Roshi removed the Dragon Ball, "You mean this? I found it at the bottom of the sea a hundred years ago. I thought it was pretty, so I made it into a necklace. After all these years, it still hasn't faded — it must be a priceless treasure."
Seeing Goku's eager expression, Turtle said, "That thing's useless anyway, just give it to him! He brought me back from so far away."
Roshi glanced at Turtle, then at Goku, "All right, I'll give you this bead as a token of thanks."
He handed over the Dragon Ball.
Goku weighed it in his hand, then passed it directly to Bulma, "Here!"
Bulma clutched the Dragon Ball happily, "Great, it's the Three-Star Ball. If it had been in the ocean, finding it would have been nearly impossible. We're so lucky…"
〔 Mission completed! Rewarding the host immediately! 〕
In an instant, a flash of understanding crossed Goku's mind. He grasped the principles of Sky Dancing Art and mastered it completely. It was as if he had already practiced it millions of times.
Having obtained their fourth Dragon Ball, Goku and Bulma bid farewell to Roshi and set out on their journey.
Bulma rode her motorcycle with Goku on board, laughing happily.
"Woohoo, this is great! We've already gathered four Dragon Balls so quickly — we're so lucky!"
The two chatted and laughed as they headed toward the next Dragon Ball.
✩✩✩✩✩
Three days passed, and they arrived near the fifth Dragon Ball.
Bulma studied Goku, puzzled, "Just in these few days, why do I feel like you've grown taller?"
Goku smiled, "Really? Maybe I'm going through a growth spurt right now."
Bulma thought about it. Many of her classmates could grow from little runts to six feet tall in just half a year once they reached a certain age. Growing taller seemed to happen during a specific period.
She nodded, "That's true! Boys develop later, so I guess it's about time for you to grow taller."
Goku nodded, "Exactly. I must have reached the golden period of growth and development!"
Bulma didn't think any more about him growing taller. Instead, she opened the radar to scan.
"Great, Goku, we're finally almost there. According to the radar, there's a Dragon Ball just ten kilometers ahead!"
Goku floated up into the sky and looked ahead.
"Yeah, I can see a village."
Bulma looked up at him with surprise, "Huh, how can you fly?"
Goku looked down at her, "It's called the Sky Dancing Art — a martial arts technique."
Bulma blinked in amazement, "There's actually a martial art like that? That's incredible."
Goku laughed, "It's just a simple little trick, nothing special."
Interest sparked on Bulma's face, "You say it's just a little trick — does that mean it's easy to learn? Can you teach me?"
Goku scratched his head, "Teaching you wouldn't be a problem, but with your physical condition, it'd be very hard to learn. Even if you managed it, flying would be way more tiring than walking. You'd probably be exhausted after just a few hundred meters."
Bulma's mouth twitched. She waved her hand, "All right, all right, I won't learn it. I knew it — if learning to fly were simple, people wouldn't have invented airplanes."
"That's a very apt comparison!"
Bulma said proudly, "Of course. I'm Earth's number one genius scientist girl!"
The two chatted as they walked toward the village. As soon as they entered, they heard a girl's scream in the distance.
"Ah, no! Lord Oolong, please spare my daughter, I beg you!"
A giant rose up from where the voices came.
Bulma saw the towering figure and her legs went weak. She quickly hid behind Goku, "Goku, there's a monster! Can you beat it?"
He looked at the giant and guessed it was Oolong.
But he was confused. They'd already encountered this little pig committing his crime — why hadn't he been given a quest?
Goku seemed to understand — dealing with Oolong wasn't considered much of a regret.
He patted his chest, "Of course I can. I'm very strong!"
Bulma said quickly, "Then I'll wait here. You go kill that monster!"
Goku: "…"
What a ruthless beautiful girl!
Seeing his reaction, Bulma looked puzzled, "What's wrong? Are you scared too?"
Goku shook his head, "I'm not scared! What I mean is, before dealing with the monster, you should ask about the Dragon Ball first. Right now, they'd definitely trade it for me to defeat that thing."
Bulma's expression brightened, "I didn't think of that — you're quite the little smarty. So what now, you'll scare the monster away first?"
