One of the two mark signals was about to disappear! That meant either Goku or Oolong had suffered a severe injury, causing the mark inside him to fluctuate!
After thinking it over, Wuchen hurried toward the nearer mark. At last, near dusk, he reached a mountain engulfed in blazing flames. Only one mark remained.
"Is that Oolong and Bulma? Where's Goku? Why can't I sense his presence?" From a distance, Wuchen spotted Oolong and Bulma in the ruins of a village at the foot of the mountain.
Beside them stood a tall man wearing an ox-head mask. This had to be Mount Fry-Pan, and the towering masked man was surely the Ox-King.
Besides them, Wuchen also sensed the two thieves from that day.
Just as the Ox-King hurled an ax at Bulma and Oolong, Wuchen tried to rush to their aid, but he was too late.
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared and yanked Bulma and Oolong aside, narrowly helping them dodge the Ox-King's massive ax. The newcomer was none other than Yamcha, who had followed Goku and the others here.
Just as the Ox-King prepared to attack again, Wuchen finally arrived.
"Thank goodness, Wuchen! You're finally back!" Seeing him, Bulma and Oolong rushed behind him like he was their savior.
Yamcha, who looked as if all his strength had been drained away and stars were spinning before his eyes, was also dragged behind Wuchen by Puar.
"Where's Goku?" Wuchen shielded the girl and the pig, keeping a wary eye on the Ox-King as he asked urgently.
"Goku... Goku is dead..." Bulma and Oolong's words were impossible for Wuchen to accept. No! It couldn't be!
"Hey! Are you two, like them, trying to steal my treasure?" The Ox-King picked up his ax again and glared at Wuchen and Yamcha, who had suddenly appeared. His tone was hostile!
That enraged Wuchen, and in an instant, his full aura erupted!
He looked up at the Ox-King, radiating an unmistakable stay-away-from-me menace! All kinds of elemental energy swirled around him, as if he were ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment!
But just as Wuchen was about to attack, his aura suddenly vanished. The elemental energy around him broke free and began to surge wildly!
The sudden change sent not only the Ox-King but also Bulma, Oolong, and the others scrambling away from Wuchen!
"Wuchen! Calm down! Goku might not be dead!" Bulma hurried to soothe him, her pants riddled with holes from the fiery threads that had burst from his body and burned through them.
Earlier, when they had arrived at Mount Fry-Pan, engulfed in flames, Goku had used water-elemental energy to protect himself before entering the burning mountain to retrieve the Dragon Ball. He had never come back out.
So Bulma and Oolong, along with Yamcha and Puar, who had been watching from hiding, all thought Goku had died.
Now, seeing Wuchen attack everyone indiscriminately, Bulma panicked too.
But Wuchen could no longer hear her. Night had fallen, and the moon had risen. It was a full moon, too!
As Wuchen looked up at the Ox-King, the full moon hung in the night sky behind him!
His consciousness gradually blurred, and his body began to change.
His body swelled until his clothes burst. Then thick fur replaced them, while he continued growing!
"A m-monster!" Bulma cried, her face drained of color.
"H-he..." Yamcha began to tremble. The fear Wuchen inspired had eclipsed his fear of women!
Oolong, Puar, and even the Ox-King all stood with their mouths agape, unable to speak. What kind of monster was this?
As everyone watched in terror, Wuchen grew as huge as a mountain, his transformation into an ape complete! This was the Saiyan race's Great Ape Transformation, their ability to transform under a full moon!
"What do we do? What do we do?" The Ox-King, who had been their enemy just moments ago, now huddled with Bulma, Yamcha, and the others, seeking comfort amid their boundless fear.
"Run! He's lost his mind!" Yamcha finally shouted, and only then did everyone flee. Otherwise, they would have been trampled to death by fear alone!
Indeed, Wuchen had lost all reason and begun wreaking havoc!
He punched, kicked, and hurled massive rocks. Every attack was thunderous, and its destructive power was terrifying! Soon, the ground was pockmarked, with one footprint here and a crater there!
Fortunately, Great Ape Wuchen moved slowly and had no clear target. With Yamcha's help, Bulma escaped unharmed. The others were also able to dodge on their own.
Once they had retreated to a safe distance, they finally turned to look at Great Ape Wuchen, who was still destroying everything indiscriminately.
"Is... is he your friend? What happened to him?" After surviving this ordeal, the Ox-King's hostility had faded considerably. He took the initiative to ask Bulma and the others.
"I don't know. Lord Ox-King, have you never seen anything like this before?" Yamcha spoke up. Once his shock subsided, his mind began to race. "Those two boys seem to be Son Gohan's grandsons. Could it be that the legendary Son Gohan wasn't human after all?"
Yamcha's words made the Ox-King whip his head toward him. The stare made Yamcha uneasy. Before he could do anything, the Ox-King seized him by the shoulders!
"You said Son Gohan! That monster... that boy is Son Gohan's grandson?" The Ox-King's voice boomed in everyone's ears!
"Y-yes. There's another boy with a tail, and he's Son Gohan's grandson too. They even have Son Gohan's Power Pole, so I don't think there can be any mistake." Yamcha answered every question, telling him everything he knew about Goku and Wuchen.
"There's another boy? He's Son Gohan's grandson too? And they have the Power Pole?" The Ox-King was overjoyed. Strictly speaking, Son Gohan had been his senior brother. They had trained together under Master Mutaito for decades and had been as close as brothers.
"Where is the other boy? Where is he?" Overcome with joy, the Ox-King forgot the danger they were in and eagerly asked.
"He went into Mount Fry-Pan and still hasn't come out. Maybe..." Yamcha began, but before he could finish, something changed over at Mount Fry-Pan.
Great Ape Wuchen continued rampaging beside the mountain, while another Great Ape rose up from within Mount Fry-Pan!
"Roar!" Its cry rang across the sky, drawing the other Great Ape's attention!
The two Great Apes stared into each other's eyes. Each eye was as large as a window, and inside those "windows," flames blazed and battle lust boiled!...
Before you continue