She shot up from her chair, eyes fixed on the doorway. The overwhelming excitement nearly made her cry out!
However, the figure who emerged from the doorway wasn't the one she'd been longing to see. Instead, it was Dr. Brief, his blue hair a mess and a large wrench in his hand.
"Huh? Dad?"
The excitement on Bulma's face instantly froze, turning into deep disappointment and confusion.
"How'd you end up in the Gravity Chamber?"
Dr. Brief pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and ambled over to his daughter. He picked up the cup of cold tea on her desk and gulped down several mouthfuls before letting out a long sigh.
"Whew... I'm exhausted. That new Gravity Chamber you built for Vitelli—the one he used before—was damaged, wasn't it?"
He pointed his wrench at the Gravity Chamber.
"I came to upgrade this old one and see if I could increase the gravity multiplier. Otherwise, when Vitelli comes back and finds he has nowhere to train, he'll complain that the gravity isn't strong enough again."
Only then did Bulma remember that the Gravity Chamber she'd poured her heart into had been completely destroyed during Vitelli and Goku's sparring match, along with part of the manor.
A complicated feeling rose in her heart—a powerful urge to do something, sparked by her father's words.
Suddenly, Bulma sprang up from her chair, hands on her hips, her eyes blazing with determination. It was as if she'd been filled with new energy!
"There's no need to upgrade the old one, Dad!"
Bulma's voice rang out with absolute conviction.
"The old design is outdated! Its upper limit is too low, and its energy efficiency is poor! I'm going to redesign it! I'm going to build Vitelli a brand-new, revolutionary Gravity Chamber! It'll be sturdier! It'll have a higher gravity multiplier! More stable energy! And I'll add real-time vital sign monitoring and an emergency protection system! Yes! That's it!"
The more she spoke, the more excited she became, as if the blueprints were already unfolding in her mind.
Dr. Brief was momentarily taken aback by his daughter's sudden burst of enthusiasm. Then he saw the familiar gleam of a genius scientist in Bulma's eyes, and a pleased smile appeared on his face.
He nodded unhurriedly. "Oh? Is that so... Sounds good. Just let me know if you need any materials or technical support."
He sighed silently to himself, gazing fondly at his energetic daughter, but his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Tights had gone off into space to gather material for her novel. He'd heard she planned to submit it to an off-world publisher called Tomato.
Bulma was the only daughter left at home... When would that boy Vitelli finally propose to her? He and his wife had been looking forward to grandchildren for a long time...
With her father's approval, Bulma dashed back to her private lab like a gust of wind.
The enormous holographic screen lit up. Complex equations, structural diagrams, and energy models streamed across it like a waterfall.
She became completely absorbed, forgetting the passage of time, her fatigue, and even... how much she missed him.
She had only one goal: to build the strongest Gravity Chamber in the universe, one worthy of that training maniac!
Time slipped by amid the sweat and crushing pressure of the God of Destruction Realm and the sleepless lights of Bulma's lab.
Before long, three months had passed since Vitelli left Earth.
The Twenty-Second World Martial Arts Tournament was held on Papaya Island as scheduled.
Without Vitelli, that extraordinary outlier, the tournament's main attraction seemed to have returned to the ultimate clashes between ordinary martial artists.
Although Bulma had heard from Goku and the others, she felt that going to watch alone, with Vitelli away, would be rather pointless.
In the end, she chose to watch the entire competition from the comfort of the manor's living room through the latest remote broadcast.
The tournament was just as exciting as ever, with fighters of all kinds showing off their skills.
Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu represented the Crane School with impressive strength, while Krillin had also made rapid progress.
But in the end, the championship went without question to Son Goku, whose strength had soared after he kept dropping by Brief Manor to train in the Gravity Chamber.
Tien Shinhan of the Crane School gave it everything he had in the final, using every technique at his disposal and even unveiling his new Tri-Beam.
But he still fell to Goku's overwhelming strength, speed, and Kamehameha, accepting his defeat wholeheartedly.
The excitement and commotion of the World Martial Arts Tournament gradually faded, and the world seemed to return to peace.
Yet beneath that calm surface, an evil that had lain dormant for centuries was quietly stirring back to life.
A little over a month later, on a desolate beach far from the bustle of the cities,
Emperor Pilaf and his two fiercely loyal henchmen—Mai and Shu—had once been searching for Dragon Balls when Vitelli had defeated them in an instant. He'd knocked them out before they could even finish giving their names.
Now they stood around a rather battered rice cooker with faded talismans pasted across its surface, looking deeply troubled.
"Your Majesty Pilaf!"
Mai pointed at the rice cooker, her face full of fear.
"Please think this through! This is... this is the container holding the legendary King Piccolo, who nearly destroyed the world! We absolutely must not remove that talisman! If... if he gets out, the consequences will be unimaginable! We haven't realized our dream of ruling the world yet. We can't get ourselves killed first!"
"Mai! You're being too timid!"
Shu waved his paws and argued vehemently.
"This is a godsend, Your Majesty Pilaf! Think about it. As long as we release King Piccolo, we can negotiate with him, given his power to destroy the world! Let him conquer the world, and then we can bargain with him! Wouldn't that be much faster than all our hard work searching for Dragon Balls? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Your Majesty!"
"Shu! You're playing with fire!" Mai stomped her foot in anger.
"Mai! You're standing in the way of His Majesty Pilaf's ambition!" Shu shot back without yielding.
"Enough!!!"
The two of them had given Pilaf such a headache that veins throbbed across his blue forehead.
Unable to take it any longer, he thrust out both hands to stop their argument. "You two! Be. Quiet. This. Instant!"
But as he stuck out his hands, his agitated movements made his fingertips scrape against the brittle edge of the talisman on the rice cooker's lid with a rip.
