Just as Douglas was about to introduce someone to his daughter, he saw a ninja suddenly appear before them as if he had teleported.
The moment Ryu appeared; Helena instinctively tried to step in front of her father.
But Douglas stopped her.
Douglas understood very well that someone capable of escaping Rugal's senses and bypassing the security of his building, which had been strengthened tenfold compared to before, wasn't someone his daughter could handle.
Douglas knew exactly how powerful Rugal was.
Rugal could easily beat both him and his daughter without breaking a sweat. And his instincts told him that if they attacked the ninja standing before them...
They would die.
More importantly, he had no desire to offend the Mugen Tenshin Clan any further. He wanted to shift as much of DOATEC's dirty history as possible onto the divisions that Rugal was about to acquire.
"I'm an ally of the Mugen Tenshin Clan. Your DOATEC has caused tremendous harm to my friends... However, that's not why I've come here today. I've come because of the person behind you. Tell me, Douglas, who is backing you?"
Douglas pursed his lips. The ninja's meaning was obvious.
Either he revealed Ryuji's identity or they would all die together.
After all, this man was an ally of the people DOATEC had harmed. Considering everything DOATEC had done to the Mugen Tenshin Clan, Douglas couldn't exactly complain if they came seeking revenge.
So, after hesitating for a moment, Douglas helplessly called Ryuji.
"Mr. Ryuji, there's a ninja here who wants to meet you. He's connected to the Mugen Tenshin Clan. We may not be able to handle him."
As Douglas spoke, he cautiously watched Ryu.
Meanwhile, Kasumi Shiranui, who was with Ryuji, immediately became alert.
Ryuji glanced at the uneasy Kasumi and decided that he might as well resolve her situation as much as possible.
"All right. Tell him to come find me."
Ryu also heard Ryuji's voice. He nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Douglas.
Douglas took a deep breath and made an inviting gesture toward Ryu.
"Come with me, sir. We have a private plane that can take you there."
And while he was arranging Ryu's transportation, a strange encounter was taking place somewhere else.
"So, Bulma? This machine can help you find other people who, like you, aren't from this world? Do you really think it's possible that other people from different worlds came here together with you?"
Athena Asamiya sat inside a bubble tea shop, curiously looking at the blue-haired girl in front of her as she asked the question.
She had first met this girl after finishing a charity performance organized by the environmental organization NESTS. Although she had only performed one song, she had still spent a long time preparing for it. Because of that, after the performance ended, she had no choice but to find a secluded place to continue her special training.
It was during that training that she encountered Bulma and discovered that the girl was being chased by a group of strange monsters.
The monsters resembled the harpies of legend, but they weren't particularly powerful. Athena had killed them with only a few moves.
At first, she thought she had simply rescued an ordinary girl.
But then she saw the girl throw out a capsule that instantly produced an airplane.
That completely convinced Athena that this girl was either from another world or, to put it more simply, was an alien.
After all, how could such advanced technology possibly exist on Earth?!
However, with new performances to attend, training to complete, and all sorts of miscellaneous matters to deal with, Athena had only now finally found the time to properly talk with the girl named Bulma.
But as soon as she saw her again, she discovered that Bulma had already created something called a "Transmigrator Radar" and was currently calibrating it.
"That's right. I checked the data from when I arrived here and compared it with the astronomical records. I discovered that nine colorful meteors arrived along with me. Afterward, reports of monsters attacking people started appearing in those areas. So, I'm sure there must be others like me who are still somewhere in this world."
The blue-haired girl, Bulma, continued adjusting the machine as she spoke.
"So, I thought that if I could find something we all have in common, I might be able to locate others like me. And if one of them knows how to get back home, that would be even better. I scanned myself and discovered a strange wavelength around my body. I never had anything like it back in my own world, so I figured this wavelength must be the key."
As she spoke, Bulma switched on the Transmigrator Radar she had spent several days building and quickly began adjusting it, searching for others who might be like her.
Athena simply thought Bulma was amazing, so she leaned closer to take a look.
Soon, she discovered a small dot somewhere in Japan. There were many other small dots scattered across different locations as well. And not far from where they currently were...
There was another dot.
"It actually works..."
Even Bulma herself was surprised for a moment, and a smile quickly appeared on her face.
If there really were others like her, then there shouldn't be much of a problem. As long as she could figure out the pattern, she believed she would be able to send herself back home!
"That's amazing, Bulma."
Athena didn't really understand just how ridiculously advanced the technology behind a radar capable of scanning the entire planet in an instant was, but she could at least understand that it was incredibly impressive.
"Well... some of the physical constants in this world are different from those in my world, so some of the components might not work as well. But it looks like the adjustments I made were pretty impressive after all. Alright, let's go take a look... Oh, right, Athena, are you interested?"
Bulma proudly puffed out her chest, then began packing up her things as she asked Athena.
Athena nodded. Of course she was interested!
She was very interested in things from other worlds! And even if she wasn't, if she encountered someone like Bulma who needed help, she would naturally help them right away!
"Of course. After all, you need someone to protect you, Bulma!"
Athena struck a pose to show off her muscles, but when she did it, it only made her look cute, making Bulma like the girl even more.
"Come to think of it, Athena, you're Japanese, right? Is entering Japan troublesome? If it is, I'll just fly there myself."
She didn't have any identification documents from this world, so she wanted to figure that out first.
"Well... you'll probably have to fly there yourself. But speaking of Japan... I am Japanese, though I basically grew up in China."
Athena thought about her home and felt somewhat helpless.
"In China?"
Bulma asked curiously.
"Was it because of work?"
Athena shook her head. It was because her psychic powers had been exposed that she had no choice but to go to Chin Gentsai at the Lushan Waterfall in China to learn how to use her psychic powers. Otherwise, she wouldn't have lived in China for so long.
After all, when she was born, Japan happened to be going through a period when America was exploiting it in all kinds of ways. If her psychic powers had been exposed back then, she definitely would have been taken away by the Americans!
Because of that, her parents had contacted an old friend in China for help and sent her to study under Chin Gentsai. There, she learned to control the immense power within her body and gradually mastered how to use it.
So, whenever she talked about this, she couldn't help feeling a little emotional.
"No, it was because of my psychic powers. And because of that, when I was little, I almost ended up with the surname Kido... After all, in Japan, only my distant relatives' family would have been able to protect me. Though, if my surname had been Kido, my name would've been Saori Kido!"
She casually said something that would have given Ryuji a heart attack if he had heard it but immediately dropped the subject.
"Enough about that! Let's hurry up and find that transmigrator nearby!"
She looked eager, and Bulma naturally had no intention of hesitating either. She immediately got on her motorcycle and headed toward the location with Athena.
And then—
They found the corpse of a transmigrated squirrel.
***
Athena Asamiya (Image)
Bulma (Image)
~~~~~~~~~~
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