The Trial of Flame Mountain, the Whereabouts of the Banana Fan

The closer they got to that red-hot mountain, the more scorching the air became.

The car gave out completely several kilometers from the foot of the mountain.

Its shell was too hot to touch.

The tires gave off a burnt smell.

"No good! If we keep driving, the car's going to explode!"

Bulma slammed on the brakes, and everyone scrambled out of the car in a panic.

A wave of heat hit them head-on, nearly roasting them alive.

Oolong collapsed straight onto the ground, his tongue hanging out.

"Hot... I'm melting... the pig's getting cooked..."

Son Goku looked up at the towering flames, his eyes going wide.

"Whoa! What a huge fire! It's way bigger than Grandpa's campfire!"

Bulma's face turned green.

She took out a Hoi-Poi Capsule and produced a set of silver-white protective gear.

"Don't worry, I came prepared!"

"This is the latest heat-resistant insulated suit. It can withstand temperatures of a thousand degrees!"

She swiftly put on the protective suit, donned the helmet, and strode toward Flame Mountain.

But she had gone less than ten meters.

With a sizzle.

The silver-white high-tech protective suit instantly began smoking, warping, and melting.

"Ahhh! It's so hot!"

Bulma screamed as she scrambled and rolled back.

In a fluster, she tore off the already ruined protective suit.

Her skin was bright red, tears welling in her eyes.

"How could this happen... My latest invention... couldn't even last ten seconds!"

The technology she had been so proud of was completely useless before Flame Mountain.

The hope that had just arisen vanished in an instant.

"It's over... the Dragon Balls are inside... we can't get in..."

Bulma plopped down on the ground and stared blankly at the sea of flames.

Son Goku refused to believe it and charged forward a few steps.

The heatwave forced him back, scorching several strands of his hair.

It really hurt.

Just when everyone was at a loss, the ground suddenly began to shake.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

An incomparably enormous shadow emerged from the other side of Flame Mountain.

A giant over five meters tall.

He wore a horned helmet and heavy armor, carrying a massive battle-axe as large as a door.

Every step he took made the ground tremble.

His fierce aura was countless times stronger than the fake Ox-King Oolong had transformed into earlier.

Oolong fainted from fright on the spot.

Bulma was so frightened her soul nearly left her body, and she hid behind Lin Xuan.

"An-another monster!"

Son Goku, on the other hand, grew excited. He took up a fighting stance and fixed his eyes on the giant.

No one expected it.

When the giant reached them, he did not attack.

With a clang, he threw down his giant axe, then with a thud, dropped to his knees.

His enormous body smashed a deep crater into the ground.

"Please! Please save my daughter!"

The giant's voice was thunderous, but his tone was full of pleading.

Everyone was stunned.

"Y-you... who are you?"

Bulma gathered her courage and asked.

"I'm the master of this mountain, Ox-King!"

The giant looked up, his rugged face filled with sorrow.

"My daughter Chi-Chi and I lived in the castle at the mountaintop. I don't know why, but the castle suddenly caught fire, and no matter what I did, I couldn't put it out! I barely managed to escape, but my daughter Chi-Chi is still inside!"

As Ox-King spoke, tears of desperation streamed down his face.

"I saw you flying in from the sky just now. You must be extraordinary people with great abilities! Please, help me put out the fire and save Chi-Chi!"

Only then did Bulma and Son Goku understand what was going on.

So he was the owner of the house.

"But the fire is too big. There's nothing we can do either!" Bulma said, looking troubled.

Hearing that, Ox-King suddenly slapped his thigh.

"I've got it! My master, Master Roshi, has a treasure called the Banana Fan. No matter how big the fire is, one wave will put it out! He was the one who gave me this castle!"

"Master Roshi?"

Son Goku and Bulma cried out at the same time.

"You know that dirty old man too?" Bulma blurted out.

"Don't you dare talk about my master like that!"

Ox-King glared at her before turning back to plead.

"Since you know my master, that's wonderful! As long as you go to Kame House and borrow the Banana Fan, you can save my daughter!"

Hearing there was a way, Bulma immediately perked up.

"I know where Kame House is! We'll go back and find him right away!"

Son Goku nodded as well.

"Yeah! We can take my Flying Nimbus. It'll be fast!"

Just as Goku was about to set off, Lin Xuan spoke again.

"If you're going to borrow the Banana Fan, then going would be pointless."

Lin Xuan's voice was quiet.

Yet every word struck the ears of everyone present.

Everyone froze and turned to look at him.

"Lin Xuan, what nonsense are you talking about now?!"

Bulma panicked.

"This is the only way!"

Lin Xuan ignored her.

He raised his head and looked toward the burning castle.

His gaze was distant.

"The Dao flows in cycles. All things have their purpose, and their end."

He had started saying those cryptic things again.

