Chapter 9: Four-Star Ball

At this moment, little Goku's attention had already been drawn to John and Bulma.

Seeing people other than his grandfather for the first time, little Goku was very curious and kept looking at John and Bulma.

John and Bulma couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable under his gaze, especially Bulma.

Bulma, the young lady of the Capsule Corporation, although polite, also had a spoiled and willful personality, so she loudly shouted, "What are you looking at? It's so impolite!"

Little Goku naively asked, "Why do you look different from us, and why is your butt in the front?"

Hearing Goku ask this question, John almost burst out laughing.

Bulma was immediately infuriated and shouted, "Because I'm a girl, a girl, you country bumpkin!" After speaking, she wanted to step forward and teach this guy who didn't respect girls a lesson.

John quickly stopped her and said, "Bulma, calm down, he's just a child, and he's never seen a woman before, so it's natural for him to be curious."

To Bulma's inexplicable anger, little Goku felt nothing. After hearing Bulma say she was a girl, he suddenly realized and said, "Oh, so you are a girl."

Then little Goku immediately bowed politely to Bulma and said, "My grandfather taught me to be very polite to girls."

This move of little Goku's left Bulma at a loss. Seeing the clear and innocent Goku, Bulma realized that Goku's actions weren't rude but that he truly didn't know how to interact politely.

With such an innocent little Goku, Bulma really couldn't bring herself to blame him.

"Alright, alright, I forgive you. But from now on, don't be so rude to girls, it's very impolite," Bulma said, waving her hand.

Little Goku was still somewhat confused and didn't quite understand what Bulma meant.

However, he remembered what his grandfather had told him, that if he met a girl, he should definitely invite her to eat.

So little Goku picked up the fish again and said to John and Bulma, "You are the first people I've met besides my grandfather. Let me treat you to a meal. This is the prey I just caught today."

Unlike in the manga, this time Bulma had John's company, so she didn't think of having little Goku as a bodyguard, and she refused, "There's no need for a meal..."

But before she could finish, John interrupted, "Of course, no problem at all. You can also try our food. Let's treat each other."

"Really? That's great! Come with me, my home is not far ahead," little Goku said happily, immediately dragging the fish and walking ahead.

Watching little Goku walk away, Bulma asked John in confusion, "Aren't we looking for the Dragon Balls? Why are we following this little brat to eat?"

John started the car and said, "Don't underestimate him because of his age. He's very strong. Even if I were hit by a car without any defense, I wouldn't be unscathed. But look at him, he only felt pain for a moment and then was fine."

"Although not many people know the secret of the Dragon Balls, it's not like there aren't any. I don't know what kind of dangers we will encounter in the future, and whether I can handle those dangers..."

"So you want to recruit this kid?" Bulma interrupted.

"Recruit? That sounds like we're bandits or robbers," John countered Bulma's word choice.

"You're so sneaky! I'll have to be careful in the future. Don't let you sell me while I'm still counting money for you," Bulma said.

As John drove slowly behind little Goku, Bulma suddenly said, "This whole Dragon Ball search, wasn't it your plan all along?"

John was startled, but he didn't show it. Instead, he looked aggrieved and said, "How could that be? Although I told you about the Dragon Balls, it was you who suggested we go looking for them together."

"And you're only 16 years old. How could I even think of taking a 16-year-old girl who can't even fight out to look for Dragon Balls?"

Bulma thought about it and realized it made sense. "Alright, I apologize. I wronged you."

Hearing that Bulma no longer suspected him, John breathed a sigh of relief.

If initially, John approached Bulma with ulterior motives to access the Dragon Ball Radar, now John truly considered Bulma his friend. He didn't want to lose her over small issues.

Little Goku's house wasn't far, and they soon arrived.

It was a small Chinese-style house with only one bedroom and a living room, just enough for one person to live in. It would be a bit cramped for two people.

Little Goku opened the door to his house and invited John and Bulma in.

The four-star Dragon Ball on the altar immediately caught everyone's attention.

John was attracted because his second goal was the four-star Dragon Ball, while Bulma was attracted because she saw the four-star Dragon Ball glowing as soon as she opened the door.

Little Goku was attracted because he thought the glowing four-star ball was his deceased grandfather talking to him.

Little Goku looked at the glowing four-star ball and happily shouted, "Grandpa, Grandpa, are you talking to me?"

Following closely behind, Bulma said, "What grandpa, this is a four-star Dragon Ball, not your grandpa."

Little Goku retorted, "You're lying, this is my grandpa, he's talking to me, otherwise why would he glow?"

"You country bumpkin, that's because we brought Dragon Balls too, and they're resonating," Bulma said, taking out two more Dragon Balls from her backpack.

Seeing the other two Dragon Balls, little Goku exclaimed, "Wow! So many grandpas!"

Bulma explained again, "I told you, this is not your grandpa. It's called the four-star ball. I have the two-star ball and the five-star ball here. You can count them."

After counting, little Goku said, "It's true!"

Bulma then tried to convince him, "Right? So this is a Dragon Ball, not your grandpa. If you give us this Dragon Ball, we can gather all seven Dragon Balls and make a wish to Shenron."