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Chapter Text

He felt his head bounce off the metal wall. He wasn't sure, but the odd heat coming out of his skull could imply that he was already bleeding. His breathing was intense and very agitated, which could be a symptom of the adrenaline that ran through his veins, or of the general intensity of the whole situation.

He looked around and saw that most of the people had already abandoned their seats. The bus appeared to be almost completely empty. The only ones who remained inside were him, the driver and the three thieves who had tried to threaten all the passengers.

He felt the pounding of his heart in his head. Or maybe it was the pulse of his blood. Whatever it was, his head was pounding. So much so that he felt dizzy.

He felt something come out of his abdomen. Immediately, his brain told him to put his hand right there. It was wet, but he didn't want to look down. In fact, he looked up.

The thieves were unkempt and dirty. Clearly they did not look like that out of pleasure or by choice. The situation had gotten out of hand, and the terror and nervousness on the faces of those young people simply confirmed it. As soon as one of them put the knife-its blade painted with a red liquid-in his pocket, they all ran away.

The bus driver was unable to stop them and instead dedicated himself to attending to him, the injured boy. He got down on his knees and removed the trash that had been accumulated in the hallway. There lay the boy, holding his hand over the wound that had been inflicted on his abdomen. His gaze still showed concern and a certain disorientation.

"You're going to be fine. I've already called the police." The middle-aged man assured. He was known in the city for being one of the friendliest and most cheerful bus drivers, but by that time, even his smile had collapsed.

The boy shook his head. It was of no use to him to have false hopes. If he didn't feel pain, it was because he had little left on that plane of existence.

"My sister..." He was barely able to speak, gasping loudly with each word. "Where...?"

The man understood almost immediately and nodded his head. "She ran away with the rest of the group, I think they were your friends. Actually, you saved all the passengers."

He sighed. He sighed in relief that his intentions had been successful. He sighed because, despite the fact that he was slumped in the aisle of a bus, dying, he had managed to save many people from criminals who could've committed a tragedy.

He smiled with relief. He smiled because his sister would be coming home that night. He smiled because although he would never see her again, he left her a great example.

Even if he had wanted to, it was not possible for him to say anything else. With his eyes narrowed, he felt the adrenaline in his body subside. He felt his consciousness slowly fade, while his senses became unintelligible.

Then, darkness fell. And so it remained all around until suddenly there was a small hint of light. That flash flickered several times, among which he could swear that he saw a kind of wheel spinning without end.

Whatever the case, he appeared out of nowhere in the middle of what looked to be an endless green bridge. That structure, made of a material similar to wood, had a red railing that prevented those who traveled that road from falling into the golden clouds that completely covered whatever was below.

The bridge led directly to a temple, which had a Sino-Japanese architectural style. Its roofs were green, while the pillars and windows were the same red as the railings of the bridge, and the concrete walls were white. That was the unmistakable image of a Pure Land; a common belief in East Asia, where Buddhism was most popular.

He wanted to swallow hard, but he was unable to. He had been very shocked by the fact that he had come across that scene, and not the golden gates of heaven, with an old bearded man holding the keys.

He soon realized that the reason he was so far from the temple was because there was a huge line in front of him. What surprised him more was that it was not people or anything alive that was lining up, but a kind of white clouds, almost like steam floating in a round volume that did not disperse.

But what scared him the most was realizing that his current form was identical to those. Is this how souls looked?

He couldn't scream or jump or anything, because he was just a strange white cloud floating around. He could only think, and that was very abstract compared to what the word normally describes.

That was the afterlife. At least, that was the logical conclusion, in his opinion.

The line was endless, at first, but it moved much faster than he imagined. In a matter of about five minutes, although it was difficult to perceive time, he was already in front of the main entrance to the temple.

It had no doors, it was wide open. Inside was a simple office, although the furniture was too large. Behind the desk was a red-skinned giant with a thick black beard. He wore a purple suit with a red tie, as well as a purple hat with two holes so that his horns protruded comfortably.

"Hmmm." The imposing giant was busy reading a document, so he had a pair of glasses on. After a few seconds, he put the paper back on his desk and placed his gaze on the cloud of steam that was right in front of him.

"Having analyzed your trajectory, it seems fair to me that you transcend the cycle." His deep voice only added to his already imposing aura. He snapped his fingers and returned his body to that soul.

He appeared to be a monk, wearing yellow and red robes. In addition to the shaved head, of course. A golden halo appeared above the monk's head, who bowed in gratitude. The giant nodded his head and gave another snap, making the man disappear completely. The only thing left in place was a small explosion of smoke that quickly dissipated

"Next." He ordered in a neutral tone of voice. All this was routine for the giant.

The most curious thing about that red giant is that he knew its name. Enma Daio, the guardian of the afterlife in the universe of...

"Next!" Shouted the giant, whose voice resounded throughout the temple.

It was his turn, so he floated into the office as fast as he could. He placed himself right where the monk had been before, over a beautiful red carpet.

Enma gave him a look of annoyance before reading the same document. It immediately became apparent that something was wrong, for the giant frowned and narrowed his eyes. He read at least three pages before dropping his little book.

He looked at him again and raised an eyebrow.

"You're not from here."

"Huh?" That was all he could think of. Well, of course he wasn't from there, he had never been dead before, or so he thought.

The giant put his hands over his face, clearly annoyed. Then, he sighed and opened the drawer under his desk. From there he took out another little book and began to read it.

He could only watch intently as all this unfolded, for he had no idea what was going on.

"Damn it." He said before giving his desk a little slap. "These things always happen to me."

He raised his hand and picked up the blue phone that was in the corner of his desk. He waited patiently until someone answered. In the meantime, he played with the landline cord.

"Yes, Enma Daio." He began. "Yes, it happened again. Can it be returned or do we have to proceed with compensation? Mm... Mhm... Hmmmm... Well, I understand. Do we have spare bodies left? Ok, perfect. I've already spent a lot of time on this. Goodbye."

He put the phone back in its place and got up from his chair. He walked to a corner of the room. In addition to the carpet and desk, it was empty. But then, with a simple snap, a gigantic closet appeared out of nowhere.

Enma searched for something inside with his hands, until he finally seemed to find it. He took it, but when he put his hand out, he wasn't holding anything. He snapped his fingers again and that closet disappeared, leaving the corner empty as if nothing had ever been there in the first place.

He sat down again and cracked his neck. He snapped his fingers once again and then he left his soul form.

Suddenly, he felt that he had a physical form again. He looked down and saw his own arms. They were tanned, similar to his own but with a slightly lighter skin tone. The next thing he noticed was that he was completely naked, so he covered himself as much as he could with just his hands.

"Well. Since you haven't said a single word, I assume you have no idea what's going on, so I'll quickly explain." Enma said in his characteristic deep voice. "It seems that there was a mistake and they transported your soul here, even though you were entitled to another Pure Land. Things like this usually happen more or less very occasionally, but usually the soul is simply returned to its place and the cycle runs its course. You, on the other hand, were one of the rare cases in which the soul becomes incompatible and cannot return. So, there is no choice but to proceed with the compensation protocol."

Still covering his private parts with his hands, he looked up at the giant.

"Compensation?" As he spoke, he noticed that his voice was different, a little deeper if anything.

"Yes. In these cases, back then the souls were sent to the next plane of existence or to hell as appropriate, but now it has been reformed and they are simply reincarnated, if they deserve it, of course. Evil souls are purified before such a thing." He continued, while playing with a pen. "So, I gave you one of the backup bodies we have stored and I will send you to the planet most similar to your home that is in the realm that corresponds to me. I know it will be weird to get used to another body, but that's pretty much what happens to all babies after reincarnating. Believe me, this is better than being sent to hell."

The ogre smiled a little, which surprised the boy.

"Anyway, let's see which place looks like your home." He opened another small notebook and began to read. He let out a yawn.

"So I died?"

Enma laughed. "Of course. What else would you do in a Pure Land?"

The boy blinked in surprise. He was dead. He really was dead.

"Ah, the Earth. They look almost identical!" The giant said with some satisfaction. "Well, I guess there you go. Sorry if it's very sudden, but I don't have much time to deal with these things."

"Wait!"

Enma snapped his fingers at the exact moment the boy spoke.

"Goodbye and good luck!"

Chapter Text

Little by little he regained consciousness. He blinked a few times before opening his eyes completely. As the light entered his pupils, his vision adjusted and the shape of his surroundings became clearer.

He felt a cold sensation on his cheek and soon realized that it was the ground. It seemed to be made of stone slabs, although they were somewhat damp.

Then he felt it. A couple of light touches of something very small. In his state, barely conscious and totally disoriented, it was difficult to identify what it was. Then he did the logical thing and turned around, because he was lying face down on the floor.

He came across a small boy with spiky and messy hair. His hairstyle had exactly seven spikes. Given his appearance and short height, he must have been a fairly young kid.

He blinked a couple of times and rubbed his eyes. It had not been a mistake. That was, unmistakably, Goku.

His eyes widened and he jumped up almost as a reflex. Once in the air, he let out a rather loud scream.

Goku backed away a little, pushing away the cane with which he had been poking the unconscious stranger.

When he fell back to the ground, he kept screaming, but little by little he calmed down. Though when he stopped, he noticed that someone else was shouting loudly.

Next to Goku was a familiar girl with turquoise hair and blue eyes, with pale and smooth skin. This allowed the blush on her face to be very evident as she screamed and covered her eyes.

Surprised, in shock even, he lowered his gaze to see his own body. Of course, he was still naked, completely so. He had forgotten that small detail.

He screamed again, although more than surprised he was ashamed.

The monkey boy could only raise an eyebrow at the erratic acting of the two. He scratched his head as he watched them scream with funny expressions on their faces.

"How strange... Why are you screaming so much?" The innocent boy asked, not to anyone in particular.

Bulma withdrew her hands from her face and changed her embarrassed expression to one of anger.

"Don't you see that he is naked?!" She yelled.

"Well, yes, but so what?" Goku put his hands behind his head. "Have you never seen a naked boy?"

The girl again covered her face with her hands. "Of course not!"

"Ah, I see." The boy approached the nude stranger and pointed towards his crotch. "Look, this is what you don't have."

Bulma simply screamed again, as the stranger fell backwards to the ground. The situation had exceeded him.

"Seriously, put on some clothes!" The girl shouted.

The boy hesitated a little before answering. As much as he wanted to solve the issue so easily, he simply couldn't. He didn't even know where he was, or why those two manga characters were talking to him as if they were real. Maybe he was dreaming... And if he was dreaming he could just imagine that he did have clothes, and everything would work out just fine.

But when he tried it was useless. A drop of cold sweat fell down his face at the realization that he wasn't dreaming.

"Eh... I-I can't... I don't have any clothes..." He stammered, almost utterly bewildered. His lips were shaking as he processed the situation and tried to find a solution to it all. "I don't have any clothes..."

Bulma screamed again. "Are you a pervert?!"

"No, no!" He tried to calm her down, but took his hands off his private parts. Then, the girl screamed again.

"Hey, but why don't you have any clothes?" The boy asked with genuine curiosity and notorious innocence.

"I don't even know where I am, or what I'm doing here, or anything..." He turned his back on the duo, still embarrassed by the situation.

Goku nodded several times. "I understand. You're lost, aren't you? My grandfather told me that he met a lost person in the mountains once. He taught me to be generous to those who are lost!"

Then, the boy pulled the jacket that the girl was wearing to get her attention. She looked through her fingers, fearing to find the image of the naked boy again.

"Don't you have clothes for him?"

The two began to argue. At that time, the naked boy began to observe that place with a little more attention. It was a small town, although it looked dirty and abandoned, almost ruined.

The houses were round and white, but the humidity and moss had begun to dye them with colors between greenish and brown. The doors were made of wood, which already showed some decay. Despite this, almost all the houses were accompanied by cars that seemed far from abandoned.

He blushed. Could it be that the inhabitants of that town were watching him as well? Only one thought remained after that. He wanted to be swallowed up by the earth.

"Hey." A female voice called from behind.

He turned, still blushing with embarrassment. It was Bulma, who avoided eye contact with him.

"Do you really have no clothes? Are you really lost?" She asked, apparently with real concern.

The boy nodded, still turning his back on her.

She sighed and began to rummage through her small box of Hoi-Poi capsules. They were small devices with the capacity to store a large quantity and variety of things; from houses and vehicles to money and food. It had been the great revolution brought by Capsule Corp.

Finally, Bulma took out one of the many capsules and threw it to the ground. It released a small explosion of smoke, which dissipated into a cardboard box. The girl turned around and pointed to the box.

"You're lucky... I found my father's clothes lying around." She covered her face with her hands despite turning her back on the boy. "Come on, put it on!"

He followed orders and opened the box somewhat disorderly. First he pulled out a green button-down shirt that had a sort of floral design on it. He laughed softly, because he understood that the outfit would be the typical one worn by older men when they went on vacation to the beach.

After putting on his shirt, he took out the beige shorts that were in the box and his underwear. He quickly put it on and breathed a sigh of relief once he felt covered by his clothes. He once again felt like a person that way.

Finally, he pulled out a pair of sandals from inside the box. He stretched a little to accommodate his clothes, which were a little too short, and gave Goku a thumbs up.

"Done." He said, in a totally different, more relaxed, tone of voice.

Goku returned the gesture as the girl turned around. She also breathed a sigh of relief, for the situation had been too embarrassing for everyone involved.

"Much better!" She said. "Anyway, what are you doing around here, and why are you lost?"

"And what's your name?!" The spiky haired boy added, raising his hand as he spoke.

"Oh, right..." The girl said quietly, before the stranger could speak. "My name is Bulma, and he's Son Goku, my bodyguard."

Goku looked at her with a funny grimace, questioning the 'bodyguard' label he had been given.

His mind went blank. He did not know what to answer, for his real name would surely be utterly ridiculous in that world. Quickly, his brain began to work on creating a new identity and a good excuse for everything. He remembered that the best lie was a half-truth, so he wouldn't lie completely either.

"I-I'm Zhao..." He finally said. In between, a thought finally settled in his mind. "N-nice to meet you... And excuse me for everything that happened earlier, I don't know why I appeared here."

He swallowed hard. Perhaps because of the intensity and embarrassment of the moment he had not processed it. In front of him were two fictional characters who were extremely popular in his own world, and who in turn had marked both his life and that of many others. He was seeing them with his own eyes, existing, as if they were real. And he was acting as if all of this was normal.

Had he gone insane?

A drop of sweat fell down his forehead and his eyes widened slightly. He tried to contain his panic, knowing that acting erratic and desperate would not help him at all.

"Nice to meet you, Zhao." The boy replied with a big smile.

Bulma nodded. "Were you kidnapped or something? Did they steal your clothes?"

He shook his shoulders and looked in another direction. He thought that would help him not to be so nervous.

"I'm not sure, but it's possible... I don't remember anything..." He went on and rubbed his head. "It's... weird..."

"Hmmmm..."

Suddenly, Goku began to wave his arms. His eyes widened and his face twisted into a very concerned, almost scared, grimace.

"C-ca-careful!" He shouted as he pointed back at Zhao.

He turned around and saw a middle-aged man holding an axe. He was about to take a direct blow at him.

He jumped backwards as fast as he could, although he stumbled. He kept crawling on the floor until he reached Goku's side, who could defend him from the man's attack. Bulma screamed at the threat of the axe.

"This is it, you damn Oolong!" The man said in a rather aggressive tone. He raised his axe and finally threw it at Zhao.

It was unbelievable but he was about to die a second time that day.

However, Goku intervened. The boy jumped up and stretched his leg in a powerful kick that broke the axe and deflected its trajectory. He fell right in front of Zhao, who was covering his head with his hands while trembling in fear.

The boy adopted his fighting pose and gave the man a menacing look.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He shouted, somewhere between angry and surprised.

The man took a couple of steps back, trying to calm the boy down with both hands.

"Forgive me, Mr. Oolong..." He fell to his knees and started begging. "I'll give you anything! Food, money... Just don't take my daughter!"

Bulma raised an eyebrow. She stepped forward and asked cautiously.

"Oolong...?"

The man looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Y-you're not Oolong?"

"Not that I know of." Goku replied, scratching his head.

The man's eyes widened a little, almost relieved. He got up and shook his pants to remove the dirt on them.

"My apologies. I thought that Oolong had taken the form of one of you..." The man explained.

Zhao also got up, but instead of shaking off the dirt on his clothes, he took a moment to take a deep breath and calm down. He had been very close to dying at the hands of that man.

"You could have killed him!" Bulma complained, visibly upset.

A drop of sweat fell down the man's face as he laughed nervously. "Well, how lucky I didn't kill him, right?"

The girl could only respond to such a comment with a disapproving grimace. "Anyway... Who is this Oolong?"

The man looked in several directions and noticed that his neighbors in the village were beginning to peek out and leave their houses. It was safer to go out since they had confirmed that none of those people were the monster that tormented the place.

When he looked at the girl again, his fists clenched.

"Oolong is the demon who has been tormenting the village. He's a shapeshifter, so no one has ever seen his real shape..." He explained, with a mixture of anger, frustration and fear in his voice. The helplessness was too much. "Yesterday he came to the village and had the audacity to declare that today he would come and take my daughter as his bride."

The man pointed towards the entrance of his house, from which the head of his little daughter was peeking out. She didn't seem to be much older than Goku, and the thought of her marrying Oolong disturbed Zhao.

Of course, he knew that name. Oolong was the shape-shifting pig that would end up accompanying the group for many more years. Even so, he did not remember the detail that he initially dedicated himself to kidnapping girls. Despite having memorized quite a few details, some others could escape him.

Still, he remained silent. He did not consider it appropriate to add anything. He would let everything play out normally.

"He has already kidnapped the daughters of other residents of the village... And we don't know what he does with them." The man continued. "He has threatened to kill and eat anyone who tries to oppose him."

Bulma began to rub her chin, and Zhao looked at her carefully. The genius was already engineering a plan.

"And why don't you just beat him up?" The boy suggested with two hands resting on his waist.

"Are you crazy?!" The man shouted. "He's huge!"

"Hmmm. Excuse me, sir." The turquoise-haired girl intervened. She opened her backpack and took out a small, perfectly spherical gem. It was of a similar color to amber, but had red stars scattered beneath its surface.

A Dragon Ball. Zhao looked at it completely stunned. Maybe it was all real after all...

"Do you happen to have seen something like this?"

The man adjusted his glasses and approached to observe the sphere carefully. For as much as he tried, he was unable to recognize it.

"Nope, I've never seen anything like it."

Then, a voice echoed through the people. An elderly lady approached the group and was followed by many other villagers.

"I have one just like it!" The old woman shouted. She rummaged through the pocket of her overalls and took out a sphere very similar to the one Bulma had shown. "My grandmother found it somewhere a long time ago..."

Bulma counted the number of red stars on the ball. In total there were six.

"This is just what we are looking for! Madame, if you give me that sphere, we will take care of this Oolong guy!"

The lady blinked in confusion at such an offer. "It sounds good but... I find it hard to believe that you can deal with such a demon."

The girl shrugged. "I won't do much. They will take care of it!" He pointed at Goku and the new boy they had found.

Zhao became nervous. "Me?" He asked quietly.

"But..." The man intervened. "Even if they defeat Oolong, we don't know where his lair is, to rescue the other girls."

Bulma smiled slyly. "Don't worry, sir. I have a plan."

When everything was ready, all the villagers locked themselves in their homes. Bulma and Zhao were no exception either, as they were locked inside the house of the man who had confused them before.

Outside was only poor Goku, dressed in the clothes of the man's daughter. He was sitting, playing with the skirt of his blue dress. He thought they were very uncomfortable clothes and he was not happy at all with wearing them.

"Hehehe." Laughter echoed through the village, which was completely silent.

The laughter was followed by the rumbles of heavy footsteps that gradually came closer. Goku glanced out of the corner of his eye slowly and saw some kind of red ogre with a pig's nose. He was dressed in an elegant black suit and in his hands he held a bouquet of sunflowers.

"There's my tender fiancée. Come, darling!"

Something caught the creature's attention, as he stared strangely. On the girl's back was only a red cane.

"Is that all you'll bring into your new married life?"

Goku didn't think much and just answered. He didn't even know what all this 'marrying' stuff was about. "Yep. Let's go to your lair at once!"

After all, he couldn't think of anything other than holding back the urge to urinate that he had at that moment.

"Come on, baby, don't be angry! I'm a heartthrob!" He said as a small drop of sweat dripped down his forehead. Then, he noticed that the girl began to tremble.

In reality, Goku was making a tremendous effort not to pee himself, which caused him to move slowly to distract his body. But Oolong thought it was something else.

"Are you afraid of my appearance? Don't worry, I can change it!"

Strange smoke covered his body before he changed shape again. This time, he chose the appearance of an elegant middle-aged man, dressed in a brown coat.

"How about this? Or do you prefer a younger man...?" The shapeshifter asked while bowing.

Bulma was hypnotized by the guy and tried to open the door to get out and get a closer look. However, Zhao stopped her and pulled her back, preventing her from committing a stupid thing.

When he managed to restrain the girl, the attention of both returned to the scene outside. Their jaws dropped to the ground when they saw Goku urinating on a tree.

"Fuck the plan." Zhao said. His commitment to letting things flow naturally lasted very little.

"Huh?" Oolong walked up to the girl and peeked.

His eyes opened to levels that perhaps his anatomy would not allow normally. He hid his own face with his hands and started screaming like crazy.

"I saw it! I saw it!" He repeated multiple times.

With each scream, his surprise began to transform into anger.

"Damn it! You're not yesterday's girl!" Growled the shapeshifter.

Goku looked up and looked at him with surprise. "Could you tell without a pat-pat? Wow, you're good!"

Bulma fell backwards to the floor.

"How dare you fool the terrible Oolong?! You will pay the consequences!"

Again a cloud of smoke covered the body of the shapeshifter. It quickly dissipated to reveal that it had now taken the form of a large raging bull.

He snorted furiously, and steam came out of his nose instead of air.

"Now you will know Oolong's wrath!"

Goku was just finished peeing and put the dress on normally before turning to the shapeshifter. He was surprised to see his new form.

Bulma got up from the ground and grabbed Zhao by his shirt. She began to shake him quickly as she pleaded.

"Do something, do something!" She screamed desperately.

"But... but I don't know how to fight!"

"Do something!"

Desperate, he closed his eyes and assumed his fate. He slammed his shoulder against the door and opened it. Then, he ran towards the bull until he was behind him, just opposite to where the boy was.

He placed his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound of his voice a little.

"Goku, take off your dress! It's time to fight!"

"Huh? And the plan?"

"It doesn't matter!"

The boy shrugged and smiled. With just one hand he took off his dress and revealed the blue gi he was wearing underneath. Then, he stuck his tongue out at the bull.

"I'm going to defeat you!"

Zhao swallowed. "I hope so..."

Oolong lowered his head to point his horns at the boy. However, he was sweating, for he knew that he was more or less surrounded. He was also not sure how much more time he had left to go back to his regular form, for he could not remain transformed for long.

Even Oolong the Terrible had limits.

"So you make fun of me... Silly child!" Again, he snorted.

Goku took his staff and smiled as was characteristic of him.

"Come on, fight!" The boy challenged.

Beads of sweat began to appear on Oolong's face.

"Are you sure? I'm very scary and powerful!"

"Shut up once and for all and let's fight." Goku said, somewhat annoyed by the shapeshifter's attitude.

From Zhao's position, he couldn't get a good look at the conversation they were having. He could only see the tail of the bull, which moved from side to side in a more or less constant pace. He didn't know very well how bulls worked, but he thought that maybe it could be a good idea...

He picked up some momentum and started running towards the shapeshifter. As soon as he felt his tail brush against him, he stopped and lifted his leg back in preparation to give a kick.

"Shit... It's almost time..." Oolong thought, trying to find a solution.

Any possible idea he may have had never came, as his thoughts were interrupted by a strong kick to his balls. The blow was such that he had to leave his transformation and return to his original form. Once he was a pig again, he fell to the ground and grabbed his crotch.

He complained about the pain, while the neighbors began to peek from inside their houses.

Zhao blinked, utterly surprised that the idea worked. He looked at Goku, who more than surprised seemed disappointed.

He put his cane back in its case and placed his arms behind his head.

"What a pity... I was excited to fight him."

Bulma left the house with the man and his daughter, who were among the first to surround the defeated Oolong.

"I thought you said you couldn't fight." The turquoise-haired girl said.

"Well... I just improvised, I don't really know how to fight." He laughed nervously.

"I can't believe this is Oolong's real form..." The man said, perplexed by the disappointing image of a dwarf pig, dressed in an old military uniform.

"It almost makes me want to feel bad for him." Another villager added.

Goku walked up to the pig and helped him up. Then he turned him over so that he was facing all the villagers. The true identity of the shapeshifter had been revealed.

"You'd better apologize." The boy said with his arms folded.

Oolong could only swallow hard, while still holding his crotch in pain.

The old woman came over and raised her voice. "The girls are fine, aren't they?"

The shapeshifter nodded. "Too good, indeed."

The villagers exchanged looks of confusion.

The lady spoke again. "Too much?"

Bulma put her hand on Oolong's head and took off his hat. She made sure to pressure him so he felt a little threatened.

"You'd better lead them to your lair and return their daughters to them."

After he was tied up completely with a rope, to prevent his escape, Oolong led the march of the villagers to the mysterious lair. It didn't take too long, as the shifter's residence turned out to be quite close to the village.

The place consisted of a luxurious pagoda-style castle, whose entrance featured a striking red arch with the golden legend of 'Oolong Residence', written in characters similar to Chinese. It was clear that he had no intention of hiding the place.

All the villagers came in like a horde, desperate to see their daughters after so long. They called them by name, but no one came out to meet them. It was not until they reached the living room that they found them.

They were dressed in very expensive and luxurious clothes, relaxing, sipping cocktails and living the good life.

Oolong slowly followed the villagers and looked down.

"I just wanted an obedient girl, but they have costed me a fortune. Please take them away."

With the success of their mission to catch Oolong, the old woman gave Bulma the six-star dragon ball.

As she had explained to Zhao, that was their fourth ball so far, which meant that they had only three more left to gather them all. She also told him how she met Goku and why she started looking for more dragon balls in the first place, but he already knew all that perfectly.

Anyway, both he and Oolong joined the group after the little adventure of that day. Although the shapeshifter remained strapped, while he was freely accompanying the group.

It was exciting to have joined such an iconic adventure. It was more than a dream come true, an unimaginable fantasy that any fan would want to live. And yet, it was hard for him to believe. He felt that at any moment he would wake up and go back to his normal life or something.

If he really was in the world of Dragon Ball now, he would have to think about a lot of things and think about everything seriously. For the moment, he would just allow things to progress naturally, but many doubts still plagued his mind. It was all very strange to him, naturally.

Chapter Text

He was running down a hallway. Its shape was strange, almost indeterminate. The vague walls continued into the darkness, while the floor was only a vestige of an idea, so it was difficult to be sure of its mere existence.

At the end of the hallway, a little girl was running away from him. No matter how much he accelerated his pace, no matter how much he tried to dribble in some way, it was impossible. On the always linear path, the girl distanced herself more and more from him.

He tried to call her name, but that only made her laugh. And it echoed across the walls. He never stopped running. He was Sisyphus, trying to achieve the impossible, trapped in a loop of helplessness and frustration.

Then, the tunnel seemed to come to an end. His little sister, still turning her back on him, disappeared in a strange light. He stopped and touched it with his hand. As soon as he did that, it turned into a flash that temporarily blinded him.

