"Finally… I've finally gathered all the Dragon Balls."
Piccolo took the last Four-Star Ball from Bulma, then spat out the other six he had stored in his body, arranging them in a circle.
"Come forth, Shenron!"
In an instant, the bright blue sky dimmed.
Daylight vanished as dark clouds rolled in, swallowing the sun whole.
With Piccolo's roar, a massive green dragon surged out of the glowing orbs, coiling endlessly upward.
Its blood-red eyes burned like twin suns as it spoke in a thunderous voice:
"Speak your wish. No matter what it is, I can grant any one desire."
"At last…" Piccolo's hands trembled, eyes moist with excitement.
For over a month, he had scoured the planet for these orbs—losing yet another of his offspring in the process and nearly wearing himself out circling the entire globe.
But now, finally, he had done it.
Finally, he could make his wish.
"I wish—"
"Can you make me the strongest warrior in the entire universe?"
Before Piccolo could even finish, an unfamiliar voice cut in.
"What?!" Piccolo spun around in shock.
A golden-haired youth now stood beside him as if he had appeared out of thin air.
It was Naruto.
What the—? Goku's group set out before me, and I even took a detour to Mount Paozu… yet I still arrived first?
Naruto muttered inwardly, exasperated.
To be fair, it wasn't that Goku and the others were slow—it was that Naruto was too fast.
From the temple, to Paozu Mountain, to West City—he'd covered it all in the blink of an eye.
According to Dragon Ball Super, the dragon on Planet Cereal (with only two Dragon Balls) had been able to grant wishes strong enough to take a warrior from Bardock's level—around 10,000—to Vegeta's God of Destruction form in one jump.
The growth rate was absurd, rivaling Frieza's own leap to Super Saiyan Blue power in just four months.
Naturally, Naruto wanted to test if Earth's Shenron could pull off something similar.
Even if the wish came at the cost of his lifespan, this world had plenty of ways to extend life—like Master Roshi's Immortal Elixir, for example.
"I'm sorry," the dragon rumbled. "That is beyond my power."
Too bad. The Earth Dragon couldn't do it.
Piccolo let out a long, shaky breath in relief—then his eyes flashed with rage.
He swung his arm with all his might, releasing a massive energy blast straight at Naruto.
The resulting explosion shattered everything around them.
"Hahaha! That's what happens when you cross the Great Demon King!" Piccolo laughed triumphantly.
"Hmph, foolish human. You've only yourself to blame," sneered the little pterosaur-like creature beside him.
The Pilaf Gang huddled in a corner, trembling like leaves in the wind.
Piccolo turned back toward the dragon. "Now then, Shenron, I—"
"Shenron!" Naruto interrupted again, his tone casual. "Can I wish for three more wishes that can grant anything?"
The green dragon paused, its glowing eyes flickering as if processing.
After a moment, it rumbled, "I'm sorry. That too is beyond my power."
"…Why are you still alive?" Piccolo stared at Naruto in disbelief.
That last blast had been his full strength!
Naruto brushed a bit of dust off his shoulder.
"Other than making a mess, did you really think that move could do anything?"
Then, turning back to the dragon, he continued:
"Alright, how about this—I wish for Majin Buu's combat instincts, Frieza's growth potential, and Instant Transmission. Can you do that?"
The dragon fell silent again, thinking even longer this time.
Finally, it replied, "I'm sorry, those wishes are also beyond my ability."
"…Fine. Then can you grant me a Saiyan's ability to grow stronger after near-death battles?"
The dragon hesitated, then said almost apologetically,
"Your current strength already exceeds my power. I cannot grant that."
Naruto sighed. Even the dragon sounded embarrassed at this point.
It had bragged about granting any wish—and yet it couldn't manage a single one of his.
"So much for 'any wish,' huh?" Naruto said dryly, twisting the knife a bit.
In truth, the first-generation Earth Dragon was the weakest of all—its limitations massive.
After all, it was little more than a "game project" made by God when he was experimenting. He'd never really put much effort into it.
Only through later upgrades and redesigns would Shenron's capabilities improve.
Compared to the twin-orb dragon on Planet Cereal—or even the original Namekian dragon, Porunga—Earth's Shenron wasn't even in the same league.
"Alright, one last question," Naruto said.
"If I wished for immortality, would it be true immortality—absolute invincibility, no damage possible—or just extremely fast regeneration?"
There was a big difference between the two.
The first was an invulnerability buff—a body that could not be harmed or destroyed.
The second was more like a watered-down version of Majin Buu's regeneration.
The dragon answered meekly, "…Rapid regeneration."
Naruto sighed again. "Figures."
With his mastery of Yang Release, even he could already achieve something like that.
In short, Shenron was pretty much useless to him.
"Forget it." Naruto patted Piccolo on the shoulder. "You go ahead and make your wish."
Then he turned toward the Brief family.
"Things might get dangerous here soon. Want me to take you somewhere safe?"
Bulma nodded rapidly like a pecking chick.
That was the Demon King Piccolo, after all!
But Dr. Brief simply frowned.
"That might be inconvenient. I still need to feed my pets later."
Typical Dr. Brief.
Even in the original story, when Piccolo was about to destroy West City and everyone else was running for their lives, he and Mrs. Brief stayed behind for the exact same reason.
Bulma stood there speechless, staring at her father.
Seriously? We're about to die and you're worried about the pets?!
Naruto sighed. "Alright then, I'll just make sure the big guy here leaves the area."
He looked back at Piccolo. "Hey, if you're not going to make your wish, just dismiss the dragon already."
"You… you insolent brat!" Piccolo's whole body trembled with fury.
"To think I, the Great Demon King, would be intimidated by a mere human—it's humiliating!"
You'll pay for this, he thought venomously.
"I won't," Naruto said flatly. "After you regain your youth, I'll even give you a rematch."
He can read minds too?!
"I can't," Naruto replied calmly. "Your thoughts are just written all over your face."
"Shenron!" Piccolo roared at last. "Grant me my wish—restore my youth!"
"That wish is very simple," Shenron replied proudly.
Naruto couldn't help but roll his eyes.
It seemed the dragon only knew two lines:
"This wish is beyond my power," and "This wish is very simple."
A brilliant white light enveloped Piccolo, and before their eyes, the old, shriveled Demon King began to regain his youthful form.
His wrinkled face smoothed out, his posture straightened, his muscles filled with vigor once more.
"I—The Great Demon King Piccolo—HAVE RETURNED!"
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