Ron: "Want to learn? I'll teach you."

"The place just went through a huge battle, between Frieza and Kakarot... Son Goku, that is..."

Ron gave Bulma a simple explanation of what had happened.

"A battle between Goku and Frieza? Wait, so Goku actually faced off against the Emperor of the Universe? How is he now? Did he win or lose? Is the fight over?..."

Bulma fired off a string of questions, clearly desperate to know the outcome.

"Judging by the situation, that super-explosion that just shook the entire planet of Namek was caused by Kakarot's Spirit Bomb. Frieza got caught in the blast pretty badly..." Ron didn't spell it out.

"So Goku won?! That's wonderful! Now we don't have to worry about retaliation." Bulma beamed.

Her emotions surged, and her body shifted with them.

Her face turned red again.

Ron's hand had moved where he was holding her.

Her clothes were thick, but they fit snugly, and she could feel his palm kneading her.

"Um, could you maybe find somewhere to put me down first?"

Though she didn't dislike it, Bulma still spoke up to Ron.

She was conflicted. After all, she was technically still spoken for.

Even though she and Yamcha had broken up for the umpteenth time, Yamcha had died protecting Earth this time, and Bulma had risked coming to Namek to save him and the others.

If she got too close to another man, wouldn't that mean she was abandoning Yamcha?

She knew what she was like. She really couldn't take her eyes off a handsome man, but she had her limits.

If Yamcha disappointed her again after he was brought back to life, then she would give up on him for good.

They had been together for so many years. Even if they hadn't been together the whole time, they had known each other since they were teenagers. If Yamcha hadn't kept falling for other women and fooling around behind her back, she would have given herself to him long ago. They would have been married with children by now.

Now she was nearly an old maid.

She had waited as long as she could. Once she turned thirty, she absolutely wouldn't waste any more of her life on him.

Their eyes met, and Ron's direct gaze made Bulma blush again.

Ron said no more. He nodded, then locked onto the ki of Piccolo, Krillin, Son Gohan, and Son Goku before flying down to them.

At that moment, Piccolo, Krillin, and Son Gohan were celebrating the Spirit Bomb's success in destroying Frieza.

Son Goku found it strange that he seemed to have won so easily, but Frieza's ki had indeed disappeared. King Kai on North King Kai's Planet had also sent his congratulations, so Goku believed Frieza had really been blown up.

Of course, none of them knew that Frieza was still alive.

They only thought he was dead.

"Even though we defeated the Emperor of the Universe this time, we were incredibly lucky. If anything had gone wrong, we'd have been the ones to die." After resting long enough to recover his strength, Son Goku stood and said to Piccolo, "Piccolo, we have you to thank in the end. Without you, the Super Spirit Bomb wouldn't have taken shape. By the way, how did your power increase so much all of a sudden? And it doesn't feel like your ki."

Goku's words made Piccolo, Krillin, and Son Gohan freeze.

Only then did they remember someone was missing.

"I knew I'd forgotten something. I just realized—where's Ron?" Krillin exclaimed.

"Yeah, we were all together just now. We got caught in the explosion. I wonder where he went," Son Gohan said.

"Ron? Who's that?" Son Goku asked suspiciously.

"He's a Saiyan, like you. My power came from him. He didn't want to interfere in your fight with Frieza, so he lent me his strength instead. As it turned out, he underestimated both our limits. He thought we wouldn't be able to defeat Frieza," Piccolo said gravely.

Son Goku listened in bewilderment, but quickly understood. "I see! I never imagined there were other Saiyans alive besides us. And if he could lend you that much power, he must be incredibly strong."

"Yeah. Ron said he'd been trapped on a Primitive Planet since he was a child, for a full twenty-five years. He only crossed the universe using Instant Transmission after sensing the ki from your battle with Frieza," Krillin continued.

"Instant Transmission? Across the universe? There's a technique like that?" Son Goku exclaimed, stunned, with a hint of longing in his eyes.

If he learned that technique, he could go anywhere he wanted!

Krillin was about to say more.

The next moment, a voice rang out and interrupted them.

"Want to learn? I'll teach you."

The speaker was Ron.

He had just landed with Bulma in his arms, leaving all four of them staring in surprise.

"Bulma."

"Aunt Bulma!"

"Bulma, why are you being carried by him?"

Son Goku, Son Gohan, and Krillin spoke one after another.

They all ignored what Ron had said.

At their voices, Bulma climbed out of Ron's arms and landed steadily on the ground.

"Hmph! Did all of you forget I was still on this planet? If he hadn't saved me, I'd be dead by now, you know!"

Bulma was furious.

Her words made the three of them feel awkward.

After all, they were the ones who had asked Bulma to come to Namek, and they really had forgotten about her.

They had only remembered her earlier when Piccolo mentioned her.

Now Bulma had arrived in Ron's arms, which made it obvious that Ron had noticed her during the explosion and rushed to save her.

"Um, we're really sorry, Aunt Bulma. We kept getting attacked by enemies, so we couldn't get away..."

Son Gohan apologized to Bulma in his childish voice.

Krillin chimed in too. "It was my fault. I promised to keep you safe, but I only thought about ourselves. I'm sorry, Bulma. Go ahead and yell at me. I'm the one to blame."

Krillin wanted to take all the blame himself. He couldn't very well let a child take the fall, after all.

"All right, all right. I'm not unreasonable. What matters is that everyone's okay." Bulma could easily guess what had happened.

Looking at Krillin and Son Gohan, she felt hurt and angry, but didn't want to say more. What was done was done.

In the end, everyone was safe and the enemy had been dealt with. That was what mattered.

As for what came next, the Dragon Balls were the real priority...

But the Dragon Balls had already been used, and because the Grand Elder had died, the wish hadn't been fully granted before they turned to stone.