"Ah~~ Ah-choo!!" Karochi's legs trembled, his nose was running, and he hugged himself tightly, even tucking in his tail. His teeth chattered nonstop. "Sister Tights, shouldn't we head back!! It's way too cold here."
That was right. After ten days of travel, and after Karochi had adapted to forty times Earth's gravity, the two of them had arrived at the completely frozen planet called Kotel.
The temperature here was absurdly low—at least fifty degrees below zero!!
"Whose fault is it that you didn't bring warm clothes!!" Tights said bluntly.
Huh? Weren't all my clothes prepared by you!? And didn't you forget to bring warm clothes, too? The only thing keeping you from being worse off than me is Kami's blessing. Karochi grumbled inwardly.
Achoo~!
Karochi couldn't help sneezing again, sending snot flying! Seeing this, Tights quickly dodged to the side. Her disdainful look pierced Karochi's young heart.
Only now did he realize that Ultraman wasn't the only one who got cold—he did, too!! Honestly, it was only because he had a high battle power and a strong body that he was managing. An ordinary person would've turned into an ice sculpture even bundled up in a thick coat!!
"According to the information, there's a kind of unusual crystal on this planet that gives off a rainbow of colors! We'll find it and then leave." Seeing Karochi like this, Tights felt a little sorry for him and lowered her expectations. She'd originally wanted to check out the "Frost Eye."
Karochi's teeth chattered as he asked, "Th-then where's this crystal supposed to be!! I'll go get it for you!" He was planning to serve as free labor.
"Hmm~! The information says this kind of crystal is usually found near wind caves."
Damn it, where did this lousy information even come from?? Karochi felt utterly aggrieved! How come he'd never seen any of this so-called information before!!!!!?
About half an hour later, they found a wind cave. The gale swept tiny ice shards around them, howling in every direction!! An ordinary person would've been ripped to shreds if they went in.
"We found it. It's right there! But how do we get it?" Tights said happily when she spotted the rainbow crystal, though she was also a little troubled!!
Karochi strode ahead of her and declared with firm resolve, "Don't worry, leave it to me!"
Karochi burst into action, his already-great strength surging several times higher than before! Without the slightest hesitation, he gathered his [Ki Blade] and charged straight in! The fierce wind couldn't harm him in the slightest.
Crack~!
The moment he had cut it free, he dashed straight back to Tights. As she watched in confusion, he scooped her up and shot into the sky! He didn't want to spend another second on this lousy planet.
Time flew by, and two months passed!!
Karochi walked out of the Gravity Chamber, thrilled. After three months of effort, he'd finally completed his training at one hundred times gravity!! When he thought of how that brat Kakarot had completed the training in six days while it had taken him ninety, he couldn't help feeling a little bitter!!
He walked into the control room!! The moment he saw the smile on Tights's face, Karochi felt something was wrong. The hair on his entire body stood on end! Whenever he saw that expression, he knew Tights had set her sights on another planet to visit for research.
Just three months, and Karochi had fought more than ten battles, big and small!! One planet had become uninhabitable because he'd used too much force, and Tights had stopped at more than twenty planets in three months. Can you believe that??
"Sister Tights, which planet have you spotted this time?" Karochi asked with a wry smile. There was no escaping it.
Tights put on an aggrieved expression. "What! I was happy to see you finish training, and that's not allowed?? You really take my kindness for granted." Her reproach was plain as day.
Hmm? Happy for me!? Sure, right. Just don't get in the way of my training, and I'll be grateful! If it weren't for all those research stops, Karochi could've finished training a whole month sooner.
"Alright! Just tell me. It's not like I'm refusing to go!" Karochi said nonchalantly. Honestly, fighting was still great for his growth, and after finishing his training, he was itching for a fight!!
He had to admit that the Saiyan instinct to fight had rubbed off on him, even though his original soul had belonged to an ordinary young man from the twenty-first century!!
Karochi picked up the half-finished sports drink on the table and gulped it down!!
"Well... um...!! We're running out of fuel!!" Tights seemed embarrassed to say it. She lowered her head.
Pfft~!
Karochi spat out the drink he'd just sipped. What the hell was going on? Hadn't Dr. Brief said the fuel would last for a whole year of flying? How could they be out already!!? It'd only been three months.
Seeing the disbelief on Karochi's face, Tights changed her expression again and spoke in a measured tone, as if she'd found an excuse. "It's all your fault, always running the gravity machine! Of course the fuel ran out faster. Honestly."
"Sis, doesn't your conscience hurt when you say that?" You know perfectly well why we're out of fuel!!
Tights answered loudly, "Of course not. My conscience would hurt if I didn't say that!!"
Huh!!? Was that something a person would say? Listen to yourself! How could you say something so cold with a mouth that's 37 degrees? Karochi really wanted to interview her.
Forget it. If a guy tries to reason with a girl, he's the one with a problem!! What's the point of reasoning? Whatever she says is the truth.
"So what do we do? Are we going to be wandering the universe from now on??" He'd been a street drifter in his previous life and now he'd be wandering the universe. Damn, the map had sure gotten bigger fast!!
