"That's right. I'm a warrior from another planet—and the future greatest god in the universe!" Ken declared as he slowly rose into the air.
"Whoaaa…!"
All the kindergarten kids around Bulma cheered excitedly, waving their little arms with glee.
"Bulma, today I'm giving you a very special graduation ceremony," Ken said as he reached out a hand to her.
"A special ceremony?" Bulma blinked in surprise. She hesitated a moment, then reached out her hand.
Ken took her hand, scooped her up into his arms, and flew straight out the classroom window.
The teacher screamed in shock, her expression going pale.
Snap!
Ken snapped his fingers.
At the same time, a radiant flame ignited in his raised hand. The light shimmered like a diamond—dazzling and beautiful in every sense.
"Let's go!" Ken waved again.
The flame burst outward and swiftly reshaped itself into glowing golden characters:
Happy Graduation, Bulma!
Bulma stared in astonishment, her big, bright eyes sparkling.
"Can you snap your fingers?" Ken asked.
"I can't… but I can try!" Bulma blinked, mimicking Ken's motion and managing a weak snap.
Though it wasn't loud, those seven words instantly exploded into a brilliant firework display, lighting up the entire kindergarten in shimmering colors.
"Whoaaa…!"
All the students and teachers were stunned, innocently assuming it must be some kind of new Capsule Corp technology.
"Let's go," Ken waved to the crowd and soared into the sky with Bulma, disappearing from view in seconds.
"Hey, Bulma! You promised to let me borrow your boyfriend for a few days! Don't forget!" Emily shouted from below.
Ken nearly tripped in midair.
These girls are getting out of hand.
Can't you wait till you're older? What's fun about hanging out with me right now, huh?
In just a blink, Ken brought Bulma back to the Capsule Corporation courtyard.
Broly was squatting on the ground, happily watching a line of ants move house.
Ken ignored him for now. He raised his hand and conjured a glowing golden orb with two stars inside.
Bulma was still lost in the magic of her "special graduation."
Wait… I never actually attended the graduation ceremony, did I?
You just fired off a special firework… and then we left.
"Bulma, have you ever seen this before?" Ken asked.
"Huh?" Bulma looked up in confusion and stared at the golden orb in Ken's hand. She frowned and scratched her head. "I feel like I've seen something like this before… but I can't remember."
"Try to think," Ken prompted.
"I'm thinking…" Bulma furrowed her brows in deep thought, then suddenly looked at Ken with sparkling eyes. "Hey, Ken, are you a magician?"
"If that's how you want to see it… sure," Ken nodded seriously.
Bulma: "…"
What kind of answer is that? Just say yes or no!
"Ah! I remember now! I think we've got a ball like that in our warehouse! Come with me!" Bulma grabbed Ken's hand and ran toward the storage area.
Broly looked up in their direction, then quickly abandoned his ant-watching to chase after them.
Ken: "???"
Bulma: "???"
They both turned to look at Broly.
"Food?" Broly asked excitedly.
"It's not even lunchtime yet! It's only 9 a.m.! We've still got three hours to go!" Bulma rolled her eyes and snapped at him.
Broly looked disappointed and confused.
Three hours? That's so long… I want food…
"Hungry…" Broly rubbed his belly.
"There's a robot over there. Tell it what you want, and it'll make you something!" Bulma pointed toward a floating robot in the distance and called out, "Ai, come here and fix Broly something to eat! Whatever he wants, make it for him!"
The spherical hover-robot Ai flashed a signal from its eyes and zipped over, replying, "Roger!"
"Go on, ask Ai for food," Bulma told Broly.
"Uh…" Broly scratched his head and curiously studied the floating robot.
For a moment, Broly was totally entranced by this strange new toy.
Meanwhile, Ken and Bulma continued toward the warehouse.
Broly stared intently at Ai.
"What are you lookin' at?" Ai suddenly spoke.
"What are you lookin' at?" Broly mimicked Ai's voice.
"You wanna go?" Ai shot back.
"You wanna go?" Broly echoed again.
Zzzap!
Twin bolts of electricity fired from Ai's eyes and zapped Broly's body, making him twitch and shudder.
"Ahahahahaha!" Ai cackled.
"Ahahahahaha!" Broly laughed along.
Ai: "…"
"That felt… awesome," Broly said, shaking with excitement.
Ai fell silent, its eye-lights blinking rapidly, as if trying to process what just happened.
Wait, my programming says this is the part where you're supposed to admit defeat!
Why are you enjoying this?!
"You wanna go?" Broly repeated.
Zzzap!
Broly jolted again—then burst out laughing.
"You wanna go?" Broly repeated, unfazed, clearly enjoying being zapped.
…
Meanwhile, Bulma led Ken into the storage room.
The warehouse was packed full of random junk, everything piled up messily.
The air was thick with dust.
After rummaging around for a bit, Bulma soon came hopping over with a Dragon Ball in hand—specifically, the two-star ball.
"Is it this one?" Bulma asked, bouncing over.
"Yep, that's the one," Ken nodded.
"What is it?" Bulma tilted her head and studied the ball curiously.
"It's called a Dragon Ball. Legend says there are seven of them in total. If you gather all seven, you can summon the Eternal Dragon and have any one wish granted," Ken explained. "All you have to say is, 'Come forth, Shenron!' and the dragon will appear."
"Really? That's amazing!" Bulma's eyes lit up, but then she frowned. "But how are we supposed to find the other six?"
Ken remained calm and said nothing.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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