"From your looks, I can tell you're a rich little lady, so excuse the austerity of my house," Son Gohan said after Bulma sat down on a wooden chair.
The house was straightforward and rustic. Son Gohan had lived like a hermit for the last few years. It didn't even seem to have electricity or television, but maybe because of that, it was cozy.
"Don't worry about it," Bulma didn't care how 'old-fashioned' this place was, it wasn't like she was a spoiled or pompous girl.
Besides, she understood that simple luxuries or entertainment were unnecessary for people like Son Gohan, who could do things normal people couldn't do.
Money? Gohan has access to every rare animal or plant in the Paoz Mountains. Even a 10- or 20-year-old herb used in traditional medicine is literally at his fingertips, which would bring a great deal of monetary benefits to anyone.
Exotic food? There were rare and dangerous animals nearby that you wouldn't see in the city, and a little trip by the old man could get him prey that others would have to spend thousands or millions to enjoy.
Do you think anyone can hunt a dinosaur or catch a fish as big as an adult? Only martial artists can do that, an ordinary person would have to waste a lot of resources, and sometimes it's not worth it.
However, in the future, as these species become less common and technology becomes more accessible and powerful, this business will be profitable, although the enemy will not be the animals, but a certain android who wants to be a ranger.
Gohan held Goku in his arms, who was unusually calm, watching Bulma constantly and even letting out some childish laughter.
"The little one likes you, he's calm just looking at you. It was a pain to feed and bathe him, he looks like a wild cat," Son Gohan joked.
"I think so, he's in a bad mood, and considering what I heard before I got here, I can guess why," Bulma said.
She didn't know why Goku had calmed down when he saw her, but it could be because of her 'aura'. Her Ki was heavily influenced by nature, and Goku was only a slightly altered Saiyan at this point, which would explain her reaction.
"Can you explain? I guess since you came to look for a spaceship and to look for it, you must know part of its origin, right?" Gohan asked, and although he seemed as relaxed as before, there was a worried tone in his voice.
Gohan liked this boy, whom he had found and named himself. He had no offspring, and although he had ascetic tendencies, as a human, he longed for companionship.
Not being as bold as his master Muten Roshi to approach a woman younger than himself, he could only confine himself to the tranquility of this place, or at least tranquility for someone of his strength.
This period of isolation allowed Gohan to understand some of the mysteries of the world, the same mysteries that told him that the girl before him was as incredible and talented as the boy he was holding.
Was this God's guidance? He didn't know, sometimes he even wondered why he felt the need to go into the impact zone of the spaceship, but whatever it was, he knew that his actions were giving back to the world, even if he didn't know the future impact.
This sounds very metaphysical and very "cultivation shit," but for martial artists like Gohan, power is not everything, but understanding and state of mind.
You could say that at a certain point, Gohan's mind was at peace and had reached a certain level of spiritual enlightenment, it didn't improve his strength, but sometimes that's not everything, right?
In fact, in terms of mentality, he had surpassed his master, Muten Roshi, who was very susceptible to distraction when women were present. Too bad that Gohan is limited by his age, or his strength would increase tremendously.
This kind of understanding was something that many martial artists longed for, but could never achieve in their lifetime. Because of this, Gohan had grown fond of the child in his arms, whom he named Goku.
He wanted to pass on his ideas to her, feeling that his new understanding of martial arts and Ki would be momentous. Too bad that in many Dragon Ball parallel universes, Gohan always died before he could pass on his knowledge.
Sure, he could do it in death, but except for the privileged Goku in the future, the dead were forbidden to intervene in the world, if at all, they could only make a one-day visit, which wasn't enough time for many things.
"Simple, this child is one of the few 'Saiyans' left in the entire universe. Their planet was destroyed by an asteroid a long time ago. They are a warrior race that exterminates life on planets to sell them, so they send their children to other worlds.
A Galactic Patrolman is here to evaluate him, to know if he is a danger to this world because he possesses a power that, if true, could not be overcome. As far as I know, when this race sees the full moon, they become an Ozaru, or giant monkey, with devastating power," Bulma quickly summarized the information Jaco had given her, causing Gohan to look at her in disbelief.
"Can this little thing wipe out all humans?" Gohan asked with a hint of ridicule as he carried Goku and displayed him in front of Bulma, causing the little boy to burst out laughing.
"Look at him, he's so cute and innocent, just a little wild, he doesn't seem to be part of a murderous alien race," Goku's laughter brought a smile to Gohan's old face, who felt that finding Goku was the best thing he had ever done in his entire life.
"I'm just telling you what I've been taught, it's up to the patrolman to decide. But I can help you to convince him even more, just..." Bulma was suddenly silent, and although Gohan was practically a hermit at this point in his life, he was not someone without social experience.
"I remember you mentioned my teacher, would you like me to introduce him to you? Although I don't think a girl of your class needs to learn how to fight," Gohan said, this time using his Ki sense to examine Bulma.
By feeling someone's Ki, one could know many things without using words. To the old man, Bulma's presence was, for lack of a better word, 'sunny'. Why would someone's Ki be so similar to the sun? But it was this sign that brought his ideas to the forefront.
'Raw power is not something we should pursue as humanity, but something beyond that, my ideas perhaps... can be tested on this girl first,' Gohan thought, and his emotions were felt by Bulma, who did not understand why the old man seemed to be pleased with her.
