"Stop spouting nonsense. No matter what you do, you can't escape my sight."
Vegeta sneered with disdain.
His strength was no longer what it used to be.
In his eyes, Cado wasn't worth paying attention to.
"Oh? Whatever, I'm too lazy to explain things you wouldn't understand."
Cado replied casually.
To him, Vegeta was still just an insignificant ant.
There was no need to waste breath explaining things he'd never grasp.
"But tell me, why aren't you dead yet?"
Cado's tone shifted slightly, asking with a hint of curiosity.
He remembered clearly: when he had left, Vegeta was half-dead.
With Earth's medical technology, it would have taken at least a decade for someone to recover from such injuries — if they even survived at all.
Unless, of course, Senzu Beans were involved.
"Tch. The person who can kill the Prince of all Saiyans hasn't been born yet!"
Vegeta said arrogantly.
"Uh... Well, actually, Cado..."
Goku, who had been standing awkwardly to the side, finally spoke up, clearly embarrassed by Vegeta's cocky attitude.
He started explaining slowly.
"At that time, I was with Vegeta... but, uh, I kinda forgot him when we left."
"I had this nagging feeling that I forgot something important..."
"And by the time I remembered, Vegeta had already been lying there for a full month."
"Luckily, this guy's life force was insanely strong. He somehow clung to life."
"I went to Korin's Tower and managed to get a few Senzu Beans. That's how he was saved."
"Oh, so that's how it was."
Cado nodded thoughtfully.
Honestly, lasting a month while critically wounded, without food or water...
It spoke volumes about Vegeta's stubborn will to live.
"Shut up, Kakarot!"
Vegeta growled angrily.
It was clearly still a sore spot for him.
Over a month, battered by the elements, bitten by insects — he, Prince Vegeta, had suffered utter humiliation.
Had Goku not eventually remembered him, he would have died in disgrace.
But in the end, that near-death experience had fueled a breakthrough.
Vegeta's power skyrocketed, and he finally broke through the limits of the Saiyans to become a Super Saiyan.
With relentless training afterward, his strength had reached an entirely new level.
"Cado! I dare you to fight me!"
Vegeta shouted, pride shining in his eyes.
"Let me tell you — I've ascended! This is the power of a Super Saiyan!"
"And I've already surpassed the limits of an ordinary Super Saiyan!"
"You're no longer my match!"
Vegeta's voice rang with confidence.
The first thing he wanted to do after becoming a Super Saiyan... was to challenge Cado.
But deep down, he knew the truth.
His strength might now be a little above what Frieza's had been — but against Cado, it was still not enough.
Thus, after becoming a Super Saiyan, he had thrown himself into brutal training, pushing himself further and further.
Now, he believed he had truly surpassed the Super Saiyan stage.
"You? I'm not interested."
Cado replied indifferently, his face completely unchanged.
Vegeta had indeed grown stronger.
But he was still targeting the wrong opponent.
Even before all this, Vegeta wouldn't have been able to defeat him.
"Ha! Are you scared?"Vegeta sneered.
Clearly, he mistook Cado's indifference for fear.
"...Idiot."
Cado muttered under his breath, not even bothering to look at him anymore.
Instead, he turned to Goku with a small smile.
"Goku, you've grown much stronger, too."
Goku scratched his head sheepishly and grinned.
"Yeah, I guess! I'm way stronger than before."
"But honestly, compared to you... It's probably nothing."
"I didn't even see when you moved just now." he said honestly.
Goku was very self-aware.
Even though he had gotten much stronger, he still couldn't compare himself to Cado yet.
In his heart, Cado was the ultimate warrior.
Cado's lips curved into a faint smile.
There it was — the difference between people.
That's what a true, strong person's mindset should be like.
It was no wonder Goku always stayed a step ahead of Vegeta.
Though the two's strength was roughly comparable, overall, Goku was still slightly better.
Seeing Cado ignore him only further enraged Vegeta.
'How dare he look down on me even now!'
Vegeta clenched his fists tightly, trembling with suppressed fury.
"By the way..."
Cado suddenly asked, glancing at Goku.
"Where are the others?"
"Didn't Piccolo tell you? The androids weren't supposed to appear for another year, right?"
Cado pointed behind him at Android 18, and farther away, where Cell still lay unconscious.
"I don't know..."
Goku said, frowning.
"Maybe history changed somehow."
"Six months after you left, the androids appeared."
"At first, it was an old man and a fat guy — not much of a threat."
"The old man turned out to be Dr. Gero himself..."
Goku began explaining everything that had happened over the past several months.
Cado listened, frowning deeper as the story went on.
Everything matched the original timeline almost perfectly — except for a few minor differences.
And the timing — everything had happened much earlier.
Piccolo hadn't fused with Kami, but his strength was still enough to go toe-to-toe with Android 17.
Cell had also shown up earlier — or rather, he had been hiding in this timeline, quietly absorbing humans to grow stronger.
Then, just this past month, he made his move — appearing and absorbing Android 17.
Because of the earlier timeline, Goku's heart disease hadn't flared up yet, allowing him to join the battles.
Realizing this, Cado suddenly remembered something important.
He pulled a small box of pills from his pocket and tossed it to Goku.
"What's this?"
Goku caught it and asked curiously.
"Medicine for your heart disease."
Cado explained calmly.
"You have a heart condition. At this time, Earth's medical technology can't treat it."
"This is from the future. In that future, you died from it."
"By my estimate, you've got about five months left before symptoms start showing."
"You can take it early as a precaution, or wait until you feel sick. It's up to you."
Cado didn't want his negligence to cause Goku to die young.
"Thank you, Cado!"
Goku said, deeply grateful, though he still looked skeptical.
He felt perfectly fine right now — healthy and strong.
It was hard to believe he had any disease at all.
Still, he carefully tucked the medicine away, deciding to monitor his health just in case.
"Now, it's your turn."
Cado said coldly, turning his gaze onto Cell, who was still lying on the ground.
"You're from another timeline, aren't you?"
"...W-What? You... you're from the future too..."
Cell raised his head, staring at Cado in disbelief.