The Unopenable Box; The Vexatious Best Friend's Daily Argument

As the meal reached its halfway point, Son Gohan, Trunks, and Son Goten returned after collecting the Dragon Balls.

Seeing them arrive, Son Goku waved them over to join the feast.

"Gohan, Goten, Trunks, you're back just in time! Come and eat; the food Bulma prepared is delicious!"

Vegeta had intended to compete with Son Goku over the meal, but after glancing at Son Gohan and the others, he didn't slow his pace at all—in fact, he sped up.

However, this small maneuver didn't escape Son Goku's eyes. Seeing him abandon all sportsmanship to gain an advantage, he immediately cried out in dissatisfaction, "Hey!"

"Vegeta, you're too cunning! You actually snuck an extra bite while I wasn't looking!"

After that shout, he ignored Son Gohan and the others, focusing entirely on his food once more.

The way the two of them scrambled and fought over the dishes was like a pair of starving tigers pouncing on their prey.

Yet, seeing them like this, Son Gohan and the others weren't surprised; instead, they wore faint smiles.

If they hadn't just finished eating themselves, they might have been tempted to join the fray.

Originally, they had intended to summon Shenron immediately to rescue the hero Tapion.

But considering that Tarble and the others had returned, they decided to let them try to open the box first.

At this moment, Bulma asked, "Gohan, have you gathered all the Dragon Balls?"

"Of course, they're all right here." Son Gohan shook the brown bag in his hand. "We'll try after Dad and Uncle Vegeta finish eating."

"If that doesn't work, we'll summon Shenron as a backup."

Hearing this, Bulma nodded. "I suppose that's the only way."

Then, Son Gohan and the others stood by watching Tarble and his group eat, completely failing to notice the mage Hoi, who was eating elegantly, curl the corner of his lips. He cast a subtle, fleeting glance at the brown bag in Son Gohan's hand.

A flash of imperceptible joy gleamed in his eyes.

My treasure!

My precious treasure!

Just wait a little longer; soon, you will see the light of day again!

Almost there, almost there!

Unfortunately, no one present noticed his gaze, which was filled with anticipation, triumph, and greed.

Of course, this was because his small movements were very subtle and cautious, and they lasted for such a short time that they didn't attract the attention of Tarble and the others.

Had it been otherwise, he certainly would have been discovered.

One must realize that with the current strength of Tarble and his companions, their perception and intuition were incredibly sharp.

In particular, they were highly sensitive to gazes filled with malice.

If they hadn't all been focused on their meal, his little stunt just now would have absolutely been detected by Tarble and the others.

Twenty minutes later, Tarble and the three others were finally full.

Led by Tarble, everyone quickly helped clear away the tableware.

However, the task of washing the dishes was naturally left to the servants.

Afterward, the group strolled to an open area within the villa—a spacious lawn.

For Saiyans, a bit of post-meal exercise after a hearty feast was perfectly appropriate.

Tarble looked at the silver box in his hand and gestured toward Son Goku, Vegeta, and Licks.

"Which one of you wants to try first?"

In the past, Vegeta and Son Goku would have certainly fought over who went first.

But things were different now; they were putting on a show for that old man.

Therefore, neither of them stepped forward immediately.

This scene left the unsuspecting Son Gohan and Bulma quite puzzled.

What's going on?

Why aren't the two of them fighting to be first today?

For a moment, their faces were full of question marks.

When neither Son Goku nor Vegeta responded, Licks took the initiative and stepped forward.

"Your Highness, let me try first."

Having spent so much time together, Licks generally stopped referring to himself as a "subordinate" at the request of Tarble and Vegeta.

However, he insisted on maintaining his respectful address for the two brothers.

Since he insisted, Tarble and Vegeta didn't press the matter further.

"Fine, you give it a try. Just be careful—if it doesn't open, don't force it."

Tarble tossed the silver box in his hand over and gave a brief instruction.

Hearing this, Licks nodded slightly: "Yes, Your Highness."

At this moment, Bulma, standing to the side, snuck up to Vegeta's ear. With a mix of curiosity and a hint of worry, she whispered: "Vegeta, you've been acting a bit strange today!"

"Why aren't you and Goku going up to try it first?"

Vegeta, of course, would not tell her the truth. If he said it in advance and things didn't turn out the way Tarble had guessed, wouldn't it be incredibly awkward?

However, he had already prepared his excuse.

"Hmph!"

"For such a trivial matter, why would someone with real strength need to go first?"

Hearing this, Bulma smiled and said: "Oh—"

"So that's how it is. Then it's fine."

Hmm~

That's the tone!

It feels right!

It seemed there really wasn't anything wrong with these two.

Knowing that nothing was amiss, she finally felt at ease.

Immediately, she focused her attention on Licks, who was in the center of the field, seemingly using all his strength to try and open the box.

Vegeta seemed to guess what was on Bulma's mind; he curled his lip silently and then watched Licks's strenuous performance quietly.

At the same time, he calculated how he should perform in a moment.

He needed to ensure that Son Gohan and the others wouldn't notice he was hiding his strength, while also ensuring that old guy wouldn't see through the ruse.

He remembered that when he entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, his base combat power was around one hundred billion...

While Vegeta was pondering his strategy, Licks in the center of the field seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He was drenched in sweat, yet he still hadn't managed to open the small silver box.

In the end, he gave up.

Holding the box, he walked up to Tarble with a look of shame on his face.

"Your Highness, I tried my best, but I truly cannot open it."

"I am very sorry to have disappointed you."

Watching Licks's realistic performance, Tarble immediately gave him a mental thumbs-up.

Impressive!

He actually worked himself into a sweat; he's really putting his all into this act!

Though he thought this to himself, on the surface, he offered words of comfort: "It's alright, doing your best is enough."

"Didn't Gohan say it before? Even he used his full strength and couldn't open it."

"We have all witnessed Gohan's strength. Since even he couldn't open it, in my opinion, there is no need for us to waste any more time."

"How about we just summon Shenron and ask him for help?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Son Goku and Vegeta immediately protested, shouting in unison.

"Let me try!" x2

They hadn't even had a chance to try yet; how could they just go straight to Shenron?

That was absolutely out of the question!

Even if they were acting, they had to at least give it a go.

However, because they had spoken at the same time, their subconscious desire to "outdo the other" was instantly awakened.

After exchanging a surprised look, they spoke in unison once more: "Let me go first!"

"Hey, Kakarot, are you looking for a fight? Why do you have to compete with me over everything?"

"What are you talking about, Vegeta? It was clearly me who said it first; it has to be me first."

"Bullshit, I said it first! I'm going first!"