Chapter 71: Tranquility
A wilderness on Red Stone Planet.
Turles floated cross-legged in midair, eyes tightly closed.
A month had passed since Turles's group returned to Red Stone Planet. After resolving the situation with Paragus, Turles had thrown himself back into training.
Turles had always understood that in this world, everything could prove false—only personal strength was real. He didn't dare slack off on training for even a moment.
Currently, Turles maintained his humanoid Great Ape transformation. Below him hovered Bulma's newly improved portable gravity reorganizer.
Within the device's range, gravity shifted irregularly. Turles had to maintain absolute mental focus at all times.
He needed to adjust his body control the instant gravity changed—otherwise, he'd be flung away.
While Turles could easily control his torso and limbs, his internal organs were beyond his conscious control. They could only passively endure the pressure.
So when gravity shifted, his internal organs experienced even greater stress than his exterior.
Turles had devised this method after his previous humanoid Great Ape transformation revealed the form's enormous stamina drain.
His reasoning was simple: if transformation consumed stamina too quickly, two solutions existed.
First, optimize the "engine"—adapt his body to the humanoid Great Ape form, reducing "fuel consumption." With the same stamina, he could maintain transformation longer.
Second, strengthen his physical constitution for greater endurance, enhancing his "battery life."
As an adult, Turles naturally wanted both.
Adapting to humanoid Great Ape transformation was straightforward. But improving physical constitution wasn't so easy.
Since he wanted to enhance his body, comprehensive internal and external improvement was essential.
Muscles and bones were manageable—gravity training clearly strengthened them. But internal organs posed greater challenges.
Though high-gravity training did pressure internal organs, because Turles couldn't consciously control them, improvement was purely passive. Results lagged far behind muscle and bone development.
Turles had tried breathing techniques from his past life's memories. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't grasp them. Perhaps some secret transmission method existed that he didn't know.
After unsuccessful attempts, Turles reluctantly abandoned those approaches and turned to "unorthodox methods."
Since he couldn't control his organs directly, external influence would have to suffice. That's how Turles conceived the idea of changing gravity's direction.
Turles was once again grateful he hadn't refused Bulma's company. Otherwise, realizing this concept wouldn't have been so easy.
With the gravity reorganizer complete, Turles naturally needed to verify his theory's viability. Judging by test results, his approach worked—and exceeded his expectations!
One week ago.
"Turles, are you sure about this? Isn't it too dangerous?"
Watching Turles sit atop the assembled gravity reorganizer, Bulma still felt concerned and couldn't help asking.
Turles stretched his body and grinned at Bulma. "You're here, aren't you? I trust you!"
This direct statement caught Bulma off guard. She panicked internally, lowered her head to avoid Turles's gaze, her face flushing crimson.
Bulma couldn't tell whether Turles's words were intentional or casual, but his trust in her was deeply moving.
Steadying herself, Bulma realized Turles had made up his mind. She turned toward the control panel. Seeing Turles nod at her once more, she pressed the button, activating the gravity reorganizer.
Since this was the first test, neither knew what would happen. They hadn't activated high gravity multipliers, so Turles initially felt nothing.
Turles looked somewhat puzzled, involuntarily glancing toward Bulma. But the next second, gravity suddenly changed.
The downward pull reversed instantly to upward thrust. Turles's expression changed dramatically. His body shot upward. Fortunately, his reactions were quick—he immediately used his Flight technique, halting his body before hitting the ceiling.
Though his body stopped, his internal organs were yanked by the sudden force. Turles could no longer restrain himself—he spat out a large mouthful of blood.
Seeing Turles cough blood, Bulma—who'd been monitoring closely—immediately shut down the gravity reorganizer. Turles dropped from midair.
Initially startled by Turles's condition, Bulma quickly hit the emergency button and hurried to his side.
"Turles, how are you?" Watching him continue coughing blood, Bulma's eyes filled with tears as she looked at him worriedly.
After spitting out another mouthful, Turles grinned at Bulma through bloody teeth. "I'm fine. Actually, I feel great!"
"Great? You're coughing up blood!"
Hearing Turles's energetic voice, Bulma realized his injuries weren't severe. She breathed a sigh of relief and rolled her eyes at him.
"Hehe!"
Turles didn't argue—just smiled and lay on the ground, carefully assessing his body's condition.
