Face-Rushing, Aren't You Going to Explode?

West City, Capsule Corp.

Raditz walked up to the door of Bulma's laboratory with practiced ease and knocked.

"Come in," Bulma's crisp voice called from inside.

Raditz pushed the door open and stepped in. At the workbench, Bulma was focused on tinkering with a complex mechanical component, not even looking up.

"Bulma," Raditz called out.

"Hmm?" Bulma finally looked up, her gaze landing on the figure at the door.

She froze for a moment, blinked, and a look of disbelief washed over her face.

"Ra... Raditz?" She stood up, trotted over, and circled around him, looking him up and down. "Is it really you? You... how did you get so tall?!"

The person before her was now taller than she was, with a sturdy, imposing build, sharp facial features, and bright eyes that radiated a sense of calm confidence.

Although he was wearing the same martial arts gi as before, he was a completely different person from the boy in her memories.

"Who else would it be?" Raditz chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "It's been two years; I had to change a little."

Actually, it's been two and a half years, he thought to himself, since I spent half a year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Even though only half a day passed outside, my body grew while I was in there.

"That's a bit too much change..." Bulma muttered, her eyes lingering on Raditz's face for a few extra seconds before she realized it. For some reason, her cheeks felt a little hot.

The guy really did look... quite easy on the eyes.

She quickly shook her head and said in a blunt tone, "I suppose you have a shred of conscience, knowing to come back and visit."

"Tell me, what do you want?"

This guy never visited unless he needed something; otherwise, he was nowhere to be found.

"Can't I visit you without wanting something?" Raditz laughed, then cut to the chase: "Actually, I want to look at that Gravity Chamber. I plan to keep using it, but the Doctor set a ten-fold gravity limit before. Can you help me remove it?"

Bulma looked thoughtful. "Removing the limit is simple, but can your body handle the higher gravity?"

"Don't worry about it, I can handle it." Raditz paused, then added, "Also, I want to go collect the Dragon Balls again."

"Dragon Balls?" Bulma asked, confused. "Do you have a wish to make? Krillin has already been revived, you know."

"Yeah... I have some questions I'd like to confirm with Shenron."

Seeing that Raditz wouldn't elaborate, Bulma didn't press him. She turned and rummaged through a cabinet nearby. "Here, this is the latest version of the Dragon Radar."

"Thanks," Raditz said, taking the radar. "I'll be going then. I'll come back once I've settled this."

Raditz left the lab and immediately set off.

With his current strength and the speed of his Flight Technique, finding the scattered Dragon Balls was no longer a difficult task. In just one day, he had gathered all seven.

In a vast field, Raditz laid out the seven Dragon Balls. As he recited the incantation, the sky suddenly turned black, and the green dragon manifested.

"State your wish," Shenron's deep voice echoed through the air. "I can grant any wish, but only one."

Looking at the familiar dragon in the sky, Raditz pondered for a long time.

"Please teleport me to the person who sent the recording of the martial arts tournament to King Piccolo. Can you do that?"

The unknown plot deviation caused by his own actions had been like a thorn in Raditz's side, constantly weighing on his mind.

Even though it hadn't led to any uncontrollable situations in the end, it was better to dig out this hidden enemy as soon as possible.

You want to hide in the shadows and pull the strings?

I'll just use the Dragon Balls to teleport right into your face. Won't that blow your plans up?

As for whether he might end up in an enemy stronghold and fall into a passive position, Raditz simply believed in the principle that raw power overcomes all schemes.

"Your wish can be granted, but if the distance is too close, it requires the other party's consent," Shenron said expressionlessly.

"It requires his consent?" Raditz frowned. He had only heard that teleporting a person required their consent, but he needed the target's consent to go to them? Wouldn't that tip his hand?

"Yes."

Raditz: "..." He suspected Shenron was making things difficult for him.

"Shenron, I'm the one who had Kami save you, you know? Can't you make an exception?"

"I am well aware, and I am very grateful for your help," Shenron said sincerely.

"However, the wish must be granted this way. Those are the rules."

Fine, fine, rules it is. When I go to Namek later and find a new Kami, I'll teach you what rules really are.

Raditz grumbled inwardly, but there was nothing he could do; Earth's Shenron was just not cutting it.

After a moment of thought, he had to change his phrasing. "Then just teleport me to the closest location that doesn't require his consent. That should work, right?"

"That wish is simple." A golden light flashed in Shenron's eyes.

Instantly, Raditz vanished.

After a brief moment of dizziness, Raditz found himself standing in an unfamiliar environment.

"Ugh... where is this?"

Before him stretched an endless expanse of bizarre, yellowish-brown rocky mountains, jagged and steep like an irregular labyrinth, desolate and deathly silent.

"This location is way too remote; it's just rocks everywhere." Raditz slowly ascended into the air, overlooking the stone maze. "They certainly knew how to pick a spot to hide. If someone tucked themselves into any random cave here, no one would ever find them. However..."

The location Shenron provided was nearby; the target should be hiding within this small area.

He lowered his altitude and began to search carefully.

The rocky mountains were crisscrossed with gullies and riddled with caves, but after a thorough search, he found no obvious signs of human activity.

Using his ability to sense ki, he failed to detect any powerful energy signatures.

There were only sporadic, faint traces of ki, at best weaker than a "five-power scrub."

Just as he was considering whether to use energy blasts to conduct a "carpet" search of the area, a somewhat familiar, yet strangely distinct aura began rapidly approaching from the distance!