Chapter 19: A Bump in the Brain and a New Sparring Partner

After the chaos of Pilaf's failed plan and Goku's wild Great Ape transformation, the trio—Goku, Bulma, and Oolong—decided it was time to relax a little. And what better place to unwind than Capsule Corporation?

As they traveled toward the sprawling estate, Goku's mind wandered. He couldn't help but think about the future—specifically, about Trunks' warning from another timeline, where a heart virus had nearly killed him before the Androids showed up. "What if that happens to me here?" he thought nervously. "I haven't felt anything weird with my heart yet, but what if it's because I haven't drunk that super Holy Water stuff? That might be the cause..."

He kept these worries to himself, not wanting to alarm Bulma or Oolong, who were too busy chatting about all the food waiting for them at Capsule Corp.

Upon arrival at Capsule Corporation, Bulma's mother, Panchy, greeted them with her usual bubbly enthusiasm. "Oh my! Look at you all! You must be starving! Come in, come in! I made lots of cakes and tea!"

Goku's eyes lit up at the mention of food, but he also found himself intrigued by Panchy. "Wow, she's kinda like Bulma but... super smiley," he thought to himself. As they all sat down to eat, Goku couldn't resist asking, "So, Bulma's mom, do you train like Bulma too?"

Panchy giggled, "Oh, sweetie, no! I leave the training to young folks like you. I'm more of a pampering type."

"Pampering?" Goku repeated, confused. "What technique is that?"

Bulma almost choked on her tea, laughing, while Panchy simply smiled and patted Goku's head. "It's a very special technique—one only mothers know."

After they had eaten their fill, Goku couldn't shake his growing concerns about the heart virus. He decided to ask Bulma for a favor. "Hey, Bulma... can you do a medical check-up on me? I wanna make sure everything's fine, just in case."

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "What brought this on?"

Goku scratched the back of his head. "I just got a weird feeling about something in the future, like there's something wrong with my heart... or my brain... or something."

Although Bulma thought it was odd, she agreed. She took him to one of Capsule Corp's labs, where she started running tests. Goku sat quietly as machines whirred and buzzed around him, while Bulma stared intently at the computer screen.

When the results came in, Bulma's expression shifted to one of surprise. "Uh, Goku… there's something strange going on with your brain."

Goku's eyes widened. "Did I break my brain?!"

"No, no, your brain's fine!" Bulma quickly reassured him. "But there's this… bump here." She pulled up an image of his brain, highlighting a small abnormality. "It's not an injury, but it looks like you've hit your head really hard at some point, and it caused a permanent change."

Goku blinked, staring at the image. "A bump in my brain? Is that why I'm so bad at math?"

Bulma snorted. "No, I think you were always bad at math."

Goku looked at her, his face filled with panic as he contemplated what this meant. "So, am I gonna be... different? I never thought I was different, but maybe I've changed without realizing it."

Bulma noticed Goku's growing concern and tried to calm him down. "Look, Goku, there's nothing dangerous about it. But if it bothers you, we have two options. One, we can gather the Dragon Balls again and use them to fix it safely. Or, two, we wait and see if a better solution comes up."

Goku scratched his head, deep in thought. "Hmm… I don't wanna bother Shenron again just for a bump in my brain. I'll wait."

Later that evening, Goku decided to head back to Mount Paozu to visit Grandpa Gohan. But before leaving, he gave Bulma a sheepish smile. "Sorry for worrying you, Bulma. I'll let you know if my brain starts doing anything funny."

Bulma smirked. "Well, that would be a first."

Upon reaching his mountain home, Goku was met with a familiar yet stern face—Grandpa Gohan. "Goku, where have you been? You left without telling me!" Gohan's tone was serious, but his eyes softened when he saw Goku's trademark puppy-dog expression.

Goku immediately launched into an apology, his big, innocent eyes practically sparkling. "Sorry, Grandpa! I got caught up with this big adventure with Bulma and Oolong! And we fought a big robot! And a dragon appeared!"

Gohan sighed, shaking his head. "You always get into the craziest situations... Alright, alright, I forgive you." He couldn't resist Goku's cute apology face for long.

But something else was new in the house. Goku noticed there was a young, bald boy standing in the corner, nervously eyeing them both. "Who's this?" Goku asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

The boy stepped forward and introduced himself. "Hi, my name's Krillin! Master Roshi told me to come here to train with you and your grandpa."

Goku blinked in surprise. "Wait, Master Roshi? Didn't he wanna train you?"

Krillin shook his head. "Not at first. He said he didn't want to teach a bald kid, but after I begged for days and gave him some… uh… 'good reading material,' he finally agreed—on the condition I train with Gohan first."

Goku burst out laughing. "Master Roshi really has weird hobbies, huh?"

Krillin blushed, embarrassed. "Yeah, well, it worked, didn't it?"

Gohan smiled warmly. "I thought having Krillin here would be good for you, Goku. You could use a sparring partner."

Goku's face lit up with excitement. "Awesome! We're gonna have so much fun training together!"

Krillin, however, looked a little nervous. He had heard about Goku's strength and was worried he might not be able to keep up. "Just… don't go too hard on me, okay?"

Goku grinned, his usual carefree nature shining through. "Don't worry! I'll go easy on you… at first!"

As the two began their training under Gohan's watchful eye, Goku couldn't help but think about his earlier conversation with Bulma. His mind raced with thoughts about the bump in his brain, but as soon as the sparring began, his worries vanished.

Krillin, on the other hand, quickly realized that Goku's version of "going easy" wasn't so easy at all. "This is gonna be a long training session…" he muttered under his breath.

But as the days passed, the two boys began to bond, their competitive spirits driving them to improve together. Krillin, despite his initial nerves, found that training with Goku wasn't so bad after all. "At least he's not turning into a giant ape every day," Krillin thought with relief.