in all the junk that was lying around ... but he quickly dismissed the thought, gave There are enough harmless-looking objects in God's palace that could have unexpected side effects ...
<br />
The sun was already low in the west when Piccolo remembered what Gohan would probably enjoy the most.
<br />
<br />
"I mustn't waste any time," he muttered, getting up and flying quickly towards civilization.
<br />
Bulma was amazed when her mother knocked on the door and told her that she had a visitor."It's one of your green friends, the curmudgeon who never wanted to play golf."
<br />
"Piccolo?", Bulma put the book down and ran down to the reception room, where Piccolo was waiting impatiently for her.
<br />
<br />
"I need the Dragon Ball radar," he said curtly, without long introductory phrases.
<br />
"You want to get the Dragon Balls?", Bulma frowned. "What do you want to wish for?"
<br />
“Nothing that would be your business.” Piccolo was obviously uncomfortable with the conversation. He wanted to get over his appearance as supplicant as quickly as possible.
<br />
<br />
Bulma put her fists on her hips. "Nothing there. First of all, you explain to me what you want with the Dragon Balls, then I'll give you the radar ... maybe."
<br />
<br />
"I want to call Shen Long, of course," Piccolo snapped angrily. "Give me the radar or I'll ..."
<br />
"Or what? You can turn the whole house upside down by yourself, but you won't find one because my father disassembled the last one because he needed a few parts for a new invention."<br />
<br />
"Damn!"
<br />
Piccolo's disappointed face did not leave Bulma indifferent.
<br />
<br />
"I can build a new one for you at any time," she assured me. Piccolo's face lit up. Bulma raised her index finger, "But only when I know what you want for yourself."
<br />
"All right," Piccolo growled and explained it to her.
<br />
<br />
"This is a brilliant idea," said Bulma. "Gohan is going to freak out for joy."
<br />
“Do you think so?” Piccolo's face showed a movement that Bulma had never seen him before, almost childlike eagerness mixed with uncertainty and anticipation.
<br />
<br />
"Absolutely. I'll get on with it right away. You can wait here or meditate a little in the garden." She turned around and hurried towards the workshop.
<br />
Piccolo looked around. "Isn't Vegeta here?"
<br />
<br />
Bulma had turned her back on him, so he couldn't see her blushing and brushing her stomach with one hand. "He took my father's spaceship to continue training somewhere in space."<br />
<br />
"And yam-chu?"
<br />
<br />
"I haven't heard from him for a long time, he and Poo wanted to go to the desert to train there."
<br />
<br />
"Oh ...", Piccolo looked at the clock, hanging on the wall diagonally opposite. "It will take a long time."
<br />
"You will have to be patient for about an hour or two," laughed Bulma and scurried out the door.
<br />
<br />
Piccolo suppressed a sigh and sat on the visitor sofa with his arms crossed. Every hour seemed precious to him, after all, there was no telling how long it would take to get all the Dragon Balls together. Then it occurred to him that there was still something else he had to do ... Better now, before he started looking. Piccolo slid off the sofa onto the carpet and took up a meditation position. Just as he was ready to banish everything around him from his thoughts, the door flew open and Bulma's father stormed in, holding a beetle-like robot in his hands. "Look Bulma what shorts I made!"He almost ran into Piccolo in his hurry.
<br />
<br />
"Oh ... we have visitors!" He adjusted his glasses and frowned. "Wait a minute, you're one of those Namekians ... the one who never wanted to play golf, right? Piccolino, or something ..."
<br />
"Piccolo," corrected the addressee, slightly annoyed. "Who is Shorts?"
<br />
The Capsule Corps chief beamed at him. "My future grandson," he said in a voice that burst with pride. "And this is his seventeenth toy. The Käferbot." He held the robot under Piccolo's nose. "What do you think he will like him?"
<br />
<br />
Without being able to say exactly why, a chill ran down Piccolo's spine. "I thought the children of you Earthlings are more into conventional stuff, like airplanes, teddy bears, picture books, trains, fire engines ..."
