Behind her, the tall soldier pointed a gun at her while the short soldier ran ahead, blocking her path.
"You little girl, you really don't know your place! Let me tell you, when you come to this town, you follow our rules. Even a dragon has to crawl for me, even a tiger has to crouch for me. You know why those people on the street are so obedient? Because anyone who fought us has been taken care of!"
The two soldiers closed in on her again.
But Bulma wasn't afraid. She immediately shouted, "Goku, come quick!"
In the blink of an eye, a figure transformed into a streak of light and rushed over, charging directly at the two soldiers.
When Goku's figure became clear, the two Rabbit Mob soldiers were lying sprawled on the ground. Their handguns had been knocked dozens of meters away.
Seeing this, the street vendors and shop owners on both sides were stunned.
The butcher shop owner quickly hid his meat cleaver, abandoned his stall, and hid far away. The fruit stand owner had just finished cleaning up his overturned stall when it collapsed again. Oranges and apples scattered across the ground. The tea stand owner sat dumbfounded, staring blankly at Goku and Bulma and the two knocked-over Rabbit Mob officers. The dog that had just been kicked watched them intently, with what seemed to be a humanlike gleam of schadenfreude in its eyes.
Sweat instantly broke out on the cold drink shop owner's forehead.
"We're done for, done for — you've caused big trouble!"
The already sparse pedestrians on the street fled from the area.
"Run!"
"Waah, something terrible is going to happen!"
Seeing how just two officers had frightened people like this, Bulma was utterly astonished, "Is it really that serious? This is a town, after all. Is there no law and order?"
At that moment, all the shops along the street closed their doors and stopped doing business.
Bulma blinked, "Everyone's hiding. I have an ominous feeling!" She looked at Goku and asked, "Goku, have we provoked someone really powerful?"
Goku hadn't made a move yet because he was waiting for a mission. But nothing regrettable had happened here, so the system hadn't issued a mission.
He simply pulled out his Power Pole and said with a smile, "Bulma, don't worry. No matter what kind of guy it is, just leave it to me!"
Bulma nodded vigorously, "Goku, I knew you'd say that. You're the one who makes me feel most secure!"
At that moment, a car decorated like a rabbit stopped in front of them.
A rabbit wearing sunglasses swaggered out, "How embarrassing. Where are the people who dared to resist our Rabbit Mob?"
The two Rabbit Mob soldiers immediately stood up and pointed at Goku and Bulma.
"Boss, boss, it's them…"
Monster Carrot snorted coldly, "Hmph, useless. You actually lost to a woman and a little brat."
He walked toward Bulma and Goku.
However, Goku knew well what the opponent was capable of. He didn't dare gamble on whether he'd be turned into a carrot by the Magic Touch. Without a word, he struck first, swinging his staff.
With a dull thud! Monster Carrot cried out and sat on the ground, howling in pain.
The two Rabbit Mob soldiers were shocked.
"Boss, are you okay?"
"Boss, what happened to you…"
Even without using full strength, Goku's staff strike could shatter mountains and split rocks.
Seeing that Monster Carrot had taken one of his strikes and wasn't dead — hadn't even passed out — he was somewhat surprised.
"Not bad. You're the first guy who's taken one of my strikes and isn't dead! Looks like I need to finish the job!" He raised his Power Pole again.
Unexpectedly, Monster Carrot dropped to his knees, kowtowing and begging for mercy.
"I was wrong! I'll never do bad things again — spare me, boo hoo hoo…"
His two subordinates hesitated, then quickly followed suit, kowtowing to Goku and Bulma.
"We know we were wrong! We'll never do bad things again…"
Bulma stared at the scene, momentarily stunned. Then she put her hands on her hips and laughed, "Hee hee hee, I don't think you realize you were wrong — you realize you're about to die!"
〔 In your past life, you were too kind. Even though the Rabbit Mob committed many evil deeds, you didn't kill them in the end.
Your life has restarted. They're just scared — they haven't truly repented. Once you leave, they'll still terrorize others. 〕
〔 Mission: Eliminate the Rabbit Mob! 〕
〔 Reward: Battle Power +10 〕
Another 10 points of battle power. The system had returned to its usual straightforward style.
