He figured that with his current strength,
his Kamehameha would be enough to put out the fire.
Since they didn't need to find Master Roshi, there was no need to make any arrangements in advance.
They could just go there after eating their fill.
Son Goku nodded. "All right, then let's rest for a day and go after we've eaten our fill.
By the way, do you know which way the nearest town is?"
Bulma shook her head. "No idea!
But I have a way to find out.
Hop on. We'll search faster on the Flying Nimbus!"
"Good point. Let's look together."
Goku put his weights into the Capsule Corp Capsule, then jumped onto the Flying Nimbus
and began searching for the nearest town with Bulma.
The sun sank toward the horizon, and the sky was streaked with fiery clouds.
Golden rays fell across the desert, gilding the clouds and sand dunes in a dazzling glow.
Bulma looked toward the horizon and exclaimed, "Goku, look! Those are sunset clouds. They're so beautiful!"
"Yeah, beautiful...
Bulma, we'd better hurry up and find a town...
Tell the Flying Nimbus to go faster.
If it gets dark and we still haven't found one,
we'll have to sleep in the desert again."
The sunset and the glowing clouds didn't particularly impress Goku.
His answer was perfunctory, to say the least.
Bulma couldn't help feeling exasperated. The scenery was so beautiful, yet he wasn't interested at all.
But that was just Goku. He had no eye for beauty.
Bulma nodded and pointed in a direction. "Flying Nimbus, speed up!"
At her command, the Flying Nimbus shot forward with a whoosh.
The two of them rode through the breeze, and at last the lingering heat began to fade.
Suddenly, a scream rang out across the sky, drawing their attention.
They followed the sound of the cries for help.
Not far away, a huge dinosaur was chasing a cute little girl.
The girl wore something rather unusual, almost like a swimsuit.
She had a strange hat on her head, with a blade attached to it.
The whole getup made her look like Ultraman Seven.
Bulma's pupils contracted when she saw the girl.
She knew who she was right away.
So close to Fire Mountain, a cute little girl
with a familiar-looking face, despite her young age—she had to be Ox-King's daughter, Chi-Chi.
Just then, the dinosaur roared and lunged at Chi-Chi with its jaws wide open.
Luckily, Chi-Chi clapped a hand over her bottom in a panic and sped up, racing forward
and narrowly dodging the dinosaur's bite.
But the dinosaur kept right after her.
In Bulma's eyes, if nothing changed, little Chi-Chi would be dinosaur food the next time it caught up to her.
She didn't have time to think. She immediately yelled at Goku to save her.
At the same time, Goku recognized the fleeing girl as Chi-Chi.
But he knew how strong Chi-Chi was and had no intention of helping.
After all, she was Ox-King's daughter. She wasn't that weak.
All she had to do was press the switch on her hat,
and the blade attached to it would slice the dinosaur in two.
In fact, Goku was looking forward to seeing that happen.
But just as he was waiting for Chi-Chi to unleash her special move,
Bulma beat him to it and shouted at him.
"Goku, save her!"
Goku froze for a moment. It looked like Chi-Chi was being chased too closely to fight back.
Then he immediately pulled out the Power Pole and leaped off the Flying Nimbus.
"Power Pole, extend!"
In an instant, the Power Pole grew longer, and Goku swung it sideways.
The Power Pole came whistling through the air with a fierce gust,
smashing into the dinosaur's massive head.
The next moment, its head burst apart, and its huge body crashed heavily to the ground.
Goku flipped through the air and landed neatly in front of Chi-Chi.
"Are you all right?"
Seeing the dinosaur taken out in one blow, Bulma rode the Flying Nimbus over to Chi-Chi too.
Chi-Chi stopped and looked curiously at Goku and Bulma.
In the end, her gaze lingered on Goku.
Her little face suddenly turned red.
She clasped her hands over her cheeks and said bashfully, "That was really dangerous just now. Thank you for saving me.
But I don't have anything to repay you with right now.
How about I marry you when I grow up and be your bride..."
While Chi-Chi was still fidgeting, Bulma jumped down from the Flying Nimbus.
"No!"
Chapter 18: Chi-Chi, the Love-Struck Girl
After spending a little time together,
Chi-Chi explained to Bulma and Goku why she was there.
She'd heard that Master Roshi had a Basho Fan
that could summon wind and rain and put out the fire raging on Fire Mountain.
And Master Roshi was Ox-King's teacher.
With that connection, Master Roshi would surely lend them the fan.
So Ox-King had sent Chi-Chi to ask Master Roshi for it.
She hadn't even made it out of the area around Fire Mountain yet.
After hearing Chi-Chi's full story,
Bulma couldn't help complaining. "Your dad, Ox-King, really has no sense.
He doesn't even know where Master Roshi is,
yet he sent a little kid like you off to find him on foot.
If Goku hadn't been here,
that dinosaur might have eaten you!"
Chi-Chi looked at Bulma curiously.
"You just said you know where Master Roshi is?"
Bulma nodded.
"I do!"
Chi-Chi's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
Bulma nodded again.
Chi-Chi exclaimed, "That's great! Could you take me to see Master Roshi?"
Bulma nodded again. "I can.
But I'm here to find the Dragon Balls.
It won't take much longer.
To make sure I get a Dragon Ball, I need to make a deal with your dad.
I'll figure out how to put out the fire on Fire Mountain, and he'll give me a Dragon Ball."
Chi-Chi nodded. "Oh, I see!
My dad has stolen all kinds of treasure over the years. He probably has something called a Dragon Ball.
All right, then it's a deal.
I'll take you to see my dad tomorrow!"
Bulma nodded. "All right!"
Then Bulma changed the subject. "By the way, Chi-Chi.
You're still a kid, and you're a girl, so you need to learn to protect yourself.
Don't keep saying you'll be someone's bride whenever you open your mouth.
Girls should be a little more reserved."
Chi-Chi's lively eyes rolled.
"Yeah, you're right. Girls should be a little more reserved."
Bulma sighed with relief. "That's right!"
But Chi-Chi raised another concern. "But on TV,
the hero always gets to marry the girl after saving her..."
Bulma frowned. "Your parents are so irresponsible,
letting a little kid like you watch romance shows!"
At Bulma's words, the lively look in Chi-Chi's eyes immediately faded.
"I don't have a mom...
Dad often goes out to rob people, so when I'm home alone, all I can do is watch TV."
Bulma was left speechless.
Before she was reborn, she'd never met Ox-King's wife or seen Chi-Chi's mother.