Bulma cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted toward the sky,
"Flying Nimbus!"
In an instant, the golden cloud appeared, diving straight toward her and stopping neatly at her feet.
Goku watched the scene in brief astonishment.
He had never imagined seeing Bulma ride the Flying Nimbus—what a surreal sight.
Moments later, she hopped on, and the cloud turned into a streak of golden light racing westward.
Meanwhile, Goku continued his training.
Winter or summer, heat or cold, training never stopped.
Carrying weights on his back, he sprinted tirelessly across mountains and valleys, keeping pace beneath the Nimbus as they headed for Fire Mountain.
Three days later—
The air grew hotter with every step.
Bulma realized that even on foot, Goku was fast enough to keep up.
They were getting close to the destination—the site of the sixth Dragon Ball.
And soon… they'd probably meet Chi-Chi.
That thought made Bulma uneasy.
'No way. Not this time. I've come all this way with him—if he goes and pledges himself to Chi-Chi again, I might as well find a wall and bash my head in.'
She lowered the Nimbus, flying closer to Goku.
"Hey, Goku! You hungry yet?"
Goku stopped jogging and looked up. "A little. Are we stopping to eat?"
Bulma sighed. "Our Capsule House got wrecked, and we lost a lot of food. What I've got left won't even fill you for one meal. I was thinking—
it's getting dark soon anyway. Why don't we find a small town, grab a good meal, rest, and maybe take a bath? I'm itchy all over after three days without one."
Goku glanced at the horizon. No sign of Fire Mountain yet.
He thought of Ox-King's castle burning in the distance—the inferno he'd have to put out.
He didn't even need to visit Master Roshi anymore.
With his current strength, a single Kamehameha would easily douse those flames.
So, he nodded.
"Alright. Let's rest up, then head out tomorrow. Do you know where the nearest town is?"
Bulma shook her head. "No idea! But that's easy to fix.
Come on up—we can scout faster from the Nimbus!"
"Good idea."
Goku stored his training weights in a Capsule, then jumped onto the Flying Nimbus beside her.
The sun was sinking low, painting the sky in shades of fire.
Golden light rippled over the desert, turning the dunes and clouds into molten gold.
Bulma smiled, pointing ahead.
"Goku, look! The sunset—it's beautiful, isn't it?"
Goku squinted at it.
"Yeah… pretty, I guess. But we should hurry and find that town before it's dark. I don't wanna sleep in the desert again."
Bulma sighed. Typical Goku—no sense of romance at all.
Still, she nodded. "Alright then. Nimbus—faster!"
The cloud responded instantly, streaking forward in a blur. The desert wind whipped past them, carrying away the day's heat.
Suddenly—
A sharp scream split the air.
Both of them turned at once.
In the distance, a massive dinosaur was chasing a small girl. She wore a strange outfit—something like a swimsuit—and a peculiar helmet with a blade mounted on top, almost like an Ultraman costume.
Bulma's pupils shrank.
'That's her…'
Near Fire Mountain. A cute little girl. That familiar face—
it had to be Chi-Chi, the Ox-King's daughter.
The dinosaur roared, lunging to bite her.
Chi-Chi yelped, clutching her rear and sprinting faster, narrowly dodging the beast's jaws.
But it didn't stop. Its huge feet thundered after her, each step shaking the ground.
Bulma's heart leapt into her throat.
'At this rate, she's gonna get eaten!'
"Goku! Save her!" she cried.
Goku, who had already recognized Chi-Chi, hesitated.
He knew her strength—she wasn't helpless. As the Ox-King's daughter, she could handle herself. One flick of the switch on her helmet and that blade could slice the dinosaur clean in two.
He wanted to see her pull it off.
But Bulma's frantic voice left him no room to wait.
He sighed, grabbed his Power Pole, and leapt from the cloud.
"Power Pole—extend!"
The staff shot forward, whistling through the air before slamming into the dinosaur's skull with a thunderous boom.
The monster's head burst apart instantly, its massive body collapsing into the sand with a quake.
Goku landed gracefully in front of Chi-Chi.
"You okay?"
Bulma descended on the Nimbus, hovering nearby.
Chi-Chi stopped running and looked up at her saviors—her wide eyes landing on Goku.
Her face flushed bright red. She clasped her cheeks shyly and said,
"That was so close! Thank you for saving me. I… I don't have anything to repay you with right now, but… maybe when I grow up… I'll marry you as thanks?"
Still blushing, she fidgeted, waiting for an answer—
Only for Bulma to leap down from the Nimbus and shout,
"No way!"