Goku nodded, "Yes. Once the monster runs away, you can go over."
"Okay!"
Goku drew out his Power Pole and charged toward the giant.
He shouted, "Bold monster, let go of that girl!"
The little girl in Oolong's hands froze, and so did Oolong.
Snapping back to his senses, he laughed loudly, "Ha ha ha, you little brat, aren't you afraid I'll stomp you to death?"
Goku gripped the Power Pole tightly and swung it, holding back his strength, "Monster, take this!"
Seeing him charge with such vigor, Oolong was startled. He released the little girl and rolled to the side, dodging the staff.
But the next moment made his spine run cold. The Power Pole struck the ground, exploding like thunder, and countless tiles blasted into the air. Even such a light swing from this boy had terrifying power.
Seeing this, Oolong didn't dare make any more designs on the girl. He transformed into a bird and flew away.
The little girl looked excitedly at Goku, "You're so amazing, thank you for saving me!"
Goku waved his hand casually and smiled, "Don't mention it!"
Seeing his face up close, the little girl's cheeks flushed, and she said shyly, "You saved me, so to repay you, I'll become your bride!"
Goku was shocked and waved his hands, "No, no, that's not necessary…"
At that moment, the villagers opened their doors and came out.
"Young man, you're amazing! You drove Oolong away with just one strike — how brave!"
The girl's father said, "Young man, thank you so much for saving my daughter!"
"Don't mention it, really don't mention it!"
The neighbors all praised Goku for being amazing and for driving Oolong away.
Just as everyone was feeling relieved, one villager suddenly sighed, "We finally encountered such a capable warrior, but he didn't land a hit. Oolong still got away. My daughter is still in his hands, her fate unknown…"
As soon as he finished speaking, other villagers chimed in, "Tell me about it! My daughter was taken two months ago. I'm worried sick…"
"Yes, my daughter too, my poor daughter!"
"Warrior, if you can rescue my daughter, I'll marry her to you."
"Me too, me too — my daughter is even prettier…"
The villagers all hoped the "Brave Warrior" would rescue their daughters and actually proposed such conditions.
Goku couldn't help but break into a nervous sweat — were the customs in this village really so bold?
At that moment, Bulma walked over holding a Dragon Ball, "Hey, hello everyone, uncles and aunties. Excuse me, has anyone seen a bead like this?"
The villagers all looked at the Dragon Ball.
Bulma continued, "You don't need to marry your daughters to him. If you can just find us a bead exactly like this one, we'll stay and help get rid of the monster!"
An old grandmother immediately called out, "Oh my, I have one exactly like that at home!"
✩✩✩✩✩
Not far from the village, Oolong's transformation time ran out. He reverted to his piglet form and zigzagged all the way home.
A moment later, his house came into view, and he finally stopped. He looked back nervously. Seeing that no one had followed him, he let out a deep sigh of relief.
"Phew, good thing I ran fast. This poor little pig almost got beaten to death!"
After collecting himself, Oolong entered his home.
His house was quite impressive — a large villa. As soon as he entered, he could see several girls living inside. Some were putting on makeup, some were enjoying gourmet food, and others were doing yoga. They all looked extremely comfortable.
Seeing him return, one girl greeted him while applying makeup, "Oolong's back!"
Oolong had just calmed down from his near-death experience and replied as calmly as possible, "Yes, I'm back."
The girl didn't care about how he was doing and didn't notice anything unusual.
Oolong was about to go inside to rest when suddenly, a voice stopped him.
"Oolong, wait a moment. The makeup is almost all used up. When you have time, buy me some more!"
Oolong nodded, "Okay, okay!"
Another girl continued, "Oolong, the fruit at home is almost gone too. Buy more next time. Oh, and I like durian and cherries, and also buy more bubble tea!"
Oolong nodded again, "Got it, I'll buy it for you next time I go out."
After two girls spoke up, the other two also took the opportunity to make their requests.
"Oolong, it's already summer. We all need to buy new clothes. I'm out of money — give me another million!"
Oolong's mouth twitched.
"O-one million? That much!"
Noticing his surprise, the girl immediately glared at him angrily, "Oolong, what's with that expression?"
