"The ball?" Roshi took off the Dragon Ball necklace.
"You mean this thing?"
Bulma nodded.
Roshi said,
"I found it on the seafloor a hundred years ago.
Made it into a necklace.
Pretty, right?"
"Yes, it's pretty."
As he spoke, the Dragon Ball suddenly lit up.
Bulma and Goku each had Dragon Balls on them,
so the resonance triggered the glow.
Roshi yelped in surprise.
"Hey! It's shining! First time I've ever seen that.
This thing must be a treasure—probably worth a fortune!"
Bulma nodded again, then explained,
"You're right. These are called Dragon Balls.
There are seven in total, scattered around the world.
Collect all seven and you can summon Shenron,
who can grant any one wish—as long as it's not too outrageous.
But a Dragon Ball by itself isn't very useful.
I've already collected three.
Once I gather them all, I'll wish for my friend to be cured of an illness."
She showed him her Dragon Balls.
Roshi, who'd been thinking of demanding something pervy—
like Bulma's underwear—
immediately dropped the idea.
Seeing her purpose was to save someone,
he couldn't bring himself to be disgusting.
"So you're trying to save a life… Then take it!"
He removed the Dragon Ball and handed it over generously.
Bulma accepted it calmly.
She knew Roshi well.
He was lecherous, yes,
but that never stopped him from being a great man.
In her previous life, he was usually indecent,
but when King Piccolo descended to enslave the world,
Roshi stepped forward without hesitation.
He used the Mafuba, willing to die for it.
He failed, but from that day on Bulma knew:
Underneath the perversion, he was a hero.
Goku, listening to Bulma's wish, was shocked.
In canon, Bulma's wish was to find a boyfriend.
But this Bulma not only had a purer heart—
her reason for collecting Dragon Balls had changed.
Instead of wishing for a boyfriend,
she wanted to cure a friend.
That was good… yet it made Goku uneasy.
He thought silently:
Maybe because he'd taken the protagonist's place,
kept Grandpa Gohan alive, and avoided the Great Ape tragedy,
the world was already diverging.
Even if he and Grandpa rarely went down the mountain,
the moment he changed Grandpa's fate,
history began to shift.
He remembered Trunks traveling to the past in canon—
Trunks only killed Frieza and didn't seem to alter much else,
yet history still changed.
Android 17 and 18 were evil in Trunks's future,
but in Goku's timeline they became good people.
There were countless small changes besides that.
Goku frowned.
From the moment he arrived,
history had already shifted.
That meant the future knowledge he had
might not stay accurate.
"Goku, let's go!" Bulma called.
He snapped out of his thoughts and saw her ready to leave.
"Yeah, let's go!"
He stretched, about to jog beside Nimbus again—
but Bulma stopped him.
"Goku, it's already noon.
Ride with me on Nimbus so we can go faster!"
Goku blinked.
"What does noon have to do with it?"
Bulma laughed.
"Your appetite is huge.
Yesterday you nearly emptied my fridge and freezer.
We need to reach a big city before dark
so I can restock supplies, or we'll go hungry."
Goku understood immediately.
"Oh—sorry. I ate too much.
Next time I'll hunt some wild game and cook."
Bulma shook her head, smiling.
"Don't worry.
You could eat a hundred times more and still never bankrupt me.
It's just that I happened to be low on reserves yesterday.
Once we reach the city, we'll buy plenty and store it in capsules.
I brought enough capsules for supplies."
Goku nodded.
Bulma was the daughter of the world's richest man, Dr. Brief.
He truly couldn't eat her out of house and home.
So he didn't hesitate.
He leapt onto Nimbus.
"Goodbye, Master Roshi!"
"Bye! Come visit anytime!"
They took off in a flash of gold.
"Bulma… I think we can go a bit faster…"
Bulma said nervously,
"There's no windshield up here.
Too fast makes me scared.
If we speed up, keep an eye on me, okay?
Don't let me fall."
Goku snorted.
"As if.
Nimbus has a mind.
If you fall, Nimbus will catch you."
Bulma blinked. "Really?"
Nimbus immediately did a backflip.
Bulma shrieked and clung to Goku as they dropped.
But Nimbus pulled a slick move and swooped in beneath them,
catching both of them safely.
As if proudly proving
that even as a cloud, it had thoughts.
Bulma's face went pale. Her legs trembled.
A moment later, a few clear droplets soaked into the cloud and drifted down from the sky…
Back on the shore, Roshi watched the golden streak vanish into the horizon,
then turned around with a sigh.
"Let's go, old turtle."
"Master, you must've missed me, right?" the turtle asked self-importantly.
Roshi didn't even look up. "Not really."
Turtle: "…."
Just then, a loud voice rang out.
"Master!"
"Master Roshi! Wait!"
Roshi froze and looked toward the sound.
His disciple—Son Gohan—was running toward him with a pack on his back.