"Bulma, turn your head away!"
Bulma paused, then understood. She covered her eyes and turned her head. The next moment, a Kamehameha began to glow in Goku's hand.
"You're lucky you met me. If you'd met someone else, you might have lived!"
The three froze, then turned pale with shock.
Before they could react, Goku's Kamehameha blasted toward them. A white flash — and the three were reduced to ash. Even the street itself was blasted into a massive crater.
After the light faded, Bulma turned back, shocked, "Goku, was it really necessary to use that technique to kill them?"
Goku casually dusted off his hands, "I didn't want their blood to dirty the place, and I didn't want them to suffer. So I cremated them all at once."
Bulma's mouth twitched. Then she gave him a thumbs up, "Ha, you're really a living Buddha!"
"You flatter me, you flatter me!"
Bulma: "…"
The street vendors and shop owners saw that the Rabbit Mob had been obliterated. Instead of being afraid, they cheered.
By now, Bulma's car had been filled with gas, and all the fuel cans were topped off. To thank them, the gas station owner even refunded their money.
The two didn't linger. Bulma hit the gas and drove off with Goku.
〔 Mission completed! Rewarding the host immediately! 〕
The battle power increase was small, but given his current strength, this growth rate was already remarkable.
At low levels, you need to build carefully. Goku wasn't greedy — he was satisfied with this progress. He felt his power growing again and couldn't help but smile.
'Now my battle power is 78 points, almost catching up to Master Roshi! I can't even imagine how strong I'll be when I grow up if I keep doing missions like this.'
✩✩✩✩✩
The two headed straight for the last Dragon Ball's location.
As they passed through an area covered with giant mushrooms, a robot blocked their path. Inside sat a dog-headed figure — clearly Shu, one of the Pilaf Gang trio.
"Heh heh heh, got you. If you don't want to die, hand over the Dragon Balls now!"
Bulma blinked, then smiled mischievously, "Goku, beat him up for me!"
"You got it!"
Even piloting a mecha, Shu was no match for Goku. In just three and a half minutes, the machine was dismantled.
The Pilaf Gang were just clowns who hadn't done anything truly evil. So Goku didn't go too hard on them — just beat Shu until his face was black and blue.
Then he and Bulma left in high spirits.
Bulma drove, humming a tune, already planning with Goku what to do after collecting all the Dragon Balls and going home. She couldn't have been happier.
"Goku, once we gather all the Dragon Balls, come back to West City with me! Then I'll help you enroll in school, and we can go together…"
Hearing about school, Goku's mouth twitched, "School? I'd rather not! I'm not good at studying, and I have no foundation. I won't be able to keep up…"
Bulma smiled, "It's okay, I'll tutor you after school…"
Goku thought for a moment, "I can go back with you, but I don't want to go to school. How about I stay home to train while you're at school?"
Bulma considered it, "That works too. If my classmates found out my boyfriend is a little bean sprout, I'd be afraid they'd make fun of me…"
Goku: "…"
Bulma continued, "Then you better grow tall quickly, so you can pick me up from school. I want to show off in front of my classmates too…"
Can you control your own height?
Goku was speechless, "I'll try my best!"
Just then, a system mission flashed through his mind.
〔 In your previous life, you and Krillin were as close as brothers. Unfortunately, he was killed twice — once because his strength wasn't enough, and once because yours wasn't. Both times drove you to madness.
Your life has been restarted. In this life, cherish the time you train together with him. Train well, study well, rest well… Help him become stronger, and make yourself stronger too. 〕
〔 Mission: Head to Kame House as soon as possible to become a disciple! 〕
〔 Reward: 'Good Brother' Candies ×2 [After consuming the candy, training improvement speed increases by 50% for eight months. Shelf life: eight months. When someone other than the host consumes the candy, any Battle Power they gain during the candy's effective period simultaneously boosts the host.] 〕
Goku's eyes lit up.
As the description suggested, this candy was meant for Krillin. Getting two clearly meant one for the bald boy and one for himself. That meant his own training growth rate would increase by 50%, plus he'd gain an additional 1.5 times Krillin's battle power.
Kame House was a must-visit.
