Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Price of Knowledge

​The heavy stone gates of Zuno’s palace loomed before us, radiating an ancient, timeless power that made the very air feel thick and difficult to inhale. Unlike the high-tech, sterile corridors of the Galactic Patrol Headquarters, this place belonged to an older, stranger era of the cosmos—a sanctuary detached from ordinary laws and mortal concerns.

​Jaco trailed close behind me, his boots clicking frantically against the paved pathway, his small hands twitching near his laser pistol. Every fiber of his alien nervous system was screaming that we were somewhere we had no business being.

​"I still don't get it," Jaco hissed under his breath, his voice cracking slightly as he darted nervous glances at the shadows around us. "I checked every single active directive, every sub-clause in the patrol manual. There is no official mission that grants us clearance to audit the universe's ultimate informant! What are we even doing here, Krillin?!"

​I didn't break my stride, keeping my gaze fixed on the grand double doors of the inner sanctum. "Consider it a high-level intelligence gathering operation, Jaco. Trust me, the Commander will thank us later."

​"The Commander is going to have us court-martialed and spaced!" Jaco whimpered, clutching his head in panic.

​Before he could spiral further into a bureaucratic meltdown, the massive doors groaned open. Standing on either side of the threshold were two towering, imposing guards clad in ornate, ceremonial armor, brandishing polearms that hummed with volatile, concentrated energy. Their sharp, unblinking gazes locked onto us instantly.

​"Halt," the left guard commanded, his deep, resonant voice vibrating straight through the stone floor. "Mortals have no business within the domain of Zuno without a pre-scheduled audience. State your purpose or turn back immediately."

​Jaco froze, completely paralyzed by the sheer intimidation factor, opening and closing his mouth like a stranded fish.

​I stepped forward, my tall, commanding frame and the sharp black Galactic Patrol commander's jacket giving off an aura of absolute, unshakeable authority. I met the guard's gaze dead-on, letting just a fraction of my tightly suppressed ki bleed into the atmosphere.

​"Middle Commander Krillin of the Galactic Patrol," I said, my voice smooth, deep, and laced with absolute confidence. "We are conducting an urgent, high-priority state security inquiry regarding localized celestial anomalies. This matter requires an immediate audience with Zuno. Refusing us entry will directly impede an active interstellar investigation."

​The guards stared at me, their eyes narrowing as they weighed my words and felt the dense, refined power humming beneath my uniform. A tense, suffocating silence stretched across the courtyard as Jaco held his breath, waiting for us to be blasted into space dust.

​Finally, the right guard lowered his weapon just an inch. "State security... Very well. You may enter. But try anything foolish, and your clearance will be permanently revoked."

​The doors swung open entirely, revealing a vast, dimly lit hall adorned with floating scrolls, cosmic tapestries, and astronomical instruments that spun in perpetual, silent motion. At the far end of the chamber, sitting comfortably upon a grand, ornate chair, was Zuno—the all-knowing sage himself, looking as serene and detached as ever, sipping a cup of tea as if he were waiting for a casual afternoon guest.

​Jaco stumbled in behind me, his eyes wide as saucers as he took in the surreal opulence of the room. He leaned close to my ear, whispering in a frantic panic.

​"I can't believe they actually bought that..." Jaco muttered, his hands trembling. "And seriously, Krillin—what are we supposed to ask him? Zuno charges fortunes, or worse, he makes you go through the most humiliating etiquette trials just to answer a single question! We don't have time for this!"

​"Relax, Jaco. I know exactly what I'm doing," I replied quietly.

​I stepped past the rows of ancient pillars and walked right up to the dais where Zuno sat. The sage raised an eyebrow, setting his teacup down with a soft clink and looking up at me with an expression of mild, amused curiosity.

​"Ah. A Galactic Patrolman, and... a rather unusual human," Zuno spoke, his voice echoing smoothly across the grand hall. "It is not often that mortals with such altered timelines and heavy destinies wander into my domain. What could you possibly wish to know, Commander?"

