Chapter 26: Another Journey  

With Broly's return, good days finally came to Planet Vampa.

The taste of normal, delicious food brought tears to Paragus's eyes.

"Damn those Vampa spiders! They'll never appear on my menu again!"

Paragus was so excited that he even threw the spiders he had painstakingly hunted into the distant horizon.

Time flew by in happiness, and soon more than half a month had passed.

When Broly noticed that his happiness points had dwindled to just 20,000, Paragus realized the severity of the situation.

"Broly, how long until you can go to another world to find a wife?"

Sipping his soda, Paragus asked.

"According to the Crystal Palace, it takes five years to naturally collect enough spatial energy."

Broly answered honestly.

"Five years? Isn't there a better way?"

"There is. Moving can speed up the energy collection process. For every light-year I travel, the spatial energy increases by one year. That's what the Crystal Palace said."

"A light-year?"

Paragus was stunned.

"Can we use a spaceship?"

He asked.

"No, it has to be physical movement through space."

Broly replied.

Paragus was speechless. They didn't even have a spaceship, so this was even more disappointing.

"Father, is a light-year very far?"

Broly asked, sensing the rapid decline in his happiness points.

Saiyans had appetites far beyond those of normal humans. Even though the points required to exchange for food weren't much, the unchecked consumption of two Saiyans was still a problem.

"A light-year is extremely far. Without a spaceship, no Saiyan could cover that distance in their lifetime."

In Paragus's mind, the strongest Saiyan was King Vegeta. But could King Vegeta travel a light-year with just his body?

Clearly, it was impossible. They were Saiyans, but Saiyans were still people, and people had limits.

Faced with a distance measured in light-years, even as Saiyans, they were insignificant.

"The Crystal Palace says this function can be upgraded with happiness points. Each upgrade halves the distance required for movement-based energy collection."

Because of Paragus's words, the Crystal Palace provided an explanation for the [Movement-Based Energy Collection] module, and Broly relayed the information that appeared in his mind.

"Huh? It can be halved?!"

Paragus was delighted but quickly calmed down when he remembered that the original distance was a light-year.

"Still useless. Halving it still leaves an insurmountable distance."

"After halving, it can be upgraded again, and the distance can be halved once more."

Broly continued.

"Ah, that kind of halving?"

Paragus stroked his chin and asked, "How many points does it cost to upgrade?"

"The first upgrade costs 1 point, the second 10, the third 100, the fourth..."

"So it increases by a factor of 10^(N-1)? With your current happiness points, you can upgrade up to five times, reducing the distance to one-sixteenth of a light-year. It sounds less impossible, but it's still a terrifying distance."

Paragus thought for a moment and said to his son, "Broly, upgrade this function. If we can never leave Planet Vampa, your Crystal Palace is our only hope for a happy life here. Upgrading this function as soon as possible will bring greater benefits."

Broly wasn't great at math, but he felt that running a shorter distance to speed up energy collection was definitely a good idea. So he followed Paragus's advice and spent half of his remaining 20,000 happiness points to upgrade the Crystal Palace's [Movement-Based Energy Collection] function.

**[Movement-Based Energy Collection]**: Run, host, time flies. When your speed is fast enough, you can catch up with time.

**[Current progress: Moving one-sixteenth of a light-year will charge the spatial energy by one year. Current energy collection progress: 0/5 (Note: You don't need to travel the full one-sixteenth of a light-year for it to count. Any physical movement through space will accelerate spatial energy absorption.)**

"Tomorrow, I'll get some Baya blood. You can trade it with the Vampa spiders for their eggs."

Paragus suddenly said.

It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go back. The reality was that they had to change their overly luxurious lifestyle of eating normal food in large quantities.

"Of course, from now on, the food you exchange is for you alone."

Paragus added, fearing his son might get angry.

"Let's share it."

However, Broly didn't get angry. He pushed half of his pork cutlet rice toward Paragus.

"I'm going to charge energy now."