<br />
The future grandfather scratched his chin. "Hmm ... you might be right. If Shorts also inherits Bulma's genius, he'll be able to build his own robots."<br />
"Did Bulma choose that name?" Piccolo asked carefully.
<br />
The old man gave a slightly embarrassed laugh. "No, she hasn't made up her mind yet. But shorts sound good, right?"
<br />
<br />
Piccolo wasn't quite sure how much to say about it, so he just shrugged. "I just thought something with a T at the beginning would be cooler."
<br />
Bulma's father tugged at his mustache. "T, hmmm ... I would have to make a list first. Excuse me. T-shirt, trainers, tie, thong ..." he mumbled to himself, while he was carrying the bug under his arm trudged out of the room.
<br />
"Quiet at last," Piccolo growled, collecting his thoughts. He had almost managed to immerse himself in meditation when it hummed again and the door slid open.
<br />
<br />
"But why are you sitting on the floor?" Asked Bulma's mother, astonished, while balancing a tray with cake, a carafe of water and tea. She managed to put the tray on the coffee table without breaking anything.“I thought it would be very boring to wait for Bulma alone like that.” She poured water into one of the teacups and handed it to Piccolo. "So I'll keep you company until she comes back. Since we haven't seen each other in a long time, there's a lot to talk about. You don't mind if I have a piece of cake with my tea? I would also offer one, but I still know that you Namekers don't need to eat. "She sat down on the sofa and poured herself tea. "Since you have trained with Gokou and Gohan, you will surely be able to tell me how they are doing. Has Gohan grown a bit again? But what do I ask, of course he has grown, after all, he is Gokou's son and I still remember how Gokou looked as a little boy ... "
<br />
<br />
Piccolo writhed inwardly as he took a long swig and looked for a way to escape.Through his previous stay here, he had learned that no answer, no matter how rude, could stop the sunny chatter of Bulma's mother and so he surrendered to his fate by simply grumbling in agreement and nodding from time to time. After he had tipped three cups of water and was almost about to sink into a trance despite the monologue from Bulma's mother, the door slid open again and a somewhat sweaty but laughing Bulma entered, holding a brand new Dragon Ball Radar in her hand.
<br />
<br />
Piccolo had seldom been so pleased to see someone. With a fluid movement he got up and went to meet her. "Does it work?"
<br />
<br />
"Of course!" Hissed Bulma. “Who do you think you're up against?” She handed him the radar and collapsed onto the sofa next to her mother. Piccolo press the button and the radar actually began to beep, the first bright green dot appeared at the top.<br />
"Be careful with it," Bulma admonished as she escorted him out. “We'll meet at the party.” She hesitated for a moment. "Do me a favor, my mother must have been babbling, but be so good and don't tell anyone I'm pregnant. Although," she frowned, "Gokou made a strange remark back then ... it may be that he found out about the boy from the future? "
<br />
<br />
A drop of sweat appeared on Piccolo's forehead. * Actually, it couldn't hurt anymore, but who knows, better she won't find out yet *, he thought quickly and pretended that he had missed her last comment. "I'll shut up, but you mustn't tell Gohan or the others anything about my plan, I don't want to disappoint the guy if it doesn't work out ..."
<br />
Bulma's face lit up. "Rely on me, I can be as silent as a grave. Good luck with your search." With a last fleeting nod, Piccolo flew north away.<br />
<br />
.....
<br />
<br />
According to the radar, the Dragon Ball was in a very dense forest area. Once Piccolo had narrowed the radius, he floated down to the ground and began digging through the bushes for the orange ball. It was late afternoon when he finally found her between the branches of a thorny bush. Three stars glittered in it. Now it occurred to him that he couldn't carry all the balls in his hand and he flew to the next town, where he more or less kindly persuaded an intimidated department store owner to give him a sports bag with a 100% discount. He stowed the first ball in it and went to look for the next Dragon Ball further north.
<br />
<br />
............
<br />
<br />
Ramagi, the Irider who had challenged Piccolo, hovered over a field not far from Gokou's house and waited ...
<br />
<br />
<br />
End of part 1<br />