Chapter 13: Sending the Sea Turtle Home

Before John Doe could respond, Bulma smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Sea Turtle, but we have important matters to attend to. The sea is hundreds of kilometers away, and it would be too time-consuming to take you there."

At this moment, John Doe spoke up, "Bulma is right, but collecting the Dragon Balls won't be accomplished in a day or two. It won't be a problem to spend half a day helping Mr. Sea Turtle."

Upon hearing John Doe's decision to send the sea turtle back to the sea, Bulma became a little upset and was about to say something, but John Doe's gaze stopped her. "It's settled. We'll leave right now."

Bulma wasn't pleased with John Doe's decision, but since this journey was primarily for him, she couldn't bring herself to be too concerned. Still, she couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed.

John Doe took out a pickup truck capsule, and with a 'pop', a pickup truck appeared before them.

John Doe placed the sea turtle in the truck bed, and then he, Bulma, and Son Goku got into the cab.

John Doe turned to Bulma and said, "You don't seem very happy."

"What does it matter if I'm happy or not? The Dragon Balls are for you anyway," Bulma muttered.

John Doe explained, "This sea turtle's master is Master Roshi, a legendary martial artist and the current strongest human on Earth. My decision may seem a bit self-serving, but I think it's worth taking half a day to help Master Roshi's servant."

Bulma was intrigued when she heard that Master Roshi was the strongest human on Earth. "The strongest human, really? I'd like to see if this so-called strongest human is for real."

When Son Goku heard about the strongest human, he became curious too. "John, is this Master Roshi really the strongest human?"

John Doe nodded, "To be precise, he should be the strongest among humans, as there are also gods and their servants on Earth, who are undoubtedly more powerful than Master Roshi."

"Wow, there are so many powerful warriors in the world! I'd love to fight them!" Son Goku exclaimed excitedly, thrilled to be on this journey with John Doe.

Soon, the pickup truck reached a mountainous area with a narrow road winding between two peaks.

Suddenly, a giant figure appeared in front of the truck, blocking their path. John Doe slammed on the brakes, managing to stop just in front of the figure.

Even if they had hit the figure, John Doe thought, it probably wouldn't have injured him, considering his massive size.

The figure was a bear-headed man, over two meters tall, and exceptionally strong. He held a long sword, and one of his eyes was blind, but the remaining eye immediately spotted the sea turtle in the truck bed.

The bear-man shouted, "I'll give you two choices: leave the sea turtle and go, or I'll kill you and take the sea turtle."

The sea turtle was startled and scared, fearing that John Doe and the others might leave him behind. He anxiously watched them.

Bulma, not wanting a conflict with the bear-man, suggested, "Why don't we just leave the sea turtle here?"

Hearing Bulma's suggestion, the sea turtle cried out, "No, no!"

John Doe reassured him, "Don't worry. We won't leave you. Since we promised to help, we will keep our word."

The sea turtle finally relaxed.

However, the bear-man became agitated. He lifted the long sword on his shoulder and pointed the sharp tip at John Doe and the others. "You don't want to take the easy way out, huh? Come at me together, and let's see if you can handle my sword."

The bear-man's actions terrified Bulma and the sea turtle, who quickly hid behind a nearby boulder.

John Doe and Son Goku exchanged glances and then decided who would go first by playing rock-paper-scissors in front of the bear-man.

"Rock, paper, scissors..." But several times in a row, they both chose the same gesture.

Bulma, hiding behind the boulder, shouted, "You two idiots, stop deciding who goes first and who goes second. Just attack him together and get rid of that big fool!"

The bear-man heard Bulma call him a big fool and glared at her with his one eye, causing Bulma to hide behind the boulder again.

The bear-man, feeling disrespected by the two small humans, grew furious. He swung his long sword at John Doe and Son Goku.

Seeing the bear-man's attack, John Doe stopped the rock-paper-scissors game and happily exclaimed, "I didn't want to attack first, but he's the one who wants to fight me."

John Doe dodged the bear-man's horizontal swing with a quick crouch and then swept his leg, causing the bear-man to lose his balance and fall.

Not wanting to be outdone, Son Goku shouted, "John, that's not fair!" He leaped into the air and delivered a powerful side kick to the bear-man's chin, sending him flying into the mountain. The impact shattered the rocks behind him.

The bear-man fell to the ground, unconscious. His long sword spun in the air a few times before sticking into the ground.

Bulma and the sea turtle, relieved that John Doe and Son Goku had defeated the bear-man, came out from behind the boulder.

The three of them and the sea turtle got back into the truck and drove towards the sea.

Soon, the sparkling ocean appeared before them. Son Goku, who had never seen the sea before, was amazed by the vast, pristine waters and the white sandy beach. "So, this is the ocean! It's so big!"

Although Bulma had been unhappy about helping the sea turtle, the sight of the ocean made her forget her annoyance. She rolled up her pants and happily waded into the water.

The sea turtle slowly crawled into the ocean, turned back, and said to John Doe, Son Goku, and Bulma, "Mr. John, Mr. Son, Miss Bulma, please wait here for a while. I'll go and call my master to thank you."

After saying this, the sea turtle swam into the deep sea.

At first, Bulma and Son Goku enjoyed playing in the water, but as the sun rose and the temperature increased, they sought shade under a coconut tree.

Bulma complained, "Why is he taking so long? It's so slow!"

John Doe joked, "Should we leave?"

Bulma became upset and shouted, "How can we leave now? It would be a waste of our efforts. I must wait for this Master Roshi and get my reward."