Seeing the whole village staring nervously at her, Bulma took a breath and said,
"Everyone, business first.
Now that Oolong's subdued,
let's rescue the girls."
The villagers nodded eagerly.
"Right, right! The heroine is right!"
The old woman stepped forward and handed Bulma the Dragon Ball.
"Miss, your bodyguard is amazing. Here, take the ball."
Bulma accepted it. "Thank you!
Anyone whose daughter was taken—follow me."
"I—I—I am!"
Several old men rushed forward.
Soon a large crowd marched toward Oolong's manor.
Oolong was so scared by that one strike he didn't even dare try escaping.
Just as Bulma and Goku expected,
Oolong's manor was enormous and lavish.
None of the girls had been mistreated.
They were basically living in luxury there.
With Oolong dealt with and the Dragon Ball secured,
Bulma and Goku set off again right away.
No choice—Goku's strike had been too cool.
And these villagers were too weird, trying to hand over their daughters.
Bulma wasn't about to keep Goku here.
Chi-Chi's whole "marriage trap" in her previous life was a lifelong shadow.
If Goku got tricked away by another girl,
she'd lose everything.
As for Oolong, Bulma didn't take him along.
A horny idiot who only knew transformation
wasn't needed with Goku around.
They didn't stay in the village.
Soon Bulma and Goku rode the Nimbus again,
heading toward the sixth Dragon Ball—Frypan Mountain.
What would've taken three or four days by car
now took only a day and a half.
At full speed, they could've made it in half a day—
but Bulma's body couldn't handle that pace.
She wasn't as tough as Goku,
and couldn't withstand supersonic wind resistance.
Racing through the sky, Bulma saw landscapes she'd experienced before
but never truly noticed.
The lake below was clear as a mirror;
their reflections traced like a golden ribbon
weaving freely between mountains and water.
The Nimbus stirred ripples across the surface,
like a girl's skirt fluttering lightly—graceful and bright.
Sunlight danced on the water, mirroring the mountain ridges,
like jewels set into jade.
Looking at all that beauty, Bulma unconsciously let her mind go blank.
Only someone who had lived through true darkness like she had
could notice, every moment,
how breathtaking this world really was.
After half a day of flying,
they left the lush landscape behind.
They reached open desert.
Just as Bulma was about to ask Goku
if he wanted to run again,
his stomach growled loudly.
Bulma smiled.
"Ah, I forgot lunch. If you were hungry, why didn't you say so sooner?"
Goku chuckled awkwardly.
"I ate so much this morning… and I haven't even trained much today.
Getting hungry already feels kind of embarrassing."
"Hungry is hungry. And it's noon already!
We packed plenty of food.
Let's land here and eat lunch first, okay?"
"Sure!"
Bulma looked around, spotted a flat area, and said,
"Nimbus, land over there."
Soon she popped open the capsule house and started preparing lunch.
Because he was hungry, Goku didn't train.
He lounged on the sofa watching TV.
When he casually glanced at Bulma's busy silhouette in the open kitchen,
a faint smile flickered in his eyes.
Bulma really was a good girl—pretty, great figure,
and her personality was top-tier too.
She was from a billionaire family,
yet not even a hint of spoiled arrogance.
She even cooked for him and took care of him.
Bulma was amazing.
High IQ, brave, adventurous, kind-hearted, compassionate, independent.
Goku thought of the future Bulma too,
and firmly labeled her a "powerful career woman."
If he analyzed too carefully, he'd only come to one conclusion:
she was practically perfect.
He looked at himself.
In a peaceful world,
he honestly didn't deserve her.
Bulma had stocked lots of semi-prepared ingredients.
In just half an hour, a feast tailored for Goku's tastes was on the table.
"Goku, wash your hands and eat!"
"Wah, it smells so good!"
Goku quickly rinsed his hands, wiped them casually,
sat down, and started devouring.
The flavors exploded on his tongue.
In that instant, he felt like his soul was floating away
like a blissed-out Whis in a comedy gag.
"Ahhh, this is insanely good~!"
While he ate steak and bacon,
Bulma wore a delighted, doting smile,
peeled a few big shrimp for him, and poured him juice.
"Slow down, don't choke.
Here, eat some shrimp and drink something!"
Goku took the plate and juice.
"Mm, thanks, Bulma!"
Bulma pouted, pretending to be annoyed.
"We're friends. Don't be so polite with me."
Goku froze, then broke into a smile.
"Right. We're good friends.
Okay, then I won't be shy anymore!"
"Mm-hm. Eat up!"
Goku dug in again.
Watching him eat made Bulma hungry too.
She picked up her bowl and started eating.
They were enjoying themselves
when—
BOOM!
A sudden explosion shook the house violently.
Dust rained from the ceiling,
covering the unfinished food in a gray layer.
Crack, crack—
the sound of the building breaking echoed nonstop.
Bulma was still in a daze, not understanding what happened.
But Goku had already stopped eating and threw himself over her,
shielding her from falling debris.
Sure enough—
the instant he covered her,
chunks of brick dropped from above,
thudding harmlessly onto Goku's tough body.
Then beams collapsed too.
In a heartbeat, the capsule house caved in.
Rubble crashed down.
Both of them were buried in the ruins.