5 a.m. — it was still a little dark outside. A cool, refreshing blue hue coated the landscape. Inside the house, the only sound was snoring from the bedroom.
Goku's eyes open, huge bags beneath them showing he hadn't slept a wink.
"I will destroy humanity…" he muttered, voice dull and drained, descending slowly into madness.
He sat up and stretched, his joints popping. Then he turned his head toward the girls, sleeping like they'd been knocked out.
Bulma was flat on her back, her pajama shirt rolled up to her belly button, panties showing.
Mai was on her stomach, pants down slightly, her perky rear peeking out.
While mid-stretch, Goku muttered,
"Man… they're lucky I'm a decent human being."
---
After showering and scarfing down some breakfast, Goku walked outside and dropped two massive boulders onto the ground.
"Yesterday, Bulma barely tugged my tail, and I lost all my strength... I've gotta fix this."
He looked down at his fluffy tail, then up at the rocks. He sighed, a little worried, and said,
"Okay… let's go."
He move his tail on one of the rock and drop the other one on it. The moment it made contact his entire body went limp, flopping into the dirt like a ragdoll.
"It's... worse than a kick in the balls…" he groaned, teeth clenched as he forced himself to push up with trembling hands.
He continued through the pain.
Back in his old life he learned to rely only on himself, forging a lonely but strong path. And now… he felt no different.
Twenty minutes passed. He finally stood upright—tail still pinned. His body drenched in sweat, but he smiled weakly.
"I knew it… Hard work never fails."
He trained for hours, rotating between tail resistance and focused Ki exercises. At one point, he tried removing the rock using his tail, but it wouldn't budge.
"still need training."
He turned and shattered the rock with his bare hands, then looked down at his slightly swollen tail and blew on it.
"It doesn't hurt... It doesn't hurt…"
---
Back inside, covered in dirt and sweat, Goku headed for another shower.
"Do they still not up?" he mumbled, entering the bedroom.
There they were—Bulma and Mai, now cuddling each other in their sleep.
"...How did she get here?"
Suddenly, Mai jolted awake, panicked.
"C-careless of me! Sleeping while the enemy's still here..."
Behind her, Goku dried himself off while pulling on fresh clothes. He smirked.
"I can't take you seriously looking like that."
She turned red—drool on her cheek, hair a mess, and pajama pants halfway off her butt. She squealed and scrambled to pull herself together.
"Wake her up and get ready," Goku said casually, walking out—now clean, dressed, and dripped out.
"Yes, Mr. Goku!" she replied sweetly… then muttered under her breath:
"Just you wait… I'll get rid of you and take your Dragon Balls."
Goku popped his head back in. "Did you say something?"
She jumped. "N-no, Mr. Goku! Tehehe…"
---
Outside, Goku was casually kicking rocks, bored, until one he kicked let out a strange, wheezy voice.
"HUUURGH!"
"Huh?"
He raised his leg for an axe kick.
"STOP!!"
Goku halted his foot just inches from what he thought was a rock. The wind from the momentum blasted the sand away.
A turtle's head popped out.
"That was scary!"
Goku blinked. "Did this rock just talk?! …Wait, you're a turtle! Lucky I didn't crush you."
Bulma and Mai ran out after hearing the commotion. Mai was fully geared up in her military clothes; Bulma, still in her pajamas with half-done hair.
The turtle turned to Bulma politely.
"Excuse me, young lady, could I trouble you for a bucket of salty water with seaweed on top?"
Bulma blinked. "You're pretty luxurious for a turtle."
"I'll get it," Mai said, and headed back inside.
Goku, watching them, nodded to himself. "Talking turtles. Yeah… this world's just like that, huh?"
After drinking the water, the turtle let out a happy burp.
"Ahhh, my thanks, kind people."
"You're a sea turtle," Bulma said. "What are you doing so far from the ocean?"
The turtle explained he'd been lost for a whole year.
"Damn, that's crazy," Bulma said flatly, brushing off the story.
Goku and Mai both gave her a deadpan stare.
Goku squatted down in front of the turtle.
