Each night, Goku had stayed up alone, training hard beneath the stars. More than anything, he focused on his greatest weakness—his tail. He put himself through brutal conditioning, working it past its limits until he passed out at sunrise. Every morning, Mai found him collapsed outside the vehicle, barely breathing, and quietly helped him back into the car without a word.
On the final morning before their arrival, Goku lay unconscious, his head resting in Mai's lap. Oolong kept one hand on the wheel, the other hanging lazily out the window, as the car rumbled down the long stretch of rocky road.
"Why is he so obsessed?" Oolong muttered, glancing at the rearview mirror. "Did you see what he did to his tail?"
Bulma, sitting in the front passenger seat with her cheek in her hand, stared blankly out the window, clearly bored of the endless road. "He's a freak, that's why."
Oolong frowned. "Why are you like that? He's helping you find the Dragon Balls. You could at least pretend to care about his motives."
"Shut up," Bulma replied flatly.
In the back, Mai said nothing. Goku remained still in her lap, drenched in sweat, his breathing shallow.
Silently, Mai reached down and gently wrapped her fingers around his tail. It was swollen, the fur patchy in places, hardened from constant impact training. She held it delicately, her expression softening as if she could feel the pain he'd endured through it. Her thumb rubbed it slowly—instinctively—trying to soothe him.
Hours passed.
The midday sun beat down on the car. A droplet of sweat formed on Mai's collarbone, traced a line down her chest, and slid across the curve of her right breast before falling—plop—onto Goku's nose.
His eyes blinked open.
All he could see, at first, was the shape of her breasts blocking the light. He squinted, confused, his vision still hazy. Then Mai leaned forward and looked down at him with a small, peaceful smile.
"Morning," she said softly.
Goku wiped his face with the back of his hand and groaned. "Sup..."
He sat up slowly, still sweating, stretching his arms with a yawn. "Why is it so damn hot?"
Goku leaned against the window, squinting at the scenery outside. Rocky trails snaked through rolling green hills, and palm trees bent gently in the wind—but in the distance, a red-orange glow distorted the horizon.
From the front seat, Oolong kept his hands on the wheel, squinting ahead. "It's because we're getting close to Frypan Mountain," he said, then pointed into the distance. "Ten years ago, a flame fell from the heavens and set that whole place ablaze. Since then, the weather's been like this—hot, dry, cursed."
"I've heard of it," Mai added from the back. "Frypan Mountain was originally called Ryōkeizan. It used to be a beautiful place to live."
"There it is," Oolong muttered, stopping the car.
Just a few kilometers ahead, the ground rose into a massive, blazing mountain. Fire and smoke billowed from its peak, casting a red-orange glow that bled into the sky. The horizon shimmered with heatwaves, and the air grew thick and scorching.
They stepped out of the car one by one, shielding their eyes.
Goku immediately leapt onto the roof, wind in his hair, . "Wooooow!!"
Bulma sighed, sweat already forming on her brow. "So that's why it's so hot."
Oolong turned to the group, visibly shaken. "We shouldn't go. Not with him there."
"Who?" Bulma asked, crossing her arms.
"Gyumao!" Oolong hissed. "They call him the Demon Lord! He lives in the castle on that mountain. They say anyone who gets near ends up like—" he made a slashing motion across his neck.
Bulma and Mai exchanged a glance. A bead of sweat ran down both their foreheads. Gulp.
Goku squatted on the roof, staring up at the blazing peak. "So the next Dragon Ball's up there… in that castle?"
"How can you say that so casually?!" Oolong shrieked.
Bulma, ignoring the panic, tossed a candy at Oolong. "Here. Chill."
He caught it, stared at it, then popped it into his mouth.
"I want one too," Goku said.
"You don't need it," Bulma replied flatly.
Oolong turned toward Goku with a smirk. "Heh. Guys like me are popular with girls, you know."
He spun back to Bulma. "But candy or not, it's not gonna help! We're dead if we go any closer!" He jumped into the front seat. "Let's go back before it's too late!"
"There's no way we're turning back now," Bulma snapped. "Not after coming all this way."
"Do you all have a death wish?!" Oolong cried. "Doesn't matter how strong Goku is—compared to Gyumao, he's just a fly!"
With that, he slammed the gear into reverse. "I'M OUTTA HERE!"
The car jolted back suddenly—Goku, still on the roof, lost his balance and fell off with a thud.
But before he could hit the ground, Mai caught him mid-fall.
"I knew it!" Bulma shrieked. "I knew this would happen!"
