Goku looked at the apple he had gnawed full of holes and chuckled. The little girls beside him were still chewing away, "building their castles" inside their fruit. He couldn't help smiling as he glanced at the others: some were admiring flowers, some strolling, and a few of the bolder girls had actually mounted enormous butterflies and were gliding through the air, bell-like laughter echoing around them—a scene of pure joy.
"Alright then, let them out to relax, too." With a thought, more than a hundred women with human faces and serpentine bodies—graceful and alluring—appeared before him. They were Cai Lin's clanswomen. After their tribe was destroyed and only these snake-women remained, Goku had taken them into his World Ring as attendants to serve the group. With more companions joining his journey over time, attendants would naturally be essential.
"Lord Goku!" Startled by the sudden new surroundings, the snake-women still bowed promptly and respectfully.
"Mm. This is a nice planet. Go have some fun."
"Yes, Lord Goku." They already understood his temperament, so they didn't stand on ceremony and headed toward the other girls in high spirits.
"Hua She, keep an eye on the little ones and don't let them wander too far. I need to locate the Dragon Ball," Goku instructed a cool, elegant snake-woman.
"As you command, Lord Goku. Go ahead—I'll look after the young ladies." Hua She's tail swayed as she spoke, a hint of wild charm in the motion.
Goku checked the Dragon Radar, then lifted off toward the horizon.
Moments later, he found the third Dragon Ball beneath a giant tree.
"It's the Four-Star Ball. Didn't expect we'd reach three this fast—easier than I thought." He picked up the orb with a faint smile, then frowned slightly. "But once all seven are gathered, the being summoned may not be Shenron… it might be the Shadow Dragon. Something about this round feels off…"
Murmuring to himself, Goku flew back.
Seeing him return from the far sky, Bulma buzzed up on the back of a giant dragonfly and called, "Goku, did you find it?"
"Yeah—the Four-Star Ball."
"Three already? That was quick… This planet's really fun, though. Can we play a little longer before we go?"
"Up to you. But we leave before nightfall."
"No problem!" Bulma whooped, steered the dragonfly toward the flowers below, and shouted, "Girls, Goku agreed—have fun!"
"Yay!" came the overlapping cheers.
And so they played on that world until dusk before finally departing. The girls were reluctant to leave—this giant-ruled planet was novel and delightful—and the time together had clearly deepened their bonds.
At the little ones' request, Goku transplanted a variety of the planet's oversized fruits and fish into the world he had created.
The ship sped on through the vastness of space.
Staring at the planet ahead, Bulma glanced at the radar. "According to this, the fourth Dragon Ball is on that world."
"So soon? Looks like this isn't as hard as we imagined," Ya Fei smiled, mature charm playing across her features.
"Everyone strap in—we're about to land."
This planet's environment was much like Earth's. Goku and the women disembarked into air that was incredibly fresh—yet the place felt unusually quiet.
They were chatting and laughing as they crossed a tranquil meadow when the ground suddenly began to shake violently. A few girls, caught off guard, fell hard and ended up in quite a mess.
"What's happening? An earthquake?"
The tremors scattered the group; with each jolt, certain "ample fronts" quivered dramatically—now that was truly a "surging tide."
"Quick—everyone get airborne!" Cai Lin cried, taking to the sky first.
The others understood at once and used the flying technique Goku had taught them, floating up out of danger. The massive quake faded as quickly as it had come.
"I didn't expect earthquakes this strong on this planet," Saya adjusted her glasses in wonder. The tremor had been comparable to a magnitude-12 monster—though mercifully brief.
"Look! A village over there," Xiao Yu pointed to a nearby settlement.
Bulma checked the radar. "The Dragon Ball signal is coming from that village. Let's go."
They landed and headed in.
Before they'd gone far, an arrogant voice rang out: "Well? Impressed yet? If you don't hand over the bride, I'll use my superpowers to trigger an even bigger quake and wipe out your whole village… Maz—"
"Whoa… a big… fish? A walrus?" Up ahead loomed a gigantic creature like a bloated sea-walrus, skin puffy and pustular, a fish fin on its back and a short, fat tail—so grotesque it was almost comical.
'Hm? That thing… its name is something like Zi… Nama? So we really ended up on that planet. Seems some Dragon Balls flew to the same worlds as in the original story,' Goku mused, suddenly remembering. The exact name escaped him—who would bother to memorize a thing like that?
"Look at the girl's neck—isn't that the Six-Star Ball?" Xun'er cried, pointing to a bride wearing a Dragon Ball pendant. She looked human except for slightly pointed ears, and what should have been a joyous wedding felt joyless, everyone's faces etched with sorrow.
"It really is!" the girls cheered and hurried over.
So many beauties arriving at once drew every gaze. People froze, stunned by their looks and figures—such vision of loveliness they'd never seen.
The giant walrus-fish, eyes already popping hearts, stared in a daze. "Such adorable girls! So your village was hiding all these beauties! I don't care—I want all of you as my brides! Otherwise I'll make the earth shake, the volcanoes blow, and drown your village!"
"N-no, Zoonama, they're not from our village… You can't do this. I'll marry you—just spare them!" the bride begged, panic-stricken.
"Hmph! I don't want you. I want them." The creature—Zoonama—turned its head away from the bride and beamed at the newcomers. "All of you, marry me!"
"Marry you?" The women blinked, then their faces chilled in unison. Cai Lin didn't even wait for Goku—her figure blurred, battle-qi surging as she smashed a fist into Zoonama's skull.
With a thunderous crack, the massive body went flying and crashed down, stars circling its head. It still blustered through gritted teeth: "How dare you! I'm mad now—I'll cause a huge quake… I'll make the volcano erupt…"
"Shut up." Goku flickered forward and axe-kicked Zoonama's bulging belly. With a boom, the obese hulk slammed deep into the ground, wedged there like a cork.
"Damn it—eyeing my girls? You're begging for it!" Goku snarled, stomping down again. Another boom, the ground shuddered, and Zoonama's shrill screams rang out.
The villagers stood gaping. The terror of their world was being pinned and pounded into the dirt by a "kid." Were they dreaming?
"D-don't hit me! I was wrong! I won't do it again! I surrender! I'm sorry!" Despite the beating, Zoonama somehow wriggled free, then dropped to its knees and kowtowed to Goku, eyes sparkling with feigned innocence—playing the pitiful act to the hilt.
"Huh. Tough hide," Goku admitted, staying his foot. He knew this thing wasn't truly evil in the original tale, so he hadn't gone for the kill.
"Still want that bride?" he asked coldly.
"N-no… no! I was only joking… a joke! I can't actually control earthquakes—I can only predict when they'll happen and how strong they'll be…"
"What?!" the villagers cried. Had they been fooled all along?
"Not good! Another quake—bigger than any before! The volcano's going to blow, too—this is the end!" Zoonama's face changed drastically, voice breaking in panic.
Rumble—rumble—rumble!
The ground erupted into savage tremors. People toppled everywhere. The women, wiser from last time, shot into the air out of harm's way. In the distance, the volcano's mouth roared open and molten lava began to pour down its sides…
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