Goku had lived two lives, and though he wasn't much older than Bulma, he was far more mature. He instantly understood what she was thinking.
"You're smarter, prettier, and more talented than all of them combined. They couldn't compare to you."
Hearing Goku praise her so highly, Bulma couldn't help but shudder. At the tender age of adolescence, this was the first time a boy had complimented her, and she was secretly overjoyed.
"That's so like you, Goku — you really do have better taste!"
Goku replied calmly, "I'm just telling the truth."
Bulma's eyes curved into crescents, and she giggled, "Say it again. I love hearing it…"
Goku: "…"
They were just two Dragon Balls away from collecting them all. Goku wondered whether the Dragon Balls could actually grant the kind of wish Bulma had mentioned.
Before long, they finished the waterway and came ashore. To confirm their direction, Bulma pulled out the radar and the map.
"The next Dragon Ball is still quite far away! According to the map, there's a dry desert ahead. This stretch won't be easy to cross."
Goku said, "What's there to be afraid of? The car's fixed and we've filled up the tank. Let's just go!"
Bulma smiled as she looked him over, "Goku, do you know why I'm collecting the Dragon Balls?"
Goku blinked, "I know — isn't it to get a boyfriend?"
Bulma said, "That's right, that was my purpose for setting out. But along the way, I've discovered you're pretty great too. Incredibly strong, very reliable, and you have good taste. How about you be my boyfriend when you grow up a bit?"
Goku was taken aback for a moment. Her taste had finally improved.
He nodded, "Sure! But are we still looking for the Dragon Balls?"
Bulma said, "Of course we are. We've already found five — it would be a waste not to continue."
Hearing that she still wanted to continue searching, Goku asked, "So if we gather all the Dragon Balls, what will your wish be?"
Bulma didn't hesitate, "I want an endless supply of strawberries!"
Goku scratched his head, "Your family isn't exactly short of money to buy strawberries, right?"
"Sure, but no matter how rich my family is, we can't get strawberries all year round!"
Goku: "…"
The two switched to the car and continued driving.
✩✩✩✩✩
Three days passed in a flash.
The car ran out of gas, then the motorcycle. They continued on foot.
Goku surveyed the environment as he walked. This seemed to be where Yamcha was stationed.
"So hot, so hot…" Bulma complained as she trudged along, "Can't believe the car ran out of gas and we still haven't crossed this desert. What bad luck."
Goku encouraged her, "Hang in there a bit longer — we'll get through soon. If you're tired, I can carry you."
Bulma waved her hand, "No, no, that would just make it hotter! Let's set up the house here and rest for a day before moving on."
Goku thought about it and nodded, "That works."
Moments later, the capsule house opened up.
Bulma flopped onto the sofa inside, cold drink in hand, air conditioning blowing. Finally, she recovered.
"Phew, finally back to life…"
Goku wanted to rest and take an afternoon nap. Suddenly, a system notification flashed through his mind.
〔 In the previous life, Bulma wasted all her youth on that scumbag Yamcha 〕
〔 Mission: Make Bulma completely disappointed in him! 〕
〔 Reward: Kamehameha 〕
Goku's eyes narrowed. He'd originally planned to prevent Bulma from being seduced — he would take care of Yamcha at night without letting her see him.
But now the mission required making her disappointed in him. How should he complete this?
Just then, a shout came from outside.
"Listen up, people in the house! If you want to make it out of the desert alive, hand over all your capsules and valuables!"
Bulma's whole body trembled. She sat bolt upright.
"What's going on? Are we being robbed?"
Goku nodded, "Must be. Stay inside — I'll take care of them."
Bulma nodded, "Just a few bandits. I know you can beat them. Go ahead!"
Goku walked out.
Bulma quietly got up, moved to the window, and peered through a small gap.
Soon, she saw the robbers — Yamcha and Puar. Yamcha wore an orange-green martial arts outfit, his black hair flowing in the wind.
Bulma's eyes lit up, "Wow! The robber is actually a handsome guy!"
Just then, Yamcha attacked Goku.
Goku tilted his head slightly, dodging the kick. Then he countered with a whip kick, striking Yamcha in the face and sending him flying.
Disappointment instantly appeared in Bulma's eyes.
