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I (Broly) spent 500 points to trade for some half-busted contraption that wasn't even airtight, shoved Salza inside, and the thing immediately locked him down like a vice. It didn't do anything fancy, but damn was it sturdy—almost on par with the so-called "hardest alloy in the universe."
Then, looking at the points I'd saved up, I splurged another 1,000 on an oversized Spirit Tree Fruit. I tossed it in as the machine's power source and as backup energy to keep Salza from dying.
Once I left Earth and drifted into space, a personal forcefield—my own design—flared to life, sealing me off from the vacuum. After that, I stuffed Salza's metal cocoon into a floating asteroid, reinforced it so it wouldn't smash into anything, and left it there.
As for how he's supposed to breathe out there? Not my problem. All he has to do is not die before the Spirit Tree Fruit is drained. That's the only requirement.
And so began his exile—drifting endlessly through the silent void.
No sight, no sound, no air. Nothing but touch and bare consciousness trapped in the darkness. He couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't even die. All he could do was float through space until the Spirit Tree Fruit finally ran dry.
Except a fruit used purely to preserve life doesn't deplete quickly. A few decades is the bare minimum. That was the "gratitude" he earned for provoking me—and worse, for touching my reverse scale without knowing life from death.
Honestly, it was just bad luck. On any other day, I might've tortured him for a few minutes, let him taste something worse than death, then finished him off.
But this idiot had to cross me right after I'd spent a whole day shopping with the girls and was already in a terrible mood…
…
Once I was done handling Salza, I warped back to the girls. Bulma and the other three were smart enough not to bring him up again.
When we finally got home, I wasn't tired anymore.
"When your husband says he's going to punish you, he means it. And trust me—I'm going to punish you properly."
I scooped Maron up and charged straight inside. Seeing this rough, overbearing side of me made her go weak all over. She melted in my arms instantly.
She wasn't stupid—she knew I had been angry. I'd just held it back because she admitted fault fast enough, apologized sincerely, and was normally the sweetest and most obedient of the girls. But if something like this happened again… she wasn't sure I'd stay so calm next time.
She swore to herself that she would never let it happen again. And the same thought flashed through the minds of the other three.
Anyway, that night was easily the happiest night I'd had in twenty years. Not even close. I almost wished the sun would never rise.
...
The next morning when I woke up, the girls—who'd been wild the whole night—were still fast asleep. I dropped a light kiss on each of their cheeks before getting up to start my morning training. Habit is habit.
Not long after I stepped into the training room, a thought struck me.
I asked the system mutt about Mission Ring Four.
"Boss, the fourth mission was supposed to unlock next year. But since the enemy's power jump this time is way too big, I was planning to release it early anyway!"
System: Continuous Mission 4/6 — Kill the super Namekian, Slug, who will arrive on Earth two years from now in his restored youth. Completing this mission will automatically unlock the next.
Reward for Ring Four: Destiny-Bound Love Threads (x4), 80,000 points.
"Slug, huh? Yeah, his power spike is pretty big. This enemy sounds like he might actually be fun."
"....."