With that, the boy ran out, flying toward the distant horizon.

In the cave, Paragus looked at the half-eaten box of rice his son had left behind, feeling a pang of emotion.

His feelings were complicated. Saiyan familial bonds weren't strong. Brutality, selfishness, and fighting over spoils were common. Sharing good things, even among family, was rare.

Paragus suddenly felt grateful that his son had always been a bit different. Despite receiving traditional Saiyan education in his early years, Broly hadn't turned into a typical Saiyan child.

At this moment, Paragus, the traditional Saiyan father, felt something akin to familial love. The son who had nearly killed him two years ago didn't seem so terrifying anymore.

---

On Planet Vampa, as long as there were no sandstorms, the night sky was beautiful and clear. The starlight, unobstructed, bathed the barren planet. Broly moved through this beautiful night, pushing his limits.

After flying for who knows how long, feeling tired and hungry, he stopped to rest on a mountain peak. Just then, as dawn approached, a blue streak crossed the sky—a spaceship carrying a Saiyan child named Kakarot passed by Planet Vampa, heading toward Earth.

In the following days, Broly settled into a routine: trading spider eggs, eating and drinking his fill, then moving to charge energy. When tired, he returned to the cave to rest. This simple, unadorned life became his daily existence.

The taste of Vampa spider eggs remained as awful as ever. Occasionally exchanging normal food to share with his father became Broly's most anticipated activity.

As for why he didn't eat alone, Broly didn't think too deeply about it. He just felt it was the right thing to do.

Just as when he had gone to the Type-Moon world and his wives had shared food with him, he was happy to share food with those around him.

---

Time quickly passed, and it was now Age 739. At the edge of Planet Vampa's atmosphere, a green figure was flying around the planet at an astonishing speed, circling it multiple times in a short period.

**[Spatial energy fully charged. Begin crossing now?]**

As the Crystal Palace, silent for two years, displayed this prompt, the green figure finally stopped.

Broly, now seven years old, was half a head taller than he had been at five. A green skirt made from Baya beast fur hung at his waist, returning him to the appearance of a little wild child.

"Huff, huff~"

Gasping for air in the thin atmosphere at the edge of the planet, the golden glint in his eyes faded.

Over the past two years, he had pushed himself to become faster, breaking his own speed limits every day.

After nearly three years of hard work, he had finally filled the Crystal Palace's spatial energy. Looking at the meager 18 happiness points slowly generated by his wives' happiness, Broly felt tears welling up.

Finally, he could embark on another journey to a different world to earn more happiness points.

But before leaving, he had to tell his father.

Broly quickly descended. He had gone so high to maximize his speed.

Soon, he found his father Paragus at the edge of the Baya beast's usual pit.

The Saiyan father was weaving clothes for his son using Baya beast fur.

Life on Planet Vampa was harsh, and Paragus didn't want his son to spend happiness points on anything other than food. So, things like clothes had to be made from local materials.

Over seven years, this Saiyan father had taught himself the skill of weaving fur garments. Though not very durable, they were considered fine handmade products on Planet Vampa.

"Hey, Broly, are you taking a break today?"

Seeing his son arrive, Paragus asked curiously.

"Not a break. It's done."

Having spent most of the past two years flying and moving to charge energy, Broly rarely spoke. Now, his speech was a bit rusty.

"Done?"

Paragus was stunned, then overjoyed.

With a tug, the unfinished fur garment tore apart.

"Clothes."

Broly reminded him, but Paragus waved it off.

"Who cares about clothes now? Broly, when you cross over to another world this time, make sure to find as many wives as possible.

But don't forget to increase their happiness values. Anyone who stands in your way of finding wives or increasing their happiness, don't hesitate—just eliminate them..."

Paragus had been waiting for this moment for who knows how long. During this time, he had been helping his son plan how to maximize happiness points.

"Broly, remember, when you meet a wife, don't rush to bring her into the Crystal Palace. First, maximize her happiness value. Only invite her into the palace when it's time to return."

