The item teor shower rotated overhead, each ball of light containing potential that could reshape Smith's capabilities. Unlike the character draw—where obtained templates disappeared from future rotations—items seed to persist. Senzu Beans appeared again despite him having drawn one previously. Space Capsules showed multiple tis.
Interesting. The system allowed duplicate item draws but not duplicate character templates. That made strategic sense—you could always use more healing pods or scouters, but fusing the sa character twice would be redundant.
Smith's attention caught on two specific entries that seed... categorically wrong.
Android 8 and Android 16 appeared in the item draw rather than character or partner options.
He paused, considering the logic. Both androids were purely chanical—Dr. Gero's creations built from tal and circuitry rather than organic components enhanced with technology. From a certain perspective, they were equipnt rather than people. Sophisticated equipnt with artificial intelligence, certainly, but equipnt nonetheless.
Android 8 was gentle and peaceful, entirely unsuited for combat despite his capabilities. Not particularly useful for Smith's purposes.
But Android 16? The nature-loving android built specifically to kill Goku possessed power level around 850,000—enough to fight evenly with Imperfect Cell. At Smith's current stage of developnt, that kind of power would be absolutely devastating. Planet-crushing capability in a loyal robotic package.
Smith's eyes tracked Android 16's light sphere position. Deep. Very deep within the teor shower, barely visible at the absolute limit of his perception. The probability of hitting it with a Kahaha blast approached zero.
Sothing to hope for in future draws, perhaps.
He studied the other visible options with analytical precision. Frieza Force armor for durability. Advanced scouters for better power level asurent. Various spacecraft for interplanetary travel. Healing pods he'd already comrcialized.
Then the exotic items. Tree of Might fruit. Power Pole. Nimbus Cloud. Potara Earrings that created permanent fusion. Ti Machines for temporal manipulation.
Each represented incredible potential, but Smith needed to be realistic about targeting. The deeper items—Potara, Ti Machine, Android 16—sat too far inside the teor shower for reliable acquisition.
Better to aim for the middle tier. Items powerful enough to matter but positioned where his Kahaha could actually reach.
Chibi Smith gathered his ki, ford the familiar attack, and fired at maximum output.
"Kahaha!"
The blast streaked upward and shattered one ball of light with precision impact.
An object materialized before him—a single fruit roughly the size of an apple, its surface a deep purple-red color with an almost crystalline texture. Energy radiated from it in waves Smith could feel even in this system space.
Item Acquired: Tree of Might Fruit
Smith stared at the fruit with mixed emotions—surprise, curiosity, and rapidly building excitent.
The Tree of Might Fruit. According to Dragon Ball movie lore, this was food reserved for gods—specifically the Kais who governed the universe. Its power-enhancing properties were legendary.
The fruit ca from a parasitic plant that drained entire planets of their life force, condensing that energy into a handful of fruit that granted massive power increases to anyone who consud them.
In the movie tiline, a Saiyan nad Turles had planted Tree of Mights across the galaxy. He'd consud countless fruits from various planets, each one boosting his power level increntally. By the ti he reached Earth, he'd climbed from low-class Saiyan warrior (power level around 3,000) to elite status exceeding 30,000.
But Earth's fruit had been different. A single Earth-grown Tree of Might Fruit had multiplied Turles's power tenfold—from 30,000 to 300,000 in one consumption.
The implication was clear: the planet's inherent life force determined the fruit's potency. Earth, being exceptionally rich in diverse life and energy, produced exceptionally powerful fruit.
And if Earth produced fruit that strong, what would happen if soone planted a Tree of Might in the Sacred World of the Kais? Or on New Nak? Or any of the universe's particularly vibrant worlds?
The possibilities were staggering.
Smith turned the fruit over in his ntal projection, examining it from every angle. This was a single fruit—not a seedling, not a sapling. Just the fruit itself.
But fruits contained seeds.
