A Saiyan's Journey

"It seems you've convinced the Galactic Patrol to let you stay here and study magic."

Seeing Zuke return to the prison cell, Moro smirked mockingly, easily deducing that Zuke had successfully persuaded the Galactic Patrol.

"Those Galactic Patrol guys are so weak that they couldn't even execute me. I thought there was no way they'd ever agree to let you stay here."

Having spent ten million years in the Galactic Prison, Moro had seen countless Galactic Patrol members come and go. He considered himself well-versed in their personalities.

Those guys were indeed full of righteousness but lacked strength, which Moro viewed as their inherent flaw. If it hadn't been for the Grand Supreme Kai back then, he could have wiped them out with just one finger.

However, Moro was unaware that this generation of the Galactic Patrol had a big shot among them—trainee Angel Merus. If Merus wanted, he could execute Moro right now.

But for some reason, Merus had refrained, perhaps out of respect for the Galactic Patrol's judgment—a naive mindset that ultimately set off a series of events.

"Heh… It seems you're not too fond of chatting with me. Let's get straight to the point then."

Noticing Zuke's lack of reaction to his words, Moro sneered again—he could clearly see that Zuke didn't particularly like him.

But Moro didn't mind at all. After all, their interaction was purely transactional: he would teach Zuke magic, and in return, Zuke would use the Dragon Balls to help him escape.

As for whether Zuke would keep his word, Moro wasn't too concerned—because, as Zuke had said, this was his only hope at the moment.

He didn't know if he could recover his magic before his lifespan ended, so he had no choice but to put some faith in Zuke's well-spun tale.

At the very least, it gave him something to do after ten million years of boredom.

"My magic and physique are innate, so I've never actually trained. I can only teach you my natural techniques for manipulating magic. Whether you can learn them or not is beyond my guarantee."

Moro looked into Zuke's eyes and spoke calmly.

In the original work, after being defeated by Goku, Moro even remarked, "Training is something only the weak do."

One wonders how he would react if he knew the stories of Golden Frieza and Black Frieza.

"Now, start releasing the magic within you."

...

Inside the prison, Zuke and Moro trained for a full seven hours, using up the remaining time in the mission world.

However, despite the lengthy session, Zuke had only just begun to scratch the surface of magic. He was still far from reaching a level where he could manipulate planetary energy.

After leaving the prison, the first person Zuke saw was Merus, who had been waiting outside the door.

"Mr. Zuke, is your training over? How do you feel? Moro didn't do anything unnecessary, did he?"

It was clear that Merus was quite concerned about Zuke. Zuke suspected that Merus, being a trainee Angel, had been sent to roam the universe as a trial because of his overly naive nature.

In the Dragon Ball universe, the Angel race was strictly neutral and prohibited from using their power for unnecessary battles—even if the universe were to face destruction, they couldn't interfere.

Merus's naive personality, in contrast, was like the antithesis of Zamasu—he loved mortals too much, always stepping in to right injustices he encountered.

Perhaps because his personality deviated too far from the Angel race's neutrality, he had been sent to wander the universe to rid himself of his naivety.

But contrary to expectations, his naivety only deepened during his travels. He even found like-minded individuals and joined the Galactic Patrol outright.

In a way, he had taken it a step further.

"Nothing much, except his teaching skills are really not worth mentioning."

Zuke didn't dislike Merus. After all, the guy wasn't getting in his way, so he didn't mind venting to him a bit.

Moro's teaching method was exactly as he had described—simply recounting his personal experiences and habits with magic, leaving Zuke to crudely imitate them.

There was no explanation of the principles behind magic or the finer details of control. It was like groping around in the dark.

While it was certainly better than fumbling around blindly on his own, it wasn't much of an improvement.

Zuke even began to regret his decision, wondering if he might have been better off seeking out Babidi instead.

Unlike Moro, Babidi wasn't a naturally powerful being. His magical skills were definitely acquired through systematic study.

But thinking of Dabura, who was always by Babidi's side, Zuke suppressed the idea—for now, learning from Moro was at least safe.

"Moro's magic is indeed powerful, but it's an innate ability. It's no surprise he's a poor teacher."

Merus chuckled helplessly at Zuke's complaints.

"Still, it seems that despite his poor teaching skills, you've learned a thing or two, haven't you?"

"Yeah… At the very least, I can now restore my own magic. I don't have to worry about running out."

Zuke nodded. Under Moro's tutelage, he had at least learned to recover his magic independently.

According to Moro, this was the most basic skill for any magic user. The fact that Zuke didn't know it had left him baffled about where Zuke's magic even came from.

Where did it come from? From the Holy Grail, of course.

Naturally, Zuke couldn't tell Moro about other mission worlds. Moreover, the magic within him had already been transformed and was no longer the same as the magic from the Type-Moon world.

At least now, upon returning, Zuke could replenish Alice's magic.

"Oh, by the way, Mr. Zuke, one more thing."

As Zuke prepared to leave, Merus stopped him.

When Zuke turned back, Merus looked him in the eye and spoke seriously:

"Your token must have come from the North Kai, right? I trust that someone recognized by the North Kai isn't a bad person. But please, once you've mastered magic, don't follow in Moro's footsteps."

Merus's eyes bore into Zuke.

"Otherwise, I may have no choice but to act against you."

Though Zuke didn't yet have the ability to absorb planetary energy, his apprenticeship under Moro implied that he would eventually gain the power to manipulate it.

Such power could easily render a planet lifeless—a scenario Merus could not accept.

"... Don't worry. I won't do anything like that."

Zuke hesitated briefly before smiling and responding.

—At least not in the Dragon Ball world.

To be continued...

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