Bulma paid no attention to John's actions, as her mind was completely focused on the spaceship.
She was currently arranging for her family's robots to transport all the spaceships delivered by Shenron into the manufacturing facility at her home.
John said to Bulma, "Bulma, I'm going to deliver the Four-Star Dragon Ball to Goku. Do you want to come with me?"
Bulma shook her head and replied, "You go ahead. Right now, I just want to focus on researching the spaceship."
John couldn't help but shake his head. Bulma always said he was obsessed with training, but wasn't she the same? Whenever she encountered an interesting scientific project, she would immerse herself in it completely.
"Alright then, I'll go by myself," John said.
With that, John soared into the sky, flying in the direction of Kame House. After passing through cities, deserts, and oceans, he soon arrived at the small island where Kame House was located.
The sea turtle, sunbathing on the beach, immediately greeted him cheerfully when it saw him approaching.
"Young Master John!"
"Ah, hello, Mr. Turtle. Where are Goku and Master Roshi?" John asked.
The turtle replied, "Master Roshi is probably taking a nap inside, and Young Master Goku is likely training on a nearby island."
John nodded and released his ki, quickly sensing Goku's location.
Without hesitation, he flew straight over and soon saw Goku training hard on a small island.
Instead of greeting him, John immediately launched an attack.
It wasn't a sneak attack—he had openly signaled his intent with his ki before striking.
Goku didn't dodge or evade. He took the hit head-on, and the two of them quickly engaged in battle.
They fought from the ground to the sky, then from the sky to the sea.
Goku flew ahead while John continuously fired ki blasts to block his path.
Goku then dove into the water, prompting John to fly high into the air to avoid a potential underwater ambush.
However, he didn't expect Goku to stand at the bottom of the ocean and fire a Kamehameha. The powerful energy wave parted the seawater and shot straight toward John.
Since it came from underwater, by the time John noticed, it was too late to dodge or counter with his own Kamehameha.
With a loud shout, John formed a protective barrier around himself, crossed his arms in front of him, and forcefully blocked Goku's attack.
Of course, this was just a friendly spar—neither of them was going all out. Otherwise, John wouldn't have dared to take Goku's Kamehameha head-on.
The scattered seawater fell back into the ocean like rain.
Goku flew up from the depths, grinning as he rubbed his nose and looked at John. In this round, John had lost—if this had been a life-or-death battle, he would have been injured.
"Hehe, John, I won this time!" Goku said happily.
John sighed and tossed the now-cracked Four-Star Dragon Ball to Goku, who fumbled a bit before catching it.
John had indeed been careless, not expecting Goku's progress to be so rapid. "Alright, you finally beat me once. Happy now?" he said.
Goku's cheerful expression was impossible to hide.
The two of them flew back to Kame House together.
John asked, "Goku, what's your plan now? Are you going after Piccolo Jr.?"
They had already agreed that John wouldn't intervene—this fight would be Goku's alone.
Goku shook his head. "No need. Unless Piccolo Jr. starts killing humans, finding him would be pretty hard. I'll wait until the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament to face him. If he wants revenge, he'll definitely show up there."
"I've rested enough. I'm going back to the Lookout to train with Kami and Mr. Popo."
"What about you, John? Still training to try and become a Super Saiyan?"
John shook his head. "Transforming into a Super Saiyan isn't that easy. It might require external stimulation or help. I think I'll travel for a while. I've spent so many years training that I haven't had time to see the world. So, I'm going to explore a bit."
With their own plans set, the two shared a hearty meal at Kame House before parting ways.
John began his journey across Earth. Deep down, he hoped that during his travels, he might find Lazuli—the future Android 18.
He could always wait a year and ask Shenron for her location, but after some thought, he decided to let their meeting happen naturally.
Instead of flying, John chose to walk the land, just like Goku often did.
One day, he arrived at a small town and noticed the townsfolk looked extremely tense, holding an assortment of weapons—rifles, submachine guns, shotguns—though most were armed with farming tools, pitchforks, and other makeshift melee weapons.
When they saw John approaching, a man who seemed to be the mayor pointed a shotgun at him and asked, "Who are you? Are you with the Red Ribbon Army?"
"The Red Ribbon Army? Weren't they wiped out?" John asked, confused.
"Wiped out? The Red Ribbon Army was wiped out?!" The townspeople were both excited and skeptical.
The mayor asked, "Sir, how do you know the Red Ribbon Army was destroyed?"
"Because my friend wiped them out two years ago. That's how I know," John replied.
Hearing this, the villagers' initial joy quickly turned to disappointment.
Seeing John's confusion, the mayor explained, "Sir, you might not know this, but the Red Ribbon Army wasn't completely destroyed."
"I know about what happened back then, but your friend only took out their main headquarters—that was just one part of the organization."
"Since then, the Red Ribbon Army stopped large-scale operations and split into smaller units. They don't dare attack big cities anymore, but they still harass and loot remote towns like ours."
"At first, our relationship with the Red Ribbon Army wasn't bad. We provided them with food and taxes, and in return, they protected us from wild beasts and monsters. It was a fair arrangement."
"But in the past year, for some reason, they've been demanding more food and taxes, taking almost everything we have."
"Today is the day they're supposed to come again, but we have nothing left to give. So, we've decided to fight back—even if it means mutual destruction!"
"Mutual destruction!" The townspeople shouted in agreement behind the mayor.
Just then, a villager came rushing in on a motorcycle, yelling, "The Red Ribbon Army is here! Everyone, get ready!"
Immediately, the townspeople tensed up, gripping their weapons tightly, prepared for a life-or-death battle against the incoming Red Ribbon Army.