NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 4: Stone Monkey?
As he approached the site where the impact had occurred, Gohan found himself facing a trail of destruction within the bamboo forest. Several bamboo stalks were broken at varying heights, and a path had formed in the ground, indicating that the Saiyan spacecraft hadn't stopped immediately but had continued dragging along, carving a massive trench through the earth until it finally came to a halt somewhere.
Gohan was astonished by the devastation that a space pod from Frieza's army had caused to the environment. He followed the path left by the ship until he came across a huge white sphere with a circular, reddish glass window in the center. The old man tossed any caution he might have had out the window—figuratively, of course. Instead, he began comparing the object in front of him to what he knew about the myth that had inspired the creation of Goku's character.
Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, was born from a stone egg that absorbed the energy of the heavens and the earth. If left exposed to the elements for a long time, the space pod before him could indeed be mistaken for a large stone sphere. He let out a soft chuckle, finding the situation amusing, but that didn't matter right now. Gohan set his fishing gear down on the ground and approached the spherical object. He pressed his face close to the red glass, hoping to see something or get a reaction from the Saiyan inside the ship.
Sure enough, as soon as his face appeared in the window, a hand shot out in an attempt to strike him—an obvious instinctive act of self-defense from the small Saiyan startled by Son Gohan's sudden appearance. Seeing this, the old man slowly backed away from the pod, taking a step back to a distance that might feel safe for the child. He circled the object, searching for any mechanism that could be used to open the spacecraft. It didn't take long to find an access panel on the side, away from the window and easy to reach. Calmly, the old man walked over to it, crouched down, and felt around the spot. After pressing it, the panel popped open, revealing a lever that he deduced would open the pod's hatch. This ship was certainly an older model, still using a mechanical system instead of a remote control like the one Nappa had used, as shown at the end of the Saiyan Saga.
Gohan didn't waste any time and pulled the lever. Soon after, he heard a sound similar to a hydraulic system as the door did something—perhaps adjusting to the pressure difference between the interior and exterior, or maybe it was something else Gohan couldn't explain. He wasn't trained in mechanics or aerospace engineering to know for sure. It'd be cool to have a degree like that, but sadly, he didn't.
Having opened the door for the little Saiyan, the old man watched for a moment before stepping to the side, waiting for some reaction from the child. It didn't take long before he saw a black mane emerge—the iconic hairstyle of the series' protagonist became visible to him. A child with a monkey tail, dressed in standard Frieza army armor, standing about waist-high, stepped out of the space pod.
'Now… what do I do?' Gohan thought. 'I didn't plan what I'd do if I found Goku, and I definitely didn't expect it to happen this soon…'
Gohan stood still with a complicated expression on his face. He knew how to raise a child—he had a son in his other life. The problem wasn't raising the young Saiyan; it was dealing with the boy's behavior. He had never handled a child with such wild tendencies, especially since human children weren't naturally aggressive. While the old man was lost in his thoughts, the child turned and caught sight of him. This snapped Gohan out of his reverie, and the two locked eyes for a while. Kakarotto was sizing him up, trying to determine if he was a potential threat or something harmless. Gohan remained still, observing what the boy would do. It was at that moment that Gohan shifted one leg back to steady himself—a small move that triggered a massive domino effect. The sudden motion startled the child, who leapt toward the old human. Gohan could have easily reacted to this childish attack; the boy seemed to move in slow motion, and countering with a kick or even a hook would have been effective if he were dealing with a teenager or an adult. But even without the memories of his other life, he would never strike someone so young without a very good reason. After all, he was still a kind-hearted old man at his core. So, he made the easier choice: he stretched out his arms and caught the Saiyan child mid-leap.
Gohan felt proud of his decision. He told himself everything was fine. He flexed his arms slightly, bringing the boy a little closer, and everything seemed okay—until he took a kick to the chin. For a brief moment, he completely forgot that Saiyans were a battle-hardened species with instincts and reflexes honed for combat. That moment seemed to delight the young warrior, who laughed with a wide grin on his face. Gohan sighed in defeat. He considered grabbing the boy by the tail, but apparently, this young Saiyan was sadistic enough to find joy in simply landing a kick to his face.
