Temporary Separation

A beam of light pierced Evil Son Goku's heart.

Everyone looked up at the sky.

A faint presence lingered there. It was so weak that no one had noticed it.

A man clad in high-tech armor, with a hand cannon mounted on his arm, hovered in the air.

"There's another one!"

The next moment, the hand cannon charged again. Its target was...

"Wukong!!"

Caught off guard, Son Wukong was struck by the blast, and her body was pierced as well.

She had instinctively shifted her body, so the blast hadn't pierced her heart, but it had still punched a hole through her lung.

"You... you bastard!!"

Furious, Zhang Wutian shot into the sky and punched the armored man in the stomach.

Something that seemed to be a shield flashed, briefly impeding Zhang Wutian's fist before shattering like glass. The armor shattered too. Thanks to those two layers of protection, Zhang Wutian's furious, merciless blow hadn't cut his opponent in half.

"Go to hell!" Zhang Wutian immediately swung his leg and brought his heel down.

The armored man's power system had already malfunctioned when his armor was damaged. He plummeted to the ground, bounced once, then lay motionless.

After that, Zhang Wutian hurried to Son Wukong's side and fed her a Senzu Bean.

Son Wukong had been in terrible pain, but her breathing soon settled. Krillin and Tien Shinhan, who had been just as anxious beside her, finally let out a sigh of relief.

They had been worried about Son Wukong, of course, but clearly, they had thought of more than that...

"Who was that? Why did he attack Wukong?"

Zhang Wutian walked over with a grim expression and removed the helmet from the armored man, who lay on the ground, apparently still breathing.

The helmet was clamped tightly to the armor, making the two seem like one piece, but it couldn't withstand Zhang Wutian's forceful dismantling.

Who knew whether Zhang Wutian's rough handling had done the trick, or whether the armored man simply couldn't bear the pain of having his neck stretched? Either way, his helmet was torn off, revealing the face beneath.

"Dr. Brief?" Krillin exclaimed in surprise.

It was Dr. Brief, Miss Bulma's father, and a genius in his own right.

"Why did you attack my Wukong? I could understand attacking that guy, but what was with attacking her afterward?"

Lying on the ground, Dr. Brief was on the verge of death as he rasped, "Monster! She's a monster too!"

"Damn it! Resting, Bulma, I couldn't avenge you..."

"Isn't he Miss Bulma's father? Why did he attack me?" Having eaten a Senzu Bean and recovered, Son Wukong came to Zhang Wutian's side. She pressed a hand to the hole in her chest, unable to make sense of what had happened.

"No. He isn't the person we knew. He's a madman consumed by revenge. Just an unlucky, pitiful fool. Hmph, what a tragic world."

He had accomplished the greatest goal he'd had since coming to this world, but Zhang Wutian felt more and more dejected. Putting everything together, if his guess was right, then everything that had happened in this world was unbearably tragic.

And all the tragedy had begun with the first meeting between a boy from the mountains and a girl from the city.

"Let's go." Zhang Wutian glanced once more at Dr. Brief, who lay on the ground, unable to move but apparently not about to die anytime soon, and beckoned to Son Wukong.

"Where are you going?" Krillin asked.

"Don't worry. We won't go back on our promise. Once we've gathered all seven Dragon Balls in our world, we'll come back here and make a wish."

After a pause, Zhang Wutian added, "Or do you want us to leave the two Dragon Balls we brought as collateral before you'll let us go?"

"No, of course not!" Krillin shook his head repeatedly, then stepped forward and said earnestly, "But... we're friends, right?"

Krillin's words made Zhang Wutian pause. He took a deep breath, then said, "Sorry. I was furious just now and said something awful. Don't take it to heart."

"You're right. We're friends." As he spoke, Zhang Wutian held out his hand and shook Krillin's, then raised his fist toward Tien Shinhan.

The two said nothing, just bumped fists.

"See you again, then." Zhang Wutian took Son Wukong by the hand. Waving, she said to Krillin, "Now I finally understand. You're Krillin—the grown-up Krillin."

"So you weren't pretending to be clueless earlier?!" Krillin gaped. "I thought that was just your usual comedy routine."

"That's why my Wukong is such an honest girl. I worry someone might trick her when her father isn't around to keep an eye on her."

"I'm not your daughter. I'm your wife!!"

"Heh..." Watching their familiar banter, even Tien Shinhan, who rarely smiled, couldn't help laughing along with Krillin.

"Krillin, Tien Shinhan, next time, let's have another match!" Son Wukong told them.

"Likewise." Zhang Wutian waved to the two of them as well.

"Yeah, we're looking forward to seeing you again." Krillin and Tien Shinhan waved back.

The next moment, a black hole formed behind the two and swallowed Zhang Wutian and Son Wukong.

The black hole dwindled to a thin line, then vanished before Krillin and Tien Shinhan's eyes.

Watching them leave, Krillin's smile faded. He said to Tien Shinhan, "Now comes the real headache. Zhang Wutian really is sharp. He got out of here in a hurry, leaving us with the biggest mess to deal with."

"This was always an internal matter for our world. As a visitor from another world, Zhang Wutian had no obligation to get involved."

Clearly, the boss who'd held the entire world in his grip had been defeated, but the real problems were only beginning: the ambitious Red Ribbon Army, ordinary citizens who wouldn't want to be controlled by them now that the crisis had passed, Dr. Gero's ambitions, and the Dragon Balls that would appear in the future, capable of granting any wish. The trouble had only just begun.

But none of it had anything to do with Zhang Wutian anymore. Whether Krillin and Tien Shinhan crushed the Red Ribbon Army or Dr. Gero ruled the world, it had nothing to do with the Zhang Wutian from another world.

Holding Son Wukong's hand, Zhang Wutian returned to their world.

Once they were back in their own world, Zhang Wutian suddenly froze.

The surroundings left him confused.

"Where did Penguin Village go?"

"It really is gone!"

The two had appeared in a valley not far from the coast, but Penguin Village, which had once stood there, had vanished.

"Did we end up in the wrong place?" Son Wukong asked the person beside her.

"No, I don't think so. I haven't used it much, but ever since I gained control of that space, using it has been as easy as moving my own hands and feet. I couldn't have made a mistake."

"Then what happened? The village was right here before. I even made friends with the people there. Did they all move away?" Even Zhang Wutian couldn't figure it out, so Son Wukong was at a complete loss.

Just ten steps behind them, an oddly dressed, effeminate man floated in the air, smiling as he watched the confused pair.

They had both learned to sense ki, yet neither Zhang Wutian nor Son Wukong had noticed that someone was right behind them.

"Part of one world has fused with another. It wouldn't hurt to leave it alone, but since I've seen it, I should restore things to normal. It's part of a god's duty, after all. Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho..."

After looking with interest at Zhang Wutian, who was just as bewildered as Son Wukong, the effeminate man quietly disappeared behind them.

Not a single person had noticed his presence from beginning to end.

Bulma's mom doesn't have a name, so I made one up.

Also, guys, hand over all those favorites, recommendations, and comments I've been wanting!