After deciding to travel to the Dragon Ball world to retrieve the Dragon Balls, Souta began researching the series online.
Although he had watched it before, it had been too long, and he had forgotten many details.
Through his search, he discovered that summoning Shenron to revive someone actually had limitations.
For example, in the early settings, there was a rule that someone who had been dead for more than a year couldn't be revived.
Fortunately, Setsuna had only been dead for three months, so they were still within the limit.
However... the Dragon Ball world was kind of dangerous.
In Dragon Ball 1, things weren't too crazy, and the villainous bosses were only capable of destroying cities.
By Dragon Ball Z, though, there were already beings capable of destroying entire planets.
And as the series progressed, it got even more absurd—by the end, there was Zeno, who could erase entire universes in an instant.
Out of the 18 universes in Dragon Ball, this guy had already erased six just because he was angry.
Souta shared these details with Altair, Kurumi, and Kiss-Shot.
As expected, the three of them all wore blank expressions.
"Wait a minute!" Kurumi interjected. "Didn't you say last time that Dragon Ball only had planet-destroying threats? How did it escalate to universe-destroying beings?"
Souta replied, "I said back then that a power level of 20,000 was enough to destroy a planet. I never said that was the limit."
Altair, listening to their conversation, felt her eye twitch.
Were they really planning to steal the Dragon Balls?
Were they sure they weren't just going to... get themselves killed?
Was it still too late to choose Rinne Tensei instead?
Souta noticed Altair's expression and chuckled.
"I'm just giving you a heads-up about the dangers of that world so you'll stay cautious. It's not like we're actually going to fight planet- or universe-destroying enemies. What are you so worried about?"
He pointed at the anime playing on his laptop screen and continued,
"We're going to a point in time when Kid Goku was active and take the Dragon Balls from Old King Piccolo. If you think about it, the difficulty isn't too high."
Souta figured that with Altair, Kiss-Shot, Kurumi, and himself working together, this should be manageable.
Altair's combat power was somewhat vague since her abilities leaned more towards conceptual manipulation, making it difficult to quantify.
But Kiss-Shot? She had claimed she could destroy an entire country with a single kick.
If she could leap from Japan to Antarctica in one bound, her strength had to be insane.
In pure physical combat, she should at least be on par with Old King Piccolo.
And with him and Kurumi using sneaky time-stopping tactics, there shouldn't be a problem stealing the Dragon Balls.
Yeah, this should be solid.
Even if something went wrong, Souta wasn't too worried.
After all, he still had a trump card—
He could use his Material Creation ability to generate antimatter. If it collided with air... BOOM.
That would be a very effective last resort.
Of course, the energy release would be completely uncontrollable.
It would be a mutually assured destruction type of move.
But with his regeneration ability, he should be able to survive a few rounds of explosions... probably.
"By the way, Souta, I've got a question," Kurumi suddenly spoke up, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"You said that after we collect the Dragon Balls, we could just wish to become omnipotent gods ourselves, right? Would that work?"
Kurumi's voice was filled with curiosity and excitement.
"If that works, we could just revive Setsuna ourselves."
"...You're overthinking it." Souta shook his head. "The Shenron summoned by the Dragon Balls isn't all-powerful. There are Super Dragon Balls, though, which are said to be able to grant any wish."
"Any wish?" Kiss-Shot, who had been silently listening, suddenly chimed in. She seemed intrigued. "I suggest we go after these Super Dragon Balls. It sounds fun."
"...Seriously?" Souta sighed. "Each Super Dragon Ball is as big as a planet. Even if we found them, could you carry them?"
He waved a hand dismissively. "Alright, enough with the unrealistic ideas. Here, take the laptop and review the story details. We're basically stealing food from a tiger's mouth here, so we need to gather proper intel."
He handed the laptop to Altair, Kurumi, and Kiss-Shot.
Meanwhile, he pulled out his phone and started researching Old King Piccolo, formulating a strategy in his mind.
A sudden thought struck him.
"If we take the Dragon Balls out of the Dragon Ball world, will they still work?"
If they didn't, he would've wasted his points for nothing.
The system quickly responded:
[Yes. Friends Group members have a system-provided 'Worldview Integration' function, which allows different fictional settings to merge and influence each other. This is why Kurumi can use Date A Live's Space Quakes in other worlds. If a Friends Group member uses the Dragon Balls, Shenron will be summoned in Re:CREATORS' world due to this function. However, if someone outside the group tries to use them, they won't work.]
"Worldview Integration function..."
Souta was momentarily stunned, then grinned in excitement.
"That's actually a really useful ability."
And so, time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, several hours had passed.
The sun was now starting to set.
After reading through the materials, the four of them were ready to set off for the Dragon Ball world.
Souta had already exchanged his points for a World Travel Card.
Altair, Kurumi, and Kiss-Shot were standing around him, watching him closely.
Seeing their expectant gazes, Souta gave his final instructions:
"Remember, once we get there, we must end things quickly. As soon as the battle is over, we return to reality. No lingering around."
"You're worried... that we might attract the attention of powerful beings?" Kurumi asked with slight concern.
"Probably not," Souta reassured her. "People in Dragon Ball have insane battle power, but... how do I put it? They kinda suck at general abilities. It feels like all they know how to do is fight. There's even a guy who can destroy planets but dies from a heart disease."
"So it's unlikely we'll get noticed. This is just a precaution to avoid any unexpected trouble. Alright, let's get this started."
Kurumi's eyes sparkled as she smiled and immediately pressed herself against Souta.
Kiss-Shot followed next.
Altair sighed softly as she watched the scene unfold.
She was already getting used to this.
"System, use the World Travel Card."
"Target time: One minute before Old King Piccolo gathers all seven Dragon Balls."
"Target location: The battlefield where he fought Master Roshi—where Roshi used the Evil Containment Wave."
As soon as Souta finished speaking, a bright light engulfed the four of them.
When he reopened his eyes, the first thing he saw was an open, grassy plain.
The ground beneath him felt soft, and when he looked down, he saw lush green grass.
In the distance, strange rock formations resembling towering stone pillars jutted out across the landscape.
A truly bizarre environment.
Altair's voice suddenly rang out, tinged with tension.
"I can sense a very strong energy signature nearby!"