Bulma rubbed the delicate bracelet on her wrist, thinking carefully.
In the future, the only one who could fight on roughly the same level as Goku…
…would be Vegeta—the one destined to invade Earth.
Saiyan talent was something Earthlings could never hope to match.
It was just a shame that Vegeta was too arrogant—so stubborn that sometimes he'd rather die than bend.
He can be a backup option… but I can't rely on him alone.
If only there were someone with Saiyan-level potential, but with an Earthling's sense of the bigger picture…
Suddenly, inspiration struck.
Trunks said that Gohan in that timeline had terrifying talent—his strength even far surpassed Goku's!
Bulma's thoughts snapped into place, and she looked at Chi-Chi again, suspicion creeping in.
"Is Chi-Chi's genetics… really that strong?"
Just then, Chi-Chi and Nam entered a fever pitch exchange.
At the decisive moment, Chi-Chi actually fired a Kamehameha.
It wasn't very powerful—but it still blasted Nam clean out of the ring, settling the match.
The crowd erupted in thunderous applause.
The referee announced Chi-Chi's victory on the spot.
Bulma stared, genuinely stunned.
"I wonder… in this life, if she walks the path of martial arts…"
"Will she still marry Goku and become his little wife?"
"Will she still have a child so early?"
But when Bulma saw that Chi-Chi was only about 1.2 meters tall—
…and that Goku and Krillin peeking from behind the arena were both clearly just kids—
she couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
I'm seriously overthinking this.
Goku and Chi-Chi were still children. It was way too early to be planning that far ahead.
Bulma reflected on herself, too. Having lived through it once, she'd gotten obsessed with planning the future.
If she kept forcing Goku to follow her arrangements—do this, do that—
…how was she any different from the future Chi-Chi who'd pressure him to make money?
So instead, she should use her strengths properly: provide material support when it mattered, at key moments—nothing more.
Just then, the defeated Nam walked off the stage in a daze, passing right by Bulma.
Bulma's eyes flicked. She called out to stop him.
"Hey—are you trying to win the tournament so you can buy water for your village?"
Nam froze. "W-what? How do you know that?"
In her previous life, after the Dragon Radar broke, Bulma continued traveling with Goku.
Through casual conversation, she'd learned about the "dinosaur man" incident—
which meant she naturally knew Nam came because his hometown was suffering from drought.
Bulma didn't explain. She pulled out a Capsule and handed it to him.
"Don't ask how I know. Just take this."
"Fill it with water from a river and bring it back—enough for your village to last a few days."
"If you can hold on for a few days, your river channel will start flowing again."
Nam's pupils shrank. "Who… who are you?"
Bulma smiled. "Me? Just the perfectly ordinary daughter of the world's richest man."
"…What?"
"Now hurry up, go get the water, and go home."
But Nam shook his head.
"No need. Master Mutaito—no, Master Roshi—already gave me a water Capsule inside the dojo. Thank you."
Bulma blinked. "Inside the dojo… Master Roshi gave you a Capsule?"
Nam nodded. "Yes. The villagers are still waiting for me to bring back water. I'll be going!"
"Okay. Take care!"
Nam walked away and vanished into the crowd.
Bulma stroked her chin, thinking hard.
"Inside the dojo, Roshi gave him a Capsule…"
"And Jackie Chun's strength is even more ridiculous than Roshi's fire-extinguishing stunt back then…"
"One Kamehameha can push the moon…"
"And from the very beginning… Roshi 'disappeared'…"
Images overlapped in her mind—Roshi's bald head and Jackie Chun's face merging together.
Bulma's eyes widened.
"I get it now."
"So it was him all along—he disguised himself as Jackie Chun."
"They're the same person!"
Right then, the referee announced loudly:
"Fourth match! Contestant Son Goku versus contestant Giran! Please step onto the ring!"
A dinosaur-like fighter strode onto the stage.
Huge body. Wings on his back. Muscles like iron.
He clearly wasn't human—he was a beast-man.
This was Goku's opponent: Giran.
Goku hopped up onto the ring too, stretching like it was nothing, warming up casually.
Seeing the kid ignore him completely—and even start doing leg stretches—Giran's expression darkened.
"Brat! I'm gonna beat you till you pee your pants!"
Goku turned toward him and sniffed the air with his little nose.
"Huh… you smell really good, bro!"
"…It's a shame."
Giran blinked. "A shame? What's that supposed to mean?"
Goku kept stretching as he spoke, completely serious.
"My roasted dinosaur is amazing."
"With your build—fat but not greasy—if I put you on a fire, you'd sizzle and drip oil like crazy."
"But since you've got intelligence, I can't roast you anymore."
"That's why it's a shame."
Giran exploded with rage.
"What?! You little punk—who do you think you are?!"
At that moment, the referee shouted:
"Match… BEGIN!"
Giran relied on his size advantage and swung a massive leg in a sweeping kick at Goku.
That thick, heavy thigh was bigger than Goku's whole body—blocking it head-on would be useless.
But because Giran was so big, his openings were also bigger.
Goku didn't retreat—he rushed in.
He slipped past the sweep by attacking through it, then snapped a kick into Giran's face.
Bang!
Giran hit the ground.
The referee's eyes went wide as he hurried to commentate:
"Incredible! Giran attacked first!"
"Son Goku didn't back off—instead he pressed in, dodged the sweep while advancing…"
"…and kicked Giran square in the face!"
"Giran is down!"