Chapter 56: Encounter with the Red Ribbon Army

Bulma paid no attention to John's actions; her mind was entirely focused on the spaceship.

She was currently directing the robots in her home to transport the spaceships sent by Shenron into her manufacturing factory.

John turned to Bulma and asked, "Bulma, I'm going to deliver the Four-Star Dragon Ball to Goku. Do you want to come with me?"

Bulma shook her head and replied, "You go ahead; right now, I just want to focus on researching the spaceship."

John sighed, realizing that while Bulma criticized him for being obsessed with training, she herself was equally engrossed in her fascinating technological project.

"Alright then, I'll go by myself," John said.

With that, he soared into the sky towards Master Roshi's house. In no time, he flew over cities, deserts, and oceans until he reached the small island where Master Roshi lived.

The turtle sunbathing on the beach saw John coming and immediately greeted him happily.

"Young Master John!"

"Ah! Hello, Mr. Turtle! Where are Goku and Master Roshi?" John asked.

The turtle replied, "Master Roshi should be taking a nap inside, while Goku is probably training on a nearby island."

John nodded and released his energy, quickly sensing Goku's location.

He then flew directly over and soon spotted Goku diligently training on a small island.

Without any greeting, John approached and launched an attack.

This wasn't a sneak attack; he had already notified Goku with his energy before striking.

Goku saw this and did not dodge or evade; instead, he took John's attack head-on, and the two began to spar.

They fought from the ground into the air and then down to the ocean surface.

Goku flew ahead while John continuously fired energy blasts to impede Goku's path.

Goku then dove into the water, prompting John to fly high above to avoid any surprise attacks from below.

However, Goku stood at the ocean floor and unleashed a Kamehameha wave. The powerful energy blast pushed aside the seawater and surged straight toward John.

Since it originated from underwater, John had no time to react or counterattack when he finally noticed it.

With a loud shout, John enveloped himself in a defensive barrier and formed hand seals in front of him to block Goku's Kamehameha wave directly.

Of course, their sparring was just a friendly match; neither was using their full strength. Otherwise, John wouldn't dare take Goku's Kamehameha head-on.

The ocean spray rained back down as the seawater returned to its original state.

Goku flew up from beneath the waves with a grin on his face as he looked at John. In this round of sparring, John had fallen slightly short because if it were a life-or-death struggle, he would have been injured by now.

"Hehe! John! I finally beat you this time!" Goku said happily.

John helplessly tossed Goku the Four-Star Dragon Ball that had turned into stone due to his earlier training. Goku was momentarily caught off guard but managed to fumble and catch it in time.

John realized he had indeed been careless; he hadn't expected Goku's improvement to be so rapid. He remarked: "Alright! You finally won against me once! Are you satisfied now?"

Goku beamed with joy; his happiness was impossible to conceal.

The two then flew back towards Master Roshi's house together.

John asked: "Goku! What are you planning to do next? Are you going to look for King Piccolo II?"

They had already agreed that for this encounter with King Piccolo II, John would not intervene—Goku would handle it alone.

Goku shook his head and said: "There's no need unless King Piccolo II starts killing humans. I think finding him will be quite difficult. I plan to wait until the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament; if he wants revenge against us, he will definitely show up there."

"I've also rested enough; I'm going back to the Heavenly Temple to continue training under God and Mr. Popo."

"What about you, John? Are you going to keep training in hopes of breaking through to Super Saiyan?"

John shook his head: "Transforming into Super Saiyan isn't that easy; it likely requires external stimulation or assistance. I plan on going out for a bit. After all these years of focusing solely on training, I haven't had time to explore."

With their plans set, they enjoyed a hearty meal at Master Roshi's before parting ways.

John began his journey exploring Earth within the Dragon Ball universe. Deep down, he hoped that during his travels he might find Lazuli—the future Android 18.

In reality, John could wait until a year later for Shenron to reveal Lazuli's location but decided it would be better for their meeting to happen naturally instead of forcing it.

Choosing not to fly like before, John opted instead for walking on solid ground like Goku did.

One day, as John arrived at a small town, he noticed that everyone appeared tense—holding various makeshift weapons such as rifles, submachine guns, shotguns; most were wielding kitchen knives or pitchforks instead of firearms.

Seeing John approach, a man who appeared to be the town mayor pointed a hunting rifle at him and asked: "Who are you? Are you one of the Red Ribbon Army?"

"The Red Ribbon Army? I thought they were wiped out!" John responded with confusion.

"Wiped out? The Red Ribbon Army is gone?!" The townsfolk exchanged glances filled with both joy and skepticism.

The mayor inquired: "Sir! How do you know that the Red Ribbon Army has been defeated?"

"Because they were defeated two years ago by my friend," John explained confidently.

Upon hearing John's words, the townsfolk who had initially felt relieved became disheartened once more.

Noticing John's puzzled expression, the mayor explained: "You see sir; you might not know this but actually...the Red Ribbon Army has not been completely eradicated."

"I know what happened back then; however, what your friend destroyed was merely their headquarters—this was just one part of their organization."

"Since that incident occurred they have refrained from large-scale operations but have instead split into smaller factions. While they no longer dare attack major cities, they frequently harass and rob remote towns like ours."

"Originally we maintained decent relations with them; we provided them food and taxes while they protected us from beasts and monsters—things were mutually beneficial."

"But unexpectedly over this past year they began increasing both food demands and tax rates on us—they've taken almost everything we have."

"Today marks yet another day when they plan on raiding us again. However, we've run out of resources so we decided today would be our last stand against them."

"To fight them until death!" The townsfolk echoed loudly behind their mayor in agreement.

At that moment, one villager shouted while riding a motorcycle towards them: "The Red Ribbon Army is coming! Everyone get ready!"

Instantly every villager tensed up gripping their weapons tightly as they prepared for battle against the incoming Red Ribbon Army forces.