"Looking all mighty like that, but sent flying with one kick — turns out he's all show and no substance."
She thought to herself that with Goku's skills, he could probably kill him instantly. Killing monsters was one thing, but killing a person didn't comply with the law.
Bulma wanted to intervene, but then she stopped. Though the guy was somewhat handsome, he was just a bandit preying on travelers. Who knows how many people he'd robbed before.
If Goku weren't stronger than him, she would've been robbed clean, unable to even keep the Dragon Balls. If he gets killed, so be it.
Just then, a voice came from the side.
"Don't move, or I'll fire!"
Bulma looked in the direction of the voice.
She saw Puar shouldering a rocket launcher, pointing it at Goku while approaching Yamcha.
Soon, Yamcha took the rocket launcher. However, he had just had a tooth knocked out by Goku's kick, and his handsome appearance vanished instantly, becoming comical.
"Damn it, you knocked out my tooth!" He shouldered the rocket launcher, pointing it at Goku arrogantly, and shouted, "If you don't want to be killed, hand over your capsule house and all your portable capsules!"
Goku smiled, "No capsules here, how about a fist instead?"
"Still talking tough? Then I'm going to fire!"
Bulma had no idea Goku could withstand a rocket launcher and thought this was bad.
She rushed toward the door — she couldn't let him be so reckless. They were just material possessions, no big deal to hand them over.
However, just as she ran out the door, a violent explosion occurred at Goku's position, and billowing smoke engulfed him.
Bulma screamed, "Goku!"
Tears streamed from her eyes. Looking at the smoke, she stood frozen in panic.
Just then, a gust of wind blew past and the smoke cleared. Goku stood there completely unharmed.
With no obstruction, Yamcha also saw Bulma. At the sight of a woman, his legs went weak and gave out beneath him.
"Young master!"
Puar quickly supported him and fled.
Goku turned around and looked at Bulma, "Didn't I tell you to stay inside? Why'd you come out? It's dangerous!"
Bulma excitedly wiped away her tears, "You idiot, don't you know what a rocket launcher is? You made me think you were dead!"
Seeing her tears, Goku froze — had Bulma been crying?
He explained, "Look, I'm fine, aren't I?"
Just then, Bulma suddenly rushed over and threw her arms around him.
〔 Mission completed! Rewarding the host immediately! 〕
In an instant, the technique for the Kamehameha appeared in Goku's mind. Combined with the Sky Dancing Art, he gained an even deeper understanding of "Ki".
✩✩✩✩✩
After resting for a day, the two set out again.
Several days later, the heat intensified. Bulma wiped sweat from her forehead while checking the map.
"That's strange — isn't this supposed to be Cool View Mountain? Why is it getting so hot?"
Goku explained, "Up ahead is Fire Mountain now. Your map is out of date."
Bulma blinked, "Fire Mountain?"
Goku nodded, "Yeah, the whole mountain is ablaze, so they renamed it."
Bulma suddenly understood. She checked the radar and muttered, "No wonder it's so hot. I just hope the Dragon Ball isn't inside the burning mountain."
Goku: "…"
What an accurate guess.
Just then, cries for help came from ahead, and the ground began to tremble.
"Help! Help!"
Goku and Bulma both looked into the distance.
A little girl was running away with a Tyrannosaurus rex in hot pursuit. This girl was Chi-Chi.
Bulma immediately shouted, "Goku, go save her!"
But before he could move, Chi-Chi yelled, "Don't come near me, get lost!"
She placed her hand on her head and flung out the blade mounted there.
The blade shot out at incredible speed, then returned along the same path, fitting back onto her helmet. In an instant, the Tyrannosaurus's head was severed. Its bloody head dropped in front of her, causing her to scream in fright.
"Waaaah, Daddy, I'm scared!"
In her panic, Chi-Chi pressed a device on her helmet. The helmet shot out a beam of light, instantly incinerating the corpse.
Bulma stood frozen in place.
"That little girl looks so frightened, but she killed a Tyrannosaurus — that's incredible!"
Goku nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, a system message arrived.
〔 In your past life, Chi-Chi fantasized about falling in love with you, marrying you, and having children. Her love burned hot as fire — loyal and unwavering — but because of your obliviousness, you never reciprocated. In the end, you lost her adorableness, innocence, and romantic heart.
