The training test had ended, and the sun was dipping low on the horizon.
Master Roshi clapped his hands.
"Formal training starts tomorrow. But before dinner, I want one last test of your abilities."
He picked up a stone and used a brush to mark it with a symbol, then held it up for the three to see.
"Take a good look. I'm throwing this off the cliff.
Whoever brings it back gets dinner. The others go hungry."
Without hesitation, Goku, Chi-Chi, and Krillin all darted in the direction the stone had vanished.
A short while later, Goku returned holding the marked stone.
Chi-Chi walked beside him, flushed from exertion but smiling.
Goku looked at her and said sincerely,
"Chi-Chi, you're still growing. You shouldn't go hungry. Here—take the stone."
Chi-Chi shook her head.
"No way! You eat way more than I do, and you found the stone. You need the food more."
"But still—" Goku tried.
Chi-Chi stomped lightly, her cheeks puffed out.
"I said no! If you don't eat, then I won't either!"
Her tiny face was full of determination—willing to share hardship just to stay beside him.
Her pure and earnest heart made her seem even more lovable.
Goku found it impossible to connect this innocent Chi-Chi with the fierce and fiery woman she'd become in the future.
Maybe that future wasn't all her fault… maybe adult Goku was too absent, too focused on training.
Still—was it really necessary to yell and hit so much?
He thought back to his previous life, to his own parents.
They weren't as extreme as Chi-Chi, but that constant scolding, the pressure to perform,
the rules about eating on time, not playing with the "wrong kids"…
It all felt a little too familiar.
Sure, parents always claimed it was "for your own good."
But growing up under relentless criticism and lectures…
It wore you down.
He remembered how he'd flinch when coming home from school.
That quiet anxiety, always bracing for the next outburst,
had shaped him into a reserved, awkward person.
But not anymore.
Now, he had been given a new life.
Reborn as his favorite shonen protagonist, Son Goku,
raised by the gentle and supportive Grandpa Gohan—
a man who didn't scold but encouraged.
He'd been free to train, to grow, to smile.
Even though his new life came with big responsibilities—
protecting the Earth, training daily, pushing forward without slacking—
this childhood had been filled with joy.
And that joy made him confident.
'It's true,' he thought. 'Being seen, being affirmed—it really changes you.'
Chi-Chi's voice snapped him from his thoughts.
"Goku, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing, really," he replied.
Chi-Chi's face turned a little red. She whispered shyly,
"Were you thinking about… me?
Did I move you that much?
If you're really grateful… then promise to marry me when we grow up, okay?"
Her blush deepened. Goku looked at her face, stunned—then his eyes narrowed in thought.
"Chi-Chi… when you went into the house earlier, did you see what kind of fish Launch was cooking?"
Startled, Chi-Chi blinked. "Huh? Um… yeah.
When I went to grab a drink for Master Roshi, I saw her cutting up a fish.
Then she sneezed and chased me with a knife."
"What kind of fish was it?" Goku pressed.
Chi-Chi tilted her head. "I… don't know. Never seen it before."
Goku's expression darkened slightly.
He still remembered Launch's first meal from his past life.
If the wheel of fate hadn't spun too far off course…
it might've been pufferfish.
Goku nodded. "Then I won't eat dinner either.
Let's skip it together."
Chi-Chi's eyes lit up.
"You're really going to starve with me? You're so good to me, Goku!"
She leaned in and affectionately rubbed her cheek against his.
Goku chuckled. "Well, if we're suffering together, I may as well throw this stone away."
Chi-Chi quickly stopped him. "Wait! It was hard enough to find that!
If we're not eating, let's give it to Krillin."
Goku frowned. "But wouldn't that be mean?"
Just then, Krillin—having been caught faking a stone and kicked out—stumbled upon them.
He saw Goku holding the real stone and the two bickering over it.
With a sly grin, he darted in, snatched the stone from Goku's hand, and bolted.
"Krillin!" Goku blinked in surprise.
Krillin stuck his tongue out. "Nyeh! Thanks, Goku!"
He sprinted back toward Kame House, waving the stone in victory.
Chi-Chi fumed. "That little thief!
And to think I was just saying we should give it to him!
Goku, tonight let's find him and beat him up!"
Goku shrugged. "Nah, let it go.
We weren't going to eat it anyway."
'If that really was pufferfish,' Goku thought grimly,
'Krillin and Master Roshi are in for a long, painful night. That's punishment enough.'
Chi-Chi sighed. "You're so kind, Goku. I'll listen to you."
Later that night, dinner began.
Krillin feasted on the fish Launch had cooked,
occasionally sneaking smug glances toward Goku through the window.
Roshi laughed heartily.
"Didn't expect Launch to be such a great cook!"
Krillin, proud, lifted the bottle. "Master Roshi, let me pour you another!"
Launch smiled modestly. "Thanks for the praise.
I bought the fish at the island's market. It was really fresh!"
Krillin looked out the window, full of satisfaction.
"What a shame Goku and Chi-Chi aren't eating this amazing fish…"
They drank well into the night.
But around ten o'clock—disaster struck.
Roshi and Krillin both clutched their stomachs in pain.
Roshi groaned, then turned to Launch.
"W-What kind of fish… was that?"
Launch blinked innocently. "Pufferfish."
Both men turned pale as chalk.
"…Ah."