that different from the innocent and pure-hearted Son Goku he had imagined.

Both were just simple-minded kids.

The main difference was that Son Goku leaned more toward purity and kindness, while Kakarot was a bit more mischievous and unruly.

But even Goku had his wild side. In the manga, his mastery of the Wild Punch showed his animalistic instincts, and the sheer rage he displayed when Krillin was killed revealed the depth of his emotions. Conversely, Kakarot had his moments of adorableness. Yamiru had already managed to bewilder the boy into a state of endearing confusion multiple times over the past two days.

To define Son Goku or Kakarot purely as "good" or "evil" seemed overly simplistic to Yamiru.

If he broadened his perspective, temporarily setting aside what kind of creator Akira Toriyama might be and instead considering the logic behind his storytelling.

Since Toriyama later developed the Saiyan lore with the premise that "Saiyans ≠ Evil", the original concept of a "Saiyan child hitting his head, drastically changing his personality, and becoming Son Goku" felt unnecessary.

And here's where the brilliance — or coincidence — of Toriyama's writing came into play.

To preserve the "head injury" plot point, Toriyama needed this Saiyan child to start off as "a little bad" or "a little rough", which would justify the transformation triggered by the injury.

So, how did Toriyama achieve this?

He adjusted the age at which the Saiyan child arrived on Earth.

Originally, fans believed that Kakarot had been sent to Earth as a newborn. However, it was later revealed that he had lived on Planet Vegeta for four years before being sent to Earth. The reason Son Gohan mistook him for a newborn was due to Kakarot's underdeveloped physique caused by genetic factors.

This adjustment in age, combined with his stunted growth, demonstrated Toriyama's meticulous efforts to preserve the integrity of his earlier narrative while aligning it with the expanded Saiyan lore.

Returning to the story, the explanation of "a mischievous child hitting his head and undergoing a personality shift" was ultimately a retelling by Master Roshi, based on what Son Gohan had said years ago.

Even Son Gohan's account, though firsthand, was limited by his perspective.

To Son Gohan, who knew nothing of the child's earlier life, a previously mischievous boy surviving a near-fatal accident and waking up with a better temperament naturally seemed like a case of "drastic personality change" or even becoming a completely different person. After all, Son Gohan believed the child to be a newborn, and thus assumed all behaviors were innate. But in reality, the boy was already four years old, and his behaviors were influenced by the environment in which he had lived for those years—not entirely dictated by his nature.

From Yamiru's current perspective, perhaps Kakarot's personality didn't change at all. He had simply lost all his memories.

Son Goku had always been Kakarot.

It wasn't a matter of Kakarot transforming into Son Goku.

The adjustment to Goku's age allowed Kakarot's unruly and flawed temperament to be logically explained.

The Saiyan environment had shaped the young Kakarot. However, his fall on Earth didn't damage his brain but instead wiped his shallow memories clean, including the imprint left by the culture and environment of Planet Vegeta.

It was as if his mind had been formatted, leaving behind only his purest nature—a blank slate.

This time, it wasn't the barbaric Saiyan culture that shaped him but the teachings of Earth's martial artists, particularly Son Gohan, the Turtle School's senior disciple.

Given that Kakarot was not inherently bad, it was no surprise that he grew into the cheerful and innocent Son Goku under Son Gohan's influence.

Only in this way could the premise of "Saiyans ≠ Evil" remain consistent.

This also explained why even someone as fundamentally cruel as Vegeta could eventually be influenced by Earth and become a better person.

Vegeta, in a way, was another version of "Son Goku." The difference was that he retained the memories of "Kakarot." He still remembered Planet Vegeta, his past, and everything that came with it, but over time, his heart had unknowingly grown closer to that of his Earth-raised counterpart. He became gentler and developed a desire to protect something...

"Damn! My thoughts are really running wild now..."

Aboard the aircraft heading toward Mount Paozu, Yamiru snapped out of his thoughts as he stared at the clouds outside the window, shaking his head vigorously.