When his gaze cleared, he was no longer in the hallway, but in Enma Daio's office.

The red giant looked down at him from his gigantic desk and sighed.

"Excuse me for interrupting your sleep like this, but this is in your interest." He began to speak while scratching his beard. "I imagine you have realized that you know absolutely nothing about your new body. And it's normal, because I forgot to give you the details."

Zhao fell backwards to the ground.

"I see that you have already taken a name, and well that is your decision. But let's see..." He began to read from a small notebook. "This body is about 16 years old. I imagine that with this there will be no problems because in your other life you were a similar age. It's a human body, with nothing weird, so don't worry about it. And yes, it's healthy and so on."

He stopped scratching and started playing with his bushy beard instead. Zhao just listened.

"Well, you already know the specifics of being human, so I think that would be it. I thought it would be more information..." He shrugged. "Anyway, my job is done, you can keep dreaming."

He snapped his fingers and Zhao disappeared. Although, as soon as he did, Enma realized that he had snapped a little too hard.

"I think I woke him up." He laughed nervously.

When he woke up he made a small jump. He was sitting in the passenger seat of a small boat. Then, the trajectory of his jump went directly into the water of the river. Of course, the cold of the water was enough to wake him up completely.

He gave a strong stroke and propelled his body upwards. As soon as he felt his face pop out, he inhaled as much air as his lungs would allow. His chest swelled, and the others heard his desperate breathing.

Zhao began to stroke erratically, as he had panicked despite knowing how to swim. He was desperately trying to stay afloat, even though he was near the riverbank.

He opened his eyes, still with water dripping from his forehead. He came across the logo of Capsule Corp written on the red background of the boat. Then, his eyes followed the rope that tied the vehicle to a nearby tree.

At that moment he knew that he was close to the shore and began to swim towards it.

Goku had already reached out to help him, as he had worried about the boy's agitated sounds. He drew his nyoibo and pulled it towards Zhao, motioning for him to grab it.

He wasn't going to refuse anyone's help, of course, so he listened. Goku was strong enough to lift the staff and hold Zhao's added weight, which was quite impressive for a kid of his size.

He dropped down on the grass and took a few seconds to steady his breathing and relax a bit. He stared at the blue sky. At least it was clear and the clothes were going to dry faster.

"Are you okay?" Goku asked as he poked his head over Zhao's.

"Yes." He answered. Then he got up and stretched a little. It still seemed surreal to him that it was not all a dream. And yet, having woken up from a long nap and still being there, confirmed that, somehow, it was real.

"Why did we stop?"

The spiky haired boy shrugged, so he decided to turn around to see what the girl was up to. She was standing with her back to him and had her hands stuffed into her jacket pockets. The strange thing was that she seemed to be completely still, as if paralyzed.

Zhao raised an eyebrow and walked over to her. He tapped her shoulder a couple of times to get her attention.

"M-m-my capsules..." The girl stammered. It seemed that the touches to her shoulder had brought her back to reality.

"Huh?"

"My capsules!" She gave a desperate cry and fell to her knees. She held her head with both hands. "Fuck! I must have lost them in the river..."

She suddenly turned and pointed her index finger straight at the pig. The latter backed away a little, as the gesture took him by surprise.

"You, if you transform into a fish and rescue my capsules, I will give you my underwear!"

Zhao fell backwards to the ground, while Goku simply didn't understand the perversions of Oolong.

"Why would anyone want your dirty underwear?" The boy asked.

"Oh no, oh no! Now what will we do?!" Bulma screamed, still desperate. "Without my capsules we have no vehicles or houses or anything!"

Goku still didn't see the problem. He climbed into his kinto'un and looked at the girl from above.

"And why don't we just walk?"

The girl's eyebrow began to pop. She turned to look at the boy and let out a rather loud yell.

"It's easy for you to say, you have kinto'un!"

Zhao scratched his head. He exchanged glances with Oolong before raising his voice.

"How far away are we?"

Bulma relaxed a little. "A couple of days or so."

He blinked, somewhat surprised. Walking for two days without stopping sounded quite demanding.

He again moved his gaze towards Oolong, and noticed that he had moved away a little. He avoided eye contact nervously. Despite being good at transforming, he was quite bad at dissembling.

Zhao walked over and grabbed him by his shirt. Then, he brought him closer to the group.

"I guess we'll have to walk." Bulma sighed, defeated.

Goku jumped out of his cloud and nodded his head.

After several hours of walking, they arrived in a desert. The sun was still shining brightly in the sky, with only a few clouds blocking out the light blue color of it. From time to time, a vulture would fly over them.

It seemed to be more of a rocky desert than a sandy one. There were no dunes in sight, but there were rock formations that appeared to be roofs supported by four to five pillars. Some had a bit of dry vegetation on top, although most were simply rock.

The group was advancing at a slow but steady pace. Goku looked at them from time to time, because that pace was far below his own. Unlike the rest, the boy hardly sweated.

Bulma was definitely the one who was suffering the most with that long walk. Sweat dripped down her body, soaking her clothes. She carried a dry branch as an improvised cane, with which she tried to facilitate her march. She breathed quite heavily, so much so that sometimes she even stuck out her tongue.

Then there was Oolong, who was doing a little better than the girl, but not too much. His body was also covered in sweat and he was starting to feel more tired.

Zhao, for his part, wasn't suffering as much as he had expected. He was sweating much more than the kid, but he was controlling his breathing well, which helped him a lot. It seems that Enma Daio hadn't lied when saying that he was given a healthy body.

"I'm dying...!" The girl finally said.

Goku frowned. "You are very slow... I even decided not to use kinto'un...!"

Bulma was breathing quite hard, so it was a little difficult for her to speak. "I'm a city girl... you know...? Don't compare me to a mountain kid like you...!"

"There's no rush, anyway." Zhao interjected, smiling. "We can make rest stops if you want. And slow pace doesn't matter as long as it's constant!"

"Yes... I think it would be good to rest for today..." Bulma dropped to the ground. "Where are we... anyway? I just see... Desert and more desert..."

"O-of course..." Oolong also sat down. "This is what you have to cross to get to Mount Frypan!"

Goku was silent, looking at them with a somewhat judgmental look.

"Do you think there's a hotel around here...?" The turquoise-haired girl asked.

Zhao laughed a little. "It doesn't seem to be the case."

Then, she started kicking and throwing a tantrum. "This is horrible...! I am hungry! I want to take a bath! I can't sleep without a bed!"

Goku raised an eyebrow, while Oolong facepalmed.

The tantrum continued for a couple more minutes, but eventually it stopped. In the end, the girl fell asleep.

Zhao, surprised, decided that it was a bad idea to leave her exposed to the sun. He picked her up while grabbing her by the shoulders and carefully dragged her to the shadow of one of the 'roofs' of that desert.

"She fell asleep while screaming all that..." Goku said.

"Hey Oolong!" Zhao called. The pig looked at him curiously. "Stay here with Bulma. Goku! Why don't we go get some food?"

The boy's eyes lit up. "Yes! I'm hungry..."

He rubbed his belly with his small hands.

The pig, for his part, shrugged. "It's fine for me."

However, when he finished his sentence, his eyes saw something. Oolong rubbed his eyes to make sure he hadn't imagined it or mistaken it for something else. A strange silhouette was rapidly approaching them from the depths of the desert. It seemed to be leaving a trail of dust behind it, so it had to be quick.

A drop of cold sweat fell down his forehead. He pulled Goku by his gi's sleeve and pointed towards the horizon.

"What's that?"

Zhao turned around at the same time as the little boy with a tail. They both squinted to see better, because between their tiredness, the dust that had entered their eyes and so on, they thought they were seeing badly.

Goku was completely confused, but the older boy was a little more nervous. He swallowed hard, for he thought he had recognized that silhouette.

In a matter of another minute, the cloud of dust reached them, revealing a young boy riding some kind of yellow motorcycle. As gravity caused the dust particles to fall again, that mysterious boy got out of his vehicle.

He glanced at them out of the corner of his eye and spoke. "Hey."

Oolong took a step back, somewhat intimidated.

Goku, for his part, didn't flinch. "Who are you?"

Without that mysterious boy speaking, Zhao already knew him. That face, though much younger than he remembered, was unmistakable. He was...

"I am the hyena that stalks this desert..." He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. Behind him, a kind of blue cat peeked out and stood firm and proud, despite its very short stature. "Yamcha!"

"And I am Pu'ar!" That peculiar cat continued, placing his tiny hands on his little waist.

He didn't remember the whole context of that situation very well, but the bandit's intentions didn't seem to be exactly pure. He glanced at Bulma, who was still asleep in the shade. He had to be attentive to any small detail so that the situation did not get out of hand.

"I'd hate to hurt you, but if you want to get out of here alive, you better give us all your money and capsules." He raised his open hand, confirming his intentions.

Zhao was about to speak, but the pig beat him to it.

"Pu'ar...?" He raised his hand and pointed his index finger at the little blue cat. "Crybaby Pu'ar?"

The cat widened his eyes in surprise. "Oolong?!"

Yamcha, somewhat annoyed, turned to his companion. "An acquaintance?"

"A long time ago, when I went to the Southern Transformation School, there was a certain Oolong who bothered me..."

Zhao blinked nervously. He didn't remember that detail at all. And that alone posed the question of just how much he would forget and how much that would affect everything.

"He stole the teachers' underwear and ended up being expelled!"

The latter did not seem to surprise anyone.

"Little piece of..." The pig clenched his fists. "It looks like you have a good memory..."

"Pervert! Pervert! I hate you!" Pu'ar shouted.

Yamcha shook his head. "None of that matters anymore. Hurry up and hand over all your money and your capsules."

A drop of sweat fell down Zhao's forehead. The confrontation seemed inevitable, but in this one they would depend entirely on Goku.

He touched the shoulder of the boy, who seemed simply not to understand anything that was going on.

"Hey, do you think you can defeat this guy?" Zhao asked while scratching his chin.

"Eh... I think so, but why do I have to defeat him?"

Both he and Oolong blinked in confusion.

"Well, because he's going to kill us and rob us."

The boy raised his eyebrows in surprise and grabbed his staff. He pointed it at the desert rat and got into position to fight.

"Why do you want to kill us?!"

His two companions fell, while Yamcha grimaced in disappointment.

Zhao took the pig by his shirt and led him to the shade where Bulma lay asleep. Oolong peeked out from behind one of the stone 'pillars'.

"I wonder if he'll be okay..."

"I have an idea in case the situation gets complicated." Zhao said, sitting down on the ground. "Let's just say... I have heard rumors of Yamcha of the Desert..."

Oolong stared at him with interest.

"You can transform into a beautiful girl, can't you?"

"I see that you want to die..." The bandit drew his sword.

The blue cat raised its small arms. "Please, Yamcha-sama, finish off that dirty pervert!"

The bandit quickly positioned himself and threw a slash that would normally have cut the boy in half. However, Goku reacted very quickly and dodged the attack with a great jump. He flew over his opponent and spun in the air.

Before falling, he settled down and threw himself at the head of the bandit, who could barely interpose his sword. The staff collided with the metallic weapon, but did not suffer any damage despite being made of wood.

Goku bounced and did a couple of somersaults before landing comfortably on his feet. He pointed his cane again, but this time he said something.

"Extend, Nyoi-bō!"

Just as its bearer commanded, the staff elongated at high speed until it directly hit Yamcha's abdomen. The latter dropped his sword and rubbed his belly in pain.

The blue cat went from being totally confident to worried about the well-being of his companion.

Oolong, for his part, cheered Goku on from the safety of the rock formation they were in.

Zhao knew that Goku, despite being a child, was already strong. But that surprised him anyway. He was much faster than Yamcha.

The bandit got up with some difficulty and looked intently at the boy's staff.

"Where did you get that? Only one person possesses the legendary Nyoi-bō..."

"My grandfather gave it to me before he died!"

"What was your grandfather's name?"

Somewhat puzzled by the question, Goku answered honestly anyway. "Son Gohan!"

Yamcha clenched his jaw. "I figured... And to think that the great Son Gohan had a grandson."

"I-I've heard about him too." Oolong said in a low voice, still hiding behind one of the stone pillars.

Zhao nodded. His source was different, of course, but it seemed that everyone was aware of Son Gohan's great reputation.

Goku began to rub his belly. "I'm hungry..."

"I guess I can't let my guard down just because you're a kid..." Yamcha stretched his right leg, resting his weight on his left knee. He placed both arms as if imitating claws and smiled confidently. "Let's see what the grandson of the great Son Gohan has to offer! Rogafufuken!"

With overwhelming speed, the bandit gave the boy a powerful kick directly on the chin. Before he could even react, Yamcha was already attacking him quite fiercely with the open palm of his hand, practically landing every hit directly. He finished that technique by joining his two hands and pushing the boy forcefully towards another rock formation.

Oolong's jaw fell to the ground. They were screwed big time and he knew it.

"Yamcha-sama!" Pu'ar shouted as he approached his companion.

Oolong was about to join in the praise for Yamcha, but Zhao stopped him with a slap to the head. He motioned for him to be quiet, and then whispered.

"Remember the plan. Go! Transform into a beautiful girl." Then, he pushed the pig and left him exposed on the battlefield.

Nervous, the shapeshifter thought about transforming into a fly and escaping. However, if what Zhao said was true, he simply had to follow the plan and everything would be alright. He took a deep breath and concentrated.

Amid a small explosion of smoke, Oolong went from his original form to that of a blonde woman whose body was naked and exposed. With a voluptuous chest and pronounced hips, it was only a matter of time before the desert bandits noticed his presence.

As soon as Yamcha laid eyes on her, he blushed completely and began to sweat profusely from nervousness. He fell to the ground defeated and unsure of what to do.

Pu'ar came to his aid, but the bandit was already done for.

"Tactical... retreat..." The bandit said, still dizzy.

"Huh?" The blue cat raised an eyebrow.

"Let's retreat for now..." Yamcha said before running off to his vehicle. Pu'ar followed him and the bandit quickly drove off. "Know that we will be back for those capsules!"

Oolong blinked in surprise, still in the woman's form. He hadn't had to speak a single word and it still worked. He turned around to look at Zhao, who had already run out to help Goku.

He moved the debris away and found him relatively intact. However, he was rubbing his belly and repeating that he was hungry.

Goku got up on his own and shook the dirt off his gi. He stretched a little and then spoke.

"Thank you for taking me out." After stretching, he looked for his rivals with his eyes, but he did not see them anywhere. "Huh? Where did they go?"

Oolong, now back to his normal form, appeared with his arms around his waist. His face showed pride and arrogance.

"I defeated him." He boasted. "I didn't have to land a single punch."

Zhao laughed nervously. "Yamcha has a weakness... Beautiful women!"

"Mmm... I see." Goku said, while scratching his chin. "Well, can we go for food now?"

The bandit duo had reunited in their lair, following their unfortunate retreat. In reality, it was a cave inside a rocky mountain unusually large for what that desert had to offer normally. It had been turned into a somewhat messy home, but it had everything they needed.

In the middle of it all was a small round wooden table. Around it were only two old chairs. On the table was a teapot and two empty cups.

Pu'ar was floating around his companion, troubled by the fact that he had been silent since they arrived. He looked at him with genuine concern.

For his part, Yamcha had his eyes fixed on his fists. He had been squeezing them quite hard since he sat down. He was still blushing a little, but more than embarrassment he felt frustration.

"Y-Yamcha-sama... Your weakness..."

"It always happens..." This time, he clenched his jaw as well. "Whenever I see a girl I get very nervous... Damn it!"

Chapter Text

The sun began to set in the horizon. Bulma had just woken up, so she was still rubbing her eyes, which had also been a little irritated by the desert dust. She was not the only one. In fact, everyone had already begun to feel the effects of exposure and dehydration.

After understanding the real risk of the desert and the presence of bandits, Oolong revealed that he had been saving an emergency capsule. In it, was contained a kind of double-decker camper that had his name written on the ceiling with Chinese-like characters. While its design was simple on the outside, on the inside it was very spacious and surprisingly luxurious.

Zhao was a little amazed by the place, as it looked like a five-star hotel. It had a full kitchen with an oven, refrigerator and dishwasher. Directly opposed to it was the dining room, which had a chair and a long couch. Then, stairs led to the second floor, where there was the bed and the bathroom.

While Oolong, as a good host he was, prepared the food, the others sat down at the table. Everyone was hungry and thirsty, so they ate little by little what the pig put on the table. Althuogh he wasn't very happy with their quick eating pace, for he was hungry as well and was missing out on a lot of the food he was cooking.

Goku was, of course, the worst of them all in that regard, absorbing food like a very powerful vacuum.

Bulma was drinking coffee from a cup while looking out the window. She blew occasionally to cool her drink a bit.

"Why didn't you tell us you had this capsule?"

The little boy was busy chewing on a whole ham.

Oolong frowned. "I already told you that I was saving it for an emergency..."

Zhao, for his part, was drinking a simple glass of water. He knew well that hydration was a priority, and having access to such luxuries it seemed obvious to him that he should drink as much water as possible before continuing with the trip.

He was sitting next to Bulma on the couch, although he was paying a little more attention to the pig while he was cooking.

"Anyway, thank you very much for letting us use your capsule. It looks very luxurious." He smiled before taking another sip from his glass.

"By the way," the pig began after pulling a roast chicken out of the oven. "How did you know the weakness of that bandit?"

"Ah..." Zhao scratched his cheek. "Well, I've heard some stories about a certain Yamcha of the Desert... It is said that he is afraid of women, and so it seems to be..."

"Mmm. That's weird." Bulma said after taking a sip of her coffee. "How could anyone be afraid of a girl?"

Oolong shrugged.

"Anyway, I'm glad I brought you with us. Who knows if we would have gotten out of this without your help." The girl smiled. "I'm surprised they could push Goku to the limit."

The kid burped quite hard, leaving a faint trace of foul smell near the girl.

"I was hungry, so I was weak." He explained in his characteristic innocent tone.

Oolong put down the roast chicken on the table and stretched a little.

"Another thing I don't know about..." The pig started again. "Why would you bother to make such a risky trip? And you want to go to Frypan Mountain, too."

"Oh, right, I didn't explain it to you." The girl laughed nervously. "You see, we're gathering the dragon balls."

Goku nodded his head and took out the ball he was carrying on his waist. He placed its wrapping on the table and stirred it to show its radiance. It was amber in color and had four red stars seemingly embedded within it.

It was probably the first time Zhao had seen one so closely. Back in Oolong's town, he had seen it from afar. His eyes lit up, because he never imagined that in his life he would be in front of such a legendary object, the most famous among all the people of his generation.

"This is my grandpa's dragon ball." The boy explained.

Oolong was amazed by the beauty of that rock.

"Do they sell well in jewelry stores?"

Bulma shook her head. "No, no. We aren't looking for them to sell them. Actually, legend has it that the Dragon Balls can grant any wish when you collect all seven."

"Any wish...?" Oolong seemed a little skeptical of such a thing. "Well, that makes a little more sense, I guess. How many do you have so far?"

Goku slowly counted with his fingers, but the girl answered first.

"We have four. The fifth is in Frypan Mountain!"

"Then there's still quite a bit of travel ahead." The pig sighed.

Zhao finished eating his dish and stood up. He bowed slightly, almost in the form of an apology.

"Excuse me." He said before addressing the host. "Where's the bathroom? I want to take a shower."

"Ah, I wanted to take a shower too." Bulma recalled. "I ask to go after Zhao."

"It's upstairs." Oolong pointed to the stairs.

Then, he guided Zhao there. The stairs led directly to the only bed there was. Despite being quite large, perhaps it would not be enough for all of them.

On the right side of that room was the bathroom door. Oolong opened it and gave Zhao space to enter. It was small, but it was still quite clean and looked just as luxurious as the rest of the camper. It had a toilet and a shower.

The towels were all arranged on a small cabinet above the toilet and were pink and white.

"Enjoy." Oolong said before closing the door.

Zhao stretched before taking off his shirt. That would be his first shower since he had appeared in that world. He really missed bathing, if he was honest with himself.

Then he realized something. On the left side of the toilet, opposite to the shower, was a mirror over the sink. In all that time, despite having carried his new body for several days, he had never seen his new face.

With some expectation, he timidly poked his face in front of the mirror. Then, his reflection did the same. Indeed, it wasn't at all like his old body, it was a totally new face. The irises of his eyes were a strange golden hue. He had well-defined and uniform features, a strong chin and a pointed nose. His eyebrows were very full, almost luxuriant. His hair was curly although not very long, in fact it could be considered short. Although the strangest thing about his hair was the color: dark in color, but greenish, under the light it stood out more a green color that could only be achieved in his own world with a very good dye.

His skin, which he had seen before, had a more or less tan tone.

He really couldn't be upset. That body looked much better than the previous one. In his previous life he was not especially successful in love, although he did have some partners. He couldn't imagine how it would have gone if he had had that body in his old life.

Another detail he noticed was that his body, although thin, was not at all at the physical level he would need in that world later on, judging by the threats that lie ahead. He had a lot of training to do. If he was not wrong, after that trip Goku would train with the great Muten Roshi, so it would be a good opportunity to join them and start his training.

For the time being, he had to make sure that he continued to help the group in its quest for the dragon balls.

He took off his shorts and underwear and got into the shower. There he noticed that the bathroom window totally exposed whoever was bathing to the outside. He gave it a quick inspection, trying to find a way to close it, for the idea of bathing so exposed didn't seem very appealing to him.

At the upper end, there was a small shutter, although very well hidden. Relieved, he lowered it and covered the window completely. Knowing Oolong, surely that design was made on purpose to spy on the girls he invited over.

He put the subject aside and focused on bathing. As soon as the water touched his head, he breathed a sigh of relief.

On one side of the camper, on the dry desert floor, the two bandits had been listening to the conversations of those inside.

Even after Zhao went to the bathroom, they had remained in their positions. Really, the conversation was no longer interesting, so they would only have to wait for them to fall asleep.

Yamcha waved his hand to his companion. Then, they both ran to a nearby rock, behind which they hid.

Pu'ar raised his small head to listen to his partner, who had already begun to speak. He looked quite excited and held his fists up.

"Did you hear that?!" His face showed his great surprise. What had started as an ordinary robbery had just turned into a full on treasure hunt.

Little Pu'ar nodded his head several times. "Yes!"

"They said any wish..." Yamcha relaxed his facial expression a little, which turned into a small smile.

The blue cat raised its small hands. "Yes, that's what they said!"

The desert rat couldn't hold it back anymore and stood up, completely overwhelmed with excitement. "Excellent! I will wish to be rid of my fear of being around women!"

In stark contrast to his friend's attitude, Pu'ar fell backwards to the ground. The wish, incredibly unambitious, had taken him by surprise.

"Eh... Yamcha-sama... Don't you think you should wish for something like world domination or great wealth, or anything like that...?"

"Huh?" Yamcha didn't think about it for two seconds. "I have no interest in any of that. And we can get money by stealing. However... There's nothing I can do about the great nervousness that takes over me when I see a beautiful girl..."

He raised his fist and put it in front of his face, which was flushed.

"To be honest, I really want to get married!"

Pu'ar blinked as a drop of sweat dripped down his face. His partner was obsessed with that subject, perhaps unhealthily so.

Yamcha cracked his knuckles before standing firmly. He fixed his gaze on the camper in which his objectives were housed and smiled arrogantly.

"The Dragon Balls will be mine!"

Zhao got out of the shower in less than ten minutes. It was quite satisfying, but he didn't see the need to use too much water. They would need it later, after all.

He put on the same clothes, as he had nothing else to wear. It was a little dirty, but he would have to hold on until they found a store or something like that. He combed his hair as best he could and went out, because he knew that Bulma was waiting for him to use the shower.

And so it was. When he opened the door, the turquoise-haired girl was already there. She smiled at the sight of him.

"Is there hot water?" She asked.

"Yes, it's all pretty cool, really." He smiled, for he had spent a great time in the pig's vehicle so far.

"Thank goodness." She replied, in a mocking tone.

They both laughed a little.

"By the way, the bathroom window looks directly onto the shower, so you can see everything from outside. So I closed it." The boy explained. Bulma, of course, wasn't surprised that Oolong's camper had such a design. "So you can leave it closed to avoid perverts."

"Thank you! To be honest, I expected nothing less from that perverted pig..." Her right eyebrow ticked a little.

"I thought the same thing." He laughed as he scratched his head.

Bulma stared at him for a couple of seconds. She had forgotten that she had lent him her father's vacation clothes, which by chance had been left among her own capsules. For old man clothes, they didn't look half bad on him.

"I see you liked my dad's clothes." She said, chuckling.

Zhao laughed nervously. "Well, I don't have anything else."

"Yes... Since I lost the capsules we've been left without clothes..." The girl immersed herself into her thoughts. "Maybe after visiting Frypan Mountain we can go somewhere to buy some clothes."

He nodded. After all, she was in charge, she was like the captain of the group.

"Well, I'll leave you to take your shower." The boy finally said. "Are they downstairs?"

Bulma nodded.

"Thank you! Enjoy."

The girl sighed with relief. "I will."

Zhao continued walking. He peeked down the stairs and confirmed what the girl had said. Both Goku and Oolong were still sitting on the dining room couch, chatting about something.

Before going downstairs, he stared at the bed. Where were they going to sleep? Well, that bed barely was enough for two people. He could ask the pig, because he was sure he already had an idea.

He let out a long yawn and stretched out his arms. He hadn't noticed it, but he had already accumulated a certain tiredness.

He went downstairs and greeted the others. Goku reciprocated the greeting, while Oolong simply nodded his head.

"The same clothes?" The pig asked.

"I don't have anything else." The green-haired boy explained.

"I can lend you some of mine." He offered, though Zhao quickly shook his head.

"I don't think they'll fit. These clothes are quite comfortable, anyway."

Oolong shrugged. "As you wish."

A small sound caught everyone's attention. It was similar to when a door is opened with a key. Oolong immediately turned to the camper door and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Then, the door opened, and Yamcha ran in. However, he was frightened to find the three right at the entrance.

Oolong screamed and the bandit did the same. Then Zhao and Pu'ar joined. Goku, for his part, only raised one eyebrow.

He stood up calmly and pointed his hand at the bandit. "I thought we had defeated you."

"D-damn it..." That was all Yamcha could say at that moment.

The blue cat, on the other hand, was sweating nervously. "I thought they were already asleep, I saw two of them going up the stairs..."

"There is no other option." Yamcha drew his sword, causing Oolong to almost pee his pants. "We must fight!"

Quickly, he attempted to deliver a lethal attack on Zhao, who of course did not have good enough reflexes to avoid such an attack. It was certain death, but the blow never landed.

Goku ordered his Nyoi-bo to stretch and kicked the bandit out of the camper with a powerful blow to the abdomen.

Yamcha fell backwards on the floor of the cold desert. He bounced back and stood up again, even though he knew the battle ahead was far from easy. He pointed his sword in front as Goku jumped through the window.

Pu'ar fled to his companion's side, while Oolong and Zhao peered through the door of the vehicle.

"This time I'm not hungry! So I have all my energy!" Goku declared, while placing his staff on the ground proudly.

The desert rat pounced with impressive speed at the boy. Despite this, Goku was able to dodge all the attacks. He ended by leaping on the blade of the sword, from which he propelled himself upwards. With the momentum he had acquired, he fell hard and landed a powerful blow with his staff on the bandit's head.

Yamcha fell with his butt on the ground, while Goku bounced gracefully and landed comfortably on his feet.

Pu'ar helped his companion, who pushed him aside to get up again. He had been stunned and some blood was falling from his head, but he wasn't going to just give up.

