A bald middle-aged man looked at Bulma hopefully.
"Miss, would you be willing to marry Oolong voluntarily?"
Bulma looked at him.
She remembered him—he had a young daughter.
In her previous life, when she and Goku came here,
Oolong had targeted that girl and tried to take her.
Bulma shook her head.
"Sorry. I'm here to find something,
not to be someone's wife."
The villagers were curious. "Find what?"
Bulma scanned the crowd,
then fixed her gaze on an elderly woman.
She took out a Dragon Ball and showed everyone.
"Everyone, these kinds of spheres are called Dragon Balls.
My radar says there's one in this village.
If anyone can give me a ball just like this,
I'll help you defeat the monster and rescue the girls he kidnapped."
The old woman's eyes lit up.
"Oh! That ball looks familiar. I think I have one like that."
She went back inside, rummaged for a while,
then brought out a Dragon Ball and handed it to Bulma.
"Is this it?"
Bulma's eyes shone. "Yes, that's it!
Grandma, if we solve your monster problem,
can you give this ball to me?"
The old woman looked worried.
"If you solve it, giving you the ball is no problem.
But you're just a girl—can you really do it?"
Other villagers chimed in,
"Yeah, Oolong can transform into anything. He's terrifying."
Bulma patted Goku's shoulder and said to the old woman,
"Don't worry. The one fighting the monster isn't me—it's him."
Everyone froze, then looked at Goku.
Short, stocky, wearing kids' clothes.
Their mouths twitched.
"Are you kidding?"
"He's a child! How could he beat Oolong?"
"Yeah, Oolong's as tall as a house. This is too reckless!"
"Miss, you're pretty too.
If Oolong likes you, you won't even be able to leave.
Honestly, you should go.
Don't risk your lives just for a Dragon Ball."
As expected, because of his size,
everyone doubted little Goku deeply.
Bulma didn't care and repeated her condition.
"It's fine. We need that Dragon Ball.
Grandma, remember our deal:
we solve Oolong, you give me the ball."
The old woman nodded. "That's no problem."
A few men stepped forward.
"And you have to capture Oolong and get my daughter back."
"Yeah! You have to capture him and tell us where our girls are."
Bulma flashed them an "OK" with total confidence.
"Relax. Leave it to Goku!"
They saw how confident she was,
but Goku looked too small to be reliable, so they shook their heads.
Just then, the ground began to tremble.
Someone gasped in panic.
"Ah—he's here. Oolong's here!"
"Everyone, hide!"
In a rush, villagers ran back inside,
slamming and locking doors.
The village fell silent again.
Goku looked at Bulma.
"Bulma, you should hide too."
Bulma knew that no matter how big Oolong transformed,
he was weak.
In her past life she'd beaten him around plenty—she wasn't scared.
"It's fine. With you here, I'm not worried."
Goku nodded calmly.
"Right. I'll end it in an instant."
But Bulma immediately added,
"Goku—when you fight him, please don't kill him.
If you kill him, that'll be bad."
Goku nodded thoughtfully.
"Oh—got it.
We still need to rescue the girls he kidnapped."
Bulma nodded.
But that wasn't her real concern.
Oolong was so weak she could beat him herself.
She was worried Goku might kill him in one hit.
He didn't deserve to die.
While they spoke, Oolong arrived.
He had turned into a huge ogre-like monster,
holding a bouquet of flowers.
His vast shadow covered the houses, pressing down on the village.
He laughed loudly. "Hahahaha! Oolong is here again!"
"Which family has a pretty girl? Hand her over!"
He happened to stop right in front of Bulma and Goku.
He looked down at Bulma.
Her face was like a delicate porcelain doll—
snow-white skin with a healthy glow.
Long, thick lashes, bright intelligent eyes blinking softly.
A tall, well-proportioned figure, full chest, graceful curves.
Her silky blue hair was tied high in a ponytail, making her look even livelier.
A breeze passed by carrying a faint sweet scent.
Oolong's eyes lit up.
"Wow, is this the girl the village prepared for me?
Hahaha! Not bad, not bad—she's a real knockout!"
Bulma didn't give him an inch.
She looked up and mocked him.
"Oolong, quit the act.
Goku can fight.
If you don't want a beating,
hand over the girls right now!"
Her tone was pure threat—because she meant it.
The entire village peeked out through cracks in their doors.
But Oolong looked like a house-sized giant,
while Goku was a small kid. Everyone was sweating bullets.
A young beauty scolding a four-meter monster
looked downright ridiculous.
Oolong frowned.
"Oh? Feisty little girl!"
"Missy, you've annoyed me!"
He stepped forward again.
Oolong snarled,
"Looks like you want me to teach you a lesson!"
He lunged and waved his claws to scare Bulma.
Goku strolled in front of her, blocking Oolong,
and pulled out the Power Pole, pointing it like a sword.
Bulma's heart warmed.
She knew Oolong's tricks and wasn't scared—
but still…
Having little Goku step out to protect her like that
felt unbelievably safe.
Without realizing it, a blush crept onto her cheeks—
a soft, hopeful longing for the Goku he would become.