Arena Battle

With the problem of Raditz resolved, Bulma began helping Goku repair the Dragon Radar.

Goku had already collected six Dragon Balls; he was only one away from gathering them all and summoning the Eternal Dragon.

Yet, the final Dragon Ball remained impossible to locate on the radar.

"That's strange. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it."

"But the last Dragon Ball just won't show up," Goku said.

"Could it have been swallowed by some creature?"

"The special waves emitted by the Dragon Balls might be blocked by a living body, preventing them from reaching the radar."

"Then we just have to wait for it to be pooped out?" Yamcha suggested.

"That's disgusting," Bulma said with disdain.

"We worked so hard to find six of them, what are we supposed to do now?" Goku felt a bit dejected.

"If that's the case, you should go find Fortune Teller Baba. Anything that can't be found, she can divine its location for you."

Seeing that everyone was at a loss, Master Roshi finally revealed the existence of his sister.

Upon hearing this, Goku immediately perked up. "Really? Can she help me find the location of the Dragon Ball?"

"She does have that ability. As long as it's something you want to find, she can help you locate it, but..."

"Master Roshi, do you know where she is?" Goku asked impatiently.

"You should go find her at her Crystal Palace."

Master Roshi took out a map and marked a set of coordinates on it.

After obtaining the location of Fortune Teller Baba from Master Roshi, Goku prepared to set off immediately.

Yamcha and Krillin expressed that they would go along as well. Goku's previous feat of single-handedly wiping out the Red Ribbon Army had made them deeply aware of the gap between them.

Joining Goku to find the seventh Dragon Ball was the perfect opportunity to train themselves.

Raditz rose from the floor and checked his injuries. His chest, where Krillin had punched him earlier, still bore a large bruise, but it was nothing serious.

"Um..."

"Can you take me with you? I want to go too," Raditz asked, looking at the group preparing to depart.

"Raditz, you should just stay here and recover. The others are enough to handle collecting the Dragon Balls," Bulma said with concern.

"It's fine, my injuries aren't a problem anymore, and there's something I want to find as well."

That was a lie.

Although Raditz had already integrated into the protagonist's group and would have a chance to obtain a sample of Goku's DNA later, he still wanted to seize this opportunity while it was within reach.

After all, obtaining it sooner meant having the ability to protect himself sooner.

Goku didn't refuse Raditz's request to join; he figured that if they were just going to find someone, there shouldn't be any danger.

The group set off in their aircraft.

After traveling for a distance, when the aircraft flew over a small town, the group suggested stopping to buy new clothes because they couldn't stand the smell of Goku's martial arts uniform.

"Goku, how long has it been since you changed that uniform? It's completely marinated in sweat," Krillin said with a look of disgust.

"Also, Raditz, you should go change too. That Red Ribbon Army outfit of yours is way too conspicuous."

"Yeah, I didn't think much of it when I escaped, but it is indeed too eye-catching."

It took an hour to get the clothes made. During that time, Goku made another trip to Karin Sacred Land to pick up Upa.

Goku's goal in collecting the Dragon Balls was to help Upa resurrect his father, so bringing him along was only logical.

The group of six (including Yamcha's little sidekick, Puar) set off again. After traveling for an unknown amount of time, they finally found Fortune Teller Baba's palace in the middle of a desert.

Looking down from high above, the deep blue circular building sat in a body of water like an overturned bowl, with two pyramids standing on either side like guards, mysterious and solemn.

Behind it was a circular stone arena, where two tiny black dots could be vaguely seen colliding with each other.

After waiting in line, Raditz and his group were finally led by a ghost assistant to see the target of their journey.

"Are you Fortune Teller Baba?" Goku asked curiously.

"It's Fortune Teller Baba!" the old woman sitting on the crystal ball glared fiercely at Goku.

"I already know the purpose of your visit. Follow me."

Fortune Teller Baba was in no mood to chat and went straight to the point.

After walking to the circular arena, Fortune Teller Baba turned around and said, "Here, you must spar with the helpers I've brought, engaging in arena battles until my five... hmm?"

Fortune Teller Baba counted the number of people.

"Six? Then six it is. As long as you can defeat my six fighters, I will provide the divination for you for free."

"Six? Doesn't that mean I have to fight in the arena too?"

Raditz was a bit bewildered.

Although there were signs that fighting would be necessary before arriving, Fortune Teller Baba had even categorized a child like Upa as a combatant, so he certainly wouldn't be able to escape it either.

But when it came to actually fighting, Raditz, who knew nothing about martial arts, couldn't help but feel a bit panicked.

Krillin looked at Raditz's dazed expression and laughed, "Raditz, you don't need to worry. Goku, Yamcha, and I will take care of them."

"We are the seeded players of the World Martial Arts Tournament, after all. You just need to stay off the stage and cheer for us with Upa and Puar."

Raditz looked at Krillin's smug expression and felt his anger flare up; he had half the "credit" for his current appearance, after all.

However, if it was just watching the fight...

Just like in the original story, the first match was Bat Man against Krillin, who had volunteered to go up first.

"I wonder who that unexpected sixth contestant is?"

Raditz pondered off-stage, stroking the circular core in the palm of his right hand.

Although according to the plot, surrendering wouldn't have any impact, and even if that extra contestant were strong, they wouldn't be stronger than Goku.

But, as a member of the thousands of transmigrators, ending his first duel with a surrender...

"That would be too embarrassing for a transmigrator!" Raditz fumed in impotent rage.

"Fortune Teller Baba's tournament won't result in any life-threatening danger. As long as I'm careful, I can just surrender if I can't win. It would be a good way to experience this Dragon Ball-style combat in advance."

Taking advantage of the gap while the fighters warmed up, Raditz made an excuse to go to the bathroom and arrived at an empty spot, preparing to study his metallic palm.

"Since this is a modification by Dr. Gero, it's not hard to guess. It's highly likely a device similar to Android 19. I didn't expect him to have developed this so early."

"But I've had physical contact with Goku and the others before, and I didn't feel any energy absorption," Raditz wondered.

He fiddled with the core in his palm, then raised his right hand above his head and tensed his arm muscles.

Suddenly, Raditz felt his strength being drained away, his body went limp, and an unknown aura surged toward his right hand. Immediately, a ball of light slowly gathered within his dark golden palm.

"Is this my Ki?"

Staring at the energy ball the size of his palm, Raditz felt that as long as he exerted force, he could fire it out.

He slowly relaxed his arm muscles, and the spherical arc of light dissipated back into his body.

"Phew, I guess I understand how to use it now."

"But with this bun-sized amount of energy, firing it would probably just tickle the opponent, right?"

Raditz returned to the arena, only to find that the people fighting on stage had changed to Bat Man and the two little ones.