Then, for no apparent reason, she started flailing her arms and shouting: "PIII PIII PIIIIIIIIII PII PII!"
Mai gently lowered Goku to the ground. He looked up at Bulma, confused. "You finally lost it or something?"
The car jolted to a stop.
"OHHHHHHHH!!" Oolong wailed as he jumped out, clutching his stomach. He bolted behind a bush, where noises that should've stayed in the bathroom echoed across the land.
From the car, Bulma cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled sweetly, "Hey, Oolong-chan~ You got diarrhea, didn't you? That piece of candy I gave you is one of my inventions. I call it... the PP Candy! Whenever I say 'PII,' whoever ate it gets the runs!"
Oolong stumbled back, pale and trembling, toilet paper in one hand, the other gripping his butt. "I—I'm sorry! I won't run off anymore! Please! Don't say it again!"
Bulma crossed her arms with a smug grin. "Then behave. If you disobey me again, I'll say it twice."
Goku and Mai watched in silence. Their eyes slowly drifted to Bulma, both thinking the exact same thing:
"She's the real Demon Lord."
---
Meanwhile, a Few Kilometers Away...
A dusty jeep cruised along the rugged terrain. In the passenger seat sat Yamcha, face swollen, cheek puffed out like a balloon, and three teeth missing from Goku's punch. Next to him, Pu'ar stared at the radar.
"Master Yamcha! They're moving again," Pu'ar said. "Looks like they're really headed for Frypan Mountain."
Yamcha smirked, despite the pain. "Heh... The sixth Dragon Ball should be in Gyumao's castle. Too bad for them—they're never getting it."
"Should we give up too?" Pu'ar asked.
"No... That little monkey's strong. I want to see how this plays out. And maybe... take advantage of the chaos."
But just then, a high-pitched scream rang out from behind.
A young girl came sprinting through the trees wearing a purple bikini-style armor set with metal trims and a strange high-tech helmet. Her eyes were wide with terror.
Behind her thundered a full-grown T-Rex, teeth bared.
She panicked, placed her hands on the blade of her helmet, and flung it like a frisbee with her eyes closed. "D-DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"
The helmet blade spun through the air and—slice—cleanly decapitated the T-Rex. The blade curved around like a boomerang and snapped back onto her helmet with a metallic CLANG.
The girl opened her eyes—just in time to see the dinosaur's head fall right in front of her.
"KYAAAAAAAH!!"
A second later, her helmet beam fired reflexively with a shriek of "EWWW! DADDY!!!" and vaporized the T-Rex's entire body.
She runs away, sobbing and wiping her face. "Waaah! That was so scary!"
Yamcha and Pu'ar stared in stunned silence.
"She's... pretty strong for someone that terrified," says yamcha.
The girl looked up—and spotted them. Her eyes widened. Her helmet fired again.
Yamcha ducked just in time, the beam barely missing. Yamcha knocked her, face-first into the grass, Yamcha dusted himself off and sighed.
"Well... Time to head to Frypan Mountain."
They jumped into the jeep and sped off toward the heat-shimmering horizon.
Back in the Car...
Inside the cramped vehicle, Goku lay sprawled across the back seat, his head resting in Mai's lap. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his tail lazily draped over her leg.
"I hate heat!" he groaned, fanning himself with his shirt. As he did, his toned abs and defined torso were exposed to the air.
Above him, Mai's eyes locked onto his body for just a second too long. Her face lit up red, and she quickly tugged his shirt back down. "M-Mr. Goku! You can't just show that in public!" she said, flustered, turning her head away.
Goku turned his head upside-down, resting between her thighs to peer up at her face. "You're so pure-hearted. You never had a lover or something?"
Mai blinked. "No... I've always worked as a mercenary, following orders, serving under others. I never really had time for anything else…" She paused. "...Until you took me hostage."
"Don't say it like that!" Goku huffed. "You're gonna make me sound like the villain!"
"What!? What do you mean she's a hostage?" Oolong snapped from the front, confused. "She walks around like she owns the place!"
Goku and Mai explained the situation in their usual nonchalant tone.
"So basically..." Oolong muttered, thinking it over, "...she's your hostage and has to obey all your commands…" His face turned red with imagination—SMACK! Mai whacked him from behind without turning around.
Back in the backseat, Goku lay relaxed again, arms behind his head. As usual, his view was blocked by Mai's chest. He tilted his eyes up at her, grinning.
Mai noticed. "What is it now?"
"I like you, Mai," he said casually, that same playful grin on his face.
Her breath caught. Her whole face flushed, and for a moment, it looked like steam burst out of her head. "L-Like? Like what!?" she thought frantically, eyes darting in every direction but his.
