Bulla skipped over to Zangya's side and affectionately wrapped her arms around hers.
"Don't be scared, Sister Zangya. Auntie 18 only sounds fierce. She's actually really nice!"
"W-Who's nice?"
18 turned her face away, though the tips of her ears were faintly red.
"I'm just…"
"Just what?" Goku asked curiously, leaning closer.
"What does that have to do with you?!"
18 shoved Goku's face away with a look of disgust.
"Go away! Your mouth smells like barbecue!"
But Goku quickly leaned in and kissed her cheek.
18 immediately stomped her foot in embarrassment.
"Damn it! You're bullying me…"
Goku hurriedly ran ahead, and 18 chased after him at once.
Watching the two of them bicker, Zangya couldn't help laughing again.
The evening breeze brushed gently through her hair, bringing with it a sense of peace she had not felt in a very long time.
She secretly glanced at Bulla beside her.
The little girl blinked at her, her bright smile as beautiful as the sunset.
At that moment, 18 and Goku, who had been messing around earlier, suddenly held hands.
18 turned back and shouted at them.
"Hey! You two, hurry up!"
"It's already getting late. If we don't go back soon, Chi-Chi is going to get angry again."
"Right, right!"
Goku suddenly remembered something, and his expression changed.
"Let's hurry! I just remembered—Chi-Chi said she's making my favorite curry rice tonight!"
Bulla gasped.
"Dad, you can still eat?!"
"Well…"
Goku rubbed his stomach with a troubled expression.
"Other people get full after eating a little."
"But I'm different!"
"Even after I'm full, I can still eat a little more…"
18 held her forehead and sighed.
"Monster…"
Zangya watched them, the envy in her eyes gradually turning into warmth.
Maybe this was what people called "family."
She quickened her pace and followed the three of them.
Under the setting sun, the four shadows slowly merged together, stretching toward the direction of home.
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, four years passed.
Son Gohan, Miki, and Son Bulla successfully graduated from elementary school and entered middle school.
Videl, under Mr. Satan's arrangement, also enrolled in the same elite middle school.
Because Videl sat beside Gohan in class, the four of them gradually became good friends.
One sunny afternoon after school, they agreed to go out for food together.
After all, the cafeteria food was terrible, and day students were allowed to eat outside.
As the four of them walked along while chatting and laughing, a commotion suddenly broke out near the street corner.
Several masked criminals rushed out with weapons in hand.
It looked like they had just robbed a bank and were trying to escape, throwing the entire street into chaos.
Seeing pedestrians running everywhere and the armed criminals charging through the street, Videl was startled and instinctively took a step back.
After reacting, she quickly grabbed Miki and Bulla's hands.
"This is bad! There are criminals!"
"We need to leave quickly!"
However—
Gohan had already rushed forward.
In the blink of an eye, several criminals were knocked down one after another.
One of them pulled the trigger of a machine gun and began firing wildly.
But before he could hit anyone, Gohan knocked him unconscious.
As for the bullets he fired—
Not a single one was missed.
Bulla caught them all.
When Videl saw Bulla open her hand and let several bullets fall to the ground, she was so shocked that she couldn't speak.
"You guys are seriously annoying."
Bulla pouted and casually tossed the bullets aside.
By then, Gohan had already taken down the remaining criminals with ease.
His movements were so fast they were almost impossible to see clearly.
The criminals lay on the ground groaning, completely unable to understand how they had been defeated.
Soon, the police arrived and took all the criminals away.
Bulla grabbed Videl's hand and continued walking toward the restaurant.
But inside Videl's heart, a storm had already erupted.
After walking a little farther, she finally couldn't hold back and asked:
"H-How are you all so strong?"
"You're not even afraid of bullets…"
Miki shrugged beside her.
"It's just a small scene."
"We've been trained by Dad since we were little, so we're all pretty strong."
"Your dad's training?" Videl asked curiously.
Miki nodded.
"Mm. My dad is really powerful."
"We've been training under him since childhood."
Suddenly, Videl thought of Gohan's name, and then Bulla and Miki's surname.
Her pupils shrank.
"You're all surnamed Son…"
"Could it be…"
Bulla smiled.
"Don't overthink it."
"Our dad is Son Goku, a disciple of the Turtle School."
"He's somewhat famous, right?"
Videl took a deep breath.
"So that's it…"
"What a coincidence…"
Gohan asked curiously:
"What's coincidental?"
Videl replied:
"Did you know?"
"My dad works as Mr. Krillin's assistant…"
The three of them looked at Videl at the same time.
Bulla asked:
"Your dad is Uncle Krillin's assistant?"
"Then I guess we really do have a connection!"
Videl nodded hard.
"Exactly!"
"I didn't expect this either."
"We ended up in the same middle school. It really feels like fate…"
At that point, Videl suddenly asked:
"Can I train with you?"
Gohan scratched his head.
"We've already trained for a long time, and we're pretty strong now."
"Your progress wouldn't really match ours."
"I'm not sure whether Dad would be willing to teach you either."
"I'll ask him later."
Videl nodded.
