Summoning Shenron

"You... Don't come any closer!"

Pilaf's expression changed. He had just turned to flee when Goku kicked him in the back, sending him stumbling to the ground.

"King Pilaf, are you all right?"

Mai and Shu hurried over at the same time, asking anxiously.

"Damn you! You brought this on yourselves!"

Pilaf's expression changed. Then he gave a cold laugh, took a button-operated switch from his pocket, and slammed it down.

The next second, the whole room began to shake. The wall beside them slowly rose, and thousands upon thousands of ferocious hounds charged inside.

"Ah!"

Bulma screamed at the sight. The pampered young lady had never seen anything like this!

"Don't be scared. Stay behind me!"

Ziye tugged at Bulma beside him, stepped forward, and shielded her.

"They're just a few wild dogs. What a joke! Goku, protect them. I'll take care of these beasts!"

Before Goku could agree, Ziye charged into the pack. He leaped into the air and threw himself into the fight, his fists and feet striking with sweeping force. In an instant, several hounds were dead.

"Is that thing even human?!"

Pilaf and his two companions turned pale with fright at the sight.

"King Pilaf, I think we'd better run. Our hounds don't seem to stand a chance!"

Mai swallowed nervously and spoke in a panic.

"Damn it! I refuse to accept this!"

Pilaf clenched his fists, his face full of resentment.

But when he saw Ziye charging through the hounds like a demon, he immediately lost his nerve. He reluctantly nodded, then slipped out the back door with Mai and Shu.

"Oh no, they're trying to escape!"

"Hey, Yamcha, protect Bulma. I'll go after them!"

With that, Goku grabbed the Golden Cudgel and swiftly cleared away the wild dogs around him. Then he took off after Pilaf and the others!

By then, thousands upon thousands of hounds had surrounded Bulma and the others. Their furious snarls made Bulma fall to the ground in fear!

"Everyone, get out of the way!"

Ziye spoke gravely. He placed both hands at his waist, and white energy began to gather between them!

"Ka... me... ha... me... ha!"

Boom!

The next second, a powerful beam of white light shot out, wiping out more than half the hounds in front of him in the blink of an eye.

Phew!

Ziye let out a long breath and began to stagger backward. Luckily, Bulma caught him in time, preventing him from falling to the ground!

"Ziye, are you all right?"

Bulma asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little drained. I'll be all right after I rest!"

Ziye waved a hand and answered casually.

Meanwhile

Riding the Flying Nimbus, Goku soon caught up with the fleeing Pilaf Gang. He gripped the Golden Cudgel and swung it down hard at their ship. It split in two, and the three of them tumbled out.

"Hand over the Dragon Balls!"

Goku said solemnly.

"Never!"

Pilaf refused at once.

"King Pilaf, as long as we live, there'll be hope. Just give them to him!"

"Yeah! If we don't, I'm afraid we won't live to see tomorrow!"

Hearing his two underlings' pleas, Pilaf nearly spat blood. But when he saw Goku's stern expression, he had no choice but to hand over the Dragon Balls.

Goku took the box containing the Dragon Balls and opened it eagerly. Inside lay six Dragon Balls, neatly arranged.

"That's great! With my Four-Star Ball, that makes seven. Grandpa can finally come back to life!" Goku exclaimed, his face alight with excitement.

"Um... Sir, can we go now?" Mai rubbed her palms together and asked cautiously.

"You can go. Don't do anything bad again, or I won't let you off!"

With that, Goku took the Dragon Balls, climbed onto the Flying Nimbus, and flew back the way he had come!

Goku soon returned to the castle. Seeing that the others had escaped the hounds, he happily ran over and took out all seven Dragon Balls.

"Wonderful! We finally collected all the Dragon Balls!" Bulma said happily, gazing at them.

"Bulma, what do we do now?" Goku asked curiously.

"Leave it to me!"

Bulma arranged the seven Dragon Balls neatly on the ground. A golden light began to shine from all seven at once.

"Come forth, Shenron!"

As Bulma's voice rang out, the seven Dragon Balls blazed with dazzling light once more. A rumbling filled the sky, followed by golden lightning streaking down from above. The next second, a gigantic green Eastern dragon appeared before them!

"State your wish. Whatever it is, I can make it come true."

"But you may make only one wish!"

Shenron's majestic voice rang in everyone's ears.

"What?"

"Only one wish, but there are so many of us!"

"What are we going to do?"

Hearing this, Goku couldn't help feeling troubled.

"Goku, I don't need a wish anymore. You should wish for your grandpa to come back to life!"

At Bulma's words, Goku smiled gratefully. He bowed deeply and said, "Thank you, Bulma!"

"Wait! We agreed that when Shenron appeared, everyone would get to make a wish!" Hearing that none of their plans included him, Yamcha spoke up anxiously.

"Hey, Goku wants to bring his grandpa back to life. Can't your wish wait until next time?"

Bulma said irritably.

"But I've been looking forward to this wish for a long time. I can't wait any longer!"

Yamcha gritted his teeth, unable to contain his impatience.

"Then what's your wish? Tell us, and we'll consider it!" Bulma said, rubbing her chin.

"Th... This is personal. You don't need to know!"

Yamcha blushed and turned his head away.

"Heh heh, he wants to get over his fear of girls!"

At the sound of Oolong's voice, Yamcha flushed even redder. He pointed at Oolong and demanded, "Y-you! How did you know?"

"I'm sorry, Young Master Yamcha. I let it slip by accident!"

"Hahaha! I thought it'd be something important. I can't believe you, such a handsome man, are afraid of women. That's hilarious!"

Bulma couldn't help clutching her stomach and laughing loudly.

"Yamcha, the reason you're afraid to be around girls is that you haven't met many. Once you get a girlfriend, you won't feel that way anymore!"

"Get a girlfriend? Do you think I can?"

Yamcha asked, his face red.

"Don't worry. With your looks and fighting skills, you'll have no trouble finding girls who like you in West City!"

At that, a strange smile spread across Yamcha's face.

"Have you all made up your minds yet?"

Shenron asked impatiently.