Nail said to John, "Mr. John, the Grand Elder is resting; let's go outside." After that, Nail led John out of the house.
Nail asked, "Mr. John, what are your plans now? Are you going to stay on Namek for a while?"
Although Nail spoke very calmly, John could sense the insincerity in his words. After all, who would welcome someone who intruded into their home and forcefully used their ancestral treasures?
John smiled and replied, "Don't worry, Mr. Nail. I won't be staying on Namek any longer; I'll be returning to my planet shortly. Please help me say goodbye to the Grand Elder."
"Lastly, thank you again for your help, Grand Elder, and you too, Mr. Nail," John expressed his gratitude.
Upon hearing John's words, Nail sighed in relief; finally, he could send this troublesome guest away. He hoped that this guy wouldn't return in the future.
However, thinking about the crisis the Grand Elder had just mentioned brought back a cloud of worry over Nail's previously relieved mood.
John wanted to use Instant Transmission to return to Earth, but unfortunately, Earth was still quite far from Namek. Moreover, Goku and the others' energy levels were still somewhat low, making it impossible for him to sense them in the vast universe.
With no other options available, John had to release his spaceship again. After waving goodbye to Nail, he piloted the ship towards Earth. After nearly a year away, he was finally on his way back home.
Unlike his journey to Namek, John's return trip was smooth sailing; he encountered no space pirates along the way and successfully returned to Earth, landing in Bulma's yard.
The sound of the spaceship landing startled Bulma and her friends. Bulma, Oolong, and Puar came out of the house and immediately saw John stepping out of the spaceship.
Seeing Bulma and the others made John greet them warmly; they were all very happy to see him again.
They eagerly asked about John's experiences in space, and he recounted everything in detail—especially his encounters with pirates and his time on Namek.
"Bulma, these are items I took from the interstellar pirates; please study them and see if there's anything useful," John said as he handed Bulma a storage capsule filled with treasures.
Then John asked, "When is the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament taking place? Have Goku and Yamcha returned yet?"
Bulma shook her head and replied, "None of them have come back yet. I estimate they'll probably arrive right before the tournament starts."
Thinking back on the storyline, it seemed they indeed arrived on the last day of registration. So John decided not to dwell on it; after all, there was still a month left.
During his year aboard the spaceship, John had been busy training. He decided that this month would be a good time for him to rest properly.
With the exceptional comprehension ability granted by Porunga through his wish, John adjusted his techniques for Instant Transmission and Kaio-ken during his time aboard the ship.
Originally, when using Instant Transmission, one had to raise a finger to their forehead; this was not strictly necessary but helped focus attention to locate the target's energy more quickly.
After John's fine-tuning adjustments, he found that he could concentrate quickly without needing to use his finger to find a target's energy instantly.
This way, when using Instant Transmission, John could free up one hand for combat.
As for Kaio-ken, John also made slight adjustments that maintained its power while reducing its strain on his body. This meant that under similar conditions of use time, he could utilize higher multipliers of Kaio-ken.
For instance now, with John's physical conditioning, he could use ten times Kaio-ken without any damage; under severe aftereffects conditions, he could push it up to fifteen times.
As for John's current battle power estimation? He guessed it was roughly between 50,000 and 80,000; without a power level tester available though, it wasn't an exact figure.
This was also because John was unwilling to self-harm to increase his battle power since Saiyan traits allowed them to multiply their strength by 3-5 times after recovering from near-death experiences.
During his time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber training with Goku previously, he hadn't pushed himself into a near-death state because such enhancements had limited uses. Although not explicitly stated by official sources, John estimated there were probably only about ten opportunities for this kind of boost.
Thus maximizing this effect would be best achieved by working hard to increase his base battle power so that during critical moments—like facing Frieza—he could utilize this Saiyan trait effectively to elevate his strength further.
This was also why Vegeta and Goku could experience such dramatic increases in battle power from tens of thousands up into hundreds of thousands during their time on Namek.
The higher one's base battle power was before death's brink meant greater boosts afterward upon recovery.
Before long a month passed by quickly. John and his companions boarded a plane heading toward Papaya Island in preparation for watching the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament.
Unfortunately for them on registration's last day torrential rain fell from the sky; everyone worried whether tomorrow's official matches would even take place.
Master Roshi turned to John and asked: "John! Are you really not planning on participating in this tournament?"
John shook his head and replied: "I won't participate this time; I made an agreement with Goku."
Master Roshi shook his head saying: "I think your decision to let him win isn't what Goku wants."
Assuming that John planned on giving Goku this tournament victory made Master Roshi misunderstand John's intentions entirely.
Realizing Master Roshi's misunderstanding while contemplating how best to explain himself suddenly a familiar voice rang out nearby:
"I think what Grandpa said is right! John! It's been almost three years since we last fought! I really want to know how strong you are now! As for our previous agreement? Forget about it! Whoever faces whoever!"
"But compared with him? I want to fight you more! Come join me in competing!"
Everyone looked up only to see a figure wrapped in cloth speaking with them—his voice and appearance were familiar; it was none other than Goku whom they hadn't seen for over two years (this differs from canon since Goku had returned after training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber).
"Goku!"
"Goku!"
"Goku!"
Everyone greeted Goku excitedly; especially Oolong and Puar who rushed toward him while Goku's innocent demeanor made him more likable compared with John's serious nature.
John said sternly: "Goku! Are you sure you want me participating? You should know if I do compete then winning this tournament will be mine?!"
Goku rubbed his nose with a grin saying: "I don't care about winning or losing! What matters most is whether my opponent is strong!"