The Grand Prize

Planet Vampa.

Future Trunks still stood beside Vegeta, earnestly trying to persuade him. "Let's go back to Earth, Dad."

"We won't find the Legendary Super Saiyan here, and Cell is still on Earth. It's dangerous there—"

Vegeta stood with his arms folded, expressionlessly staring at the distant horizon.

When Son Gohan had called out to him earlier, he had actually already wanted to go back.

He had merely intended to act proud and wait for the brat to soften up, persuade him a little more, and give him a way out.

But Son Gohan had not even bothered with him. He had simply called everyone over to put a hand on someone's shoulder, then vanished with Instant Transmission.

He had not even left behind the shadow of a step for him to take.

Vegeta stood there, his face shifting between pale and green with rage.

"Hmph. That brat Gohan."

He gritted his teeth, then withdrew his gaze and turned to Future Trunks, snorting coldly. "Fine. We'll return to Earth. We can't find him now anyway."

Future Trunks was overjoyed—his father was finally willing to go back.

He hurriedly nodded. "Let's go, Dad!"

The two boarded Paragus's spaceship directly without even greeting Paragus.

Inside the ship, the hatch closed, and the intelligent system's prompt sounded through the cabin. "This spacecraft was built by leading scientists. Estimated travel time to Earth is approximately three days. Please wait patiently."

Vegeta dropped into a seat and snorted. "That long?"

Future Trunks sat down beside him and sighed helplessly. "It can't be helped. This is our only option."

The ship's engines ignited, and it slowly rose into the air.

Planet Vampa outside the window grew smaller and smaller until it finally vanished from sight.

Vegeta closed his eyes and forced himself to rest in his seat, his fingers tapping rhythmically.

Earth.

Son Gohan looked at everyone and suddenly spoke. "Wait for me."

Under everyone's gaze, he ran into the small grove nearby.

After making sure no one was around, he took off his filthy, tattered clothes, revealing his toned physique.

He quickly took out a set of fresh clothes Bulma had prepared for him from his inner space: a black casual jacket paired with black cargo pants, all top-quality in material and workmanship.

He changed swiftly, folded up his battered old clothes and put them back into his space, then walked out of the grove.

He looked completely refreshed.

"Let's go. We should shower and eat first. I haven't eaten in over ten days, and the energy drain was too much."

Holding little Trunks in her arms, Bulma swept a hand grandly through the air and laughed heartily. "Sure! Everyone, come to my house! It's big enough for all of us!"

Everyone cheered. "Yay!"

The group powered up and flew toward Capsule Corporation in West City.

Son Goku took Chi-Chi and the Gohan of this timeline with him, while Bulma carried little Trunks onto her aircraft. The aircraft slowly lifted off and flew in the same direction.

Before long, they arrived at Bulma's home.

The spacious living room was brightly lit, and beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows lay the city's dazzling nightscape.

Bulma stepped off the aircraft with little Trunks in her arms, then turned to the others. "The feast will take a while. Dinner should be ready tonight, so everyone rest up first."

"Um—Gohan."

She looked at Son Gohan. "You should shower first. The bathroom is at the end of the hallway."

Son Gohan nodded.

He had not showered in over ten days, and after that prolonged battle with Broly, the sweat and blood stuck to his body felt truly awful.

He entered the bathroom and closed the door. Hot water sprayed from the showerhead onto his body, and billowing steam filled the entire room.

He lay in the bathtub, soaking in the hot water with his eyes closed as the battle with Broly replayed in his mind—Broly's stats were still far too absurd.

In just over ten days of fighting, he had gone from not even being a Super Saiyan to being capable of clashing head-on with Super Saiyan 3.

The angrier he became, the stronger he got; the longer he fought, the stronger he became. His battle power seemed to have almost no upper limit.

If he had provoked him a little more, Broly probably could have grown even stronger, though his body likely would have broken down first.

The Legendary Super Saiyan's strength was outrageously powerful, but it was not truly limitless.

After showering, he felt refreshed all over. He changed into clean clothes and walked out of the bathroom.

In the blink of an eye, it was evening.

Bulma's long dining table was covered with all kinds of food—grilled meat sizzled on iron plates.

