By the time Goku and the others reached the Lookout, Mr. Popo had been waiting for quite a while.
Looking at the now-child-sized Mr. Popo, Goku asked in confusion, "Wait, who are you? And where are Dende and Popo?"
Popo gave him a flat look. "I am Popo. Dende was taken away by a group of strange people."
"Strange people??"
"Yes. They had pointed ears. They likely came from the Demon Realm."
"The Demon Realm??" Goku tilted his head, puzzled.
Beside him, however, the Supreme Kai's expression changed instantly. "Did you say... the Demon Realm?? How can that be??"
Popo nodded. "That's right, the Demon Realm. One of them looked remarkably like you, Lord Supreme Kai."
"Oh, right. I believe he was called Degesu."
"What?? Degesu?? Are you sure his name was Degesu??" Shin was completely dumbfounded.
"Lord Supreme Kai, is something wrong??" Goku asked.
"That... is Lord Supreme Kai's younger brother," Kibito explained.
"Brother??"
"Yes, he is my brother," Shin said, looking down.
Popo continued, "There was also a short fellow named Gomah and a Namekian named Neva. That Namekian was able to manipulate the Dragon Balls directly."
"So, the wish that turned us small was their doing?"
"Yes, it was that short one who made the wish. Then, to ensure we couldn't use the Dragon Balls to change back, they took Dende with them."
Hearing this, Goku spoke up urgently, "Then what are we waiting for?? Let's go save Dende!"
The Supreme Kai shook his head. "It's not that simple. The Demon Realm is a special place; we cannot use Instant Transmission to get there."
"Then what do we do?? Dende is still in their hands!" Goku frowned at Shin.
"Kibito, return to the Sacred World of the Kai and bring the spaceship here. We will take the ship to the Demon Realm!"
"Understood, Lord Supreme Kai!"
Kibito vanished and reappeared an instant later, lifting a moss-covered spaceship over his head.
"Good work, Kibito."
The Supreme Kai looked at the dilapidated ship with a hint of nostalgia. This was the vessel he had used to travel to this universe a very long time ago. "It hasn't been used in ages. I'm not sure if it still works."
Shin pressed a button, opening the hatch, and stepped inside. He fiddled with the controls for a while, but the ship showed no reaction. He sighed in disappointment. "As I feared. It's no longer functional."
"Is this the ship??" Goku said. "If that's the case, we should just leave it to Bulma. I remember when we went to Planet Namek, she was the one who modified our ship."
"Kakarot is right," Vegeta added. "That woman will definitely be able to fix this."
Vegeta then gritted his teeth, his frustration bubbling over. "And I'm never going to forgive those bastards for turning me into this!"
"I see. Kibito, take us there."
"Certainly, Lord Supreme Kai!"
Using the ship as a focal point, Kibito transported the vessel along with Shin, Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo back to Capsule Corp.
Bulma was startled by the sudden appearance of the spaceship, then saw the child versions of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Shin climbing out of it.
"Huh? Goku, you're back already?? And what is this thing?"
"Ms. Bulma, this is the spaceship we need to reach the Demon Realm, but it's broken. We were hoping you could help us."
"The Demon Realm?"
"Yeah! The people from there are the ones who turned us into kids! They even kidnapped Dende!" Goku's voice rose with anger. Dende was the one he had brought to Earth; having him kidnapped right under his nose was a personal insult.
"Is that so? Well, leave it to me!" Bulma nodded, then turned and shouted toward the house. "Bulma! Get over here and help! We need to fix this ship ASAP so we can go on a tour of the Demon Realm!"
Supreme Kai & Kibito: "????"
A tour?? Did we hear that right?? Is your thinking really that far ahead?? Is Universe 7 not big enough for you anymore?
"Coming, coming!" Future Bulma called out as she approached.
She looked over the ship with interest. "The structure of this ship is actually quite fascinating."
Kibito explained, "Standard spaceships can't make the trip to the Demon Realm. It has to be this one."
As the two Bulmas worked their magic, it didn't take long for them to map out the ship's architecture. "Okay, we can fix it. But we'll need a few days."
Goku looked worried. "A few days?? Will Dende be okay until then??"
The Supreme Kai offered a comforting word. "Mr. Goku, you needn't worry about Dende's safety. Since they chose to kidnap him rather than kill him, they clearly have other plans for him."
Goku relaxed slightly. "Oh, I see."
"Then I guess we should use these next few days to get used to these bodies. Suddenly becoming this small is really disorienting..."
At that moment, Turles turned to the Supreme Kai. "By the way, are all people with pointed ears from the Demon Realm?"
Shin shook his head. "Not necessarily, but for the most part, yes. A long, long time ago, it became a trend for people to leave the Demon Realm to seek freedom or to conquer other planets. However, later on, after a large number of Demons escaped, migration was banned. Now, only those with official approval can freely enter or leave the Demon Realm."
"Is that so? The Demon Realm... sounds interesting."
The next few days passed in a flash. Goku and the others did their best to adapt to their smaller bodies, but due to the change in height, they still occasionally misjudged their attack range.
It was a source of constant frustration for the warriors.
Seeing this, Turles shook his head. I should probably restore them before we head to the Demon Realm. He didn't know much about this "Daimakai," and while they had safely cleared the events in the original story, he didn't want to hit any unexpected snags. He wasn't about to let things go south.
With that thought, a faint red light flashed in Turles' eyes.
In the next moment, to the joyous surprise of Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo, their bodies suddenly expanded, returning to their original adult forms.
"Huh?? Vegeta, we're back! How did this happen??"
"How should I know? But isn't it better this way? Now we won't have to worry about miscalculating our movements!"
Only Piccolo gave Turles a deep, knowing look. He had felt a trace of the Dragon God's Miracle Power radiating from him. Though it was only for a split second, he was certain Turles was the one behind it.
Feeling Piccolo's gaze, Turles smirked and decided to tease him.
"By the way, Piccolo... was King Piccolo's title as the 'Demon King' based on the rankings in the Demon Realm?"
Hearing this, Piccolo's face turned bright red. He possessed all of King Piccolo's memories, and looking back now, the idea of the "impressive" King Piccolo calling himself a Demon King with a power level of only 260 was nothing short of a joke.
It was a good thing people from the Demon Realm couldn't just leave whenever they wanted; otherwise, the original King Piccolo would have been finished long ago.