"See the location of this Dragon Ball?" Ken pointed casually at another spot, then gradually zoomed in on the map to reveal the precise coordinates.
Broly scratched his head, then nodded.
"Try memorizing it. This time, you won't be bringing the Dragon Radar. Find the Dragon Ball on your own. Think you can manage?" Ken asked.
Broly stared closely at the radar, committing the map and coordinates to memory.
Roughly ten seconds passed.
"Got it," Broly said.
"Good. Head out now—if you're quick, you'll be back in time for lunch." Ken smiled and looped the camera around Broly's neck again.
Ken mainly wanted to observe Broly's experiences remotely.
If everything went smoothly, he'd grant Broly the ability to survive in the vacuum of space.
That would be the first step in training his own future God of Destruction.
"Lunch!" Broly's eyes lit up. He shot into the sky and flew swiftly toward the Dragon Ball's location.
As soon as Broly left, Bulma walked out of her room and saw three Dragon Balls sitting on the table.
Two had been retrieved by Broly, while the other was the two-star ball from Bulma's storage.
"Ken, did Broly already get back just now?" Bulma asked, surprised.
"He did," Ken nodded.
"He found two Dragon Balls that fast?" Bulma blinked in amazement, walking over and inspecting the two new orbs. After carefully examining them, she nodded seriously. "Yup, they're real."
Ken: "…"
"You came to see me for something?" Ken asked.
"As promised, tomorrow I'm lending you to Emily," Bulma replied.
Ken wiped his forehead in disbelief.
"And just so you know," Bulma added, puffing her cheeks, "you're not allowed to let her touch your tail!"
"…We'll see." Ken neither agreed nor refused.
What do you take me for?
I'm destined to be the greatest god of the future.
And you're just lending me out to your little bestie like a toy?
"I'm going out to find more Dragon Balls," Ken said, taking off with the radar. He didn't want to keep talking.
Girls these days are something else.
So young, yet already swapping boyfriends around?
Wonder how you'll feel about this when you grow up…
"Hey, take me with you!" Bulma called out loudly from below.
Ken ignored her and accelerated. In seconds, he vanished from view.
Guided by the Dragon Radar, Ken soon arrived directly above the location of another Dragon Ball.
Peering downward, he suddenly realized the area seemed familiar.
Wasn't this the suburb near East City where his spaceship had landed when he first arrived on Earth?
So the Dragon Ball was here all along.
Ken found that the Dragon Ball was inside a quaint little house with a cozy courtyard about ten square meters wide.
In the yard, a young boy was practicing punches on a sandbag.
The boy looked about five or six years old, with short black hair and a clean, handsome face. Despite his youthful features, there was a hint of fierceness in his eyes.
Ken had seen him just yesterday—his name was Lapis.
If nothing went off-course, Lapis would one day be transformed by Dr. Gero into Android 17.
Ken glanced toward the house and saw Lazuli sitting at a desk by the window, biting her lower lip as she wrote furiously.
Yep—doing homework.
Poor future 18. Still in first grade, and already buried in assignments?
Not only that, she had to do her own work and help her brother with his.
Is the world of Dragon Ball really this intense?
Their parents were apparently out—likely busy with something else.
Ken suspected their father might be part of the Red Ribbon Army. Probably held a pretty high rank—at least a vice general or something.
After all, the family looked well-off.
Besides, Dr. Gero wouldn't have just picked any random siblings for his experiments.
As for the Dragon Ball, according to the radar, it was somewhere inside the house.
Ken slowly descended and landed next to Lapis.
"Alien? It's you?" Lapis immediately recognized him.
"Practicing out here?" Ken asked with a smile.
"Of course! I'm gonna become the strongest man alive!" Lapis said, pride and confidence shining from his young face.
"Finished your homework yet?" Ken scolded.
Lapis instantly looked wounded.
"Wh-what's it to you?!" he snapped back, glaring at Ken.
"Homework is a pain that breathes… haunting everyone's mind. First grade only teaches things like 1+1=2…" Ken sighed. "But wait 'til middle and high school. The questions get so hard they'll make your head spin. You'll feel pain not just from not solving them—but even from looking at them."
Lapis: "…"
"You're making that up!" Lapis shouted.
"How's your training going?" Ken asked with a grin.
"Hmph! I'm strong!" Lapis huffed, then walked up and threw a punch at the sandbag. "See that? I pack a real punch! Don't let my age fool you—this punch would hurt even a grown man!"
"Oh?" Ken casually stepped forward and tapped the sandbag with a single finger.
Crack…
The sandbag burst instantly, its contents spilling across the yard.
Lapis stood frozen, eyes wide in disbelief.
"We aliens had it rough growing up. We didn't train with sandbags. We hit boulders," Ken said, patting Lapis on the shoulder.
Lapis was speechless.
Just then, Lazuli stepped out of the house.
At only six years old, she already bore the same cold expression as the future Android 18.
Her golden hair was tied into a ponytail that swayed as she walked.
"Alien?" Lazuli also quickly recognized him.
"My name's Ken," he greeted with a smile.
"You're awful! You know what happened after you left? My mom beat me and my brother like crazy!" Lazuli pouted angrily. "But… if you let us ride in your spaceship sometime, I might forgive you."
"Do you two have one of these?" Ken asked, raising his hand and forming an energy sphere that looked like a Dragon Ball.
The siblings exchanged glances.
"I think that thing's in Mom's jewelry box," Lazuli whispered.
"I've seen it too," Lapis nodded.
"Give it to me, and I'll find time to take you both on a trip to another planet," Ken offered with a smile.
"I'll get it!" Lapis darted back into the house and rummaged through drawers and boxes until he finally found the Dragon Ball. He turned and ran out, ready to hand it over.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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