Village in the Desert

More than half a month ago, the two brothers had packed their things and gone to visit the Ox-King's family first.

They couldn't refuse the Ox-King's enthusiastic hospitality, so they stayed as guests in his newly built castle for several days.

After saying their goodbyes, they had just opened the Dragon Radar when they noticed something was off.

According to the radar, two of the seven Dragon Balls were gathered together. And another Dragon Ball was moving toward them!

In other words, someone else—or rather, a group of people—was searching for the Dragon Balls, and they had found at least three.

There were two reasons for this conclusion.

First, two Dragon Balls that had been scattered apart had come together, proving that someone was searching for them.

Second, those two Dragon Balls were stationary, while another Dragon Ball was approaching them.

That meant the people searching for the Dragon Balls considered the location of those two to be safe, and that someone was guarding them. They had to be working as a group; otherwise, they would surely carry the Dragon Balls with them.

After making a preliminary assessment, Wuchen didn't rush in to take the Dragon Balls. Instead, he decided to find one first and observe the situation.

And so, they came to the outskirts of a village in the desert. Half-spherical houses stood scattered about, and the Dragon Ball readings were coming from within the village.

After looking around, Wuchen and Goku rode the Flying Nimbus down.

But a Pterosaur, apparently unaware of its own mortality, swooped toward them as if it meant to make a meal of them!

Just as Wuchen was about to step in and finish it off, a thunderous shout rang out: "Sky Cross Fist!"

Then a figure dropped from the sky, crossed his hands into an X, and slammed them into the back of the Pterosaur's neck!

Crash! A cloud of sand billowed up!

The two brothers immediately descended, only to see a tall, thin man standing on the Pterosaur's body with his hands pressed together. The Pterosaur was on its last legs, but still clung to a sliver of life.

Wuchen walked over, about to thank him, but the man spoke first.

"Are you Master Mutaito's disciples?" The tall, thin man, who had looked rather sorrowful, showed a faint smile.

"Yeah! Do you know Grandpa Master Roshi?" Goku asked in surprise. Wuchen was just as startled. "Thank you for helping us, sir. May I ask if you're a friend of our master?"

"A friend? No, no. Master Mutaito is my benefactor." The tall, thin man quickly waved his hands, as if he didn't dare accept the title of "Master Mutaito's friend."

"Please, come with me."

He warmly welcomed Wuchen and Goku into the village, then explained:

"My name is Nam. I met Master Mutaito about a month ago... I saw the clothes you were wearing just now, so I guessed you were his disciples."

Indeed, Goku and Wuchen were wearing Turtle School uniforms. They had received several sets from Master Roshi, enough to rotate through, so they didn't have to buy clothes themselves.

As Nam explained, Goku suddenly spoke up. "Nam, so you're the Nam Krillin told me about! He said you were really strong."

As he spoke, Goku instinctively glanced at Wuchen, his eyes burning with a fierce fighting spirit, as if asking him something.

Wuchen's head started pounding. He understood exactly what Goku meant, and stopped him with a look. There was nothing wrong with sparring, but they had to consider the circumstances.

Fortunately, Nam didn't notice. He simply replied, "Mr. Krillin was too modest. I wouldn't stand a chance against him."

"By the way, you said Grandpa Master Roshi was your benefactor?" Once they entered the village, Wuchen spotted a dry riverbed and seemed to realize something, so he asked.

"That's right..."

As Nam recounted the story, Wuchen learned enough to understand the situation.

As it turned out, the village had been without water for months and was on the brink of ruin.

Nam had gathered the entire village's resources to enter the World Martial Arts Tournament, hoping to win the five-hundred-thousand-zeni prize money and buy water in an emergency.

After Krillin defeated him, Nam had fallen into despair, which Master Roshi had noticed.

Once Master Roshi learned what was happening, he gave Nam an XL-sized Hoi-Poi Capsule and told him that the tournament grounds had plenty of water, and that it was free.

Nam had filled it with a large amount of water and brought it back to the village to help them through their crisis. That was why he considered Master Roshi his benefactor.

After finishing his story, Nam handed each of the brothers a strange fruit.

The brothers each took a bite, but their expressions turned awkward. The fruit was bitter and astringent, with very little juice. It was tough to chew and hard to swallow.

"I see. But it seems your troubles haven't been solved." Wuchen had been observing the whole time, so he naturally noticed the problem.

The village had crops, but most of them had withered and died. Only a few unusual plants were still alive, likely because they were drought-resistant.

The fruit Nam had given them came from one of those plants, and even those bore very little fruit.

At the same time, every villager was extremely thin, with dry lips and gaunt faces.

Only the children seemed a little better off, without any obvious signs of severe dehydration. Presumably, they had been given a larger share of the available resources.

Nam looked bitter. Water brought from far away couldn't solve the immediate problem. The village needed more than just water to drink.

Nor could he keep transporting water back and forth indefinitely. Even setting aside the cost of the water and the supplier's willingness to provide it, the expense of each round trip was more than the village could bear.

Even Wuchen, who had lived two lives, couldn't help but be moved by the sight. He began drawing on the spiritual energy within him, especially its water attribute.

Seeing this, Goku quickly drew on his own water-attributed ki.

The air around the brothers visibly grew "damp," and the affected area gradually expanded. A cloudless sun shower began to fall over the village.

Truly summoning wind and rain was far beyond what the brothers could manage at their current level of cultivation, especially in the desert. Drawing moisture from the air and condensing it was the best they could do.

That alone left every villager, including Nam, utterly astonished and overjoyed. They were filled with gratitude.

Some villagers grabbed buckets, while others held out basins, doing their best to collect the sweet rain.

When Wuchen and Goku could no longer keep it up, everyone bowed down before them, crying out things like, "The gods have blessed us!" They had completely mistaken the brothers for gods.

Seeing this, Wuchen quickly pulled Goku aside.

As the saying went, one mustn't accept honors for deeds one hasn't done. The blessings might be welcome, but the responsibility would be hard to bear. They couldn't afford to take on such enormous karmic consequences.

The brothers couldn't stay behind as prayer masters, making rain every few days. They had to solve the problem at its source.

"Please, everyone, get up. Don't put my brother and me on a pedestal. We aren't gods."

Wuchen urged the villagers to rise, then turned to Nam.

"Mr. Nam, I imagine your village has lived here for generations. Since it has survived until now, the water shortage must have happened suddenly."

"Believing in gods and spirits is ultimately an empty, uncertain hope. Why don't you come with my brother and me to find the source of this river and investigate? If disaster struck suddenly, there must be a reason!"

"Mr. Nam?"