Chapter 23: Gathering Information, Searching for Bulma
Two years passed, and during that time, Son Gohan never managed to pick up the Four-Star Ball. This made Franklin start to overthink.
Could it be that his presence made Gohan wary of him, keeping the boy too close to Goku and thus preventing him from finding the Four-Star Ball?
If Gohan never picked it up, how was the main storyline supposed to proceed? With that thought in mind, Franklin decided he couldn't just leave things to fate. Waiting around was not in his nature. Now that his foundation was solid, what he needed was real combat experience — and leaving now was the best choice.
Goku was already six years old. There were still six years left before the Dragon Ball main story began. After several days of careful thought, Franklin had come up with four possible plans.
First, he could use his spiritual sense to scan every inch of Mount Paozu and try to locate the Four-Star Ball. If that failed, he would head to the city to find Capsule Corporation and track down the young Bulma, guiding her to create the Dragon Radar.
If that still took too long, his third plan was to find the Red Ribbon Army and use force to compel them to build the Dragon Radar — and while he was at it, help some of their higher-ups grow stronger.
After all, Tao Pai Pai was powerful enough in the original story to utterly crush Goku, which forced Goku to climb Korin Tower, meet Korin (the Cat Hermit), and drink the Ultra Divine Water to power up.
But now, Goku's strength was far beyond what it had been in the original timeline. Tao Pai Pai might not even be a match for him anymore. If the villains didn't grow stronger, the main Dragon Ball story would collapse, and the later main quests would inevitably fail. That, Franklin suspected, was the reason this mission's time limit was set so long. Realizing this, he knew he had no choice but to leave Mount Paozu.
Aside from those three paths, there was a fourth — the one Franklin least wanted to take: seeking out his father and mother. With their help, the main storyline could probably be completed with ease.
And Franklin had every reason to suspect that both the Dimensional Heavenly Tome and his seamless replacement of Yuuki Rito's identity were orchestrated by his parents — possibly even his return to eighteen years in the past was part of their plan.
If that was the case, then until they approached him first — and unless things spiraled completely out of control — Franklin had no intention of going to them.
Changing the past carelessly was extremely dangerous, and he had no way of predicting what kind of butterfly effect it might trigger.
With all four paths now clear, Franklin didn't intend to waste any more time. The sooner he completed the main storyline and laid the groundwork for future events, the sooner he could return to eighteen years later with peace of mind.
After bidding farewell to Gohan and Goku, Franklin followed Gohan's directions and left Mount Paozu. Before departing, his phantom had separated from him and attached itself to Goku's shadow.
That way, Franklin could secretly observe and learn from Goku while also monitoring the progression of the main storyline, ensuring that events didn't slip beyond his control.
Once he confirmed that everything was proceeding as expected, Franklin headed for the nearest city.
At this point, he had already abandoned his first plan. Now that he was gone, Gohan would feel safe enough to wander farther from Goku. Letting a character destined by fate drive the main story forward was far better than Franklin meddling directly.
Once he had pursued the other options and if the main story still hadn't advanced, he could always intervene later. Besides, scouring the mountains for a Dragon Ball was like searching for a needle in a haystack — tedious and potentially fruitless. Franklin had zero interest in such a thankless task.
Now, his first goal was to find the young Bulma and guide her.
After gathering information and searching online, Franklin confirmed that Mount Paozu was located in the southern part. But when he tried searching for Capsule Corporation, he found nothing — it didn't exist yet.
Thinking back to his memories since reincarnation, Franklin realized he couldn't recall exactly when Capsule Corp was founded. So, he changed his approach. Drawing on his memory of the Dragon Ball plot, he vaguely remembered that Bulma's family lived in West City.
Searching the internet again, he did find a city called West City. He wasn't sure if it was the correct one, though.
As he continued searching for tech companies, research institutes, and similar locations in West City, Franklin came across a photo that felt oddly familiar: a middle-aged scientist with a small black cat perched on his shoulder.
That combination struck a chord — he was certain he had seen it somewhere before. Memorizing the name "Universal Technology Company," Franklin then tried searching for the Red Ribbon Army, but information on them was scarce.
After a long search, he finally managed to uncover a tiny bit of intel: the Red Ribbon Army was based in the Allied Nations — located beyond the western border.
In his previous life, that area would have been Europe, where countless warlords fought for power and numerous factions thrived. The Red Ribbon Army ruled over one such small region.
With all the necessary information in hand, Franklin planned to guide Bulma in researching the Dragon Radar first, then head to strengthen the Red Ribbon Army. They were, after all, an essential group of antagonists in the Dragon Ball world.
The most crucial among them was Dr. Gero, the scientist who specialized in android research. According to the story, the androids he created — Androids 17 and 18 — were strong enough to kill even a Super Saiyan who had defeated Frieza.
Franklin had always found that absurd while watching the anime. Now that he had the chance, he intended to investigate personally — and if possible, steal Gero's research and hand it over to Ryōko.
With Ryōko's biological knowledge far surpassing that of Earth, they might even be able to create some powerful enforcers of their own. The thought made Franklin grin involuntarily.
And then there was Bulma — a technological genius practically on a "bug" level. She could even build a time machine. Introducing her to Lala would be fascinating — the two super-geniuses would probably have a lot in common.
If both of these world-class geniuses worked for him, Franklin couldn't help but feel thrilled imagining the possibilities.
Taking a deep breath, he suppressed the excitement bubbling up inside him. Before anything else, he needed to focus on completing the Dragon Ball main storyline and returning to the modern era.
After being separated from Lala for two years, Franklin had finally come to understand the ache of longing. Though their time together had been brief, the warmth he felt every time he thought of her filled his heart. For Lala — and for the stability of his future harem life — completing the main storyline was now his top priority.
Shaking off his stray thoughts, Franklin confirmed the direction of West City and boarded a plane bound there. Lacking a legal ID, he simply rode inside the plane's "upper compartment" and parachuted off as they neared the city.
After a two-day journey, Franklin finally arrived in West City, the place where Bulma lived. Entering the urban sprawl, he had expected a dazzling, futuristic metropolis.
But the reality was just an ordinary city. Its level of development was about on par with that of the Neon Province eighteen years in the future. Pushing aside his disappointment, Franklin reminded himself that his objective was Bulma.
After making inquiries, he finally located the headquarters of Universal Technology Company. Staring up at the massive research facility, Franklin exhaled deeply. Now came the real question — how was he going to infiltrate it?
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