"Goku, are you still going to compete with Soro?" Krillin asked with an awkward smile, spreading his hands. "By the way, we still don't know your actual battle power, Soro. The Scouter says 1,000, but your real battle power can't possibly be that low, right?"
"My battle power isn't all that high, either." Soro let out a long sigh and shook his head. "It's only 50,000."
Krillin's jaw nearly hit the floor, and his eyes bulged like bells.
Son Goku's smile froze on his face, his mouth hanging open.
Piccolo's pupils contracted sharply, and his body stiffened.
Son Gohan's mouth fell open, and he covered it with his little hands.
Korin's tail puffed up.
Master Roshi's Sunglasses slid down to the tip of his nose.
The restaurant fell silent for several seconds.
Everyone present was completely dumbfounded, feeling utterly numb.
Your battle power is 50,000, and you still say it isn't all that high.
Krillin's mouth twitched as he silently did the math.
My battle power is only a little over 2,000.
50,000!
That's more than twenty times mine.
Krillin lowered his head and stared at his hands, turning his palms over and over in silence for a long while.
No wonder Vegeta couldn't make even the slightest ripple in front of you.
So the difference in battle power is really that huge?
Piccolo took a deep breath, folded his arms, and lightly tapped his knuckles against his arm twice.
At least Soro wasn't a bad person.
If he were, Earth would probably be facing utter destruction.
Piccolo's gaze lingered on Soro's back for a moment before quickly shifting away.
"Battle power of 50,000." Son Goku's eyes shone, and his pupils looked as though two flames were burning within them. "That's incredible!"
He exclaimed several times in a row, his voice brimming with barely contained excitement.
"Want to keep going?" Soro smiled and withdrew the hand he'd been resting on Son Gohan's head.
"I'm done!" Son Goku immediately gave up, waving both hands in front of himself.
Son Goku knew full well that even if he used the overtaxing Kaioken, he'd still be far behind Soro.
Would I need the sevenfold Kaioken... to beat Soro?
If he used the sevenfold Kaioken, Son Goku felt he might just explode and die on the spot.
He scratched his head and gave a dry laugh, a hint of bitterness in it.
"But..." Bulma asked curiously, tilting her head and tapping her chin with a finger. "Why does the Scouter only show your battle power as 1,000?"
"It's just a little trick to make your opponent underestimate you." Soro smiled, his tone casual.
After dinner, the sun had quietly set.
Son Goku and the others headed home, each going their own way.
Soro stayed at Bulma's house.
That evening, with Bulma accompanying him, Soro took the time to enjoy the beautiful sights of West City, a great metropolis.
Neon lights along the streets flashed in every color, while traffic streamed past and crowds filled the sidewalks.
Soro bought one of everything that Atlantis Planet didn't have.
After all, Bulma's family was the richest in the world, and the things he bought weren't particularly expensive—mostly seeds and the like.
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, chili peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, watermelons...
He bought several packets of every kind of seed.
While they were at it, Soro also bought all sorts of clothes for the hundred cat-eared beauties back home.
Dresses, miniskirts, jeans, shirts, jackets...
"Why are you buying so many women's clothes?" Bulma finally couldn't hold back and asked, baffled.
"The natives of Atlantis Planet are a race that looks like cat people." Soro explained with a smile, holding up a floral dress to examine it. "They have cat ears and tails, but their faces aren't much different from humans'."
He put the dress back in the shopping cart.
"I'm basically a god on that planet, so I'm buying some clothes to take back for my people."
"Wait..." Bulma asked in surprise, her eyes widening. "Are all the cat people on that planet women?"
"Yes." Soro nodded, his tone calm. "There are no men."
Bulma opened her mouth, unable to quite process that.
Her lips moved a few times, then closed again.
The whole planet is made up of women?
There isn't a single man there?
An image began to form in her mind.
Soro surrounded by a crowd of cat-eared beauties.
"Can you imagine..." Soro's voice grew low as he sighed heavily, his brow furrowed. "What happens to a man who ends up in a crowd of women?"
He paused, then clenched both fists tightly.
"They're terrifying! Absolutely terrifying!"
Bulma's mouth twitched. She gave a strained smile, at a loss for words.
Her gaze lingered on Soro's face for two seconds, and she pressed her lips together.
Soro did seem rather pitiful.
"Wait a minute..." Bulma asked, puzzled, tilting her head. "If the whole planet is made up of women, how do they have children?"
"There's a strange fruit on the planet called the Life Fruit," Soro replied. "Eat one, and you can get pregnant and give birth to the next generation."
"Huh?" Bulma stared at Soro with wide eyes, her pupils widening slightly. "Did you eat one?"
"I have." Soro answered honestly, his tone even. "But it didn't work on me."
Soro really had eaten a Life Fruit, though it had been by accident.
He'd been terrified at the time, thinking he might get pregnant and have a baby.
Fortunately, what he'd feared never happened.
"By the way." Soro smiled and turned to Bulma. "I happen to have brought some Life Fruit. Want to try one? It's on my spaceship."
"Huh?" Bulma cried out, her face changing color as she stopped in her tracks. "On your spaceship?"
She hurriedly asked, her voice rising. "Is it a fruit that looks like an apple?"
"Yes." Soro nodded.
"I... I-I..." Bulma hurriedly covered her belly, crossing her hands over her abdomen, utterly terrified.
"What's wrong?" Soro asked, taken aback.
"I... I ate it!" Bulma looked close to tears, her eyes reddening.
I'm still an unmarried girl!
Could I be pregnant?
Soro: "..."
Soro's mouth twitched, and his eyes widened slightly.
"I thought it was a fruit my dad had left there." Bulma gave an awkward, helpless gesture with both hands in front of her. "I thought it tasted kind of strange, sweeter and more delicious than an ordinary apple."
She took a deep breath.
"I was even thinking of asking my dad to buy more of those fruits! So it was a Life Fruit from your planet..."
"Well..." Soro sighed and rubbed his chin. "This could be a bit of a problem."
"How long does pregnancy take?" Bulma panicked and hurriedly asked, leaning forward slightly.
"It seems to be about the same as here on Earth." Soro's mouth twitched. "Ten months, just like here."
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