"Hey! Are you planning to go back on your word?" A nimble, chubby figure leaped through the hatch of the aircraft with a whoosh.
Raditz took a closer look at the newcomer, then suddenly remembered what he'd forgotten.
"Heh-heh, I'm taking you with me now, aren't I, Yajirobe?" Raditz said with an embarrassed smile.
"Hmph! I bet you're trying to get out of buying me that huge meal." Yajirobe looked glum and clearly didn't believe him.
"How could I?" Raditz took a Senzu Bean from a Hoi-Poi Capsule and handed it over. "Here, calm down. Have a bean."
"Hey! Don't think you can fob me off with some lousy bean!" Yajirobe glared at the unremarkable green bean in his hand, his tone fierce.
"It's just an appetizer. Give it a try," Raditz said.
Yajirobe eyed him suspiciously, but still tossed the bean into his mouth.
"Ugh, it tastes awful, and it's not even filling... Huh?!" Before he could finish, a wave of fullness instantly swept over him.
Looking at the chubby man beside him, now even more puffed up, Raditz couldn't help laughing at his successful prank. "Well? Still hungry? I promised you a huge meal, and you'll get one. Let's go."
With that, he sped toward West City, heading for the nearest restaurant.
Raditz didn't have much money, but while collecting the Dragon Balls, he'd come across some valuable jewelry and gold. Selling them had earned him enough to treat Yajirobe to a huge meal.
"Come on in, you two. Help yourselves to the food and enjoy," the waiter said warmly, greeting the new arrivals.
"Yajirobe, eat your fill. Take whatever you want," Raditz said, waving a hand grandly.
The chubby little man shot him a look. "What the heck did you give me earlier? I'm not hungry at all."
"Are you still going to eat?"
"Of course! I've been waiting months for this huge meal. I won't stop until you're bankrupt!"
"Hahaha!"
Outside Bulma's family villa in West City.
"Is this your house?" Yajirobe asked in astonishment as he looked over the luxurious residence.
"How could it be? It belongs to a friend."
"Figures. You're so stingy, there's no way you could own a house this big."
"..." Raditz was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Fine, I'm off. See you next time." Yajirobe waved and ambled away.
Raditz watched him disappear around the corner, then turned and entered Bulma's home.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Brief!"
Raditz greeted the beautiful woman who was, as usual, in the garden.
"Oh, it's Bulma's little boyfriend!" Mrs. Brief said with a bright smile. "Bulma and her father are in the lab."
Raditz had long since gotten used to Bulma's mother's "usual greeting." He didn't bother correcting her, simply nodded, and headed straight for the laboratory area.
The Briefs' testing area was huge. After checking several chaotic labs, he finally found the two of them in a hemispherical building.
Dr. Brief and Bulma were bent over a jumble of complicated instruments and equipment, intently adjusting something. Neither noticed Raditz approach.
Seeing that they would be busy for a while, Raditz didn't disturb them. He found a corner, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes to rest.
His strength had been increasing rapidly lately, and he needed to get himself into peak condition for the special training ahead.
Time slipped by unnoticed, and before long, it was afternoon.
Bulma and her father finally finished what they were working on.
"Whoa! When did you get here? You didn't even say anything." Bulma jumped when she noticed the figure sitting in the corner of the room.
"Oh, you were busy, so I didn't want to interrupt." Raditz stood up, anticipation in his eyes. "So, can I use the Gravity Chamber now?"
"Uh... Dad says it still needs a little something," Bulma replied, looking at Raditz's excited expression.
"What's missing?"
"A stereo system. Bulma told me you'd be training in here, so how could we leave out the music?" Dr. Brief turned around and pushed up his glasses, looking completely serious.
"Even during grueling training, you need beautiful melodies to help you relax."
Raditz: "..." That'd be nice.
Raditz could appreciate Bulma's father's passion for a comfortable lifestyle.
Who didn't want to enjoy life?
But only if you had the strength to back it up, right?
"Dr. Brief, if we skip the stereo, can I use it right now?"
"You really don't want one?"
"I don't," Raditz said firmly.
"Ah, young people these days have no appreciation for the finer things. Come with me. I'll show you how to turn it on."