"That makes sense…"
Seeing that Videl genuinely wanted to learn real martial arts, Bulla immediately said:
"No problem!"
"I'll decide for Dad."
"You're accepted."
Videl was pleasantly surprised.
"R-Really?"
Miki said:
"Don't worry. Teaching one more person won't make much difference to Dad."
"Besides, we only need him to supervise us now. He barely spends much effort training us anymore."
"So it's settled."
"You can come home with us tonight."
Videl was startled.
"Maybe tomorrow."
"I should tell my dad first…"
"But if he knows I'm learning martial arts from Mr. Son Goku, he definitely won't refuse."
Son Goku still had no idea that his little daughter had already started creating work for him.
The next day, Videl arrived at Mount Paozu as promised.
However, she soon realized that she had been far too naive.
"What?"
"You usually wear weights this heavy?"
Videl stared at Gohan and Bulla as they casually removed their wrist guards.
BOOM!
The guards crashed to the ground, slightly denting the earth.
Bulla giggled.
"Yeah. Otherwise, training wouldn't be effective."
"But since this is your first time, you don't need to wear them yet."
Videl breathed a sigh of relief.
"That sounds manageable…"
However—
Even without weights, the training still made her suffer terribly.
"Run faster!"
"If you slow down any more, you'll have extra training!"
Bulla shouted from ahead.
Videl gasped for breath while following behind, her legs feeling as heavy as lead.
"I can't…"
"I really can't run anymore…"
Gohan turned back and encouraged her.
"Hang in there a little longer!"
"Training is about breaking through your limits!"
Videl gritted her teeth and kept running, but inside, she was crying miserably.
This wasn't training.
This was hell.
At that moment, Goku arrived beside them.
"Videl."
"They've already been training for many years."
"This kind of training still isn't suitable for you. Your body won't be able to handle it."
"If you can't keep up, you should start with milk delivery training."
"Martial arts must be learned step by step."
Videl asked curiously:
"Delivering milk is training too?"
Gohan immediately replied:
"Of course."
"Turtle School training starts with basic exercises like delivering milk, plowing fields, and swimming."
"We delivered milk for several years when we were little!"
"Okay!"
Videl nodded seriously.
Goku nodded as well.
"Good."
"Then you can start training tomorrow."
Videl blinked.
"Why tomorrow?"
Goku replied:
"Because I need to prepare too."
"And Goten and Son Hongrui—Snow's daughter—are already three years old."
"They can start doing a little training too."
"I'm planning to let them train together with you."
Videl pointed at herself in shock.
"Mr. Goku…"
"Are you looking down on me?"
"You want me to train with two three-year-old children?"
Goku laughed.
"Their physiques aren't ordinary."
"If you can keep up with them, you'll already be doing very well."
"Once you adapt, you can train with Bulla and the others without weights."
Although Goku said that, he understood something clearly.
Not everyone could walk the martial arts path for their entire life.
For Videl, casual training would already be enough.
Enough for her to use in daily life.
And enough for her father to brag about for the rest of his life.
And so—
The training truly began.
Videl would never forget the shock of her first day.
Three-year-old Goten and Hongrui carried milk crates on their backs, running forward rapidly with their tiny legs.
Meanwhile, she—a middle school student—couldn't catch up to them.
"Wait for me!"
Videl shouted breathlessly.
Goten turned back and blinked his big eyes.
"Sister Videl, if you're too slow, the milk will go bad!"
Hongrui also spoke in a childish voice:
"Yeah, yeah! Auntie Chi-Chi said if we're late, we won't get pudding!"
Videl watched the two little ones easily leap over obstacles.
Her heart nearly collapsed.
Are these really three-year-old children?!
One month later, Videl finally accepted reality.
She truly did not have the monstrous physique of a Saiyan.
Gohan comforted her.
"It's okay."
"For an ordinary human, reaching your level is already very impressive."
Bulla took a bite of an apple and added:
"Exactly."
"You can easily take down ten adult men now!"
Videl looked down at the increasingly firm lines of her arms and smiled bitterly.
"But I still can't even reach one-tenth of your level…"
"Why compare yourself to us?"
Miki wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"You're already the star fighter of our school's girls' combat club!"
At that moment, Videl finally understood what it meant when people said:
True masters hide among ordinary people.
Three years passed like a white horse crossing a crack.
Videl stood before the gate of the high school division, sunlight falling across her smooth long hair.
The childishness she once had had faded away.
In its place was the youthful vitality of a young girl.
"What are you spacing out for?"
A familiar voice came from behind her.
Videl turned around and saw Gohan, who had also grown much taller, smiling at her.
He wore a neat school uniform, and behind his glasses, his eyes were gentle and bright.
Videl lightly brushed her wind-tossed hair aside and smiled happily.
"Nothing."
"I was just thinking…"
"We really got into the same high school."
Gohan said:
"You don't need to be that surprised."
"Even if you hadn't passed the entrance exam, your dad would've arranged it for you."
"After all, his influence is pretty huge now."
Videl lifted her little nose proudly and glared at him.
"Who are you saying wouldn't pass?"
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