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[Advanced 65 Chapters on my patreon.
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I tested out my new max speed as I flew toward Capsule Corp once again, and I couldn't help but marvel at the sheer difference in speed. I could run circles around the me from last month with ease!
And all too soon, in mere minutes, I found myself floating above the massive, yellow dome-shaped mansion belonging to the Briefs family. As weak as she was, it wasn't hard to pinpoint Bulma's familiar ki. Goku, the fool, had been around her so much that my senses instinctively took note of her.
Surprisingly, she was on the same balcony she had been on last time.
I found her leaning over the railing of the balcony, puffing on a cigarette and staring off into the horizon.
"Those things will kill you, ya know?" I pointed out cheekily as I landed behind her.
The buxom bluenette yelped, dropping her cigarette and turning toward me, wide-eyed.
Spoiler: Bulma
As soon as she saw me, the wide-eyed look turned into a scowl. "Kakarot, you little brat!" she growled. "I oughta bash you one!" she threatened, winding her fist up.
"You'd only end up hurting yourself. Remember what happened when you shot the original?" I taunted with a small chuckle.
The blue-haired woman scowled at the reminder before slumping back against the railing and sighing. "Here looking for your scouter and ship, I take it?" she asked, a bit morosely, if I do say so myself.
"Mostly, I just want to check how strong I've gotten at the moment. I've got something else I want to work on before trying to get even stronger," I shrugged. On the way over, I decided now was probably the best time to get control over my Oozaru form before I reached the point where a stray blast in that form could destroy the planet. "Still, what's up, Bulma? You seem down."
It would take a powerful, charged blast aimed at the core, even at ten times the power I currently have, to destroy a planet. I think, at least. And an incoherently raging Oozaru shouldn't have the intelligence to compress ki, merely instinctively fire it.
Bulma let out a sigh, reaching down into her shorts pocket and pulling out my scouter before tossing it over to me. "Here, it's got what you asked for. Don't be too rough on it though; it's hard to find anything that can stand up to the strength of you monsters," she told me.
I caught it and slipped it on. With a few clicks, it beeped on, and I saw a few more options that I could access— a music folder, a video folder, one labeled "Internet," and more. For now, I hit the scan button and flared my power level to the max for a brief moment.
Beep beep—4,128.
A massive grin spread across my face. I'd already broken four thousand. It seemed ant-like in comparison to the power those around here would have in just a few short years, but for now, it made me stronger than Nappa.
Possibly. It was never very clear whether four thousand was Nappa's full power, and the sixty-five hundred was just his full-powered ki blast. After all, Nappa never knew how to raise or sense power levels. Regardless, even if his max is the latter, with the Ultra Form, I'll be able to hit over six thousand right now, and I've still got at least eight or nine months before the bald and midget prince duo arrive.
"What's it at?" Bulma asked, seeing my smile.
"4,128," I answered gleefully, and her eyes went wide.
"Holy shit, that's almost a three-times increase in the last month! What the heck have you been up to?" the bluenette gaped at me.
I waggled my finger at her, turning the scouter off. "Nuh-uh," I denied answering her. Besides, it wasn't like I was doing all that much. I was just using the multi-form constantly and sparring with myself and the Saibamen brothers while wearing my weights. "How about telling me what's got you so down first?" I raised a brow at her.
Seeing I wasn't going to drop it, Bulma sighed. "You know, Goku was way easier to fool and wasn't much for bothering others about their feelings," she replied.
I almost scowled in disgust. "Please don't compare me to that fool," I returned. It was revolting to be compared to such an idiot. After all, if I were him, I would have gone after this girl here if I were going to marry anyone. Chi-Chi just couldn't compare to what Bulma offers, on top of her beauty. "I'm far superior to him. Both in power and paying attention to the people that actually matter, and considering you were his—our—first friend, that says a lot, don't you think?"
So, the month with Roshi wasn't enough to get over my resentment of the original. Being a clone who was only given life because some idiots wanted to use me as a stand-in shield until Goku got strong enough to protect them and then got wished back? Sue me.
But this isn't really about me. It's about Bulma, who got perhaps the worst hand dealt besides Yamcha, right up until the end of Z—or worse, depending on the timeline. Bulma is important; so much is accomplished down the line just because of her genius and dedication. She's a normal woman, caught up in what may as well be gods in comparison. And what's her reward? Ignored until she's needed for something, then hitched up with fucking Vegeta, who doesn't give a shit about her until he blows himself up against Buu.
Admittedly, depending on what route is canon and what isn't, Vegeta becomes a good husband to her in both Super and GT, but that's a long ways away. And in the original timeline, she's forced to sit on the sidelines while all her friends are killed, a kid she watched grow up is beaten to hell for years on end before dying, and her son is the last line of defense against the androids or cyborgs—or whatever the hell people call them.
Hell, in one of the branching timelines, Cell kills him too, and leaves that future Bulma all alone.
Really, man, maybe it's my pride as a Saiyan, but having such a useful ally and my first friend being constantly stepped on like that pisses me the hell off.
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[Advanced 65 Chapters on my patreon.
Patreon.com/Pleam]
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