Over the next forty days, Goku continued trying to get used to the gravity on King Kai's world. Each day he continued to chase after the monkey, Bubbles. Finally one day he managed to catch him.
"I did it!" Goku cheered with the monkey in his arms. "I finally caught him!"
"Excellent!" King Kai said after his moment of surprise faded. 'He is as great as I had hoped. There's still 118 days remaining in his training. He may be the one to master the Kaioken! The Kaioken, the technique I created but could never master.' He thought to himself with a certain excitement.
"So, you think you're ready?" King Kai asked energetically. "Well, my training is harder than you can even imagine! Do you really think you can handle it?"
"I'm ready!" Goku clenched his fist, his eyes shone with determination.
"You have to be the best! The greatest fighter in the whole universe! Not only physically and mentally but in every way possible!" King Kai continued.
"I'm ready!" Goku repeated. He was eager to get to training, not not only boost his power but his skills as well.
King kai put his hands behind his back and turned away from Goku. "First, let's have some tea." Goku fell over at the kai's statement.
Meanwhile on Earth, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Yamcha and Yajirobe stood on Kami's lookout. They too had been putting in all their effort to train and prepare for the saiyans.
"All of you have surpassed me now," Kami told the group. "There is nothing more I or Mr. Popo can teach you. Now you must return to the lower world and continue to train. Work hard and refine your skills until the day of confrontation arrives. I leave the future in your hands.
"Yes sir!" The group said together. After, they went their separate ways, each having things they wanted to improve on.
Gohan continued his training with Piccolo. The boy had learned to gain control of his energy through daily sparring matches. Piccolo didn't hold back against Gohan since the saiyans wouldn't be holding back either.
Mae pushed herself further everyday. Using what she remembered from her father, she worked hard to hone her fighting abilities and control her energy. However, she wasn't focused on the looming saiyan threat. Piccolo was her enemy and she was determined to take him down.
The upcoming battle was going to be a hard one. One that not even Baba the fortuneteller could predict. They could only hope that with everyone working hard they would be able to band together and defeat the saiyans.
More and more days passed and the saiyans drew closer and closer to earth.
On King Kai's world Goku held his hands up and energy flowed into him. He focused the power into his fist. "Okay, I'm set!" He told his teacher.
King Kai stood a few paces away from the saiyan, a large block floating over him. "Let's begin. Catch this giant brick at super speed."
"Okay," Goku nodded, getting into a fighting position.
"Hiyah!" King Kai yelled and launched the block at Goku.
Goku focused himself and dodged as it came at him. King Kai sped up the block, making it come at Goku even faster. He paused and waited for the right moment. As the block came close, Goku punched at the air, releasing the energy he had stored in his fist. It flew at the block and hit it head on, shattering it completely.
"He...he did it," King Kai said in awe. "Amazing Son Goku! I never imagined you would master the Spirit Bomb so quickly!"
"Well I worked hard," Goku replied.
"Remember that the Spirit Bomb is a martial arts discipline that allows you to borrow energy from plants and trees, from people and animals, from inanimate objects and the atmosphere, and then concentrate them and release them," King Kai instructed. "If you can draw so much destructive power from a small planet like this, imagine what you can do with a Spirit Bomb formed on Earth. If you can also learn to tap into the tremendous energy from the sun..." he trailed off. "Just be careful. Otherwise you may end up destroying the planet you're trying to save. Don't use it if you can avoid it. I give you permission to use it once when there is no alternative. Understand?"
"No problem," Goku said. "I'll just make do with the kaioken."
"The day of battle has finally come," King Kai nodded. "The saiyans will reach earth tomorrow and... OH! Oh no! No! No! No!"
"What is it?!" Goku asked urgently. "What's wrong?!"
"I forgot to factor in the time it would take for you to go back on Snake Way!" King Kai exclaimed with a panicked look.
Goku suddenly realized what that meant. "Y-y-you mean you can't just fly me to Earth?! I have to go by the road again?! But-but it took me six months to get here!"