"Why am I analyzing Akira Toriyama's creative intentions..." He sighed in exasperation. "I'm actually living in this real world now, aren't I? Still... what kind of connection could this world have to Toriyama's work? Could it be that Toriyama himself is... some kind of god?"

Even if such a theory crossed his mind, Yamiru had no way to confirm it. If it was beyond comprehension, it simply meant that understanding the connection between the two worlds was not something he was currently capable of.

"What are you thinking about?" Tights leaned closer.

"I was wondering whether this kid here has really changed his personality or if he's just lost his memories." Yamiru glanced at the little Son Goku sitting obediently on Tights' lap, exchanging wide-eyed stares with Bulma across from them.

"It's just memory loss, isn't it? Why are you overthinking it with personality theories?" Tights chuckled, swinging the boy's small hands back and forth. "He's so young. He doesn't even have a fully formed personality yet. All those bad memories he might have had before are gone, so now he can start fresh."

Yamiru teased, "What if he gets hit on the head again in the future? Could that unlock some buried evil personality?"

That was exactly the kind of trope seen in so many fanfics and comics!

Tights shook her head, laughing. "Why would you think that? Even if he had some hidden personality, it'd be from his undeveloped self, it wouldn't compare to the healthy, grown-up person he'll become. Honestly, that idea doesn't even make sense. Goku is just Goku! Even before losing his memories, he wasn't a bad kid. Of course, now that he's this well-behaved, it's even better."

"True enough." Yamiru nodded, tilting his head toward Bulma. "What about you, Bulma? Which Goku do you prefer?"

"There's no difference," Bulma said, swinging her legs. "They're both kind of dumb."

"Ha!" Tights burst out laughing and playfully shook Goku's little hands like fists toward her sister. "But he's really strong! When it comes to brains, only Dad could compete with you anyway, right? Isn't that right, Goku?" She continued to amuse herself, moving the boy's hands around as if they were puppets.

Son Goku, clueless and speechless, simply let Tights manipulate him. His current memory had no reference for how to handle this situation, so he just went along with it.

"Heh..."

Up front, Dr. Brief and Son Gohan chuckled, while Dr. Omori remained silent. Mrs. Brief hadn't joined them on this trip. It was just to drop off Son Gohan and Dr. Omori at their respective homes. Tights also had luggage at Dr. Omori's island, where she planned to stay for a while and find inspiration for her writing.

Their first stop was Mount Paozu.

Once Son Gohan, Yamiru, and Son Goku disembarked, Yamiru suggested they return the house capsule to Dr. Brief. "In these deep mountains, a house like this isn't very practical for us."

Dr. Brief readily accepted, pocketing the castle capsule without hesitation.

"But won't a small house be cramped for three people?" Tights asked.

Yamiru smiled. "We can always build another one. Around here, there's no shortage of people with strength to spare!"

Tights grinned, waved goodbye, and boarded the aircraft. "Well, see you later then! Don't let me interrupt you. Good luck. I hope you get even stronger! Ki attacks. biu biu biu! Right?" She winked playfully, recalling their first meeting and the random chatter about martial artists and ki techniques. Yamiru had insisted that ki was real.

He laughed and waved back. "Next time we meet, I'll show you a Kamehameha!"

"It's a promise! Bye-bye~~!"

The aircraft rose higher and higher, and Tights' waving figure grew smaller until it vanished completely as the ship veered away and disappeared into the sky.

Son Goku stood quietly beside Yamiru, looking up at the sky with a serene, obedient expression that was oddly reminiscent of Goten.

"Hehe. Let's head home," Son Gohan said. "But be ready. If you want to learn the Kamehameha, it's going to take a lot of hard work."

Yamiru grinned. "Hard work? Well, you get used to it after a while!"

After all, he'd come all this way, through countless hardships, just to endure some more. With that thought, he took Son Goku's hand and followed Son Gohan into the forest.