The bandit threw his sword away and adopted the familiar pose he had used in his previous fight against Goku. His jaw tightened.

"Rogafufuken!" He shouted loudly.

The boy blocked the first kick, but the subsequent onslaught of aggressive attacks completely overtook his defense. Most of the blows hit squarely and he had to jump back as soon as he had the chance.

Yamcha breathed heavily while Goku rubbed his face, which had gone red from the large number of blows he received. The bandit, of course, couldn't help but let out a small smile.

However, between the first direct blow he received to his head and the accumulated fatigue from the use of his technique, he ended up falling to the ground, unconscious. Pu'ar became worried and tried to wake him up, but it was useless. He gritted his teeth, understanding that he had no choice but to retreat.

Oolong swallowed. That battle had been very surprising. Even Zhao had been perplexed, for despite how early it was, the warriors were already at a very high level.

"Did you lose yet?" Goku asked innocently, causing his companions to fall on their backs.

Pu'ar, for his part, grabbed his companion and fled as fast as he could.

Goku let them go, watching them disappear into the horizon as he rubbed his face. He was left very sore from the bandit's brutal attacks.

Zhao ran over to the boy and gave him a brief glance at his face. It was quite red, but it was nothing particularly serious.

"Come, with some ice it should be better."

The boy followed him without further objection.

"You have ice, don't you?" Zhao asked Oolong as they entered the camper again.

The pig scratched his chin, for he did not remember well. He opened the refrigerator and confirmed that there was. He handed one of the bags he had to Zhao, who proceeded to wrap two ice cubes in a towel.

Then, he gave it to the boy.

"Put it on your face, it will help you with the pain." He explained while imitating what he should do with his own face.

Goku tried it, although he initially didn't like the cold feeling very much. After a while, he began to feel the effects and noticed that what the boy had said was true.

Oolong turned to the stairs, as Bulma was going down them. Her body was covered only by one of the pink towels in the bathroom, while she used another to wrap her hair. The pig seemed pleased with the sight, but it took Zhao a little by surprise.

"Did you really expect something like this to fit me?" The girl asked while holding Oolong's little pajamas.

"I told you they were my pajamas, didn't I?" The pig shrugged. "If you don't want to wear them, sleep naked then!"

Bulma frowned, not at all happy with the pig's tricks.

Zhao intervened to prevent the situation from escalating.

"Why don't you wear the same clothes as before?"

The girl moved her attention to him. "They're dirty, and Oolong offered to wash them, but I thought those pajamas he was talking about were my size!"

She gave a furious stare to the pig, who simply looked away.

"Well, if not, you can wear my shirt." He said before he began to unbutton the buttons of his shirt. "It should be enough to cover you more or less overnight. And by tomorrow Oolong should have washed your clothes, right?"

Zhao looked at the pig, who nodded reluctantly.

The girl, with few alternatives, decided to accept. She took the shirt as soon as Zhao took it off. Then, she went upstairs to change.

"I, for my part, think I'll go to sleep now. I guess I'll have to sleep on the floor. Do you have some spare sheets?" He looked at Oolong again.

The pig sighed. "Yes, I'll give them to you."

About fifteen minutes later, everyone was asleep.

Chapter Text

Yamcha woke up at dawn. He had been sitting in the chair in front of the table in his lair. He relaxed a bit knowing that he was in the safety of his home.

He rubbed his eyes, for his vision was a little cloudy. When he took his hands off his face, he saw that there was some ice on the table and a kettle that was still hot. Surely Pu'ar had prepared it for him.

He took one of the empty cups and poured himself some tea. He took a small sip and enjoyed the sensation of the hot liquid running down his throat. He then remembered the tremendous blow the boy had dealt him in his last fight, so he touched his forehead. It had a bandage around it, probably also thanks to Pu'ar.

The bandit got up from his chair and began to look for his companion. He finally found him in the viewpoint of the lair, looking at something with his spyglass. He seemed very focused.

"Hey, Pu'ar." The bandit called.

The blue cat lowered the spyglass and looked at his companion with some relief.

"Ah, you've woken up, Yamcha-sama!"

He seemed to remember something and took another small look at the horizon before lowering the spyglass for good.

"Oolong's friends have begun to move. Should we intercept them?"

Yamcha shook his head, still a little sore from his previous confrontation.

"I don't think it's smart to keep fighting them." He reluctantly admitted. "Either way, the dragon balls are useless if all seven aren't together."

"So?"

"We are going to follow them from afar. And when they have gathered them all..." He rubbed his hands together. "We steal them!"

Oolong began to drive the camper first thing in the morning. He had slept a little, but he wanted to make sure that they would not fight bandits in that desert again.

About two hours after the pig had started the road, the rest began to wake up. First it was Goku, who between yawns and stretches went to greet Oolong.

"Good morning!" He said cheerfully.

"Good morning..." The pig was more focused on driving the vehicle than anything else, so he didn't even think about asking how the kid had slept.

Zhao had slept on the floor in front of the dining room, so Goku went to greet him afterwards. He tapped his face a couple of times until he opened his eyes.

He was wrapped in sheets that Oolong had given him. With narrowed eyes he greeted the kid. He didn't want to get up, but he knew he had to. He groaned as he finally got up. He rubbed his eyes and went to the sink to pour himself a glass of water.

"Since you woke up, you could start making breakfast!" Oolong said from the driver's seat.

Goku understood that he would soon eat, so he was quite excited. He looked at the still sleepy Zhao, who shrugged and yawned.

"Let's see what's in there."

Zhao opened the refrigerator and began to register the pig's provisions. Despite everything they had eaten the night before, there was still plenty of food left.

He pulled out a few eggs, some sausages, and a large box of orange juice. Then, from one of the drawers in the kitchen he took out the bread.

"Hmmmm..."

Goku turned around. The turquoise-haired girl was walking down the stairs, yawning almost at every step she took. She was only wearing the shirt Zhao had lent her, which covered her up to her thighs.

"Ah, Bulma! Good morning!" The kid greeted with a big smile on his face. "Zhao is preparing breakfast."

"Good morning!" The green-haired boy repeated.

"So early?" The girl asked. Her hair was quite disheveled, although that applied to everyone except Oolong, who didn't have much hair on his head.

"That bandit attacked us again last night, while you were sleeping." The pig explained. "I rather avoid problems, so I started driving as soon as the sun came up."

"Again? How insistent..." The girl yawned again. "Hey Oolong, you washed my clothes, right?

"I also have to sleep... So it's not ready."

Suddenly, drowsiness left Bulma's body.

"What do you mean?! I don't have any more clothes! I told you to have it ready this morning!" It almost felt like her head spontaneously grew in size only to yell more loudly at the pig.

Not wanting to argue, the pig simply pointed towards the stairs.

"In the second-floor cabinet I have the only clothes that might fit you. If you want, use that, but I don't have anything else."

The girl sighed. "Okay."

She quickly went up the stairs.

Goku then began to tap Zhao on the back.

"I'm hungry. Is it ready yet?"

The boy made a grimace that showed some annoyance. He was about to finish preparing the eggs, but he realized that perhaps he would need more because of the kid's voracious appetite.

"Almost..."

Zhao moved and took out two pieces of toast from the toaster. Then, he placed two more loaves in the machine.

He placed the toast on a plate next to some eggs that were already ready and a few sausages. He handed it to the boy, who smiled broadly.

"Take this for the moment. On the table is the orange juice." He said as he cooked. "Vitamin C is important!"

Goku turned around to look for the orange box. He raised an eyebrow. "What is a Vitamin C?"

Within a few minutes, breakfast was ready. Zhao began serving all the food on several plates, divided into roughly similar portions because he didn't know the diet of the rest. The last dish he placed was his own, which also had a little fruit added to it, for good complement.

Then, a scream was heard from the second floor.

"Oolong!"

Bulma ran down the stairs and went straight to confront the pig. She was wearing a red bunny outfit, similar to the ones worn by playboy models in Zhao's previous world.

The latter was shocked by such an image, so much so that his jaw fell to the ground while his face turned red like a tomato. In contrast, Goku found it funny and laughed a little. To him, it was only a silly costume.

"You call this clothes?!" The girl asked, furious. "I'll look like an idiot wearing this around."

Oolong didn't even bother to look at the girl, as he knew perfectly well why she was upset. In fact, he grinned a little with just imagining her wearing it. He parked the camper near a rock formation while whistling casually. Finally he put on the handbrake and got up from the seat.

He wanted to eat some breakfast, but the girl's irascible grimace blocked his way.

"It looks good on you, I don't know why you're complaining." He shrugged. "And I told you, I don't have anything else."

Zhao cleared his throat a little to get their attention. The two turned around, and the boy proudly showed them the table, which was filled to the brim with food.

He smiled, still a little nervous about the bunny suit.

"Breakfast is ready."

After a few more hours in the vehicle, the environment changed from dry desert to a more tropical landscape. More vegetation began to appear. First grass, then shrubs and finally even palm trees. There were also other types of trees occasionally.

Oolong had been driving quite fast, but upon reaching that area, he slowed down.

Bulma approached him, surprised by that and wanting to question him.

"Why are you stopping?"

Goku and Zhao, meanwhile, were sitting on the couch. The boy rested and played with his staff, while Zhao simply drank a glass of water.

Oolong's forehead had begun to sweat. Bulma hadn't noticed it, but he had even begun to tremble a little.

She raised an eyebrow and looked out through the window. Her eyes were dazzled by the reddish light of the raging fire that consumed a mountain that was already visible from their position. Only the highest point had escaped the wrath of those flames, and in this one there seemed to be an imposing castle.

"That's Frypan Mountain..." The pig said as he squeezed the steering wheel tightly. "It used to be called Ryokeizan and it was a good place to live, but..."

Bulma listened to him expectantly and soon the kid joined them. Zhao could hear from the couch.

"About ten years ago, strange flames fell from the skies and set the mountain on fire. They also warmed up the climate to what it is today..." He sighed, unable to contain his fear of that place. "Let's not go, okay? There lives Gyumao...!"

"Who is this Gyumao that you are so afraid of?"

"Y-you don't know who he is? He's a super scary guy! Some call him the demon king!" Oolong placed his right hand on his neck. Then, he acted as if he was slitting his throat with his hand. "Everyone who goes to the mountain ends up like this!"

Goku raised his hand. "Is that castle Gyumao's?"

Oolong nodded. "It is said that inside there are all kinds of treasures! And that's why Gyumao is always taking care of his castle..."

"Surely there is the ball!" Bulma said, almost as if shouting 'Eureka'.

"So Gyumao is in there?"

"No, because the fire started while he was away... Gyumao protects his castle from the bottom of the mountain!" Oolong raised his arms. "The flames are so powerful that not even Gyumao himself can return to his castle."

"Woooow." Goku seemed amazed by that story, but the girl was a little more skeptical.

"You seem to know a lot... where did you get it from?"

"It's written in school textbooks."

"Oh..." Bulma laughed nervously. Although she went to school, she skipped most classes and what she learned she did in a self-taught way.

"Anyway, I'm not going there..." The pig reversed and began to move the camper away. However, Bulma already had a backup plan.

"Piiiii, piiii."

That simple sound triggered an intense explosion in the pig's stomach, who ran at full speed to the bathroom. Even with the door closed, the sounds of pig diarrhea were heard throughout the camper.

The turquoise-haired girl laughed evilly. Zhao looked at her with some fear, but she gave him a thumbs up.

"It's just one of my backup plans."

He smiled nervously after swallowing hard. He had to remember not to bother Bulma, because he might end up like poor Oolong.

After a few minutes, the pig finally came out of the bathroom, exhausted and even sore from what had happened inside. He looked at the girl with hatred, but had to give in.

"Well... I'll go, but don't do that to me again!"

Not far from them, an old car model was following them. The engine, which was exposed at the rear, made sounds as it jumped a little. Finally, it also had a long metal antenna, probably with the use of picking up radio signals.

Yamcha was at the wheel, while his partner was his co-driver. Both were looking carefully at the white camper, as they did not want to lose sight of their prey.

"They started moving again..." Pu'ar observed.

"It seems that they are serious about going to Frypan Mountain..." Yamcha rubbed his chin. "Perhaps the ball is in Gyumao Castle."

"Huh? Then they will never get it!" The blue cat lamented. "Between the fire and Gyumao it's impossible..."

"Hmmm... Maybe that child can befriend Gyumao..." He raised a finger as soon as he remembered an important piece of information. "After all, he is the grandson of Son Gohan, who was Gyumao's rival. They were both disciples of Muten Roshi."

"Either way, it will be better for us to stay back and just watch..." Pu'ar said, fearful.

A loud scream interrupted their conversation. This was followed by powerful rumblings on the ground, almost like an earthquake.

Both bandits turned around and watched curiously what was going on behind them. Pu'ar lowered his ears as Yamcha opened his mouth.

A little girl was running at full speed from a gigantic dinosaur. She wore a kind of bikini-like armor, the top of which included a cape. She was also wearing a pink helmet with an axe in the middle simulating a crest. This matched the color of her gloves and boots.

The dinosaur bent down to try to bite her, as the distance had shortened considerably. However, the girl suddenly turned around and took the crest of her helmet with both hands. She threw it at the dinosaur with such force that it cut off his head. Then the crest came back like a boomerang.

The large head fell along with the imposing body of the creature. The blood and, in general, cruelty of the scene frightened the girl. She placed both hands on her helmet and released a powerful laser beam that pulverized what was left of the dinosaur.

Yamcha's jaw dropped to the ground at such a display.

The girl breathed a little as she understood that the situation was over. She rubbed her eyes as she tried to process everything. She had just killed that terrifying dinosaur.

She turned around because she had to go back to her father, and it was then that she noticed the bandit duo and their chariot.

Pu'ar began to tremble and sweat, completely paralyzed.

The girl backed away, unable to recognize them. Yamcha tried to calm the situation by throwing his hands up, but it was useless.

"Get out of here!" The girl shouted. "Get out of Frypan Mountain or I'll throw you into the fire!"

Again she placed her fingers on her helmet and launched that laser beam. Yamcha was barely able to dodge it with a big jump. They were lucky that the laser didn't hit the car either.

The bandit looked at her with more fear than anything else. She had tried to kill him. Fear soon turned to anger and he charged at the girl quite quickly. He landed a straight punch to the helmet, but barely pushed her back a bit. Then, he threw a kick to the chin, which the girl surprisingly dodged.

The girl took two steps back and took the crest of her helmet. Yamcha screamed like a frightened woman and dropped to the ground. Then, the girl threw the crest quite hard.

The bandit knew he would have a couple of seconds until the ridge returned, so he jumped out and charged at her again. He kicked her in the face and then knocked her out with a blow to the neck.

When the crest returned, it cut off a lock of his hair and landed precisely on the girl's helmet, almost as if it were magnetic. Yamcha, although victorious, was trembling with fear. He had been a few milimeters away from losing his head.

"Y-Yamcha-sama..."

"Yes, Pu'ar?"

"I think we'd better keep going before that girl wakes up."

"Y-yeah..."

The group had arrived at a destroyed village. Houses were falling apart, and some of them only existed as rubble. The streets were more or less kept in shape, but the lack of maintenance was noticeable due to root growth and so on. Nature had begun to claim the place.

A few meters away was Frypan Mountain, ablaze in raging flames that covered it almost entirely. That is why it was extremely hot in that town.

Everyone was searching through the rubble to see if there was luck finding the dragon ball, but there was really nothing of value. Goku came to find a couple of skeletons that surely belonged to the inhabitants of that town.

Bulma wiped the sweat from her face as she pulled out her radar. She pressed the button and revealed that the ball was nearby, but not in the village.

"It seems it is in the castle..." The girl sighed. "Hey, Son-kun! Do you think you can go up there with Kinto'un?"

Goku turned around and thought about it. "I guess I can try."

Oolong started to run towards the boy, but he didn't arrive in time.

"Kinto'un!" He shouted loudly.

The pig dropped to the ground. "Don't yell!"

A golden cloud descended from the sky at very high speed. Goku jumped right at the moment when the cloud reached him, so he fell on top of her. He was able to ride it as if it were a surfboard, because he was pure of heart.

Zhao admired that scene with considerable astonishment. He wondered if he would be able to ride that cloud.

"Don't come back until you've found the ball!" Bulma shouted.

The greenish-haired boy looked at her with some bewilderment. "I don't know how good an idea it is to send Goku so far away. Imagine if Gyumao shows up..."

Then, he felt a small rumble on the ground. He was surprised, but the second confirmed the worst of his suspicions. He just had to open his mouth.

The girl and the pig, for their part, did not notice anything. They were focused on watching Goku fly to the top of the mountain. So, it fell to Zhao to turn around and see where the rumbles were coming from.

As he did so, he came across a gigantic, burly silhouette holding an immense axe. All his survival instincts were activated as if they were alarms and he immediately ran to his companions.

"Down!"

Oolong immediately listened while Bulma just turned around. Zhao had to jump towards her to make her fall to the ground. And then, that silhouette threw the axe at them. Although, thanks to the fact that they had dropped to the ground in time, they managed to dodge that potentially deadly attack.

Noticing the imposing power, both Bulma and Oolong began to tremble like jelly. Sweat dripped from their skin, and their eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. Bulma laughed nervously, while the pig made a strange face of terror.

Zhao had no idea how to react. Without Goku, they were finished.

All that remained was for him to trust that Gyumao was a good man.

The gigantic man walked calmly towards the wall in which his weapon had been stuck. He tore it off without much effort and rested it on his shoulder.

He wore a chestplate just in his size, as well as a long cape that reached his waist. He was also wearing a helmet that covered half of his face. It had two large horns and a long feather in the middle that fell backwards.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He asked in a very deep voice.

Oolong almost fainted, and the girl hesitated.

"G-G-Gyu... G-Gyumao...!" Finally, Bulma said.

"You didn't come to steal my treasure, did you?"

Oolong pissed his pants this time.

Zhao cleared his throat a little. He was also sweating a lot, between the heat and the tension of that situation, but he had to intervene. Goku still hadn't returned.

"Not at all, sir. We just wanted to help him with the mountain fire." He tried to convince him.

"Hmmmm."

"Hey! I can't make it, it's too hot!" The kid's voice echoed from the heavens.

With that statement, it was impossible for the guardian of that place not to think that one of his many treasures had been tried to be stolen. The group assumed their deaths, although Bulma yelled at Goku.

Kinto'un stopped its swift trajectory as soon as it caught up with the group. It was impossible for the boy not to notice the gigantic man in front of his friends. He examined him for a few seconds before speaking to him.

"Who are you, sir?"

The girl by that time was dying of fear and nerves. "Have more respect, you idiot! That's Gyumao-sama...!"

However, the giant seemed to be amazed by something. He pointed to the golden cloud and scratched his beard.

"Kinto'un?" He asked in his characteristic deep voice. "Where did you get it?"

"Huh? It was given to me by a man named Kame Sen'nin." Goku continued to examine that gigantic man. "You are Gyumao... Yes, you look very strong!"

Hearing that name, the giant's attitude changed completely. He was so excited that he looked like a child when he saw one of his heroes.

"¿Kame Sen'nin?! Muten Roshi-sama!"

Everyone, already on the ground on their knees ready to beg for their lives, raised their heads in confusion.

"Do you know where Muten Roshi-sama lives now?!" Gyumao asked.

"Mmmm." The boy looked at Bulma. "Do we know where he lives?"

After all, Zhao hadn't been there during that part of the adventure. Although, in any case, due to his previous knowledge he had an idea of where the old pervert lived.

The girl hesitated a little, but finally answered.

"Somewhere beyond the coast."

Gyumao began to dance, sing, and celebrate. He seemed ecstatic at the wonderful news of now being able to find his former master. "I will finally be able to return to my castle!"

However, his celebration was interrupted by something he saw out of the corner of his eye. He approached the boy and looked at him carefully. That red staff was unmistakable.

"The Nyoi-bō..." The giant pointed his finger. "Where did you get it?"

"My grandfather gave it to me!"

Gyumao was filled with surprise. "S-Son Gohan?!"

Goku nodded. He had always been proud to be the man's grandson.

Again, Gyumao began dancing in celebration. "This is amazing! Son Gohan had a grandson!"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Do you know my grandfather?"

"Of course! We were both disciples of Muten Roshi-sama. He was number one and I was number two! My eternal rival..."

Bulma blinked at such a revelation. "I can't believe that perverted old man is so incredible..."

"Well... There are many legends about Muten Roshi-sama." Zhao explained. "He's the strongest in the world, or so they say."

"Ehhh?" Bulma still didn't believe it.

"Anyway, it's not the time to be chit-chatting." Gyumao became serious again. He put his fist on his hand. "I need to ask you a favor."

"What do you need?" The boy asked.

"Through one of my sources, I discovered that Muten Roshi-sama possesses an object called Bashosen, capable of extinguishing the fierce flames that have taken over my mountain and besieged my castle." He put his two big hands together. "Do you think you can go over there with Kinto'un and bring me that fan?"

"Sure!" Goku said with one of his classic smiles. "Do you think you can give us the dragon ball in return?"

"Mm?"

"Look, it looks like this." He unbuckled his grandfather's dragon ball from his belt and showed it to Gyumao.

He scratched his beard until he recognized the object. "Yes! I've seen it before. I think it's in my castle! Of course I will give it to you if you help me."

Bulma and Zhao exchanged looks in disbelief.

"Great. Then I'm leaving."

"W-wait! One more thing..." He raised his hand and Goku stopped. "I didn't think things were going to be resolved so soon, so I sent my daughter Chi-Chi to look for Muten Roshi... She's a little shy, but she's a sweet girl! You can even make her your wife if you want!"

Goku had no idea what that word meant.

The giant took a picture of the girl from under his armor and showed it to Goku.

"Then I just have to bring her here?"

Gyumao nodded several times.

Zhao decided to step forward. "Gyumao-sama, excuse the interruption."

The giant looked at him.

"How about we go look for your daughter while Goku goes with Muten Roshi-sama? That way we will solve both problems as soon as possible!" He suggested.

Gyumao scratched his beard as he thought. "I guess it's not a bad idea. Hmmm... Well, I accept."

"Well then, I'm leaving!" Without even giving the order, Kinto'un shot out into the skies. That object was still surprising.

"We'll get to work too!" Zhao said.

Bulma nodded with determination, but Oolong seemed less enthusiastic.

Chapter Text

The group had returned the way they came, following in their own footsteps to begin the search for Gyumao's daughter. They had decided to walk because looking for her from Oolong's camper would limit their vision, although at the same time they sacrificed speed.

Bulma found a dirt road and guided the pig and Zhao towards it. Since then, they had simply followed that path, hoping to get a little lucky.

And indeed, they did.

Zhao noticed something in the distance. He narrowed his eyes and identified a green car. Then, he saw a small animal floating and a boy with long black hair. From his clothes, he knew right away that he was the desert bandit.

He immediately grabbed Oolong and Bulma by their clothes and pulled them towards a large stone nearby. It was a very convenient hiding place.

The girl raised an eyebrow and peered over the stone at the same time as Zhao.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"It's Yamcha, it looks like he found Gyumao's daughter."

"The bandit again?!" Oolong also poked his head out from behind the stone. "Are they following us?"

"It seems to be the case." Bulma sat down again and rubbed her chin. "What will we do without Goku? You didn't know how to fight, right, Zhao?"

A light bulb went off on the greenish-haired boy's head. "No, but Oolong can beat him."

Bulma stared at him in confusion. How was the weak shape-shifter supposed to be able to defeat the desert bandit who fought one-on-one against Goku.

Oolong just transformed into a voluptuous blonde woman, and the turquoise-haired girl understood it. She had forgotten the fact that even that bandit was a pervert.

Zhao peered over the stone. It seemed that they wanted to return Chi-Chi before them.

"Come on, Oolong."

The pig, now in the form a woman, nodded.

The girl was blushing a little as she saw this handsome young man. She was a little confused. Earlier, that boy fought her and knocked her out, but now he was declaring his love for her.

Chi-Chi had never had a boyfriend, so she didn't know those things very well, but it still didn't make much sense to her.

"Are you serious?" She asked.

Yamcha became nervous. "Of course not! Look at my serious face."

The bandit smiled slightly, revealing a full set of shiny teeth.

The girl blushed even more. Perhaps what happened before was a misunderstanding. She put her hands on her face, as she was embarrassed as she thought about everything she had heard about couples.

"No one had ever confessed their love to me before..." She said nervously. "I've read some things in magazines. People who love each other go on dates and hold hands..."

She covered her face with her small hands.

"Yes, yes. But first I have to take you to your father, Chi-Chi-sama."

"Seducing the girl?! Really?!" A female voice shouted in the distance.

It was Bulma, who was walking furiously and quickly towards the bandit. A blonde woman and a green-haired boy had grabbed her by the arms, trying to stop her before their plan was ruined. However, their efforts seemed futile.

"Dirty pervert!"

Yamcha recognized Zhao and that blonde woman, but he had never seen the turquoise-haired girl. In any case, having seen those two women was too much for him and he was paralyzed.

Pu'ar slapped him a few times, but it was useless. He called his partner by name, but it didn't work either. Then, he knew it was too late and just got out of the way.

When Bulma caught up with Yamcha, she slapped him in the face so hard that the boy fell down like a rag doll.

Zhao blinked and swallowed hard, terrified at the power of that slap. Something like that would have been useful to them before.

"Y-Yamcha-sama!"

Pu'ar took his defeated companion and put him in his vehicle again. Then, he turned it on and fled as fast as he could.

Bulma kept yelling at them at the top of her lungs until they lost sight of the vehicle. Oolong, meanwhile, returned to his original form, letting out a sigh of relief as he did so.

Chi-Chi had been a little frightened by these strangers, so she quickly put her hands on the crest of her helmet. Zhao noticed it and immediately raised his hands.

"Calm down, calm down!" He shouted, causing his two friends to turn around. They also raised their hands.

"You scared my boyfriend away!"

Bulma fell backwards. "Believe me, you don't want anyone like that guy near you..."

"Your father sent us to look for you, don't kill us!" Zhao shouted again.

"Father?"

"Y-yes. Gyumao-sama asked that we take you back," Oolong explained nervously. "A friend of ours has already gone to Muten Roshi's house to ask for the item you need to put out the fire."

"Really?" The girl asked, a little astonished. "What good news!"

"Yes! So let's go back. Your father must be looking forward to seeing you."

When they returned to the destroyed village, Goku had already returned. He was still riding on his flying nimbus and was talking to Gyumao. But most importantly, he was empty-handed.

Chi-Chi ran straight to his father and hugged him tightly. The giant was happy to see his daughter and celebrated a little in his characteristic way, by jumping and dancing around.

Bulma and Oolong weren't sure if it was a good idea to get closer, but Zhao did so quite calmly and confidently.

"Did you get the Bashosen?" He asked the boy.

"Nope!" Goku replied.

His three companions fell down to the ground on their backs.

"But Kame Sen'nin offered to come in person to put out the fire." The boy continued.

Zhao raised an eyebrow.

"And where is he?"

Before the boy could answer him, a loud sound interrupted the conversation. It was similar to the one generated by the turbines in an airplane. They all looked up at the sky and noticed that something was spinning non-stop and was approaching them.

It quickly landed, revealing Muten Roshi riding on a turtle's shell. He maintained a serious expression and simply adjusted his sunglasses.

"Muten Roshi!" Gyumao shouted.

The old man jumped out of the turtle's shell and landed on the ground with great technique. Despite carrying a heavy shell on his own back, he looked as light as a feather. He kept one arm behind his back, and with the other he held his cane. Perhaps due to a balance problem, due to his advanced age, his posture was curved.

