September 1, Age 749
Earth – Mount Paozu
Mount Paozu was a quiet region surrounded by towering mountains, remote and sparsely populated.
But on this day, the sound of a roaring engine echoed through the wilderness.
An off-road vehicle sped through the mountain trails.
At the wheel sat a teenage girl, multitasking as she drove while keeping an eye on the Dragon Radar in her hand.
"The Four-Star Ball should be just ahead! Ugh, Master Roshi is so useless—he doesn't even know how to fly!
If I could use Flight, I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble! And I've only managed to collect two Dragon Balls so far!"
She sighed in frustration, then began to drift into dreamy thoughts.
"Right… once I find the Dragon Balls, what wish should I make? Should I ask where Brother Lynx is?"
"No, Tights said he just went on a long trip. He'll definitely be back one day. I can't waste a wish on that."
"I should wish for Brother Lynx to fall in love with me instead! Yes! That's it!"
This spirited teenage girl was none other than a grown-up Bulma!
Six years had passed, and the former little girl had blossomed into a bright young woman.
Just like in the original timeline, Bulma had begun her journey to search for the Dragon Balls.
In fact, she'd wanted to do this for years.
Ever since she learned about the mystical Dragon Balls, Bulma had dreamed of using them to win Lynx's love.
She had gathered all the legends she could find, and thanks to eavesdropping on Lynx and the others years ago, she knew the full story: collect all seven Dragon Balls to summon Shenron and have a wish granted.
At one point, Bulma even considered tricking Master Roshi into handing over his Dragon Ball so she could study it and create a way to track them.
But just before she could act, Master Roshi's Dragon Ball mysteriously vanished, and with no sample to study, she couldn't build the radar.
It wasn't until six years later that she accidentally found a Dragon Ball in her family's warehouse.That moment inspired her to finally create the Dragon Radar—and begin her quest.
As she daydreamed, a giant fish suddenly appeared in the road ahead.
"A fish? On a mountain trail?!"
Before Bulma could react, she realized it wasn't just a fish—a boy was carrying it on his back.
"Ahh! No time to stop!!"
Panicked, she slammed the brakes and barely managed to halt the car before hitting him.
Startled, the boy leapt back, pulling a staff from his back.
"You monster! You're trying to steal my food, aren't you? I'll show you what I can do!"
He prepared to smash the car, but before he could strike, Bulma jumped out.
"Hey! You little punk, this is my car! What do you think you're doing?!"
"What?! The monster has a goblin hiding in its belly?!"
Bulma was stunned—this was the first time someone had called her a goblin. Her cheeks puffed up in indignation.
"You brat! Calling me a goblin?!"
She pulled out her scouter and scanned the boy.
"Hah! Only 10 battle power?! You're nothing! Let me teach you a lesson!"
Having trained for years under Master Roshi, Bulma wasn't a martial arts genius, but with expert guidance, her power far surpassed normal humans—her battle power was 20.
She stuffed the scouter back into her bag, dropped her backpack, and charged the boy with a punch.
"You wanna fight? Bring it on!"
The boy raised his staff to meet her head-on.
But…Bang! Bang! Bang!
Moments later, he was lying flat on the ground, butt in the air, thoroughly beaten.
"Oww… that goblin was tough. Sorry, Grandpa… I lost…"
With the boy down, Bulma dusted her hands and turned to leave—but something caught her eye.
"Wait… is that a tail?"
The boy had a monkey-like tail sticking out from his backside.
"You… you're a Saiyan?!"
"Saiyan? I'm not a Saiyan! I'm Son Goku!"
"You idiot! That's your name, I'm talking about your race!"
"Race? What's that? Can you eat it?"
Bulma rolled her eyes.
"I'm asking if that tail is real!"
"Of course it is!"
The boy proudly wiggled his tail at her.
Now convinced, Bulma was stunned: this kid… was a Saiyan, just like Lynx!
She didn't know why a Saiyan child was here, but suddenly she felt an odd sense of closeness.
"Well, since you're a Saiyan, I'll forgive you. But next time, try being polite to girls!"
"Huh? You're a girl?"
"Duh."
"Wow… are all girls that strong?"
Bulma paused, then smirked.
"Nope. I'm just special."
She got back in her car and continued toward the Dragon Ball signal.
Goku watched her drive away, eyes sparkling.
"That girl was amazing… Grandpa was right—there are lots of strong people out there!"
Then he froze.
"Wait a sec… isn't she heading toward my house?!"
Alarmed, Goku sprinted after her.
By the time he returned, Bulma was happily walking out of his house with a Four-Star Ball in hand.
"Yes! That makes three Dragon Balls!"
"Hey! Stop! That's my Grandpa's keepsake! You can't take that!"
He lunged to grab it, but Bulma easily knocked him flat again—his power was still half of hers.
Yet the boy wouldn't give up, so Bulma sighed.
"Okay, okay, relax. I'll just borrow it for when I summon Shenron.You can keep it most of the time. Deal?"
"You mean… go with you to the outside world?"
"Exactly!"
"Are there more people like you out there?"
"Haha, tons! Way stronger than me!"
Goku's eyes lit up.
"Really?! Alright, I'll go! But I'm only lending you the Dragon Ball—just once!"
"Deal~" Bulma grinned, pleased with herself.
In truth, she didn't just want the Four-Star Ball—she also wanted a strong bodyguard.
While Goku wasn't as strong as her, he was still much tougher than most humans, and being a Saiyan, he had real combat instincts.
Her journey had already brought its fair share of danger.Though she could handle it, fighting wasn't great for a girl's skin.
With Goku by her side, things would be a lot easier.
And so, even though the story had taken a different path from the original, Bulma and Goku still began their journey… to find the seven Dragon Balls.