CHAPTER 6

c6: Earth, Here I Come

The sudden appearance of the advanced alien spaceship startled the Brief family just a little.

After all, the mysterious craft had flown over their home once before now, it had returned and was descending again.

"Dad, are those aliens?" young Bulma asked, wide-eyed as she pointed to the spacecraft outside.

"It looks that way," replied Dr. Brief, adjusting his glasses calmly while observing the sleek Saiyan pod design.

"Why are aliens landing in our backyard?" Bulma's mother, Panchy (often called Brigitte in alternate translations), tilted her head curiously while admiring the gleaming metallic hull.

"I'm not sure," Dr. Brief admitted. "Let's just hope they aren't hostile…"

"Da-da-da!"

Bulma bolted from the window and ran inside the house. Moments later, she returned carrying a handheld device—a compact, laser blaster she had designed herself.

"Bulma, relax. I'm here. I'll protect you," Dr. Brief assured her with a chuckle. "Besides, extraterrestrial lifeforms may not be aggressive. It's possible they've come for exploration… maybe even tourism."

"Still, just in case. My gun's got serious firepower!" Bulma nodded with confidence, her voice filled with childlike bravado.

Creak…

The spaceship hatch slowly opened.

Vegeta stepped out first, with Lu Fan following right behind.

"Aliens?" Bulma blinked in confusion. "Wait… they look just like us. And they're so short!"

Dr. Brief remained quiet, watching them carefully.

"Hmph. So this is Earth?" Vegeta glanced around and scoffed. "The atmosphere's decent, and gravity seems manageable."

He gave the surroundings a quick scan before his eyes landed on Bulma and her family.

"Greetings," Lu Fan stepped forward and spoke politely. "We come from the distant Planet Vegeta. My name is Lu Fan and this is Prince Vegeta."

"Tch." Vegeta snorted, folding his arms and scowling. He looked away, clearly unimpressed.

Why bother introducing themselves to Earthlings?

Lu Fan, you're wasting your breath.

"They really are aliens," Bulma said excitedly. "They look a lot like us Earthlings, just… smaller."

"We're only smaller because we're still children," Lu Fan explained with a friendly smile.

"Huh? You mean we're the same age? How old are you?" Bulma tilted her head, intrigued.

"Five years old," Lu Fan replied, holding up five fingers.

"I'm five too! So we're the same age!" Bulma grinned.

"My, that's incredible," Dr. Brief said with a sigh of admiration. "Aliens crossing galaxies at only five years old… are you here on a family mission? Tourism, perhaps?"

"Hmph. Tourism? How ridiculous," Vegeta scoffed from the side. "We're here to conquer this planet."

Whack!

Lu Fan couldn't take it anymore.

In a flash, he appeared behind Vegeta and delivered a sharp chop to the back of his neck.

Vegeta didn't even have time to react—his body crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

In the instant before blacking out, Vegeta's mind screamed—

What the hell!?

Didn't I just promise myself I'd pound this guy after we landed?

And now he attacked me first!?

Again!?

This bastard…

I swear…

Just wait. Wait until I wake up.

I'll show you what payback looks like.

"He was just joking don't take him too seriously," Lu Fan said with a calm smile, trying to ease the tension.

"You're just five years old and already talking about invading Earth? That's childish!" Bulma huffed, lifting her newly assembled laser gun. "This gun is really strong, you know!"

"This is the prince of our planet," Lu Fan explained quickly, gesturing to the unconscious Vegeta. "He's likely exhausted from the space journey. I hope you'll forgive his behavior."

"Wait prince?" Bulma wiped her brow, squinting skeptically. "If he's really a prince and acts like that, then your planet must be in serious trouble..."

"You're not wrong," Lu Fan nodded solemnly. "Our race has many issues. Honestly, there may only be a handful of Saiyans left in the future."

Bulma looked surprised at how straightforward and reasonable he was.

"You're pretty easy to talk to," she said, her guard dropping as she smiled. Then she asked curiously, "So if he's a prince, what does that make you?"

"I'm His Highness the Prince's sparring partner," Lu Fan replied casually.

"Sparring partner?" Bulma blinked, not expecting that answer.

"In other words, I'm his training partner a kind of follower," Lu Fan added with a grin, flashing a row of white teeth.

Bulma: "…"

Dr. Brief: "…"

Panchy: "…"

The three members of the Brief family stared in stunned silence.

A follower…?

You, who just knocked out your prince with a single blow?

That's the first time we've seen such an anti-authority follower. How bizarre…

"What exactly are you doing here?" Dr. Brief finally asked, pushing up his glasses. "Are you really here for tourism? If so, I could offer to be your guide. I know this planet like the back of my hand."

"Where is your warehouse?" Lu Fan asked directly.

"Warehouse?" Dr. Brief was confused for a moment.

That was a sudden change of topic…

Why are you asking about my warehouse?

Still, he didn't press for an explanation. He simply pointed toward a small building nearby.

"Over there."

"Thanks." Lu Fan nodded and walked toward it.

Creak…!

The heavy door of the warehouse opened with a groan.

Bulma trailed after him curiously.

Why's he going into our storage building?

Sure, most of the stuff in there is old junk, but still—it belongs to our family.

Snap!

Suddenly, invisible waves of energy surged from Lu Fan's palm.

Dozens of objects inside the warehouse began to float into the air, suspended by telekinetic force.

Behind him, Bulma's eyes widened in shock.

"Wha?!"

With ease, Lu Fan mentally sifted through the items, identifying a small orange orb among the floating debris.

It was a Two-Star Dragon Ball—one of the legendary seven artifacts said to summon the eternal dragon, Shenron.

"Got it." Lu Fan reached out and pulled the orb into his palm.

Whoosh!

The Dragon Ball flew into Lu Fan's hand as if drawn by a magnetic pull.

"Hey, do you have some kind of psychic ability?" Bulma finally snapped out of her awe.

"It's not a special ability—it's just advanced energy control," Lu Fan replied with a small smile.

"That's amazing…" Bulma's expression softened into admiration.

After retrieving the Dragon Ball, Lu Fan returned to Dr. Brief and held it up.

"Doctor, I've heard you're the greatest scientist on Earth."

"Haha… You're making me blush," Dr. Brief chuckled modestly, clearly pleased.

This kid's got manners, he thought.

"But you're absolutely right. I am the most brilliant and accomplished scientist on this planet," he added with pride, adjusting his glasses as his tone turned serious.

"This item I'm holding is called a Dragon Ball. There are seven of them, scattered all over Earth. Can you help me create a device that can track them—a Dragon Radar?"

At last, Lu Fan revealed his true reason for coming to Earth.

He was here to collect all seven Dragon Balls.

He had even told Vegeta during their journey: the Saiyans' greatest weakness is their inability to survive in space.

No matter how strong a warrior is, if their homeworld is destroyed, they have no place to return to, and no means to survive in the vacuum of space without divine intervention or advanced tech.

That's why Lu Fan had one wish in mind.

He wanted to use Shenron's power…

To gain the ability to survive in the universe without the need for oxygen or atmosphere.

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