Chapter 24: John Doe's Plan

As the sun slowly set, John Doe and his companions were getting closer to the Dragon Ball. Suddenly, a missile was launched from a distant mountain, targeting their car.

John Doe punched through the car's roof and pulled Bulma out, while Goku and Oolong jumped out of the vehicle.

Just as they exited the car, a robot leaped down from the mountain and grabbed all six Dragon Balls from inside the car.

The robot then retreated to a nearby plane and flew towards Pilaf's castle.

Surprisingly, John Doe and his friends didn't seem worried about the stolen Dragon Balls, as if they had anticipated this situation.

Bulma asked John Doe, "Is this part of your plan? We worked so hard to gather six Dragon Balls, only to let the enemy take them. Come on, tell us, what's your plan?"

John Doe smiled and said, "Don't worry, let's get on the plane, and I'll explain as we fly."

He took out a Capsule and transformed it into a plane.

Oolong was surprised and asked, "If you had a plane, why did you drive a car instead of flying?"

John Doe explained, "We didn't know what kind of enemies or attacks we'd encounter while gathering the Dragon Balls. If the plane was hit in the air, how could we safely land on the ground?"

"Now we don't have to worry about that. There's only one enemy left, and they've already collected all seven Dragon Balls, so they won't be on guard against us. We can chase them in the plane."

Just as John Doe and his friends were about to board the plane, Yamcha and Pu'er rushed over. Yamcha shouted, "Are you crazy? You let the enemy take the six Dragon Balls you worked so hard to gather!"

As soon as the handsome and wild Yamcha appeared, Bulma stared at him with stars in her eyes. Suddenly, she felt that she didn't need to wait a year to make a wish with the Dragon Balls; she had a potential partner right in front of her.

With this realization, Bulma eagerly grabbed Yamcha's arm and led him towards the plane, saying, "Don't worry, John Doe has a plan. Hey, handsome, do you want to make a wish with the Dragon Balls? Can you tell me what you wish for?"

"Even if we can't make a wish this time, it's okay. The Dragon Balls can grant wishes again in a year, so you don't need to worry too much."

Yamcha had rushed over because he was anxious about his wish being unfulfilled, but he hadn't considered Bulma's presence.

Now that Bulma had taken his arm, he felt stiff and blushed, his steps slow and rigid as Bulma led him onto the plane.

Pu'er followed behind, flying and worrying about Yamcha's behavior.

Yamcha was afraid of girls, but it was more of a psychological issue. With more exposure to girls, he could overcome this problem. So, after John Doe took off in the plane, it didn't take long for Yamcha to relax and recover from his nervousness, thanks to Bulma's friendly conversation.

Once Yamcha seemed more at ease with Bulma, she turned to John Doe and asked, "John Doe, tell us your plan. Why did you let the enemy take all the Dragon Balls?"

Everyone's attention turned to John Doe.

John Doe calmly asked, "I want to ask you, is there a difference between having six Dragon Balls and having one?"

They thought for a moment, and Yamcha replied, "There's no difference, but as long as we don't have all seven Dragon Balls, we can't summon Shenron."

"But now, because of you, the enemy has collected all seven Dragon Balls!" Bulma exclaimed anxiously.

John Doe continued his explanation, "Although we've gathered six Dragon Balls, the last one is clearly in the hands of a force that's also collecting Dragon Balls."

"Moreover, the Dragon Ball is protected within their castle or base. To take the last Dragon Ball from them, we'd have to break through their carefully designed defense traps."

"Obviously, even with Goku, Yamcha, and me, we're not invincible. There are many ways they could defeat us and take the Dragon Balls we've collected."

"So, to eliminate their home-field advantage, we need to lure them out while also gathering all seven Dragon Balls. How can we do that?"

After hearing John Doe's words, everyone started thinking, except for Goku, who looked around in confusion, not understanding what was happening.

Bulma hesitantly said, "You want them to gather all seven Dragon Balls and summon Shenron outside?"

John Doe nodded, praising Bulma, "You're right. To summon Shenron, they must leave the castle. We can defeat them when they summon Shenron and then make our wish directly."

Everyone understood John Doe's intention, which was to avoid fighting the enemy on their home turf and instead have them summon Shenron for us.

Yamcha hesitated and asked, "How can you be sure we can defeat them?"

John Doe smiled and said, "If they were truly powerful, they wouldn't have let us gather six Dragon Balls!"

Hearing John Doe's words, Yamcha understood and felt more relaxed.

At that moment, Yamcha thought of another question, "But Shenron can only grant one wish. Whose wish will it be?"

Bulma spoke up, "We plan to make the wish for John Doe because he needs it the most. The Dragon Balls can grant wishes every year, so we don't need to worry."

"What about you? What do you wish for?"

Hearing Bulma's question, Yamcha blushed and said softly, "I want to ask Shenron to help me not be afraid of girls anymore."

"Huh?" Bulma was speechless at Yamcha's wish.

John Doe said, "Yamcha, your fear of girls is a psychological issue. Shenron can't help you with that because it's part of your personality. If Shenron changes your personality, you won't be Yamcha anymore."

Bulma added, "Yes, you can spend more time with girls. The more you interact with them, the less afraid you'll be. Like me!" Bulma said the last part with a shy expression.