Instant Transmission

West City, three hundred meters underground.

This was the S-class top-secret research center of Capsule Corporation. There were no windows, and the walls were lined with specialized alloys capable of withstanding nuclear blasts. In the corner, the ventilation system emitted a low, rhythmic hum.

Dr. Gero stood in the center of the hall, staring blankly at the circular arrangement of floating consoles and holographic projectors. Back in the Red Ribbon Army, budget constraints had forced him to design cutting-edge equipment on nothing more than scrap paper. Now, that same technology was laid out before him like common produce.

"Gravity Wave Constraint Device, High-Precision Molecular Reconstructor..." Dr. Gero's withered fingers trembled slightly. To a mad scientist, this wasn't a basement; it was a sanctuary.

"All of this equipment is at your disposal."

Son Goku's voice pulled Dr. Gero back to reality. He walked over to the console and said confidently, "Bulma will grant you the highest clearance for research. Rare deep-sea metals, alien elements from meteorites—as long as you can list them, they will be delivered to your workbench within a week."

Gero whipped around, his eyes burning with fervor behind his thick-rimmed glasses.

"In return," Goku's voice was soft, yet carried a chilling coldness that made one's blood run cold.

"Your research must be absolutely subservient to me or Bulma. I will provide you with Saiyan cells and support your research into whatever you desire, but any crackpot ideas about turning living people into machines go straight into the trash."

Gero swallowed hard.

He had dealt with all sorts of ruthless characters, and his intuition told him that this seemingly calm and mild-mannered boy was a hundred times more terrifying than that fool Red Tess if he ever decided to turn hostile.

"Understood!" Gero lowered his head submissively. "As long as I can continue my research into life sciences, I, Gero, am at your command."

After putting the future father of the Androids in his place, Son Goku didn't linger in West City.

Summoning Shenron created too much of a stir. To avoid trouble, he took Bulma and the seven Dragon Balls, stepped onto the Flying Nimbus, and flew directly to an uninhabited desert island near the equator.

The sea breeze carried a salty tang, and nothing but deep blue water stretched to the horizon in every direction.

"This will do."

Bulma hopped off Goku's back, carrying her case, and laid the seven Dragon Balls out on a flat reef. As the seven orange spheres gathered together, the red stars embedded within began to pulse in unison, as if calling out to some ancient law.

"Come forth, Shenron!"

Bulma folded her hands and shouted.

The sky shifted. The cloudless heavens were swallowed by thick, oppressive storm clouds in mere seconds. The clouds hung low, golden lightning crackling and churning within them, while the sound of rolling thunder made the rocks beneath their feet tremble.

Broad daylight was suddenly replaced by night, and fierce winds whipped the sea into waves that slammed violently against the shore.

ROAR—!

A long, majestic dragon's cry pierced the heavens.

Brilliant golden light broke through the clouds, and an eastern dragon, hundreds of meters long and covered in azure scales, descended in a spiral. Its massive body blotted out the sky, carrying an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Shenron lowered its gargantuan head, its two eyes—like lanterns of fire—fixed on the two figures below. Its voice sounded like rolling thunder: "You who have gathered the seven Dragon Balls, state your wish. Any wish, and I shall grant it..."

Before it could finish, Shenron's gaze swept over Son Goku, who stood beside Bulma.

Those originally haughty, vertical red pupils constricted sharply.

To Shenron's senses, this black-haired boy below was hiding a bottomless black hole within his body. Beneath his vast, boundless aura lay a hidden power of terrifying magnitude.

Shenron's massive body gave an imperceptible flinch in mid-air.

It had been created by the Guardian of Earth, and its power was capped by the Guardian's own limits. Yet, the aura of the boy before it was countless times stronger than the Guardian's!

High in the air, the majestic Shenron cleared its throat, its thunderous voice softening considerably: "Ahem... tell me, is it you two who wish to make a request?"

Bulma, oblivious to the dragon's unease, turned and gestured for Goku to step forward.

Goku walked up, facing the gale, and looked directly into the giant, glowing eyes. His tone was steady: "Shenron, I want the secret technique of the Yardratians—Instant Transmission. Please bestow this ability upon me perfectly."

Shenron fell silent for a long moment, a flicker of human-like embarrassment crossing its massive eyes. It writhed within the clouds and lowered its head. "I am deeply sorry, but that wish... I cannot grant."

"You can't?" Goku raised an eyebrow. While he knew Shenron wasn't omnipotent, hearing a refusal firsthand was still a slight disappointment.

"That is correct," Shenron explained in a low voice.

"My power originates from the god who created me. That kind of high-dimensional space-time technique involves profound laws of energy manipulation that the user must comprehend themselves. I cannot simply force such a cultivation result into your body out of thin air; it is beyond the scope of my capabilities."

Bulma heard this clearly and couldn't help but remark, "Even Shenron has things it can't do? I thought you were all-powerful."

Shenron choked, but intimidated by Goku's presence, it chose to pretend it hadn't heard her. "However, if you require tangible objects or wish to resurrect the dead, I am still at your service! Choose another wish, mighty one."

Goku wasn't discouraged. If he could really get a top-tier spatial technique just by using Earth's wishing orbs, it wouldn't make sense anyway. Since he couldn't get the skill directly, he changed his approach.

"Since you cannot grant the ability, then please give me the coordinates for Planet Yardrat," Goku said after a brief calculation.

Upon hearing this, the dragon's large eyes clearly brightened, as if it had let out a sigh of relief.

"That is simple. As you wish."

The moment the words fell, two blinding red beams of light erupted from Shenron's eyes.

Goku felt a slight warmth at the center of his brow as the coordinate data for Planet Yardrat flooded into his mind.

With the task complete, Shenron let out a long roar. It seemed not to want to spend a single extra second in front of this terrifying boy. Its massive body coiled and transformed into a streak of golden light that shot toward the heavens.

At the edge of the clouds, the golden light dispersed, turning back into seven ordinary stone spheres that scattered toward the corners of the world with whistling sounds.

The black clouds retreated, sunlight returned to the reef, and the sea breeze turned gentle once more.

Goku slowly opened his eyes, his deep pupils reflecting the starry sea. The ticket to the universe was now firmly in his grasp.

"Is that it?" Bulma leaned in, eyeing him curiously. "Is the coordinate for that planet really in your head now? So what's next? With Earth's current level of technology, we won't be able to build a ship capable of intergalactic flight anytime soon."

"That's why I kept Dr. Gero."

Goku looked out at the rolling sea, his tone filled with certainty. "The two greatest minds in the world will surely find a way!"

Bulma watched Goku's upright silhouette. She knew deep down that this boy's vision had already moved past this blue planet and was fixed firmly on the vast, boundless sea of stars.