His experience with the Senzu Bean proved the system's biological items could be cultivated. He'd given one bean to Korin, who'd successfully planted and grown more. If the sa logic applied to the Tree of Might Fruit...
Smith's mind raced ahead to the implications. One fruit contained multiple seeds. Each seed could grow into a full Tree of Might given the right conditions. Each tree produced multiple fruits. Geotric growth potential.
He could establish Tree of Might plantations throughout the universe. Identify uninhabited planets with high life force—gas giants with exotic atmospheres, ocean worlds teeming with microscopic organisms, jungle planets with dense ecosystems. Plant Tree of Mights on each one, harvest the fruit before planetary depletion beca critical, and create a sustainable power-enhancent operation.
The ethics were questionable if he used inhabited worlds, but the universe contained countless lifeless rocks that could be seeded with basic organisms specifically to feed Tree of Might growth. Ethical farming on an interplanetary scale.
Of course, this all assud the fruit could be cultivated. Maybe Tree of Mights only grew in the Sacred World of the Kais, and the fruit was naturally sterile. Maybe the system had given him one fruit as a single-use power boost.
Smith made ntal calculations. If cultivation failed, he'd simply eat the fruit himself. Even a moderate power increase would be valuable. His current base power of 2,000 (soon to be 11,000 after Goku integration) ant even a doubling would be significant.
But if cultivation succeeded? Exponential growth. The ability to enhance his entire organization. Fraternity mbers eating Tree of Might Fruit and jumping to superhuman capability. Tony Stark gaining enough power to not need armor. Thor consuming fruit and pushing into Odinforce territory.
The strategic possibilities expanded fractally in his mind.
Two summons complete, one remaining. Smith shifted his attention to the Partner draw—historically the most variable category. Puar had been useful for infiltration. Bulma had revolutionized his organization's technology. Korin provided agricultural expertise and Senzu cultivation.
What would this ti bring?
Smith selected the Partner option, and a new teor shower appeared. The variety was... eclectic.
Ox-King, Master Roshi's old student and Chi-Chi's father. Sea Turtle, the ancient turtle who moved at glacial pace. Oolong, the shapeshifting pig with limited transformations and unlimited cowardice. Pilaf, the diminutive would-be conqueror with giant robot and three loyal subordinates.
World Martial Arts Tournant Announcer, the enthusiastic human who'd hosted competitions for decades.
Dende, the young Nakian who'd beco Earth's guardian and created the upgraded Dragon Balls.
Grand Elder Guru, the Nakian patriarch who could unlock hidden potential.
King Yemma, the ogre who judged souls in the afterlife.
And deeper still, barely visible: Android 17. Android 18. Vados, the angel attendant. Beerus, the God of Destruction. Zamasu, the corrupted Kai. Babidi, the dark wizard. Elder Kai. Oga Shenron, the Shadow Dragon of despair. Super Shenron, the god-dragon of the Super Dragon Balls. Whis, the angel who trained gods.
Smith's gaze lingered on Android 18's light sphere.
What Dragon Ball fan hadn't envied Krillin? The strongest human marrying a beautiful android with infinite energy and combat power exceeding most Saiyans? Living the dream.
Even with Fox and Bulma already in his life, Android 18 tempted him.
But her sphere rested too deep. This draw wouldn't reach her. Future opportunity, perhaps.
The Announcer caught his attention as a practical option—professional host with decades of tournant experience. Though with Eddie Brock already filling that role adequately, adding another announcer seed redundant.
Dende would be incredibly valuable. The ability to upgrade Earth's Dragon Balls from one wish to three, plus his healing abilities and Guardian knowledge...
But Dende's sphere also sat deep within the teor shower.
Grand Elder Guru could unlock hidden potential—make soone exponentially stronger by accessing their latent power. That had turned Krillin and Gohan from struggling fighters into legitimate threats during the Nak saga.
Smith evaluated his options pragmatically. He couldn't target the deep spheres reliably. Better to aim for maximum power and hope he hit sothing useful in the middle-tier selections.