Your life has been restarted. In this life, let her feel your care 〕
〔 Mission: Help Chi-Chi extinguish the flames of Fire Mountain! 〕
〔 Reward: Battle Power ×2 〕
Goku saw the system's mission, and bewilderment flickered in his eyes. He was already planning to put out the fire anyway — this was basically a free reward.
But why would the system do this?
He was making up for the regret of not ending up with Bulma in the original story, but now the system had issued a mission for Chi-Chi from his past life.
Didn't these two missions conflict? Could he have both women?
Goku couldn't help but mutter, "Only children make choices, but adults want it all, right? Fine, fine, fine, so that's how the system wants to play it! Though, since I already know the Kamehameha, I probably don't need to ask Master Roshi, right?"
While he muttered to himself, Chi-Chi came running up to him and Bulma, tears streaming down her face.
Finding her path blocked, she asked in alarm, "Who, who are you?"
As she spoke, she placed her hand on the blade from before. That blade had just dismembered a Tyrannosaurus — it was dangerous.
Bulma's expression tightened, and she immediately shrank behind Goku.
"Goku, restrain her quickly, don't let her attack!"
But Goku didn't move. Instead, he waved at Chi-Chi in greeting.
"Hello, Chi-Chi!"
Seeing his friendly gesture and hearing him call her name, Chi-Chi was startled. Her hand naturally stopped its motion.
Her clear, large eyes blinked, "Huh, you know my name? Do you know me?"
Goku nodded, "Though I've never met you, I'm guessing you're the Ox King's daughter, Chi-Chi, right?"
Chi-Chi's expression lit up, "Huh, you don't look like you're from around here. How do you know my father?"
Goku explained, "My grandfather's name is Son Gohan, and he's your father's martial brother. He once told me that the Ox King has a beautiful daughter. This is Fire Mountain, so I should be right, shouldn't I?"
Hearing that Goku got everything correct, Chi-Chi quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, yes, that's right. I'm the Ox King's daughter, Chi-Chi."
As she spoke, she lowered her hand from the blade, her wariness disappearing.
Seeing this, Bulma finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She looked at Goku with curiosity, "Your grandfather and the Ox King are actually martial brothers — what a coincidence!"
Goku nodded, "Yeah, maybe this is fate."
"I see!" Bulma looked at Chi-Chi, "You seem lost — where are you trying to go?"
Chi-Chi looked up at her, "Daddy told me to borrow the Bansho Fan from Master Martial Arts. He said it can put out the fires on Fire Mountain."
"The Bansho Fan?"
Chi-Chi's eyes sparkled, "Daddy said it's a treasure. One wave brings wind, two waves gather clouds, and three waves bring rain. Then the flames on Fire Mountain will be extinguished, and we can return to the castle."
Bulma's interest was piqued, "Incredible — there's actually a treasure that can summon wind and rain."
Chi-Chi nodded, "That's what I heard. I've never actually seen it."
Bulma suddenly remembered what was important. She pulled out the two Dragon Balls from her bag, "Chi-Chi, have you ever seen orbs like these? They're called Dragon Balls, and we're collecting them."
Chi-Chi saw the Dragon Balls and nodded excitedly, "Ah, you have them too? I've seen one just like these. There's one in our castle — I can give it to you if you need it. But the castle is on fire right now, so we can't get inside."
Bulma gasped, "What? The Dragon Ball is really in your castle?"
Chi-Chi nodded, "Yeah, that's right. I played with it before — it has stars on it. I remember it clearly!"
Bulma looked at Goku, "She seems pretty lost — she can't even figure out which direction to go. She probably won't find this Master Martial Arts on her own. Why don't you take her to find him?"
Goku nodded, "Sure, that's easy. Actually, Master Roshi is Master Martial Arts."
"What? That perverted old man is Master Martial Arts?" Bulma blinked.
Just then, the ground began to tremble. An axe came flying toward them.
Goku moved lightning-fast — he leaped up and caught the axe in one swift motion.
Bulma gave him a thumbs up, "Goku, that was brilliant — good thing you're here!"
✩✩✩✩✩
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want more chapters of this novel or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)