The sunlight reflected off his bald head, which was brighter than usual from the sweat that covered it.

"Mmm. What a tremendous fire... That explains the heat." He didn't even turn to look at the others, he just stared at Frypan Mountain.

"Can you turn it off, old man?" Goku asked. Only Gyumao was surprised by the lack of respect towards Muten Roshi.

The old man said nothing. Instead, he turned his head towards the big Gyumao.

"Hey, Gyumao..."

"Tell me, Muten Roshi-sama!"

"I've been hearing rumors about you that... they're not very good." As he spoke, he fiddled with his beard. "Is it true that you have killed several people to protect your treasures?"

"Y-yes, master...!" The giant quickly knelt down and began to bow. Finally, he placed his forehead on the ground. "I am very ashamed of what I came to do, blinded by greed... However, master, you must understand that those I had to kill threatened my life first!"

Roshi looked at his disciple curiously. Who would dare try to kill the fearsome Gyumao?

"Although it is now clear to me what I must do, Muten Roshi-sama! As soon as the fire has gone out, I will get rid of all my treasures to avoid further trouble."

For everyone else, including little Chi-Chi, it was a bit surreal to see the big Gyumao begging for forgiveness on his knees. How honorable and powerful Muten Roshi had to be to have such authority and receive so much respect from someone so legendary.

The old man adjusted his sunglasses. "I don't know if I would go that far. Throwing them away would be a waste..."

The giant said nothing else. He simply continued on his knees begging for his mentor's forgiveness. Roshi, for his part, was pensive because of the comments his former pupil had made. He knew well that none of his disciples would go to such lengths for no reason.

"I'll ask you a few questions later, Gyumao. For now, let's focus on the fire." The old man finally said. "To be honest, I'm surprised you haven't managed to put this out yet."

The old man took off his characteristic turtle shell and dropped it to the ground. Its weight was such that it broke the concrete of the road and kicked up a little dust. Oolong and Bulma's jaws fell to the ground from the bizarre image of what that seemingly weak old man had been carrying on his back all that time. Goku, for his part, seemed to marvel at such a feat, as did Chi-Chi.

Zhao, however, remained thoughtful. He seemed to have no major reaction, like Gyumao, but he was actually thinking that he didn't remember Roshi wearing heavy shells.

After a few stretches, the old man took off his orange shirt. His body was more or less what Bulma imagined. Skinny and flabby, the old man seemed to be selling smoke with all his reputation. Roshi cracked his own neck and then he was ready.

He bent both knees and concentrated deeply.

"Pay attention, children. Muten Roshi is about to perform his legendary technique." Gyumao said, his eyes fixed on his master.

Goku's heart began to pound. And even without knowing this, his gaze said enough. He was tremendously excited at the prospect of witnessing some of the old man's legendary power.

"I look sexy, huh?" The old man asked the turquoise-haired girl. The latter nodded, although not very convinced about it.

Roshi looked quite confident. He took a great leap and landed elegantly on one of the highest walls still standing. He arranged his feet so that his balance was perfect and sighed.

"OK! Here I go... I'm a little rusty, but I hope it works..."

The old man tensed the muscles of his thin arms and inhaled all the air his lungs would allow. Once his chest was fully inflated, he let out the powerful scream.

"HA!"

As if they were balloons, all his muscles inflated immensely. In just a few seconds, he went from being a skinny and weak old man to having even bigger muscles than Gyumao himself. The veins on both his forehead and his arms and torso became visible through his skin.

Everyone looked at the scene with some disbelief. Even for his disciple, that sudden transformation was impressive.

Roshi gritted his teeth as he channeled all of his Ki into both arms. He raised his now massive muscular arms, which trembled from all the tension accumulated in them. Little by little he closed them in front of himself.

"Ka... me..."

When the wrists of his hands came together, perfectly aligned at the height of his chest, he retracted his arms back. Now, at the height of his waist, the old man charged Ki into his palms.

"Ha... me..."

Knowing that everything was ready, he loosened the pressure on his jaw and let out a small exhale. Then, his sunglasses flashed and he shot both of his hands forward.

He released a powerful scream. "HA!"

A powerful blast of pure Ki shot out from the palms of his two hands, which remained together. That brutal concentration of energy was channeled into a kind of laser, whose trajectory went in a straight line towards the mountain. Its brightness was blinding, so much so that it was difficult for the normal eye to discern its true color.

Zhao, despite the pain in his eyes, looked at that scene in total shock. That was the legendary technique of Muten Roshi, the Kamehameha. And he had seen it with his own eyes.

Bulma and Oolong eventually gave in and covered their eyes from the overwhelming light, but the others resisted. Especially Goku and Gyumao, whose eyes were not affected in the slightest.

A powerful roar followed the blinding light, which then dissipated. Zhao rubbed his eyes and looked clearly at the landscape. The mountain had almost completely disappeared, as Roshi had overdone it by using such a technique. His hands began to tremble, but surprisingly it wasn't from fear. Even though the blast had dissipated, his eyes still reflected a light.

That was excitement.

He clenched his fists and began to laugh. The spectacular display of power of the legendary Muten Roshi had captivated him, as had Goku.

"Completely amazing!" The green-haired boy shouted. "Did you see that?!"

He turned around to look at the others.

Bulma simply swallowed hard at the disappearance of the mountain. She never imagined that there were people with such tremendous power. She was still unable to comprehend that such power existed in the first place.

Oolong, meanwhile, was still paralyzed by the scene.

Goku was the first to speak after Zhao. "W-what the hell..."

Roshi sighed deeply. He looked very agitated. In the blink of an eye, his body returned to normal, returning to a thin and weak old man. He was sweating a lot and his breathing was quite agitated, so he took a seat on a destroyed wall.

"It seems that I managed to put it out... phew."

Gyumao walked closer to his master, though he seemed a little uncomfortable about something.

He lifted his finger and pointed toward the mountain. "Excuse me, master..."

"Hm?"

"Yes, you put out the fire, but..." Roshi looked at him intently. "My mountain and my castle..."

The old man turned around, confused, and stumbled upon the void left by the now-destroyed mountain. There were only a few ruined remains of the castle and charred plants.

Chi-Chi screamed loudly, understandably horrified.

"Damn, I didn't gauge the Kamehameha's power well..." Roshi said, apparently not too alarmed by the situation. "I guess I'm rustier than I thought."

He stuck out his tongue and made a funny face.

"Hehe." He scratched his bald head.

"H-h-h-how the fuck?!" Bulma stammered, still stunned by the Kamehameha.

"Muten Roshi-sama!" Zhao exclaimed as he ran towards the old man. He stopped right in front of the wall on which he was sitting. "That was amazing! That was the legendary Kamehameha, right?"

The old man adjusted his sunglasses and nodded his head. He was quite proud to receive such praise from the young boy.

"Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing you when I met Goku and Bulma..." The bald man said as he wiped the sweat from his bald head. "Are you new?"

"Eh, something like that." He laughed nervously. Then, he bowed. He wasn't sure, but he thought it was an appropriate way to show him respect. "My name is Zhao, it's an honor to meet you!"

The old man nodded. "Finally someone with good manners."

The turquoise-haired girl took out the dragon radar and tapped the only button on the small device. It made a small 'beep!' and quickly indicated that there was a dragon ball nearby. She beckoned to Oolong, who followed her as she began to run towards the ruins of the castle.

Both began to dig through the rubble, although with little result. Bulma seemed obsessive in her search. Despite the pig's obvious negativity, she still had hope that the ball hadn't been destroyed.

Zhao looked at them in the distance.

"Excuse me for destroying your castle, Gyumao." Said Roshi, who finally got off the wall. He walked slowly and calmly to his shirt, which he put back on.

Chichi was still crying a little over the loss of her home, but the giant seemed less upset about it.

"It's nothing, master. We'll just build it again." Gyumao admired the cooling of the weather and breathed a sigh of relief. "Now it's much cooler without the fire. Everything will be much better now!"

On the outskirts of the village, hidden behind a pile of rubble and charred wood, two familiar characters were hiding. They had looked at the whole scene from that position, and were therefore a little disturbed.

Pu'ar was shaking and sweating. The display of power of the legendary Muten Roshi had exceeded the expectations his mind wac capable of imagining.

Yamcha, on the other hand, gritted his teeth. He already knew about the legends of the Kamehameha technique, so that demonstration did not surprise him too much. While it was a massive power, it was to be expected from Muten Roshi.

…

…

…

Oolong was rummaging through some old chests he found lying around. They were full of luxurious and rare jewels, which he tried to put in his pockets. They had been searching for the ball for several minutes, but there was no sign that it would appear.

However, Bulma was convinced that the ball had not been destroyed, as her radar still detected the signal.

The girl lifted a few bricks and finally saw it. The amber glow and a single red star. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly took it. She lifted it up to the sky and screamed.

"Here it is!"

The pig turned around, still full of skepticism. His eyes widened in surprise when he confirmed that she had indeed found the ball.

They both started jumping and dancing in celebration. Then, remembering that it was Oolong, she pulled away a little. She didn't want that pig to have any illusions.

In the distance, the rest had been watching the search for the dragon ball. Gyumao and Roshi had been conversing, while Goku imitated and practiced with the pose of the Kamehameha technique. Zhao had divided his attention between the three things, but he spent those minutes just resting. It had been a pretty busy few days, after all.

The bald old man looked at his disciple in surprise.

"Military? What would an army do in such a remote place?" He asked.

Gyumao shrugged. "I guess they heard rumors about my treasures and came for them. They threatened Chi-Chi..."

Roshi fiddled with his beard. "Perhaps I judged your actions incorrectly, my disciple. We'll have to keep this in mind."

A loud sound interrupted their conversation. Both martial arts masters turned around to look at what was happening behind them. Zhao and Chi-Chi had already been admiring that.

Goku threw both of his hands forward and unleashed a weak Kamehameha against a rock, destroying it in the process. The girl screamed in fear, while the greenish-haired boy looked just as excited as when he saw Muten Roshi himself do it.

A small drop of sweat fell down the giant's face.

"Incredible...! How did he do it?"

Roshi looked at the boy carefully.

Goku was looking at the palms of his hand. Apart from a little sweat from the heat accumulated in them, they had nothing out of the ordinary. Although, to some extent, he seemed disappointed.

"It doesn't compare to Kame Sen'nin's..." He said quietly.

Gyumao scratched his beard. "Well, he's Gohan-san's grandson, after all..."

"What did you say?!" Roshi almost jumped at such a revelation. "Are you talking about Son Gohan?!"

"Huh?" The giant looked at his master. "Didn't you know, Muten Roshi-sama?"

"Now that you mention it... A while ago, Son Gohan told me that he had been raising a boy with a tail that he found on Mount Paozu." A nostalgic smile appeared on his face. He recalled those days when Gyumao and Gohan trained under his tutelage, when they were still young. "It seems that Gohan trained him very well, don't you think?"

Zhao stood next to the boy, almost jumping up and down with excitement. He mimicked the poses needed for the Kamehameha, with the small hope that he too could accomplish the same as Goku. However, deep down he knew that he would need a lot more effort.

"How did you do it?!" The greenish-haired boy asked. "Teach me your secrets!"

Goku scratched his head. "I'm not sure, I just did it and it worked."

Roshi walked up to the young duo and looked at them quite curiously. Goku was the one who had most of his interest, of course. The feat had been achieved by the kid, after all.

"Hey, kid, how's Grandpa Gohan?"

The question took him by surprise, so he answered it with a bit of confusion. "My grandpa is already dead."

The old man's nostalgic smile waned a little. Such news was devastating to him, but he could not let these young men see his feelings.

"Hmmm. We lost a great man, then." The old man remembered why he had approached in the first place and continued. "Hey, how about coming to my house to train? Maybe you'll surpass me one day!"

The boy's eyes lit up. "Really?! Then I will go with you when we have gathered the dragon balls!"

Zhao heard those words and stopped imitating the poses. He took the opportunity and joined in the conversation. He didn't think about it too much.

He bowed and addressed the old man directly.

"Muten Roshi-sama, I'd like to train with you too!"

The old man looked at him with a stoic expression.

Goku looked at his partner. "Didn't you say you didn't fight?"

A drop of sweat fell down Zhao's face. "Well, yes, but... watching you fight made me want to get stronger! You inspired me, Goku."

That last sentence came from his heart. Of course, the child could not know all the real context behind those words. It was somewhat comforting for the greenish-haired boy to be able to say that to one of his idols. It was one of the advantages of living that fantasy.

"Hmmm." Roshi didn't look very confident about it. After a few seconds, he seemed to have an idea. "Hey Goku, call Kinto'un."

"Huh? Okay." Following the orders, the boy shouted the name of the golden cloud, which quickly made an appearance.

Roshi cleared his throat. "If you manage to climb on the cloud, I will accept you as my disciple alongside Goku."

It was a litmus test. Almost no one in the world was worthy of riding Kinto'un. Only those of pure heart were. In part, because of the high probability that the boy would fail, the old man decided that this test was the most appropriate one.

Zhao swallowed. He was also aware of how complicated that test was, even if it seemed really simple on paper. He wasn't quite sure of his own character, and perhaps he wouldn't be worthy.

He sighed, trying to relax his nerves, and approached the cloud. He touched it a little, feeling a texture similar to that of cotton candy. He gritted his teeth a little before climbing the cloud.

Great was his surprise when he did not fall. The cloud held his weight.

Roshi raised his eyebrows as Goku celebrated. Training would be more fun with one of his friends.

"Mmm. It seems that you are worthy." The old man admitted. Now, he had to keep his word. "Fine, I'll accept you alongside Goku. But I warn you, my training goes beyond any other. Not just anyone can survive it."

Zhao was still riding on the cloud, albeit swaying due to the small space. "Maybe I'm not as strong as Goku, but I'll try my best!"

Bulma and Oolong returned to the village together at that time. The girl noticed that Zhao was riding on the cloud and rushed towards him. She tried to touch Kinto'un, but was unable to. To her it was just air.

"Can you get on that thing too?!"

The greenish-haired boy nodded proudly.

"And Muten Roshi accepted me alongside Goku as his new disciple!"

Bulma's blue eyes widened. "Wow... You're full of surprises, aren't you? What about the dragon balls?"

"Calm down! We're not going to leave you yet. Our training will begin until we gather the balls!" Bulma looked a little more relieved, but something still felt strange to her about that.

She sighed. "Good, because we are still missing two balls and I will need your help!"

Seeing the girl, Roshi seemed to remember something and blushed. He called out to Goku with a gesture and when the boy approached, he said something to his ear.

"Remember our deal?"

Chapter Text

With two dragon balls to go to gather the seven, the group continued their journey in the camper. The road had been long, as it usually was. It had been about two days since they left Frypan Mountain.

They had traveled a wide mountain range, of which Gyumao's home was surely a part. He went on and on until they came across some strange swamps, which soon led directly to another mountain range.

In fact, it seemed as if they were going in circles. It was a constant cycle of swamps and more mountains, which clearly seemed to indicate that they were not really moving forward.

Bulma, who was sitting in the passenger seat, couldn't take it anymore.

"Haven't you noticed that we are moving in circles?!" She hit her seat. "We haven't made progress in eight hours!"

Oolong didn't stop the vehicle and ignored the girl. They couldn't affort to waste time arguing anyway.

"It's always the same! We go down a mountain and enter a swamp that looks exactly like the previous one. And so on and on and on...!"

Goku was fast asleep on the dining room couch. He had recently eaten his snack, so his body had asked him for a nap.

Zhao, for his part, had been admiring the path through the camper's kitchen window. However, he didn't agree with the girl's notion.

"And what do you suggest I do?" The pig asked annoyed.

"Find another way!" The girl shouted.

Oolong rolled his eyes, but kept driving. He had not the slightest intention of stopping.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but..." Zhao's curiosity had been piqued by something. "The toads have gotten bigger and bigger as we go along."

Bulma leaned out of her seat to look at the boy, who was still concentrating on the window. She raised an eyebrow and looked out the front window of the vehicle again. Indeed, the toads that peeked out of the water and plants of the swamp were unusually large. Some even reached the size of a dog.

She gave a little scream.

"I don't think we've been moving in circles, even though it looks like it..." The greenish-haired boy continued. "It's... Quite strange... They also have very striking colors..."

Then, the camper collided with something. Oolong hit his head on the steering wheel due to the rebound, and Bulma was barely able to stop the impact with both her arms. Zhao fell to the ground, but received no major injuries.

He looked at Goku, who was still fast asleep.

Oolong rubbed his forehead. His vision was a little blurry, but with a little rubbing his eyes it cleared up a little. However, as soon as he looked straight ahead again, his eyes widened.

A giant toad had stopped the vehicle. Its large yellow eyes looked directly at the pig, who was the driver. The amphibian's skin was green and, as expected, appeared wet. He lowered his front legs and stood on all fours.

He had a kind of saddle on his back, as well as several bags that carried some things. On this chair was another toad, though smaller. Its skin was a fairly intense red color. He had two pointed protrusions above his eyes, which appeared to be his ears.

He blinked as he analyzed the occupants of that vehicle. They were unmistakably human.

The smaller toad touched the glass with his clenched fist and motioned for them to open something so he could talk to them. Oolong didn't understand, but the turquoise-haired girl did.

Zhao beat him to it and opened the door of the camper. He stepped outside and took the opportunity to stretch a little.

Bulma ran after him, initially with the intention of getting him in to flee. Their plans, however, were ruined when the red toad quickly caught up to them.

"Nice to meet you, strangers. I introduce myself, I am Kosuke, one of the messenger toads of Mount Myoboku." The toad nodded, almost in a kind of bow.

The two young people imitated the gesture, somewhat confused. Especially because of the fact that he was completely naked, except for some goggles that he had around his neck.

"I am afraid that, on the orders of the chief, you will not be able to continue your way in this direction. Humans are forbidden to enter Mount Myoboku."

Zhao raised an eyebrow.

Did he 'Mount Myoboku'?!

Bulma tried to protest that. "What are you saying, dumb toad?! What do you mean humans can't enter this... Mount Whatever-It's-Called!"

Kosuke cleared his throat. "They are orders from above. And they are measures to prevent further incidents. So, if you want to avoid trouble, you better turn around and leave."

The girl raised her fist. She was not at all happy with the attitude of that talking toad. With every intention of hurting him, she walked towards him. However, Zhao stopped her. He was still thinking about what the hell was going on, but he was able to react in time.

Bulma tried to break free from the boy's grip, but she couldn't. After a few seconds, she just gave in and calmed down a bit.

"Excuse me, Kosuke." The boy bowed. "You said 'Mount Myoboku,' didn't you?"

The messenger seemed not to understand the question at all.

"Yes."

"The same Mount Myoboku where Ogama-Sen'nin lives?"

The toad's eyes widened. That human knew the great honorable geezer.

"H-how do you know about Ojiji-sama?!" The toad turned and made a strange gesture to his green-skinned companion, who nodded his head.

Bulma looked just as surprised, for she had no idea who they were talking about, or what the hell Mount Myoboku was.

"I've ... heard legends, but..." He couldn't say it out loud, but the presence of that mythical place in those lands didn't make the slightest sense. It was in Dragon Ball, why the hell was there a Mount Myoboku? That place simply shouldn't exist in that world.

Then, all the implications of that started to click in his mind. His gaze went blank and even his balance shook a little.

Bulma grabbed him by the arm and held him. She looked him in the eye, but something was wrong. She was worried about this sudden behavior.

Zhao managed to get back up and noticed that the girl was holding him. Embarrassed, he stepped back a little and nodded his head.

"Sorry... I got dizzy." He smiled nervously and thought about continuing the conversation.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked.

Zhao laughed and scratched his head. "I'm going to be fine, I just need some water."

The girl was suspicious. Something strange had happened to him and she was sure about it.

"Anyway, why did they prohibit the passage of humans? I thought that, although it was difficult to find, whoever was lucky enough to find it could enter without any problem."

Kosuke gave him a strange look. He didn't quite understand the boy's unusual behavior. Sure, without Zhao's context, it was very difficult to comprehend what was happening to him.

"Recently, armed men attacked defenseless toads and caused a lot of damage. They said they were looking for a treasure that fulfilled wishes, but there is nothing like it here." The red-skinned toad explained. "This is our home, so we're not going to risk evil people causing more harm."

The boy rubbed his chin.

"Bulma, the radar indicates that it is there, doesn't it?"

The girl took out the small device and pressed the only button it had. The machine emitted a 'beep!' and several yellow dots began to flash on its green screen.

She nodded her head as she confirmed the location of the dragon ball.

"Look, Mr. Toad." The turquoise-haired girl began. "I understand that you had an unfortunate experience with evil people, but we are not the same. We have to go there because my radar indicates that one of the dragon balls we are looking for is in there."

She pointed her finger at the strange mountains ahead.

The toad shook his head. "I cannot disobey orders."

Kosuke made a hand seal before disappearing. Instead, only white smoke remained. He suddenly appeared in the saddle of the green toad, who had not taken his eyes off them.

"What now?" Zhao asked.

Bulma shrugged.

From among the trees and other vegetation of the swamp, several footsteps began to be heard. A normal human's ear wouldn't have noticed anything out of the ordinary, but the toads began to retreat.

A loud cry made the young people understand why the toads withdrew.

"Fire!"

Just as that loud voice had indicated, whoever was hiding in the swamp began to shoot in all directions. Zhao grabbed Bulma and pushed her into the camper. He jumped inside and closed the door behind him, but the bullets went through the walls of the vehicle anyway.

The girl screamed so much that she managed to wake Goku up. The boy rubbed his eyes as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Start driving, you damn pig!" The girl shouted.

Oolong, who had remained paralyzed with fear, managed to react and stepped on the gas pedal with all his might. The camper shot towards the entrance that the toads had tried to block. In fact, they almost ran them over.

The green toad managed to jump at the last minute and landed on the roof of the large vehicle. Oolong didn't stop for anything, no rocks, no bushes, no streams. He just kept moving forward, bumping into everything in his path.

The normal vegetation of the swamps gradually changed. Ordinary trees were replaced by giant plants that consisted of a single leaf and a thick stem of the same vibrant green color. The mountains became curved rock formations that were shaped like a croissant. Small waterfalls fell from them, which fed a complex system of streams that crossed the entire place. Sporadically, a few red mushrooms were visible among the giant leaves.

Not even such a wonderful sight managed to make the pig stop. If it had been up to him, he would surely have run over countless innocent toads. Luckily, one of the giant leaves blocked the vehicle's trajectory and stopped it in its tracks. Despite looking like a normal stem, it was sturdier than a log.

The pig's head bounced off the steering wheel, causing him to lose consciousness. Bulma almost flew through the windshield, but Zhao grabbed her arm and saved her from a tremendous blow. He, for his part, remained clinging to the refrigerator, which due to its weight remained more or less in the same place.

Goku had simply enjoyed everything as if it were a roller coaster. When the cart finally stopped, he jumped off the couch and screamed.

"Let's do it again!"

The two teenagers fell backwards to the ground at the boy's ignorant enthusiasm.

The toads, which were still on the roof, jumped down. Kosuke got out of his larger companion and knocked on the door of the now-damaged vehicle. He was a little worried, as it was full of bullet holes and he didn't know if the reason for the crash had been that someone had died.

Zhao opened the door, imagining that they had gotten into trouble. Bulma was hiding behind him, while Goku stared at the toads curiously.

"Are you all okay?" The messenger asked.

"Y-yes." Bulma replied, at the same time that the boy nodded his head.

"It seems that you are not related to those men... You almost died." Recognized the red toad. "Anyway, now it's my turn to explain."

"Hey." The kid called, while pointing his finger at the toad. "Why don't you wear clothes?"

The girl fell backwards to the ground, while Zhao facepalmed.

Kosuke, however, laughed at the question. "We don't need it. Instead, these goggles are useful."

He placed the goggles over his eyes to prove their usefulness, before leaving them dangling around his neck again.

Several toads began to surround the scene, looking curiously at the vehicle. Their sizes and colors were very varied. Some even peeked out from the gigantic leaves, which they seemed to use as a kind of hammock.

"I must inform my bosses that we are under attack again, but I also have to inform them that you are here. So, I need you to come with me." Kosuke explained calmly. "The mountain is guarded by guards much bigger than me, so don't worry. There shouldn't be any major problems out there."

"So... can we stay?" Bulma asked.

"Only until those evil guys are defeated again. When the outside is safe, you must get out of here." The toad explained as he turned his back to them. "Well. Let's start walking."

Zhao swallowed. He still couldn't get over how extremely out of place that mountain was in that world. Maybe...

Two gigantic toads had jumped into combat as soon as the shooting began, and that strange vehicle drove inwards. One of them had a shield, which he used to block most of the shots while the other, who was smaller, dealt with the soldiers himself.

Behind one of the rocks at the entrance to the mountain, two familiar bandits were shaking with fear. Yamcha peeked out occasionally, but it wasn't necessary to know more or less what was going on. The gunfire and rumbles of combat indicated enough.

Pu'ar was so terrified that he peed himself.

"W-what the fuck is going on?" The cat with the blue and white fur asked.

Yamcha, also a little shaky, fell silent. He thought he had seen something on the clothes of one of the dead soldiers. It was a kind of red bowtie, or rather, perhaps, a red ribbon.

He gasped. It was the Red Ribbon army. The bandit began to hyperventilate. His eyes widened. If they were there, then they had gotten into serious trouble.

"Pu'ar..."

"Huh?"

"I think this has surpassed us."

"What are you talking about, Yamcha-sama?"

The boy swallowed. "Those aren't bandits like us, or bounty hunters."

The shapeshifter looked directly at his partner.

"That's the Red Ribbon Army."

The little cat's eyes opened as wide as his anatomy would allow. And then, a gigantic explosion resounded in his eardrums. The shock wave pushed into the air with force, causing several rocks to fly away.

Without thinking twice, they both ran off in the same direction as their targets. Yamcha threw a pod, from which his trusty car came out. They both climbed onto it and Yamcha stomped the gas pedal as hard as he could.

Not even a madman would stay back there, at the mercy of that terrible army.

After a few minutes of walking, the group finally arrived at the place where the messenger's bosses were waiting.

The huge leaves that plagued the small valley between those peculiar mountains finally gave rise to stone stairs. They were about five steps, but of a rather intimidating size. On opposite sides of the last step were two platforms of the same material, on which two small frogs rested.

Both wore a black cape. One had a beard and pointed eyebrows, while the other had some sort of purple hair. Both looked, with some suspicion, at the strangers who accompanied the messenger.

Behind them was a huge brick wall, a little decayed by the humidity of the place. These two huge shelves held immense scrolls, the size of at least three people. Although, that was not the most striking thing about that place.

In the middle of it all, and behind the hooded frogs, stood an imposing throne. It was made of the leaves of those huge plants and built in the shape of a pool, for the seat was filled with crystal clear water. The leaf was bent to form a backrest for the arms, next to which were small tables of the same material. On these tables were huge glass bottles filled with the same crystal clear water.

A huge toad sat on that throne, which had clearly been made to measure for him. His wrinkled arms rested on the back of the throne, while his half-closed eyes stared at this peculiar group. On his neck he wore a necklace with 108 spherical beads, as well as a jewel in the middle with the kanji for 'oil', which was the symbol of the village.

Zhao was able to identify the three, and then he came out of doubt. That was the same Mount Myoboku I knew. The same place that appeared in Naruto, with the same toads that appeared in Naruto. There was no longer any room for doubt. However, it was not the time to have a mental breakdown, or for fainting. He had to keep his shit together for now, as best he could.

