"Of course."
Zuke was slightly surprised when, after hearing his request, the Great Elder simply nodded, raised his hand, and pulled the One-Star Dragon Ball from where it was embedded in his chair's backrest.
Due to his massive body, the One-Star Dragon Ball looked like an ordinary crystal ball in his hand, but when he handed it to Zuke, it required both of Zuke's hands to hold it.
"Your first objective must be the Dragon Balls, right? — Nail, go fetch the Dragon Balls for Zuke."
Nail glanced at Zuke with slight surprise but didn't refuse the command. He nodded and left.
Watching Nail leave and looking down at the One-Star Dragon Ball in his hands, Zuke asked curiously, "You're just giving them to me? Aren't you worried I might use the Dragon Balls for something bad?"
"I can sense your desire to become stronger... Though I don't know exactly what you plan to do, at the very least, you're not one for senseless slaughter."
A faint hint of amusement could be heard in the Great Elder's voice.
"Helping you also benefits Namek. I can feel that Namek may need your help in the future..."
Zuke scratched his head, unsure how to respond to such prophetic words.
He didn't particularly believe in this kind of talk, but since the Great Elder was showing kindness, it wouldn't be smart to antagonize him—wouldn't that be foolish?
As for the Great Elder's words about Namek needing his help in the future... That would depend on whether his actions and Namek's goals aligned.
Nothing comes for free, and he had plenty of tasks to accomplish in this mission world to complete his main quest. There was no way he'd be a selfless do-gooder without expecting something in return.
"Your second objective... I suppose it's for me to unlock your potential?"
The Great Elder chuckled.
"I can sense immense potential hidden within you, and it's somewhat different from ordinary potential, as if some other force is influencing it..."
Another force?
Zuke froze, then instinctively thought of his Stand and his Heroic Spirit status from the Fate/Stay Night world.
Could it be related to those? Does that mean that whenever he gains new powers in other mission worlds, he's actually unlocking new potential?
Originally, Zuke thought that, after having his potential unlocked, doubling his strength would already be impressive. But now... maybe he could hope for even more?
"Come closer. I'll awaken your potential."
The Great Elder extended his hand towards Zuke, gesturing for him to come over.
However, Zuke hesitated a bit as he looked at the Great Elder's hand.
"Are you worried that I might read your thoughts? Don't worry; if you're unwilling, I won't be able to see them."
The Great Elder seemed to understand Zuke's concern and reassured him with a smile.
If anyone else had said this, Zuke probably wouldn't have believed them, but the Great Elder's character in the original story was indeed that of a kindly old man, so Zuke decided to trust him.
He approached, allowing the Great Elder to place a hand on his head. Immediately, a peculiar power surged from within him.
As the Great Elder had promised, he didn't spend time reading Zuke's mind but directly began unlocking his potential.
"What remarkable potential... I even sense a unique power I've never encountered before. Your potential is far more extraordinary than I imagined."
As he activated Zuke's potential, the Great Elder expressed his amazement.
Saiyans had a rather brutal training approach, which made it difficult for them to fully realize their potential.
In the next moment, a surge of powerful energy erupted within Zuke's body, a feeling of indescribable strength filling him.
"So this is the power after unlocking..."
Zuke felt the change in his body and understood that his potential had been activated.
Of course, it wasn't fully unlocked; like Gohan, who later had his potential unlocked by the Elder Kai in the Supreme Kai's world, he could still go beyond his limits.
But for now, that was a matter for the future. All he knew was that his power level had dramatically increased.
With the potential from other mission worlds stacked on, his boost might even be greater than when Gohan's potential was unlocked by the Great Elder.
"My current power level is..."
Zuke put on his scouter to measure his power level.
The next moment, he watched as the numbers on the scouter's lens skyrocketed from his original 4,000, climbing higher and higher.
5,000, 6,000, 8,000, 10,000, 15,000, 20,000...
Boom!
When the number exceeded 20,000, the scouter exploded with a loud bang, scattering into pieces.
"Hmm... it actually exceeded the detection limit."
Zuke looked at the shattered remains of the scouter, feeling a bit regretful over the loss, but inwardly he was thrilled.
He could sense that his power level was definitely more than just 20,000; the extent of his increase had far surpassed his expectations.
"With my power level up, that should also mean..."
With that thought, Zuke opened his system interface and looked at his synchronization rate in the Dragon Ball world.
[Current World: Dragon Ball]
[Main Quest: Defeat Frieza in 100% Full Power State]
[Player's Sync Rate with Strength: 5%] [Please continue advancing the main quest to unlock full strength sync]
5%... An improvement, which meant the system acknowledged that his power increase was advancing the main quest.
With both power level and synchronization rate increasing, the strength he could sync back to his real world would be even greater.
Now, his synchronized power level would be at least over a thousand... at this point, he could probably ignore rocket launchers—maybe even nuclear warheads.
In the original story, King Piccolo could casually deal nuclear-level damage. With at least a thousand power level, was there anything on Earth that could harm him?
However, for a more precise power level, portable scouters could only do so much.
To get a more exact reading, he would have to use a larger detector at a Frieza Force base, but returning to the Frieza Force was out of the question for Zuke now.
Wishing for the ability to measure power levels from Shenron? That would be a bit of a waste, wouldn't it?
"It seems you're quite pleased."
The Great Elder noticed Zuke's delighted mood and smiled.
"Just in time, Nail has returned with the Dragon Balls."
Zuke turned toward the door and saw Nail carrying a large bag.
Nail placed the bag on the ground and opened it, allowing six enormous Dragon Balls to roll out.
"Nail, take Zuke to make his wish. The wishes must be spoken in Namekian," instructed the Great Elder.
To be continued…
Hoi Ningen, FBI is after you after going through your search history. Hand over your Power Stones to me so I can bribe them for you winks.
Advance 50 chapters are up on my Patreon.
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