The ancient talisman came right off!
Vrrrmmm—!!!
The entire rice cooker began to shake violently!
Countless dazzling purple beams burst wildly through the gaps in its lid!
An overwhelming wave of evil energy, heavy with the stench of destruction, swept across the beach like a tsunami!
"Ah!!! His Majesty Pilaf!!!"
Mai let out a desperate scream. Reacting instantly, she grabbed the stunned Pilaf with one hand and Shu, who was still gaping, with the other. Then she turned and sprinted away at the fastest speed of her life!
RUMBLE—!!!!
A world-shaking explosion tore through the air! A violent purple shock wave erupted from the rice cooker and instantly caught up with the Pilaf Gang, who had barely made it any distance at all!
"Waaahhh—!!!"
The three of them could only manage one anguished scream before the unstoppable shock wave hurled them away.
Their cries trailed off as they became three shooting stars, vanishing into the distant sky.
The explosion's dust cloud and the rampaging purple energy slowly dissipated.
An elderly figure with dark green skin stood firmly at the center of the blast.
He looked down at his wrinkled palms in bewilderment, then lifted his gaze to the sky he hadn't seen in so long.
After a moment of stunned silence, overwhelming joy and seething hatred erupted in his chest like a volcano!
"Uhh... Wahahahahahaha!!!"
King Piccolo let out a deafening laugh, brimming with venom and glee. His voice rolled across the beach like thunder, sending countless seagulls soaring from the distant sea!
"I'm out! I'm finally free!!"
He spread his arms as if embracing the whole world, flames raging in his sunken eye sockets.
"Mutaito!! You worthless old fool! Did you think sealing me away would kill me? Dream on!!"
"And you!!"
He abruptly raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce the clouds and fix on somewhere above. "Coward! You were too afraid to die alongside me, you coward!!!"
"I, King Piccolo, have returned!!!"
He clenched his fists, and a terrifying aura shot into the sky, churning the clouds overhead.
"Tremble, world! Soon, the whole Earth will grovel at my feet! I'll make every one of you taste a despair far greater than the centuries I spent sealed away! Wahahahahaha!!!"
Ten thousand meters above Korin Tower, Kami's Lookout lay shrouded in clouds and mist.
The elderly Kami stood silently at the edge of the Lookout, leaning on his staff. His cloudy eyes seemed to pierce through space, clearly "seeing" King Piccolo break free below and roar at the sky.
There was no fear or anger on his aged face, only a calm sense of relief.
There was even a faint smile on his lips, almost like the smile of someone released from a burden.
"So this day... has finally come."
Kami's voice was quiet, carrying the weariness of one who had seen through the ways of the world.
"It came... a little sooner than I expected."
He slowly turned and looked at Mr. Popo, who stood silently behind him like a shadow.
"Popo,"
Kami's voice was so calm it held not a trace of emotion.
"After I die, give the position of Kami... to Vitelli."
"Lord Kami!"
For the first time, Mr. Popo's dark face showed a powerful emotion: worry for his old friend, and... reluctance to let him go.
He wanted to try to talk Kami out of it. It wasn't impossible to seal King Piccolo again; Kami didn't have to pay with his life!
But Kami seemed to know what he was thinking. He simply gave a gentle wave of his hand, stopping Mr. Popo before he could say more.
"Don't say anything more, Popo."
Kami's gaze was deep and resolute.
"This is fate. King Piccolo and I are two sides of the same coin. His existence is my greatest mistake and my greatest sin. Only my death can put an end to his evil for good and bring true peace to Earth. Sealing him away... was only ever a temporary solution. This day was bound to come."
He slowly closed his eyes and silently thought, "Vitelli... I hope I've made the right choice. Earth needs someone strong enough to protect its future... I'm counting on you..."
Lately, Kami had been trying to sense Vitelli's ki, but that powerful presence seemed to have vanished from Earth completely. He couldn't detect the slightest trace of it.
He couldn't help wondering, "Could he... have already left Earth? Or... gone somewhere beyond even my ability to sense?"
A trace of concern crept into his heart. If Vitelli wasn't on Earth, or refused to accept the position of Kami, then his plan...
"Popo," Kami said, opening his eyes again and giving a stern order.
"Go to Brief Manor in West City right now and find Miss Bulma. Ask her whether Vitelli is still on Earth or... where he went. Make sure you deliver my message. Ask him to come to the Lookout, no matter what! The future of Earth... and his girlfriend's family depends on it!"
"Yes, Lord Kami!"
Mr. Popo bowed deeply and said no more.
He turned and went inside the Lookout. Before long, he was riding a flying carpet, shooting down Korin Tower like an arrow loosed from a bow, speeding toward West City.
God of Destruction Realm.
Vitelli was wholly focused on "sparring" with Whis.
But it was less a spar and more one-sided, extreme dodging practice.
Whis moved like a phantom. He seemed to casually tap, jab, and sweep with his Scepter, yet somehow blocked every one of Vitelli's escape routes at the most difficult angles.
Vitelli suppressed his ki to the utmost and turned into a streak of light, struggling to dodge among the afterimages of Whis's Scepter, which seemed slow but was actually moving at incredible speed.
Suddenly!
"Ah-choo—!"
Vitelli sneezed loudly without warning!
The momentary distraction disrupted his dodging rhythm, leaving the tiniest gap in his defense!
"Oh ho ho~"
Whis's amused voice sounded almost at the same time. "You let your guard down, Vitelli-san~"
Smack! A sharp whack rang out.
Vitelli felt a burst of pain on the top of his head. His vision filled with stars, and the gentle force sent him staggering, nearly toppling to the ground.