However.
Son Goku still had no idea he'd said the wrong thing. Looking puzzled, he asked, "Huh? Gohan, did I say something wrong again?"
"But I don't think... I said anything wrong?"
Seeing his completely innocent expression, everyone fell silent for two seconds.
The next moment, everyone present except the three members of the Son family and Vegeta burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha!"
An hour and a half later.
Riding along with Son Goku, Tarble successfully arrived on New Namek.
Of course.
During that hour and a half, Tarble successfully bound Son Goku, bringing his remaining binding slots back down to zero.
He also gained a new skill: Dragon Fist Explosion.
His total number of bound people was now: 6.
His training multiplier was: 7x.
The next time he entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, his training speed would increase by another 1x.
Back to the matter at hand.
The Namekians naturally welcomed Son Goku with open arms.
But they weren't nearly as friendly toward Vegeta.
When Frieza had invaded old Planet Namek to seize the Namekian Dragon Balls, Vegeta had personally slaughtered an entire village of Namekians.
For that very reason, Vegeta knew better than to come along.
He had only asked Tarble to make a wish to the Dragon God on his behalf, asking for his tail to grow back.
As for himself, he had volunteered to prepare more food.
Tarble naturally had no reason to refuse such a small favor.
"Grand Elder Muri, thank you very much for lending us the Dragon Balls!" Son Goku said sincerely, looking at the seven basketball-sized Dragon Balls held by the seven Namekians behind Muri.
His excitement and anticipation were impossible to hide.
Muri was the current Grand Elder of the Namekians.
After Frieza invaded Planet Namek all those years ago, the previous Grand Elder had also reached the end of his life, so the position had passed to Muri.
"Please, Mr. Goku, there's no need to thank us. You're a great benefactor who saved us Namekians. What's the harm in lending you the Dragon Balls?"
"If it weren't for you, Mr. Goku, we wouldn't still be alive and well here."
"From now on, whenever you want to use the Dragon Balls, you're welcome to come at any time."
"However, if we ever need your help, we hope you'll lend us a hand."
The kindhearted Namekians had a clear-eyed understanding of life.
They knew that once a person died, they were gone for good.
Even setting aside Son Goku's kindness to them, befriending a super-strong fighter as loyal and honorable as him by letting him use the Dragon Balls was a very good deal.
Although the combat-type Namekians were now far stronger than Nail had been back then,
they still couldn't hold a candle to a super-strong fighter like Son Goku.
And that wasn't even mentioning how Son Goku had explained Tarble's situation after arriving this time.
When Muri learned that Tarble was even stronger than Son Goku, he became all the more willing to bring out the Namekian Dragon Balls.
Earlier, they had all sensed an unprecedentedly powerful energy coming from the direction of Earth.
At the time, they had felt uneasy, praying that no more trouble would arise in the universe.
Now they had learned that the person behind that incredible energy was none other than Tarble.
What's more, Muri couldn't sense any evil in Tarble at all. What reason did he have to hesitate?
After hearing Muri's words, Son Goku accepted without the slightest hesitation. "Hehe, then thanks, Grand Elder Muri!"
"If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know!"
He was simple-minded, but he wasn't stupid.
In his eyes, the Dragon Balls were a wonderful thing.
Only a fool would turn down the promise of being able to use them whenever he wanted, without having to pay much of a price.
Watching him, Tarble was quietly at a loss for words.
It was only because the Namekians had no ulterior motives that Son Goku wasn't getting swindled without even realizing it.
Muri was different. When he saw how readily Son Goku agreed, a smile immediately appeared on his somewhat aged face.
"Mr. Goku, what wishes would you like to make this time?"
"I can have the children help you make them."
At that, Son Goku replied without a moment's thought, "Oh, I want the Dragon God to grow my tail back."
"Oh, and Vegeta's wish is the same as mine."
"As for Tarble, he wants to get taller."
"Hey, Tarble, how tall do you want to be?"
Seeing how carefree he was, Tarble pursed his lips, then smiled faintly at Muri.
"My wish is to grow to 188 centimeters."
"I'd appreciate it if you could help make that wish, Grand Elder Muri."
It had to be said, his rather unusual wish made Muri and the other Namekians glance at him in surprise.
It was the first time anyone had ever made such an inconsequential wish.
Only after hearing Tarble's words did Muri snap out of his daze.
"N-no problem."
"Mr. Tarble, that's quite an unusual wish."
Tarble smiled and agreed. "That's true. It is rather unusual."
Seeing that he had no particular reaction, a flicker of surprise passed through Muri's eyes, but he said, "Then I'll have them grant those three wishes for you."
Soon.
Porunga was successfully summoned.
Looking up at Porunga, the Dragon God with his massive, muscular frame and the thick, razor-sharp horns on his body, Tarble couldn't help but marvel to himself.
Huge!
Imposing and mighty!
He looked like trouble... Uh, never mind. He was probably just like the Earth Dragon God: all bark and no bite. Even King Piccolo, with a battle power of two or three hundred, could destroy him with a single ki blast!
So much for mighty. He was just big!
Yeah!
Really huge!
While Tarble was marveling to himself, Muri, standing at the very front of the crowd, was loudly speaking to Porunga in a language he couldn't understand.
He couldn't make out a single word!
It was the Namekians' native language.
Two seconds later, he saw Son Goku suddenly grow a brown tail.
At the same time, Son Goku noticed the change and quickly turned to look behind him.
Seeing his tail swish playfully a few times, he immediately cried out, "That's great!"
"My tail is back!"
As he shouted, he stroked his tail, as if reminiscing.
Seeing this, Tarble nodded to himself.
That was more like it!
How could someone named Son Goku possibly be without a tail?
Just as he finished that thought, he suddenly realized his line of sight had risen considerably.
He turned and looked around, then realized with surprise that he'd grown taller!
At that moment, he stood head and shoulders above everyone, looking down at the crowd.
For some reason, his mood suddenly lifted.
This was a much more comfortable view!
Before, he'd always had to look up at everyone. He'd nearly given himself neck problems!
Just then, Son Goku noticed something unusual about Tarble and cried out again.
"Wow!"
"Tarble, you got so tall all of a sudden!"
"I'm almost a whole head shorter than you now, hahaha~"
Before you continue