"You suddenly changed locations without even telling me!"
"We encountered the androids, and to avoid harming the civilians on the island, we had to quickly change the battlefield... If Ethan hadn't reacted quickly, that island would have been destroyed by the androids."
Krillin briefly explained the situation, hoping to appease Bulma's displeasure, but unfortunately, his explanation was not very effective.
"Even if it wasn't convenient to come over and tell me, couldn't you have used a communicator?"
"Uh... a communicator?"
Everyone suddenly remembered that besides functions like a scouter, their wristwatches could also be used as communicators. They could have used them to inform Bulma.
However, this group of martial artists was so focused on training, especially during battle, that they had completely forgotten about it.
"Ah, I forgot about that function."
"Honestly, I made so many convenient tools for you guys, and they all went to waste."
The combat suits, designed by Ethan and perfected and manufactured by Bulma, not only allowed everyone to survive in space, but also had considerable defensive power.
But this time, when facing the androids, none of them wore their combat suits. They all wore their usual gi, while Ethan wore loose pants and a white jacket.
"Oh, I'm just used to it. I always forget to use things like that."
Goku laughed, trying to pacify the annoyed Bulma, then greeted Trunks beside her. Bulma had been able to find them thanks to Trunks' arrival.
With Trunks' help guiding the way, they were able to find Ethan and the others so quickly.
"Mr. Goku, have you already fought the androids?"
"Yes!"
Trunks' expression was serious. He looked around and saw that everyone was fine, with no casualties. Aside from Goku looking a little weak and not in good spirits, no one else was injured.
He took Goku's condition as post-battle exhaustion and did not think in any other direction. Seeing no casualties, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mr. Goku really is amazing. It seems you had the upper hand?"
"Ah, I didn't actually fight. Ethan fought the androids."
"Mr. Ethan?"
Trunks was very surprised. He had never really understood this "stranger" who did not exist in his world.
After coming here last time and learning about the differences between the two worlds, as well as the existence of completely unfamiliar people, Trunks went back and specifically asked his mother, confirming that she did not know anyone named Ethan.
Trunks kept his distance from people he did not know at all.
Although he had never met Goku either, he had practically grown up hearing "stories" about him since childhood, and he had a sense of admiration for Goku deep down, so he naturally felt closer to him.
Ethan was different. He was a complete stranger. But hearing that Ethan could defeat the androids, Trunks felt admiration along with his surprise.
"Mr. Ethan really is amazing, to be able to defeat an android." Trunks looked around. "Are you all gathered here to continue pursuing the android who got away?"
"Yes, Android 19 was killed by Ethan, but the other one got away... That guy seems to be Dr. Gero himself. He turned himself into an android too."
Trunks, who was already shocked to hear that Ethan had killed an android, became very confused upon hearing this.
"Dr. Gero himself?"
"Yeah... What's wrong?"
Piccolo and Goku suddenly looked at Trunks. Their intuition told them that the question they had been very concerned about earlier could be answered by him.
"That's impossible..."
"Is something wrong?"
When Ethan saw Trunks appear, he was already thinking about how to steer the conversation toward Android 17 and 18. Unexpectedly, he did not need to say anything. The topic naturally shifted in that direction.
Krillin's words confused Trunks because the androids who plagued his world were not old men like Dr. Gero.
"Dr. Gero... should be very old, right?"
"Yeah, he's a scrawny old man!"
Trunks finally confirmed something. The androids Goku and the others were fighting were not the two he was familiar with.
"No, the androids I'm talking about should be a young man and woman. They look around twenty years old!"
"What?"
This information from Trunks finally made everyone realize the seriousness of the situation.
"Is it because the worlds are different?"
That was possible, but it seemed overly optimistic, especially with Ethan pouring cold water on the idea.
"It's also possible that Dr. Gero created many androids."
This was a very logical conjecture. Moreover, they had just defeated Android 19. From the number, they knew that Dr. Gero had definitely created more than just one android.
"Is Dr. Gero planning to rendezvous with the other androids?"
