The matter of making a wish to revive someone had been settled.
Next, Uchiha Hikari pulled out the two Dragon Balls she'd collected earlier and handed them over to the Kami.
—After all, when it came time to make the wish, they'd need Kami's presence anyway. These two balls were useless to her in the meantime, so why not hand them over to show some goodwill? It might leave a good impression on Kami, making things smoother when she wanted to use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber at the Lookout later.
If she could somehow learn the art of creating Dragon Balls from Kami, that'd be even better.
Of course…
That wasn't very realistic.
According to the lore, only Namekians could successfully create and use Dragon Balls. Humans from other races, even if they learned the technique, couldn't pull it off. And Uchiha Hikari? She wasn't even from the Dragon Ball world to begin with.
Still, Kami and Mr. Popo had impressive martial arts skills. In the original story, they'd trained the Z Fighters multiple times. If she could build a good relationship with them, maybe she could bring Esdeath along to spar and exchange pointers, learning from each other's strengths.
Meanwhile, on the other side…
Kami took the Dragon Balls, stowing them away carefully. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Miss Uchiha Hikari, could you tell us about the futures you've 'seen'? Just the parts related to Earth…"
"…You're asking about Demon King Piccolo, aren't you?"
Hikari sharply picked up on his concern.
Demon King Piccolo was a lingering issue for Kami. Because of their shared life force, as long as Kami was alive, Piccolo would eventually break free from his seal one day.
Naturally, Kami was worried.
The nearby Korin also cast a curious glance her way.
"…I do know a few things about that," Hikari said after a brief pause, speaking softly. "Demon King Piccolo will indeed return, and it'll happen in a few years… But the details are complicated. I'll need to go back and organize the information. Next time we meet, I'll hand it over to you."
Truth be told, Hikari had a full set of Dragon Ball manga stored in her Capsule Corp capsules. She could theoretically just toss a copy to Kami and call it a day.
But…
Matters involving multiple dimensions were best kept under wraps.
Besides, the early Dragon Ball chapters had plenty of not-so-kid-friendly moments—especially Bulma's fanservice scenes. Showing those to Bulma herself was one thing, but presenting them to Kami and Korin? That'd be a bit awkward. Plus, the Red Ribbon Army and Android arcs tied into Hikari's plans to recruit Dr. Gero, so she didn't want to spill those details either.
So…
She decided to compile a summary of the Piccolo, Saiyan, and Frieza arcs into a small booklet for Kami. That should cover it.
Oh, and next time she met Kami, she could bring kid Goku along.
Over the past year, Hikari had snatched quite a few of Goku's "opportunities." She'd taken down the Red Ribbon Army—originally his XP farm—early, robbing him of a key training arc and his chance to climb Korin Tower. Bringing him to Kami and Korin's attention would be a way to make up for it.
For now, though…
They set a time and place for their next meeting. Then Kami and Korin took their leave.
Hikari, Bulma, and the others saw them off downstairs, watching the two divine figures disappear into the distance before heading back inside.
"Yawn—"
"Is it almost eleven already?" Hikari glanced at the wall clock. "It's late. Let's all get some rest."
"Yeah, you too, Hikari," Bulma said.
After seeing Bulma, Tanjiro, and Eri return to their rooms, Hikari stretched lazily and pushed open her own door.
As soon as she stepped inside…
She saw Esdeath stepping out of the bathroom, wrapped in just a towel, her hair dripping wet. With the Martial Arts Tournament in full swing, the city's hotels were packed, so Hikari's group was sharing double or triple rooms.
It wasn't the first time Hikari had seen Esdeath fresh from a bath. But today, maybe because of the warm weather, Esdeath's outfit was particularly… light. The towel barely covered her chest, and her legs were fully exposed below the thighs, practically glowing in the light.
"All done talking?" Esdeath asked, toweling off her hair.
"Yup." Hikari nodded, glancing at Esdeath's wet locks. "Want me to help blow-dry your hair? It'll take forever to air-dry with just a towel."
"…Sure."
With Esdeath's approval, Hikari grabbed a hairdryer and gestured for her to sit on the sofa. Plugging it in and testing the heat with her hand, Hikari gently lifted Esdeath's hair with one hand and started blow-drying with the other.
The hum of the hairdryer filled the room.
After a moment of silence, Esdeath spoke softly, "Those two who came to see you… they seem like big shots."
"Yeah, they're the gods of this world."
"…Gods? Like the ones in stories?"
"Exactly those."
In the Akame ga Kill! world, gods didn't exactly show up—whether they existed was debatable. But myths and legends were common enough. Hikari gave a quick explanation, and Esdeath nodded in understanding before asking, "If they're 'gods,' do they have any special powers?"
"Of course."
In the original story, Kami had once retrieved a young Goku from the afterlife after his death against Raditz and introduced him to King Kai to learn the Kaio-ken. Those were perks exclusive to divine beings—mortals couldn't pull that off.
Esdeath pondered for a moment before asking, "By the way, I've heard Bulma and Yamato mention something about a 'pirate crew' a few times. What's that about?"
"Well…" Hikari thought for a second, then gave a brief rundown of the One Piece world and mentioned Bulma's idea of starting a pirate crew.
