The first thing Kaito felt was cold.
Not emotional cold. Not "my waifu just got nerfed in the anime adaptation" cold.
Literal, naked, fresh-out-the-womb cold.
And then came the pain, of someone or something slapping his butt like he owed it a million zeni.
Wahhh!
A baby's cry echoed in a massive metal room.
No. Kaito Nakamura, who until recently was a 22 year old caffeine fueled NEET with a shrine to anime degeneracy, had been reborn… into what looked like a mad scientist's garage sale.
Steel walls. Humming generators. A glowing vat of green goo bubbling in the corner like it was brewing Gamer Girl Bathwater. Monitors flickering with DNA helixes. And looming above it all…
…was him.
The man. The myth. The metallic boogeyman of Dragon Ball lore.
Dr. Gero.
"Vitals stable. Heart rate excellent. DNA integrity, flawless." Gero's cold, mechanical voice was somehow even creepier in real life. "Subject K-18: hybridization successful."
Kaito blinked (or tried to—being a baby sucked) and tried to scream:
'NOPE. NOPE. THIS WASN'T PART OF THE PLAN.'
This was not the cute Saiyan countryside rebirth he expected. No Grandpa Gohan. No "aww, look at the spiky-haired baby with a tail!"
He was in a test tube. With wires coming out of his chest.
And Dr. Gero just called him… K-18.
Kaito's newborn brain screamed internally.
'Bro. I got reincarnated as a side project of a genocidal cyber-boomer??'
He tried to move but his limbs just flailed like a wet noodle. All he could do was stare at the ceiling and process what the hell just happened.
[System Booting… Welcome, Kaito Nakamura]
[Multiverse Chat Group: Connected]
[Admin Rank: Beta Tester]
[Starter Skill: Shadow Clone Jutsu - Locked until Age 6]
[Status: Newborn]
[Current Power Level: 2.1 — Congrats, you're slightly stronger than a squirrel]
Kaito felt like facepalming, but sadly he had no control of his body yet.
Instead, he mentally screamed, 'WHAT KIND OF RPG STARTS ME AS A DAMN INFANT?'
Time passed. Hard to tell how long, because babies don't get clocks. But the world around him began to take shape.
Gero didn't talk to him much—thank Kami for that. He mostly monitored vitals, did data checks, and talked to himself like every villain with a god complex.
Apparently, Kaito was his 'back-up plan.' A fusion of Goku's Saiyan DNA (extracted during some old Red Ribbon ambush), and Android 18's modified human cells.' That made Kaito… a living test of both biology and technology.
'I'm basically a fanfiction OC in a lab tube. I'm Cell's socially awkward cousin.'
One day, Gero muttered something terrifying.
"He'll awaken properly by age four. Perhaps then, he'll prove more obedient than Seventeen or Eighteen…"
'Awaken?? What do you mean awaken?! This isn't Digimon!'
By the time Kaito was six months old, he had grown faster than a normal baby. Saiyan genetics? Or mad science vitamins? Who knew.
But he remembered everything.
Every fan theory. Every battle. Every filler arc. He knew what was coming.
Raditz arrives in four years.
Which meant…
'I've got four years to go from 'DBZ Deku' to someone who won't get Nappa'd into paste.'
The system interface helped. It popped up in his vision like a glowing AR HUD whenever he focused.
[Skill Tree: Available]
Unlocked Perks:
Adaptable Physique (Passive) – Your body naturally grows faster and stronger in response to stress.
Beginner's Luck (1-time reroll chance on any gacha pull or critical fail.)
[Do you wish to roll your daily gacha pull?]
▶ Yes
◼ No
'Hit me.'
A digital roulette spun in front of his baby retina. Lights flashed. Icons whirled.
[Congratulations! You have acquired: SR Technique – Ki Suppression (Passive)]
Kaito blinked, then grinned (mentally).
'Okay, okay. I can work with that. No scouter baiting for me, Frieza's goons.'
Dr. Gero didn't know about the system. He thought Kaito was just an enhanced hybrid child, his trump card against Goku. And ultimately his ultimate solider.
He didn't know Kaito was reading his every move, memorizing his lab layout, scanning tech blueprints from a baby bassinet like a smug anime spy.
'Soon,' Kaito thought, 'I'm getting the hell out of here.'
But not yet. He wasn't strong enough.
Not without training.
Not without allies.
Not without his first mission from the system.
[New Quest: "Binkies and Betrayal"]
Objective: Survive Gero's lab until Age 4. Escape without being turned into an Android.
Bonus Goal: Obtain a copy of Gero's Android schematics before fleeing.
Reward: Shadow Clone Jutsu skill unlocked.
Penalty: Permanent Death (No Dragon Balls for you, buddy.)
Kaito's baby fists clenched.
'Alright. I may be one diaper away from a nervous breakdown... but I'm not dying here.'
Not before I Yamcha-proof my destiny.
.....
Time marched forward with cruel indifference. Each day in the lab was equal parts monotonous and terrifying. Kaito endured mindless tests, power readings, and involuntary poking and prodding with tools that looked like they were stolen from a torture museum. But slowly, thanks to his passive growth skill and a relentless mental training regimen he invented (dubbed "Operation Don't Die Like a Side Character"), his tiny body became more than just a squishy sack of baby fat.
By the time he turned one, Kaito could already stand for brief periods—an impossible feat for normal infants. But this wasn't a normal world, and he sure as hell wasn't a normal baby. He focused on basic exercises when Gero wasn't watching, doing wobbly squats and one-armed crawls like he was training for the Toddler Olympics. Every time he fell, he laughed it off in his mind.
'Call me Kakarot Jr., 'cause I'm grinding EXP like a Saiyan baby on caffeine.'
Gero occasionally took notes, assuming the accelerated growth was a result of his perfect genetic enhances. He muttered about releasing Kaito early, maybe by Age 3.
Kaito didn't like that idea.
Not one bit.
Because he'd seen what happened to Gero's creations who didn't play along.
They all went bye bye.
.....
By the time his second birthday neared, Kaito had accessed more features in the System. He could now simulate mental sparring matches, a sort of "VR Lite" mode where he could practice techniques using famous fighters' styles. His favorite sparring partner?
Yamcha.
Why? Because it was the safest possible opponent. And, surprisingly, Yamcha's footwork and Wolf Fang Fist gave Kaito a solid base.
'I'm gonna be the first guy in the multiverse who's going to use Yamcha's techniques, and take it a step further' he thought smugly.
But even as he trained, joked, and planned, the pressure never stopped building. He knew what was coming. Gero wanted obedience, and Kaito had none.