"For a kid, you've really got a strong kick, Kakarotto," Gohan whispered, using the child's name because it no longer felt right to call him Goku now that he was aware of the Dragon Ball series.
Even though he had whispered, Kakarotto's hearing seemed sharp enough to catch it clearly. The boy stopped laughing and stared intently at the old man who had just called him by name. The child vaguely recalled others addressing him as "Kakarotto" during fleeting moments of clarity while he was still in the nutrient pod. That simple act was enough to make the young Saiyan more docile toward the old human.
Gohan noticed the change immediately, stunned by the dramatic shift in the child's behavior.
'No way it was that easy…' Gohan thought. 'Looks like all it took was calling him by his name to make him friendly!!' the old man cried internally. 'If that's the case, we won't have a Son Goku—just Kakarotto… Well, it's the name his mother gave him. It'd leave a bad taste in my mouth to take away the only connection he has to his parents.' Gohan concluded his train of thought.
The old Gohan set Kakarotto down on the ground and moved toward the space pod. His curiosity was overwhelming. In his other life, he never would have imagined he'd get the chance to see a real space pod up close—obviously because it was fiction back then. But now, with the opportunity right in front of him, he was going to take full advantage of it. The alien child kept watching the old human, curious about what he was up to. Though he couldn't speak despite appearing to be around three years old, Kakarotto displayed the innocent curiosity common to many children, and so he began to follow Gohan.
The old human, aware of the attention he was receiving, continued inspecting the interior of the small spacecraft. The white padded interior of the ship, a small side panel that apparently served to control the vessel, and a tiny compartment beneath the panel caught his eye. Driven by curiosity, Gohan opened the small compartment, revealing a standard Scouter that appeared to be powered off. He knew the small device could function as a communicator, a power-level scanner, and a tracker. However, he wasn't sure if it could be remotely tracked, and he had no intention or plan to test his luck and find out. Imagine a massive ship appearing out of nowhere after detecting the signal of an unknown Scouter coming from Earth. The thought crossed his mind that he could take it to Capsule Corp in West City, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Who would believe an old man claiming to have alien technology? Gohan tucked the Scouter back into the compartment and moved to the lever on the outside of the ship to close the hatch.
The sound of the door sealing shut startled the young Saiyan, who hadn't expected the sudden noise. Gohan watched the boy's reactions with amusement. With the ship closed, Gohan placed his hands under the object and began lifting it. The pod was heavier than he'd imagined, but still a weight he could manage without too much trouble. Turning to the child, Gohan pondered what he should say.
"Staying out in the wild could be dangerous for a kid like you, so let's head to my house," Gohan said to the young Saiyan, who tilted his head to the side as if struggling to understand what the old man was saying.
Sighing, Son Gohan crouched down to the child's level as the boy circled around him. He set the ship on the ground and walked over to his fishing gear. He decided to repurpose the straw basket with straps—originally meant to carry fish on his back—to hold the Saiyan child instead. Kakarotto, still following Gohan, grew intrigued by the basket and ran over to it. He began sniffing the lingering fishy smell on the straw. Gohan flashed a faint smile, entertained by the child's reactions. The old man then moved in and lifted Kakarotto.
The sudden action seemed to startle the young Saiyan, who began thrashing around in hopes of breaking free from the human's grasp. His efforts were in vain—after all, Gohan was still far stronger than the average human. The old man sweated from the child's attempts to escape, but he persisted and lowered the Saiyan into the straw basket. The boy now glared at Gohan with suspicion and annoyance at being handled this way. Gohan merely sighed in defeat, realizing that the once-curious child might prove tricky to look after.
Gohan picked up the basket with his fishing gear and a wild Kakarotto on his back while carrying the spherical spacecraft in his arms. He could go fishing tomorrow—today had already been exhausting enough.