Esdeath's eyes narrowed, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "Sounds interesting… Are there a lot of strong fighters in that pirate world? If I get the chance, I wouldn't mind checking it out."
"You'll get your chance," Hikari said with a smile.
Truthfully, she'd had the same thought—taking Esdeath to the One Piece world to meet "Teacher Kai." If Bulma heard Esdeath's interest, she'd probably be over the moon.
—A crewmate as strong as Esdeath wasn't easy to come by.
The hairdryer kept humming.
Esdeath's ice-blue hair, nearly a meter long and reaching her calves, took quite a while to dry. As Hikari worked, she couldn't help but catch glimpses of Esdeath's figure through the loosely wrapped towel.
To be honest…
It wasn't like Hikari hadn't seen Esdeath's body before. They'd even bathed together at the hot springs in the Land of Hot Water. But that was a special setting. Seeing her now, in a hotel room, half-covered like this… it felt different. The partial coverage was somehow more distracting.
"…All done," Hikari said, exhaling softly to calm her slightly racing heart. "Your hair's dry. Let's get to bed. We've got stuff to do tomorrow."
"Alright."
Esdeath stood, her gaze sweeping over Hikari's slightly flushed face. Noticing something, she gave a small, knowing smile, her usually icy eyes softening. She nodded without saying more.
They each settled onto their beds, slipped off their shoes, turned off the light, and went to sleep.
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, Hikari woke early, brushed her teeth, and had breakfast with Bulma, Eri, and the others. They spent the day sightseeing around the city, hitting a few attractions and picking up a bunch of random souvenirs.
By evening, some of the group started saying their goodbyes.
Tanjiro had to return to discuss the revival wish with Ubuyashiki and the others.
Miko needed to get back to school.
Kikyo wanted to check on the half-demons at Penglai Island.
Brand, Akame, and Tazmi, who'd taken leave from Najenda for the tournament, were nearing the end of their vacation and had to return to work.
Of course…
The "Night Raid" gig probably wouldn't last much longer. Even Brand and Akame had started to sense it. If Night Raid disbanded, Brand might get reassigned to a new military post, and Tazmi could go back to rebuilding his village. But Akame, whose skills were tied to assassination, might face unemployment.
So, as they prepared to leave, Bulma extended another invitation to Akame to "join the ship."
"…I'll seriously consider your offer. If Night Raid does disband someday," Akame said after a moment of thought, making a promise.
"Then it's a deal! I'll save a spot for you on my Blue Planet," Bulma said with a bright smile.
Hikari glanced at Yamato, who was standing nearby. "By the way, Yamato, aren't you heading back?"
"…Do I have to?" Yamato's face twisted with hesitation, clearly recalling the beatings and fear from her father.
For someone who'd never left Onigashima before, this runaway trip had gone on a bit too long.
She'd spent a month or two in the Akame ga Kill! world, then another month in the Dragon Ball world with Bulma—nearly a hundred days total. Even if Kaido was slow to notice, he'd surely realized she was gone by now. He might even have put out a bounty and started searching the seas around Wano.
Going back now would mean facing Kaido's wrath.
Hikari scratched her head. "Well, it's up to you. If you're not ready to go back, you can stick around with Bulma for a while. Keep Eri company, since Bulma and I will be too busy to hang out with her. Once things settle down, Esdeath and I will go with you to Onigashima and have a face-to-face with your dad."
Back when Hikari first met Yamato, she'd had maybe a 60% chance of getting Kaido to listen calmly. Now, with her Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, "Fire Thunder God," and Esdeath by her side, she was 80-90% confident she could convince Kaido to rethink his "beat them till they break" parenting style.
If he didn't budge? No problem.
She'd just take Yamato, fight their way out of Onigashima, and set up a base on some random island in the One Piece world. It was a big world with plenty of room for a new hideout. Once Bulma's pirate ship was ready, they'd need a port anyway—sharing one with the Beasts Pirates wasn't exactly ideal.
…
Three days after the Martial Arts Tournament's award ceremony, Hikari and Esdeath set off for Nam's hometown.
Earlier, Bulma had given Nam a capsule filled with supplies and mentioned Hikari's plan to help build an artificial reservoir.
By the time they arrived, Nam and his tribe had already picked out a spot for the reservoir.
Hikari activated her full-body Susanoo and used Fire Thunder God, slashing a few times to carve out a massive pit hundreds of meters wide and dozens deep. She then spent some time reinforcing the foundation with Earth Style: Mud Wall before handing things over to Esdeath, who used her "Demon's Extract" to fill the pit with a massive amount of ice.
Water Style would've worked too, but the environment was a problem.
The area was plagued by long-term drought, with groundwater nearly depleted and the land cracked and barren. Creating a large-scale Water Style jutsu in a place like this would require an insane amount of chakra. While Hikari knew Water Style, she wasn't on Tobirama's level, so Esdeath's ice was the better option.
Once the reservoir was filled with ice, Hikari used Fire Thunder God again, this time in its halberd form, to smash the ice blocks into smaller chunks. In a few days, the sun would melt them into a natural drinking water source.
Nam and his people were endlessly grateful, pooling together some money to offer as payment.
Hikari politely declined, said her goodbyes, and set off with Esdeath on their second Dragon Ball hunt.
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