Turles hadn't lied. Though he'd failed to react instantly when gravity changed, he'd still detected that split-second pull on his organs.
However, Turles had already adapted to 50-times gravity. After prolonged passive conditioning, his organs had grown considerably stronger. Combined with standard gravity levels, he'd suffered no real damage.
The blood loss resulted from the massive counterforce when Turles fought against gravity to halt his body.
But Turles could now confirm his theory was correct. The gravity reorganizer's organ training far exceeded simple gravity chambers.
Watching Karl and the others hastily lift him into the medical pod, Turles smiled and slowly closed his eyes.
After a week, Turles had not only mastered sudden gravity changes but could now train under high-gravity multipliers. Currently, he was training in 150-times gravity with the reorganizer active.
However, at 150-times gravity, he needed to maintain his humanoid Great Ape form.
This approach simultaneously trained his internal organs while continually adapting to humanoid Great Ape transformation.
Hmmm...
The machine's low hum sounded as gravity shifted again. Yet Turles's body remained perfectly motionless, steadily hovering in midair.
Suddenly, Turles opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed through his dark pupils.
He raised his right hand, concentrating a faint energy ball on his index finger, then fired it at a green button on the ground.
The energy struck the button. The gravity reorganizer shut down, restoring normal gravity to the area.
Turles descended from midair. The dark brown fur covering his body gradually receded.
After releasing his humanoid Great Ape transformation, Turles's upper body was exposed to the air. His powerful muscles and dark skin radiated masculine energy—like walking testosterone.
Turles walked to a nearby boulder where clothing lay. He began dressing.
After putting on his clothes, Turles returned to the reorganizer's control panel and pressed a black button before stepping backward.
Bang!
A soft explosion sounded. Smoke billowed. Turles stood waiting for it to clear.
Once the smoke dissipated, Turles walked forward several steps and bent down to pick up a small capsule from the ground, placing it in a box.
Having completed everything, Turles oriented himself, slowly rose into the air, reached altitude, then burst forward with a surge of energy, rapidly leaving the wilderness.
When Turles landed again, he stood before a massive building complex.
Just as Turles was about to find Bulma, a tall figure appeared behind him.
"Turles, finished training?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Turles spun around. Seeing that innocent, honest face, his expression brightened into a smile.
It was Broly.
"Broly, you're back? How'd it go? Everything smooth?"
Turles walked up to Broly and couldn't resist giving him a hug.
After the embrace, Turles asked about Broly's recent mission.
When Turles's group first returned, Broly had been absent. After asking Cury, Turles learned that Paragus had actually sent Broly out searching for other Saiyans.
Before leaving for Earth, Turles and Paragus had established Red Stone Planet's development plans. Paragus had quickly confirmed cooperation with the Universal Mercenary Union.
With the Mercenary Union's support, Paragus soon obtained several Saiyan locations. Short on personnel, he'd drafted Broly.
Incidentally, Cury was one of the three Saiyans who'd stood behind Paragus. The other two were named Karim and Bes.
All three had been in the same infant cohort, rated as lower-class warriors, assigned to the same planet together, and thus retrieved by Paragus as a group.
Meanwhile, Broly had accompanied Belus's assistant to a more distant planet, only returning today.
Initially delighted to see his good friend Turles, Broly's smile froze after hearing the question. It slowly faded, replaced by sadness.
"I arrived too late. When I reached that planet, it was already ruins. I found no trace of that clansman."
Hearing this, Turles patted Broly's shoulder consolingly. "It's alright. Maybe that clansman left early. We'll find them next time."
This mission had clearly impacted Broly significantly. At minimum, Turles could see Broly had matured considerably since Planet Vampa.
Broly shook his head without speaking, then changed subjects. "How about you? I heard from my father you gained a lot this trip. Even Raditz reached 50,000 battle power!"
"Hahaha! The results were definitely satisfactory. At minimum, I basically achieved my objectives!" Turles was quite pleased with his Earth trip's gains.
"Come on—since you're back, I'll treat you to something delicious. You have no idea how amazing Earth's food is! I even copied recipes before leaving!"
Turles draped his arm over Broly's shoulder, pulling him toward the dining hall.
It had to be said—though Paragus constantly schemed to become Saiyan king, his capabilities were genuinely impressive. In short order, he'd constructed various living facilities and even hired a batch of the universe's renowned chefs to serve them.
