Wishes and Resurrection

After discussing things for a while, they returned to the matter at hand.

"Now that the situation has stabilized, can we ask King Kai to contact the Guardian of Earth?"

Bulma's question made everyone sober up at once.

After all, what they were about to attempt concerned the future of the entire Planet Namek, as well as all the Namekians who had died because of Frieza.

If they succeeded, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu could all be brought back to life.

"Yeah. I'll contact King Kai right now," Son Goku said, nodding.

He was about to gather his thoughts when North Kai's voice came through first.

[While you were talking, I contacted the Guardian of Earth and explained the situation. He has already gathered the Dragon Balls and summoned Earth's Shenron. However, because of the distance, Earth's Shenron might not be able to grant a wish to revive specific individuals. And there's some uncertainty about how the Grand Elder died, so I changed the wish to revive everyone on Planet Namek who died because of Frieza. We'll have to see whether the Grand Elder can be brought back.]

North Kai's words made Son Goku, Krillin, Son Gohan, Piccolo, and Bulma look even more serious.

Ron, however, wasn't worried at all.

After all, this was exactly how things had gone in the original story.

It was only because of his arrival that the story had veered off course.

Of course, even if things had changed, the wishes themselves would go exactly as before.

"Then I guess that's our only option." Son Goku nodded, indicating he understood.

Then they waited.

Even though the wish had already been made, there was no telling whether it would work.

Everyone spread out their ki sensing and began searching for changes across Planet Namek.

Time passed, little by little.

Simply put, waiting always felt like an eternity...

Then, suddenly, a number of ki signatures appeared out of nowhere. They were all quite powerful, and everyone's faces lit up with joy.

Piccolo, especially, was overwhelmed. As a Namekian, he was deeply moved to know that his people had all been revived.

Perhaps this was a feeling Piccolo had developed on his own. Perhaps it came from Nail, whom he had assimilated.

Either way, Piccolo was no longer the Piccolo of the early original story.

This was the beginning of his transformation. From then on, he would become a full-time babysitter for the Son family.

"It worked! It really worked! They're all back! Everyone's been revived!" Krillin cried excitedly.

"I can sense Dende's ki! He's right over there!" Son Gohan shouted, just as excitedly.

Dende's death had left him heartbroken, guilt-ridden, and furious.

Now that Dende had been revived, he was overjoyed.

To Son Gohan, Dende was a good friend. They had been through so much together, and Dende had helped them a great deal.

Without Dende's help, Piccolo wouldn't have been revived, and they wouldn't have made it to Planet Namek.

If Dende had died because of them and couldn't be brought back, it would have haunted him forever.

As soon as they finished speaking, the sky over Planet Namek suddenly darkened.

There was no doubt about it: this was what happened when the Dragon was summoned.

"Is that... the Dragon summoned by Planet Namek's Dragon Balls?" Son Goku cried out, apparently catching sight of something.

Everyone looked in the same direction.

They were some distance away, but they could make out its general shape.

To be honest, Porunga was simply so huge that they could see his general form from so far away.

"That design is pretty strange," Bulma said. It was her first time seeing him, too.

She had been hiding in a remote cave before, and with ordinary human eyesight, she wouldn't have been able to see him anyway.

As everyone marveled at the sight, North Kai's voice came through again.

[Everything went as I expected: the Grand Elder was revived, too. But he doesn't have much time left, so you'll need to hurry over and make your wishes... Also, Planet Namek's Dragon has already granted two wishes, so only one remains. If you want to make another wish after that, you'll have to wait a year...]

"Understood, King Kai," Son Goku replied. Then he turned to Krillin, Son Gohan, and Piccolo. "Let's go now and make our wish as soon as possible, before anything unexpected happens."

With Son Goku leading the way, Krillin, Son Gohan, and Piccolo all nodded.

"Hey, what about me? I can't fly. Are you going to leave me behind again?" Bulma asked, growing anxious.

Did these people never think about her?

"Sorry, sorry..."

Son Goku was about to say that he would carry her when Ron stepped forward and smiled at Bulma. "It's okay. I'll take you with me. You won't be left behind."

As he spoke, Ron held out his hand to Bulma.

Son Goku, Krillin, and the others gave awkward smiles at the sight, unsure what to say.

Bulma gave Ron a grateful look, then rolled her eyes at Son Goku and the others as if to say, Look at you. Someone I just met treats me better than you do.

"Then let's go. If we get there in time, I really want to meet the Grand Elder and thank him in person." Son Goku nodded at Ron, then changed the subject.

At Son Goku's words, Krillin and Son Gohan suddenly looked guilty.

"Actually, if the Grand Elder hadn't unlocked Gohan's and my potential, he probably would've lived longer," Krillin said.

"We should've realized it then. We were so excited about getting stronger that we overlooked the Grand Elder's condition..." Son Gohan said, nodding in agreement.

"I see. Then I definitely have to meet him," Son Goku said, nodding.

As they spoke, they used the Flight Technique and flew toward Porunga.

Ron scooped up Bulma, who hadn't yet recovered from her surprise, and followed close behind Son Goku and the others.

He had already carried her once, so there was no need to hesitate.

His first time had been to save her.

But during their conversation just now, Bulma hadn't resisted him. She had even subtly given him a chance to pursue her.

So why hold back?

As a man, if a woman hadn't rejected him, he needed to take the initiative. Otherwise, he might as well resign himself to being a doormat.

Ron wanted to stay in control.

He showed Bulma his full forcefulness and confidence, making her fall under the spell of his presence.

He had to do this. Otherwise, he wouldn't win Bulma over, and if she ended up getting the upper hand, he feared he'd become henpecked in the future.

Ron had no idea that Bulma was especially susceptible to this side of him.