Bulma's Trying to Make Another Time Machine! More Time Travel in The Next Saga of 'Dragon Ball Super'?

SPOILERS for Dragon Ball Super follow:

Despite the episode being quite forgettable since it was more of a one-shot episode, there was one notable plot thread that quite a few fans failed to pick up on and it could have major implications for the next major story arc on Dragon Ball Super. If you don't recall last week's episode, here's a brief recap.

Episode 69 "Come Forth Shenron! Whose Wish Will Be Granted?!"

Most of last week's episode focused on several side characters attempting to have their wishes granted by Shenron. It was Goku who initially gathered the Dragon Balls to wish King Kai back to life through Shenron's wish but others started dropping in and requesting to have their own wishes granted, rather than reviving King Kai. Quite selfish to want to have their wishes for wanton desires granted when King Kai has been dead since the "Cell Saga". Luckily, Bulma arrived to save the day by granting everyone's wishes with her extensive bank account, giving everyone what they wished for. Bulma was even able to lend some heartwarming words to No.18 when No.18 had no idea of what kind of present Krillin would like.

Some would argue that Bulma has been one of the most superficial characters on Dragon Ball since its conception but when we look at how her intentions have changed over the progression of the series, she's clearly being given more depth despite not being capable of participating in any of the major battles that take place. Regardless of Bulma's selfless actions to grant everyone's wishes, it was her own personal vendetta in Episode 69 which is of much more intrigue.

Is Bulma making another time machine?

The reason why Bulma decided on granting everyone's wishes was to get them out of the way so she could wish for what she wanted / needed. Throughout the episode, Bulma was searching for a mysterious substance, one that would power another Time Machine. For some reason, Bulma is trying to create another time Machine but lacks the main ingredient which allows for time travel so she thinks of wishing for it from Shenron, which leads to Bulma having to grant the wishes of others before her wish can be granted.

Fortunately for Bulma, she didn't need Shenron after all. Goku was able to travel to the Earth's core to obtain the substance Bulma needed and return with it. However, upon return with the mysterious substance, Goku and Bulma were confronted by Whis and Beerus. Apparently, Beerus and Whis caught wind of what Bulma was up to and came to put a stop to it.

Time travel is a major offense in the world of Dragon Ball and Bulma persisted in her goal of creating another time machine despite knowing that there are grave consequences to manipulating time. Unfortunately but fortunately for Bulma, she wasn't punished by Beerus for attempting to time travel again but her time machine was instantly destroyed by Beerus to ensure she wouldn't attempt to create another one.

Why was Bulma trying to make another time machine?

For now, the prospect of Bulma creating another time machine can be put on hold but it raises the very important question of "why Bulma was making another time machine at all?". It seems as if all the future timelines have been closed out so there's no need to time travel anymore and Future Trunks has apparently returned to his era which removes the need for Bulma to revisit Future Trunks, unless.

There's a small chance that Future Trunks and Future Mai didn't return to their timeline when it appeared as if the Zamasu / Black Goku saga had been resolved. If we consider Zen-Oh destroying the future timeline as canon within Dragon Ball Super, Future Trunks' timeline doesn't exist anymore, period. There's no going back to it for Future Trunks which is why they've traveled somewhere else and Bulma needs a time machine to look for them. Purely speculative for the moment, but when we consider Future Trunks warning Bulma of his timeline potentially being erased from existence, Bulma could be required to look for Future Trunks as he and Future Mai will be displaced in time. However, Bulma's mission to create another time machine could stem from another completely unrelated cause.

Could another alien threat be on its way to Earth?

The other possibility for why Bulma is creating another time machine has to do with Future Trunks warning her of another oncoming threat to Earth which would call for the Z-Fighters to be prepared for it. But knowing Bulma, she's decided to take it upon herself to go to the future and see what happens - in order to prevent it from ever happening.

There are so many problems with time travel and continuity in general that it would seem like Dragon Ball would refrain from over-utilizing the concept but it appears as if time travel is going to continue to be a relevant element used in the anime.

Dragon Ball Super just concluded a massive story arc that utilized time travel multiple times so it's logical to assume that time travel would be placed to the side for the time being but when we account for Bulma attempting to make another time machine, some aspect of time travel is bound to come up in the near future. At that point, whatever takes place in the future will directly effect the next (undetermined) saga of Dragon Ball Super.

Why was Bulma trying to make another time machine? Was it for a selfish reason or is it possible Trunks from the future warned Bulma of another oncoming threat like Frieza or Baby?