The Poor Krillin

Son Goku and Son Mirai held off the Red Ribbon Army while Bulma and Krillin ventured deeper into the cave.

After walking a short distance, they came to a brightly lit corridor. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of white concrete, and riddled with neatly arranged holes.

The sight of this man-made corridor made Bulma uneasy.

"There's something strange about this passage. It looks like it must be full of traps."

Krillin, confident in his abilities, laughed. "It's fine, it's fine..."

As he spoke, he started down the corridor.

The moment he took his first step inside, an arrow shot out of a hole in the wall.

By sheer luck, it flew right over Krillin's head.

A chill ran through him, and sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Whoa! That scared me to death!"

Bulma cried out in alarm. "See? I told you there were traps here..."

Krillin wiped away his sweat and asked, "So what should we do?"

Bulma thought for a moment. "The Dragon Ball is farther ahead. We have to get through this corridor to reach it.

"They clearly set up these traps to keep thieves out.

"From what I can tell, they must have a safe route for their own people.

"But it wouldn't be out in the open. It has to be hidden somewhere..."

Krillin nodded in approval. "As expected of a scientist. You've got a good head on your shoulders!"

"Of course!" Bulma said with a smug smile.

"All right, let's look carefully for the safe route..."

The two of them began searching.

A moment later, Son Mirai and Goku arrived.

Krillin exclaimed in delight, "Goku, Son Mirai! You made it!"

Goku nodded. "Yeah. Son Mirai killed the Red Ribbon Army's leader, and the others all ran away..."

Son Mirai asked, "Were you two waiting here for us?"

Krillin quickly explained, "No. This corridor is full of traps.

"If you step on those round holes, arrows shoot out. Bulma and I have been looking for a safe route."

Son Mirai remembered that there was indeed a secret passage here. General Blue had used it to get through.

He began searching carefully.

"We've been looking for ages, but we haven't found anything..." Krillin said.

Goku was impatient. He glanced at the short white corridor and asked, "It's so short. Why don't we just jump over it?"

"Jump over it? Are you kidding?" Bulma said with disdain.

But Goku didn't hesitate for a second. "I'm jumping!"

He took a running start and leaped forward with all his strength.

He soared more than twenty meters and landed safely at the other end of the corridor.

Bulma was stunned. "Whoa, you scared me! You really made it across. That had to be more than twenty meters!"

Once he had jumped across, Goku immediately turned and waved to them. "You guys can jump over too..."

Bulma stared at him in disbelief. "Are you kidding? Not everyone has your kind of abilities!"

Goku said, "You can't jump? You're useless..."

Bulma: "..."

"Bulma, wait a moment," Son Mirai said. "It's too dangerous for you. I'll find the secret passage, and then we'll go through that..."

Bulma's eyes grew moist. "You really know how to take care of me!

"Going on adventures with those two is awful. They practically don't even treat me like a person. Boohoo..."

Seeing Goku jump across, Krillin silently clenched his fists.

"If Goku can do it, I should be able to, too. I'm jumping..."

Krillin took a few steps back, then sprinted and leaped.

Unfortunately, he jumped too high and smacked right into the ceiling.

Two arrows shot through him, piercing his butt.

Fortunately, his leap carried him across on momentum alone. Even with his injured butt, Krillin still made it to the other side.

"Whoa! It hurts! It hurts so much..."

Goku was shocked. "Krillin, are you okay...

"Quick, take off your pants..."

Goku pulled off Krillin's pants and took a look.

"Whoa, Krillin! The arrows have pinned your cheeks together. That must hurt a lot!"

As he spoke, Goku touched the arrows, trying to see if he could pull them out.

The touch sent a sharp pain through Krillin. His hair stood on end, and snot, tears, and sweat streamed down his face.

"Ah! It hurts so much! Don't, don't touch me, Goku..."

Goku scratched his head and said sympathetically, "Poor Krillin.

"Your butt's hurt. You need to go back and get bandaged up and have a shot..."

Krillin gave a bitter smile. "Well, I guess I was lucky. I only hurt my butt!

"If the arrows had hit somewhere vital, I would've been done for. That was way too close..."

Son Goku nodded. "Yeah, you almost died.

"But I have to pull the arrows out before you can walk, right?"

Krillin's mouth twitched. "P-pull them straight out?

"They have barbs. If you yank them out, they'll tear out a lot of flesh. The pain would kill me."

Goku scratched his head. "But are you going to keep walking with arrows stuck in you? That'd be really inconvenient, wouldn't it?"

Hearing their ridiculous conversation from the other end of the corridor, Bulma immediately shouted, "Don't mess with him, Goku! Making the injury worse will only make things more serious.

"I have a first-aid kit in my Capsule. Once I get over there, I can treat him..."

When Krillin heard that Bulma had brought a first-aid kit, tears and snot streamed down his face.

"That's great! I'm so glad you came, Bulma..."

Bulma put her hands on her hips. "Hmph! Who was just complaining about me? Now you know how useful I am, don't you..."

Just then, Son Mirai found a red switch and pressed it without a second thought.

The mechanism rumbled, and a stone wall rose, revealing a short, safe path.

Son Mirai exclaimed, "So there is a secret passage! I found it..."

Bulma smiled, too. "Thank goodness! Now I don't have to risk jumping over!"

She waved to Goku and Krillin. "Wait for us over there. We'll go around and meet you."

The two of them nodded.

Son Mirai and Bulma took the safe passage and joined Krillin and Goku at the other end of the corridor.

Goku was too rough and had no idea how to be gentle. Krillin was a child, and his injury was on his butt, while Bulma was a girl, so it wasn't appropriate for her to treat him.

Son Mirai had learned first aid in elementary school, and now it came in handy.

So Son Mirai took Bulma's first-aid kit and helped Krillin pull out the arrows, disinfect the wounds, and bandage them.

After the whole process, Krillin's complexion had improved considerably.

Son Mirai packed up the first-aid kit and patted Krillin on the butt.

"All done!"

The pat made Krillin break out in a cold sweat again.

"Whoa! It finally stopped hurting. Don't pat me! Are you doing that on purpose..."

Goku looked at the bandage on Krillin's butt, then turned to Son Mirai.

"Son Mirai, when did you learn how to bandage people? You even tied a bow..."

Son Mirai: "..."

Hearing that the bandaging was finished, Bulma turned around, too.

"What's so special about tying a bow? Every shoe with laces has a bow, doesn't it?"

Goku thought about it, then nodded. "Oh, right. I forgot.

"When we were little, Son Mirai even helped me tie my shoes..."

Son Mirai said helplessly, "Who else was as helpless as you were when you were little? You couldn't even put on your shoes without Grandpa helping..."

Leaning on Goku's Power Pole, Krillin stood up and said to him, "Goku, carry me from here on.

"My butt hurts. I really can't walk..."

Goku didn't hesitate at all. He bent down and said, "Come on, I'm ready!"

Just then, Son Mirai suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Oh, man! How could I forget?

"I've already climbed Korin Tower, so I've got a Senzu Bean on me..."