"Mmmmm." The old man watched carefully as the messenger toad led the outsiders to his throne.

While the smaller frogs guarding his throne were very suspicious, he didn't seem to be all that bothered by the presence of those strangers.

"Tell us what happened at the entrance." The purple-headed frog asked.

"Gamabunta and Gamaken have already left to help Gamahiro and Gamaden." The bearded frog explained. "Do they have anything to do with those soldiers?"

"No, Kashira-sama..." Kosuke bowed. "In fact, they almost died at the hands of them."

Bulma stepped forward, for she still did not fully understand what was happening on that mountain. She cleared her throat a little, causing the fury of the two small frogs. The old toad, however, looked at her intently.

"Soldiers? Which soldiers?" The girl asked with her characteristic overconfidence. "What the hell is going on and why did I almost die for it?"

"Spoiled girl!" The bearded frog shouted. "Have more respect, you are in front of the great Ogama Sen'nin!"

"Fukasaku, don't fight. It is normal for her to act like this, because she does not know me." The old toad said in a calm voice.

"Is he also a pervert...?" The girl whispered, thinking of a certain bald geezer.

Zhao had to hold back his laughter. The boy with the monkey tail pointed at the old man's face.

"Well, he does look a bit like Kame Sen'nin!"

Oolong covered the boy's mouth from behind and asked him to be quiet. They could not allow themselves to anger the old man and be expelled from that place while those ruffians continued outside shooting at everything that moved.

"They're here for the same reason you are." The old man explained. He dipped his large hand into the water of his throne and took out a small amber-colored ball.

The eyes of the strangers widened when they recognized that jewel. It was a dragon ball.

However, Bulma was still surprised by something.

"How did you know we were coming for the sphere?"

The purple-headed frog replied. "The great Ogama Sen'nin has prophetic and psychic powers. He sees everything and knows everything."

"Not everything." The old toad continued. "For example, I didn't know that humans could have a tail like that child."

He pointed his huge hand at the boy, who proudly bared his tail. His smile went from ear to ear.

"Well..." Bulma laughed nervously. "He's really not normal."

"Anyway. This ball has the power to grant any wish to whoever gathers the seven they are in total. But you already know that." Ogama Sen'nin continued. "I know you've already gathered five, which is pretty impressive. However, I can't just hand this one to you."

"Huh?!" Bulma screamed. "Why not?"

Zhao was a little nervous about the confidence with which the girl spoke to the toads.

"Because it was a gift from Kami-sama to me, and I can't just give it to anyone." He explained, to everyone's surprise.

Even the elders guarding his throne turned around, shocked.

"For that reason I must see your nature and your future first, to know that your intentions are pure." He continued with his characteristic calm voice. "Those were Kami-sama's instructions."

Chapter Text

"You met Kami-sama?!" The bearded frog asked.

The old amphibian nodded. He placed the dragon ball under the water of his throne, as it had been before.

"Come one by one and I will read your future and your intentions." The prophet toad ordered. "If you are worthy, I will give you the ball."

Ogama Sen'nin put his hand forward, waiting for the first of them. However, they weren't quite sure of the order in which they would go. They exchanged confused glances, but they did not talk to find an agreement either.

Zhao opened his mouth to speak, but the screams of someone who came from behind interrupted him. The voice was familiar.

The desert bandit climbed the tall steps as if they were completely flat. He then jumped over the group and landed right in front of the sage. Behind him, his friend Pu'ar tried to float along, but stopped as soon as he saw the giant toad.

Then he knew, coupled with the presence of their targets, that they were in even more trouble than they were before.

The old toad thought it was one of them, so he placed his index finger on Yamcha's forehead. It had a moisty and smooth texture, but the slight cold made it a little uncomfortable.

Yamcha looked up and saw the giant toad. His eyes widened and almost fell off his eye sockets.

Another toad came from the same direction. He seemed to have been following this stranger.

"Forgive me, bosses, he outran me." He said while breathing heavily.

"Huh? Is he an intruder?" Fukasaku asked.

"Yes."

Yamcha was trembling as the toad read his future. He had tried to run away again, but for some reason he was unable to move. He could only stand there as he imagined the beating he was about to receive, either from the toad or from Goku. And he kind of preferred the latter.

"Hmmm." The old toad finally removed his index finger from the boy's forehead. "What an unfortunate ending... "

Zhao blinked as he tried to hold a small chuckle. He could not help but remember that scene, in which the bandit lay lifeless in a crater. Though, at the same time, he remembered that his presence there might alter that future. Or perhaps not. Before it became an overtly complex debate in his mind, he decided to stop thinking about it.

Bulma, for her part, had no doubts about how to react.

"Kill him, Goku!" The girl shouted. "I can't believe you're still following us!"

The boy jumped forward and drew his staff. He pointed it at the bandit, who seemed rather intimidated by the weapon.

The bearded frog intervened in that brawl, for it was completely out of place.

"No fights in front of Ogama Sen'nin." He said in a deep, stern voice. "If you want to fight so much, you can do it outside the mountains. While you are here you must behave."

Goku put away his staff while Yamcha swallowed hard. He would have another chance to escape, after all.

"Who's next?" The old man asked.

One by one, the members of the group passed by. The method was the same. The wise man would place his index finger on the forehead of one of them and read what interested him. Then, he would make a small comment and the next one would pass. He didn't really reveal much, because the details of each one's future he kept to himself.

After all, he did all this for the sole purpose of knowing if they were worthy of being gifted one of the legendary dragon balls.

Zhao was the last to take his turn. The toad's touch was a bit strange at first due to the humidity of his smooth skin, but he ended up getting used to it. The sage remained silent until the end, when he said a simple sentence.

"Mmm... How interesting." The old man rubbed his chin. "Very interesting..."

The boy blinked as he looked at the old man. Had he noticed his secret? Considering his wisdom and his abilities, it was quite likely.

"Well, now that I've studied all of your and your futures thoroughly, I have an answer."

Everyone looked at him expectantly. Even the sages who guarded his throne, for getting rid of that object could also mean getting rid of those evil men that had laid siege upon their sacred land.

Ogama Sen'nin raised his hand and pointed at the boy with a tail.

"Only you are worthy." He indicated, causing everyone else to fall on their backs to the ground.

All except Zhao, who already imagined such a possibility. Nor did he have much self-esteem, despite the fact that, surprisingly, he was able to climb on Kinto'un. He had to admit that, in the face of such power, he might not be able to avoid the temptation to desire something selfish.

"Truthfully, no human should be worthy." The old toad continued. "Kami-sama created the Dragon Balls with the intention that people would use them charitably, in a way that would improve the world in some way. However, the only two wishes that have been fulfilled in all these years were to achieve wealth and power. That is why even I am surprised that you, child, in my opinion, are worthy."

"Did you test us knowing that no one would be worthy?" The turquoise-haired girl shouted, offended.

Before she said another word, the toad raised his large hand and motioned for him to stop.

"If none of you had been worthy, I would have given you the dragon ball anyway." Admitted Ogama Sen'nin. The sages who guarded his throne looked at him curiously. "My people and this sacred mountain cannot allow this conflict to continue to threaten their existence any longer."

Fukasaku and Shima breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the senile old man still had a bit of common sense left.

"However, it relaxes me a little to know that I leave this precious gift in good hands." He took the ball with just two fingers and handed it to the spiky haired boy. "You have great things ahead of you, Son Goku. I can't wait to hear of your exploits."

The boy's eyes shone brightly. He nodded, a little proud to have received recognition from that old toad.

Zhao smiled. Even Ogama Sen'nin, who shouldn't even be part of that world, that universe, recognized that special aura that Son Goku had.

"Before you leave, I have something else to tell you." The old man grabbed the large glass of water from the table and took a good sip. He sighed lightly at the relief in his throat. "While I have the power to see prophecies from the future, they are not set in stone. The future is something like fog, it is a vague image, mysterious in nature. Nothing is clear until it becomes the present. That is why you yourselves will mark your future with the decisions you make."

He shifted his gaze to Zhao. It was impossible to ignore it from his perspective. His large yellow eyes, narrowed with age, were fixed on him. Then the boy understood. Ogama Sen'nin knew.

"Make the right decisions. Always keep the greater good in mind."

Oolong and Bulma weren't exactly happy to receive a sermon from an ancestral toad. However, the rest, including Yamcha, looked at him and listened attentively. They all nodded their heads and then the wise man leaned back on his throne. It was evident that something was special about that toad. Were it the throne, his attire or the unwavering loyalty of the other toads towards him.

"Good. Best of luck on your trip." He looked at the hooded frogs. "Did little Bunta deal with those thugs?"

"I don't know, Ojiji-sama." Fukasaku replied while shrugging his shoulders.

The toad that had been chasing the desert bandits stepped forward. He did know, for he was on his way to battle when he ran into the intruders.

"The boss managed to finish them all off, Ojiji-sama!"

"Great news." The old toad replied. "From now on peace should return to Mount Myoboku. Although, Shima, Fukasaku, I think it is necessary to strengthen the genjutsu that protects our sacred land."

They both nodded their heads.

"Mmm. Anyway. You can now continue on your way without major risk."

Bulma nodded, still a little annoyed at the previous sermon. "Alright!"

"Good luck."

The group returned through the same path by which they arrived. Kosuke led them to the exit. Meanwhile, Oolong stayed behind with the green toad, Kosuke's companion, since the camper had broken down and they had to remove it from the place.

Therefore, they spent a few minutes waiting outside the place. It was the same swamp from which they had been shot before. The giant toads had already retreated, so they did not see them when they arrived.

Of course, Bulma did not waste the opportunity to finally capture Yamcha and Pu'ar, after giving them so much trouble. Kosuke helped them with a strange magical paper that seemed to function as handcuffs. Thus, and under the threat of fighting Goku again, the bandits had nothing to do.

"Then, just by touching it you can make the handcuffs loose," the red toad explained. "Be careful."

"Good..." The girl said without taking her eye off the bandits. "Anyway, if they manage to escape, they'll have to run over Goku!"

"The truth is that they make me a little sad." Zhao admitted while scratching his head. "Maybe we can try to reach an agreement so that they help us."

"They want to steal our dragon balls! Surely those would be their conditions..."

Kosuke seemed to remember that detail.

"And what will you wish for if you manage to gather all seven?" He looked at them intently, having been present during Ogama Sen'nin's explanation. He hoped that, as the old toad wished, it would be a worthy wish.

"We're just helping Bulma." The greenish-haired boy explained.

The girl rubbed her chin. "Yes... I originally wanted a boyfriend, but now I don't know..."

Kosuke fell backwards to the ground. It wasn't even a predictable wish, it was foolish for the great power the dragon balls possessed.

Oolong laughed a little. "Well, if you're not sure, I have a couple of ideas." The pig had returned just at that moment.

Bulma's pulse did not tremble to sink the pig's head in one fell swoop. Despite how long they had been traveling together, she still hadn't gotten used to the perverted nature of such a character. In fact, it made her more and more angry.

Pu'ar cheered the girl a bit as she beat up his old rival.

The green toad let go of the camper in front of the group and stretched his arms in an effort to relieve his muscles. He seemed a little tired from the effort that transporting that vehicle implied.

"It's heavier than it looks." He admitted.

"It looks like everything is ready for you to leave." The red toad said. "If so, I wish you a safe journey and success in your quest."

Oolong, still rubbing his head, spoke again. "Yes. It's not like it was before the whole crashing ordeal, but it's functional."

"In case more repairs are needed, I can take care of it." The turquoise-haired girl said while winking an eye. She was about to say something else, but a bullet grazed her cheek.

A drop of blood came out of her new wound and she was shocked. An immense barrage of gunfire began again, coming from the same swamp. Zhao quickly grabbed Oolong and Bulma and pushed them behind the camper.

Kosuke and the green toad took refuge behind a large stone, while Goku deflected several bullets using only his staff.

The desert bandits crawled into the camper with difficulty, staying next to their new captors. Yamcha was hyperventilating; so much so that Pu'ar became worried. He began to try to calm his friend down, but it was useless.

Oolong identified that as a bad sign and asked the obvious question.

"What's wrong with him?"

Pu'ar gritted his teeth. "Those soldiers are not just any mercenaries."

Bulma was still in shock, so Zhao kept her close.

"It's the Red Ribbon Army."

Everyone opened their eyes wide at such a revelation. Except Goku, of course, who had never heard that name.

"It's the most powerful army in the world." Yamcha explained, a little calmer. "They have given trouble even to the King's army!"

Zhao walked up to the bandits and touched the paper seal that the messenger toad had given them. This freed the two bandits, much to everyone's surprise and Oolong's anger.

The pig grabbed Zhao's arm and struck him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"It's simple." He began while rubbing his arm. "We are surrounded. If it really is the Red Ribbon, we can't risk the possibility that Goku won't be enough. So Yamcha will fight by his side."

The bandit blinked as a small drop of sweat ran down his face. He pointed at himself, a little confused by what was expected of him.

"You're the only one besides Goku who has fighting experience."

Bulma looked at the bandit. She wasn't too happy about the idea of letting him go either, but she knew that what her friend had said was true. If Goku was defeated they would be in serious trouble.

Yamcha lowered his gaze and put it on his clenched fists. He had always believed that he was strong, but since Goku defeated him he was not so sure about that anymore. Perhaps that is why he doubted his ability to fight armed soldiers.

The bandit then looked at Goku, who kept deflecting bullets as he thought. If he was going to intervene it had to be fast. He gritted his teeth when he decided he would do the right thing.

He jumped onto the roof of the camper and joined Goku. He assumed his characteristic battle pose and looked at the soldiers, who were slowly approaching.

"Be careful, Yamcha-sama!" Pu'ar shouted.

"Let's hope it's enough." Zhao said as he leaned his back on the camper. "Perhaps as a last resort you could transform into Gyumao to try to scare them away."

Goku and Yamcha jumped in unison. They advanced with impressive speed towards the soldiers and began to attack. The boy used the Nyoi-bō to knock out two soldiers consecutively and then punched a third in the abdomen.

The bandit immediately resorted to his signature technique. Attacking like a wolf, he left several soldiers seriously injured in an unstoppable series of attacks, even piercing pieces of armor and helmets. When he finished, he had to stop for a few seconds to breathe. That window of time was taken advantage of by the remaining soldiers to shoot him.

However, Goku jumped up and deflected all the bullets with his staff. Undistracted, the boy continued to struggle. Their impressive martial arts skills proved devastating against mere soldiers.

After a few minutes, only three soldiers remained, cornered in the humidity of the swamp. The three of them held their weapons, trembling, and feared their inevitable fate. One of them ran away while the other two stood in front.

Both warriors quickly charged the boys, for it would not be convenient for either of them to leave alive to report to their chiefs. However, when they were practically touching the soldiers, one of them threw a grenade.

"Reach out, Nyoi-bō!" The boy shouted. The staff quickly propelled him into the sky, but he couldn't reach Yamcha in time.

The bandit tried to move away, but the explosion caught him and threw him forcefully outwards. He finally crashed into a tree, being dizzy from the blow.

Goku went down as fast as he could. He checked the enemies, of whom only two charred bodies remained. It had been a suicide attack and the third soldier had escaped.

The boy went to Yamcha and took him by the shoulders. His left arm was injured and burned from the explosion, but he was still alive. He dragged him to the camper without wasting any valuable time.

"We already beat them!" Goku shouted, causing his companions to peek out from the camper. "But Yamcha is hurt!"

Hearing this, Pu'ar floated straight towards his friend without too much hesitation. The image of his unconscious friend being dragged by the boy was terrifying. Goku didn't stop until he reached the door of the camper. He dropped Yamcha onto the couch. Pu'ar stayed by his side.

The others entered behind Goku and saw the bandit's wounds. They were somewhat serious.

Zhao had some experience with first aid, but with the toads nearby it would be a better idea to ask them for the favor. He excused himself for a moment and ran to the stone where Kosuke and his companion had been hiding.

"Hello! We have already defeated the soldiers!" He explained quickly.

Kosuke peeked carefully and confirmed that visually. He sighed with relief and came out of hiding. The big green toad followed.

"However, one of our friends is injured. Could you help us with that?"

The red toad looked at his companion, who thought about it for a few moments.

"I have very basic knowledge." He finally said. "But maybe it's enough if it's nothing too serious."

Zhao nodded and ran back to the camper. The toads followed, although at a slower pace.

With Bulma's help, they took Yamcha out again. His wounds were already washed, because the blue cat had taken care of that.

The toad carefully analyzed the bandit's arm. He touched him a little, apparently trying to rate the severity of the injuries. He exchanged glances with Kosuke, who had no idea about the subject.

The green toad sighed and began to make strange seals and signs with his hands. "I think I can take care of it."

A strange green aura appeared around its hands. He made a couple more seals before placing his hands on Yamcha's arm. As soon as the aura touched the wounds, they began to heal. It took about ten minutes until the boy's arm healed enough.

The toad spread its hands and began to breathe heavily. He looked exhausted after doing that technique, which Zhao also acknowledged. It seemed that, in reality, there was both Ki and Chakra, or maybe they were just different applications of the same thing.

Yamcha remained unconscious.

"I'm a bit out of shape, but that and some basic bandages should be enough. Remember to be washing the wound area." The toad explained.

Zhao and Bulma nodded their heads.

"Good," Kosuke interjected. "Now we must continue with our work, so our paths must separate. Best of luck on your journey!"

"Thank you very much for everything!" The greenish-haired boy replied.

The toads jumped towards the entrance of their home and soon disappeared from the sight of the group.

Goku picked Yamcha back inside and placed him back on the couch. The blue cat sat down next to him again.

Oolong, still angry at the fact that those bandits were going to join the group, headed straight for the driver's seat, without looking at or addressing anybody.

Bulma entered the camper in the penultimate place and Zhao followed her. They both exchanged glances, wanting to talk about everything that had happened that day, but unsure if the other would not be too tired to listen to them.

"I must get stronger." The boy finally said.

She blinked in surprise.

"This is why I want to train with Muten Roshi. I don't want to feel useless on occasions like these." He explained.

Bulma put a hand on his shoulder. She smiled warmly.

"You have not been useless. Without your plans we surely wouldn't have made it this far."

"Anyway..." He looked out the window. "I can't wait for training."

The girl's smile waned a little. Knowing that as soon as the adventure was over, the group would break up, made her a little uncomfortable. A feeling of uncertainty about the future that did not quite let her rest.

Would she ever see them again after her trip?

Chapter Text

The days went by and the group continued on its way. The next dragon ball, the last one they lacked, was further west. The camper had suffered the trip a lot but it still worked, and of course, it was still comfortable.

A couple of hours prior they had entered a brick road. Tall mushrooms rose from the ground instead of trees; the only plants visible were the grass surrounding the thick stems of the mushrooms. The sky was clear.

Oolong was at the wheel, as always. However, his attention was riveted on the dashboard of the vehicle, as the gasoline was about to run out.

Bulma was sitting in the passenger seat and they were both looking for the slightest trace of a village, like an oasis in the desert. Without that fuel they would be stranded and would have to walk the long road that remained to the west.

Further back in the camper, the others were talking around the dining room while Zhao washed the dishes.

"Will you train with Muten Roshi?!" Yamcha asked. His arm was covered with bandages, but he had already begun to heal.

Goku nodded his head several times. "He offered me the opportunity."

"Wow... It's a great honor, isn't it?"

"That's right." The greenish-haired boy said. In addition to his usual beach attire, he was wearing an apron. "I really think that if you joined us we could all improve much more."

The bandit raised an eyebrow. "I don't think Muten Roshi will accept me."

"Now that you mention it... Yamcha is very strong! Surely Kame Sen'nin will accept him as a disciple!" Goku said excitedly.

Yamcha scratched his head.

"If he doesn't accept you, we'll find a way to convince him. I know a couple of ways to do it." Zhao laughed softly. "What do you say?"

"I'd be lying if I told you that I wouldn't be honored by an opportunity like that. But I am ashamed to ask him such a favor." The bandit stretched out his arms in the armchair.

"Don't worry! I'm sure Zhao will persuade Kame Sen'nin!"

"I hope so." Yamcha shifted his gaze to the driver's cab.

The window reflected the face of that turquoise-haired girl, who was helping Oolong in the search for any trace of civilization. Just that reflection made him nervous, made him feel helpless for some strange reason.

He swallowed hard.

Oolong yelled. "There's people there!"

Bulma looked at him excitedly and grabbed him by the shoulders. She shook him like a toy and then jumped back.

Oolong sped up and headed straight for that village.

Zhao turned off the faucet and looked at the girl, who was celebrating, jumping, and dancing. Then they exchanged glances and he laughed a little. She ran to him.

"We found a village! We are saved!"

"Will we finally be able to buy more food?" The kid asked while rubbing his belly.

"Yes!" The girl replied. "And more clothes! And capsules! Everything we need!"

Yamcha and Pu'ar felt a little left out. Although they were there, right in front of the group, they didn't even look at them. The bandit sighed, for the girl seemed much closer to them than to him.

"Hey, Yamcha." The greenish-haired boy called. "Do you guys need anything?"

Both bandits looked at him in surprise. Perhaps they were not so far removed from the group.

The 'village' turned out to be a city of considerable size. The street was built of the same material and separated into several blocks as it approached the urban center. The houses, round in design, reminiscent of an igloo, contrasted with the occasional towers that rose above everything else.

Very few motorized vehicles traveled the streets. Instead, most people rode strange dinosaurs with long legs and necks. On some occasions, people did not ride them, but they did use them as pack animals. And, despite the absence of cars, the streets vibrated due to the abundant number of people carrying out their normal routines.

People had darker skin than they did further east, although to different degrees. Most men and women wore turbans equally, as well as long tunics of varied colors.

Oolong continued to advance until they reached a gas station. He parked the camper and got out to talk to an employee of the place.

The others took the opportunity to get out and stretch a little. Bulma, for her part, went out with the intention of buying all the things they were going to need. She walked up to Zhao and handed him a white backpack that she had apparently been keeping. She rubbed her hands together a little to dust herself off and beckoned toward the city.

"Come on, we have to go shopping!" She smiled quite excitedly, but the boy just blinked, somewhat surprised.

He pointed to himself, not exactly excited by such activity. The girl nodded and turned around to start walking. He resigned himself and sighed before following her.

Goku and the others stared at them curiously as a station employee filled up the camper's gas.

They both walked a bit through the streets of the city, but they didn't seem to find the Hoi-Poi capsule shop. Although, the most interesting thing was that every time they tried to approach someone to ask for directions, everyone ran away.

They argued about it for a bit, until Zhao remembered an important detail. He looked up and stared at the bunny-eared headband on her head.

He stretched out his arm and took the headband off from the girl.

"This is the problem." He said before putting it in his backpack.

Bulma raised an eyebrow.

"It looks like we're in Rabbit Mob territory."

"Huh?!" The girl looked alarmed. "A gang?!"

Zhao waved his arms trying to calm her down. "Calm down, breathe!" He said nervously. After all, they weren't as intimidating as their name implied. "Goku and Yamcha should defeat them without any major complications if it comes to that."

A mischievous smile escaped her. She had faked the reaction of surprise, but she couldn't help laughing. "I know! Really, even before I met Goku, gangs or bandits didn't worry me too much. I was carrying my own weapons." She winked. "But now that we have that monkey kid, there's nothing to worry about."

The greenish-haired boy scratched his head. He was about to say something else, but he saw something in the distance. It was a capsule shop, or so it seemed given the sign illustrating those peculiar devices.

He pointed that way and the girl turned around. She was as excited as he was and they both ran to the store.

"You will have to give us a few minutes. The girl has the money and she went out shopping." The pig explained.

The man who attended the gas station nodded his head. He was a relatively thin man with a luxuriant, well-shaped beard.

"As long as I get paid, no problem." He said before leaving to attend to the next person.

Oolong stretched his arms towards the sky, which caused a small crack in his back. He breathed a sigh of relief and took a deep breath. Back in his land, he would've gotten beat up for making any businessman wait a little for their payment. It seemed people in that country were quite hospitable, after all.

"Nice camper." Yamcha admitted.

While they had been traveling in the same vehicle for the past couple of days, none of them had really spoken to each other. Of course, that collaboration against the Red Ribbon army wasn't enough to wipe out all the history that existed between the old shapeshifting rivals.

Oolong glanced at him sideways. Everything had been fine until they joined. He had shared the company of a young anf sexy beauty, and he could stand the presence of Zhao and Goku since, in his view, they were idiots anyway, but those bandits had ruined everything. Not only crybaby Pu'ar, but the desert rat that tried to rob them on several occasions.

"Don't even think about stealing it." He replied in a sour tone. "Goku will beat you up if you try anything shady."

The boy turned to look at them when he heard his name and stared curiously. Before that he had been staring at the people walking by, admiring the wide variety of new faces and the peculiar clothes they wore.

"Hmph." Pu'ar grunted and was about to go to confront the pig, but his companion stopped him with his hand.

Yamcha shook his head. "It doesn't matter. They gave us a chance, helped me with my arm and now they offered me the honor of training with Muten Roshi. We can't throw all that away so easily." He explained in a low voice.

The cat gritted his teeth but understood his friend's point perfectly. He relented, but grumbled anyway.

Goku looked again at the people walking down the street. This time there was something different. Something that disturbed the harmony and tranquility of the normal routine of the people. Something that bothered him.

Two men in uniform had been marching through the streets. The normal thing would be to assume that they are the local police, ensuring the safety of citizens. However, his mere presence generated a strange tension in the atmosphere that indicated otherwise. Both carried assault rifles and used them to threaten people.

After attacking some merchants, a boy ran past them. This forced one to stop, as the boy was about to collide with him. The man grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him up towards him.

The mother ran after her son.

"How dare you run in front of me, kid?!" The man shouted.

The boy didn't know how to react, so he just froze. The mother arrived at that very moment and took her child by the shoulder. He immediately clung to her.

"E-excuse me, sir..." The woman said, terrified but trying to keep her composure in front of her son. "He's just a kid..."

The man gritted his teeth tightly. "I don't want excuses!"

After yelling at her, he kicked the woman and made her fall to the ground.

A drop of sweat fell down Oolong's head as he witnessed the scene. Even he had been surprised by the excessive use of violence.

Goku frowned and drew his staff, ready to spring into action, but the desert bandit stood up to stop him. The young man shook his head before looking back at the uniformed men.

"They seem to be from the Rabbit Mob. I don't think we should get involved." He explained.

"The Rabbit Mob?"

Yamcha nodded.

Goku pulled his arm away and broke free from the bandit's grip. "No matter who they are, there is no reason to attack innocent people like this. My grandfather taught me to protect those in need!"

Finally, the boy jumped, and he did so with such force that he landed next to the men. While they were distracted, he struck the man who had kicked the woman with his staff. He fell to the ground, rubbing his back.

The other quickly turned around and pointed his gun. He saw that it was a child, but he did not hesitate to pull the trigger. Goku spun his Nyoi-bo and deflected all the bullets until the rifle's magazine was empty. Then, his offensive began.

The man tried to reload his gun desperately, but received a powerful kick from the boy before he could do so. Then, he had his staff stretch a bit to hit the man's abdomen, before finishing it off with a direct blow to the head.

Yamcha's jaw fell to the ground. Despite everything, Goku's power never ceased to amaze him. It seemed endless, immense in nature. Was he even human?

"H-hey..." Oolong said somewhat shyly.

The bandit turned around curiously.

"How dangerous are these guys? Are we in big trouble?" The pig asked.

Yamcha swallowed. "Well, the dangerous one is their boss..."

