Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Before anyone realized it, it was already the next day.
The Lookout.
Ever since arriving here yesterday, Piccolo had remained here the entire time, sitting cross-legged in meditation.
He was waiting, waiting for that old geezer Kami to make his decision.
For Kami, his emotions at this moment were extremely complicated.
Although this thought had long since sprouted in his heart, he had simply never had the chance to voice it.
As Earth’s Kami, he understood very clearly what Earth needed now—not a superficial god like him, but a truly powerful warrior.
After a full day of contemplation, Kami finally made up his mind.
His aged body slowly walked out from within the Lookout, heading toward Piccolo’s location.
He did not have much time left to live anyway. Rather than die of old age in such humiliation, it would be better to fuse with Piccolo and become whole once more. That way, Piccolo could continue protecting Earth.
Sensing Kami’s approach, Piccolo seemed to feel something. He opened his eyes and slowly turned around.
“Looks like you’ve decided.” Piccolo’s expression was cold, making it seem as though he were not the one asking Kami for help at all.
“If sacrificing myself can bring a better future to Earth, then I would have died a worthy death.” Kami spoke earnestly.
Immediately afterward, his gaze shifted toward Popo beside him.
“Thank you for everything these past years, Popo. From now on, the Lookout will depend on you to maintain it. Find a suitable successor to become the new Kami…” Kami said to Popo.
“Kami…” At this moment, Popo was overcome with sorrow. His heart was unwilling to part with Kami, who was about to leave, but he was only an attendant. He could not stop this, nor could he change anything.
“Since you’ve already decided, then don’t waste time. After the assimilation, you will completely disappear. At that point, there will only be one Piccolo left in this world.” Piccolo spoke with extreme indifference.
In truth, it was inevitable that he felt emotional about this, but he would never show it in front of Kami.
“I know. I only hope that after assimilating me, you can protect Earth and protect Lookout even better… Then let us begin…” As his words fell, Kami waited for Piccolo to make his move.
Piccolo merely raised his hand and placed his palm on Kami’s shoulder.
The power of assimilation activated.
Kami’s aged body burst forth with dazzling white light.
‘Buzz~~!!’
Accompanied by the expansion of a blinding white radiance, Piccolo and Kami became one.
When the light finally faded, Piccolo’s appearance had not changed at all, but in terms of spirit and Ki, he had undergone a tremendous leap.
He felt the immense power that came from becoming whole once again. Compared to his former self, this strength was vastly greater, to the point that it gave rise to a feeling that he could defeat anything and accomplish everything.
But the moment that thought was born, he mercilessly crushed it.
The path toward greater strength had no end. Although becoming whole again had indeed increased his power tremendously, there was always someone better in the wider world. There might very well be countless existences stronger than him.
Just taking Talot from another timeline as an example, even the current him was nowhere near that level of power.
“But no matter what, the power after becoming whole is even greater than I imagined. At the very least, the current me no longer needs to fear the Androids,” Piccolo muttered in a deep voice.
Nearby, Popo wiped away his tears as he looked at the reborn Piccolo, yet did not dare to greet him.
Seeing this, Piccolo gave him a slight smile.
Although the assimilation was centered around Piccolo’s consciousness, he had still been influenced to some extent by Kami’s memories.
“Lord Kami… You… you’re still here…” Seeing that smile, Popo became incomparably excited.
Piccolo gently shook his head. “No! I am neither Piccolo nor Kami… From now on, call me Piccolo.”. [TN: Author is using another chinese word to call him which also means Piccolo.]
This, too, was a farewell to the past.
With those words spoken, Piccolo took heavy steps and slowly walked toward the edge of the Lookout.
After assimilating Kami, he had also obtained Kami’s abilities. His eyes could now freely observe anything happening in the mortal world at will.
“There’s something I think I need to do, to ensure Earth’s future doesn’t fall into chaos because of them.” Although Cell’s threat was gone, the Androids still remained.
Piccolo locked onto the Androids’ location in the mortal world, planning to make a trip there and tell them the whole truth.
“Mr. Popo, I’ll have to trouble you with looking after the Lookout for a while. Before long, I believe someone suitable will come to inherit the position of Kami.”
As he spoke, Piccolo leaped forward and flew down from the Lookout.
Watching Piccolo leave, Popo continued wiping away his tears.
At this moment, Piccolo still had not realized that after he and Kami became one, Earth’s Dragon Balls had turned to stone.
And those people absorbed by Cell no longer had any chance of being revived.
……
Not long afterward.
On a road in the southern suburbs.
17 was driving the car, while 18 and 16 sat inside.
As Androids, they had finally awakened after great difficulty, but now they felt incomparably lost.
They originally had all kinds of thoughts and plans, but now they suddenly did not know what to do, nor where to go.
Go find Goku?
They had considered it. After all, Dr. Gero had implanted an order into their minds—to kill Goku for revenge.
But after being instantly defeated by Talot, they now understood what it meant for there to always be someone stronger.
If they went to find Goku now just to witness his skills, it would be somewhat overestimating themselves.
They had spent far too long asleep in their hibernation chambers, making it impossible for them to quickly integrate into modern human society.
So where should they go from here?
Unlike 17 and 18, 16 was extremely calm.
For him, being able to connect with nature and coexist peacefully with the creatures of the natural world was the life he had always dreamed of.
As for dealing with Goku, although it had been Dr. Gero’s command, his kind-hearted nature had long since altered that directive.
Just as 17 was about to drive the car into South City, the scouters inside all three of them suddenly gave off an intense reaction.
Seeing this, 17 quickly stopped the car by the roadside.
The three of them got out one after another and looked up toward the sky.
The one who had come was Piccolo.
“It’s him, that Namekian I defeated,” 17 recognized Piccolo at a glance.
“That guy suddenly came looking for us? Don’t tell me he’s here for revenge?” 18 frowned as she spoke.
You can read ahead upto 20 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon.
Become a Patron!