Shu piloted the plane while Mai stood there smugly, holding the bag containing the Dragon Balls.
How could Bulma not be surprised when she saw Mai's face?
In the Future Timeline, Mai was the leader of the Resistance Army.
She had led the last of humanity in their struggle to survive, and was their final hope.
Trunks had fought Goku Black many times.
After losing and getting injured, Trunks had been rescued by Mai several times.
In Bulma's eyes, Mai was her daughter-in-law.
But now that she thought about it, Mai was already this old.
That meant Mai was older than Goku. She had spent her whole life following Pilaf,
and taken so many wrong turns that it had taken her years to mature.
If Trunks could marry her, then really, her son would be the one getting the short end of the stick.
Just as Bulma was thinking this over, Son Goku shouted, "Power Pole, extend!"
At Goku's shout, Bulma's body trembled!
She hurriedly reached out to stop Goku's Power Pole.
"Wait, Goku!"
Fortunately, Bulma stopped him, and Son Goku held back.
Otherwise, that blow would have smashed the plane,
and Mai would have been killed by the blow or fallen from the plane and died.
With Bulma stopping him, Son Goku looked at her in confusion.
"What is it, Bulma? Why are you stopping me?
They'll get too far away, and then I won't be able to hit them."
Bulma breathed a sigh of relief. "Goku, you have to have some sympathy for the weak.
It's just a Dragon Ball. You still have one anyway, and even if they can't gather all seven, it won't do them any good.
We have a Radar. We can just find it again."
Son Goku hadn't actually wanted to take Mai and Shu's lives.
After all, those two goofballs, along with their boss Pilaf, were nothing but comic relief.
Even if he let them fulfill their wish to rule the world, it wouldn't matter.
Only someone with absolute power could rule the world.
Wishing on Shenron wouldn't do much. At most, they'd become weak kings.
Hearing Bulma's reasoning, Goku nodded.
"That makes sense. We have the Four-Star Dragon Ball,
and the Dragon Radar. It'll be easy to find them."
Bulma put her hands on her hips and gazed up at the sky, a trace of disappointment on her face.
"It's a shame the Flying Nimbus was scattered by that cannonball. Now we don't have a way to get around..."
Still, she wasn't too disappointed.
In her previous life, Tambourine's spit had dissolved Goku's Flying Nimbus,
but later, he'd gotten another one.
That was also when Bulma learned that there were lots of Flying Nimbuses at Korin Tower.
There were just too few pure-hearted people in this world. Hardly anyone could ride one.
Who knew that Goku would say, "Bulma, call the Flying Nimbus again.
It was only scattered. Maybe it can still come back together."
Bulma blinked curiously,
then she drew a deep breath and shouted.
"Flying Nimbus!"
Sure enough, with a whoosh, the Flying Nimbus came flying back from the horizon.
Seeing it return, whole and intact, Bulma grew excited.
"Hahaha, that's great! You were right, Goku.
The Flying Nimbus is still here! That's wonderful. We don't have to go on foot. Hahahaha..."
As she spoke, Bulma turned and leaped onto the Flying Nimbus.
"Goku, hurry up and get on! The Flying Nimbus is fast. Let's go after the plane!"
Goku froze for a moment, then immediately jumped on.
"Coming!"
Chapter 22: A Beautiful Girl's Kiss
Pilaf's Castle.
Mai and Shu both bowed apologetically.
"Sorry, King Pilaf!"
"We should've counted them at the time!"
Pilaf looked at the Radar, a carefree smile on his face.
"It doesn't matter. The Radar shows the last Dragon Ball coming toward us.
Looks like they've caught up."
"What?"
"That fast?"
Mai and Shu looked at the Radar in surprise.
"It's true! Did they fix their cloud? How are they so fast?"
Shu exclaimed, "Not only that, they can pinpoint our direction.
I bet they have a Dragon Radar too!"
Mai nodded in agreement. "Yeah. They couldn't have gathered six Dragon Balls without a Radar.
But they're so mean.
They even put one Dragon Ball away by itself,
so we're still one short. How awful."
Pilaf laughed loudly. "Heeheeheehee, it doesn't matter.
We'll have all seven Dragon Balls soon anyway.
Phew~
This is so lonely!
After all my hardships, I, King Pilaf, can finally rule the world!
Hahahahahaha..."
Suddenly, Mai stared at the Radar and froze.
"King Pilaf, look! It seems like they're heading back."
Pilaf said, "What? What's going on?"
Shu said, "Maybe they saw how magnificent our castle is and got scared?"
Pilaf's eyes lit up.
"Shu has a point.
I can't help it. My power is immense, and my strength runs deep.
I just can't hide it!
I scared my prey away. What a shame...
Ahahahaha..."
Mai asked, "So, King Pilaf, what should we do?"
"You two, take the robot and go after them. We must get those Dragon Balls!"
"Yes, King!"
With that, the two of them raced toward the machine room.
On the Flying Nimbus, Goku and Bulma could both see Pilaf's Castle.
They stopped in the air not far from the castle.
Bulma exclaimed, "I didn't realize it was this close. We reached their castle before we even caught up to them."
Son Goku turned to look at Bulma.
"What should we do? Should we break in, or should I use a Kamehameha to blow up the castle?"
That was a joke. If Goku blew up the castle, they'd all die.
They'd stolen a Dragon Ball, but they didn't deserve to die for that!
Bulma surveyed the area, looking at the castle and then up at the sky.
The sun had already set,
and night was about to fall.
A full moon hung in the sky, half its face hidden behind gauzy clouds.
Seeing this, Bulma suddenly remembered.
History had changed in a few ways, but it was eerily similar.
On the night they searched for the last Dragon Ball in her previous life, many of them had been trapped inside Pilaf's Castle.
At their most desperate moment, Goku had seen the full moon
and transformed into a Great Ape, destroying Pilaf's Castle.
Their crisis had only ended when Puar transformed into a pair of scissors and cut off Goku's tail.
Now the full moon was about to come out, and Goku still had his tail. That could be dangerous!
She immediately said, "Goku, let's not worry about finding the Dragon Balls for now.
It's dangerous here. Let's get away first."
As she spoke, Bulma piloted the Flying Nimbus away in the opposite direction.
Son Goku looked confused.
"Bulma, we're about to find the Dragon Balls. Why are we leaving?
Are you worried I can't beat them?"
Bulma hurriedly tore a strip of cloth from her clothes.
"Goku, how about we play a game?"
Bulma suggested it in a playful tone.
Son Goku looked at the strip of cloth, even more confused. "What game?"