​I didn't waste a single second on pleasantries.

​Stepping up the dais, I bypassed every formal rule of etiquette the sage typically demanded, leaned straight down, and planted a firm, deadpan kiss squarely on Zuno’s cheek.

​The entire hall went violently silent.

​Behind me, Jaco let out a shriek of pure, unadulterated horror, stumbling backward and tripping over his own boots. "K-RILLIN! Have you completely lost your mind?! You just assaulted the all-knowing sage! We're dead! We're both going to be erased from existence!"

​Zuno sat frozen, blinking rapidly, his cheek flushing with absolute shock as he recoiled slightly from the sheer audacity of my action. For a long, agonizing second, the guards at the entrance shifted their grips on their weapons, ready to execute us on the spot.

​Then, Zuno cleared his throat, adjusting his collar with a flustered expression.

​"Well..." Zuno muttered, clearing his throat again as a strange, bureaucratic protocol kicked in. "According to the ancient laws of my domain... a kiss upon the cheek grants the visitor one answer to any question they desire."

​I smiled, standing tall and crossing my arms over my black jacket. "Perfect. Where is the first Super Dragon Ball?"

​Zuno sighed, massaging his cheek. "The first Super Dragon Ball is currently drifting in the uncharted void between Universe 6 and Universe 7, near the ancient ruins of the Zero-Crest asteroid cluster."

​"Got it," I nodded.

​Before Zuno could even blink, I leaned down and planted another kiss on his other cheek.

​Zuno’s eyes bulged in disbelief. "Another?! You greedy mortal—!"

​"Where's the second one?" I asked smoothly.

​"The second Super Dragon Ball is lodged deep within the core of the barren planet Vampa!" Zuno snapped, his composure visibly cracking.

​Smack.

​"Third?" I asked, not missing a beat.

​"It's being used as a paperweight on the flagship of the interstellar trading conglomerate, the Champa Syndicate!" Zuno barked, his face turning bright red with indignation.

​"Fourth?"

​"Inside the frozen glaciers of the ice planet Rult!"

​"Fifth?"

​"Orbiting the decaying black hole of Sector 9!"

​"Sixth?"

​"In the private trophy vault of a rogue warlord in the outer rim!"

​"And the seventh?" I pressed, leaning in for one final, strategic kiss before Zuno could call his guards to throw us into the sun.

​Zuno threw his hands up in absolute defeat, glaring at me with a mix of fury and profound exhaustion. "The final Super Dragon Ball is currently hidden in plain sight, masquerading as the core energy source of the ancient prison moon of Gagalak! Now take your answers, get out of my sight, and never, ever touch my face again!"

​I offered a cheerful, polite bow, stepping back down from the dais. "Pleasure doing business with you, Zuno. You're a wealth of information."

​Jaco was still lying flat on his back on the stone floor, staring up at the ceiling in a state of catatonic shock, having completely short-circuited trying to process what he had just witnessed.

​"Come on, Jaco," I said, walking over and hooking him up by the collar of his uniform, dragging him toward the exit. "We got what we came for."

​As the heavy palace doors slammed shut behind us, locking away the bewildered sage, Jaco found his voice again, stammering frantically as we sprinted back toward our docked ship.

​"You... you kissed him! You kissed the all-knowing Zuno to bypass his payment system?! Who are you?! What kind of madman takes a shortcut like that?!"

​I climbed into the pilot's seat of the patrol ship, punching the newly acquired coordinates of the Super Dragon Balls into the navigational computer with a sharp, triumphant grin. The glowing blue interface mapped out the cosmic locations across the dual universes, setting the ultimate stage for what was to come.

​"Just a guy who likes to be prepared," I said, hitting the thrusters and sending the ship rocketing back into the stars.

​The pieces were finally falling into place. The cosmos was big, dangerous, and barreling toward a divine awakening—but I wasn't going to be a bystander anymore. I had the secrets, I had the power, and my new journey was only just beginning.