"Puar, who do you think that old woman was? We've already left the desert and crossed more than one mountain."
"There aren't any villages in these mountains, let alone anyone's home!"
"Aw, maybe we just took the wrong route. The old woman didn't mean us any harm, so why worry about it?"
Puar replied nonchalantly.
"Young Master Yamcha, let's hurry on to Fried Bread Mountain! If they get killed, it'll be even harder for us to get our treasure back from the Ox King!"
"Yeah, let's keep going!"
After a short rest, Yamcha stood up again. Once he had figured out which way to go, he immediately strode off toward Fried Bread Mountain.
Meanwhile, Wuneng and the others were having a great time. They had plenty of good food and drink, and even a dragon and a house. It was practically a sightseeing trip.
In recent days, Bulma had grown increasingly reluctant to look Son Gohan in the eye. Whenever their gazes accidentally met, she would hurriedly look away.
"Hey, Bulma, your face is really red. Do you have a fever?"
Riding the Flying Nimbus, Son Goku flew in circles around Ribut to show off how fast his cloud was.
"Shoo, go away! What would a little kid like you know?"
Bulma shooed him away with a red face, then went back to getting lost in her own feelings.
Behind her, Son Gohan sat quietly in meditation.
"Why does it feel hotter and hotter?"
Gradually, Bulma came back to her senses. At first, she had thought the heat was just from her agitated emotions, but as they went on, the smell of something burning began to drift through the air.
"Looks like we're almost at Fried Bread Mountain."
Son Gohan opened his eyes and slowly got to his feet.
After they crossed another mountain, they finally understood why the air was so hot!
"Oh my goodness! That's—!"
The sight before Bulma left her deeply shaken.
"A mountain engulfed in flames!"
"Flames as far as the eye can see! Is this really Fried Bread Mountain?"
"This is the place. Looks like the people on the mountain are in trouble."
After checking the Dragon Radar in his hand, Son Gohan handed it back to Bulma.
"But with a fire that huge, there's no way we can get in. How are we supposed to find the Dragon Ball?"
"There's a little house at the foot of the mountain. Ribut and I will go check things out first."
After giving the order, Son Gohan told Ribut to lower their altitude. When they were low enough, he jumped straight down.
"Thud!"
He landed steadily on the ground.
"Who's there?!"
A sharp shout rang out, and a giant axe came flying along with it!
"Whoosh!"
Sensing the axe slicing through the air, Son Gohan abruptly bent backward at the very last moment and dodged it.
Another explosion rang out, leaving a huge crater behind him.
"Hey, kid! Are you here to steal my treasure too?"
By the time Son Gohan straightened up, a wild-looking burly man wielding a giant axe had appeared in front of him!
No—he was practically a mountain!
Just then, Son Goku hopped down from the Flying Nimbus too.
"Don't you bully Wuneng!"
Seeing the monster-like man launch straight into an attack without a word, Son Goku's eyes flashed red. He swung the Ruyi Staff down at the man's head!
"Clang!"
His strike came fast, but the Ox King was no slouch. He casually raised his axe and blocked it.
"Hey, Ox King, we're just passing through. There's no need to be so overbearing, is there?"
Son Gohan had already begun quietly gathering his strength. He had no intention of revealing who he was right away.
After all these days on the road, he had finally found a worthy opponent. How could he pass up the chance?
He'd fight first and worry about the rest later!
"Hey, big brother, step back and let me handle this! You're no match for him right now!"
For once, Son Gohan was being serious. He didn't even tease his brother.
"Huh?!"
"Hahaha, all right then, Wuneng. I'll leave him to you!"
Son Goku didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed more interested in the fact that Son Gohan had called him "big brother."
"Hey, brat, you think you can fight me? Hahahaha!"
Looking at the little tyke in front of him, the Ox King laughed so hard he doubled over. The difference in their size was beyond enormous.
"Please!"
Son Gohan quietly took his stance and gave a proper Martial Arts salute.
"So you're a Martial Artist, after all!"
Seeing the familiar salute, the Ox King briefly seemed lost in thought.
For a moment, he was back in the happy old days, learning Martial Arts from Master Mutaito.
"Kid, you've impressed me. So I've decided to leave your corpse in one piece!"
With that, the Ox King tossed his axe aside and charged at Son Gohan like a huge black bear!
"Raaah!"
Son Gohan let out a furious shout and pushed off with his right foot, shooting away from where he'd been standing.
"Whoosh!"
The distance between them closed in an instant. A moment later, they slammed into each other.
"Boom!"
The earth trembled violently for several yards around them, unable to withstand the force they unleashed.
They struggled against each other, neither gaining the upper hand!
"Vmmm!"
With a resonant hum, they both released their strength at once.
Cracks spread across the ground like a spiderweb!
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Son Gohan's mouth.
"Hey, not bad, old man! It's been a long time since I've had this much fun!"
After testing him just now, Son Gohan had gotten a rough idea of the limits of the Ox King's strength.
"Haah!"
Having confirmed the Ox King's strength, Son Gohan was the first to attack again. A second surge of force surged through him. He thrust out his right hand and drove his whole body straight into the Ox King's guard.
"Iron Mountain Lean!"
With a dull thud, the Ox King's massive body flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground.
His face tightened. He quickly got up and charged again, apparently hoping to test his strength against Son Gohan once more.
But this time, Son Gohan changed tactics. Just as they were about to collide, he sprang into the air, planted a foot on the Ox King's shoulder to propel himself, and flipped nimbly over to land behind him.
While the Ox King was still charging forward, Son Gohan spun around and kicked him hard in the shin.
As the Ox King's mountain of a body came crashing down, all of Fried Bread Mountain shook as if there had been an earthquake.
From behind a large rock in the distance, Yamcha watched the whole scene, dumbfounded. He could hardly believe his eyes!
"Where did those monsters come from?! They're so young, yet so strong! Now that I think about it, he was just toying with me when we fought!"
"That kind of strength is terrifying! And the most important thing is his age. He's already this terrifying when he's so young! If he gets any older, who on Earth will be able to stand up to him?"
"Young Master Yamcha, do we really still want to pick a fight with them and get our treasure back?"
"I don't think there's any chance now."
Puar muttered dejectedly.
Before you continue