Beep, beep, beep... beep, beep, beep...
[Combat Effectiveness Rating: 990 Points].
"Is this the 2.0 version of the scouter? It's much more accurate than the first-generation model, and its functions are also more comprehensive.
"If you want to avoid exposing your full strength in the future, you should use more mental energy to suppress your aura fluctuations.
"Ki control must be further improved."
Playing with the scouter in his hand, Talot familiarized himself with its new functions and studied the upgrades.
As a reincarnator, he was very familiar with this.
Reincarnator?
That's right!
Talot wasn't originally from this world. He had traveled here from another.
It had been five years since that day.
He still remembered it clearly—five years ago, as a Dragon Ball fan, he learned about Akira Toriyama's passing. In a nostalgic attempt to commemorate his youth, he decided to rewatch the entire Dragon Ball series.
From the original Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, and even Dragon Ball GT, he went through all the movies, specials, and side stories.
Even while others skimmed through at 2x or 3x speed, skipping straight to the highlights, Talot binged the content over a sleepless day and night. His already frail body couldn't handle the strain.
His vision dimmed, and he passed out.
When he woke up, his soul had crossed over into this world. He had become a newborn Saiyan.
From fear to excitement, from excitement to restlessness, and then from restlessness and confusion to a sense of loss, Talot eventually adapted to his new identity as time passed.
He had to admit he was lucky. With 200 points of combat power at birth—right on the threshold for higher-level warriors—his initial status was higher than that of low-level warriors. This meant he wasn't immediately sent to low-level planets to fend for himself as a failure.
Five years had passed since his reincarnation. Except for the first year spent in a training pod—where he alternated between thinking and sleeping—he started implementing various plans after emerging in his second year.
He voraciously read to understand the current era's context and began exercising methodically to increase his strength according to his plans.
Though his young body was fragile, Saiyan physiology was extraordinarily robust, far surpassing that of other races.
The gap between his previous life and this one? Enormous.
At one year old, Talot's body was already as developed as that of a three-year-old from his previous life.
Could his body handle intense training?
After testing it himself, Talot understood why Goku was so strong at four and why Trunks and Goten were so incredible as kids.
Saiyans defied common sense; their potential was almost limitless.
Over the years on Planet Vegeta, Talot had grown accustomed to Saiyan life and laid a solid foundation through his self-developed training methods.
His combat power had climbed from 200 to 990 points!
It was worth noting that Talot had taught himself Ki cultivation.
Although he wasn't particularly skilled and could only control his own energy and sense a small range of fluctuations, this was already impressive.
By mastering Ki control early, he managed to rapidly improve his combat power without drawing attention. Otherwise, if others discovered his rapid progress, they might have manipulated him for their own purposes.
After letting out a sigh, Talot suppressed his aura. Only when the scouter stabilized at a reading of 350 points did he stop and put it away.
Why suppress it to this level?
At birth, Talot had a combat power of 200 points. Saiyan bodies naturally grow stronger as they age, even without training. For higher-level warriors with an initial power of 200-300, their strength typically increased by 30 to 50 points per year.
At five years old, a combat power of 350 was neither genius-level nor weak—it was perfectly average.
This was deliberate. As an adult in mind and a reincarnator, Talot understood how dangerous this world could be. Keeping a low profile was his key to survival.
Take Raditz, for example, who was the same age as Talot. He was also born with 200 points of combat power but had already reached 500. Such rapid growth was rare among Saiyans, earning Raditz a place on the prince's team.
Many saw this as a privilege, but it was also a responsibility.
That said, Raditz wasn't useless. By five, he showed talent on par with elite warriors.
Talot couldn't understand why, in the original story, Raditz had only 1,500 points when invading Earth. It felt like a deliberate plot decision.
Previously, Talot had dismissed Raditz as lazy. But now, he saw that Raditz worked harder than most, at least outwardly.
Pulling himself from these thoughts, Talot gazed down from the hillside. From this vantage, he could see the entire city.
Calling it a "city" was generous—it was more like a town. In the distance lay a massive city: the Saiyan royal capital, built with the help of advanced alien technology.
Although Talot qualified to live in the royal city as a higher-level warrior, his parents were low-level fighters who had passed away long ago. Like most low-level Saiyans, Talot lived outside the central city.
He could only join the higher elite circle if he made enough achievements.
Not that Talot cared.
The Saiyan ranking system—low, mid, and high-class—was essentially based on innate combat power. Talent without proper development, however, would amount to nothing.
Even Vegeta, with his non-stop invasions and battles over two decades, only had 18,000 combat power by the time of Dragon Ball Z. His limited vision restricted his growth.
For Talot, living outside the royal city offered freedom.
---
[Five years have passed, and I don't have much time left. Unfortunately, my combat power hasn't yet surpassed the 1,000-point mark.]
As he descended the mountain, Talot mused.
Watching anime, reading manga, and novels had given him the impression that as long as he was reborn as a Saiyan and worked hard, his combat power would skyrocket.
But personal experience showed him the harsh reality.
Strength didn't improve through sheer effort alone. Combat power wasn't something that grew just because one wanted it to.
Thinking about those fanfictions where combat power easily exceeded 100 million now seemed absurd.