"From what I can see, the fire here was ignited by the spiritual flame of the earth vein itself. Ordinary means cannot extinguish it. Though the Banana Fan is a treasure, its mission has ended, and it is gone as well."

He paused, then turned his gaze toward Son Goku and calmly gave his conclusion.

"If you go looking for the Banana Fan now, you won't find it."

The moment those words were spoken, the entire scene turned cold.

Ox-King's newly kindled hope shattered to pieces, and he roared in despair.

"Impossible! That's my master's treasure! How could it be gone?!"

Bulma was so anxious that she stamped her feet.

She couldn't understand what Lin Xuan was thinking.

"What are you trying to do?! Didn't you hear him? Ox-King's daughter is still in there! Fine, if you don't want to save her, but why are you saying such discouraging things?!"

She felt certain Lin Xuan had gotten heatstroke today.

He was utterly unreasonable.

Faced with Bulma's questioning, Lin Xuan showed no expression at all.

He merely looked at Son Goku.

"Goku, do you trust me?"

Son Goku looked into Lin Xuan's calm eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, he nodded firmly.

"I believe in Brother Lin Xuan!"

What he had experienced during this time left him with no doubt whatsoever about Lin Xuan's words.

"Good."

Lin Xuan smiled.

"The fan is useless, but the man isn't. Go invite Master Roshi himself over now. There may still be hope."

"Invite Master Roshi over?"

Bulma froze.

"What use would he be? Without the Banana Fan, can an old man like him put out the fire?"

Lin Xuan offered no further explanation and merely said to Son Goku, "Go. You'll definitely be able to find him."

"Okay!"

Son Goku agreed and leaped onto the Flying Nimbus.

A streak of golden light shot back in the direction they had come from, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.

Only Bulma, who was nearly exploding with anger, and the despairing Ox-King remained behind.

"Crazy! You're all crazy!"

Bulma clutched her head, driven nearly mad by these two people who refused to do anything normally.

She couldn't understand why Goku trusted Lin Xuan's fortune-teller-like "prophecies" so completely.

Nor could she understand why Lin Xuan was so certain that, with the Banana Fan gone, inviting Master Roshi over was the only solution.

Could it be... that his words would come true again this time?

Waiting was agonizing.

Seconds ticked by.

The Ox-King could neither sit nor stand still, while Bulma paced back and forth, muttering nonstop.

Just as Bulma's patience finally ran out and she was about to fly her spaceship to Kame House herself—

A tiny golden speck appeared on the horizon and rapidly drew closer.

It was Son Goku!

He was back!

Beside his Flying Nimbus was a turtle spinning through the air, with a man standing on its shell.

A stylish old man in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses, with a turtle shell on his back.

Master Roshi!

"M-Master!"

The moment the Ox-King saw Master Roshi, tears welled up in his eyes. He scrambled forward and dropped to his knees before him.

"Master! You finally came! Please save Chi-Chi! I don't care about any of the treasures inside anymore!"

Master Roshi jumped down from the Flying Nimbus. When he saw the sea of flames, he was startled as well.

He adjusted his sunglasses, and upon hearing the Ox-King's words, his expression turned somewhat awkward.

"Ahem... well... Goku already told me."

Master Roshi scratched his bald head and said sheepishly, "The Banana Fan... I broke that thing a long time ago."

BOOM!

To the Ox-King and Bulma, those words were no different from the sky collapsing.

"B-Broke it?"

The Ox-King's voice trembled.

"Yeah."

Master Roshi looked utterly innocent.

"A few years ago, I used it to prop up a table leg and accidentally sat on it. Later, I thought it still worked fine for fanning, but when I was eating hot pot, I accidentally set it on fire... I threw it away ages ago."

Th-Threw it away...

The Ox-King's vision went dark, and he nearly fainted.

Bulma, meanwhile, became even more convinced by Lin Xuan.

The Banana Fan really was gone.

And the reason it had been destroyed was that ridiculous.

All of it... had come true exactly as he said!

Not a single word was different!

How did he know?

Just then, Master Roshi cleared his throat and struck the pose of a true master.

"Still, you don't need to worry too much."

Pointing at the towering flames, he spoke with confidence.

"It's only a small fire. Even though the Banana Fan is gone, if this old man takes action personally, I can still handle it."

"Really, Master?!"

Ox-King clutched at his last straw.

"Of course!"

Master Roshi turned around and took off his shirt.

At first, he still looked like a frail old man. But after gathering his strength, he revealed explosive muscles utterly mismatched with his age.

He brought his hands together before his chest.

A vast surge of energy began to gather.

Blue light flared in his palms as he prepared to use a Kamehameha to extinguish the fire.

"It's just..."

Master Roshi felt the heat of Flame Mountain, and his tone grew grave.

"This fire is no ordinary fire. To put it out completely, I'll have to use my full strength."

"The consequences of my full-power attack... I'm afraid this mountain and your castle will both be reduced to ashes."