Having figured it out, Goku looked at Bulma and said, "Bulma, I've been thinking — after we find the Dragon Balls, I've decided not to go back with you just yet. I want to train with Master Roshi."
Bulma hit the brakes and stopped, looking at him with surprise.
"You want to train with Master Roshi?"
Goku nodded, "Yes, I must become stronger. I want to always have the ability to protect you when danger comes."
When Bulma heard he still wanted to train, she was initially reluctant. But when she heard that improving his strength was to protect her, a smile appeared on her face, "Alright then, after I'm back in West City, you can go to Kame House!"
Goku nodded, "Okay!"
Suddenly, he thought of something.
"By the way, Bulma, about the Dragon Ball wish — maybe we shouldn't wish for endless strawberries. I suddenly had an idea for a better wish."
Bulma looked at Goku curiously, "What wish?"
Goku said, "When I'm not around, I hope you can protect yourself too. So I want to use the Dragon Balls to wish for you to become stronger!"
Bulma blinked, "Make me stronger?"
A glint of interest immediately flashed in her eyes.
"If I could be as amazing as you, no one could bully me anymore. That would be pretty awesome, wouldn't it?"
Goku smiled, "The Dragon Balls can make people stronger, though there are probably limitations. But no matter how much it improves, I think it'll be enough for you to protect yourself. Plus, with some martial arts training, your figure will be even better."
Hearing that her figure would be even better, Bulma immediately got excited.
"That's great! Becoming stronger without having to train hard, and getting a better figure too — then it's decided!"
With that, she hit the gas and shot forward.
Goku had already started planning. After stealing Pilaf's Dragon Ball and making the wish, he'd ask them for a plane, take Bulma to West City, and then go to Kame House to train.
✩✩✩✩✩
In the distance, Mai saw what happened. She put down the binoculars and pulled out a phone to report to Pilaf.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, bad news. Shu couldn't steal the Dragon Balls even piloting the mecha. Instead, he got beaten up by them."
On the other end, Pilaf responded, "Even the mecha couldn't handle them. Looks like those two aren't pushovers. No wonder they could collect six Dragon Balls so quickly! Once they're gone, hurry and bring Shu back. Since they can find so many Dragon Balls, they must have a radar. We just need to set up a trap and wait for them to walk into it."
Mai said, "Worthy of Lord Pilaf — truly brilliant!"
Soon after, Bulma and Goku continued onward. Mai seized the opportunity to retrieve the black-and-blue Shu and flew back to their base in the mecha.
✩✩✩✩✩
When Shu saw Pilaf, he immediately apologized, "I'm truly very sorry, Lord Pilaf!"
Pilaf smiled, "It doesn't matter. The fact that you got beaten let me figure out their strength."
He pointed at the computer-like Dragon Ball radar.
"They're already heading our way. I've placed the Dragon Ball in the deepest part. If they come in looking for it, they'll definitely fall into my trap — with no escape."
Mai immediately shouted, "Reporting to Your Majesty, they're inside and following the arrows we drew for them!"
Pilaf couldn't help but smirk, "Are these two idiots? They'd fall for such an obvious scheme."
Moments later, the final wall dropped, and Goku and Bulma were locked in a sealed room.
Mai saw this through the surveillance and excitedly shouted, "Your Majesty, they're trapped!"
Shu glanced at the monitor and said with delight, "Worthy of Your Majesty! Once we gather the Dragon Balls, the whole world will fall into Your Majesty's hands."
Pilaf laughed, "Heh heh heh, I didn't expect it to be this quick. What a pleasant surprise."
✩✩✩✩✩
Goku, skilled and bold, brought Bulma to Pilaf's castle.
However, they reached a dead end. Just as they were about to turn around, a wall dropped behind them, blocking their path.
Bulma panicked, "Oh no, Goku, this is a trap!"
Goku remained completely calm, "Which direction is the Dragon Ball?"
Bulma checked the radar, then pointed at the stone wall, "It's straight ahead, but there's a dead end!"
Goku looked at the stone wall blocking their way. He stomped hard on the ground and charged at it.
Boom!
In an instant, the stone wall collapsed. A corridor appeared before them.
"Now there's a road, isn't there?"
There was no road under heaven, but when someone creates one, there is a road.