Searching for the Dragon Ball Again

Two days had passed since the last high-intensity training session. Krillin was now holding the Dragon Radar, which beeped steadily. Seven glowing dots flickered across the radar's grid surface—these marked the current locations of the Dragon Balls.

Krillin had already packed the Gravity Training Room into a Hoi-Poi Capsule, ready to set off. He muttered to himself with a hint of anticipation.

Krillin studied the Dragon Radar. From its display, he could see the Dragon Balls were scattered across the world. The closest one was still over a thousand kilometers away. As for the direction? Well, wasn't that toward Goku's place? Goku seemed to have a Four-Star Ball. Fine, he'd save that one for last and go find the other six first.

Aside from the one at Goku's house now, the nearest was Marsta. Marsta was roughly equivalent to the Alaska region of his past life's Earth—an extreme northern land covered in snow and ice year-round, with hardly any human presence.

Damn, it's freezing! Krillin grumbled as he looked at the icy wasteland, snowflakes falling thick and fast from the sky.

The temperature here had to be well below minus one hundred degrees. What kind of karma was this? Krillin was the type who hated cold but could handle heat. He slowly flew over the snow, following the Dragon Radar's signal...

Beep, beep, beep. The radar showed it was nearby, but all Krillin could see was endless white snow... The snow was so thick the Dragon Ball had to be buried beneath it. Krillin gathered his Ki, and in an instant, a vortex formed around him, sending snow flying wildly into the air. As he looked at what lay under the snow, he couldn't help but tear up: "This ice layer has to have been frozen for at least ten years!"

With no other choice, Krillin opened a small hole in the ice. He stripped off his clothes, ready to go into the water. He tested the temperature—it was bone-chillingly cold, piercing straight to the marrow. Krillin released his Ki to wrap around himself. Heh, that's the Martial Way for you.

Krillin swam downward. The ice layer wasn't that deep, only about a hundred meters. The icy water was pure and transparent, showing no color. Before long, he reached the bottom. Sunlight pierced through the ice and refracted through the water, making the Dragon Ball embedded in the frozen soil flash brilliantly. Krillin swam faster. As he got closer, he saw five stars twinkling inside the ball. Haha, the Five-Star Ball.

After grabbing the Dragon Ball, Krillin shot straight out of the ice like a rocket, bursting forth from the frozen layer...

Krillin now walked alone through a subtropical rainforest. Looking at all the strange and exotic plants, he couldn't help but think of Bear Grylls. In one month, Krillin had crossed an ice field, wandered through a desert, wrestled dinosaurs, and danced with wolves, leaving footprints all over the world—a real-life version of a wilderness survival show.

Ha... Krillin jumped onto a tree. This rainforest tree was over thirty meters in diameter and more than a hundred and fifty meters tall. An ancient giant like this was probably unmatched. Krillin lightly leaped and retrieved the Dragon Ball from the canopy. Inside, only one star flickered. Ha, the One-Star Ball! Krillin was overjoyed—he'd found six. Now only the Four-Star Ball in Goku's hands remained.

Krillin flew toward Mount Paozu.

"Goku! Goku!" Krillin shouted loudly as he arrived at Goku's doorstep.

Chi-Chi walked out slowly, her belly protruding, and smiled: "Oh, it's Uncle Krillin. Goku is training in the back mountain."

Krillin looked at Chi-Chi. Her belly was slightly rounded, quite noticeable. "When I think about it, I've been in the Dragon Ball World for almost half a year now. Time really is worthless," Krillin thought to himself.

Still, Krillin said to Chi-Chi: "Goku really is something. He's about to become a father, and all he knows is training. He doesn't stay home with his child. Chi-Chi, let me help you inside."

Chi-Chi gazed tenderly at her belly, her eyes full of maternal love. She reached out and gently touched her stomach, as if filled with anticipation.

Krillin stepped forward and slowly helped Chi-Chi walk toward the house.

Chi-Chi smiled and made excuses for Goku.

If it were an ordinary person, Krillin might have believed it, but with Goku... heh.

"I'll go find Goku," Krillin said to Chi-Chi.

