This time, Goku and the others took just over a day to gather all the Dragon Balls. If Goku had been alone, he might have found them in half a day.
Looking at the seven Dragon Balls in the bag, Bulma couldn't help feeling nostalgic.
"Goku, do you remember when we first met?" Bulma's voice sounded especially gentle.
"I do. Your car malfunctioned and nearly hit me, but I stopped it. Good thing it was me-if it had been someone else, you might have run them over and killed them."
"Isn't that fate?"
"Sure~ My fate was to get hit by you!"
Goku's disgruntled answer made Bulma laugh.
"Hmph, getting hit by me was your good fortune." (๑‾᷅^‾᷅๑) Bulma rolled her eyes.
"Let's summon Shenron."
Bulma felt nostalgic as she recalled summoning Shenron two years ago. To think two years had passed in the blink of an eye. She was almost eighteen, while Goku still hadn't grown much.
At the thought, Bulma sized Goku up. He seemed a little taller than before, but not by much, and his fourteen-year-old face was still very youthful.
By the time Goku grew up, she would be in her twenties, old and past her prime (╥ω╥`). The thought made Bulma a little miserable.
In truth, this was all in Bulma's imagination. Judging by her mother's genes, she probably wouldn't really be old and past her prime until she was in her forties or fifties.
(Mrs. Brief is ridiculous. She still looks young in Super. Since Bulma is her daughter, she should have inherited some of those genes too.)
After arranging the Dragon Balls, Goku looked at Bulma.
"You do the summoning, Bulma."
Bulma was visibly delighted to hear Goku say that. She cast the melancholy thoughts out of her head. What was she worried about? Didn't they still have the Dragon Balls?
When the time came, she could just use the Dragon Balls. She would definitely keep a firm hold on Goku.
"Come forth, Shenron, and grant my wish!"
The sky darkened, and Shenron appeared once more.
"You who summoned me, state your wish!"
"Please give me a panel that can see through enemies."
"Very well, your wish has been granted. However, this panel depends on your strength. The stronger you are, the stronger the enemies you can scan."
"Now, farewell!"
With that, Shenron turned into seven Dragon Balls that flew off to different parts of Earth.
Goku nodded at Shenron's words. It depended on his own strength? That was fine too. Since it could grow, it could stay with him for life.
"Come on, let's go back to West City."
"Okay."
On the plane.
"Goku, are you leaving again after we get back to West City?" Bulma asked, turning to look at him as she piloted the plane.
"Yeah."
In an instant, the plane fell silent. Bulma gripped the controls tightly without a word, feeling utterly downcast.
"But I'll probably be finished in about six months."
Goku had noticed Bulma's low spirits and spoke up to explain.
"Okay."
After hearing what Goku said, Bulma was still a little down, but she felt much better than before.
Night fell.
Goku hovered in the air and took one last look at Bulma's home before turning and flying into the distance.
"Goku! You have to come back!"
Bulma rushed onto the balcony and shouted to Goku. The evening breeze gently lifted the hair at her temples. Though their two days together had been brief, they were also incredibly precious.
Parting was for a better reunion. Only after those six months apart did Bulma realize how deeply the boy named Goku had left his mark on her heart.
"I will!"
Flying through the air, Goku felt the evening breeze brush his cheeks and looked up at the stars overhead. For some reason, his heart was a little unsettled.
"Mr. Popo, Kami, I'm back."
As soon as Goku set foot on the Lookout's tiles, he saw Kami and Mr. Popo waiting for him.
"Mm, you're back, Goku."
"Of course! Don't underestimate my pursuit of martial arts!" The way Goku said it made him sound just like a hot-blooded idiot.
Mr. Popo and Kami were both visibly amused by Goku.
Goku used the panel to check Mr. Popo and Kami. He found that Mr. Popo had a power level of over 1,000, while Kami's was only close to 300. Both had the same dimensional level: Kami.
Seeing that Mr. Popo's power level was a full three times Kami's, Goku couldn't help marveling that he was indeed someone who had outlived several generations of Kamis.
The panel had thoughtfully told him how many dimensional levels there were. He himself was only a mortal (the levels were mentioned in the earlier setting).
His panel looked like this.
Son Goku Race: Saiyan Base power level: 1.48 million Dimensional level: mortal Skills: ... (There are too many, so I won't pad the word count. I want the plot to move faster.) (๑＞＜๑)
With a thought, Goku closed the panel and looked at Mr. Popo.
"It's so late today. Are we starting training tomorrow?"
"Of course, but if you want to train tonight too, that's fine."
Over the past six months, spending time with Goku had made Mr. Popo much livelier and more cheerful. He had even started teasing Goku.
"Haha, never mind then." Goku scratched his crab-shaped hair.
That night, Goku lay in bed, looking at the bracelet on his arm by the moonlight. It was a gift from Bulma called a gravity bracelet, and he couldn't help recalling what had happened half a day ago.
"Goku, put this on."
Goku looked at the blue bracelet Bulma handed him, a little puzzled.
"Th-this, what is it?" Though puzzled, Goku still took it and put it on his wrist.
"To kill you."
"Pfft, who'd believe that?" Goku rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"Tch, you're no fun. It's a gravity bracelet. It can go up to a hundred times gravity. It probably can't compare to a gravity chamber, but since you're going away, at least this gives you a hundred times gravity and helps you get stronger faster."
"When did you make it?" He had never asked Bulma to make anything like this.
"Hehe, during the six months you were away. Consider it a reward for coming back this time." Bulma looked at Goku with a somewhat smug expression.
"Thank you, Bulma."
Hearing Goku thank her made Bulma feel awkward all over.
"Oh, stop. Do you really have to thank me when it's just the two of us?"
His thoughts gradually returned to the present, and Goku slowly drifted off to sleep with a faint smile on his face.
The next morning, after breakfast.
"All right, here I come."
Goku threw a punch at Mr. Popo, and the two quickly began fighting. For a time, the sounds of their fierce collisions rang throughout the Lookout.
"From now on, you'll spar with me for half the day and meditate for the other half. That way, you'll train your control over Ki."
Mr. Popo casually spoke as he received Goku's punch.
"Okay!"
One day, several months later.
Goku emerged from meditation, and Mr. Popo and Kami walked over to him.
"Goku, you've become a martial arts grandmaster. I have nothing more to teach you. Perhaps this realm isn't the end of martial arts, but everything from here on depends on you."
Goku stood up and bowed.
"Thank you, Mr. Popo and Kami, for teaching me and keeping me company this past year. I won't forget anything you've taught me."
"Haha, you can go now. That little girlfriend of yours has been waiting for you all this time!"
Goku's face reddened when he heard that, and he stammered an explanation. "Wh-what? We're just fr-friends."
"All right, I know. Just friends. Off you go."
When Goku died and was cremated, the rest of him would turn to ash, leaving only that mouth of his behind.
"Goodbye!"