Obtaining the Four-Star Dragon Ball

The big fish was plump, its fat sizzling as it dripped. Jiang Nan, who had gone hungry all morning, swallowed before answering Son Gohan's question.

"Mr. Son, I came here to borrow something from you."

"Could it be," Son Gohan's gaze suddenly sharpened, "that you want to borrow the head on my shoulders?!"

"Huh?" Jiang Nan froze, then hurriedly waved his hands in denial. "No, no, no! You've misunderstood. I mean you no harm!"

Son Gohan suddenly laughed. "Just kidding, just kidding! Why don't young people have any sense of humor?"

Jiang Nan let out a relieved breath. Why couldn't this old man be serious for once? He really was Master Roshi's disciple.

Jiang Nan pointed at the round hat Son Gohan had set on the ground. "Actually, this is what I wanted to borrow!"

Son Gohan picked up the hat and examined it. "You mean this green hat? If you like it, you can have it. Though, if you don't mind me saying so, a hat like this makes a young man look old. If you have the time, I could make you a straw hat."

Jiang Nan was speechless with exasperation. Once he recovered, he told Son Gohan what he really meant. "You've misunderstood, sir. I want the ball set into your hat."

Son Gohan looked at the Four-Star Dragon Ball on top of his hat, then back at Jiang Nan in puzzlement. "Did you know I had this ball before you came to Mount Paozu? I happened to find it in a valley a few years ago. If I remember correctly, I haven't had any contact with the outside world in all that time. No one should know I have it."

Then Son Gohan's eyes suddenly lit up again. "I understand now! You must have visited Fortuneteller Baba. That explains it. There's nothing in this world she doesn't know."

Jiang Nan did not explain how he had learned about it. He simply said sincerely, "To be honest with you, sir, this ball has special powers. I need to collect seven of them. Of course, I wouldn't ask you to give it to me for nothing."

Jiang Nan took the jewels he had looted from Henry's estate on Papaya Island out of his backpack and laid them on the ground. "I can trade these jewels for it."

"Put those things away!"

As Son Gohan spoke, he pried the Dragon Ball out of the top of his hat. He handed it to Jiang Nan and said, "This ball wasn't mine to begin with. Everything has its own unseen fate. Perhaps destiny arranged for me to find it so I could wait for you to come and take it."

Jiang Nan was deeply moved. Son Gohan truly was selfless, kind, and remarkably openhearted. The fact that he had set the ball into a hat he wore every day was proof enough of how fond he was of it, yet he could give it away without a second thought.

No wonder Goku had grown up so easygoing-so easygoing that all his friends said the same thing about him: nothing ever bothered the guy.

But Jiang Nan was not the sort to accept someone's kindness without giving anything in return. He took another item from his backpack, certain that Son Gohan would not refuse this one.

It was a set of magazines still sealed in transparent plastic. Sure enough, Son Gohan's eyes lit up the moment it appeared.

"These are limited-edition Night Talk magazines I bought in the city. Master Roshi told me you enjoyed them too, so I made sure to get you a set."

Before Jiang Nan could hand them over, Son Gohan reached out and took the magazines himself. His mustache trembled as he said, "That's my master for you! He hasn't even forgotten this little hobby of mine!"

Son Gohan eagerly tore off the wrapping, wet his fingertip with saliva, and began flipping through the pages. Whenever he reached a particularly good part, he let out a few goofy chuckles.

"Hey, old man, what are you reading? Let me see." Kid Goku leaned over curiously.

"Huh?! Why aren't any of the people in here wearing clothes?!" Kid Goku exclaimed.

Son Gohan's old face reddened. He shut the magazine and tucked it under his backside, then said with a perfectly straight face, "Ah, this is... this is something your Uncle Jiang Nan gave Grandpa. Yes, an academic magazine. Understand? Only adults can read it. Children wouldn't understand it yet."

"Speaking of my master, is he in good health? Where did you meet him, young Jiang Nan?" Son Gohan changed the subject before Kid Goku could keep pestering him.

Without a change in expression, Jiang Nan replied, "Master Roshi is as hale and hearty as ever. I met him on an island to the south. It isn't too far from here, about three thousand kilometers in a straight line."

"That sounds right. Although my master moves around unpredictably, he generally lives in seclusion on the southern islands." A nostalgic look crossed Son Gohan's face.

"Oh, right," Jiang Nan said. "I also ran into Mercenary Tao a few days ago."

Son Gohan looked blank, unable for the moment to remember who Mercenary Tao was.

Jiang Nan explained, "Master Shen's younger brother, Mercenary Tao."

Understanding dawned on Son Gohan. "Oh, now I remember. I have heard my master mention those old days. My martial uncle, Master Shen, did indeed have a younger brother. Back then, my master shared some water from the Fountain of Youth with him. He must have shared some with his younger brother in turn."

Son Gohan turned the fish over and continued, "My master and my martial uncle argue every time they meet. Those of us who are his disciples don't dare ask him much about his fellow disciple."

The fact that Master Roshi had selflessly shared the water from the Fountain of Youth with Master Shen showed that the two fellow disciples had once shared a genuine bond. So how had they ended up refusing to have anything to do with each other and fighting whenever they met?

Jiang Nan imagined a tale of two fellow disciples competing for the heart of their younger martial sister, only to become bitter enemies.

Unable to contain his burning curiosity for gossip, Jiang Nan asked, "Sir, what exactly happened back then to turn Master Roshi and Master Shen against each other?"

Son Gohan gazed at the flames and thought for a moment. "There's no reason I can't tell you. It isn't really a secret."

Mr. Son began recounting the story in a gentle, unhurried voice. Even Kid Goku fell unusually quiet as he listened.

"It happened a very long time ago, about three hundred years back. My master and my martial uncle, Master Shen, became disciples of Mutaito, the greatest martial artist in the world at the time, one after the other. My master was Mutaito's eldest disciple. Besides Master Shen, he had several other younger martial brothers and sisters. Under Grandmaster Mutaito's patient guidance, my master and his fellow disciples all became some of the finest martial artists in the world."

"I heard my master mention a few times that my martial uncle, Master Shen, was exceptionally clever. No matter what he studied, he could grasp it with just a little guidance, and he could often apply what he learned to other things. By comparison, whenever my master learned a new skill, he had to spend more time honing his foundations."

"However, those good days didn't last. About two hundred and eighty years ago, a terrifying monster suddenly appeared on Earth!"