Piccolo swallowed hard and asked,
"How do we know you're telling the truth?"
Kaito shrugged, and in the next instant, he suddenly vanished from where he stood—reappearing right in front of Goku and Piccolo.
Before either of them could even react, Kaito extended two fingers and lightly tapped both of their foreheads.
All the information about Saiyans instantly flooded into their minds.
By the time they came back to their senses, Kaito had already put on a pair of black-rimmed glasses, his entire demeanor shifting to something mild and harmless.
No one could possibly imagine that this unassuming young man held enough power to destroy a planet within that body.
Still caught up in the stream of new memories, Goku murmured,
"A warrior race... I'm a Saiyan?"
Adjusting his glasses, Kaito replied casually,
"Don't just stand there in a daze. You'd better start training. You've only got a year left, you know?"
With that, Kaito's figure flickered—and he disappeared from sight.
...
Meanwhile, on another planet, Vegeta was practically trembling with excitement as he shouted to Nappa,
"Nappa! Did you hear that? There are Dragon Balls on Earth—things that can grant immortality!"
Nappa scratched his shiny bald head in confusion.
"Dragon Balls? What's that?"
"Heh. All you need to know is that they can make us immortal! Raditz mentioned Namekians before he died—those Dragon Balls must be connected to them!"
"But what about that unknown enemy? He won't be easy to deal with!"
"Then we'll just transform if we have to! For the Dragon Balls, it'll be worth the risk!"
Vegeta didn't even bother finishing his conquest of the planet they had just taken. He immediately flew toward his space pod.
Nappa hesitated for a moment, then followed right after.
...
Back on Earth, Kaito had returned to school, continuing to enjoy his peaceful campus life—completely unconcerned about how the Dragon Ball world was about to change because of him.
Since Goku hadn't died in this battle, it was uncertain whether he'd ever meet King Kai.
Of course, if Goku couldn't defeat Vegeta when the time came, Kaito would step in. After all, he still planned to stick around this world for a while.
It's worth mentioning that, after school that day, Lazuli appeared at the door of Kaito's classroom.
The boys in class immediately lit up at the sight of her, but what happened next completely shattered their hearts.
Lazuli walked straight up to Kaito, completely ignoring the group of girls gathered around him, and said,
"Kaito-kun, want to walk home together?"
Naturally, Kaito didn't refuse. He smiled and nodded.
The two of them left the classroom together under the envious gazes of everyone watching.
On the way home, Lazuli suddenly asked,
"Kaito, when we first met, you called me 'Eighteen.' Why did you call me that? Does it have some special meaning?"
"Hmm... I forgot," Kaito replied with a faint smile. "Maybe I just like the number eighteen."
"Tch! That's your excuse? So mysterious for no reason!"
"Believe it or not. Anyway, I'll keep calling you Eighteen from now on. How's that?"
"Such a weird name... but if you like it, go ahead."
"Haha, you're pretty easygoing. Oh, by the way—what about your brother?"
"He's out riding his motorcycle. It's too noisy for me; I don't like it."
"Is he even old enough to ride one?"
"He's eighteen, okay? What, don't tell me you're not?"
"Actually, by age, you should be calling me uncle."
Eighteen blinked, then burst into laughter.
"What are you talking about? You look younger than my brother!"
Kaito could only shake his head helplessly. He was telling the truth, but if she didn't believe him, there wasn't much he could do.
When they reached a fork in the road, Eighteen suddenly said,
"Kaito, can you take off your glasses?"
Kaito nodded, taking off the bookish-looking black frames and revealing a pair of golden eyes.
Even with the light in them restrained, those eyes still gleamed brilliantly, giving him an indescribably noble air.
Eighteen stared at his eyes in awe and whispered,
"Even prettier than when I saw you on the basketball court... your eyes are like works of art."
Kaito chuckled teasingly,
"That exaggerated, huh? Want me to dig them out for you to take a closer look?"
Eighteen shot him a playful glare, then smiled softly. She bent forward slightly, hands clasped behind her back.
"Stop joking around. Thanks for walking me this far. You should head back now."
"Huh? Head back where?"
"To your uncle the principal's house, of course. You've been walking the wrong way for a while, you know?"
"Uh..."
Only then did Kaito remember his current identity—nephew of the school principal, known for being that student with connections.
Eighteen poked his chest with her finger and said with a grin,
"What, you forgot where you live? It's getting late—go on home. See you tomorrow, Kaito-kun!"
Kaito nodded and smiled.
"See you tomorrow. Be careful on your way back."
"Mm."
The two of them parted ways at the intersection.
Neither of them noticed the fingernail-sized insect perched on a nearby tree trunk, its compound eyes reflecting Eighteen's figure.
...
Deep underground, inside a dimly lit research facility, an old man with graying hair sat before several large screens.
On the screens were three photographs—Kaito, Seventeen, and Eighteen.
This old man was none other than the last remnant of the Red Ribbon Army—Dr. Gero.
Staring intently at Kaito's photo, he muttered to himself,
"Who on earth is this guy? Even Goku and Piccolo seemed nervous in his presence... it seems his power is extraordinary."
Then, shifting his gaze to the photos of Seventeen and Eighteen, he sneered,
"No matter how strong he is, he can't possibly match the power of androids. These twin siblings are the perfect raw materials for my creations. Once they're complete, I'll use them to conquer the entire world!"
As he spoke, Dr. Gero grew so excited that even snot dripped from his nose.
To be fair, the man truly was a genius—his research on androids was groundbreaking even by universal standards.
But when it came to controlling them, he was an absolute fool.
Almost every android he ever made ignored his commands entirely.
And yet, he still believed he could threaten Seventeen and Eighteen with a remote control.
He never considered that his finger might not move faster than they could.
So really, when his head finally exploded—he only had himself to blame.