"W-we didn't think of that," Krillin said uneasily.
"Yeah, we were worried too, but it never occurred to us that we could do that. Ah..." Yamcha walked over to pat Son Gohan on the shoulder, but lost his nerve.
"Gohan, we were wrong," Piccolo said.
Son Gohan stood up, his gaze sweeping across their faces one by one.
They felt guilty, but this time, none of them looked away.
They looked ready to accept whatever scolding Son Gohan gave them.
Son Gohan took a deep breath and said calmly, "Let's leave it at that. I've already chewed you out, so let's call it even."
"..."
He turned and walked toward Chiaotzu.
Chiaotzu was even shorter than Krillin.
But since he was floating in the air, Son Gohan didn't need to crouch down.
"Chiaotzu, long time no see."
"It has been a long time, Gohan."
"Gohan, wasn't your tail cut off before?"
Chiaotzu tilted his head, looking at the furry tail behind Son Gohan.
"It grew back. I thought it looked pretty cool, so I didn't cut it off."
"I think it looks pretty cool too."
"Haha, you've got good taste." Son Gohan gave him a thumbs-up.
He turned toward the men of his uncles' generation and asked, "Are you working for King Yemma now?"
Piccolo answered, "They're here to help because there are too many souls in Other World now. I didn't want to help, so I'm free to do as I please. Otherwise, I'd have been trapped in King Yemma's palace just now too."
"I see."
Son Gohan nodded and continued, "I want to ask you all something. If-and I mean if-there were a way to come back to life, would you want to?"
"Come back to life?" Those words felt unfamiliar and distant.
After thinking it over, Krillin