"Speak properly," Ken said calmly.
Clack!
Broly casually set his spoon down on the plate and suddenly stood up.
Jaco: "…"
He was about to burst into tears from sheer panic.
"I… I really am an elite warrior… I wasn't lying…" Jaco stammered, trembling as he kept a fearful eye on Broly.
"Then let me ask you something else." Ken smiled. "Who is the strongest among the Galactic Patrol? Think carefully before answering."
"I-It's Merus!" Jaco blurted out immediately, as if any hesitation might earn him another beating.
"Merus?" Ken repeated the name thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.
Jaco kept his mouth shut, his face shifting uneasily.
"Alright then. Once your spaceship is fixed, take Broly and me to the Galactic Patrol HQ. We'd like to pay this Merus a visit." Ken smiled pleasantly.
Jaco: "…"
"Uh…" Jaco had no idea how to respond to that.
"We're not welcome?" Ken's eyes narrowed with a grin.
"W-Welcome! Of course you're welcome! The Galactic Patrol HQ would be honored to receive you!" Jaco caved instantly.
"Good. Then it's settled." Ken nodded in satisfaction.
But inside, Jaco was panicking.
I've just dug a grave for Merus.
He's going to hate me for this.
This is bad. What if Broly ends up beating Merus into a pulp?
That Broly guy is terrifyingly strong.
No, no, I have to find a way to contact Merus and warn him.
But my spaceship's communicator is broken… I can't reach HQ.
Wait!
Once the ship is fixed, I can secretly contact Merus myself!
With that plan in mind, Jaco's anxiety finally eased—just a little.
"Ken, take me with you too! I wanna go!" Bulma raised her hand enthusiastically.
"You stay here. You'll have plenty of chances to travel later. You're still too young to go on a space trip," Ken shook his head.
"Ugh, you talk like you're so much older than me," Bulma pouted.
Jaco snorted with schadenfreude.
This little girl was talking back to that scary Saiyan named Ken.
Would that big oaf smack her around too?
…But the scene Jaco expected didn't happen.
Broly didn't react at all.
Jaco scratched his head.
So it's just me you like to pick on, huh?
…
After dinner, Dr. Brief, accompanied by Dr. Omori, went to check out Jaco's spaceship.
Turned out the ship's core power supply had failed.
Basically, the battery was dead.
All it needed was a replacement energy cell, and the ship would start right up again.
Minor issues were even easier to fix.
"We have energy cells back home, but it's a bit of a distance from here. Round trip will take four hours," Dr. Brief sighed. "Let's deal with it tomorrow."
"Of course, Dr. Brief, no rush," Dr. Omori laughed and nodded politely.
Jaco: "…"
You're not in a hurry, but I am!
"Let Broly go," Ken suggested. "He can fly pretty fast."
"How long would it take him?" Dr. Brief asked.
"At his current level, if he flies full speed, he should be back in a few minutes at most," Ken replied thoughtfully.
"He's that fast?" Dr. Brief adjusted his glasses, visibly shocked. Then he nodded. "Alright then. We'll trouble Broly with this errand."
Broly scratched his head and gave a dopey grin, then nodded to show he agreed.
"Broly, when you get home, just grab any robot and have it bring you an S35 energy battery," Dr. Brief instructed.
"Got it?" Ken asked Broly.
Broly nodded.
"Repeat it back," Ken said.
"S35! Energy! Battery!" Broly repeated, enunciating each word like a kindergartener.
"Go." Ken gave an approving nod.
People said Broly was slow, but Ken knew better—he wasn't dumb at all.
On the contrary, he was quite sharp.
He just had trouble expressing himself.
Broly turned into a brilliant streak of light, shooting high into the sky and disappearing in seconds.
"I could've fixed the battery myself," Ken said as he watched Broly vanish. "But I wanted to give Broly a little more experience."
Dr. Brief: "…"
Dr. Omori: "…"
Both men immediately looked over at Ken.
"Could you maybe… not make stuff up?" Jaco muttered.
With Broly gone, Jaco suddenly felt no pressure at all and started to relax.
When Broly was around, it felt like a mountain was pressing down on him, suffocating and heavy.
Now that the big guy was gone, he could finally breathe.
"Broly! You're back already?" Bulma suddenly shouted.
"Ahh—I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Forget everything I just said! Pretend I farted!" Jaco's face turned pale and he dropped to his knees, trembling in terror.
"Pfft—" Bulma burst into giggles.
Jaco slowly peeked up… but there was no sign of Broly.
He instantly glared at Bulma in embarrassment.
"Hahaha!" Bulma pointed at Jaco and laughed even harder.
"This is why I don't like kids!" Jaco growled, hugging his head.
"Sis, your alien friend is such a wimp!" Bulma said smugly to her sister.
"Don't say the same thing twice," Tights said coldly.
Ken didn't say anything either. Instead, he stepped forward, and divine power radiated from his hands—Divine ki flowed outward, enveloping the spaceship.
Immediately, a stream of somewhat unrefined Divine ki moved into the ship's power core, starting to repair the damaged battery.
"Huh? Ken, what are you doing?" Bulma asked curiously.
"Nothing much. Just checking if I can fix the battery," Ken said with a smile.
"You shouldn't force it. I've already examined that battery—it can be repaired, but the process is super complicated. It's easier to just replace it," Bulma said, blinking her big, sparkly eyes.
"You know how to fix this kind of thing, Ken?" Dr. Brief asked in surprise.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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