With Turles's recipes, these chefs produced food approaching Earth's quality. Turles and Broly ate until their bellies were stuffed.
Comforted by good food, Broly stopped dwelling on disappointment. He pulled Turles into recounting his mission experiences.
Turles patiently accompanied Broly, listening to various universal curiosities. After Broly finished, Turles shared his Earth adventures, making Broly somewhat regret not joining him.
They talked late into the night before parting ways.
The next day, after breakfast, Turles found Bulma in the laboratory.
"Bulma, I'm planning to visit Galaxy Patrol headquarters soon. Your sister's with the Galaxy Patrolman Jaco, right? Want to come along?"
That unreliable Jaco was supposed to introduce Turles to Merus. So much time had passed without any word. Turles's patience was wearing thin. Since he needed to visit Planet Mokka anyway to inform those Namekians about Deru, Galaxy Patrol headquarters was conveniently en route.
Hearing Turles planned to visit Galaxy Patrol headquarters, Bulma immediately set down her welding torch and walked over to him with anticipation in her eyes.
"I can come too? Didn't you say you wanted to focus on training recently? Why change your mind?"
Alone on this strange Red Stone Planet with Turles, though he'd occasionally keep her company and she could immerse herself in laboratory work all day, this was still her first time so far from family. Bulma missed them.
Now hearing Turles would visit Galaxy Patrol headquarters where she might see her sister, no wonder Bulma was excited.
Watching Bulma's excitement, Turles felt a pang of sympathy. His voice softened considerably. "Yeah. You're alone here without friends to talk to. Since your sister's at Galaxy Patrol headquarters, if I'm going, naturally I'll bring you along."
After pausing, Turles recalled Bulma's initial reason for boarding his ship. He chuckled lightly and teased, "Besides, you came with me to find your sister, didn't you?"
Hearing Turles tease her, Bulma flushed with embarrassment. Her face turned bright red as she protested weakly, "That's right! I haven't seen my sister in ages! What's wrong with catching a ride on your ship? Plus, I've helped you plenty!"
Initially lacking confidence, by the end Bulma had regained her footing and looked at Turles triumphantly.
Seeing this adorable side of Bulma, Turles was momentarily transfixed. He stared at her directly.
Initially smug, Bulma grew uncomfortable under Turles's continued stare. She self-consciously tucked hair behind her ear, eyes darting around uncertainly. "What... what are you looking at?"
"Bulma, you're beautiful."
Turles didn't know what possessed him—the words escaped before he could stop them.
Bulma went completely red with embarrassment, not knowing what to say. She could only stammer "I'll go pack!" before fleeing the laboratory.
Watching Bulma's retreating figure, Turles opened his mouth, then slapped his palm against his forehead in frustration.
For the next few days, Bulma avoided Turles until just before his departure.
That day, Turles stood at the ship's hatch, ignoring Raditz's strange looks, eyes fixed on the distance.
"Boss, what are you waiting for? The ship's about to launch!"
Raditz followed Turles's line of sight but saw nothing. He asked Turles questioningly.
Turles didn't respond to Raditz, still staring into the distance. Just as Raditz was about to repeat himself, Turles's eyes brightened and his lips curved into a smile.
Raditz looked again. This time he spotted a black dot rapidly approaching. Soon he recognized a flying vehicle—and on this planet, only one person still used such transport.
Raditz gave Turles another strange look before tactfully retreating into the ship.
The vehicle landed. Turles immediately approached. Opening the hatch revealed Bulma, as expected.
Turles extended his hand toward Bulma. She hesitated, face flushing slightly, but finally placed her hand in his.
Feeling the soft warmth, Turles gently pulled Bulma from the vehicle.
Bulma wore a tight orange flight suit that accentuated her graceful figure. Her long blue hair was tied in a ponytail, exposing her pale neck. A baseball cap completed the look—simultaneously cool and beautiful.
Holding Bulma's hand, Turles retrieved her luggage. Despite Bulma's several struggles, he didn't release her.
Unable to break free, Bulma rolled her eyes at Turles but resigned herself to letting him hold her hand.
Hand in hand, they walked into the ship.
At the ship's entrance, Bulma struggled once more. Understanding her embarrassment, Turles reluctantly released her hand and entered first.
After Bulma also boarded, the hatch slowly closed. Ignition activated. The ship soon accelerated, climbing toward Red Stone Planet's atmosphere.