The situation suddenly turned grim. All the joy from easily killing Android 19 and making Dr. Gero flee disappeared. Bulma also conveniently provided some information, the approximate location of Dr. Gero's secret lab.
"After so long, that guy must have gotten far away. We don't have many clues right now, so let's go check out that area first. Even if we don't find Dr. Gero, if we find his secret lab, we might find some other clues inside."
Piccolo's suggestion was the most appropriate at the moment. At the same time, he turned and looked at Goku.
"Goku, you should go back and rest. The situation might become very complicated, and you're not in any condition to participate in the battles that follow."
"Yeah, in my current state, I'd just be a burden to everyone."
Only Trunks did not know what had happened. Bulma, standing nearby, specifically explained that Goku's heart disease had suddenly flared up today. Although he had taken the special medicine, his physical condition was still not good.
Only then did Trunks understand why Goku looked so pale.
At the same time, he noticed that Bulma, standing on the hovercar, kept looking him up and down, which made him feel strange. When everyone was ready to leave, he immediately followed the main group as if escaping.
"Oh, I wanted to look a little longer... My son really is handsome. It must be because of me!"
Everyone had left, leaving only Bulma and Goku. Bulma was not going to join the excitement this time. She had Goku get into the hovercar, and the two flew toward West City.
"You trained hard for over three years, but you can't participate in the fight. You must be very frustrated!"
"Hahaha, Bulma, you know me best!"
"But you don't seem to be in a bad mood!"
Goku put away his smile and watched the direction everyone had flown off in without speaking. He had a premonition that this battle would not end so easily. He needed to recover quickly so he could catch up with the later fights.
Without any "burdens" in the team, Ethan and the others advanced at full speed. They soon arrived at the area where Dr. Gero's lab was located, but the exact spot was unknown. They could only spread out and search with their own eyes.
At this time, because Ethan had intentionally "gone easy," Dr. Gero returned to his lab more smoothly than in the original story and was not caught by Krillin at the entrance. Without the imminent crisis, Gero looked at the several hibernation chambers and fell into contemplation.
Androids 17 and 18 were undoubtedly very powerful, much stronger than himself and 19. He believed that as long as he awakened these two androids, he could definitely defeat Goku and Ethan.
However, these two were not as obedient as 19. He had stopped their functions and put them into hibernation chambers to perform additional modifications. He wanted to make them obedient.
"I wonder if the modifications were successful..."
Androids 17 and 18 were created by modifying normal humans and were given eternal energy. Perhaps because of this, their individual thoughts and personalities had also become incredibly resilient, making the modification of their minds much more difficult than with 19.
"Should I activate them?"
While Gero was contemplating, Ethan and the others were searching everywhere. They kept in contact through their communicators and exchanged information about the androids with Trunks.
Last time, Ethan had not had a chance to talk to Trunks face-to-face, but this time, he did not hold back. He directly criticized Trunks for being unreliable, saying he should have provided all the data and information about the androids when talking to Goku.
Things like the physical characteristics and fighting styles of 17 and 18, as well as important information like their eternal energy, had not been mentioned at all? Were you afraid Goku and the others' fight would be too easy?
Trunks felt very embarrassed by this. He also realized that he had handled things ridiculously poorly. As if trying to make up for his earlier mistake, he described all the information about 17 and 18 in detail.
Ethan also took the opportunity to remind everyone to be careful of Dr. Gero himself. He might be able to absorb other people's energy through his hands like 19. Although this move was useless against him, it might still work on others.
Although they felt slightly underestimated, everyone knew the gap between themselves and Ethan. A move that was ineffective against Ethan might not be ineffective against them. They kept this in mind to avoid suffering losses during the fight.
"Everyone, I found Dr. Gero's secret lab."
Ethan remembered that Dr. Gero had built his lab inside a mountain, with the entrance on a platform near the peak. So, when searching, he specifically looked for similar mountain peaks and finally saw a steel door on a rocky platform. In such a desolate place, only Dr. Gero's lab would have such a heavy metal door.
Not long after he sent the signal, everyone gathered there. Seeing that everyone had arrived, Ethan raised his hand and released an energy blast, directly blowing the door open.
(To be continued.)