"Maybe later, but I want to train with you first, I know nothing about martial arts and the energy that warriors use, I only have some ideas that I have explored on my own," Bulma raised her hand and showed a ball of purple Ki that changed into different forms under her control.
"By the way, you may have noticed my blue hair, but my name is Bulma Brief," Bulma said with a little pride in her tone, only her family could make blue hair so prominent.
In her hand, animals, plants, tools, and even buildings or confusing geometric figures were transformed using only Ki, and seeing such fine control of energy made Gohan open his eyes for the first time.
The old man, who had always had a grandpa's face, now looked expectantly at the seemingly infinite changes of Ki in Bulma's hands, something so incredible told him one thing: The girl in front of him was a genius! At least, she is in energy manipulation.
"I will teach you! I will do my best to guide you in the best way and if I cannot teach you anymore, I will take you to my teacher," Gohan said quickly, he did not want Bulma to end up learning from people with malicious tendencies like those from the Crane School.
Kami-Sama will know what they would teach the girl in front of him, they could even provoke the rise of a terrible monster. This thought, as well as the fact that he wanted to pass on his new ideas about the way a human warrior should go, made him want to teach Bulma.
"I don't know much about you martial artists, but according to the novels, a student must present gifts to his master, so mine are simple: I give you a vehicle to travel to the city, and I help you raise the Saiyan boy.
I will help him pay for his education, and I can even have your house remodeled so that you have proper modern conveniences," Bulma's words embarrassed the elder Gohan, who had not expected such a thing.
He still remembered that he only had to give his Master Muten Roshi some racy magazines and that was enough to be taught by him in his Turtle Style. Then she remembered that she had a strange glowing ball with four stars inside.
It was like a gem, and women like gems, don't they? With this thought, the old man apologized for a moment and then went to look for the strange ball, leaving Goku on the seat.
The fidgety boy tried to get off the chair, but Bulma prevented him from falling, but the boy seemed to enjoy her closeness, so he started to laugh and even blurted out some words, which startled Bulma.
"Plant," the boy babbled, repeating the word over and over.
"You think I'm a plant, don't you? What a thing," Bulma muttered as she took some of Goku's hair from both his head and tail.
She wanted to run some tests on Goku's samples, not to create some genetic aberration like Cell, but to understand some of the Saiyan DNA.
She wouldn't integrate it into her body, but she wanted to understand the transformation mechanism a bit, maybe it would help her to awaken her physical deformation abilities in advance.
"Look, I'm giving you this orb as a gift as your master, I don't have any way to pay for everything you're planning to do for me and Goku, so this is all I can give you. I don't know what it's for, but it looks nice," Gohan said, handing him the four-star ball, something many connoisseurs of the legend would fight for, plain and simple.
"Thank you, but maybe you should know the story behind it," Bulma said, explaining the legend of the Dragon Balls to Gohan, who seemed less than thrilled at the prospect of a wish.
"I don't have much to ask for except for Goku's growth, maybe to spread my school, but with you here, I don't need that," Gohan said, sending out a wave of ki with his right hand and drawing a kanji in front of him.
Bulma recognized it as the kanji for Heaven (Sora), 空, and with that, she felt that the whole environment seemed to become more... harmonious, so to speak. Gohan, who had a serious face, no longer looked like a carefree old man, but a true warrior.
"The way I will teach you may be inspired by the school of my master, the Turtle Style, who in turn learned from Mutaito, the man who defeated the Great Demon Piccolo in the past.
But it is what I have learned, synthesized, and understood over the years, especially during my time in the Paoz Mountains, a way that may not be as destructive as the Crane School but is no less powerful for it.
The sky contains everything, including the earth, the sky contains everything, including the elements, the sky is everything, including this world. As human beings, we are part of nature, part of the elements, part of heaven.
Girl, do you want to make your mark in the sky?" Bulma looked at Gohan with some astonishment and some things couldn't help but come to her mind.
'This Dragon Ball world is not as simple as the series or the manga, and that makes it better,' the girl thought as she repeated the same kanji as Gohan.
Maybe it didn't have the same effect as the old man, but the whole house seemed to have better lighting and even felt more comfortable as if the first rays of sunlight were entering the place after a particularly cold night.
"Yes, I want to make my mark in the sky, I want to reach for the stars," Bulma replied, marking the beginning of a new adventure.
One where not only the Saiyans will stand out, but there will also be a place for humans to participate in great things.
--------------------------
AN: Well, this and the Reincarnation Paradise fanfic will be the only ones I update for two reasons: Reincarnation Paradise lends itself much better to multiversal stories than group chats, and secondly, I've always wanted to write a Dragon Ball story, since it will have everything my other fanfics have and more.
Apart from that, I'm also devoting time and space to my original novel, creating a world, a power system, situations, plots, characters, and chapters that are especially long, I mean, on average they take me 8-9 pages in word.
I don't know if I will upload an English version to Webnovel, maybe I will, I would really like people to give their opinion and point of view so I can improve.
I don't make money with these stories, not even with the original, I write because I really love writing and I have many ideas in my head. If I could draw, I would make drawings for my stuff, although I can only use AI or look for reference images for the characters (I don't think I'm an artist for that).
That would be all, expect more chapters and a constant update, one day Reincarnation Paradise, one day Dragon Ball, I will balance everything and I won't let the university drown me so much that I lose the desire to write (but without neglecting my studies).
Please comment, give feedback, I really like to see comments, they make my day, maybe that would be the only 'payment' I'm willing to accept!