Goku and Bulma had been searching for the third Dragon Ball when they discovered it was located on an island surrounded by Red Ribbon forces, with General Blue commanding the operation. Using Bulma's submarine, they retrieved the ball after underwater battles that left Bulma terrified and complaining.
Now, heading toward the next Dragon Ball, Bulma's nerve finally broke.
"Go ahead and kill yourself if you want—I'm out!" she declared as they landed at Kame House.
"Are you sure you want to stay with *him*?" Goku asked, pointing at Master Roshi behind her.
Bulma glanced back at the old pervert and grimaced. "Geh!"
Before she could respond, a plane roared overhead and landed nearby. Krillin jumped out first.
"GOKU!!! I missed you—"
Blonde Launch shoved past him and tackled Goku in a crushing hug that left his feet dangling in the air, his face pressed firmly against her chest.
"Nice to see you too," Goku managed, his voice muffled.
Bulma felt irritation flare up for reasons she couldn't quite identify. "Okay, enough!!!"
Inside the house, Launch immediately claimed Goku as her prize, pulling him down to rest his head on her lap while feeding him grapes like a Roman emperor.
Roshi and Krillin stared in amazement.
"Muten Roshi-sama..." Krillin whispered. "She's being... nice?"
"Power of love, I guess," Roshi replied, equally baffled.
Goku sat up, pushing the grapes away. "I need to go."
"To find your grandpa's ball or something?" Launch asked.
"Well, yes... but now I have other plans." His expression shifted, taking on that familiar predatory look that made everyone step back.
*That's it! That's the look!* Launch thought, her heart racing. *When he gets like this, he becomes the man of my dreams!*
The others recognized the expression too—Roshi, Krillin, and Bulma all tensed slightly. They'd grown used to it over time, but it always carried a hint of danger.
Launch jumped at the opportunity. "I can come with you... to help."
She wanted to be near that dangerous side of him, to smell the chaos he brought.
Goku considered her. "Why not. Let's go."
"What?!" Bulma protested. "How's she supposed to ride Kinto'un?"
"Your shrinking watch," Goku said, pointing at her wrist. "She can use it too."
Bulma's face reddened, but she handed it over reluctantly.
Minutes later, Launch emerged from her room looking like a one-woman army—tactical shorts, tank top, and armed to the teeth with enough weapons to level a small building.
She shrunk down and climbed onto Goku's shoulder as he mounted Kinto'un.
After several hours of flight, they reached their destination. In the distance, a giant Native American man was single-handedly demolishing a squad of Red Ribbon soldiers.
"Guess the Red Ribbon's here too," Launch observed, her tiny head poking out of Goku's hoodie.
"What should we do? Blast them all and take the ball?" she asked eagerly.
"I'd love to, but things can't be that easy," Goku replied with a smirk.
The giant man—Bora—made quick work of most soldiers, but one escaped to his plane. The coward circled back and swooped down toward a small Native boy—clearly Bora's son.
"Ready?" Goku asked.
"Hell yeah!" Launch grinned, pulling out her Uzi.
Goku leaped from Kinto'un high above the child. He fired a ki blast downward, using the recoil to rocket himself toward the plane like a human missile.
The boy—Upa—cowered as the aircraft bore down on him, but Goku slammed feet-first into the cockpit, obliterating the plane and creating a massive crater.
In slow motion, debris scattered through the air as Goku lifted his head with that trademark smirk. Behind him, mini-Launch fired her weapon into the sky in celebration.
Bora heard the explosion and saw his son was safe. He approached the crater where Goku stood casually on the wreckage.
"Who are you?" Bora asked.
"Goku," he replied, dusting himself off. "Not an enemy... or depends."
Behind him, Launch had returned to normal size and was enthusiastically beating the unconscious pilot.
"Thank you for helping my son," Bora said gratefully.
Goku noticed the orange sphere in Bora's massive hand. "Can you give me that ball?"
"You want this as well?" Bora seemed surprised but handed it over.
"Found it. That's my grandpa's ball," Goku said, pocketing the Four-Star Dragon Ball.
Bora asked about the ball's significance, and Goku explained the Dragon Ball legend.
Then something else caught Goku's attention—a massive tower stretching impossibly high into the clouds.
"What's this thing? I can't see the top."
"That is Korin Tower, the sacred tower that stretches to the heavens," Bora explained. "The Sennin-sama who built it lives at the top. Legend says that if you drink his holy water, your strength will increase exponentially. For generations, my family has guarded this sacred tower."
"You should go drink it," Launch suggested.
Goku shrugged. "Why? I've never met anyone who made me sweat."
The moment he finished speaking, they noticed a figure flying toward them at incredible speed before crashing into the ground nearby.
A middle-aged man in a pink robe stood up, hands clasped behind his back, wearing an unsettling smirk.
"Good afternoon," he said pleasantly. "My name is Taopaipai..."