Tights waved her hands repeatedly and said gently, "It's not that bad. We don't have much fuel, but there's enough to get us to the next planet!! And as it happens, that planet is highly advanced technologically."
Phew~!
Karochi was relieved. As long as they weren't stranded, it was fine. In the vacuum of space, even Super Saiyan 3 wouldn't last long before collapsing, let alone him.
"Good, good!! What's the planet called?" Karochi asked curiously.
"Let me see. I think it's called Fidel Planet! It's a highly advanced technological civilization. Huh, this information also says they cooperate with an organization called the Galactic Patrol. What does the Galactic Patrol do?" Tights asked curiously.
Hmm? The Galactic Patrol! Jaco?? Karochi didn't know much about the Galactic Patrol. He only knew that Jaco was part of it, along with a green octopus who called himself the Galactic King.
"I heard they're an organization that maintains peace in the Galaxy and fights crime and evil! But they don't seem to have much combat power, so their influence is pretty limited," Karochi replied thoughtfully.
The Galactic Patrol had only appeared in Dragon Ball Super! And they'd had very little screen time. Only Jaco was memorable, since he was an homage to the space superhero!!
"Hmm, so they're a justice organization! In that case, after we go to the Planet Namek you want to visit, how about we check out the Galactic Patrol?" Tights had gotten an idea. An organization like that could be a big help with her writing.
Uh, Tights had originally come along with Jaco! She should've been to the Galactic Patrol Headquarters, too.
But Karochi said helplessly, "Sister Tights, do you have the address of the Galactic Patrol Headquarters??" If an organization like the Galactic Patrol let the Saiyan race learn its address, King Vegeta would definitely send people to wipe them out.
After all, the two sides were natural enemies. Come to think of it, Jaco had even gone after Kakarot after he'd been sent to Earth!! Tsk~ Wouldn't that mean that, in the original story, Tights had met Jaco three months ago and then left Earth with him?
"What's the big deal? We'll just look for it as we go!!" Tights didn't care at all. She picked up some snacks and started eating on her own.
Karochi's face went dark. Rely on luck? That was like searching for a needle in the ocean! No, compared to the entire Galaxy, looking for a needle in the ocean would be easy.
Karochi didn't argue. He still needed to keep training in space, and it was too early to return to Earth! During the first part of Dragon Ball, battle power increased slowly, and there wouldn't be anything that threatened Earth!!
King Piccolo only had a battle power of a little over a hundred. He was nothing to worry about.
"Alright, then we'll stop at Fidel Planet to refuel!! Maybe we can bring Dr. Brief some high-tech gadgets, too." Karochi was a good kid who knew how to repay kindness. More importantly, he wanted to find himself a new patron!!
Sister Tights was too hard to rely on!!
If he brought back plenty of high-tech gadgets, maybe the old man would be so happy he'd give Karochi a credit card with no spending limit. Wouldn't that be a huge win?
"Oh, right. There's something I wanted to ask you, Little Chi. What are you going to Planet Namek for?" Tights hadn't paid much attention to Karochi's destination at first. She'd come along to find material and inspiration, so she didn't mind where they went.
But now that she thought about it, Karochi was really fixated on Planet Namek. He'd set his heart on going there!!
"There's no harm in telling you, Sis. Earth's Kami is a Namekian!!"
"Really? Earth's god is an alien?" Tights was shocked. Wait, what do you mean 'Earth's'? Had Karochi forgotten that he was an alien, too??
He was starting to seem more and more like a real person!!
Karochi hadn't expected Tights to make fun of him in her thoughts. He continued, "Yeah. Kami went to Earth during a climate catastrophe on Namek. There's a Grand Elder on Namek who can raise someone's battle power without any side effects! I want to try my luck."
"Oh~ I see!! But wait, how do you know all that?" Tights couldn't help wondering. Karochi was only five years old. How could he know all this? He even knew when Earth's Kami had arrived!!
Uh~! I'm a spoiler; I've seen the story. Of course, Karochi couldn't say that out loud! He could only make up a lie. "When I was little, I was taken on a mission and hit by a special technique used by the Kanassan. But it didn't hurt me. Instead, it awakened a special ability in me that let me sometimes see other people's pasts."
Tsk, even he could barely stand listening to that lie!!
Tights clearly didn't quite believe him, but she didn't press the issue! Everyone had a few secrets. What was wrong with her little brother having a few more? If he didn't want to talk about it, then fine. There was no need to pry.
The spaceship continued speeding along, and after about two days, they were already close to Fidel Planet!!
"Whoa, so that's Fidel Planet! It really lives up to its reputation as a technological planet." Karochi marveled.
Countless space stations floated around the planet, though they were all wreckage! Karochi didn't think much of it. There was nothing strange about seeing wreckage like that in space.
"Mm! We're about to get close to the planet! But aren't there a few too many space station wrecks?" Tights wondered. Some of them looked pretty new!! Had they just been smashed by meteorites?
The spaceship gradually slowed as it approached. When it neared the atmosphere, an unexpected problem arose: the alarm system inside the ship began blaring one warning after another!
Before you continue