Goku gracefully landed on his feet and put away his staff. He smiled proudly at the sight of the two men on the ground, defeated, and went to help the woman. He grabbed her arm and helped her up.

She thanked him, but she still looked a little scared. She didn't waste much time before taking his son and quickly walking away from the place. It was, of course, a very strange reaction of gratitude to a person who saved her and her son from a very unpleasant episode.

Then, the child's ears, much more sensitive than a regular human's ears, heard something. He turned around and saw that one of the men was still conscious. He held a walkie-talkie in his hand and spoke.

"Boss... We need reinforcements..." He said, noticeably in pain. "There's an extremely strong guy here."

Zhao was in one of the fitting rooms of a store. Bulma had practically forced him to buy new clothes. And, in fact, she was right, because his clothes were already a little dirty and old.

Not quite sure what to wear, he asked the store owner for a recommendation. Now, he was trying an outfit very similar to what the townspeople wore. A kind of white robe underneath a kind of green hood. Then, he wore a turban of the same shade of green, which was also especially cool. Initially he had imagined that wearing a turban was very hot, but he was wrong. The fabric was thin and designed precisely to allow the wind to enter freely, and thus help with the heat of the region.

After adjusting his clothes, and still unsure if they fit him well, he left the fitting room. In his hand he held his old clothes, which were actually those of the girl's father.

Outside Bulma was already waiting for him. She had chosen a white suit that covered her to her chest and had a red silk belt; which was also complemented by a small blue vest with golden trimmings. She had also bought some wristbands and a necklace made of pure gold, which matched the rest of the outfit perfectly.

Zhao was a little dumbfounded looking at the girl, who had been counting the money she had left while waiting for him. She raised an eyebrow initially, but then blushed a little as she understood that it was her appearance that had caused him to become paralyzed.

The girl looked at him carefully. Although she was not exactly a fan of the region's fashion, she had to admit that the color green did not look bad on him at all.

"Ready?" The girl asked, with a small smile on her face.

He swallowed hard and laughed nervously. "Yes..."

"Good..." She continued to count the money before finally handing it to the tailor.

He seemed satisfied with the payment and thanked with a simple bow, which Bulma reciprocated.

"Well? How does it look on me?" The girl asked.

Zhao was lifting the backpack, which had been left on a chair in the place. The question took him by surprise. Hadn't it been enough to be enthralled at the sight of her?

He scratched his cheek a little as he spoke, trying to distract himself. "It looks good on you, it matches your hair."

The girl laughed softly. "Thank you, I know I'm beautiful."

She walked straight outside, still giggling. He, of course, followed her.

When the duo returned to the gas station, they found that the town was suspiciously empty. All those people who had previously given life to the streets, carrying out their routines, had suddenly vanished. All, of course, except for their friends and two strange men in uniform.

Zhao's eyes widened when he noticed the logo on those strangers' uniforms. He ran away so fast that Bulma barely saw him. She blinked in confusion by the boy's attitude and ran after him.

Goku was holding his Nyoi-bo in his hands and Yamcha was next to him. Both were looking carefully at their surroundings, and that is why they saw him in the distance.

The boy softened his expression and greeted his friends. Zhao threw the backpack at Oolong, who barely managed to catch it.

Bulma came after him. "What's wrong with you?"

Zhao ignored her question. "Is the Boss Rabbit coming?!" He said with heavy breathing.

The bandit raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?"

He shook his head, trying to think of an excuse. "I know the gang, I've... heard rumors."

"Do you know who they are?" Goku asked.

"Yes. Their boss is Toninjinka, a rabbit with the power to transform everything he touches into carrots." Yamcha recognized that name and his eyes widened. "If you're going to fight him, only Goku has any chance to beat him." He stared at the boy. "And you must use only and exclusively Nyoi-bo. If it touches you, you lost. Got it?"

Goku nodded calmly. Even he seemed not to understand why Zhao was so nervous and obfuscated.

Then, the noise of a running engine echoed in the place. The man who owned the gas station went into hiding almost immediately.

In the distance, a white car with bunny ears and a rabbit's tail approached. The hood was painted like the face of a cute bunny. On both doors he had the kanji 'usagi' written. He quickly walked over to the gas station until he finally stopped.

A short silhouette got out of it, but wearing an elegant green suit of apparent Chinese style; with complex patterns and made of silk. It was a humanoid rabbit with white fur, whose eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. He closed the door behind him and stood firmly and proudly.

Both men in uniform ran towards him, shouting, "Boss!"

The rabbit didn't even make eye contact with them. Instead, he turned to the large group of outsiders at the gas station.

"Are they the ones who rebelled against my authority?" The rabbit asked.

"Yes, sir!" They both responded in unison.

The rabbit put both of his hands behind his back and walked slowly towards the group.

Bulma couldn't take it anymore and started cackling. She didn't expect that the head of the 'Rabbit Mob' was literally a fluffy rabbit.

"Did they really defeat you?" The boss asked. Both of his subordinates nodded their heads and he looked disappointed. "How pathetic."

The rabbit ran to gain some momentum and then did a long somersault. He flew above Yamcha and Goku and landed directly next to Bulma and the others. The girl was so frightened that she jumped from the scare. The anthropomorphic animal stretched out his furry hand towards her, without much facial expression.

"Give me your hand." He said simply.

She was about to tap his hand away, but Zhao took her arm and pulled it away. He stood between her and the rabbit and confronted him.

"I've heard about you, To." The boy said.

The rabbit looked flattered. "Then you know well that you and your friends got into serious trouble."

"I will give you the opportunity to join us on our journey." Zhao continued, ignoring the rabbit boss's arrogance. "That tailed kid behind you is strong enough to defeat you with just three punches, and he doesn't need to touch you. Your powers would be useful to us, and it would be a shame if we just finished you off and wasted your abilities."

He tensed his jaw, and even showed part of his incisor teeth. "Who do you think you are?!"

"Last warning." The boy pressed. He seemed determined to challenge the rabbit despite being, personally, at a wide disadvantage.

The rabbit stretched out his arm, trying to touch him, but Zhao pulled back immediately. In turn, he pushed Bulma back, pushing her away from danger at the same time.

Goku immediately sprang into action, as he stretched out his staff to hit the rabbit on the side of his face. This left him dizzy, so he couldn't dodge the next attack, which went straight to his head.

The henchmen tried to intervene, but Yamcha easily defeated them with a simple kick.

The boy was about to deliver one last blow, but Zhao intervened again. He got in the middle and Goku stopped. He raised an eyebrow.

"His powers can serve us well in the future." He explained. Really, in this first adventure it might come in handy or not, but what he really had more in mind was a investment for the long term, to put it that way. For a moment, he doubted, since perhaps he was looking too much into the future.

Yamcha approached. "And what about his powers? He can use them against us."

Zhao didn't say anything. He simply took something out of one of his pockets. It was a pair of leather gloves. He turned to look at the rabbit, who was still rubbing his head.

"You know the deal. Give up and join us or he'll finish you off."

The rabbit knew his position well. "A-alright..." He said finally, still rubbing his forehead. Perhaps the dizziness and the general trauma caused by the hit to his brain favored his quick capitulation. His glasses were broken from the confrontation. "What the hell do you want from me?"

Oolong rolled his eyes and spoke in a low voice. "Great, another criminal." Almost as if he wasn't one himself.

"You shall join us in our journey in search for the Dragon Balls." The boy explained with a proud smile. He threw the gloves at the boss. "Put them on, or we'll kill you."

The rabbit widened his eyes in fear and quickly put on his gloves. He raised his hands nervously so that they would see that he had done as he had been told.

"Wait..." For fear of losing his life, the boss overlooked something. The mention of 'the dragon balls'. His own boss, the emperor, was also looking for them. "What are you looking for, again?"

Bulma stepped forward after having combed her hair again. All that hustle and bustle made her a little messy. "The Dragon Balls."

To smiled slightly. "I have a little bit of information that's going to be useful to you, then."

Really, he had never liked the emperor. After all, he had meddled in his activities to force him to pay tribute. He simply agreed because he didn't want to waste any more time with it, or face the emperor's terrifying machines, but it bothered him greatly. That's why, given the opportunity to get even, he could only rejoice and collaborate.

Seeing that the rabbit was busy with his own thoughts, Zhao looked at Goku.

"Hey, why don't you go and leave those two thugs on the moon?" He said while pointing to the sky.

Goku rubbed his chin. "The moon? Hmmm... Isn't it a bit far away?"

He thought about it for a few seconds. It really seemed like a good idea, even though it was a very far place. However, remembering that he had Nyoi-bo, he accepted with great enthusiasm.

He quickly grabbed the men and placed his cane on the ground.

"Stretch, Nyoi-bo!" He shouted, and his staff obeyed.

Quickly, he ascended to the sky as if he was a missile. Everyone stared at him in awe. The sole suggestion had previously seemed stupid for Bulma, who knew from her father the amount of force it took for a massive rocket to get there. But now, it seemed they had been wasting their times with rockets.

Losing sight of him, the rabbit's jaw fell to the ground.

"Okay, what was that information?" Zhao asked, again concentrating on the rabbit.

"These lands are actually ruled by Emperor Pilaf." He explained while a drop of sweat fell down his face, to everyone's great surprise. "I only control this city, but I still have to pay tribute to him. That is why I recently learned that the emperor is looking for those dragon balls of which you speak. I don't know for what purpose."

Bulma complained. "Great, an evil emperor looking for the Dragon Balls!"

"Anyway, I'm willing to help you if you have to face the emperor." Of course, his life depended on it. Both because of Zhao's threats, and the death sentence that his betrayal would mean, if he were to be captured.

The greenish-haired boy rubbed his chin. He didn't remember Pilaf being a real emperor. Perhaps, after all, that world still had plenty of surprises left to reveal.

Chapter Text

The day was sunny again. At least the environment had been collaborating to facilitate their trip. Oolong was behind the wheel, a little tired from having been driving all day. Despite what their new ally had told them, the emperor's castle was farther away than expected.

In the passenger seat was Monster Carrot, who of course had his gloves on. No one was going to risk a betrayal on his part.

Tall, thick mushrooms continued to surround the brick roads. In that region, it seemed that the trees had been almost entirely replaced by those fungi. Or rather, the plants never dethroned them.

Oolong spotted something in the distance. He narrowed his eyes and slowed down a little. If his eyes weren't deceiving him, that structure in the distance looked like a great fortress, almost a citadel.

"Is that it?" The pig asked.

The rabbit took off his sunglasses and squinted. Indeed, this was the place, but seeing him in person caused him mixed feelings, a strange nervousness. He swallowed hard and put his glasses back on.

He nodded.

Oolong breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that his great adventure was about to enter the last chapter. The final stretch of that odyssey.

"Okay, here I come."

Behind, Yamcha and Pu'ar were playing blackjack on the table. The pig had lent them the game so that they could entertain themselves while the others rested.

Besides them, everyone else was taking a nap. Goku was sprawled on the ground, drooling because his mouth was open, and in a seemingly awkward position. However, these are usually the perfect positions when it comes to sleeping.

In the dining room chair, Zhao had fallen asleep against the wall. His head would sometimes bounce when there was a bit of turmoil on the road, but it wasn't enough to wake him up.

Beside him, the turquoise-haired girl had also fallen asleep. Her body had fallen sideways in such a way that her head ended up resting on Zhao's shoulder. Even though it was unintentional, she seemed quite comfortable.

Pu'ar smiled with broad confidence and held up the Blackjack he had drawn. He rubbed it on Yamcha's face, who simply rolled his eyes at his usual fate. He never won. He glanced sideways at the girl and then sighed, perhaps at the game or perhaps at the fact she had fallen asleep on the other guy's shoulder.

The bandit began to collect the cards to start another game, but something interrupted his game. A rocket-like sound echoed and set off all the alarms in his mind. He got up quickly and looked out the window.

A large missile was flying directly towards them. He ran towards Oolong, but deep down he already knew that it was too late.

"Turn right!"

"What are you saying-?" Almost as if the booming noise of the missile's motors hadn't reached his ears.

The missile hit its target directly and caused the camper to explode into a thousand pieces. Yamcha, Oolong, and To were shot forward along with the driver's cab, while the others took an opposite trajectory.

While the seats in the cockpit cushioned the fall of the first group, the others crashed into one of the large mushrooms. While they were softer than a regular tree, they were still quite hard.

Goku remained asleep, but the blow was enough to wake the other two. And even if they hadn't waken up, Pu'ar was about to do it anyway.

Zhao opened his eyes slowly, as a sharp pain took over his entire body. He noticed someone was on top of him, but it took him a few seconds to identify who it was due to the dizziness caused by his concussion.

Bulma woke up a little faster and complained about the pain. She put her hands down to get up, but felt his legs instead of the ground. When they turned around, they both came face to face, with very little distance between them.

They quickly jumped away from each other, embarrassed. When they looked in any other direction that the other one wasn't in, they noticed the presence of a large robot descending from the sky.

It was propelled by a powerful rocket that produced a deafening rumbling, quite similar to that of the missile.

Pu'ar, meanwhile, desperately shook the still-sleeping kid. He was aware that they were going to need him if they wanted to get out of that alive.

The robot landed relatively steadily, but it didn't even turn to look at them. Instead, he went straight into the wreckage of the camper and dug until he found something. Bulma's suitcase.

A robotic laugh came out of the machine, which finally looked at them and mockingly showed what it had stolen.

"My apologies, strangers, but I must take this away from you."

Yamcha immediately ran over and fiercely attacked the robot. Each blow only resulted in metallic screeches, but without any real damage being dealt to it. He ended with a powerful punch that, instead of even leaving a dent in the robot's metal cover, caused his own fist to bleed.

The robot gave him a single blow that sent him flying until he collided with one of the mushrooms. Yamcha felt a stabbing pain in his back and looked fearfully at the machine.

"What the hell..."

To had been approaching, though more slowly and stealthily than the desert bandit. He seemed very confident even though someone stronger than him had been defeated in one blow.

He adjusted his sunglasses, causing some of the sunlight to reflect off them onto the robot's glass. He stretched out his hand and smiled.

"Shu... It's an honor to finally meet you."

Bulma fell to the ground in pain, but the greenish-haired boy stopped her before she fell. Her hands went directly to her left knee. Zhao placed her on the giant mushroom behind them.

"That bastard... He set a trap for us!" Pu'ar shouted as the rabbit extended his hand to the robot.

"Take care of Bulma. Try to wake Goku up." Zhao said. He did a few stretches, although he didn't know if he was going to need to intervene in any way. "We can only believe."

The robot remained still and silent, but finally responded to that gesture with a punch. However, the rabbit jumped swiftly and dodged it. He landed, light as a feather, on the robot's head, then he took off his glove. He bent his knees to bend down and touched the robot.

But to everyone's surprise, and especially his own, nothing happened.

The person who was driving the robot could only laugh out loud. The robotic arm grabbed the rabbit by one of its ears and slammed it to the ground. He quickly aimed the cannon it had on its other arm and fired, but the boss of the Rabbit Mob reacted in time and avoided certain death.

Agitated and sweating, he couldn't believe that his best technique hadn't worked. The only reason he risked betraying the emperor, besides Zhao's death threats, was because he was sure he could simply turn his entire army into carrots.

He swallowed hard. If his power didn't work in machines, they were all doomed. The only question was how the emperor would decide to end their lives.

The robot reloaded the cannon and pointed it at the rabbit.

"You were warned, loud and clear, Toninjinka." The pilot of the robot said. "Betraying Emperor Pilaf is not something you get away with."

The robot fired a powerful laser, which was again dodged by the rabbit. However, the robot was propelled in the same direction to which the rabbit had fled. Their trajectories collided and the rabbit received a direct hit that threw him in another direction.

He hit the ground and bounced several times until he finally stopped. In the end, the pain was so much that he wasn't even sure if he would be able to get up.

Oolong put his hands over his head. They were dead.

Then, another voice came out of the robot. It was high pitched and less intimidating than the pilot's.

"Stop wasting time, Shu!" That voice shouted. "Bring me the Dragon Balls immediately!"

"But sir, the traitor..."

"I don't care about him. Now do as I commanded you and bring me the balls!"

Frustrated, the pilot made the robot fly upwards again and sped towards the imposing castle. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. If he had wanted to, that robot could have killed them all.

To slowly got up and looked at his own hands. Perhaps, after all, he had no reason to feel so confident in his powers. He clenched his fists in frustration.

"Who the hell was that?" Bulma asked, still in pain.

"A subordinate of Emperor Pilaf." Zhao tensed his jaw. He had underestimated them, and he almost paid a very high price.

"R-really? Are they that strong?" The girl looked down. They had lost all the Dragon Balls and also all the fighters of the group had been defeated in combat. "I-Is... Is it over?"

Zhao shook his head. "There's still a chance..."

Not all, in fact, had been defeated. The greenish-haired boy glanced behind him to see the kid of the furry tail, who was still sleeping quite comfortably.

Repetitive 'Beeps' bounced off the walls of the room. The sandstone walls did not do justice to the opulence that was hidden inside. A gigantic computer covered most of the space. They had multiple screens and a large number of keyboard buttons, in addition to several lights that shone with different colors indicating their proper functioning.

Most of the screens reproduced the images captured by the security cameras of the immense fortress. In front of them, a small man with blue skin and pointed ears watched carefully. He wore a black robe with a frill around his neck, over a green silk shirt, and also had the kanji of 'fried rice' written on the front. He also wore a hat of alternating blue and red colors, with a small red star in front and a red pompom above.

His small hands were resting behind his back.

"We would have saved all this trouble if you had bothered to count them." The little man complained.

Behind him were his most loyal servants. A brown-furred dog dressed in a purple shinobi suit, whose name was Shu. And a beautiful young girl with long, straight black hair, blue eyes, and pale skin; dressed in a long leather coat that proudly wore that same red star on her left shoulder.

Both were in perpetual reverence before the emperor of those lands.

"My apologies, Emperor." The young woman said. "There are no excuses for our failure."

The dog also lamented. "I was sure we had them all."

"Maybe if you had checked well instead of obsessing over taking down the traitor..." The little man growled. "Anyway, that doesn't matter anymore."

Still embarrassed, both servants looked up.

The emperor took some small stairs and moved them to the desk on which his huge computer lay. He walked up the steps calmly and pointed his small index finger at a green screen, a kind of radar. Six bright spots glowed right in the middle, in their current location. One more was fast approaching.

"The ball we are missing is coming towards us." He explained calmly. "We just have to wait."

His two servants were amazed.

"Unbelievable, Lord Pilaf!" The woman exclaimed. "It's definitely your destiny to summon the legendary dragon god and ask for your wish!"

"Hyo, hyo, hyo..." The little man laughed. He brought his hands to his face, visualizing his destiny. "When I have finally gathered them all... I will reign everything! I will be the emperor of the entire world!"

He laughed out loud, raising his hands upwards. He could almost taste the riches, the absolute power, the people's fear of him.

"Do you think it's going to work?" Oolong asked while tending to the injured rabbit.

The latter was resting on the grass, sore and exhausted from his fight against the robot. Nor had he recovered psychologically yet, either. That defeat had been significant to him, almost like a reality check.

"I don't know... The boy seemed very confident about it." He rubbed one of the wounds on his arm and winced. "It's not like we have a lot of alternatives anyway."

The blue cat was floating nearby, looking at the fortress in the distance with noticeable concern.

"What's your plan?"

The turquoise-haired girl was sifting through the debris of the camper in search of valuable things to rescue. Hearing the question, she stood up and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"We don't know."

"Huh?!" Pu'ar couldn't believe it. "What do you mean you don't know the plan?"

"Zhao said it was better to keep it a secret." Bulma explained.

"And you trust him?" The blue cat asked. Clearly, he didn't trust him at all.

She just nodded her head. She didn't need words to show the security that her travelling partner gave her, even if deep down she did have some reservations about such secrecy.

"I have no reason to be suspicious." She insisted. At least outwardly, she knew she had to present herself as overtly optimistic and confident, so as to avoid turmoil in the group.

Oolong looked at the girl with curiosity. "And what about your wish? What if Yamcha steals it, or if the emperor asks for his own?"

She turned to look at the pig. She had a little hesitation, but she really already knew the answer.

"I don't think I need it anymore. The important thing now is to prevent that guy from taking over the world."

The pig raised both of his eyebrows.

Sunset was at its peak. The sky had taken on a warm orange hue that together with the clouds made an impressive spectacle. However, that striking orange had begun to darken. The sun began to disappear over the horizon, while on the opposite side the moon was already visible in the sky.

That night there was a full moon.

A group of three had approached very carefully the huge fortress in the middle of the plains. At the moment, there were no indications that they had been detected.

Goku walked in a very casual and relaxed manner, clearly without any experience in stealth. He yawned occasionally, for he had just woken up from his nap.

Yamcha on the other hand had bandages that surrounded his abdomen and waist, over which he also wore the belt of his sword. The previous combat had left him somewhat wounded, though not as wounded as the Boss Rabbit.

Then there was Zhao, who led the group as the author of the plan they were about to execute. He knew more or less all the events that would take place that same day, and he wanted to use that knowledge to adjust the situation to his advantage. His plan was a gamble, but there was no other real alternative.

As soon as they reached the main entrance, and as Zhao instructed, they climbed the stone wall that separated the ground from the fortress proper. From afar it seemed simple, but in the end it took a few minutes. They were considerably tired by the end, but they had arrived at the top.

At the end of the tall wall there were several openings that led directly into the castle. They were strange windows, perhaps with the purpose of ventilating more than anything else. However, only Goku fit there. Zhao and Yamcha were too big.

The greenish-haired boy approached the kid and pointed at the opening.

"This is what I explained to you before. You must enter through here and defeat everything that shows up in front of you." He explained in a clear voice. The boy simply blinked without reaction. "Do you understand?"

Goku nodded before eagerly entering through the window. After that, they lost sight of him. They could only hear the echo of his footsteps.

Zhao stood tall and looked at the desert bandit. He sighed to try to dispel his nervousness even a little.

"And now you and I are looking for the balls."

The bandit swallowed hard. The brief confrontation with the robot had been forceful for him. If even Toninjinka's special power didn't work, would they really stand a chance? How many more robots were inside the castle, protecting the treasures that were hidden inside?

That is why he was surprised by the determination with which Zhao was moving forward. He was much weaker than him, let alone compared to Goku. He also didn't have unique techniques like the Boss Rabbit. So where did that confidence come from? He definitely knew something he didn't, and he wasn't sure if that fact made him uncomfortable.

The two continued to climb one of the fortress's many towers. Gravity pulled harder and harder, or perhaps it was the fatigue of their muscles. The fact is that they finally reached the lowest window of the tower and threw themselves inside with the strength they had left.

The window looked directly onto spiral stairs that were used to go up or down the tower. Due to the momentum of the jump they made, they fell and rolled down the stairs. They tanked every blow they could until they finally reached a straight hallway.

Except for large, lavish paintings, framed with intricately detailed and elegant finishings, it was empty and opened directly onto a room. A light was reflected on the back wall, apparently twinkling. It had to be the computer.

Zhao ran as fast as his body would allow, ignoring the corridor that turned to the right. The bandit ran after him, a little less sure of advancing like that instead of slowly and silently. The sound of the soles of his shoes echoed as he hit the floor of the hallway.

As soon as he walked through the door, he looked in all directions erratically. To the left of the entrance was the emperor's huge computer, plus two chairs and a few small steps. There seemed to be no trace of the spheres.

The greenish-haired boy pulled the radar out of his robe and pressed the button. A small 'beep!' echoed throughout the room, emphasizing how empty it was besides the computer. Several yellow lights appeared on the green radar screen, indicating that the seven Dragon Balls were together, but in another part of the castle.

Goku had found them.

Yamcha hadn't seen that his companion hadn't moved from the entrance of the room. He tried to stop, but slipped on the smooth stone floor. He crashed into Zhao, causing him to fall and the radar slip out of his hands.

Then, a strange silhouette appeared out of nowhere, surrounded by a small explosion of smoke. As soon as it dissipated, the identity of the subject was revealed. An anthropomorphic dog, standing on two legs, short in stature and wearing a purple shinobi suit.

He crouched down and picked up the radar. He analyzed it carefully as Zhao rose from the ground.

"Then you guys also had a radar..." He put it inside his shirt. "Impressive. The fact that there are minds that rival that of the great emperor Pilaf..."

The dog drew his sword and aimed its blade directly at the intruders.

"But my loyalties are clear and I must put an end to you."

Yamcha did the same and pushed his companion away from what was about to become the battlefield. He stood in front, also pointing the edge of his sword at the dog. His stance, however, was less refined than that of the shinobi.

"Find Goku and get the balls out of here." The bandit said. A drop of cold sweat fell from his forehead.

Zhao gritted his teeth, but he knew he had no choice. He nodded his head and ran back into the hallway. At the back were the stairs, but it didn't get there. Instead, he turned to his left and entered the hallway he had previously ignored. This led to more spiral stairs, which he descended as fast as he could.

The footsteps of his sandals echoed a lot, so he suspected that they would find him very soon. He jumped from the penultimate step and kept running. This time, the corridor turned into a cross. As he ran, he threw his sandals into different corridors to distract with the blow of them against the walls. He went straight on and found a larger room.

The entrance opened directly onto metal railings that prevented a fall of at least three floors. Zhao put his hands on the railing and looked down. Several strange metal structures rose to the ceiling of that huge room. However, he didn't quite understand what they were. In the background, a familiar amber glow caught his eye.

He went down as fast as he could without falling. Even barefoot, his footsteps made the metallic sound of the stairs spread throughout the space. He tried not to think about the possibility of being found, because he knew that he should not waste time. Although, in reality, the castle was much bigger than he remembered from the manga, and that benefited him.

After a few minutes, he began to hear loud bangs echoing throughout the room. It was around this time that he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Near where the balls were, a small round, blue robot with four limbs was fighting Goku. The pilot of the machine was, unmistakably, Emperor Pilaf.

The boy looked tired and had several bruises along his body. However, despite the wounds and heavy breathing, he remained firm and determined in his fight.

The emperor's laughter bounced off the walls, with the robotic filter added by the cockpit microphone.

"You don't stand a chance against my machines, kid." The little man sneered. "I recommend you give up, if you appreciate your life."

The boy grunted. Something of his extraterrestrial heritage made an appearance, a slight and weird anger he hadn't shown before. At least not in such a manner. "I won't let you steal my grandpa's Dragon Ball!"

He jumped so hard that, in the blink of an eye, he reached the window of the robot's cockpit. He delivered a powerful kick against the thick bulletproof glass, pushing the robot back and leaving a small crack. Upon landing, a stabbing pain in his leg caused Goku to lose his balance and fall.

"Insolent kid!" Shouted the emperor, who pressed a button inside his robot.

Huge steel doors opened into the room. These were just as tall as the room itself, so it seemed that something very large was kept there.

By then, the full moon was already rising with a delicate white glow. Zhao understood, then, that he was cornered. There was only one last resort left.

He turned his gaze to the boy, who slowly rose from the ground and stood on only one of his legs.

Chapter Text

As soon as he left the castle, two other robots joined the small blue one. First a pink one, whose dimensions were more than twice as large as Pilaf's. Then, a green one that in addition to its four limbs had a long tail that at the end had a kind of stinger, akin to a scorpion's.

The emperor laughed with overwhelming confidence. The fight was over, as those three robots together were invincible. All the experimental testings had proven it.

Zhao closed his eyes and seriously considered the decision he was about to make. He knew these three robots well, and he knew that they fused together to form an even greater machine that would indeed be invincible to them. He was also aware that those robots were not supposed to show up yet, and that unnerved him.

