"Burp... I... I ate three more pieces of that roast meat than you did! I won! Kakarot!"
Vegeta burped as he struggled to make his declaration.
Goku was just as stuffed, but still argued back indignantly:
"N... No way! You started eating before me! You're a cheater, Vegeta! That doesn't count!"
"Wrong! That was a strategy!"
"You're still a cheater!"
They slumped in their chairs, too exhausted even to argue with any energy.
But they kept bickering anyway.
Once they'd recovered a little, they actually started struggling to their feet, ready to find somewhere to settle things with their fists and decide who had really won...
Just then, Vitelli strolled back into the main dining hall, refreshed after eating his fill.
Seeing the state they were in, he rolled his eyes and seized the chance to fan the flames:
"Oh? Looks like neither of you is willing to admit defeat. What's the point of just fighting each other? How about... you two try challenging me instead?"
He paused, then offered them an extremely tempting proposition:
"I'll spend the whole time dodging. I absolutely won't attack. If either of you can land a hit on me, or even make me feel pressured, you win! So, what do you say? Dare to give it a try?"
The offer tempted both Goku and Vegeta!
Goku was often picked on by Vitelli, and he'd long wanted a chance to have a proper fight with him. Even just landing a hit would be enough!
Vegeta needed no explanation. Vitelli had crushed him when he was very young, and now he was constantly thinking about getting to beat the bastard up himself!
Even making him feel pressured would be enough!
Goku and Vegeta turned to look at each other almost at the same time, instantly recognizing the same intent in each other's eyes.
They immediately struggled up from their chairs. Their stomachs were still stuffed, but their fighting spirit had reignited!
They looked eagerly at Vitelli.
Seeing this, Vitelli smiled, pleased that his plan had worked:
"Great! That's the spirit! Come on, let's find somewhere private and have a proper spar!"
But just as the three of them were rubbing their fists together, ready to head out and find an open area for a two-on-one fight, a voice suddenly came from the dining hall entrance, interrupting their plans.
"I swear, you Saiyans!"
Bulma stood there with her hands on her hips, looking exasperated.
"Can't you think about anything besides fighting? Especially you, Vitelli!"
She pointed right at Vitelli.
"Did you forget what you promised me earlier? Weren't you going to help me?"
Vitelli stiffened, his excited expression instantly crumbling.
Bulma paid him no mind and went straight to her instructions:
"Mom has already negotiated the purchase with the biggest livestock farm west of the city. Here's the contract!"
She shoved a document into Vitelli's hands.
"The owner is waiting there. Go sign the contract, pay him, and take care of the paperwork!"
Vitelli stared blankly at the contract in his hands, then pointed at himself and asked in disbelief:
"M... Me? I'm supposed to sign a contract and handle the paperwork?"
He was a mighty God of Destruction, even if only a candidate. And now he had to go do this?
Bulma nodded as if it were obvious, then urged him along:
"Of course! Who else? You expect me to go myself? I'm busy! Hurry up and come back!"
Vitelli: "..."
What could he say? He could only fly off with the contract, dejected as a frostbitten eggplant.
After sending Vitelli off, Bulma turned her attention to Goku.
"Goku!"
"Huh? Yes!"
Goku instinctively straightened up.
"The core components for the large ecological simulation chamber Dad ordered from a factory in the North Industrial Zone are finished, but the factory has too many orders right now and can't deliver them."
Bulma took out a slip of paper with an address on it and handed it to Goku.
"Here's the factory's address. Go pick up the parts for me! Remember, they're delicate and heavy, so put them in a Hoi-Poi Capsule before bringing them back. Be careful not to damage them!"
"Huh?! I'm picking them up?"
Goku froze. Seeing Bulma's uncompromising gaze, he didn't dare argue. He took the slip of paper and flew off, just as dejectedly as Vitelli.
Finally, Bulma turned to the only Saiyan left in the room: Vegeta.
Vegeta immediately felt an inexplicable pressure, and every inch of him grew uncomfortable.
He looked nervously at the imposing Earth woman before him. His instincts told him she was much harder to deal with than Vitelli and Kakarot!
Bulma looked Vegeta up and down, apparently trying to decide what task to give him.
Soon, she had an idea and issued her instructions:
"You're Vegeta, right? I'm giving you the Dragon Radar. Go collect all seven Dragon Balls for me. I'll need them later."
"What?!"
The veins on Vegeta's forehead instantly bulged again. She wanted a proud Saiyan Prince like him to go searching all over the world for some balls?!
