The woman had collapsed to the ground in terror. Once she realized she'd been rescued, she clutched her child tightly and wept, trembling.
The truck driver scrambled out of the cab, his face paler than paper.
But when he saw that Son Mirai, the woman, and the child were all unharmed, it was as if a tremendous weight had lifted from his shoulders.
Then he realized that this little kid had been the one to stop the truck.
He stared in shock as though he'd seen a monster, his expression changing spectacularly.
Seeing that Son Mirai was safe, Son Gohan breathed a sigh of relief and hurried over.
With a hint of reproach, he said, "Son Mirai, you... why did you have to stop the truck head-on? That was too dangerous!"
Son Goku chimed in, "Yeah, Son Mirai, you dummy. Why didn't you just carry them out of the way?"
Son Gohan agreed. "Exactly. Goku's right.
Getting them out of the way was the best solution. Don't take a risk like that again!"
The best solution?
Son Mirai looked up at the towering truck, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile.
In my previous life, I could accept losing to you!
But in this life, I'm no ordinary person. I'm a Saiyan who'll one day be able to blow up a planet with a single punch!
Why should I dodge?
You're the one who should back down!
In his previous life, this hunk of metal had crushed him. But in this life...
He'd won outright!
A wave of exhilaration surged through him.
In that moment, he felt that all these years of training had finally meant something.
But when he went to pick up the milk he'd been delivering, he found that the bottles had all shattered, spilling milk across the ground.
"Oh no, my milk!"
He'd only needed one last little push to complete his training for the day.
Was this where he had to stop today?
Son Mirai turned toward the mother and child and the driver, his eyes flashing with menace.
"You did this! Pay me back for the milk!"
The driver and the woman were speechless.
A few bottles of milk weren't worth much.
Gohan tried to decline a few times, but Son Mirai still accepted the money they offered as compensation.
Otherwise, he'd think about it when he got home and end up fretting.
Worrying that he hadn't completed his training for the day would damage his martial spirit.
He might be young, but he had principles.
Rescuing people was fine, but they couldn't get in the way of his own business.
And if they did, they had to compensate him.
Just like when he delivered milk—the dairy paid him wages. It was only right.
In the days that followed, they kept delivering milk.
By day, they crisscrossed every corner of the city. Neither of them had much time to take in the sights.
They kept at it until nightfall. Since they didn't have a Capsule House, they still had to hurry back to the mountain to sleep.
They were both usually full of energy, but they came home exhausted and collapsed straight into bed.
A few days later, Son Gohan had earned some money and finally had new clothes made for both boys.
After that, with no more financial worries, Gohan broadened their training program.
He had them work as laborers, carry bricks, tie themselves up near trees to dodge wasps, and escape from shark jaws. He started putting them through every kind of challenge.
Gohan felt that training the boys was going much more smoothly than it had with him and the Ox-King back in the day.
The two boys were nothing like other kids. They were always eager to train.
They didn't even mind being tired—they were simply hooked.
Aside from training with weights, their routine was practically a copy of Master Roshi's.
Partway through training, Son Mirai suddenly felt that something was off.
It wasn't that the training was tiring. He'd realized that he was training alongside Goku in Krillin's place.
Wasn't that a case of the weaker one being sacrificed in the future?
At the thought, Son Mirai pushed himself even harder.
But seeing Son Mirai work so hard, Goku was just as competitive and refused to fall behind.
That meant each boy tried to outdo the other, and they always finished their tasks within moments of each other.
Competition led to progress.
Son Mirai was confident that he had a little more brains than Goku and a more original understanding of training. He wouldn't lose to him.
As they continued training, both boys grew accustomed to the routine.
But Gohan didn't make them train with weights.
They were still young, and they had a long road ahead of them.
If they trained with weights too early, it might stunt their growth and make them less popular with girls.
Time flowed like a river. In the blink of an eye, another four years passed.
Goku hadn't changed much, but Son Mirai had hit an early growth spurt and was now as tall as an adult.
He had a handsome, sunny face, and years of training had given him a tall, strong build. He looked every bit the cheerful, handsome young man.
After Son Mirai grew so much taller than Goku, Goku got used to looking up at him.
He'd even asked his grandpa why he still hadn't grown.
Gohan was confused too. Son Mirai had shot up so much in just one year—it didn't seem normal.
But Son Mirai knew that this was how Saiyans developed. Once their bodies matured, it was perfectly normal for them to grow taller in a year.
He reassured Goku that he was just a late bloomer and would grow taller in a few years.
That put Goku at ease.
He was very competitive and didn't like being worse than Son Mirai. He didn't even like being shorter...
That day, Bulma finally arrived near Mount Paozu with the Dragon Radar.
She looked at the Radar, then at Mount Paozu to the west.
The neat rows of fields and the winding mountain road pointed the way for her.
"A little farther west!"
"With so many crops, someone must live up on that mountain."
She put away the Radar, floored the accelerator, and drove up the mountain.
"I'm about to get my third Dragon Ball! I'm so excited!"
"Once I've collected all the Dragon Balls, I'll wish for Shenron to give me a handsome boyfriend!"
As Bulma drove, she fantasized about the wonderful things she'd wish for. She was practically drooling.
But just as she got distracted, a short figure suddenly appeared in front of her car.
"Waaaah!"
Bulma shrieked and swerved, slamming on the brakes.
A moment later, the car stopped.
Bulma opened her eyes.
The car hadn't stopped because she'd hit the brakes.
Up ahead, a little boy grinned, holding up the front of her car with both hands.
A little kid had forced it to a stop.
What kind of kid could stop a car?
Bulma screamed again.
"Waaaah! A monster!"
As she cried out, she grabbed her pistol, leaned around the car window, and fired at Goku.
"Pew! Pew! Pew!"
Goku winced, immediately let go of the front of the car, and backed away a few steps, clutching his head.
"Ow!"
"That hurts!"
Then he struck a battle pose.
"What kind of sorcery is that?"
Bulma stared in shock at the smoking barrel, then looked at Son Goku.
Panicked, she exclaimed, "Ah! I clearly hit you. Why aren't you dead?"
Son Goku immediately replied, "Are you kidding?
I'm so strong. How could I die that easily?"
As he spoke, Goku pulled out the Power Pole and pointed it at Bulma.
"Monster, don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a girl!
You used sorcery to hit me. I'll show you what I'll do to you!"
Just then, Son Mirai's voice rang out from a distance.
"Goku, stop!"
Goku stayed in his fighting stance, wary that Bulma might shoot again.
But he glanced toward Son Mirai and said, "Son Mirai, don't interrupt me.
She's a monster. She's my enemy..."
Son Mirai immediately scoffed. "Hmph! What enemy? She's just a girl."
"You don't understand. She uses sorcery, and my head still hurts!"
As he spoke, Goku touched the marks from the bullets on his head.
Son Mirai shook his head. "Dummy, that wasn't sorcery. It was a pistol..."
While the two were still talking, Bulma spotted Son Mirai, and her eyes lit up.
She flung open the car door and practically sprang out.
She clasped her hands over her chest, then introduced herself with an expectant look:
"Hello, handsome. My name is Bulma. Do you have a girlfriend?"
Son Mirai looked at Bulma, taken aback.
He was used to the mature, reliable Bulma from later on and had nearly forgotten that, early on, she'd been a lovestruck girl.
When Bulma noticed Son Mirai looking her over, she thrust out her proud chest.
"I forgot to tell you: I'm the second daughter of Capsule Corp, and I have a perfect figure—98-56-88!"
Before you continue