Furthermore, the presence of both of Pilaf's henchmen indicated that Yamcha had been defeated. And, as the icing on the cake, Goku was too heavily injured to have any real chance of winning that battle. Especially because of the early point they were at in terms of power. They simply did not have the resources.

Except for one, of course. One that was only to be used as an emergency. That's why Zhao hesitated so much. So he sighed before finally screaming.

"Look at the moon, Goku!"

The boy turned around to look at his friend with curiosity before innocently obeying. As soon as the image of the full moon was processed by his mind, and the light from the celestial body reached and irradiated him, he felt a kind of electric shock run through his body. His eyes began to turn red and quickly his body began to go through a variety of changes.

His musculature increased to levels almost disproportionate to his body, which soon began to grow at the same rate. His jaw grew and his teeth transformed into sharp fangs. Hair began to grow in abundance all over his body, until it finally covered his body almost completely.

Zhao had run down the stairs from before. By the time he reached the entrance to the citadel, the transformation was complete. Now the boy was a kind of giant, burly monkey, devoid of any consciousness and blinded by inherent aggressiveness and an innate desire for violence.

The greenish-haired boy didn't look back as he continued to run for his life. He heard how little by little the fortress's structure collapsed, but he was only thinking about escaping.

On the way he met Yamcha, who was crawling injured along the sandstone walls. His sword was destroyed, and his arm and face were covered in blood. It was a miracle that he was still alive.

Zhao had him ride on his back and continued on his way as fast as he could. In a matter of two minutes, he was already outside the fortress, on the opposite side of the great Oozaru.

From there the imposing creature that the boy had become was visible. One of the few evidences of his alien heritage. He was violently waving his arms, destroying everything in his path. Occasionally, he would ram the pillars of the castle. Every stomp he gave sent waves that shook the floor underneath, almost as warnings of the natural disaster that had just been unleashed.

The greenish-haired boy saw the others in the distance. Bulma was looking at them with great concern, beckoning her arms to get the attention of both of them and pull them back. Of course, Zhao had no intention of going anywhere but the wreckage of the camper.

What he was thinking about was how to deal with the oozaru he had unleashed, once the threat was over with.

The girl bumped into them and noticed that they were both covered in blood. However, only Yamcha was breathing heavily.

Zhao let the bandit down, but he could barely stand on his own legs. He was exhausted and had lost a lot of blood.

"What the hell happened?" Bulma was perplexed by the apparent state in which they had returned. In addition to, of course, the gigantic monster that had seemingly come out of nowhere.

Zhao shook his head. "Take care of Yamcha. I need to think about how to cut off Goku's tail."

"Goku?" The girl didn't seem to understand what he was saying. "Why?"

He simply pointed at the monster. So, everyone got it. "That's Goku. When he sees the full moon he turns into that giant monkey."

Bulma's eyes widened in utter terror. "What the fuck is going on?!"

Oolong came over to help tend to the bandit. He was carrying the same first aid kit he had used for the Rabbit Boss. There were still some bandages and other chemicals to clean the wounds. It had to be enough.

Toninjinka approached Zhao, who was still thoughtful. He scratched his chin constantly, trying to find an alternative to his original plan, which was for Yamcha to do the job with his sword. However, the weapon had been destroyed, and its carrier was badly injured.

The rabbit cleared his throat, for he understood that the boy was too deep in thought to notice his approach.

The boy's golden eyes fell on the gang member's white fur.

To adjusted his glasses. "How is cutting off his tail supposed to help? It's easier for me to touch it and turn it into a carrot, don't you think?"

Zhao raised an eyebrow. He was surprised that the rabbit was willing to help him.

"Even if you turn him into a carrot, when you get him back to normal, he'll still be a gigantic rampaging monkey." The boy explained. He emphasized the correct pronouns, as that beast was still Goku. "His weakness is his tail, although that was supposed to be a secret."

The rabbit raised both of his eyebrows.

"Then, by cutting off its... his tail, he will return to normal." Realizing that he was demonstrating his privileged knowledge too openly, he decided to patch it up a bit. "Well, that's my guess."

"The original idea was for Yamcha to do it, right?" The Rabbit Boss deduced.

The boy nodded. "But now we don't have the sword and Yamcha doesn't seem to be in the right condition."

Then, the blue cat flew towards them. His small hands were clenched into fists while his face was completely filled with a strange determination, unlike anything he had expressed before.

"I can do it." Pu'ar said, seemingly emboldened.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, from his rival Oolong to his great friend Yamcha. The latter in particular seemed not to agree with the idea.

"In the shapeshifting academy, I learned to transform into sharp weapons!"

Zhao's eyes lit up. After all, he would end up using the same method that was used in the manga. Method which he had forgotten until then.

Pilaf watched as his castle was destroyed by the violent creature. Its erratic movements and overwhelming destructive power made it difficult not to perceive it as a natural force of destruction.

The great oozaru roared again. Because of the powerful vibrations they felt from their robots' control rooms, it became clear that the roar would have left them deaf if they had been outside.

The emperor slammed his robot's command panel in fury. He quickly spoke over the intercom.

"Fuse together, immediately!"

He gritted his teeth. He wasn't just going to let that huge beast destroy all his treasures and his machines. He wasn't going to let them destroy his great palace.

The green robot stood in the middle. Its small metal arms were retracted and hidden under apparent doors that closed and opened at convenience. The pink robot was then placed on top of it, seemingly fitting perfectly, almost like the pieces of a puzzle. With its large arms, this last robot took the emperor's little one and placed it right on top of itself. The blue robot also fit perfectly and became the last piece, the head of that unified machine.

As a unit, the machine became one of great size and strength. However, they still barely reached the height of the great ape's chest, who continued to destroy the castle structure without noticing the presence of the robot.

Pilaf became frustrated to feel that his greatest creation was not so imposing in front of the creature. Then, he hit a big red button on his control panel. Two hatches opened on the pink robot's chest, revealing two large cannons that began to charge a red beam.

Mai, the emperor's loyal servant, pointed directly at the great ape. While it had taken her by surprise that they would use that weapon so suddenly, she didn't question her emperor's judgment for a moment.

The cannons fired a powerful red laser that went straight into the oozaru. The laser hit hard, but barely scratched the creature.

Then, the big ape turned his gaze towards them and growled. His legs began to move in perfect coordination. The distance was shortening and the pressure of the mere presence of the beast made the emperor tremble.

The robot raised its arms and interposed them as the big ape threw a punch at it. The arms held back the first blow, but the second, which was a punch from the other arm, caused one of the metal limbs to break off and fall to the ground. Pilaf opened his eyes wide, though in reality the most terrified of them all was Mai.

The shinobi dog pressed several buttons on its own control panel, causing a large cannon to pop out of the bottom of the robot. In it was a huge ballistic missile that was quickly aimed at the oozaru.

"Shoot!" Ordered the desperate emperor, who had already fully understood the creature's overwhelming superiority.

Shu pressed one last button before the missile was launched at Goku. The weapon struck squarely into the beast's abdomen. The explosion and the subsequent smoke it released limited the view, while the shockwave it sent added to the already scary imagery.

The robot jumped backwards, propelled by several turbines that came out of its back. They had gained a decent amount of distance, but they were wrong to think that their enemy would not attack until the smoke cleared.

The oozaru jumped out and aimed a powerful kick straight at the top of the robot, shattering the glass protecting the emperor's cockpit. One of the pieces of glass fell inwards and cut the little blue man's cheek. Then he went into shock.

Shu couldn't process that the beast had emerged unscathed from the direct hit of his missile, so his pulse began to tremble. He found himself unable to press any of the buttons and keys in his cockpit.

The one who reacted at the last moment was Mai. She pressed several buttons and activated all of the robot's turbines, which shot the machine skyward. Then, she turned a small crank that directed the robot north.

It was an escape, but they would preserve their lives.

The oozaru roared again, causing the earth itself to tremble around him. He beat his fists on his chest as he roared over and over again. He was totally out of control and overwhelmed by the unleashed power of that transformation.

But a sound, similar to the flight of a mosquito, interrupted the internal noise of his mind. Little by little it became clearer until he recognized a familiar voice.

Zhao, barely at the height of his feet, was screaming at the top of his lungs to get his attention. The oozaru lowered his head and saw the boy, who in his perspective was barely an ant. He lifted his foot and tried to stomp on him, but he had already started running before.

He barely dodged the first stomp when the next one was coming. Perhaps he had underestimated the risk involved in facing an oozaru. Between his heavy breathing and racing mind, he soon realized that his second death was imminent.

He jumped forward to dodge the second stomp and turned around.

A pair of scissors slowly floated towards the great ape's tail, but not enough to avoid the stomp that was about to crush Zhao.

"Pu'ar, do it now, damn it!" The boy shouted, with nothing but terror in his mind and adrenaline in his veins.

The blue cat, now transformed into large scissors, began to float more quickly. It opened and placed the oozaru's tail right between its edges. Then, it snapped close. And just like that, the saiyan's tail fell.

The big monkey screamed loudly and lost his balance. He fell on his back, so he never got around to crushing Zhao. The impact left a small crater in the ground and the shockwave launched both Pu'ar and him in the opposite direction.

The blue cat managed to float and steady itself, but Zhao rolled a little on the ground before he could stop his trajectory with his arms.

By the time they both looked up at the crater, Goku had already returned to normal. He lay unconscious and naked in the middle, completely ignorant of what had happened.

Zhao sighed deeply and dropped his head on the ground. Right there, he decided to rest a little.

After a couple of hours, the group met again. Goku was still asleep on the floor, naked except for Bulma's blue vest, which covered his private parts. The stars and moon lit up the dark night sky, while a light breeze blew.

Oolong was leaning on one of the metal pieces that had been left from his vehicle. Next to him was Monster Carrot, who was resting after all the commotion. The same was true for Yamcha, who, already covered in bandages, had fallen asleep from exhaustion. His partner cat, of course, was by his side.

Finally, Zhao was not far away from the boy, sitting next to the turquoise-haired girl. He was lying on one of the giant mushrooms that came out of the ground. His body felt weak and sore, so he was resting as well.

Earlier, after picking up Goku, Bulma took the seven dragon balls from the rubble of the castle. Now they were in front of her, placed neatly on the ground, reflecting the dim light of the stars. She had stared at them for what felt like an hour, not sure what she should do with them.

"You don't want anything?" Zhao asked curiously. His voice showed his tiredness, as it was softer than usual.

She didn't turn to look at him, she just stared at those mysterious gems, the protagonists of the old legend her parents told her as a kid.

"I don't know." She answered. She bit her lip, unsure if she should proceed with her original plan.

"If you're not going to ask for anything, then I'll ask for a very sexy supermodel!" Oolong exclaimed with malicious laughter.

Normally she would have yelled at the pig, but this time she ignored his comment.

"It's just that... I don't think I need the wish I wanted to make anymore." She sighed.

"Huh?"

"I don't need a boyfriend anymore. After all, all I needed was an adventure." She smiled with her eyes and finally turned around. She seemed satisfied, really, by all the experiences she had lived during those weeks.

Zhao smiled back. However, he had to ask a question. Not to her, but to the rest of the group.

"Does anyone else want to wish for something?" He looked one by one at all the team members who were still awake. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Oolong had considered it, but in reality the responsibility of having the power to wish anything he could possibly want intimidated him a little. After all, he didn't need anything, as such.

Pu'ar looked at his companion, who did want a wish. Although there was little he could do if he was asleep. He also didn't want to wake him up because he needed to rest, so he just kept quiet.

To looked down. All he wanted was a rematch with the emperor to defeat him and his servants, but at that moment, without becoming stronger, he would be defeated again. Then he just clenched his fists in frustration.

No one answered. Zhao wasn't going to push them, either. After all, he did have something on his mind, for himself. It was not his intention to take a wish from anyone who actually belonged to that world, but now that the opportunity was there, he could not waste it.

He stretched out his arm towards Bulma, who looked at him curiously. "Will you help me get up?" He laughed nervously. "My legs hurt a little."

He really had to work on his physique. Although he had been running like crazy and almost lost his life, he had not made even half the physical effort that his teammates did. He was starting to get tired of being so useless, at least from his point of view.

She stood up and took his hand. He used her as a support and got up. Then, he placed his arm around the shoulder of the girl, who was a little surprised. She didn't know that he was going to need a stand too. She blushed slightly.

Already leaning against her, Zhao slowly walked towards the dragon balls. Ever since he processed that he had appeared in that fantasy world, he imagined what that precise moment would be like. He had mentally prepared himself for just that. And now, there he was, about to summon the god who hid in the orange gems.

He sighed and said the password.

"Come out, O great dragon god, and make my wish come true!" He said as he raised the only arm he had free.

A strange golden glow came out of the dragon balls. All seven began to float and the light began to emit a kind of electric sound. It was then, while they were suspended in the air, that a burst of yellow energy came out of them, releasing a silhouette similar to that of a snake. It stretched almost endlessly, until it finally became clearer.

The light finally revealed green scales that were part of the legendary dragon's elongated body. The last to reveal itself was its face, with a pair of barbels, two long horns like those of a deer, deep red eyes, and a menacing jaw full of fangs.

The imposing dragon lowered its gaze and identified those who had summoned it. Almost instinctively he knew it was the boy wearing the green turban.

"Tell me your wish." He said in a deep voice that echoed through the place as if they were in a cave. "I will grant any wish you ask of me."

Zhao smiled. "It's pretty simple, actually."

Bulma looked at him with quiet expectation. She wondered if he wanted a great fortune, or perhaps to become king of somewhere, or perhaps he wanted a beautiful bride. That last thought took her by surprise, even if it was her own. Why would she care about whether he wished for a beautiful bride?

"I want you to unlock my fighting potential." The boy said, holding his sincere smile.

"Mmmm." The dragon looked thoughtful. "Indeed, it is very easy."

His red eyes flashed brightly as he fulfilled the wish. A warm and visible white aura surrounded the boy's body, lifting not only his hair, but also that of the girl who was helping him stand upright. Then, the aura simply disappeared, and the dragon's eyes stopped shining.

"Good. Your wish has been fulfilled." The dragon said in the same deep tone of voice. "See you soon."

The dragon's body was enveloped in the same golden light before disappearing. The dragon balls rose into the sky and shot out in different directions. If the legend was to be believed, they would separate and scatter all over the world, so that someone else would seek them out and gather them to fulfill their wish.

Bulma looked at him, trying to find some apparent difference. However, he remained exactly the same.

"What did you ask for, exactly?"

He laughed nervously. "Nothing special. It will only help me progress faster during my training."

The girl's eyebrow jumped a little, disappointed by what she had considered a wasted wish.

Oolong got up and stretched. "That was awesome."

The rabbit nodded. "I think I regret not making a wish."

"I guess the journey has come to an end." Zhao sighed.

The girl lowered her gaze and spoke in a low voice. "Yes... I guess." He looked at the boy again. "What will you do now?"

"Hmm. Probably sleep and then go with Goku to train." He said thoughtfully. "And you?"

"Ah..." She looked disappointed. "I have to go home. Soon my classes will start again."

Of course, he had forgotten.

He rubbed his chin. "Well, if you want you can come and visit us from time to time."

Her gaze lit up a little. She was still disappointed that they would all go their own ways, but going to visit them once in a while seemed enough for the moment.

She nodded her head and he reciprocated.

Monster Carrot adjusted his glasses after getting up. He stretched a little and walked calmly towards the boy in the green turban. He put on the gloves he had been given again and touched the boy's shoulder.

The latter was very frightened to see that the rabbit had touched him, but relaxed a little when he noticed that he was wearing the gloves. He had been surprised that the rabbit hadn't taken advantage of this clear opportunity to turn him into a carrot.

"My congratulations on defeating Emperor Pilaf." He said, followed by a small bow.

Zhao laughed nervously. "It's nothing, hehe. In any case, the one who defeated him was Goku."

"Yes..." The rabbit gave a quick glance at the boy, who was still sleeping. "Anyway. I couldn't help but hear you talking about training..."

"Ah, yes! Goku, Yamcha and I will go train with Muten Roshi-sama!" The boy explained enthusiastically.

"Mmm. That name is familiar to me." He had it on the tip of his tongue, but he wasn't quite sure. "Anyway. Now that I lost my gang and Pilaf's empire is without leadership, my old life is gone forever. That is why I am interested in joining this training. Will this be possible?"

Zhao scratched his head. If he was honest, he had no idea.

"Well, it's not up to me, but if you want you can join us and give it a try." He explained. "If Muten Roshi deems you worthy, he will train you!"

The rabbit nodded. "Well, it's not like I have much to do."

To turned around to sit down to rest again.

A small drop of cold sweat fell down Zhao's forehead when he realized something. He scratched his cheek and smiled nervously.

"Eh... a question..." He started a little timidly, while glancing at Bulma. "Do you have any vehicles lying around that you can lend us?"

Bulma almost fell backwards to the ground, but Zhao's arm prevented it.

Chapter Text

After a quick stop at Mount Paozu, where Goku picked up his futon and some clothes to change into, the group headed towards the island where the great Muten Roshi resided.

They crossed the entire sea that surrounded the island until they finally found it. It was a small patch of land in the middle of nowhere, with barely a little grass, a couple of palm trees and the distinctive pink house with the legend of 'Kame House' built right in the middle of it.

Bulma was piloting the plane they were on. It had been one of the capsules she had bought back in the village a couple of days prior. It was useful, even though it wasn't one of the newer models, like the ones her family normally used. But most importantly, it had enough space to accommodate the entire group.

The plane landed in the little space between the house and the shore. The tides were very gentle, so there would be no risk of the sea washing the vehicle away.

First, a large hatch opened in the middle of the plane, from which they emerged one by one. The turquoise-haired girl got up from the pilot's seat and took off the large headphones she had been wearing. She exited the cockpit and then walked all the way to the same door.

The gentle sea breeze refreshed them all and quickly generated an unmistakable sense of relaxation.

Yamcha looked at the house carefully, somewhat surprised. He imagined a more luxurious home, for Muten Roshi was the strongest martial arts master in the world, according to the legends.

Monster Carrot stared at the horizon, feeling the warm sand beneath his toes. No matter which way he looked, there was only an infinity of water. Nothing but ocean and more ocean.

"Well, he is a hermit..." He said quietly.

Goku ran straight to the front door, carrying everything he had brought from home.

"Kame Sen'nin! We're here!" He shouted excitedly.

However, there was no response. He raised an eyebrow and put his things on the floor. The window of the house was open, so he peeked through it. Zhao and Bulma followed, after exchanging confused glances.

The three of them listened to fast-paced music, similar to what they used to play in exercise videos. They scanned the main room until they reached the old man's small television. There he was, glued to the screen and drooling.

What was being played on TV was precisely an exercise video. Two young girls were doing leg stretches in tight full body suits. The fact that the old man wasn't emulating those stretches wasn't a good sign.

The boy scratched his head. Zhao grimaced in embarrassment, while the turquoise-haired girl turned red with anger at such a scene.

She ran to the door and kicked it down. Steam was shooting out of her ears, and her clenched fists were raised toward the old man. The others poked their heads through the doorframe, expectant and frightened by what the girl would do.

She grabbed the old man by the beard and pulled him away from the screen. Then, her mouth opened much wider than the human anatomy would allow to let out a powerful scream.

"Perverted old man! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

The scream was loud enough to cause the hermit's sunglasses to fall to the ground. The old man's now exposed eyes were terrified at the girl's fury. He tried to calm her down by raising his hands, but this only made her slap him hard.

Muten Roshi fell to the ground, a little stunned from the blow he had just received. Not bad from someone with no prior training. Such was the power of a lady's anger.

To couldn't help but doubt the old man's reputation.

"Is that the legendary master you were talking about?"

Yamcha and Zhao responded in unison, albeit with great disappointment. "Yes."

The old man crawled on the ground and picked up his sunglasses. Then, he got up relatively calmly and wiped some dust off his clothes. His cheeks flushed a little as he recognized the girl.

"Ah... You're the puff-puff girl!" He fiddled with his two index fingers. "Hehe, nice to see you again."

Bulma looked away, embarrassed, perhaps even feeling degraded, by what the hermit was referring to.

Goku rushed through the door and raised his hand, waving at the old master.

"Hello, Kame-Sen'nin! We came here to train." He explained with a big smile on his face.

Muten Roshi raised both of his eyebrows. His memory had played a trick on him. "Ah... True. I had forgotten about that."

He scratched his beard thoughtfully.

Zhao joined Goku, albeit with a little more awkwardness. The others entered, but did not go beyond the entrance.

The greenish-haired boy waved at the hermit, and he nodded in acknowledgement. He had also agreed to train that boy, all because he assumed that Kinto'un would not accept him as someone worthy. After all, what were the chances of finding a random person who was one of the few worthy of flying on the sacred golden cloud?

Roshi craned his neck and looked at everyone else, who were avoiding eye contact with him. He raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the turquoise-haired girl.

"And who are they?" He continued to fiddle with his beard. "I don't remember them."

Oolong fell backwards on the ground, for he had been present at Frypan Mountain and should be recognized by the old man.

Yamcha laughed nervously as he scratched his head. He took a couple of steps forward to introduce himself.

"It's an honor to meet you, Muten Roshi-sama." The bandit bowed. "I am Yamcha of the desert."

Next to him, Pu'ar imitated the gesture.

Toninjinka, however, simply raised his hand. He seemed to have much less respect for the old man than everyone else, and that was why he was not half as nervous as Yamcha.

"My name is Toninjinka, former leader of the now-defunct rabbit gang and former servant of Emperor Pilaf." Instead of a bow, he simply put both hands behind his back.

"Good, but..." The old man scratched his bald head. "What are you doing in my house?"

This time it was Zhao's turn to fall down on the floor. He, like Yamcha, had respect for the figure of the hermit, so he had a certain nervousness. Especially knowing the favor he was about to ask of him. But those moments of seeming absent-mindedness helped them relieve their nerves a little.

"It's just that... They also want to join the training, Muten Roshi-sama..." He explained.

The old man had no reaction. He just fell silent. He turned his gaze discreetly, taking advantage of the fact that his glasses hid his eyes, towards Bulma's chest. Then, those sights made a light bulb go off in his head. It was such a good idea that he couldn't help but blush a little.

"Alright, but you'll have to meet a special condition." A goober began to fall from one of his nostrils. "You will have to bring me a very, very sexy girl. Whoever brings the sexiest one will earn the honor of training with the great Muten Roshi!"

They all fell backwards to the ground. Everyone except Goku, who didn't understand what that meant.

"What's sexy?"

Roshi adjusted his glasses. "Well, your friend, for example."

Bulma flushed with fury again, but Zhao held her back this time.

"Anyway. It's just for her to take care of the household duties while we train." Roshi lied through his teeth without a single ounce of shame in his body. "After all, the training will be so intensive that we won't have the time or energy to take care of the chores ourselves. Believe me."

The girl grunted before breaking free from Zhao's grip and heading out the door. He followed her, of course, while the rest continued to argue.

As soon as she left the house, she kicked one of the stones so hard that it went into the sea. She could not describe the revulsion and anger that the old degenerate caused her.

He got a little close to her, but he also didn't want to risk being the object of one of those powerful slaps, or one of her screams.

"I can't stand it." The girl sighed. Seeing the vast ocean had helped her relax a bit. "I think I'd better go home."

Zhao scratched his hair. "I also don't want to force you to have to put up with his perversion. If you're going to be better off like this, then go ahead."

She looked down. "How long will you be here training?"

He rubbed his chin. "I don't know, maybe about a year."

Bulma turned around and gave him a forced smile. "Then I'll try to visit you from time to time."

The boy reciprocated the gesture. "I will try my best. When you come back I will be much stronger!"

The girl nodded. "I'm sure you will."

She ran quickly and gave him a brief hug. He was a little startled by that. A small blush appeared on his cheeks.

She walked away a little before leaving.

"Get stronger than the old pervert, yes?" She winked.

Zhao laughed nervously. "I'll try."

Then, Bulma went straight to the plane. Before entering, he took one last look at the boy. His eyes shone with a new motivation. If Bulma said so, who was he to deny such expectations?

Within minutes, the plane was gone.

Soon the others also went out to the beach. They seemed to have reached an agreement with the old man, because more than concern or disappointment, their faces showed a certain determination.

The old man took a quick look at the beach on his island and noticed that the plane was gone. He began to play with his beard, curious about why it had disappeared. Then he looked at the greenish-haired boy, who had followed the turquoise-haired girl.

"What about the Puff-Puff girl?" He asked with a slight blush on his cheeks.

"She left. Soon school will start, so she can't keep accompanying us." While what he said was technically true, the main reason she left so quickly was another.

"Mmm. What a pity..." He said, though apparently he wasn't too worried that she was gone.

Yamcha scratched his head. "And now how will we look for the girl?"

The rabbit shrugged.

Goku entered the scene to make a proposal. "What about Kinto'un?" He said with a big smile.

Since he received no replies, he simply called the name of the magic cloud, who arrived in a split second. The golden cloud caught everyone's attention. The boy jumped up and fell on the soft surface of the cloud. Then, with a gesture, he invited the others to get on.

A drop of sweat fell down To's face.

The desert bandit, for his part, had plenty of doubts about that idea. "Only those with pure hearts can get on, can't they?"

Muten Roshi nodded his head instinctively, while the boy rubbed his chin.

"Well, you can hold on to me anyway." He said, again with a big smile. "I'm very strong!"

"..." Both the rabbit and the bandit blinked. "Sounds awkward. And uncomfortable."

Curiously, Zhao chimed in with a question.

"What agreement did you reach?"

Yamcha looked at him, somewhat embarrassed by the condition the hermit had set.

"We must bring a girl to take care of the housework while we train." The bandit explained.

Just like in the manga. It was a bit relaxing that some things did stay as he remembered. After all, his prior knowledge was the only special ability he had, compared to anyone else in that world. Up to that point, it had worried him a fair bit that things were different, and perhaps he should be ready for that, but if something was to be entirely different, he would not be of much use.

Unless he got stronger, which was his current goal.

Oolong ran to the shore and looked out to the horizon. Pu'ar followed, and soon everyone but Roshi was staring at the horizon. Something was slowly approaching the island, though it was hard to discern exactly what it was.

The old man, whose vision was superhuman, identified him with no issues from his position, even though he was very far away, but the others did not elucidate him until he got closer.

That strange object was a small canoe, containing only a short, humanoid silhouette, plus what appeared to be a cloth bag tied to a stick.

That figure stopped rowing when he considered that he was close enough. He jumped from the canoe, holding his things, to the beach, which was a tremendously long trajectory. He spun several times in the air, captivating everyone with his great technique.

However, his landing was a bit regrettable. He spun too much and his head hit the sand of the beach, burying it underneath. He wiggled his short arms and legs desperately while trying to get out, but he was unable to.

Goku had to come to his rescue, grabbing him by the legs and pulling him out. As soon as his head came out, his bald head reflected the sunlight as if it were a mirror. That dazzled Zhao a little. Although, even when dazzled, he knew well who this stranger was.

Embarrassed and blushing a little, the little boy shook the sand off his clothes and body, as well as some of the sweat from his brow. Then, when he felt ready, he approached the old man.

"Good morning! You're Muten Roshi-sama, right?"

The old man nodded slightly. "The one and only."

The boy seemed to be glad and proceeded to introduce himself. "I'm Kuririn, I come from a very distant village in the east. I have come all the way here to train with you."

He bowed.

The hermit just stared. "Another one? Do you think this some cheap dojo or what?"

