An Enemy?

"Master Yamcha, are you all right?" Puar hurriedly asked when they returned to their hideout.

"I-I'm fine now, but damn it! I didn't realize there was a woman with them!" Yamcha looked like he'd just escaped with his life. Clearly, Bulma posed a far greater threat to him than Goku did.

"Master Yamcha, are you really that afraid of women?" Puar asked with concern. Yamcha's fear of women had always been a source of worry for him.

"Whenever I see a woman, I get so nervous I can barely stand it. It's not that I dislike women, but I can't help getting dizzy around them. This can't go on! I have to do something about it!" Yamcha's reputation as a man forged through countless trials was well deserved. If he was weak, he trained until he was strong. His fear of women was no different—it, too, needed to be overcome!

"This time, I'm definitely going to steal their Hoi-Poi Capsules, even if they have a woman with them!"

"Master Yamcha, there's no need. Look what I got!" Puar looked at Yamcha with concern, first handing him his saber, then taking out a box.

"Ah! How could this happen? This is terrible! The box with the Hoi-Poi Capsules is gone?! It must've fallen somewhere. Help me look for it!" Once her infatuation had passed, Bulma was horrified to realize that the box holding the Hoi-Poi Capsules was missing.

They searched every last piece of the ruined house, but found nothing. Their transportation and supplies were all gone.

Fortunately, fearing the thieves might come back, Oolong offered up his treasured camper Hoi-Poi Capsule so they could leave as soon as possible. That allowed them to continue their journey.

By nightfall, they had finally left the desert. Since they had a camper, it was easy to stop and rest.

Of course, they barely had time to rest before Wuchen frowned. "Stay inside. Don't come out!" He pushed open the door, retrieved a beeping device from beneath the vehicle, then returned to the camper. "What is this thing? Do any of you know?" Just moments earlier, two furtive figures had approached the camper. After they left, the device beneath the vehicle had started beeping.

"This is... a time bomb!" Bulma leaned over to examine it, but she wasn't overly alarmed. She took it from him, asked Oolong for a few tools, and dismantled the timer after some fiddling. "All right, crisis averted. Where did you find something this dangerous?"

"Under the vehicle. Two sneaky people put it there," Wuchen answered honestly. "Is this thing dangerous?"

"Of course! It's a bomb. It explodes. Judging by its power, it could blow the whole vehicle to pieces!" Bulma rolled her eyes at Wuchen, then belatedly looked terrified. "You mean someone secretly planted a bomb beneath the vehicle? Could someone be jealous of my beauty and trying to get rid of me?!"

Oolong was terrified, too. This was dangerous—way too dangerous. Why did being around these people mean facing danger at every turn?

"..." Wuchen ignored Bulma and turned to Goku. "Goku, I'm going after the culprits. You stay here. These enemies aren't the two thieves from earlier. We can't be sure that the man and cat won't come back, so you need to stay and protect Bulma. Don't let your guard down again!"

Without waiting for Goku to answer, Wuchen raised his hand and formed two glowing orbs. He sent one into Goku and the other into Oolong, who was desperately trying to dodge. Then he told Goku, "It'll remain inside you for seven days. During that time, I can use it to sense your location. Don't come looking for me. Just keep searching for the remaining Dragon Balls. I'll meet up with you within seven days." After that, Wuchen gave Oolong a cold look as a warning. The latter shuddered, and only then did Wuchen head out again.

"Wait! Don't go over there yet! That kid's come out again!" In the woods not far from the camper, a man and a dog quickly crouched low.

"Mai, do you think he noticed the bomb?" asked the dog-man dressed like a ninja.

"I don't know. Oh no! He seems to be coming this way! Do you think he spotted us?" asked the tall woman named Mai, even more puzzled.

"No way... Run! He really is coming this way!" When Wuchen seemed to pick up speed, the man and dog immediately turned and fled.

That's right. These two were Emperor Pilaf's loyal underlings, Mai and Shu. They were collecting Dragon Balls to help Pilaf realize his dream of ruling the world. Pilaf was every bit as brilliant as Bulma when it came to invention and engineering; he had even built a Dragon Radar!

Wuchen and his companions, who had five Dragon Balls in their possession, had long been watched by Pilaf's gang. They'd witnessed the battle between Yamcha and the others earlier that day in full, using a bird-like robotic camera.

So they'd decided to take the Dragon Balls by outsmarting them. Who would've guessed they'd still be discovered?

Seeing the two flee in panic, Wuchen followed at an unhurried pace. They had clearly planned this in advance, and there could well be someone directing them from behind the scenes. He needed to root them all out!

While Wuchen followed the trail, another unwelcome visitor appeared near the camper: Yamcha, accompanied by Puar.

"Master Yamcha, aren't you afraid of women? We've already got so many capsules, so why are we going after them?" Puar didn't understand the plan.

"Idiot. Don't you see they still have a camper?" Yamcha explained, looking a little awkward.

"But if we hadn't come after them, how would we have known they still had a camper?"

"...I... Well... Who am I? I'm the desert bandit! I knew they had other valuables hidden away. My nose for treasure is sharper than a wolf's!" Yamcha forced out an excuse, though he didn't really understand himself. He was afraid of girls, yet he couldn't stop wanting to get closer to them.

"I see! That's amazing, Master Yamcha." Puar was impressed, as always by his master.

"Ha... hahaha, it's nothing, really." Yamcha looked even more awkward. "All right, we'll sneak up and see what's going on. Then you can use your transformation technique to lure the woman out. I'll go in and deal with the others, then steal their camper!"

And so, the man and cat crept up to the camper and pressed themselves against its side to listen.

"Goku, do you know who the enemy your brother mentioned is? Are they people you made enemies with at some point?" Both Bulma and Oolong were curious about Wuchen's sudden departure. It was worth mentioning that after the bomb incident, Bulma had even given up on taking a bath.

"I don't know. But Big Brother said there might be other enemies coming, too. The two people from earlier," Goku answered honestly, feeling a little excited. His words made Bulma swoon again. "Was it that tall, handsome man from earlier? Is he really coming back?"

"Idiot!" Oolong scoffed. What a shameless woman! Then he asked Goku the question he cared about most. "Goku, are you and your brother really human? Why can your brother use sorcery?" He could still feel something strange in his body. The mysterious light implanted inside him showed through his chest as a glowing dot. There was no way he wasn't afraid.

"Of course we're human. I don't know what sorcery is, but Big Brother and I got our power through training," Goku answered honestly. Then his nose twitched, and he rushed toward Bulma. "I'm hungry! I want some, too." Bulma was picking something to eat from the refrigerator.

"Wait! Don't touch those juices!" When Oolong saw Goku and Bulma, his expression changed dramatically. He'd put sleeping pills in the juice in the refrigerator. His original plan had been to knock everyone out, do something to Bulma to satisfy his ambitions, and then run away. But after Wuchen implanted the glowing orb in him and claimed he could track his location, he'd lost his nerve.

But his warning came too late. They had both already taken a big gulp!