Next to the master bedroom was Piccolo's room.
As a warrior who pursued ultimate strength and inner discipline, Piccolo had no interest in the luxurious suite Bulma had arranged for him.
He rejected the soft bed and instead sat cross-legged on the cold floor, entering meditation as usual.
He needed to calm his mind, to sense the direction of Planet Namek, to follow the ancient call flowing through his bloodline.
But tonight, meditation was unusually difficult.
The moment he settled his mind, a faint, rhythmic vibration came from the room next door.
"Hm?"
Piccolo frowned, at first thinking the ship had encountered some kind of spatial turbulence.
But soon, he realized something was wrong.
The vibrations were too regular. And mixed within them were… strange sounds.
Namekians possessed extraordinarily sharp hearing. It was a racial gift, allowing them to hear even the faintest movement from kilometers away.
At this moment, that gift became pure torture.
He could clearly hear Bulma's suppressed, trembling breaths, soft like a kitten's whimper, along with Krillin's steady, powerful heartbeat.
And the bed creaking under strain.
Piccolo's green face darkened. First turning stiff, then deepening into an almost black shade of green.
His eyes snapped open. The two antennae on his head stood straight from a mix of anger and embarrassment.
"This is outrageous!"
"That shameless couple!"
He roared silently in his mind.
Did they not realize that no matter how good the ship's soundproofing was, it meant nothing to a Namekian's hearing?
How was he supposed to meditate like this?
His thoughts were completely flooded with chaotic, inappropriate images.
He tried to block his hearing using his ki.
But the sounds seemed to carry a strange power, piercing straight through his defenses and echoing clearly in his mind.
"Husband… ah…"
"I… I can't…"
Bang!
Piccolo slammed his fist into the alloy wall beside him, leaving a deep imprint.
He shot to his feet and began pacing the room restlessly.
For a moment, he considered storming next door and telling them to keep it down.
But the thought of admitting he had been listening stopped him in his tracks. His pride as a warrior refused to allow it.
In the end, Piccolo could only wrap his white cape tightly around his ears.
Like a wronged ostrich, he curled up in the corner, relying on sheer willpower to resist the relentless assault on his senses.
That night…
For Goku, it was a peaceful night of rest and recovery.
For Krillin and Bulma, it was a night of passion.
For Piccolo, it was the longest and most agonizing night of his life.
The next morning.
Krillin stepped out of his room, refreshed and full of energy, only to meet a pair of bloodshot eyes.
Piccolo sat on the sofa in the main hall, dark circles under his eyes, his expression completely blank. A heavy aura radiated from him, warning others to stay away.
"Hey, Piccolo, you're up early. Didn't sleep well?"
Krillin asked with a grin.
Piccolo forced a single word through clenched teeth.
"Get lost."
At that moment, the interior of the ship suddenly flashed red, and a piercing alarm rang through every corner.
"Warning! Warning! High-density asteroid belt detected ahead. Diameter exceeds ten thousand kilometers!"
"Unable to evade. Impact zone in three minutes. Repeat, unable to evade!"
The AI's usually gentle voice now sounded urgent.
Goku, just waking up, rushed out with the two kids.
Bulma, still in her sleepwear, hurried from the master bedroom to the control panel.
Looking at the radar filled with dense red dots, her expression turned serious.
"Damn it! It's a meteor storm formed after a supernova. The scale is too large. Every automated route is blocked!"
"What do we do? Can the ship's shields hold?" Goku asked.
"They can handle part of it, but with this many high-speed impacts, the shields will be drained quickly. The hull will definitely take damage!"
Bulma typed rapidly, clearly anxious.
"Manual control won't be fast enough either!"
"It's not a big deal."
Krillin yawned as he walked over to Trillin, who looked excited, and Gohan, who looked nervous.
"Son, Gohan, remember the 'whack-a-mole' game I taught you?"
"Yeah!" Trillin answered loudly.
"Good. The rocks flying outside are your moles."
"Your mission is to put on your suits, go outside, and smash every single one of them. Don't miss any. Whoever gets more wins an extra dinosaur leg tonight."
"Awesome!" Trillin immediately lit up with excitement.
Gohan was still a little scared, but encouraged by Trillin and tempted by the reward, he gathered his courage.
"Dad… can we really do this?"
"Of course. You're both super warriors."
Krillin gently patted his head.
Piccolo watched in stunned disbelief.
Sending two five-year-old kids into space to clear an asteroid storm?
Was this man insane?
But in the next moment, he realized how wrong he was.
Krillin opened the outer hatch. As pressure alarms blared, Trillin and Gohan, wearing specially designed combat suits from Bulma, shot out like streaks of light.
The massive observation window became the perfect viewing platform.
Two small figures floated in the vast darkness of space, facing an incoming wave of asteroids that looked like an advancing army. Not a trace of fear showed on their faces.
"Take this! Kamehameha!"
Trillin thrust his hands forward, releasing a blue energy wave that shattered an asteroid the size of a truck.
"M-Masenko!"
Gohan mimicked Piccolo, placing his hands to his forehead and firing a golden beam that blasted another asteroid into dust.
At first, they were clumsy.
But the Saiyan battle instinct quickly took over.
They began to coordinate. One handled the left, the other the right.
Energy blasts flew nonstop, forming an impenetrable wall of firepower in front of the ship.
Ancient fragments of stars that had drifted through space for millions of years were reduced to a dazzling fireworks display by the two children.
Goku watched with burning excitement, shouting encouragement nonstop.
"That's it! Nice one!"
He looked like he could barely resist rushing out to join them.
Piccolo, on the other hand, fell into silence.
Watching Gohan's strength far exceed his expectations, his emotions grew complicated.
Months of training, combined with Krillin's resources and environment, had unleashed the boy's potential in an explosive way.
"Alright, that's enough. Good work. You can come back."
Krillin gave the order through the communicator, nodding in satisfaction as the radar cleared.
At that moment, the AI spoke again, this time without urgency.
"Captain, an unidentified spacecraft has been detected on the far side of the asteroid belt."
"Its energy signal is extremely weak. It appears to have suffered severe damage."
A broken signal suddenly cut into the ship's public channel.
"…Help… help… This is merchant vessel Galaxy Wanderer… we were hit by the meteor storm… engines destroyed… requesting… requesting rescue…"
The weak voice carried desperation.
Goku immediately spoke.
"They need help! Bulma, let's go check on them!"
Bulma looked sympathetic.
"They sound really desperate…"
Only Krillin, staring at the blinking signal on the radar, let a faint, knowing smile curl at his lips.
"Sure. Let's go take a look."
He was curious to see which fool had the nerve to set their sights on him.