During his journey on Earth, John unexpectedly encountered Androids 17 and 18, which suddenly diminished his desire to continue traveling. He spent his days aimlessly lingering around Bulma, constantly asking when the spaceship would be ready.
Finally, after John's persistent urging, Bulma completed a usable spaceship two months after making a wish to Shenron.
Eagerly, John climbed aboard the spaceship and set off into the cosmos, unafraid that this first spacecraft might malfunction and leave him stranded in the vast universe.
Bulma and John agreed that one month before the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, if John had not returned, Bulma would use the Dragon Balls to bring him back.
Thus, John piloted the spaceship, becoming the first Earthling to venture into space in the Dragon Ball universe.
His primary goal was to find Namek, where larger Dragon Balls could summon a more powerful Shenron—Porunga. John planned to use this dragon to gain some super abilities.
Fortunately, among the spaceships gifted by Shenron was one that contained a star map indicating Namek's location. This particular spaceship likely belonged to the young Kami when he traveled to Earth, hence the presence of the map to Namek.
Now, John's star map on his spaceship combined several maps from different ships and essentially covered the entire North Galaxy.
However, these maps were outdated; some were over a decade old while others dated back over a century. Therefore, if given the chance, John hoped to update them with the latest star maps.
Luckily, there were many aliens in the Dragon Ball universe; just in the North Galaxy alone, there were countless alien races and endless space pirates. Thus, John believed updating a star map wouldn't be difficult.
The spaceship operated automatically, requiring no manual control from John. He began training inside as the ship's maximum gravity could be increased to fifty times that of Earth's—sufficient for his training needs.
While training, John also sent out communication signals to see if any unfortunate soul would dare attempt to rob his spaceship.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before John's almost blatant call for robbery attracted a group of space pirates. They chased down John's spaceship and deployed their battlecrafts, threatening him to land on a nearby planet or they would blow up his ship.
John was waiting for them and obediently landed on the designated planet.
Before long, his spaceship gently touched down on a desolate planet filled with red rocks.
The main computer of John's ship immediately announced: "Oxygen level at 0.2%, carbon dioxide level at 95%, nitrogen level at 3%... Environment is harsh; space suits are required."
John complied and donned his space suit before stepping out of the spaceship.
At this moment, those space pirates had already surrounded John's ship with laser guns aimed at the door. If John resisted in any way, they were ready to fire immediately.
Seeing John emerge from the ship, one pirate babbled something incomprehensible; unfortunately, John couldn't understand him. The pirate kept switching languages until he finally spoke in a way that John understood.
"Can you understand what I'm saying now? If you do, nod your head," said the pirate.
Understanding their language now, John nodded in acknowledgment.
The pirate then relayed something to his companions. Soon after, John found himself able to hear everything they were saying through a control panel on his arm.
One pirate remarked: "You look like you came from an extremely backward planet; you must have just entered space."
John nodded quickly and replied, "Yes, brothers! But how did you know?"
"How do we know? Just look at you! Who would dare send out their location repeatedly in space?"
"Alright, enough chit-chat." A figure who seemed to be their leader interrupted their conversation and addressed John directly: "Hand over all your valuables; otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless. In space, many people die without anyone noticing."
John immediately shook his head and said: "But I don't have anything valuable! The most valuable thing I have is this spaceship."
"You little brat! You're not being honest," said the leader angrily. He turned to one of his subordinates and commanded: "Go search his spaceship for anything valuable; take this guy onto our ship."
"Yes, boss."
Soon after, two pirates boarded John's spaceship while others escorted him onto their pirate ship.
The pirates' ship was significantly larger than John's and showcased high-tech decor that made John envious. He decided that this ship now belonged to him.
Once inside their ship, the pirates removed their space suits while John followed suit and took off his own suit as well.
The pirates seated John on a chair while waiting for results from those who searched his ship.
Before long, the two pirates returned with news: "Report boss! This kid was telling the truth; there's nothing valuable on his ship except some spare clothes."
The pirate leader became furious. He approached John and raised his hand as if to slap him across the face but was caught by John's grip instead.
Instantly all pirates aimed their guns at John.
In a flash, John disappeared from sight but then they realized their weapons had vanished from their hands only to reappear in John's grasp moments later.
John tossed those weapons onto the floor and stomped them into pieces. At that moment, all pirates understood they had provoked someone they couldn't handle.
The pirate leader fell to his knees before John and pleaded: "Sir! We were blind! Please spare us!"
John shook his head and said: "Sorry; since you've robbed me before, hand over everything valuable you have."
All pirates exchanged glances in confusion about what to do next.
Seeing their reluctance, John raised a hand and fired an energy blast that sent one pirate flying against the wall—clearly struggling for breath afterward.
Terrified by this display of power, all pirates scrambled back to their quarters to gather all valuables they could find for John.