Call Me Little Turtle

"Welcome back, Miss. Welcome to Miss's friends." As soon as they entered, a pink household robot came up to greet them.

"Where are Mom and Dad?" Bulma looked around, but couldn't see her parents, so she asked the robot.

"The doctor is attending an important meeting. Madam went on a date." The household robot's answer left Bulma's brain short-circuiting, and a blush spread across her face.

After that, the household robot didn't wait for Bulma to give instructions before it began attending to everyone. It served tea and coffee, asked what each person wanted, and took care of them one by one. Everyone was amazed, including Wuchen.

A puppet? Looking at the robot handing him a cup of hot water, Wuchen couldn't help wondering, Puppetcraft is pretty advanced in this world. The one I captured last time must have been designed for combat. Are these meant to handle daily life?

Looking around, he saw that the Brief family's living room was big enough to hold dozens of people and was equipped with every amenity imaginable. All kinds of robots were busy at their respective tasks.

Coming back to himself, Wuchen gave Bulma the Hoi-Poi Capsule containing a "combat-type puppet," along with some spiritual fruits and plants, as thanks, in accordance with their agreement from when they'd searched for the Dragon Balls.

Bulma didn't think much of it and happily accepted.

Then Bulma showed everyone around her home, amazing them all over again.

The "yard," which was comparable to a large amusement park, was especially impressive. Its size was one thing, but the gigantic dinosaurs and other creatures it housed truly challenged everyone's understanding of words like "garden," "yard," and "backyard."

While everyone was being stunned again and again, Dr. Brief and Mrs. Brief returned home one after the other, and Bulma introduced them to the group.

Dr. Brief had blue-gray hair and wore thick glasses, with a black cat perched on his shoulder. He was meticulous, yet carried a hint of unintentional comicality.

Mrs. Brief was poised and graceful, with a generous, charming manner. The only thing was, she was so enthusiastic that it was hard to keep up with her.

After lunch, Wuchen immediately took Goku and said goodbye, preparing to head to Turtle Hermit Island. Like Shenron before them, they traveled incredibly fast.

Because of that, the brothers returned to Turtle Hermit Island before they'd even had time to digest their meal.

"Paying my respects to Grandmaster." Outside Kame House, Wuchen stopped Goku, who was about to climb in through a window.

"Grandmaster?" After calling out several times without getting a response, Wuchen grew puzzled. He could clearly sense Master Roshi's presence inside the house.

"Could he be asleep? No, that can't be it. His energy's fluctuating wildly; he doesn't seem to be sleeping. And what's that sound? A woman's voice?"

Besides sensing Master Roshi's energy, Wuchen also heard a woman's voice calling out, "One, two, one, two..." Yet he couldn't sense anyone else's presence besides Master Roshi's.

"Could something have happened? Did he have a mishap while circulating his energy?" Wuchen grew worried and called out again. "Grandmaster! Are you all right? We're coming in."

That's right, Wuchen suspected that Master Roshi had gone berserk and was imitating a woman's voice.

At his words, there was finally a response from inside the house. "Chotto matte! Chotto matte! Wait outside. I'll be right there."

Relieved, Wuchen and Goku waited quietly outside the door.

A short while later, Master Roshi opened the door and led them inside.

"Little brother, can you tell me where you got those things you brought me earlier? Can you find more?" Before the brothers could say anything, Master Roshi leaned over to Wuchen and asked eagerly.

"Do you mean the fruits and vegetables? We grow them ourselves." Wuchen answered honestly, while mulling things over.

There was no spiritual energy in this world! He'd confirmed that long ago.

In other words, whether it was his grandfather or Master Roshi, their methods of cultivation must be entirely new systems that had taken a different path.

Wuchen had already realized as much, but to verify it, he needed to experience it firsthand. That was why he'd accepted Master Roshi's invitation without hesitation.

Now he was considering how much he ought to tell Master Roshi. As things stood, each of them had a treasure the other wanted. He certainly had no intention of getting something for nothing, learning without sharing.

"Oh, hohohohoho..." Hearing Wuchen's answer, Master Roshi laughed so hard he was practically turning into Frieza. He was thoroughly excited. "You grow them yourselves? Does that mean you can grow as many as you want?"

"Well, not exactly. They're a bit tricky to grow, so the yield is low." After thinking it over, Wuchen decided to offer the Yin-Yang Creation Art as his bargaining chip.

Of course, it was an extraordinary cultivation technique. But Wuchen had carefully considered many factors before deciding to share it.

First, if he alone practiced the Yin-Yang Creation Art, there would inevitably be too many people competing for too few resources.

Second, the Yin-Yang Creation Art was easy to learn but hard to master. Even if it spread far and wide, it wouldn't become impossible to control. On the contrary, it would benefit the world's evolution, and benefit him as well.

Third, the Yin-Yang Creation Art's nature determined its awkward status: If he doesn't practice it, I have no choice but to; if he does, I don't need to.

Rather than that, he might as well share it openly. Of course, he couldn't teach everything. He could pass on only the "Communing with Heaven" chapter—the method of Essence-to-Spirit Conversion—and then spread it appropriately alongside other techniques.

"The process is tricky? What's the process..." Master Roshi's heart leaped into his throat. He wanted to ask outright how they grew them, but it didn't feel right. It would be like coaxing a child into handing over a secret recipe.

"Yeah, it's quite tricky." Since he'd decided to share, Wuchen had already worked out what to say. "I happened to find a special fruit tree. After eating one of its fruits, a special energy appeared inside me, and it filled me with vitality."

"Right, right! That's it, vitality! Where did you find the fruit? Is the tree still there?" Master Roshi was especially alert now. They'd reached the important part.

Wuchen smiled slightly and continued. "After I'd eaten all the fruit on the tree, my body underwent an incredible change. It was as if both my mind and body had been transformed."

"But the next year, the tree didn't bear a single fruit. I wasn't willing to give up, so I kept observing it... watching it... And at last, I discovered the secret of that miraculous tree!"

"What secret? What secret?" Since Wuchen could ride the Flying Nimbus, Master Roshi didn't doubt a word he said.

"It seemed to be able to turn sunlight and moonlight into a strange energy—the same energy the fruit gave me. But the process was extremely slow, so it took a long time to bear fruit." The more Wuchen spun his tale, the more seriously Master Roshi listened. "And then? What happened next?"

"I kept watching it... watching it... Slowly, I began to feel as if I were turning into a tree too. Later, I tried sensing the sunlight and moonlight just like it did... It was warm... and strange... Then that energy appeared. It appeared inside my body!"

"Amazing!" x2

It wasn't just Master Roshi—even Goku was amazed, and they both exclaimed at once. Wuchen blushed slightly.

"Grandmaster, if you're interested, I can teach you the method."

"Don't call me Grandmaster. Call me Little Turtle."