"Arrrgghh! What the heck are we supposed to do?!"
Yamcha was a mess, scratching his head in frustration.
He had no idea how to deal with the offline spread of Torment Sloth!
"Why can't it be something we can solve with brute force?! Why does it have to be this brain-wrecking mess that we don't even know how to handle?!"
He kept tugging his hair and ranting.
Mobilizing the entire world to inspect magazines, DVDs, and books was completely unrealistic.
First off, he didn't have that kind of influence.
"Hey, Bulma... Can you rally everyone?"
He turned to her with desperation in his voice.
Bulma, who now fully understood just how terrifying the Torment Sloth was, shuddered at the thought of falling victim to its mind-melting effects just from a glance.
"Are you kidding? Even if Capsule Corp has some prestige, we can't make the entire world listen to us. Not unless we hire people to do the checking."
Bulma answered seriously.
"That's perfect then!"
Yamcha exclaimed, visibly encouraged.
"Hold it. Checking magazines and discs is the easy part. The real problem is—what do we do when we find someone infected?"
Bulma hit the heart of the issue.
"Let me ask you—do you have a cure?"
She fixed her eyes on Yamcha.
"Uhhh…"
Yamcha was immediately at a loss for words.
He hadn't forgotten what the screen said—that all victims were ultimately executed after attempts to treat them failed.
He could only shake his head, defeated.
"Exactly. You can't treat them. You can't help them. So what do we do when we run into someone who's infected?"
Bulma asked sharply.
Even as she spoke, her lips trembled. She didn't want to keep thinking about what the worst-case scenario looked like.
Yamcha looked equally distressed, his head hung low. He couldn't imagine killing innocent people—even if it was to prevent further suffering.
"…What if we do kill them and revive them later? Would they still be affected?"
Yamcha wondered aloud.
Sure, the Dragon Balls could bring people back from the dead—but how many would they need to kill first?
No one knew how many would be infected. And what if a new wave appeared right after the wish? You could only use the Dragon Balls once a year.
"If only Shenron was available—we could've just asked him to locate every place where the Sloth appears offline!"
Chiaotzu sighed, completely disheartened.
"Yeah…" Yamcha shared the sentiment. But thinking about that now was useless. What they really needed was a way to find every instance of the Sloth without Shenron.
"Wait!"
Bulma suddenly shot to her feet, a flash of realization on her face.
"We still have Fortuneteller Baba!"
She turned to Yamcha, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Baba could definitely divine the locations of any magazines, DVDs, or books carrying the Sloth's image!"
"You're right!! I totally forgot about her!"
Yamcha practically shouted with joy.
"Alright—no time to waste! I'll go find her now!"
He got ready to fly out. Chiaotzu nodded, already prepared to join him.
"Wait! I'm coming too!"
Bulma stood up with determination.
"This concerns the safety of the entire world. I can't just sit around doing nothing!"
She couldn't stay calm after learning about something so terrifying.
Especially as someone who loved watching TV and flipping through magazines.
Now that she knew those very hobbies might kill her… she needed peace of mind.
"Besides, if Baba asks for payment, I can cover it."
Bulma said with a cheeky wink.
Yamcha and Chiaotzu both nodded in agreement.
There was no one on Earth richer than Bulma.
And so the three of them departed immediately in search of Fortuneteller Baba.
—
Meanwhile, back on the screen:
Goku: Hey, Yamcha, Chiaotzu—what are you two up to? Find a solution yet?
Yamcha: Yeah! We're heading to ask Fortuneteller Baba to help us locate the Sloth's offline appearances.
Doctor Strange: Fortuneteller Baba? You've got magic users too?
Yamcha: Yup. She's incredible. She can locate anything and even predict the future!
Mordo: Just be careful. If she sees the Sloth during the process, she might get affected too.
Yamcha: Crap! You're right… I totally forgot about that! What do we do?
Wong: Maybe if she only gets a general location and doesn't look directly at it, it'll be safe.
Loki: That's not guaranteed. This SCP is especially weird.
Piccolo: Easy fix—just have her divine approximate areas. Don't let her visualize the Sloth directly. Limit the risk.
Yamcha: Guess that's the best option.
Goku: Wait, hold up—what about King Kai?
Yamcha: You mean that god you mentioned before?
Goku: Yup! King Kai can see anywhere in the galaxy! Maybe he can help!
Goku: I'll teleport to him now!
Odin: So… he can observe the entire galaxy? That's like Heimdall, only even greater.
Diana: I wonder what gods are like in the Dragon Ball universe.
Goku: If you're curious about what King Kai looks like... Hmm, kind of like a cockroach without wings, I guess?
Diana: Aaaaaah!!
Nami: Ew!! That's disgusting!
Mei Terumi: Wait—seriously?! Your god looks like that?!
Sasha: I… Is that really a god!?
Goku: What? I don't think he looks bad…
Piccolo: Don't ask this idiot for aesthetic opinions.
Piccolo: Just remember—if King Kai does help, he'll have to be very careful. If he stares at the Sloth for too long, he might get infected. One-second glances only.
Goku: Got it! I'll warn him!
Goku raised two fingers to his forehead and focused.
"To find King Kai, I'll need to go Super Saiyan first!"
With that, Goku transformed right there in the spaceship.
The massive surge of energy made the entire ship shake violently, cracks forming across its hull as it struggled to withstand his power!
(End of Chapter)
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