Waiting by the Tree for the Horse

Time flew by, and before they knew it, Li Shu had spent five years on Mount Paozu.

Son Goku was eleven.

One thing worth mentioning was that Grandpa Son Gohan had passed away two years earlier, when Son Goku was nine.

Li Shu felt deeply moved by it. Although Son Gohan hadn't died beneath Son Goku's feet thanks to his help, what was destined to happen would happen in the end. That was the wheel of fate.

Perhaps this was already the best possible outcome.

At first, Son Goku had been heartbroken, but time could wear away anything. With Li Shu's comfort, Son Goku soon emerged from his grief.

Over the past five years, Son Goku had transformed several more times. He could now mostly control his strength after his Great Ape Transformation and hold on to his reason.

As for Li Shu... forget it. It wasn't worth mentioning.

He couldn't cut off his tail. He simply couldn't. Every time he severed it, it quickly reattached itself, leaving Son Gohan, who was still alive at the time, utterly speechless.

Fortunately, Li Shu regained his reason for a moment each time his tail was cut off. After enduring the pain of losing his tail over and over, he mastered his reason completely after transforming just once.

As a Great Ape, Li Shu was invincible on Mount Paozu. Even Son Gohan was no match for him.

The Great Ape Transformation had become Li Shu's most powerful trump card.

Son Goku's tail had grown back, too.

"Goku, we're about to eat all the dinosaurs on Mount Paozu! I hereby declare that, from this day on, the dinosaurs of Mount Paozu are a first-class protected species. Hunting them is forbidden!" Li Shu said regretfully, happily gnawing on a Dinosaur Leg roasted over charcoal.

He had to admit, dinosaur meat was delicious. You could never get tired of it. Never.

Perhaps that was the real reason the dinosaurs went extinct during the Jurassic period?

"Huh?" Son Goku was busy gnawing on a dinosaur's backside. He looked at Li Shu in confusion and mumbled, "But they're the bess to eat."

"Fair enough. Then how about we cut down from five a day to just one?"

"Does this one count?" Son Goku pointed at the half a dinosaur still left on the grill.

Li Shu coughed awkwardly. "Of course not!"

"Hehe." Son Goku grinned and said happily, "Then tonight I want garlic flavor—no, pickled raw! No, wait, let's have dinosaur sashimi."

"Hmph, what a lack of ambition. Tonight, I'll make you eighteen different dinosaur dishes!"

Li Shu had been a chef in his previous life, and over the past few years he had completely conquered Goku's stomach.

Hearing about a new way to eat, Son Goku immediately perked up and eagerly asked, "So what ingredients are we catching today? Are there any Giant Piranhas?"

Aside from dinosaurs, Goku's favorite food was pickled raw Giant Piranha. Just talking about it made his mouth water.

"Sure are." Li Shu laughed heartily.

That had been the happiest part of the past five years.

The two quickly polished off the rest of the dinosaur meat, then hurried down to the river. They each dangled their tails in the water like fishing lines and waited for their prey to bite.

Before long, they had made a sizable catch.

"Another bountiful day." Once they had caught all the ingredients, Li Shu tied them together. He and Goku chatted as they dragged the haul back, making quite a spectacular sight.

Just then, Li Shu sensed an unfamiliar human presence with his Ki Sense. He couldn't help stopping and looking in that direction.

Goku stopped, too, and looked over curiously.

Before long, a speeding car blared its horn and came tearing around the bend. A young girl shouted, "Move! Get out of the way!"

Bulma?

The "wait for the hare by a tree" plan had worked!

Li Shu had his suspicions, but he had no intention of moving aside.

It was just a car going at full speed. It posed no threat to him.

Bulma, inside the car, was startled by the enormous pile of terrifying piranhas. In her panic, she mistook the accelerator for the brake and came hurtling straight at them.

Bulma shut her eyes with a scream. A thunderous crash followed.

The car sent Li Shu and Goku flying.

"..." Li Shu regretted it a little. He should've moved aside. He wasn't seriously hurt, but it really did hurt.

No rush. Bulma was here now. How far away could they be from collecting all seven Dragon Balls? His wish for Pain Immunity was about to come true.

"Oh no, I hit someone!" She hurriedly leaned halfway out of the car window, staring at the figures she had sent flying in the distance.

Goku stood up and stormed toward Bulma. "Hey, what kind of monster are you? Why did you hit us? Were you trying to steal our food?"

Bulma's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at the two of them. Without a word, one of the children picked up the car, lifted it into the air, and shoved it over onto its side.

Bulma was terrified. She was a girl all alone in the middle of nowhere, and she felt in danger. She hurriedly drew her gun and fired.

Goku felt the pain, but he was otherwise fine.

"Why aren't you dead?" Bulma stared at Goku in shock.

"Why would I die? I've trained my body until it's as hard as steel. You monster, you were trying to steal our food!" As he spoke, Goku prepared to attack. He had never seen the outside world.

Bulma immediately realized what was going on and hurriedly said, "Wait, I'm not a monster. I'm human! And I wasn't trying to steal your food."

"Human?" Goku stopped at once. He looked Bulma over curiously and asked, "Why don't you look like us? You look so weak."

"Of course I look different from you. I'm a girl."

"A girl? You're a girl?" Goku paused, then looked her over curiously. Quite naturally, he lifted Bulma's skirt to peek underneath.

"Hey, what are you doing!" Bulma was instantly furious with embarrassment.

Goku asked, "Do girls not have tails?"

Tails?

Bulma glanced behind Son Goku and saw that he did indeed have a tail. She then looked over at Li Shu, who was watching from a distance. The young man had a tail, too.

Those two country bumpkins have fake tails stuck to their butts. They think they're fashionable, but they're so tacky.

After learning she was a girl, Goku scratched his head sheepishly. "Other than Grandpa and Big Brother, you're the first human girl I've ever met."

Li Shu watched the scene with a smile as memories of his childhood came flooding back. Experiencing it all firsthand was magical.

"Grandpa said that when you meet a girl, you have to be gentle with her. Why don't you come over to my house? Big Brother's making something delicious tonight."

"Do you live with your grandpa and big brother?" Bulma asked.

Goku replied, "Grandpa passed away a long time ago. It's just me and Big Brother now."

Bulma was tempted. She had just seen how strong Goku was. He was a rare source of help, and she needed him to assist her in finding the Dragon Balls.

At the same time, she was a little worried.