"I'll help you find the beach."
"Truly?! Thank you!" the turtle said, eyes welling up.
"What?!" Bulma snapped. "We don't have time! I've only got 30 days to find the Dragon Balls!"
"Sea turtles are cool," Goku said simply. "So we're going."
He hoisted the turtle onto his back like it weighed nothing.
Mai, without a word, locked the door behind her and followed.
"I'm not going with you!" Bulma shouted. "Fine! I'll find the Dragon Balls on my own—don't come crawling back!"
Goku and Mai ignored her and walked off, following the turtle's directions.
Bulma stood there with arms crossed, looking at the dense wilderness surrounding her.
"…Ugh. I don't have a choice."
She jumped on her bike and sped after them.
"I'm only coming to show you the right way, baka!"
---
An hour and a half passed. Bulma and Mai rode the bike, while Goku sprinted effortlessly beside them with the turtle on his back.
From a distance, a huge bear in armor stood watching—drooling as he spotted the turtle.
When they got close, the bear leapt into the road, landing with a massive thud and a cloud of dust.
Both girls screamed.
"HIIIIIIII!!"
The bear grinned menacingly.
"Hey, kiddo. Hand over that turtle. It's my favorite meat."
The girls panicked.
"Goku, give it to him!"
"I don't want to."
"Fine then!"
The bear swung a massive sword sideways. Goku lifted one foot and casually intercepted it.
The sword hit his shoe, slicing through it—until it stopped cold at his skin.
Everyone froze in silence.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"
Goku let out a horrific scream.
Everyone jumped—including the bear.
"Ha! I knew it hurt!" the bear laughed.
"MY SNEAKERS!!" Goku shouted. "YOU CUT THEM!"
"...What?"
The bear readied another swing.
But Goku's eyes shadowed over. He dropped the turtle gently, clenched his fists, and roared:
"DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND DECENT SHOES OUT HERE?!"
He punched the air—not even touching the bear.
A concentrated burst of wind shot forward, blasting the sword away, hitting the bear square in the gut with enough force to dent his armor. His eyes bulged as he vomited and flew back dozens of meters.
The girls were stunned.
"…What did he just do?"
Mai stared at Goku, thinking:
I didn't expect him to be this strong. If I could get him on our side… me and Lord Pilaf would be unstoppable.
---
Soon after, they reached the coast.
The turtle turned to Goku, smiling.
"Wait here! I'll be right back with a gift!"
He dove into the ocean and swam off.
While they waited, Bulma dipped her feet in the water.
"If I knew, I would've brought my swimsuit…"
Goku squatted in the sand, tracing weird symbols with a stick. He glanced at Mai, red in the cheeks.
"Hey Mai… we could go skinny-dipping together."
"WHY WOULD I SKINNY-DIP WITH A KID?!"
"I mean, we're not alone, tehehe—"
"Oh—he's coming back!" Bulma interrupted.
"What's that on his back?" Mai asked
The turtle approached with a thin, bald old man wearing sunglasses and a shell riding on his back.
Goku squinted. "This old man's... kinda swaggy."
The man hopped off, faced them, and raised a hand.
"Good afternoon."
He gave them a peace sign.
Seems like you helped out my turtle here," said the old man.
Goku tossed aside the stick he was poking the sand with.
"Who are you, gramps?"
"I am… KAME SEN'NIN!!!"
He coughed violently after shouting. "Ahem. So, which one of you helped my turtle?"
The turtle didn't hesitate. "The boy!"
He pointed his flipper at Goku.
The old man turned to Goku. "I see, I see… I commend you for your hard work, young man! As a reward, I have something formidable to give you!"
With dramatic flair, he raised his staff and pointed to the heavens.
"COME TO ME… IMMORTAL PHOENIX!!"
Goku, Bulma, and Mai all turned in the direction he pointed, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Two minutes passed.
Nothing happened.
The turtle tilted his head. "Oh… right. The phoenix died of food poisoning."
"Oh! Now that you mention it…" the old man muttered.
"Died?" Bulma asked. "But… wasn't it immortal?"
