Chapter 2: Bulma's Death
However, when Gohan stepped out of the room and looked down the mountain, he discovered that Goku had already run off and disappeared from sight.
Gohan sighed. "Forget it. I'll just let Goku take a look when he gets back!"
Gohan picked up the Dragon Ball and examined it, saying, "This must be a treasure. If it could stay lit all the time, that would be great. We could use it instead of a lightbulb and save on electricity bills."
...
Parallel timeline, the future world.
"Trunks, run! Go find Goku! Don't worry about me, just go!"
Black Goku's Energy Wave was about to hit Trunks. At the critical moment, the Time Machine vanished with a whoosh.
Black Goku, having lost his target, was momentarily stunned.
Then, with a vicious glare, he grabbed the defenseless Bulma and seized her by the throat.
"Mortal, you truly surprise me! I never imagined such tiny, filthy humans could actually create a machine capable of crossing time..."
Bulma looked at the familiar face before her, now bearing a strange and cruel expression, her heart aching with sorrow.
She understood. He was not Goku.
She also knew she wouldn't live to see the Goku from the past travel to this time to save her.
Because the Time Machine only had enough energy for a one-way trip...
Still, before dying, she had managed to send Trunks away. And she got to see Sun-kun's face one more time, even in this way... to die by Sun-kun's hand... she was content.
She closed her eyes, a single crystal tear tracing a path down her cheek...
As Bulma's life faded away, memories from the past flooded her mind like scenes from a movie.
At sixteen, she had set foot on Mount Paozu in search of the Dragon Balls.
That day, she met Goku, who was like a little wild child, and led him out of the mountains.
No matter what difficulties they encountered, it was always Goku—that clueless little guy—who resolved every crisis, protecting her, and ultimately protecting all of humanity.
But Goku was a bit young back then. The sixteen-year-old Bulma only felt trust and simple friendship for him.
It wasn't until the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament that Bulma saw the grown-up Goku.
So handsome! So dazzling!
Bulma was utterly stunned at the time.
From the moment she met Goku, they had been through so much together. The sense of security Goku provided was truly unmatched by anyone else.
In that moment, Bulma realized that compared to that womanizer Yamcha, Goku—the emotionally clueless battle fanatic—seemed much more suited for her.
She understood Goku better than anyone, and Goku, in turn, trusted her deeply.
But before Bulma could do anything about her feelings, Chi-Chi appeared and, completely unreasonably, whisked him away.
That year, the audience at the tournament happily congratulated the two as they announced their marriage, celebrating the new couple about to enter the bonds of matrimony.
But no one noticed the shock and disappointment in Bulma's eyes.
By the next time she saw Goku, his child with Chi-Chi was already four years old...
It was all too late.
Bulma thought to herself, perhaps this is what they call 'destined to meet, but not destined to be together.'
The year Gohan turned four, Raditz arrived.
Because they had the Dragon Balls, they could be revived.
To prevent him from destroying Earth, Goku chose to perish together with him.
Facing the impending threat of the Saiyans, even former enemies like Piccolo joined forces. Everyone trained diligently, preparing for the battle one year later.
One year later, Vegeta and Nappa arrived on Earth, killing many people.
Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Tien Shinhan, and even Piccolo—who was fused with Kami—all died.
If the battle were lost, all of humanity on Earth would be wiped out, and the planet would be sold off.
Goku finally returned.
He was as reliable as ever.
After a desperate and bloody battle, they finally defeated Vegeta.
Unfortunately, in the fight, he pushed his body to the brink of death.
Though he survived, he was so severely injured he couldn't even move—a truly heartbreaking sight.
Not long after, Bulma arrived at the battlefield with the others.
Goku's wife, Chi-Chi, seemed only concerned about Gohan's minor injuries, offering no care or comfort to Goku, who lay immobilized by his wounds.
She even resented him, blaming him for allowing a child to join the fight.
She claimed she wouldn't care even if the Earth exploded.
Many of the women felt Chi-Chi had gone too far as a wife.
Goku had done nothing wrong—he had protected the Earth—yet she treated him so coldly.
Even Yajirobe couldn't stand it and threatened to teach Chi-Chi a lesson.
In the end, it was Bulma who took care of Goku.
Chi-Chi focused solely on helping Gohan with his homework.
Knowing Goku's fear of injections, Bulma stayed by his bedside for several days afterward.
But Bulma said nothing—neither to Chi-Chi nor to Goku.
She understood him well: he wouldn't waste a single brain cell on anything unrelated to fighting.
She even knew that, even while bedridden, his mind was replaying his battle with Vegeta.
Later on…
During the journey to Namek, and when Frieza arrived on Earth with King Cold, it was Goku who turned the tide and saved the world.
As long as Goku was around, every challenge was overcome.
With him, everyone felt a profound sense of security…
Yet, who could have imagined that Goku—the man who defeated even the Emperor of the Universe—would succumb to a mere heart virus?
Earth truly couldn't afford to lose Goku.
Earth's Z Fighters were all wiped out.
Humanity endured the ravages of war, and the planet quickly descended into apocalypse.
She vaguely remembered Gohan, with a severed arm, saying with his dying breath, "If only Dad were here…"