Desserts were piled into a small mountain, sushi was arranged neatly, and all sorts of seafood sashimi lay on beds of ice, giving off a chill.

Even more eye-catching was the enormous rice dumpling in the center of the table. Its bamboo leaves were emerald green, and it was as large as a washbasin, tightly bound with red string.

"Wow—this looks amazing! Just looking at it makes me hungry!" Son Goku's eyes practically sparkled.

Bulma stood by the table with a wineglass in hand, pointing at the huge rice dumpling as she said with a smile, "Today's giant rice dumpling comes with a grand prize—there's a small pure-gold rice dumpling wrapped inside."

"Whoever gets that dumpling wins twenty million yen!"

"Awesome!!" Krillin and Son Goku cheered at the same time, rubbing their hands together eagerly.

Everyone promptly started unwrapping the rice dumplings.

The glutinous rice had been steamed soft and translucent. Once the bamboo leaves were peeled away, all kinds of fillings were revealed inside.

Braised beef, red-braised pork, shrimp, dried scallops, salted egg yolks—their aromas blended together, filling the room with the fresh fragrance of bamboo leaves and sticky rice.

Son Gohan ate several in a row, trying every flavor.

They were so delicious. He really hadn't had a proper meal since coming out on this trip.

Before long, he bit into something hard, his teeth striking the dumpling with a crisp clink.

He pulled apart the sticky rice and looked—a small pure-gold rice dumpling, about the size of his palm, gleaming with a warm golden luster.

Bulma walked over from the other end of the table with a glass of red wine, smiling. "Congratulations, Gohan! You're today's lucky winner—the twenty-million-yen grand prize is yours."

She handed him a signed check, with twenty million neatly written in the amount field.

"Thank you, Aunt Bulma." Son Gohan accepted the check and thanked her.

Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the gathering entered its second half.

Some sang, some danced. Krillin got drunk and insisted on demonstrating how he could snap a bundle of chopsticks with his bare hands, then tried to show off a Destructo Disc and ended up slicing half the table in two.

Bulma chased him down three corridors, beating him all the way. The place was lively and full of laughter.

After the party ended, everyone prepared to head back.

Son Goku was about to fly off with Chi-Chi and the Son Gohan of this timeline when Son Gohan suddenly called out, "Wait."

Son Goku stopped and turned around, blinking at him in confusion. "What is it, Gohan?"

Son Gohan ignored him.

He walked straight over to Chi-Chi, took the twenty-million-yen check from his pocket, and pressed it into her hand.

"This twenty million won't do much for me."

"Use it to improve things at home—Mom from another timeline."

Chi-Chi looked down at the check in her hand and froze for a moment.

Then her eyes reddened.

She opened her arms and pulled Son Gohan into a tight embrace. "Th... thank you, Gohan."

Son Gohan was nearly squeezed breathless. He patted Chi-Chi on the back and smiled softly.

Beside them, the Son Gohan of this timeline stood at Son Goku's side, watching the scene.

Watching his other-timeline self held in their mother's arms, watching how happily she smiled, he gave a shy little smile.

After the gathering ended, everyone stayed the night.

Bulma's home had plenty of guest rooms. Chi-Chi and the Son Gohan of this timeline shared one room, Son Goku and Krillin shared another, while Piccolo sat alone in the courtyard with his eyes closed, meditating.

"Gohan, which room are you staying in? I'll arrange one for you—" Bulma walked over with room keys in hand.

Son Gohan waved his hand and declined with a smile. "I appreciate it, Aunt Bulma, but I want to stay over at Korin Tower."

Bulma did not press the matter and simply nodded. "All right. Be careful."

Son Gohan walked outside. West City was brightly lit beneath the night sky. He took a deep breath, white aura erupting around him as he turned into a streak of light and flew toward Korin Tower.

The night sky glittered with stars, while Mount Paozu lay submerged in darkness in the distance.

At the same time, deep within the vast reaches of space, a spaceship was speeding toward Earth at maximum velocity.

The stars beyond the window stretched into long, narrow lines of light. Vegeta leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed, his fingers tapping impatiently.

Future Trunks sat opposite him, silently watching the view outside. At this moment, Vegeta was still on his way back...