The Eternal Dragon’s overwhelming presence blanketed the entire wasteland, and its enormous dragon head lowered like a mountain range, waiting for the summoner’s response.
“A wish…” Bulma looked up at that miraculous being, her heart hammering violently.
Before setting out, her wish had been crystal clear, to find all seven Dragon Balls, summon the Eternal Dragon, and then wish for a perfect white knight prince.
But now…
She instinctively turned her head and looked at Son Gokai beside her.
The wild wind tossed the young man’s black hair, but could not disturb the mountain steady composure he carried with him.
In the face of a divine might that would drive ordinary people to their knees, Son Gokai stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze serene, without a trace of fear or greed.
Looking back over the journey they had shared.
From the rescue at the cliff’s edge, where he had descended like a god from the heavens.
To the effortless and casual strength he had shown when facing bandits and monsters.
Bulma’s cheeks flushed faintly.
‘A perfect white knight prince…
haven’t I already found one?’ she murmured to herself inwardly.
Did she still need to make a wish to the Eternal Dragon?
If she wished for a boyfriend and the dragon produced some stranger of a handsome man, wouldn’t that mean pushing Gokai away?
Absolutely not!
“I’m not making a wish!” Bulma suddenly shouted out loud, shattering the silence.
“Huh?” Goku and Oolong standing beside her both froze.
Bulma took a deep breath, and a relieved and radiant smile spread across her face, and she looked toward Son Gokai with a firm and burning gaze.
“Gokai!
This wish, I’m leaving it to you to make!” “My wish…
well, I’ll work hard to get that one myself!” After saying this, she even winked at Son Gokai, her little scheme practically written all over her face.
Son Gokai was briefly taken aback, then understood the girl’s feelings in an instant.
He looked at Bulma’s pair of expectant blue eyes, and could not help feeling a stirring in his own heart.
In the original story, Bulma was brilliant beyond compare, yet her path in love had been nothing but rough and painful.
In this lifetime, since he himself had come here, he could not allow her to suffer those same heartaches again.
“Since that’s how it is, then I won’t hold back.” Son Gokai smiled and stepped forward, facing the Eternal Dragon directly.
What wish did he need?
Immortality?
The Dog Talisman had already given him an undying life.
Dominion over the world?
That sort of boring thing held no interest for him.
The greatest power?
That was something he needed to earn step by step through his own training, and power obtained through the Eternal Dragon would be too hollow and unstable.
(And in all probability, it could not grant truly the greatest power anyway.) His gaze swept over Bulma once more.
This girl would be one of the most important bonds he would have in this world, yet a mortal’s youth was so achingly brief.
“Eternal Dragon!” Son Gokai drew a deep breath into his core, and called out in a clear, resonant voice.
“My wish is this!” “Please allow this girl named Bulma, once her body has fully developed to its perfect state at eighteen years of age, to remain forever young, her beauty never fading!” When those words fell, the entire scene went silent.
Bulma’s eyes went wide and she covered her mouth with both hands in disbelief.
She had imagined Son Gokai might wish for money, for power, or perhaps even for delicious food (taking a certain someone’s lead).
But the very last thing she had expected was that this wish would be for her.
And on top of that, it was the ultimate wish every woman had ever dreamed of, eternal youth!
“Go…
Gokai…” Bulma’s eyes went red in an instant, and tears welled up and spun in her eyes.
Up in the sky, the Eternal Dragon was silent for a moment, seemingly appraising the difficulty of this wish, or perhaps it had not appeared for several hundred years and was now somewhat speechless at being handed a mouthful of second hand romance entirely without warning.
“This wish is a simple one.” The Eternal Dragon’s great voice rang out once more, and its eyes flashed red.
“Your wish has been granted.” “Farewell then.” “BOOM!!” With the wish fulfilled, the Eternal Dragon’s body became a column of golden light and shot into the sky, then burst apart high above, reverting to the appearance of seven ordinary stones.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh!” The seven Dragon Balls shot off in every direction across the world.
“No!
Grandpa’s Dragon Ball!” Son Goku let out a shout and was about to leap up and grab them, but those Dragon Balls were too fast.
“Don’t rush.” Son Gokai had already prepared for this.
Rooster Talisman, Telekinesis!
In that instant, he made a grasping motion with one hand toward empty air.
One Dragon Ball that was about to fly off to the west was forcibly frozen in midair by an invisible power, then shot back into Son Gokai’s hand with a “whoosh.” It was the four star Dragon Ball, though for the time being it had turned into an ordinary white stone.
“Here.” Son Gokai tossed the Dragon Ball to Goku and said, “Grandpa’s keepsake is better kept safe, saves the trouble of having to search all over the world for it later.” “Wow!
Thanks, Brother!” Goku happily tucked the Dragon Ball into his chest.
By now the dark clouds in the sky had cleared away, leaving a bright moon and sparse stars.
Bulma finally came back to herself from the enormous wave of emotion, and no longer caring about restraint, threw herself directly into Son Gokai’s arms and held on tightly.
“Waaah…
Gokai, you big dummy!
Why would you waste such a precious wish like that!!” “Is youth really more important than world domination?” Son Gokai gently patted her on the back, feeling the warmth of the girl in his arms, and said with a smile.
“As far as I’m concerned, world domination holds no appeal.” “But if the coming decades, or even centuries, could have a forever young and beautiful Bulma by my side throughout, now that is the most worthwhile thing of all.” The destructive power of this line, for sixteen year old Bulma, was nothing short of a nuclear weapon.
She buried her face in Son Gokai’s chest and sobbed with tears streaming down her face, yet her heart was sweeter than honey.
In that moment, she swore that in this life she would marry no one but this man.
The following morning.
The adventure was over, and it was time to part ways.
Out on the wasteland, everyone was packing up their belongings.
“So then, what does everyone plan to do next?” Son Gokai asked.
Son Goku shouldered the Power Pole, hopped onto the golden Flying Nimbus, and looked excited.
“I’m going to find that old man called Master Roshi and train!
Brother, you said that only by getting stronger can I enter that thing called…
the World Martial Arts Tournament, right?” “That’s right.” Son Gokai nodded, “That is the best stage for testing the results of your training.
Off you go then, and give Master Roshi my regards.” “What about you, Brother?” Goku asked curiously.
“Me?” Son Gokai glanced over at Bulma, who was packing up her capsules, and a smile curved the corner of his mouth.
“I’ve already completed my training, so going back to Kame House wouldn’t serve much purpose.” “I plan to go stay with Bulma in West City for a while first.” “Huh?
Going to Bulma’s house?” Goku scratched his head, “Then Brother, aren’t you going to train?” “Of course I’ll train.” Son Gokai’s gaze grew deep, “It’s just that my way of training is a little different from yours.” In truth, this was not an excuse Son Gokai had invented to chase a girl.
Over these four years at Kame House he had endured the most traditional and grueling training, and his foundation had been built to an incomparable solidity.
But he understood very clearly that the Saiyan power system, and especially the legendary “Super Saiyan” transformation, was not something that could be achieved through sheer relentless drilling alone.
In the Dragon Ball lore of his previous life, a critically important concept had been introduced, the S Cells.
The Super Saiyan transformation was, at its core, a mutation triggered when the S Cells within the body reached a sufficient quantity and were then ignited by intense emotions such as rage.
And the increase in S Cells depended primarily on two conditions.
The first was possessing a heart that was peaceful and settled.
The second was a sufficiently high base combat power.
I found this one intresting