Indeed, not to mention that he hadn't learned the Flight Technique yet.
Even if he had, with his current power level, he would fly very slowly and use up a lot of stamina.
For him, the Flying Nimbus was still the best way to get around.
"Okay, you've thought it through better than I have. We'll do it your way."
Bulma smiled sweetly. "Of course! I'm a scientist's daughter, after all. My IQ is 250!
There's nothing left for us to do here. Why don't we head back to West City now?"
"Mm!"
With that, the two of them rode the Flying Nimbus straight to West City.
A few minutes earlier.
Chi-Chi and Ox-King were still heading west, flying around in search of Goku.
"Ugh, we know which way they went, but we don't know where they landed. It's so hard to find them!"
Chi-Chi said, "Dad, when we reach the next town, let's land and ask around."
"Mm, all right."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sky suddenly darkened.
The sky, which had been clear and blue, was now covered in thick clouds, with lightning flashing among the dark masses.
"Oh no, is it going to rain?
The weather forecast said there wouldn't be any rain around here!"
Ox-King looked up at the sky, uncertain.
The dark clouds had appeared far too suddenly.
Chi-Chi gazed up at the clouds, then suddenly spotted a glimmer of golden light in the distance.
"Dad, look! What's that?"
Ox-King took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes, but he still couldn't see.
"I can't! It's too far away. I can't make it out!"
A suspicion flashed through Chi-Chi's mind. "The sky suddenly went dark. It's so strange.
Could Goku and the others have gathered all seven Dragon Balls and summoned Shenron to make a wish?"
Ox-King blinked.
"You're right. The weather changed far too suddenly. It's obviously not normal.
Now that you mention it, that does seem likely!"
Chi-Chi immediately urged him on. "Dad, hurry! Go faster!
We need to catch up before they leave."
Ox-King nodded. "Okay, Chi-Chi, fasten your seat belt!"
With that, the plane sped toward the golden light at full power.
Chi-Chi and Ox-King had been heading west the whole time.
And West City lay even farther west.
There was no chance they would cross paths, and sure enough, Ox-King and Chi-Chi missed them.
The two stood outside the ruins of Pilaf Castle, looking dejected.
Ox-King tried to console her. "Chi-Chi, after Goku and the others find the Dragon Balls,
there's no telling what they'll do next.
They'll be hard to find now. Why don't we go home first?"
Chi-Chi looked crestfallen.
In a childish huff, she said, "No! I want to find Goku!"
Ox-King scratched his head in frustration.
"How are we supposed to find him?
I can't tell fortunes.
The world's so big. Unless we can divine where he went, how could we possibly find him?"
Chi-Chi asked curiously, "Aren't there any famous fortune-tellers in this world?"
Ox-King scratched his head.
"Now that you mention it, I think I've heard of one. Give me a second to think!"
Suddenly, inspiration struck.
Ox-King slapped his thigh.
"Oh, I remember!
Master Roshi's older sister is called Fortuneteller Baba.
If something exists in this world, she can divine its location. That goes for people, too."
Chi-Chi's eyes lit up. "Really? Then let's go find Fortuneteller Baba!"
"Wait a moment. Let's go home first and bring some treasure.
I heard Fortuneteller Baba charges a lot of money to tell fortunes."
Chi-Chi beamed. "Oh, I see! Dad really has thought of everything. Let's go!"
With that, father and daughter flew toward Fire Mountain.
For his daughter's future romance, Ox-King was all in.
Chapter 29: Bulma's Sociable Parents
Half a day later, Bulma brought Goku to Capsule Corporation in West City.
The two of them walked into the courtyard.
A robot greeted Bulma. "Welcome back, Miss."
"Mm!" Bulma replied casually.
"Bulma, your house is huge. You even have a dinosaur in the courtyard..."
Son Goku wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
Bulma nodded. "Mm, yeah. There are lots of cats and dogs, too. Dad picked them all up nearby."
"Your dad really likes animals?"
"Mm, sure does. He eats them every meal."
The two hadn't walked far when they reached the laboratory entrance.
Just then, they ran into Dr. Brief, who was riding a bicycle.
Bulma was overjoyed to see her father.
After all, she had been reborn, and she hadn't seen him in over twenty years.
But Goku was with her, so getting too close to her father wouldn't be appropriate; she didn't want to leave Goku out.
Besides, in this world, she had only been away from her father for a little over half a month.
She could only suppress her overwhelming joy and say calmly,
"Dad, I'm back!"
Dr. Brief's expression was calm, too.
"Oh, Bulma, you're back early.
Hey, who's this?"
Dr. Brief pointed at Son Goku.
Bulma introduced him. "Let me introduce you. This is my good friend, Son Goku.
He may be small, but he's a great martial artist.
He protected me the whole way here!"
Dr. Brief was surprised.
"Oh, your name is Son Goku!
That's a great name.
You must be really good at martial arts!
And you're so small and cute, too."
Dr. Brief turned to Bulma
and said, "Bulma, I guess I haven't been paying enough attention to you.
I never realized you had such unusual tastes. You actually like a tiny boyfriend like this.
Do you have a thing for children?"
Even though Bulma had lived two lifetimes,
she blushed instantly at Dr. Brief's words.
She wanted to explain that Goku wasn't her boyfriend.
But...
She liked Goku when he grew up, and she couldn't exactly deny it.
She hadn't admitted that she wanted to be the future Goku's girlfriend,
but she didn't want to tell Goku he wasn't her boyfriend, either.
She wanted to raise him into one.
And in her previous life, Goku had been shy and unsociable, and didn't talk much.
Hearing Dr. Brief say something so shocking, he was at a loss for words.
Seeing that neither of them said anything, Dr. Brief put on his usual friendly manner again,
then walked over to Son Goku with a smile and asked in a low voice, "Hey, Goku, have you two kissed yet?"
Even though he'd spoken softly, Bulma could still hear him perfectly clearly.
She quickly pulled Goku away, blushing as she shouted at her father.
"Dad, what are you doing?
Don't say things like that! He's still a child!!!"
Dr. Brief looked unperturbed. "Bulma, don't be so fierce. Girls should be gentle!"
Bulma's face turned even redder. She was so mortified to have a father like this.
She shouted, "With a dad like you, how could I possibly be gentle!"
Dr. Brief asked again, "Oh, right, Bulma,
didn't you say you were going to look for the Dragon Balls?
How did it go? Did you find them?"
Hearing Dr. Brief change the subject, Bulma finally let out a deep breath.
"We found them. We made our wish, then came back."