The World Martial Arts Tournament ring was outdoors.
The stands were roaring with excitement,
because the finalists had just been announced.
Master Roshi saw that all three kids had reached the final eight and let out a breath.
"Goku, Krillin, and Chi-Chi all made the finals.
It wasn't easy to avoid running into each other early."
Someone mentioned Goku's name, and a blue-haired girl squeezed in through the crowd—
Bulma.
She spotted Roshi instantly.
"You're… Master Roshi?"
Roshi looked at her, then blinked.
"You're…"
He remembered her face, but not her name.
"Oh! You're the girl who went adventuring with little Goku.
I even gave you a Flying Nimbus back then!"
Bulma nodded quickly.
"Yes, yes! You remember me—great!
By the way, where do you live now? I remember your island near the coast.
But I went there several times and couldn't find you at all."
In her previous life, Bulma visited Kame House all the time—of course she knew where it was.
But she also knew Roshi had moved.
So she went looking for Goku and searched all the surrounding islands too.
But finding a small Goku in a sea of people,
without even his tail as a marker,
was ridiculously hard.
Roshi nodded. "Yeah, I used to live there.
But since Goku, Krillin, and Chi-Chi needed to train,
I brought them to a bigger island."
Bulma jolted. "What?!"
Roshi explained, "I took on a few students—one is Goku,
one's named Krillin, and another is a girl named Chi-Chi."
Bulma didn't need introducing to Krillin at all.
But why was Chi-Chi with Roshi?
She asked right away, "Chi-Chi… you mean the Ox-King's daughter?"
Roshi nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, that Chi-Chi. You know her?"
His eyes went lecherous.
"So… interested in visiting my island after the tournament?"
Bulma nodded without hesitation. "Sure! Take me with you when you leave.
I've been looking for Goku."
Roshi wiggled his eyebrows.
"So what is Goku to you? Why do you care so much?"
Bulma flushed. She covered her cheeks and whispered,
"I like him."
Roshi gaped.
"What?! He's still a kid!"
Bulma shot him a sidelong look.
"People grow up."
Roshi swallowed hard.
"Wow… kids these days are really into 'raising' romance…"
Bulma: "…"
Just then, Goku, Krillin, and Chi-Chi hopped over the wall and came this way.
They all saw Bulma—but reacted differently.
Krillin, who had never met her, brightened immediately. "Whoa… she's so pretty!"
Chi-Chi paused, her eyes flashing with faint wariness before returning to calm.
Goku broke into a big grin and walked right up to Bulma.
"Bulma! Why are you here?"
Bulma bent down and pinched his cheek hard.
"Goku, you jerk!
I gave you the Flying Nimbus and even brought you to my house,
and now it's almost a whole year later—
you didn't come find me once!
Did you forget me already?"
Goku rubbed his red cheek, looking wronged.
"That hurts! How could I forget you?
You don't know—Master Roshi trained me every day from four in the morning until night.
Not a single day off."
Bulma hadn't been truly angry. She smiled immediately.
"Really? So you got stronger?"
Goku nodded. "Of course!"
He looked Bulma up and down. "Bulma, you got prettier!"
Bulma flicked his nose, laughing.
"What, a few months and you already know how to flatter girls?"
Goku grinned. "I'm not trying to flatter you. I'm telling the truth.
You curled your hair, didn't you?"
Bulma touched her big curls. "Yep! It's the popular large-wave style lately.
Looks good?"
"Yeah. Looks good."
Bulma turned to Chi-Chi and Krillin.
"Hi, Krillin. Hi, Chi-Chi."
For Krillin, having a girl this pretty greet him was basically unheard of.
He lifted his eyes shyly. "H-hi… nice to meet you."
Chi-Chi nodded faintly. "We meet again, Bulma."
Bulma noticed Chi-Chi's hidden hostility, but only smiled.
She didn't dislike Chi-Chi at all.
She was just a little girl.
And the jealousy she showed
wasn't annoying—if anything, it was kind of adorable.
Bulma, who had lived two lives, understood clearly:
in this world, only she truly loved Goku as he was—
that pure, hot-blooded boy whose heart money could never taint.
Chi-Chi wasn't like her. She was an ordinary girl.
She wanted Goku to give her a better life.
But Bulma had the advantage of knowing the future.
She knew Goku would be hers in the end.
If Chi-Chi still loved him when she grew up,
she'd have to accept her father's arrangement and become the "second wife" anyway.
With Bulma's Capsule Corp fortune backing Goku,
Chi-Chi wouldn't be able to scold him for not earning money,
and she'd have no excuse to resent him.
Bulma hadn't seen Goku in ages.
The more she looked at him, the more she adored him.
To love him meant letting him be happy,
letting him truly be himself.
Just then, the announcer called out:
"The World Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin.
Final eight contestants, please assemble at the arena immediately!"