Krillin flew to the back mountain. Goku was doing push-ups with one finger on the ground. Sensing Krillin's Ki, his eyes lit up. Since getting married, Goku hadn't fought anyone. The last spar with Krillin didn't count.

Seeing Krillin, Goku felt an overwhelming excitement. Finally, a training partner... Goku flashed toward Krillin, attacking with an elbow strike, but it hit nothing but air.

To Krillin, Goku's movements were extremely slow and full of openings. Krillin shifted his position slightly and easily dodged Goku's powerful blow.

Krillin spun around and landed a roundhouse kick squarely on Goku's shoulder.

Before Goku could even see Krillin's technique, he was sent flying backward.

Goku lay on the ground with a pained expression: "Aiya! Pain! Pain!"

Seeing Goku fly back, Krillin hurried over and awkwardly rubbed his head: "Sorry, Goku! I just kicked on reflex..."

Krillin slowly helped Goku up, muttering: "Goku, seriously, instead of staying home to take care of Chi-Chi, you're out here messing around. You know you're about to be a father, and you're still acting like a... (100 words omitted here)."

Goku looked at Krillin with an embarrassed grin: "Hehe, I know. But Krillin, your Ki has gotten so strong. I'm so excited."

Krillin broke out in a cold sweat...

"Oh, right, Goku. What about the Four-Star Ball Grandpa Gohan left you? Let me use it. I want to ask Shenron for a favor."

"Oh, it's at home."

Goku fetched the Four-Star Ball from the house and casually handed it to Krillin. Krillin looked at it, his heart leaping with joy: "A month of hard work, and today I've finally gathered them all."

Krillin dumped the remaining six Dragon Balls from his backpack. The seven Dragon Balls gathered together and began to glow. The thrilling moment had arrived. Krillin raised both hands, palms up, and shouted loudly: "Come forth! Shenron!" The theme music kicked in.

The seven Dragon Balls flickered faster and faster. Huge dark clouds rolled in from the sky, covering the entire heavens. The surroundings instantly grew dim.

"Boom! Crack!" The clouds wrapped around lightning, which illuminated the earth, darting recklessly through the clouds as if about to pour down on the ground at any moment.

The Dragon Balls' light grew even more dazzling, as if resonating with the lightning in the sky...

"Shenron, Shenron is about to appear!" Krillin's heart pounded with excitement. The dragon, a mysterious creature, had always lived in Chinese legends, and today he was about to see one with his own eyes. His heart surged, and for a moment, he couldn't contain himself.

"Roar!!" A dragon's cry rang out.

Golden light surged from the Dragon Balls, winding its way toward the sky, gradually merging with the sea of clouds above. Another dragon's cry echoed.

In the sky, amidst the endless dark clouds, the green body of Shenron appeared. Its eyes glowed fiery red as it looked down at Krillin and Goku below:

"State your wish! Any wish I can grant, but only one..."

"Shenron, please build me a space suitable for growing special organisms, like Senzu Beans, Spirit Fruits..."

"Human, I need a spatial vessel. My power is limited; I cannot directly open a space on your body."

"I see." Krillin thought for a moment. "Then what about this?" He pulled out a space capsule. This should count as a spatial vessel.

Shenron said calmly, "It will do. As you wish." Its eyes flashed red once.

"Done. Your wish has been granted. I have built a special growing environment for you. My divine power is imbued upon it. This space can absorb free-floating special energy anytime, anywhere to replenish itself. It should now be able to grow the organisms you mentioned. You can also adjust the energy density to affect crop yield," Shenron said in a human-like tone.

"If you want to open up space, you'll need to find an even higher-level Shenron. Well then, farewell!" Shenron seemed to see something extraordinary in Krillin, and specially reminded him before leaving.

With that, Shenron transformed into seven Dragon Balls, circled the sky once, and prepared to scatter across the world.

Krillin waited for the right moment, leaped up and grabbed toward the Four-Star Ball about to fly away, snatching it firmly in his hand. He returned to the ground and handed the Four-Star Ball to Goku: "Sorry, Goku, the Four-Star Ball will need a year before it returns to normal."

Goku smiled and said it was no problem.

Only then did Krillin burst into hearty laughter, carefully examining the space he had named the "Senzu Bean Plantation."