Goku squatted in the sand, side-eyeing Mai. "Is this old man messing with us?"
Mai shrugged, clearly just as confused.
The old man's eyes suddenly lit up again. "Oh! I know!"
Once more, he spun around with exaggerated flair and pointed his staff to the sky.
"COME TO ME… KINTO'UN!!!"
Another long pause.
Goku gets up desiring to beat him up while Mai holding him "Are you f***ing with me right now?!"
Then Bulma shouted, "Wait! A cloud! Something's flying this way!"
A golden cloud zipped through the sky and came to a soft stop right in front of the old man.
"That's Kinto'un," the hermit said. "A flying cloud that travels faster than anything. I'm giving it to you."
Goku stepped forward, curious. "Cool! A cloud… what do I do with it?"
"Kinto'un will only let you ride it if your heart is pure," the hermit explained. "Here, let me show you—"
He jumped up and promptly fell straight through, landing flat on his back with a loud weird noise "BLEH!".
Goku's cheeks puffed out as he struggled not to laugh. Then came the pffffft noise of his barely-contained snort.
"Mr. Goku, that's not appropriate," Mai scolded.
The old man groaned, holding his back. "Ugh… my spine…"
Bulma burst out laughing, the old man stood up, brushing himself off. "Your turn, kid. Give it a shot."
"Pure heart, huh?" Goku muttered, stepping up. He jumped—
—and went straight through.
THUMP.
"This shit's broken!!" he growled, attempting to kick it, only to pass through again.
"My turn, my turn!" Bulma said. "I want a reward too!"
The old man raised a brow. "Did she help you?"
The turtle shook his head. "Not a bit."
"I GAVE YOU THE SALTY WATER, YOU UNGRATEFUL REPTILE!" she yelled.
"Well," the old man mused, stroking his beard, "I don't have another Kinto'un... but I could give you something else... if you show me your panties."
He started giggling grossly.
Without hesitation, Bulma grabbed her pajama hem and lifted it to show him.
Goku, still muttering curses at the cloud, caught the motion out of the corner of his eye.
"IS THIS BITCH CRAZY?!"
He sprinted over and yanked her pajama top back down, covering her.
"Are you dumb?! Why'd you do that?!"
"Oh, that was embarrassing," Bulma saidblushing.
Meanwhile, the old man was trying to peek again. Goku spun around, raised two fingers, and jabbed him right in the eyes, knocking the sunglasses clean off.
"BLEGH!" the hermit yelped, rolling on the sand, clutching his face.
The turtle waddled over. "You deserved that…"
"I mean, he did say he'd give me something," Bulma said innocently.
Goku held her by the arms, turning to Mai with an exasperated look.
"Is she actually dumb?"
Bulma turned back to the old man. "So what are you giving me, then?"
The hermit scratched his head, rummaging through his memory—when the group noticed something dangling around his neck.
A shiny orange Dragon Ball.
Bulma's eyes widened. "LET ME SEE THAT!"
"Huh? My briefs?"
"NO! THE BALL AROUND YOUR NECK!"
"Ohhh."
He handed it over reluctantly. The group gathered around to inspect it.
"The three-star one," Goku said.
"That makes four!" Bulma cheered. "FOUR DRAGON BALLS!"
"I didn't say I'm giving it to you…" the hermit muttered.
"Why not?! Here—here—BEUGH!!" She started flashing her panties again until Goku smacked her in the back of the head.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" she snapped, rubbing her forehead.
"Shut up!" Goku answered.
The old man, nose bleeding, finally gave in and handed her the Dragon Ball.
He wandered off down the beach, wiping his face.
---
The trio packed up and hit the road again, this time in a capsule car.
Mai drove, Bulma sat in the passenger seat, and Goku lounged in the back, arms crossed and visibly irritated.
Bulma sang cheerfully, "We got four~ We got four~!"
She glanced back. "Why are you so grumpy?"
"I'm not."
"We got another Dragon Ball! Rejoice!"
Goku stared out the window, expression unreadable.
"Am I mad…? Why?"