"At your current speed you'll make it in two days," King Kai said. "I'll tell the god of Earth to pick you up."
"But that's still a day late!" Goku pointed out. "The Earth will be destroyed by then!"
"Okay so I made a mistake!" King Kai admitted. "Now tell your friends to bring you to life with those dragon balls."
"Tell them how?" Goku asked, still shocked and confused.
"Put one hand on my back and reach for them in your mind," King Kai instructed.
"For real?" Goku asked. He put his hand on the god's back. "Like this?"
"Hurry up!" King Kai snapped.
"Turtle man..." Goku thought, reaching out. "Master Roshi! It's me Goku! Can you hear me?"
At Kame House, Roshi was in the restroom when he suddenly heard Goku's voice. "Huh?! G-Goku?!" He looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the voice. "Where are you?"
"I'm in hell!" Goku said cheerfully. "I mean the underworld. I'm talking to you through my mind!"
"Underworld?" Roshi repeated.
"Have you found the dragon balls?" Goku asked.
"Yeah a long time ago," Roshi said. "Everybody helped once they heard it was for you."
"Cool! Can you summon Shenron right away and bring me back?" Goku requested. "The saiyans are coming to Earth tomorrow."
"What?!" Roshi exclaimed. "Tommorrow? But thats more than a month sooner than we thought!"
"Hurry," Goku said. "I'll be a little late but I'll do everything I can."
"Okay, okay, okay," Roshi said, trying not to panic. "But Goku, how are you? We heard you were training in the underworld."
"Yeah! It was great!" Goku exclaimed before ending the connection.
Oolong and Bulma stood in the living room. Their eyes were on the bathroom. "So what's with the old hermit?" Oolong asked. "He's mumbling to himself in the john."
"What a time to go senile," Bulma said, slightly concerned.
Roshi burst out of the restroom, his pants still around his feet as he tried to pull them up. "Hurry! Get the dragon balls!" He exclaimed.
"That was amazing!" Goku said. "He actually heard me!"
"Heh heh, well of course," King Kai said. "Now let's do something about those torn up clothes of yours." His antennae moved and suddenly Goku was dressed in a new gi.
"Wow!" Goku awed. "And they're really light!"
"Not just light," King Kai said. "But made of a powerful fabric that will repel small attacks."
"Hey thanks!" Goku nodded appreciatively. "The symbol is still the same," he noticed the turtle symbol on the front of his gi. "I was afraid you'd stick me with lame clothes like yours."
"Well pardon me," King Kai said sarcastically.
Goku turned around, excitedly, revealing King Kai's symbol on the back of his gi. "I can't wait to come back to life!"
Roshi, Bulma, Puar, and Oolong gathered the dragon balls and summoned the great dragon Shenron. The sky went dark as the massive green dragon appeared from the dragon balls. "I shall grant you one wish," he looked down at the people who summoned him.
"Hey, uh, a wish like beat up those saiyans and save Earth probably wouldn't work right?" Oolong asked the dragon.
"You wanna leave Goku dead?!" Bulma questioned.
"No!" Oolong waved his hands. "But we could bring him back next time."
"That is an impossible request," Shenron responded. "I was made by a god. I cannot grant a wish that surpasses the power of god."
"Then please bring Son Goku back to life," Roshi requested.
"That I can grant easily," Shenron replied.
Gohan looked around, also confused. "It was day but now it's night?"
Piccolo furrowed his brows and looked off in a far off distance. "So Son Goku returns to life at last. Which means the saiyans are coming sooner than we thought..."
Mae was outside working on her training when she noticed the sky grow dark. She looked up and around. "What happened? Where did the sun go?" She closed her eyes and focused her energy. "Gohan is still okay, with Piccolo. I'm guessing he isn't the cause of this. Perhaps this is a sign saying I'm ready to take him on. Or..." she remembered how her mother said Goku would get brought back to life and she remembered the looming threat of the saiyans.
"Daddy?" Mae wondered looking up at the sky. "Are you coming home?"