He tried to rein in his anger and preserve his dignity:
"Why should I follow your orders and—"
Bulma didn't even let him finish. She cut him off with a single remark:
"Oh? You don't want to? Fine. Vitelli mentioned that he knows some training methods that could make you stronger... Since you don't want to help, I'll ask him to teach Goku and only Goku when he gets back. You can leave now. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."
With that, Bulma turned as if to leave.
The moment Vegeta heard the words "make you stronger," his eyes widened!
His inner turmoil rose and fell like waves!
Dignity? Pride? What did those matter compared to getting stronger?!
"W... Wait!"
Vegeta practically gritted the words out.
His expression shifted several times, but in the end, his overwhelming hunger for power won out.
Even as he gave in, he stubbornly kept up appearances:
"I'm n... not helping you. I just happened to finish eating and have nothing else to do! ...What are these Dragon Balls? What's the point of collecting them?"
Bulma stopped, a satisfied smile on her face, as if she'd known all along this was how it would turn out.
She took out the Dragon Radar, tossed it to Vegeta, and explained casually:
"They're orange-yellow balls with stars inside, about this big."
She demonstrated with her hands.
"They're scattered all over the world, and there are seven in total. Collect them all, and they can grant any wish. All right, I'm busy. I'm off."
With that, Bulma left the dining hall and headed straight for her lab, leaving Vegeta standing there alone.
Vegeta instinctively picked up the device called the Dragon Radar and stared blankly in the direction Bulma had disappeared, her casual words echoing in his mind:
"...Grant any wish."
"...Grant any wish?"
"...Grant any wish!!!"
A huge wave surged through Vegeta's heart!
His frustration at defeat, his anger at Vitelli, his jealousy of Kakarot, his anxiety over his own weakness—
It was as if he'd suddenly found an outlet and a way to solve it all!
His breathing grew heavier, and his eyes shone with intense excitement and ambition!
"G... Grant any wish..."
He repeated the words under his breath, his hand trembling slightly around the Dragon Radar.
If... if it was true...
Then Vegeta could...
Vitelli was in an office filled with the faint scents of hay and livestock. A portly, affable-looking ranch owner sat across from him on the sofa.
He was helping Bulma negotiate the purchase with the cheerful, plump ranch owner.
But it was less a negotiation than a one-sided explanation delivered enthusiastically by the portly owner. Vitelli spent most of the time listening quietly and occasionally nodding.
"...So, Mr. Vitelli, that's more or less everything in the contract. The transfer includes all the livestock, equipment, land, and employee contracts. Capsule Corp and we already agreed on the price!"
The portly owner rubbed his hands together, wearing the smooth smile of a seasoned businessman.
They quickly finished confirming the contract details.
The portly owner seemed to be in high spirits and offered to show Vitelli around the expansive ranch.
The two strolled across the ranch pasture, watching herds of cows and sheep graze leisurely. In the distance stood rows of fences and modern barns.
Looking out over the land he had managed for so many years, the portly owner revealed a trace of reluctance and nostalgia. He began rambling about the ranch's glorious history, describing how several generations of his family had grown it from a small farm into what it was today.
Vitelli noticed the sadness in his eyes and couldn't help asking curiously:
"If you're so reluctant to part with the ranch and have such a deep attachment to it, why did you decide to sell it?"
At that, the owner's smile faded into a soft sigh.
His voice turned a little melancholy:
"Sigh... There are two main reasons."
He held up two plump fingers for Vitelli.
"The first is for my daughter."
His face showed a mix of helplessness and indulgence.
"She's grown up and has her own ideas and ambitions. She doesn't want to inherit the family business; she thinks spending all day with cows and sheep is boring. After graduating from college, she went off on her own to somewhere near East City and became a teacher at a school called... Oh, right, Orange Star High School."
"She's busy with work and lives far away, so she hardly ever makes it back to West City. Her mother and I... miss her. We figured we might as well sell the ranch, buy a house in East City, and live closer to her so we can see her more often."
Vitelli nodded in understanding. That was a rather touching reason.
"And what's the second reason?"
At the mention of the second reason, all the melancholy vanished from the portly owner's face.
He rubbed his nose sheepishly, his eyes narrowing into crescents as he instinctively lowered his voice:
"The second reason... is that Capsule Corp offered way too much! At that price, I just couldn't say no! Heh..."
Vitelli almost stumbled over and fell to the ground.
He had expected some unavoidable hardship or an insurmountable business problem, but... that was it?
A doting father had sold his business because someone offered him so much money, and he could use it to move closer to his daughter?
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that reason.
After they had toured the whole ranch, Vitelli was ready to leave.