The ice of the Antarctic tundra cracked underfoot, sending sharp, teeth-chattering sounds into the air.
The cold wind cut like knives, whipping snowflakes against the skin.
Yet the frigid temperatures, enough to freeze an elephant solid, were nothing to the man standing at the edge of a glacier fissure. Even a scratch would barely register.
Krillin wore nothing but a thin Hawaiian shirt, holding two steaming mugs of hot cocoa.
He looked at the figure ahead, wrapped in a bulky polar suit like a white rice dumpling, and couldn't help the corner of his mouth curling upward.
"Hey, Miss, even with that suit's heating system, you've been digging there for ten minutes straight."
Krillin approached and handed the steaming mug to the snow-white bundle.
Bulma struggled to turn around, her eyes wide behind the goggles. Her voice, carried through the suit's amplifier, buzzed with static and complaint.
"Because the radar shows it's right below here! This is a five-hundred-meter-thick ice sheet frozen for thousands of years! Even with my laser digger, it won't be instant!"
"You think everyone's a freak like you?"
"Freak is fine in bed, but normally just call me 'darling,' it's cuter."
Krillin smirked and pressed his hand against the ice.
No aura flared. No earth-shattering roar.
Just a gentle downward push of his palm.
Boom!
A hundred meters of ice flattened as if an invisible giant hand had passed over it.
The millennia-hardened ice, once unyielding as iron, crumbled instantly into sparkling frost.
The bottomless fissure disappeared, replaced by a perfectly smooth, mirror-like depression.
At its center, an orange-red glass orb rested quietly. Its six stars sparkled brilliantly under the sun's reflection off the snow.
Bulma's jaw dropped, and her cocoa nearly spilled.
She had seen it countless times before, but the sheer, inexplicable power still stunned her.
Krillin held out his hand, and the Six-Star Dragon Ball floated into his palm.
The sensation was strange.
It was not glass or resin. It felt warm and smooth like jade.
As he held it, he could feel a faint pulse, like the breath of some sleeping life.
"Dragon Ball…"
Krillin traced the surface with his fingers.
The wish-granting artifact he had once only seen on screens was now real in his hands. The tangible sense of breaking the barriers between dimensions left him momentarily dazed.
"What are you staring at? Let me see that one!"
Bulma rushed over, snatching the Six-Star Ball and holding it to the sunlight, her excitement childlike.
"With this one, we've collected four! Just three more to go!"
Krillin casually wrapped his arm around her bulky suit waist. The next instant, the scenery around them shifted.
The biting cold vanished, replaced by humid sea air and the roar of waves.
They had teleported.
Now they stood on a deserted island near the equator.
The sun blazed, the sand was white and hot.
"It's scorching!"
Bulma fumbled out of her protective suit, revealing the bikini she had worn beneath.
It was Krillin's favorite red, making her skin glow against the tropical sunlight.
"The radar shows the next one is in the volcano on this island."
She shook her turquoise hair and checked the Dragon Radar.
"But now that we're in such a nice place, hunting can wait."
She tossed the radar onto a beach towel, her gaze lazy yet dangerous like a predatory cat, fingers tracing the collar of Krillin's shirt.
"Flying all over for days has wrecked my back. As the universe's strongest martial artist, you should be able to give me a little 'massage,' right?"
Krillin swallowed, throat rolling.
These past days had been less about collecting Dragon Balls and more about their shameless global honeymoon.
From sunken ships in the deep sea to wild jungles, their trail was scandalous.
The system panel flickered in the corner of his vision:
[Detected high-intensity emotional interaction. 'Flirt with female character' achievement progress updated…]
[Current stamina: ∞ (Saitama template feature)]
[Target stamina: 85 (peak human female)]
[Suggestion: Control force. You are strong, but she could break.]
Krillin ignored the warning, scooped Bulma into his arms, and strode toward the treehouse deeper in the coconut grove.
"Massage? No problem."
He lowered his head, letting his nose brush her collarbone.
"My hands are strong. If I can control it, it's skill. If not… you'll have to beg."
Bulma lifted her chin, teasing.
"Let's see who's begging, bald guy."
…
Three hours later.
Krillin emerged from the treehouse feeling refreshed, ready to catch a couple of giant lobsters for lunch. From the opposite side of the jungle, several suspicious figures appeared.
They wore tattered military uniforms, carried old submachine guns, and sported the torn red insignia of a rebel faction the last remnants of a scattered army.
"Don't move! Hand over the valuables!"
The one-eyed leader pointed his gun at Krillin, his eyes filled with malice.
"And the woman too! I saw her!"
Krillin didn't even bother to glance at them.
He was checking the system's newly updated stats.
[New mission triggered: Exterminate pests. Reward: Dragon Radar Precision Upgrade Module.]
"Hey! I'm talking to you, bald guy!" The one-eyed man fumed and pulled the trigger.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Bullets sprayed like rain.
Krillin yawned.
They hit an invisible wall just three inches from him, flattened into copper shards with metallic tingling as they fell to the ground.
The one-eyed man's expression shifted from anger to sheer terror.
"The Red Ribbon Army… what a nostalgic name."
Krillin picked up a deformed bullet tip, rubbing it between his fingers. It crumbled to powder.
"Goku probably forgot to clean up his trash. Today, I'm in a generous mood, so I'll take care of you guys."
He flicked his finger toward the pirate ship anchored hundreds of meters away in the bay.
No massive energy wave.
Just a pure gust of finger wind.
Boom!
The hundred-ton steel ship split in half instantly, erupting into a massive fireball.
The resulting shockwave knocked the remnants unconscious onto the sand.
The treehouse door opened. Bulma stepped out wrapped in a towel, still flushed, impatiently asking, "So noisy, are there fireworks outside?"
"Nothing much. Just killed some mosquitoes."
Krillin returned to the treehouse, closing the door behind him.
"So, where were we? Oh right, you wanted to try that 'anti-gravity stance'?"
"Forget it! I meant you go catch the lobsters!"
"Catch them first, then try?"
"Depends on how you perform."