The bald boy began to rummage through his things until he took out a private collection of magazines. He smiled mischievously and handed them to the old man, who watched more carefully. The naked woman on the cover exposed the material contained in those magazines.

Roshi blushed as he read. "Mmmm. Maybe I'll take you into account after all..."

The old man continued to check the magazine while the bald boy looked at the others. He raised an eyebrow, for he understood that the master was a hermit and thus it was weird for the island to be filled with people.

"And who are you? Are you disciples of Muten Roshi?"

Goku nodded excitedly. "Yes!"

Zhao, for his part, was a little more restrained with his response. "Something like that."

Kuririn folded his arms. "None of you looks like a martial artist."

The old man finished his thorough review and returned his attention to the others. He cleared his throat a little, to get the attention of the rest. Still with a certain blush on his cheeks, the master spoke.

"Well, Kuririn, I will accept you as a disciple if you meet the same condition as them." He explained while pointing at the rabbit and the bandit. The bald boy looked intently. "You'll need to bring a sexy young girl."

Everyone except Goku fell backwards to the ground. Kuririn, for his part, came over and whispered something in his ear. When he finished, Roshi seemed very satisfied with what he had been told. So much so that steam came out of his nostrils.

"Finally, someone understands my tastes!" He exclaimed excitedly. Then, he pointed towards the flying cloud. "Go with Goku and bring that girl here!"

Kuririn nodded with determination and then jumped on the cloud. His trajectory was perfect, but he continued through the cloud and crashed into the ground.

"Excuse me, master." A respectful Yamcha intervened. "If Kuririn goes with Goku... how are To and I supposed to look for our girl?"

The old man fiddled with his beard, diving into his thoughts. He hadn't taken that into account, his excitement had blinded his judgment temporarily.

"I guess there's no other option." The old man put both arms behind his back and inhaled all the air his lungs would allow.

When he finished, he opened his jaw as wide as he could to let out a powerful scream that resounded beyond the horizon. If he kept it going for a little longer, the eardrums of his students-to-be would have been torn.

"Baby Gamera!"

Yamcha, who back on Frypan Mountain had witnessed the hermit's arrival, couldn't help but blink in disbelief. If it was the same turtle, they were going to end up vomiting every time they rode in it.

Time passed as the two groups carried out their searches in parallel. On the island only the hermit, one of his two already confirmed disciples and the shapeshifting rivals remained.

The latter two moved away and did not speak to each other for obvious reasons. And the other two remained remained on the beach, waiting.

Roshi had changed his clothes, donning a white suit instead of his beach outfit, and had been setting up a small table right outside his house. He seemed eager for the arrival of his potential students, theoretically alongside two beautiful young girls.

Zhao, however, just stood on the sand, staring at the horizon. He felt the gentle sea breeze blowing against his face, pushing his hair slightly.

There was a thought in his head that didn't let him relax for those minutes, though. Until now, as he had been busy with the search for the dragon balls, he had not had the time of silence and peace necessary for his mind to begin to think more freely. So, until that moment, he had not had time to regret.

Regret everything he had left behind. His family, his friends, the life he had created. Of course, in the heat of the moment he made a noble decision, the decision that ended his life. But at the same time, the decision that allowed everyone else to escape unscathed.

He looked down.

That dream still tormented him. His little sister running through a tunnel, so fast that it was impossible for him to reach her. A perpetual, albeit straight tunnel.

He gritted his teeth.

He was privileged. He was offered a second life like this, without having to start from scratch like everyone else and in a fantasy world that he loved and of which he had prior knowledge. He should be grateful. But sometimes not even fantasy is able to take those you love most out of your mind.

If he could choose to do so, at that moment he would agree to give up that life in order to see his sister again. What was the point of it all if he was virtually alone, far away from his loved ones?

The old man noticed the internal conflict the young man was going through. Until now he had seemed rather calm and polite, a boy of few words. Pure of heart, as Kinto'un demonstrated. However, he, with his superior sensory abilities, saw beyond mere superficial details.

Muten Roshi began to walk over the sand of the beach to approach the boy. Perhaps he had gotten used to not paying attention to it because he lived there, but it was truly a beautiful day.

"Is something wrong, Zhao?" He asked in a calm tone. His old nervous, intense, and perverted personality had totally vanished, almost as if it was a facade.

They did not make eye contact.

The boy gritted his teeth. He didn't want to talk about it. He also didn't know how he could explain his dilemma to someone from that world, who wouldn't be able to understand his situation well. Something inside him knew that the right thing to do was to vent at least a little, but how to communicate his situation?

"It's just..." He had already taken the first step, now he had to commit to it. "I miss my family."

"Mmmm. I see. Something normal among adventurers." He said, recalling his own experiences. "Do you come from far away?"

"Something like that."

"You can always take comfort in knowing that, at some point in the future, you'll be able to see them again." The hermit continued. "Maybe when you finish training with me you can go home."

He sighed. If only he could.

"It's not that easy." He said almost in a whisper. He wasn't sure if he should continue the conversation, or just stay silent.

The old man raised his two eyebrows. In a way, he understood the message.

"I see." His mind read loss in that sentence, said in that tone. A feeling he knew well. His glasses reflected the sun as he looked up. "Training will do you good anyway. It is not only about strengthening yourself physically, but also spiritually and mentally. Everything is a balance, if one of those bases is shaky, everything else will fall."

Zhao nodded.

"Many times in life we will have to move forward even if we don't want to. It's part of the cycle. But in the face of such an opportunity, the right thing to do is to be grateful and make the most out of it." The teacher continued. "If you need anything else, let me know."

With a lump in his throat, the boy nodded again. Behind that facade of a perverted old man, there was a real master full of wisdom.

He had to go on living. Not only for himself, but because it is what his little sister would want.

After a couple of hours, the others returned to the island. The first were Kuririn and Goku, who were going much faster and much more comfortably riding the golden cloud that he had received as a gift. They brought Launch, a young girl with curly, dark blue hair, and who carried with her a large bag full of bills.

A few more minutes passed until the other group arrived. Their case was very different. The turtle Gamera landed safely on the sand, but as soon as it stopped, the three people it was carrying ran out to sea to throw up.

Both Yamcha and the rabbit seemed very affected by the turtle's peculiar spiral flight. However, they did not return alone. They were accompanied by a girl, whose hair was a lighter shade of blue than Launch. She was wearing a street food uniform, with the legend 'Parrot' on her apron. She also had a pointed nose that protruded from her face.

She also vomited and vomited. They all looked on in sorrow as they recovered from their turbulent journey. Except for the old man, of course, whose eyes were captivated by the well-shaped legs of those girls.

When they all finally stabilized somewhat, they gathered in front of Muten Roshi, who looked at them with great interest. Especially the two girls. He cleared his throat to make sure everyone was paying attention to him.

"Welcome, welcome!" The old man exclaimed. "I'm Muten Roshi, a. k. a. Kame Sen'nin... I'm a martial arts master and I'll be training all of these newbies."

Launch looked surprised, while the other girl didn't have much interest.

"Hurry up, old man, I'm wasting time and I have to go back to work." The latter growled.

A drop of cold sweat fell down the old man's forehead.

"I asked my students to bring you here because we will need someone to take care of the chores while we dedicate ourselves fully to the training." The old man lied, without a hint of shame. His cheeks flushed. "Of course, this means staying and living on the island."

The dark-blue-haired girl raised an eyebrow.

The other girl did not seem happy at all. "Without pay? Do you think I'm stupid?" She turned around to look at those who had brought her. "Return me to my post, I've wasted enough time."

Roshi waved his hands desperately, fearing that he might let go of such tremendous woman.

"No, no!" He said, almost yelling. His mind thought as fast as it could, like gears in a mechanism. "Of course I'll pay you! More than what you get paid at your job!"

The girl turned around and lowered her sunglasses, revealing bluish eyes. "Now you do have my attention, old man."

Roshi breathed a sigh of relief.

"My name is Launch!" The other girl exclaimed, with a much friendlier tone. "Your students saved me, so you don't need to pay me."

"And I am Parrot..." She shook her head to look at her new companion. "Are you stupid or something? Never turn down easy pay!"

"Is this guy really the legendary Muten Roshi you were talking about?" The rabbit asked.

Yamcha scratched his head. "Sometimes I wonder if someone replaced him at some point. Identity theft is no joke."

Chapter Text

Early the next day, after a long night in which the adventurers finally rested comfortably, they all gathered on the coast of the small island. Each one carried their things; their clothes and other belongings.

"Everyone ready?" The old man asked as he took one last look at his house through one of the windows.

The group nodded. Then, the old man took out a small box from one of his pants pockets. He opened it and inside it had several Hoi-Poi capsules. He took one of them and pressed the button it had on top.

A burst of smoke seemed to engulf the entire house, leaving the island completely empty, as if nothing had ever been there. He put the capsule back in the box and stared at the rest, unsure which one was correct.

He rubbed a bandage on his shiny bald head. The night before, Launch had sneezed, and her more aggressive personality had emptied the magazine of her machine gun on the old master.

"Ah, it's this one." The old man took a blue-colored capsule and threw it with impressive precision into the water.

A boat appeared spontaneously from another explosion of smoke. Everyone looked at the luxurious vehicle in surprise, mostly because they didn't expect the hermit to hide such a thing for any apparent reason. In any case, Parrot was the most surprised of all.

After getting on the boat, they traveled through the wide and endless sea for a couple of hours. They barely fit in the boat because of the large number of people they were. Therefore, from time to time, they would pressure Roshi to speed up so they could arrive sooner and enjoy some personal space.

In the distance, on the horizon, an island began to show up. It was much larger than the one where the hermit lived. It had several villages in it, surrounded by abundant vegetation. And in the center, a volcano occasionally released smoke, indicating some activity.

They got off at the shore and walked a couple of kilometers until Roshi felt the place was appropriate. There, he dropped the capsule and placed his house. He closed his box and sighed, satisfied that the time had finally come. He placed both hands behind his back and looked at his future disciples. Their faces were reflected in their sunglasses.

"Alright. Ready to start training?"

Toninjinka simply nodded his head. His position was firm. More than determined, he was hoping that it would be worth his time, as he doubted the abilities of the supposed master of martial arts.

In contrast, Yamcha felt butterflies in his stomach. He still didn't believe that he had been able to have such a great honor, but he was totally determined to take advantage of such an opportunity. His fists clenched as he nodded.

The feeling was familiar to Zhao, who superficially showed nothing but concentration. He was aware that he was, by far, the weakest of the group. He had no real experience fighting, not even in his previous life. His wish would make things a little easier for him, but this training promised to be a real torture for him. Everything he aspired to do later would depend on that. His ability to be able to intervene in the future would depend on that.

Kuririn's bald head shone intensely, reflecting the sunlight. He seemed serene and confident, not really thinking about whether or not he deserved the honor of training with Muten Roshi. He was ready and had his priorities and goals clear. He didn't need to know anything else, and did not care about anything else at the moment.

Finally, Goku was floating while sitting on Kinto'un, observing his surroundings. Not far away was a village and the boy was looking at it with great curiosity.

"Goku, what are you doing? Training is about to begin." The old man asked.

The boy looked down from his cloud. "Hey, grandpa, there are many houses there." He pointed his arm to the west.

Roshi didn't even have to look in that direction, for he already knew the island very well. "Of course. About 300 people live on this island."

"Anyway. It's time to train, what a thrill!" He said while waving his arms quickly.

Launch pointed at herself innocently. "Me too?"

Parrot looked at her with a confused face. "No, we will go to the house together with these two."

With anything but enthusiasm, the girl pointed at the blue cat and the perverted pig. The latter hadn't stopped drooling over both girls, so he was the most annoying. Even more than the old man, who had shifted his concentration to training.

"Ah, I understand." She said happily. "That's good, I don't know how good I would be at training."

The four of them went to the house, while the rest stayed outside. The master pointed his cane at a stone nearby and led the way to it. Once there, the old man stood firm once again.

"You will finally begin your training." He said without taking his eyes off them.

His disciples had stood in line in front of him.

"But first I must know one thing. Do you have any martial arts experience?" He rested his weight on his cane, which he pressed against the ground. "I already know that Goku has trained with his grandfather, who was once my disciple many years ago... But I don't really know much about the rest of you."

Kuririn took the floor first. "Yes! I trained for eight years at the Orin Temple."

The old man raised both eyebrows. As he suspected, the boy had been a Shaolin monk, though he was more surprised that he had trained for so long at such a young age. If he was as old as he seemed, that time represented most of his life.

Toninjinka was the next to respond. "I've always trained on my own. By the time I joined Emperor Pilaf, I had already overcome anything that was offered to me from him. Although, I recently saw that not everything is as it seems."

Roshi nodded. Most martial artists started out self-taught to some degree, but that wasn't the best way to progress as much as possible. Roshi knew it himself, as he had wasted his earliest years training on his own, until he met master Mutaito and realized just how weak he truly was.

The rabbit was followed by the desert bandit. "All my life I have lived plundering and stealing. Of course I never had the luxury of proper training, so everything I know I learned from street fights and such."

It was an interesting profile. A boy of more humble origins who had been led to a life of theft. The hermit could also sense that he was the strongest behind Goku, although with a small margin compared to Kuririn.

Finally, it was Zhao's turn. He swallowed hard before speaking. "I've never trained martial arts in my life. I've only fought a couple of times, and outside of that I really just have some experience in other sports."

Roshi raised an eyebrow. What was someone so inexperienced doing there?

"However, I don't plan to be left behind. I will give it my all and make sure to hot on their heels at all times." He smiled, undeniably motivated.

"My training is superhuman. It focuses, precisely, on overcoming the limits of an ordinary human being." A glow was reflected on his sunglasses. Seeing that the boy was not in the least intimidated, he smiled slightly. "I just want you to be clear about it before you start."

The old man raised his cane and pointed it at a tree that was exactly a hundred meters from the stone.

"To get started, I want to see what exactly you are capable of." He began, still looking at that tree. "From here to there, there are exactly a hundred meters. I've measured it many times before. How long do you think it will take you to run that distance?"

They all turned to the tree.

"Just because you can run fast doesn't mean you can become great martial artists, but it will show that you have strong legs."

Kuririn put both hands on opposite sides of his waist. He smiled confidently and arrogantly and walked towards the stone.

"I'll go first. It will be good to start by setting the bar high."

He moved into position while the old man pulled a stopwatch from one of his pockets.

"Go!"

In the blink of an eye, the little boy took off at full speed. He left behind a cloud of dust. His legs were moving at such a pace that it was difficult for the human eye to see.

Upon reaching the tree, Kuririn stuck his head forward. The old man stopped the stopwatch and read the time. The boy stopped just a few millimeters from the tree trunk.

"Mmm! 10.4 seconds, pretty good!" However, he didn't seem too surprised.

The monk, sweating and breathing heavily, stood firm and proud of his time. His smile showed not only satisfaction, but even arrogance.

"My best time is exactly 10 seconds, but this is not bad..." He bragged.

Zhao noticed that this Kuririn was very different from the one he would be in the future, the one he was familiar with.

"Okay, who will be next?" When the old man turned around, the Boss Rabbit had already moved into position. The enthusiasm surprised him, but he liked it.

A glow was reflected on To's sunglasses as the master gave the signal. He started with a jump, taking advantage of his abilities as a rabbit. In contrast to the bald boy, he skipped instead of running conventionally. His speed was such that the wind it generated blew the old man's beard backwards.

When he reached the tree, he dodged it elegantly and stopped with great technique, making it seem like he was as light as a feather. The old man stopped the clock and read the time indicated on the screen.

"7.8 seconds. Pretty impressive." Of course, being a rabbit gave him certain advantages, but he had to be given credit anyway.

Kuririn's jaw fell to the ground. That time was totally superhuman. After all, the competition would be more intense than expected.

The others were just as surprised as the boy. Goku, for his part, seemed more excited than anything else. He was so excited, in fact, that he raised his arm to get the old man's attention.

"Can I go next?"

Roshi nodded. "Sure."

Goku got into position, though without proper posture. The old man gave the signal and the boy shot forward.

He had been wearing a pair of already broken shoes, so Zhao let him know and gave him a new pair. Because of that, he was able to use his top speed without any problems.

For a brief moment, Goku disappeared from everyone's sight. A blurry image flashed in front of Roshi, who pressed the stopwatch button instinctively. With his two eyebrows raised, he read the time.

"6.9 seconds..." Faster even than the rabbit. That was quite unheard of. "Amazing time, Goku."

Yamcha and Zhao exchanged looks of bewilderment as the bald boy blinked in utter disappointment.

"N-next." Said a still surprised Roshi.

Zhao took the chance, knowing that it would be by far the worst time of all. He didn't want to be last because it would be quite disappointing to finish with the worst time.

He got into position and ran away when the old man gave the signal. He gave his maximum effort and moved his legs at the fastest pace his body could handle. When he finished, his heart was beating intensely, almost as much as his breathing. Sweat began to flow down his face.

He looked expectantly at the old man, who read the time.

"12.3 seconds. Not bad." The teacher said, trying to comfort the young man in a certain way. Sometimes it could be hard to see such unfair comparisons with oneself.

Zhao, however, only sighed. He had already assumed it. That didn't take away one ounce of motivation and determination. If anything, it motivated him even more to improve himself and give 200%. And it would be even more motivating to see just how much he had improved in a year's time.

Yamcha swallowed, for he knew he was next; the last. He got into position and waited for the old man's signal. When he gave it, he shot forward. He also gave his maximum effort.

When he finished, the old man stopped the clock and read the time.

"10.9 seconds. You got very close to Kuririn, pretty good." The teacher acknowledged.

All in all, the bandit was satisfied that he had not been the worst. In fact, he approached Kuririn, who had trained for many years in a temple with shaolin monks.

The old man began to stretch, which caught the attention of his disciples. He removed his shell, which left a small crater in the ground due to its great weight. Then, he handed the stopwatch to Kuririn, who was closer to him.

"Now it's my turn." He said calmly.

Everyone looked at him with great expectation as he got into position. Completely concentrated, he waited for the bald boy's signal.

When he gave it, Roshi simply disappeared. The only thing visible was a beam of yellow light that released a current of air that blew powerfully against everyone and everything that was nearby. Roshi reappeared beside the tree, both hands behind his back. He turned and looked at the boy.

"Well?"

Everyone opened their eyes wide, in utter shock at the inhuman speed of the master.

"1.5 seconds." A stunned Kuririn stammered.

"Hmmm. Not so bad." The old man said as he picked up his shell. He put it on as if it were a normal backpack.

He calmly approached his still stunned disciples. He placed his hands behind his back and hunched his posture.

"That's what it means to push the limits of humanity." He said in a calm tone. "If you train enough, since you are young, you should be able to do it in less than 5 seconds."

"You're amazing, old timer!" Goku said excitedly.

Roshi brushed the sweat from his forehead.

"It haven't been this active for a long time. I'm a little rusty." He laughed nervously.

"R-rusty?" Zhao asked, somewhat stunned at the possibility that Roshi wasn't even close to his best condition.

"I've lost practice. I haven't trained for a long time and I don't have much motivation to do so either..." He played with his beard as he pondered. Since the Piccolo Wars, his only rival had been... And either way, they had not seen in each other in over a century by then, he wasn't even sure if he was still alive... "Anyway. There's still one more test before we go to eat lunch!"

Everyone focused their attention on the old man's words.

"Shall we run more?" Goku asked curiously.

"Well, yes, but that's not all."

The old man picked up a stone from the ground. Then, he pulled a permanent marker out of his pocket and painted something on the stone. When he finished, he put the marker back and held the small stone in front of himself. He showed it to his disciples, revealing that he had drawn on it the symbol of his school.

"Look at it carefully." He brought it even closer to his students. "I wrote 'turtle' on it, correct?"

Everyone nodded.

Then the old man looked past them. He located a small forest that was several meters away from them and considered it to be good enough. He stretched his arm back, gaining momentum. Then, he threw the rock hard enough for it to fall somewhere on it. All of his students were amazed by the old man's strength.

"Wow, it went pretty far." Roshi said.

Kuririn scratched his forehead. "Do we have to throw rocks ourselves?"

"No, no." He shook his head as well. "You will have to look for it."

"The one you just sent there?" Yamcha asked.

"That's right."

The rabbit raised an eyebrow.

"The art of searching may seem unimportant, but mental capacity and concentration are necessary!" The hermit explained. "Additionally, in this case, you will also make good use of your physical endurance."

Zhao knew well what was coming, and he regretted that he could hardly be the winner.

"Whoever finds the stone and brings it back to me is the winner. The others are losers." He explained as a glow reflected off his glasses. "And the losers shall not eat during this first day."

Everyone screamed in panic. One of the things they had longed for most since they returned from their trip, besides sleeping, had been to eat a lot. And now, that desire was in jeopardy.

They exchanged tense and awkward glances, knowing that they would have to compete with everyone else. That was the purpose.

"However, if no one gets the stone by noon..." He checked his watch. There was about an hour and a half left. "No one will eat."

In panic, everyone ran away immediately. Roshi watched them speed away and smiled slightly.

"I wonder who will win..."

The first obstacle they encountered was that, between them and the forest, there was a huge cliff. Just looking down produced a rather unpleasant vertigo.

Zhao swallowed, but immediately saw if it was possible to go around it. If he went back to the coast, he could enter through there.

His thoughts were interrupted by Goku, who simply jumped off without a second thought. He was hit by several branches. Each blow was audible from the top of the cliff, and everyone grimaced in pain. Finally, the boy landed with his buttocks on the ground and, after rubbing himself a little, the search began.

The greenish-haired boy knew that he should not waste any more time and ran off to the beach. Yamcha and Kuririn followed, though the latter veered away from the beach.

In the sand, the desert bandit overtook Zhao and gained quite a distance from him. He eventually lost sight of him when he entered the forest. The bandit's experience in the desert was showing.

When he had it in front of him, he understood that it was not a simple forest. It looked more like a fairly dense jungle. He doubted if it was smart to go in and take a chance, but all he needed to convince himself was a rumble from his hungry stomach.

The adrenaline started flowing as he simply darted through the bushes. Inside, he could only see more and more plants. From tall and robust trees, to dense shrubs that blocked any space of vision that the understory could offer.

He shook his head, trying to ignore all the thoughts he had about the possible dangers. He just moved forward. He was careful not to touch strange branches, for they might hide silent snakes that rested quietly. The last thing he wanted was to be poisoned.

He opened the bushes to see if by chance they hid the stone among their branches. He also removed the leaves that were accumulated on the ground. For the moment, he could only find insects.

A loud, sharp cry echoed through the jungle and he immediately hid behind a tree. A drop of cold sweat fell down his face and he leaned out to try to see something. He didn't make it, but if he had to guess, the voice was similar to Kuririn's.

He swallowed again.

The next sound that caught his attention was some very heavy footsteps that even made the ground rumble a little. He looked out again and came across a dinosaur; a triceratops to be specific. He was amazed, of course. In his childhood, he had dreamed of seeing a dinosaur in real life, so having it so close was fantastic.

A light bulb went off inside his mind. He began to gather many different leaves and various fruits, all with the aim of trying to please the serene dinosaur.

He emerged from among the bushes, carrying a large buffet of plants and fruits. He greeted the dinosaur kindly, which stood still watching the boy curiously and cautiously. He left the plants and fruits on the ground and offered them to the dinosaur with a sign.

From behind the large triceratops came a much smaller one. Probably its baby. The baby jumped on the leaves with great enthusiasm and began to devour them.

The mother came over to prevent anything from happening to her baby. However, by letting them eat quietly without trying anything, Zhao gained their trust. When they were done, the boy took out a stone and painted it using one of the fruits. He tried to imitate the kanji as best he could and showed it to the dinosaurs.

"Have you seen anything like that around here?" He said both in his voice and with signs. He tried to communicate as best he could, although luckily for him the dinosaurs seemed to understand the human language in that world.

The mother nodded her head and motioned for him to follow her. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked beside them.

After a few minutes of walking, they finally arrived at a large clearing in the middle of the jungle. In addition to some large rocks and beautiful flowers, Goku was already there, smiling. He turned to look at Zhao and proudly showed him the stone.

"I found it!" The boy exclaimed.

The greenish-haired boy fell backwards to the ground, feeling defeated. However, he remembered that it was not only to find it, but to take it back to the master.

He jumped into the clearing and said a friendly goodbye to the dinosaurs. Then, he ran towards Goku to try to snatch the stone from him. Someone beat him, however, because the boy was assaulted by a rapid series of attacks that ended up throwing him against a log.

Yamcha looked at the stone and smiled confidently. He positioned himself, threatening Zhao to do the same thing to him as Goku, who was now seeing little stars around his head.

However, he had already thought of something.

"Look, Yamcha, a pretty girl!"

The desert bandit dropped the stone out of nervousness and turned around. He tried to locate the girl desperately and instinctively hid in the bushes. However, there were no beautiful women. Then, turning to where Zhao had been, he realized that he was gone. The boy had fled with the stone.

Through the dense vegetation, he ran and advanced as fast as he could until he reached the shore. Finding the sand made him believe that he had already won, but he couldn't be more wrong.

A strong kick to the abdomen stopped his rapid advance. He fell to his knees from the stabbing pain caused by the blow and dropped the stone.

The bald boy, with a mischievous smile, picked up the stone and showed it off in front of the defeated Zhao. He could only lower his gaze and accept his defeat. He dropped onto the sand as Kuririn began to run down the stretch.

From among the bushes, Yamcha, the rabbit, and Goku went out to chase the boy. He saw them, determined despite the wounds and weariness. Then, he understood that it was still too early to give up. He got up with difficulty, but he succeeded. He ran despite the pain in his abdomen.

He was the weakest and the slowest so he had to try harder than the others. There was no other way, if he wanted to survive.

He clenched his jaw, trying to ignore the pain as he ran as fast as his legs would allow. Little by little he caught up with the group, until they caught up with Kuririn and began to fight over the stone.

He took a handful of sand and threw it, hoping that some of it would get into their eyes. It succeeded in everyone except To, who had sunglasses. The rabbit smiled confidently and kicked Goku's abdomen hard, as he had been holding the stone. Then, he jumped away at his top speed.

Zhao chased after him as fast as he could. He tried to throw some stones at him, but the rabbit dodged them easily.

In the distance, the old man's silhouette began to become clearer and clearer. He looked at them expectantly as they drew closer and closer. It was the final stretch. He had to try something, because clearly he wouldn't reach the rabbit just by running.

He leapt forward with all the strength he had left. He approached the rabbit, who glanced at him sideways with some surprise. Zhao stretched his arms forward, reaching for the rabbit's right leg.

Unfortunately, he fell short and barely managed to touch his pants. He fell face first to the ground and could not get up again since the pain was finally too much to ignore.

Toninjinka breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the hermit's side. He handed him the stone and bowed slightly.

The old man adjusted his sunglasses as he carefully analyzed the stone. Indeed, it was the ink of his marker and it was his own handwriting. It was the real stone.

"Hmm. It is the real stone. Very good." He said calmly. "You're the winner, To, congratulations."

Zhao felt someone grab him by the shoulders to lift him up. It was Yamcha, who had several bumps and bruises all over his face and arms. He made his own effort to get up, of course, since the bandit couldn't carry his entire weight.

Of course, he noticed that in addition to the bandit, Kuririn and Goku were also by his side, watching the victorious rabbit with disappointment drawn all over their faces.

"I guess we won't be eating for today." Zhao said, somewhat disappointed.

Goku's stomach began to growl and he grimaced sadly.

The old man, of course, maintained the punishment. None of the losers ate until the next day.