Dr. Brief shook his head and led Raditz to the control panel in the middle of the room.
"This is the manual gravity regulator. It can generate up to ten times Earth's gravity."
"Be careful not to set it too high. At ten times gravity, if you weigh fifty kilograms, your body will feel like it weighs five hundred."
"Your body could suffer direct compression injuries..."
"Dr. Brief, can it only generate ten times gravity at most?" Raditz asked.
"Well... The theoretical limit is actually a hundred times, but the controls only go up to ten. I was afraid you'd make a mistake and crush yourself to death." The doctor was half joking.
"That's fine."
Raditz knew his limits. At this stage, ten times gravity was already the most his body could handle. Anything higher would be self-harm.
"By the way, can the Gravity Chamber fit inside a Hoi-Poi Capsule?" Raditz suddenly realized.
"Well... I hadn't considered that yet. If you want it to, we can make it happen, but it'll take time."
"I see..."
He really should have thought of that sooner and mentioned it to the doctor.
In that case...
Raditz turned to Bulma and asked a little awkwardly, "So... Bulma, could I stay here for a while?"
He and Bulma were friends, but the thought of living at her house long-term still made him nervous. He scratched his head and added, "If there's anything you need me to do, just ask."
"Go ahead and stay. Stay as long as you like. There's nothing you need to do," Bulma answered without hesitation. "Besides, you provided the spaceship. We can call it friends helping each other out."
Bulma's reply left Raditz momentarily stunned. He stared blankly at the delicate face of the girl before him.
"Ahem! Ahem!" Dr. Brief cleared his throat at just the right moment, interrupting the boy's rather direct gaze.
"Uh... Well, thank you very much." Raditz came back to his senses and hurriedly thanked her.
"Are you an idiot?" Bulma rolled her eyes at Raditz's flustered reaction.
"Haha." Raditz laughed awkwardly, unable to hide his embarrassment.
Early the next morning.
After a night's rest, Raditz felt completely refreshed.
He stepped into the Gravity Chamber again, and the heavy metal door closed behind him.
"My weighted training before was about one and a half times my normal weight. I'll start with three times this time..."
When climbing Korin Tower, Raditz had climbed with extra weight on his back. He had built a solid foundation at one and a half times gravity and could adapt to it easily.
He took a deep breath and switched on the gravity controls.
Bzz—
At once, an invisible crushing weight engulfed him, slamming down over his entire body.
Raditz's knees bent, the bones throughout his body creaking softly as his internal organs seemed to sink.
"Ugh..."
He grunted, his back involuntarily bending under the pressure.
"As expected, it's nothing like simply carrying extra weight. It presses down on my whole body, from the inside out."
"But I can handle it. It's still within my limits. So... I'll start with the basics."
Raditz slowly lowered himself, placed both palms on the floor, and began his first push-up beneath the incredible weight pressing evenly across his body.
"One, two, three..."
Bulma got up early that morning because she knew someone was starting his special training today.
For some reason, she wanted to go check on him.
Carrying a freshly brewed cup of coffee, she strolled down the corridor and peered through the thick window of the Gravity Chamber.
Raditz was inside, working up a sweat.
He wasn't doing flashy exercises or pushing himself to the limit. Instead, he was practicing the most basic and tedious exercises: squats, push-ups, and sit-ups.
But with gravity three times normal, every movement was exceptionally heavy, and each time he exerted himself, the sharply defined muscles in his body tensed.
His clothes were already soaked with sweat.
Bulma leaned against the window, took a sip of coffee, and glanced at the heart rate and gravity readings on the screen beside her. The numbers were steady, with nothing out of the ordinary.
"Hmph, he's taking this pretty seriously," she murmured to herself, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
Just then, Raditz finished a set and took a short break.
He wiped the sweat from his face and turned without thinking, meeting Bulma's gaze through the window.
Bulma raised an eyebrow and casually waved to him.
Seeing her relaxed figure by the window seemed to ease the tension in Raditz's face. A faint smile appeared.
He said nothing, only nodded before turning around and starting his next set of exercises.
His movements seemed steadier and more focused than before.