Silence hung in the air.
Then, Goku's smile faded. His expression shifted—his eyes grew sharp, his mouth flat. A strange, unreadable intensity settled over his face.
"We're here."
The car rolled to a stop at the edge of a devastated town. Crumbled buildings and scorched debris stretched around them. The sun-baked skeletons of past adventurers littered the road.
"Ugh, it's so hot out here!!" Bulma complained, stepping out and fanning herself.
"Dummy! Don't yell like that!" Oolong hissed, panicking. "Gyumao might hear you!"
Bulma checked the Dragon Radar. "The signal's coming from up there—near the castle, on the peak. It's completely surrounded by flames..."
"If only we could fly up there," she muttered, scratching her head.
After a long pause, she turned to Goku. "What do we do?! I don't have any of my capsules left!"
Goku squinted up at the inferno. "Jumping's impossible... I could destroy the mountain, but... that's not cool."
"What do you mean not cool?!" Oolong cried.
"Well," Goku said, thinking aloud, "if I blasted the whole thing into rubble, it'd be easier to find the Dragon Ball."
Mai, still staring at the tower of smoke, murmured, "The smoke... it kinda looks like a cloud…"
Bulma and Goku froze. Their eyes lit up at the same time.
"THE CLOUD!!" they shouted in unison.
"What was its name again?" Goku asked.
"Ki-ki... KINTO'UN!!" Bulma remembered, just as Goku called it out.
Oolong shrieked, "Don't shout, I said!!"
A golden streak shot through the sky and stopped right in front of them.
"What is that?" Oolong asked.
"A cloud," Goku answered simply.
"I can see that," Oolong muttered.
"If your heart is pure, you can ride it," Goku added before hopping up—and falling straight through.
"Still not good," he sighed.
"I wanna try!" Bulma said excitedly.
"You don't need to," Goku replied. "We already know the answer for you... and Oolong."
"WHAT?! I am pure and good!!" Bulma yelled.
Oolong didn't even try to argue.
Bulma jumped onto the cloud—and passed right through it, crashing on her butt.
"Why...? Is being too beautiful a sin?!" she wailed.
Goku sighed and looked around... then turned to Mai. "Wait a minute."
Without warning, he grabbed her hand. She blushed instantly.
"H-huh?"
He led her toward the Kinto'un. "Go ahead. Try it."
Without hesitation, Mai jumped—poof!—and landed on it, standing upright.
"WHAT?! IT'S BROKEN!!" Bulma screamed, pounding the cloud in disbelief.
Goku turned to Mai, smiling. "Alright, listen. I don't know exactly how it works, but try flying it up there and see if there's a path to the castle."
She nodded and knelt down on the cloud. "Understood."
With a quick zap of golden light, she soared into the sky.
"Nicely done!" Goku shouted.
"Don't come back until you find something!!" Bulma added.
Moments later, Mai returned, sweating. "It's too hot. The flames are intense up close. I couldn't get near the castle."
Suddenly, Goku's expression tensed. He turned slightly—something was coming.
A shadow burst from the edge of the ruins. Goku saw a glint of steel flying straight for Bulma.
Without hesitation, he leapt behind her, clapping his fists together—CRACK!—catching a giant axe midair and shattering the blade. The handle spun through the air and knocked Oolong off his feet.
The others flinched at the sudden sound. "What are you doing?" Bulma asked—
—and then the shadow stepped out.
A giant man in thick armor and goggles loomed over them. The heat shimmered around him like a mirage. Bulma, Mai, and Oolong let out a unified shriek:
"GIEEEEEHHHH!!"
"Who are you?" the man growled, his deep voice muffled behind his armor. "And what are you doing here?"
Goku stood his ground, unflinching, arms folded. Behind him, Bulma, Mai, and Oolong clung together in fear.
"A-are y-you... Gyumao...?" Bulma asked, trembling.
"You came here to steal fro—" he began, but his eyes suddenly locked onto Kinto'un… and Mai still calmly sitting on it.
"IS THAT—?! IS THAT KINTO'UN?! WHO GAVE YOU THAT?!"
He charged toward Mai. She let out a startled cry—
—but Goku was already in motion, leaping up to land on her lap, blocking Gyumao's path mid-air.
"It was some old pervert," Goku said, arms crossed again. "Kame Sen'nin."
"WHAT?! KAME SEN'NIN?! MUTEN ROSHI-SAMA?! YOU KNOW HIM?! DO YOU KNOW WHERE HE LIVES NOW?!"