At General Blue's outpost—
"Yes, I understand!"
"I'll send people to investigate that island right away.
Yes, yes—I'll personally track down that kid!"
After hanging up, General Blue's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Men! Go check that island and bring back anyone suspicious!"
"Yes, sir!"
Straightening his uniform, he sneered.
"This general will personally set out.
I'll take back all three Dragon Balls at once and make Marshal Red happy!"
With that, General Blue boarded his submarine.
"Lock onto submarine 2A1314. Follow them!"
"Yes, sir!"
Deep beneath the sea, Bulma piloted the submarine into the darkness.
The abyss was pitch-black.
Only the submarine's searchlights illuminated their surroundings.
As Bulma steered, Goku guided her.
"Bulma, the Dragon Ball is right below us. It's getting closer."
Bulma frowned.
"We can't go any lower. There's solid rock and a huge coral reef below."
"Rock?"
Goku suddenly thought of something.
"Could it be a cave? Look for an entrance!"
"Give me the radar."
Goku handed it to her.
Bulma tapped rapidly on the controls, and a cross-sectional map appeared on the screen.
"It even has this function?"
Goku suddenly felt like an old man who didn't know how to use modern tech.
"Of course it does."
Her eyes lit up.
"Looking at the vertical and horizontal scans… yes, this place connects to something. Hold on…"
After a few more inputs, Bulma's expression brightened.
"Got it! You were right—this is a cave!"
Goku's heart surged.
The treasure.
Three wives.
Everything was coming closer.
"Let's go!"
"Right!"
Bulma maneuvered the submarine forward, weaving past the rocks and coral and slipping into the cave.
Just then, a bright beam of light shone from behind them.
Bulma checked the scanner—and her face turned pale.
"The Red Ribbon Army… that's their insignia.
They must've realized I stole the submarine. They're chasing us!"
Goku glanced at her.
"You didn't kill those two you robbed, did you?"
Bulma protested,
"I'm a girl! How could I bring myself to kill people?"
"Well, that explains how they tracked us."
Bulma bit her lip, clearly nervous.
"This is the ocean.
If they fire a torpedo and hit us, even if we survive the blast, we'll drown.
What do we do?"
Goku reassured her calmly.
"Don't worry. Their real goal is the Dragon Balls.
They won't attack recklessly yet. Just keep going."
Bulma thought for a moment, then nodded.
"I hope there's a dry area inside this cave.
Then we can deal with them properly…"
She guided the submarine deeper into the tunnel.
Seeing her tense, Goku added casually,
"Relax. Even if you die, I'll just gather the Dragon Balls and revive you."
Bulma twitched.
"Stop saying scary things! I don't want to die!"
As she spoke, she subconsciously touched her waist.
It was empty.
"…Oh no."
Goku looked over.
"What is it?"
"When I was fixing the radar…
I left the bag with the Dragon Balls at Kame House…"
Goku waved it off.
"It's fine. Once we get the deep-sea Dragon Ball, we can go back and pick them up."
Bulma groaned.
"What's wrong with me lately…
First I bring the wrong things, then I forget what I need…"
Goku smiled.
"You're probably just tired. You should rest.
Want me to drive the submarine?"
Bulma snorted.
"No thanks. Fighting is your specialty, but I don't trust your driving. I'd like to live a few more years."
Goku shrugged.
"Honestly, I've never even driven a submarine. I was just being polite."
Bulma shot him a look.
"Keep teasing me and I'll punish you by letting you eat only half your meals."
"Nooo!"
Meanwhile, at Kame House—
A group of Red Ribbon soldiers arrived.
Master Roshi stared at them blankly.
"Uh… who are you people?"
One officer stepped forward with a grin.
"Hehehe… you're the scientist who made that radar, right?"
Roshi blinked.
"Scientist? Me?"
"Don't play dumb. We've already investigated everything."
Roshi scratched his head.
"But I'm not pretending…"
"We're the Red Ribbon Army!"
Roshi's eyes widened.
"Oh, you're them?
I've heard about you—an infamous gang of villains who do all kinds of evil."
Just then, a soldier came out of the house.
"Report! We found a woman's bag. There are two Dragon Balls inside!"
The officer's eyes lit up.
"Excellent. They really were here."
Roshi looked at the bag and remembered Bulma and Goku borrowing tools earlier.
"Ah, so that careless girl left her bag here."
Then he asked,
"What are you collecting the Dragon Balls for?"
The officer smirked.
"That's none of your business."
"In that case," Roshi said calmly,
"I can't let you take them."
In a flash, Roshi vanished—and the bag was suddenly in his hands.
The officer and soldiers were stunned.
"What just happened?!"
"Sir, he stole the Dragon Balls!"
The officer's face changed.
"When did you—?!"
Roshi lifted the bag.
"Since when were these yours?"
Realizing this old man was dangerous, the officer shouted,
"All units, fire! Kill him!"
Gun barrels swung toward Roshi, and without hesitation—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A storm of bullets flew at him.
Roshi moved his hands calmly.
Every bullet was caught.
When the gunfire stopped, he opened his palms, and the bullets clattered to the floor.
The soldiers were horrified.
Roshi smiled.
"Now it's my turn."
In an instant, he charged.
After a flurry of blows, the officer and his men were beaten so badly they couldn't even stand.
Roshi brushed off his hands.
"You're all young.
You could be doing something useful with your lives, yet you choose to be thugs.
You never know when you'll lose your lives like this.
I suggest you turn over a new leaf."
With that, Roshi picked up the Dragon Balls and walked back inside.
The terrified soldiers, realizing he wasn't going to kill them, hurriedly fled the island.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/NightShard525