"Go on inside. I'll take care of this dragon."
Son Gohan waved and replied with a smile.
He gestured for Goku to follow Bulma into the house, then headed over to an open space.
"Boom!"
He casually tossed the pterosaur he'd been carrying onto the ground. Its heavy body visibly shook, then fell silent again.
"What, still pretending to be unconscious? Nobody ever told you that a living creature weighs differently in someone's hands when it's awake than when it's passed out?"
"A dragon without an education is at a real disadvantage!"
Even after he finished speaking, the dragon didn't move.
"Oh dear. Since your injuries are so severe that you can't wake up, I suppose I'll have to grit my teeth and eat you."
"I've never tried grilled dragon wings before. They'd probably be delicious with a little seasoning!"
At Son Gohan's words, Ribut's entire body visibly trembled. He couldn't keep pretending anymore.
"My meat is sour and stinks! It tastes awful, so don't eat me!"
He shouted frantically, afraid that if he was too slow, he'd be skinned and deboned the very next second.
To him, Son Gohan was even more terrifying than a demon. A dragon's death should have been quick, but this wild monkey wanted to destroy him body and mind!
"Well, would you look at that? Maybe I could be a veterinarian. I cured you without surgery or medicine."
He gave the enormous creature before him a kind smile.
"Now that you're awake, let's talk."
Son Gohan crouched down, casually glancing at Ribut. Ribut had already been terrified, and now he didn't even dare breathe too loudly, afraid his wings might no longer belong to him in the next moment.
"P-please, just tell me what to do! I, Ribut, won't refuse!"
He swore earnestly, afraid that any delay would bring trouble.
"Good. Since you're so cooperative, be my mount for a while."
He couldn't use the Flight Technique yet, so the little dragon might come in handy.
"How can you ask that? The noble Dragon race could never serve as someone's mount!"
Ribut was outraged. As the undisputed king of these highlands, before today, he'd never imagined he'd end up at the mercy of someone else!
"Obey, or... die!"
Seeing that the dragon wasn't getting the message, Son Gohan began to lose patience. A mount wasn't essential; he'd only thought of trying it on a whim.
If it didn't work out, he'd roast him instead. He was hungry after a full day of travel anyway.
Three-legged toads were hard to find, but there were plenty of two-winged dragons.
Ribut took in the bleak silence around him and watched Son Gohan's expression grow colder. His wails gradually faded.
"Could I maybe not..."
He hadn't even finished speaking when instinct made his scalp prickle. He couldn't get another word out.
"I'll do it!"
In the end, he reluctantly lowered his head.
The natural world followed the law of the jungle. He had no choice but to submit.
"That's more like it!"
Son Gohan nodded with satisfaction.
The pterosaur had a wingspan of over five meters and a rather hefty build. His back was broad enough to comfortably carry all three of them.
The main reason was that they were about to meet Master Roshi. When Master Roshi gave Goku the Flying Nimbus, there was no way Son Gohan would be able to ride it with his nature. And if Goku got a flashy Flying Nimbus, he couldn't let himself look too shabby, could he?
Of course, subduing the dragon by force didn't guarantee he'd stay. Son Gohan couldn't keep an eye on him every second.
It wouldn't be good if the dragon slipped away while he wasn't paying attention.
After thinking it over, Son Gohan decided to dangle a big promise in front of him. After all, a carrot and a stick had always been the best way to train a dragon.
"You don't have to feel like you're getting a raw deal. I won't make you serve as my mount for long. Once a certain amount of time has passed, we'll go our separate ways."
"And while you're with me, I can teach you how to cultivate. I can make you at least ten, or even a hundred times stronger than you are now!"
Son Gohan was confident about that. In this world, everything had its own ki, and cultivation could guide and strengthen it.
This dragon had a battle power of at most seven or eight. Even if it increased a hundredfold, that would only bring it to 700 or 800.
Ribut really had been planning to play along, just as Son Gohan had expected. He'd figured he could either look for a chance to escape or wait until they were airborne and throw them all off.
But he could actually become stronger?
"You're not joking, are you?"
Still wary, he wanted to ask a few more questions.
Son Gohan knew that words alone weren't enough, so he thought for a moment before continuing.
"Look at me and my brother. We're both only twelve, still in our childhood, nowhere near adulthood."
"But either of us is already far, far stronger than you. Have you ever seen any other humans as powerful as us?"
After hearing Son Gohan's words, Ribut began recalling the humans he'd encountered. None of them had been this powerful. Most froze in terror as soon as they saw him, just like that human female from earlier.
Before today, if another dragon had told him that human children could beat him one-handed, he would've said that dragon had lost its mind!
Now that the truth was right before him, he had no choice but to believe it.
Once he'd thought it all through, Ribut stopped hesitating. He longed to become stronger!
"I willingly offer myself to you, my lord! Please, you must teach me. I beg you!"
He lowered his massive body to the ground, bowed his head, and respectfully prostrated himself before Son Gohan.
"Haha, of course, of course. There's no need to bow so deeply. And you don't have to call me 'master' all the time. You're not my slave."
Seeing the dragon submit of his own accord, Son Gohan was in a good mood.
"Just call me boss from now on. No need to be so nervous."
"In our world, everything has ki inside it. Those who find a way to train and strengthen their ki are known as Martial Artists."
"Once we've settled in, I'll take you to cultivate. Let's aim to make you a great Martial Artist as soon as possible! Work hard, little dragon."
"Yes! I'll cultivate diligently and won't let you down!"
After hearing Son Gohan's words, Ribut quickly bowed again, showing his submission.
Son Gohan was fairly satisfied with the outcome. Showing both kindness and authority was clearly much better than relying on intimidation alone. At least in the short term, it would make Ribut much more trustworthy.
As for when he'd be able to deliver on the promise of helping Ribut become a Martial Artist, that depended on whether Son Gohan himself could successfully find a master.
Strictly speaking, although he and Goku had both received a foundation from Son Gohan when they were little, they couldn't really be called Martial Artists. They weren't even apprentices.
For now, they could only rely on their Saiyan bloodline and brute force to perform a few basic moves.
Before you continue