Marriage

Looking at Goku's face, so purely clueless, the girl finally couldn't hold it in anymore.

She stabbed her sword hard into the ground, letting out a frustrated roar.

"You heartless man! Beat me, and I'll tell you!"

"Really?"

Goku's spirits lifted. He reset his fighting stance, his eyes turning a little more serious.

Before Chi-Chi could react, Goku's figure vanished in an instant.

"So fast!"

Chi-Chi only felt a fierce gale rushing toward her. This time, Goku didn't dodge.

He appeared in front of her, not throwing a punch, but using the immense air pressure from his extreme speed to gently sweep a palm toward her.

"Whoosh..."

A soft yet irresistible wave of air lifted Chi-Chi straight up.

The palm strike was perfectly controlled—it decided the match without any killing force.

"Ah!"

Chi-Chi yelped as her body floated lightly off the Arena, landing like a feather on the grass, not even a strand of hair out of place.

"Out of bounds! The winner is—Goku!"

The announcer screamed at the top of his lungs, as if he'd just witnessed a battle for the ages, his voice nearly hoarse.

Goku stood at the edge of the Arena, grinning and waving at Chi-Chi below.

"Hehe, I won! Now you can tell me!"

Chi-Chi sat on the grass, looking up at that sunny boy on the stage. The disappointment of losing the match instantly melted away.

She stood up, brushed the grass clippings off her skirt, and slowly rose to her feet, a shy smile spreading across her face.

"I'm the Ox-King's daughter, Chi-Chi! Do you remember now?"

After saying that, she looked at Goku with hopeful eyes, her heart pounding with tension.

"Chi-Chi?"

Goku blinked his big eyes, tilted his head, and rolled the name around in his mouth.

His expression shifted from confusion to bewilderment, then a faint glimmer of recognition.

Suddenly, a door of memory deep in his mind swung open.

The scene flashed back to long ago, that scorching afternoon at the foot of Flame Mountain.

That strange little girl in odd armor, with darts on her head, riding the Flying Nimbus, who he'd kicked once, and later shyly tugged at his sleeve.

"Oh! I remember now!"

Goku slammed his right fist into his left palm with a crisp, enlightened smack, breaking into his trademark goofy grin.

"You're that... that that... Uncle Ox-King's daughter! Little Chi-Chi from back then!"

"Wow, you've gotten so tall now, I didn't recognize you at all!"

Hearing Goku finally call her name, Chi-Chi's tense face instantly relaxed.

She retrieved her sword from the ground and slung it on her back, two rosy blushes quickly spreading across her cheeks as she shyly twisted her fingers.

Her usual feistiness melted into a maiden's bashfulness.

She lowered her head, drawing circles on the ground with her toe, her voice turning soft.

"Finally... finally remembered?"

Chi-Chi lifted her eyes and gazed at Goku with tender affection.

"Then do you remember... the promise we made when we crossed the river?"

"Promise?"

Goku stalled again, his eyes turning clear and clueless once more.

The tens of thousands of spectators in the arena held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

This was the climax of the year's biggest drama!

What kind of promise could make this beautiful girl wait so many years?

"It's..."

Chi-Chi's voice became as faint as a mosquito's buzz, her face red as a ripe tomato, even steam starting to rise from her head.

"You said, when we grew up..."

"You'd come and marry me as your bride!!!"

"BOOM!!!"

Those words hit like a bomb, instantly detonating the entire crowd.

Bulma in the audience was so shocked that she crushed the drink in her hand, splashing it all over Yamcha beside her.

Her eyes wide, she screamed in disbelief.

"The bride?!"

"That Goku kid... he actually had a fiancée all along?!"

"And she's such a pretty girl?!"

Yamcha was even more stunned, his jaw practically hitting the floor, his whole body frozen like stone.

"This... is this the same Goku I know who couldn't even tell boys from girls?!"

"He's basically a winner in life! I've lost, I've completely lost! Why hasn't anyone waited for me all these years?!"

Only Goku remained utterly clueless.

He scratched his cheek and asked a question that floored the entire audience, one for the history books:

"A bride? What's that? Is it good to eat?"

The Referee was staring at Goku in shock too, like he was an alien.

Chi-Chi froze, the tears she'd just held back threatening to fall again.

"You... you don't know what a bride is? Then why did you agree back then?"

"I thought it was some kind of tasty food!"

Goku answered matter-of-factly, his eyes so sincere no one could doubt him.

"It sounded crunchy, like it'd be delicious. I was really hungry back then, you know!"

"I figured since you were offering me something to eat, I'd just say yes!"

The whole audience collapsed.

No one had the energy to complain anymore—this kid's brain worked on a whole different dimension.

Those who'd been calling him a scumbag just moments ago now only saw him as genuinely dumb, dumb in a way that was both endearing and infuriating.