Chibi Smith gathered his ki, ford a full-power Kahaha, and fired into the teor shower's densest region.
The blast shattered a light sphere, and a summoning card appeared.
Partner Acquired: World Martial Arts Tournant Announcer
Smith sighed, disappointnt and acceptance mixing in equal asure.
The Announcer. A human with no combat capability, no special powers, no mystical knowledge. Just... a really enthusiastic guy who was good at hyping up crowds and narrating fights.
Eddie's hosting days were over, apparently. The Announcer was a professional with decades of experience across multiple World Martial Arts Tournants. He'd bring polish and expertise to future events.
But compared to Bulma's technical genius or Korin's agricultural mastery? The Announcer provided minimal strategic value.
Smith reminded himself not to be greedy. Two out of three draws had been spectacular. Goku with Kaio-ken represented massive power increase. Tree of Might Fruit offered either imdiate enhancent or long-term exponential growth through cultivation.
Getting the perfect partner on top of that would have been excessive fortune.
He could work with what he'd received. The Announcer would handle tournant hosting duties professionally, freeing Eddie for other responsibilities. Not a loss, just... underwhelming compared to the alternatives.
Smith prepared to exit the system space, ready to return to his body aboard the aircraft.
Then the system spoke.
Not through text interface. Not through visual prompts. A voice—synthesized but clear—resonated through the void surrounding him.
"Smith Doyle, Dragon Ball Guardian. Your power level approaches 10,000. The Dragon's capabilities have expanded significantly. You must choose the Dragon's evolutionary path."
Smith froze, attention snapping back to full focus. Dragon evolution? This was new. Unprecedented. The system had never offered choices like this before.
Three options appeared before him, each with detailed description:
Option 1: Super Shenron Configuration The Ultimate Dragon possesses reality-warping wish capabilities. Can grant any wish regardless of power level, including age manipulation, size alteration, and universal-scale changes. Capable of affecting entities up to Multiversal God-tier strength.
DRAWBACK: After wish summoning, a countdown begins. If all seven Dragon Balls are not collected within the designated tifra, the planet housing them will explode catastrophically.
Option 2: Nakian Dragon (Porunga) Configuration
Three wishes granted per summoning. Each wish can resurrect one individual. Enhanced healing and restoration capabilities. No planetary destruction risk.
LIMITATION: Single resurrection per wish. Cannot revive multiple people simultaneously. Requires Nakian language for wish activation.
Option 3: Earth Dragon (Dende Upgrade) Configuration Two wishes granted per summoning. Can resurrect multiple individuals simultaneously. Upgraded healing capabilities. No language restriction—wishes accepted in any tongue.
BALANCED: Moderate wish power. No catastrophic failure conditions. Accessible to any summoner.
Smith stared at the three options, his mind imdiately cataloguing implications.
Super Shenron offered ultimate power but catastrophic risk. The ability to wish for anything—anything—including affecting Multiversal Gods ant theoretically he could wish Thanos out of existence, wish the Infinity Stones destroyed, wish Celestials into peaceful retirent.
But if he failed to collect all seven Dragon Balls within the ti limit? Earth explodes. That was an extinction-level failure condition he absolutely could not accept.
Porunga provided safety and multiple wishes, but the single-resurrection limitation felt restrictive. And requiring Nakian language added complexity/
The Dende upgrade offered the best balance. Two wishes instead of one. Multiple resurrections per wish. No language barrier. No planet-destroying failure states.
Less powerful than Super Shenron, certainly. But far safer and more practical for regular use.
Smith's transmigrator knowledge provided additional context. In Dragon Ball GT, the Super Dragon Balls' ti limit and catastrophic failure condition had nearly destroyed Earth multiple tis. The risk-reward ratio was terrible unless you planned to never use the Dragon Balls again after a single wish.
The choice was obvious.
Safety and reliability over maximum power with civilization-ending consequences.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes ti, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
User Comments
0 comments from readers