Silver Colonel's body slammed into the rocks with a dull thud, then slid to the ground.
His legs twitched once… and went still.
Bulma's heart skipped a beat when she saw it.
"W-We're done for… He's dead! We're in huge trouble now!"
Goku waved it off casually.
"Trouble? What trouble? Those guys are pure evil. When you deal with people like that, you hit hard and don't hold back."
Bulma stomped her foot in panic.
"You idiot, do you have any idea what you've done?! The Red Ribbon Army is spread all over the world! We're going to get wiped out!"
Goku shrugged.
"He's already dead, so what's the point worrying now? If anyone's doomed, it's them."
"If we end up wiping out the whole Red Ribbon Army, that'd just be doing the world a favor."
Bulma stared at him in disbelief.
"W-Wipe out the Red Ribbon Army?! Are you crazy?!"
Goku's eyes hardened.
"Bulma, don't forget what just happened. If we hadn't used the Dragon Balls to give you some combat power before, you'd have been blown to pieces by that rocket."
"People like that deserve to die."
The image of her plane exploding flashed through Bulma's mind, and she shivered.
He was right—without that wish, she'd already be dead.
Still… the Red Ribbon Army was a monster too big to imagine fighting.
Then her gaze fell on the Dragon Ball in her hand, and her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Oh! Goku, I've got an idea!"
"What?"
"We just collect all the Dragon Balls and wish the Red Ribbon Army away with Shenron!"
She burst into smug laughter.
"Hahaha! I'm a genius!"
Goku's mouth twitched.
Genius, my ass… Using Shenron to deal with the Red Ribbon Army is such a waste of a wish…
But he didn't say it out loud.
If he told her she could destroy the Red Ribbon Army herself, she'd never believe him anyway.
Once the Dragon Balls were gathered and the army was already gone, she'd stop worrying.
More importantly, he couldn't let Bulma get directly involved in fighting them.
If Gero set his sights on her, things could get ugly.
So Goku said instead,
"Bulma, just use that power to protect yourself. From now on, leave all the fighting to me."
Bulma felt the warmth behind his words and nodded gently.
"Okay… I understand. But our plane's gone. What do we do now?"
Goku looked around.
"There should be a Red Ribbon base nearby. We'll just take one of their planes."
Bulma's lips twitched.
"Steal a Red Ribbon Army plane? That's insane! You can fly—why don't you just carry me?"
Goku checked the Dragon Radar.
"The next Dragon Ball is in the far north. If you're not afraid of freezing, I can carry you."
Bulma grabbed the radar and looked.
It was practically in the Arctic.
Her face went pale.
"I didn't bring any winter clothes! I'll freeze to death!"
Goku laughed.
"You're pretty strong now. You won't die from the cold."
"That's not the point!" Bulma snapped.
"Just because I won't die doesn't mean I won't be freezing!"
Goku spread his hands.
"Which is why we need to steal a plane."
A short while later, Goku secured a Capsule containing a military aircraft.
Bulma's face darkened.
"…We've completely made enemies of them now. There's no turning back."
She piloted the stolen plane and flew off toward the next Dragon Ball.
Red Ribbon Army Headquarters
"Report to Red Commander!"
Red, cigar in his mouth, turned around.
"What is it?"
"There's a problem with the Dragon Ball Silver Colonel was assigned. May we request your presence in the control room?"
Red followed the officer into a room dominated by a massive radar display.
Red squinted at it.
"That Dragon Ball is moving. Doesn't that mean he found it?"
The officer hesitated.
"That's the strange part. Look—it's moving north, into White General's sector. Could Silver be going after White's Dragon Ball too?"
Red frowned.
"Have you contacted him?"
"No response, sir."
Just then another officer rushed in, pale as a sheet.
"B-Bad news! Silver Colonel is dead—and the intruder stole one of our aircraft!"
Red's eyes went wide.
"What?! Someone dares steal from the Red Ribbon Army?! Who is it?"
"We received a photo. It appears to be… a child."
"A child?" Red scoffed. "You're telling me a kid is fighting the Red Ribbon Army?"
Black stepped forward.
"Contact White General. Order him to eliminate the brat and retrieve the Dragon Ball."
"Yes, sir!"
As Black stood beside him, Red suddenly snapped,
"Didn't I tell you not to stand next to me? It makes me look shorter!"
Black immediately stepped back.
"M-My apologies…"
Meanwhile — Karin Tower
"Up… keep going…!"
Krillin climbed with everything he had.
It felt like he'd already scaled several mountains, yet the top still wasn't in sight.
Night fell. His stomach growled.
He tied himself to the tower with a rope, ate some bread and water, then secured the rope again before falling asleep.
At dawn, he woke up.
"Morning already…?"
He looked up. Still no end in sight.
"…This tower really is insane. Let's keep going!"
He untied the rope, packed it up, and continued climbing.
By noon, exhausted and drenched in sweat, he suddenly saw something different.
"Wait… is that the top?!"
Hope surged through him. With renewed strength, he climbed faster.
At last, he pulled himself onto the summit.
Panting, Krillin looked around.
"So clean… Is this where the hermit lives?"
He noticed rows of large jars.
"So many… Is this the Ultra Divine Water?"
He opened one. Just plain water.
They all looked ordinary—nothing special at all.
Then a voice spoke behind him.
"Come up here."
Krillin climbed the stairs—and found a cat waiting.
"…A cat? Uh… excuse me, is the hermit here?"
The cat spoke.
"You climbed all the way up here. Pretty impressive for a short guy."
Krillin frowned.
"Hey, you're not that tall either. So where's the hermit?"
"I am."
Krillin's eyes widened.
"You're the hermit?!"
"Got a problem with that?"
"No… not really." Krillin shook his head.
"I heard there's Ultra Divine Water here that can increase my strength. I climbed all the way up for it."
The cat smiled and held up a bottle.
"Here it is. Take it if you can."
Krillin blinked.
"That's it? I just have to grab it?"
"That's right."
Krillin grinned.
"Alright then… here I come!"
He lunged forward.
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