Activate Dragon Balls, Cell's Clue

"Mr. Popo, please look after me from now on."

As a newcomer, Dende did not dare to address him by name, instead showing respect by calling him Mr. Popo.

"Lord Kami, please follow me. I shall take you to inherit the position of Kami."

"Mr. Gohan, please wait here for a moment."

Mr. Popo said.

"Mm, alright." Son Gohan and the others nodded.

After speaking, Mr. Popo led Dende into the inner sanctum to perform the inheritance.

Only Son Gohan, Bulma, and Trunks remained on the plaza of Kami's Lookout.

Son Gohan spoke up to ask about Cell: "Have you found Dr. Gero's laboratory yet?"

Hearing this question, Trunks, who had been reaching out to touch Son Gohan's tail, stopped his hand in mid-air.

Bulma replied:

"Not yet. Dr. Gero is truly a remnant of the Red Ribbon Army; his counter-surveillance measures are extremely sophisticated."

"I've scoured the internet for a massive amount of data on the Red Ribbon Army and Dr. Gero, and I've hypothesized many locations where he might have built a secret laboratory, but I haven't found a single one."

"Later, I even offered a large reward for leads, but very few people provided any useful information."

Son Gohan asked: "Was there any helpful news?"

Bulma said: "Yes, I've filtered out a few leads and am currently investigating them one by one."

"Mm, good. Let's finish checking those leads first. If we really can't find it, we can just ask Shenron for help," Son Gohan nodded.

"Mm." Bulma nodded.

Trunks could not suppress his curiosity and asked: "Brother Gohan, is Shenron really that magical? Is that how your arm grew back—with Shenron's help?"

Trunks had often heard legends about Shenron, but he had never seen the Dragon Balls or Shenron himself, so his curiosity had reached its peak.

Son Gohan said: "Yes, my arm was indeed restored by Shenron. Within the scope of its power, Shenron can grant the vast majority of wishes."

Trunks continued to ask curiously: "Then what is the scope of Shenron's power? And how 'vast' is this majority?"

Son Gohan gave Trunks a serious look, feeling that the boy had the potential to be a contrarian.

What kind of things were filling the mind of a 13-year-old boy?

Son Gohan said: "That's hard to explain, but it's best not to make any bizarre or outrageous wishes."

"Is that so? Mom." Trunks looked toward Bulma.

"Mm, more or less." Bulma nodded.

As the three of them talked, about ten minutes passed.

Mr. Popo walked out of the inner sanctum with Dende.

At this moment, compared to before, Dende was wearing a cape.

His entire aura had also become much more composed.

"Is the inheritance finished already?" Son Gohan asked.

Mr. Popo replied: "Yes, it is actually a very simple ceremony that doesn't take much time. Lord Kami's natural talent is also a factor."

"How about that? I told you, Dende, you are perfectly capable of handling the position of Kami," Son Gohan laughed.

Dende scratched his head in embarrassment, showing not a shred of the dignity expected of a Kami.

Son Gohan continued: "Since that's the case, Dende, when can you start activating the Dragon Balls?"

"I can do it now," Dende said.

He then looked at Mr. Popo and said: "Mr. Popo, can you find a model of Shenron? Please help me find one; I need a model of Shenron as a medium to activate the Dragon Balls."

Mr. Popo said: "Oh, certainly. I once carved a model of Shenron when I was bored; it's in the inner sanctum now. I never expected it to come in handy."

"Wait just a moment."

As he spoke, he turned and ran into the inner sanctum.

After a short while, he returned carrying a wooden carving of Shenron.

"Kami, will this do?" Mr. Popo held the carving up in front of Dende.

The carving he held was lifelike, perfectly capturing the image of the eastern dragon, Shenron.

This was a model Mr. Popo had carved based on Shenron's appearance during his spare time.

"Of course it will. Mr. Popo, please place it on the ground," Dende instructed.

"Yes, Lord Kami." Mr. Popo nodded respectfully and then carefully placed the wooden Shenron on the ground nearby.

Dende walked over to the carving and crouched down.

The others, including Son Gohan, had never seen such a scene before, and their faces were filled with curiosity.

They remained silent, staring at Dende and the wooden Shenron without even blinking.

Dende placed his hands over the wooden carving, chanting in an obscure, difficult-to-understand language—or perhaps it was an incantation.

This language was neither the universal tongue of the universe nor the native language of Namek.

It belonged to the Dragon Clan.

It was said to be a miraculous incantation left behind in this world by the Dragon God Zalama.

It was truly wondrous.

As Dende's chanting grew faster, his hands were veiled in a faint golden glow.

The golden light grew increasingly dense, eventually enveloping the model of Shenron as well.

Immediately afterward, a blinding radiance erupted.

It was as if a miniature sun had exploded before their eyes, forcing everyone to squint.

Just as the light reached its peak, a thick pillar of golden light shot into the sky, then split into seven meteors that streaked away into the distance.

The group looked up at the sky, watching the pillar of light until it vanished completely.

When they finally looked back down, they found that the wooden Shenron carving in front of Dende had disappeared.

Dende wiped a light sheen of sweat from his forehead, stood up, and said, "It is done. The Dragon Balls have been activated. Now, we only need to gather all seven to make our wishes."

"What about the wishes? How many can we make?" Son Gohan asked.

Dende replied, "I modeled them after Porunga of Namek, so they can also grant three wishes. However, their power is slightly weaker than Porunga's, as Grand Elder Moori is a more accomplished member of the Dragon Clan than I am."

Son Gohan laughed heartily, patted Dende on the shoulder, and said, "Haha, this is already amazing. Thank you, Dende."

"You're welcome," Dende said.

A short while later, Son Gohan and the others said their goodbyes and returned to West City.

In West City, at Bulma's home.

Bulma was busy calibrating the Dragon Radar.

Having not used it for over a decade, the device had developed some minor glitches and required recalibration to function properly.

Son Gohan and Trunks stood by, watching.

Trunks stared at the Dragon Radar, his face full of excitement, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Looking at Trunks's comical expression, Son Gohan couldn't help but tease him:

"Trunks, are you holding in your pee? Don't hold it in, just go."

Trunks blushed. "I am not!"

He then quickly added, "Brother Gohan, please leave the task of collecting the Dragon Balls to me. Don't compete with me for it, okay?"

"Uh, sure, I won't compete with you."

"Good, it's a deal. No backing out!" Trunks raised his hand, wanting to seal the promise with a high-five.

Son Gohan helplessly slapped his hand against his.

It was just collecting Dragon Balls; what was there to compete over?

Since Trunks was so eager, he might as well let him go.

"Finally fixed." Bulma held up the Dragon Radar.

"Here, take it, Trunks." She handed the device to him.

Trunks took the Dragon Radar and shivered, as if he had been struck by an electric shock.

"I, I'm off then." His breathing was ragged.

"Go on, hurry back," Bulma couldn't help but smile.

"Mm-hmm." Trunks nodded, clutched the Dragon Radar, and bolted from the house with lightning speed.

Is this kid made entirely of curiosity? Son Gohan thought to himself as he watched the direction Trunks had vanished in.

At that moment, Bulma said, "Gohan, come here. I want to show you some clues I've gathered."

"Oh, right, coming."