"Okay."

Broly listened to his father's advice, nodding and memorizing each point.

"Of course, if you encounter enemies you can't defeat, your life is the most important. It's better to return to Planet Vampa and chew on spider legs for a few more years."

Crossing into another world was unpredictable. Paragus shared his experiences from visiting dangerous, unfamiliar planets with Broly.

The core of this experience was that Saiyans needed to be flexible. If they encountered enemies they couldn't handle, running away wasn't shameful.

"Got it."

Broly agreed on the surface, but deep down, he had no intention of chewing on spider legs.

[No matter how strong the enemy, fight to the death.]

With this thought, Broly used his remaining happiness points to leave a full box of pork cutlet rice for Paragus before choosing to cross over.

---

At the edge of the Jifunora Sea Tree Forest, imperial soldiers herded a group of children purchased from slave traders out of transport vehicles.

After handing each child a small knife, an officer climbed onto a makeshift platform made of wooden crates and shouted at the malnourished children below: "Do you want to eat? Do you want to live? Both are possible here.

See that forest over there? If you can survive crossing it and reach the clearing in the center, you'll get to eat and live."

The children followed the officer's pointing finger. Even in broad daylight, the forest looked dark and foreboding.

The occasional roars of beasts made many of the children tremble in fear, some even bursting into tears.

Those crying were mostly children who hadn't endured many beatings from the slave traders before being sent here.

"Now, you may enter."

The officer gave the order without hesitation.

"No, those are the sounds of dangerous beasts. I've heard them before. I won't go in. I want to go home."

A older boy, terrified, ran away from the forest.

"Bang~"

A gunshot rang out, and the boy fell to the ground, a bloody hole in his back.

The boy screamed in pain but wasn't dead yet. The officer jumped down from the platform and walked over.

"How foolish. Entering the forest, you at least have a chance of not encountering the beasts."

The officer drew his sword and, without hesitation, beheaded the boy.

"I'll give you fifteen minutes. If anyone is still here after that, we'll kill them."

"Sister..."

In the crowd, a little girl clung to an older girl, trembling with fear.

"Don't be afraid, Kurome. I'll protect you."

Holding her sister's hand, Akame comforted her and followed the flow of people into the forest.

Not far into the forest, a snake-like danger beast dropped from a tree and bit into a child ahead.

The children screamed and scattered, quickly getting separated in the dangerous Jifunora Sea Tree Forest.

Akame tightly held her sister's hand, trying to run toward what seemed like a safer area.

---

At the center of the forest, imperial soldiers were clearing the bodies of danger beasts. On a nearby cliff, a bald man watched the forest, where the roars of beasts were becoming more frequent. He suddenly asked the man lying on a rock behind him, "Gozuki, how many children do you think will pass this time?"

"Who knows? But with hundreds of children thrown in, some with enough potential and luck should make it out."

The long-haired man, chewing on a blade of grass, seemed indifferent.

And he truly was indifferent. Those children were expendable.

"By the way, Gozuki, how many children can you train at most?"

"Let me think... I can handle seven at most."

"Alright, I'll leave the seven best performers to you. As for the others who make it out, I'll take them."

"Bill, do you really think training a group of child assassins will be useful in the future?"

Gozuki suddenly asked.

"The empire is like a dry grassland, with smoke rising everywhere. To put out the fire, people's hearts are divided, and it's hard to tell who the enemy is.

But I think training assassins to extinguish the flames will still be useful."

The bald man replied.

"But with those children's ages, it will take at least seven or eight years to train them to be useful. By then, the empire might not even exist."

"Haha, Gozuki, I think your worries are unnecessary. No matter how corrupt, the empire has lasted a thousand years. It won't just collapse in a few years, will it?"

"I hope so."

Spitting out the blade of grass, Gozuki drew his sword and turned around.

A bird-like danger beast, diving from the sky to prey on him, was sliced in half by his demonic blade.

"As expected of someone from the Four Demon Generals."

Bill praised.