"Mr. Popo, I look forward to learning from you."
As a newcomer, Dende did not actually address him by name alone, but respectfully called him Mr. Popo.
"Lord Kami, please come with me. I'll guide you through inheriting the position of Kami."
"Mr. Gohan, please wait here for a moment with the others."
Mr. Popo spoke.
"All right." Son Gohan and the others nodded.
With that, Mr. Popo led Dende into the inner hall for the succession ceremony.
Only Son Gohan, Bulma, and Trunks remained in the plaza of Kami's Lookout.
Son Gohan asked about Cell. "Have you found Dr. Gero's laboratory?"
At the question, Trunks stopped reaching out to touch Son Gohan's tail.
Bulma replied:
"Not yet. As you'd expect from a surviving member of the Red Ribbon Army, Dr. Gero was very good at covering his tracks."
"I searched through loads of information about the Red Ribbon Army and Dr. Gero online and identified plenty of places where he might have built a secret laboratory, but we found nothing at any of them."
"After that, I offered a hefty reward for leads, but not many people came forward."
Son Gohan asked, "Was any of the information useful?"
Bulma said, "Yes. I've picked out a few leads, and we're checking them one by one now."
"All right, let's check those leads first. If we really can't find it, we'll just ask Shenron to help us." Son Gohan nodded.
"Okay." Bulma nodded.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Trunks asked, "Gohan, is Shenron really that amazing? Did your arm grow back because Shenron helped you?"
Trunks had often heard legends about Shenron, but he had never seen either the Dragon Balls or Shenron himself. His curiosity had reached its peak.
Son Gohan said, "Yes, Shenron did restore my arm. Within the limits of his power, he can grant most wishes."
Still curious, Trunks asked, "Then what are the limits of his power? And how many wishes count as 'most'?"
Son Gohan gave Trunks a serious look and decided he had the makings of a nitpicker.
What went on inside this thirteen-year-old's head?
Son Gohan said, "That's hard to explain, but just try not to make any bizarre or outrageous wishes."
"Is that right, Mom?" Trunks looked at Bulma.
"Yes, more or less." Bulma nodded.
The three chatted, and ten minutes or so passed.
Mr. Popo emerged from the inner hall of Kami's Lookout with Dende.
Compared with before, Dende was now wearing a cape.
His whole presence had grown a little more composed as well.
"That's the succession finished?" Son Gohan asked.
Mr. Popo replied, "Yes. It's actually a very simple ceremony, so it doesn't take long. Lord Kami's excellent talent helped as well."
"See? I told you, Dende. You're perfectly capable of being Kami." Son Gohan smiled.
Dende scratched his head sheepishly, without a trace of the dignity expected of Kami.
Son Gohan continued, "In that case, Dende, when can you start activating the Dragon Balls?"
"I can do it right now," Dende said.
Then he looked at Mr. Popo. "Mr. Popo, could you find a model of Shenron? Sorry for the trouble, but I need one as a medium to activate the Dragon Balls."
Mr. Popo said, "Oh, certainly. I carved a model of Shenron once when I was bored. It's in the inner hall now. I never thought it would come in handy."
"Just a moment."
As he spoke, he turned and ran into the inner hall.
After a short wait, he came out carrying a wooden carving of Shenron.
"Lord Kami, will this do?" Mr. Popo held the carving up in front of Dende.
The wooden carving he held was lifelike, depicting an Eastern dragon.
It was a model Mr. Popo had carved in Shenron's likeness when he had been bored.
"Of course. Mr. Popo, please set it on the ground," Dende instructed.
"Yes, Lord Kami." Mr. Popo nodded respectfully, then carefully placed the wooden carving of Shenron on the ground nearby.
Dende walked over to the carving and crouched down.
None of the others, including Son Gohan, had ever seen anything like this, and curiosity showed on all their faces.
Without a word, they stared at Dende and the wooden carving of Shenron, not even blinking.
Dende placed both hands over the carving and began muttering in an obscure, incomprehensible language-or rather, chanting a spell.
It was neither the universal language of the cosmos nor the Namekian language.
Instead, it was the language of the dragon clan.
It was said to be a wondrous incantation that Dragon God Zalama had left in this world.
It was truly miraculous.
As Dende chanted faster and faster, a faint golden glow covered his hands.
The golden light grew stronger and stronger until it enveloped the model of Shenron as well.
Then a dazzling light erupted.
It was as though a miniature sun had exploded before them, making them all squint.
At the light's brightest moment, a thick golden pillar shot into the sky, then split into seven meteors that streaked away.
Everyone tilted their heads back to watch the pillar of light until it vanished completely.
When they lowered their gazes, they discovered that the wooden carving of Shenron in front of Dende had disappeared.
Dende wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, then stood up and said, "Done. I've activated the Dragon Balls. Now you just need to gather all seven to make a wish."
"What about the wishes? How many can we make?" Son Gohan asked.
Dende replied, "I used Porunga from Planet Namek as my model, so you can make three wishes as well. He's just a little weaker than Porunga on Planet Namek, because Grand Elder Moori is a more accomplished member of the dragon clan than I am."
Son Gohan laughed heartily and patted Dende on the shoulder. "Haha, that's already amazing. Thank you, Dende."
"You're welcome," Dende said.
A short while later, Son Gohan and the others said their goodbyes and returned to West City.
At Bulma's home in West City.
Bulma was recalibrating the Dragon Radar.
After all, it had not been used in over ten years. The Dragon Radar had developed a minor fault and needed recalibrating before it would work properly.
Son Gohan and Trunks watched from the side.
Trunks stared at the Dragon Radar, his face brimming with excitement and his eyes sparkling.
Seeing Trunks's comical expression, Son Gohan could not resist teasing him:
"Trunks, are you holding in your pee? Don't keep it in. Just go."
Trunks flushed. "No, I'm not."
Then he hurriedly added, "Gohan, leave gathering the Dragon Balls to me. Don't fight me for the job, okay?"
"Uh, sure. I won't fight you for it."
"Great, it's a deal. No backing out." Trunks raised his palm, wanting to seal the promise with a high five.
Son Gohan helplessly high-fived him.
It's just gathering the Dragon Balls. What's there to fight over?
Since Trunks liked it, he might as well let him go.
"Finally fixed it." Bulma raised the Dragon Radar in her hand.
"Here you go, Trunks." Then she handed the Dragon Radar to him.
Trunks took the Dragon Radar and shuddered all over, as though he had received an electric shock.
"Th-then I'm off." Even his breathing had quickened.
"Go on. Hurry back." Bulma could not help smiling.
"Okay!" Trunks nodded and left the house at lightning speed, Dragon Radar in hand.
Is every cell in this kid's body made of curiosity?
Son Gohan looked in the direction Trunks had gone, silently musing.
Just then, Bulma said, "Gohan, come here. I'll show you some of the leads I've gathered."
"Oh, sure. Coming."
Before you continue