Oolong said, "Please, try to spend a little less. Five million has already been spent this month!"
The girl drinking bubble tea put down her drink and looked at him, "Hey, Oolong, are you complaining that we spend too much money? We're girls! What's wrong with spending some money on girls?"
The girl doing yoga put her hands on her hips and looked down at him, threatening, "Oolong, if you're unwilling, we'll leave right now, and I'll expose to the villagers that you have no real abilities. All these years, you've extorted and robbed so much from the village — they'll definitely come and beat you to death!"
Feeling the intense pressure bearing down on him, Oolong quickly explained, "No, no, nothing! How could I think it's too much? It's normal to spend some money on girls. I'll go earn money right now…"
"Hmph, that's more like it…"
However, noticing that Oolong hadn't left, one girl immediately raised her eyebrows.
"Oolong, didn't you say you were going to earn money right away? What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go!"
Oolong, who had wanted to rest for a bit, jumped in fright and left home dejectedly.
Just as he walked out the front door, a group of villagers was marching toward his house in the distance. He looked closely and saw that the person leading them was none other than the one who had nearly beaten him to death with a staff.
His hair stood on end, "Oh no! How did they find this place?"
He ran back into his house and locked the door. The girls looked at him curiously.
"Oolong, why did you come back?"
"Weren't you going to earn money?"
"Why did you lock the door? What are you doing?"
Oolong leaned against the door, his forehead covered in sweat, "S-something bad happened. Someone brought a lot of villagers here…"
"What?"
The girls were surprised.
Soon, someone pounded on the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Threatening voices rang out from outside.
"Open the door, Oolong! If you don't want to die, hand over the girls you kidnapped!"
"You don't think this flimsy door can stop us, do you?"
"If you don't open up, we're going to break it down!"
One girl muttered, "One of those voices sounds like my dad. Maybe we should open the door…"
A loud voice came from outside.
"Let me through — I'll smash the door open!"
Oolong's heart clenched. That was definitely the boy's voice.
He knew the guy could demolish his house with one swing of his staff. He immediately shouted, "Hero, have mercy! I'll open the door right now!"
The door opened, and the villagers poured in.
"Cis, Dad's here to get you!"
"Lotus, it's Mom! Mom's here to get you!"
"Lily, don't be afraid — it's Dad."
However, none of the girls wanted to go back.
"Just leave us alone!"
"Yeah, living here is way more comfortable than farming."
The parents who had missed their daughters were stunned.
Oolong walked over looking pitiful. He bowed to the villagers, "I'm very sorry for kidnapping your daughters… But rest assured, I haven't laid a finger on them. I just wanted a gentle and obedient girl. They're all too extravagant, so please take them all back…"
Seeing his true form, the villagers felt embarrassed.
"So Oolong really is just a little pig!"
"And he managed to fool us for so many years!"
A moment later, Bulma obtained the fifth Dragon Ball.
The two didn't linger. After restocking supplies, they set off again.
✩✩✩✩✩
The route to the next Dragon Ball included a waterway. Fortunately, Bulma had a capsule speedboat. She piloted it, taking Goku to the location of the next Dragon Ball.
While steering, she laughed, "Goku, you're really amazing. That staff strike made the floor tiles explode. If it had hit a person, it would've turned them into mush. That strike will probably haunt Oolong for the rest of his life."
Goku smiled, "I knew he wasn't a monster — that it was someone transformed. I never intended to kill him."
Bulma said in surprise, "Really? You could even tell that? That's impressive! When I saw how huge he was, I was terrified. But his transformation technique is pretty intimidating. Why did you refuse to bring him along?"
Goku smiled, "That kid, besides being able to transform, has no real abilities. Bringing him would just be a waste of food."
"You've got a point!"
Bulma turned to look at Goku, her lips curling into a teasing smile.
"Goku, those young girls all really liked you and were eager to marry you. Why didn't you agree?"
Goku quickly shook his head, "Bulma, don't joke around. I don't like girls like that."
"You don't like girls like that?" A trace of anticipation appeared on Bulma's face, "So what do you think of me?"
✩✩✩✩✩
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want more chapters of this novel or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)