The sky was just beginning to lighten.
"Waaah! Don't eat me! I'm not tasty at all!"
A scream jolted Tang En and Bulma awake. Tang En opened the window to see Sun Wukong holding up a giant sea turtle.
"Hey! You thieving turtle, stealing our food! You little thief! I'm gonna stew you and eat you!"
Hearing the word "thief," Bulma immediately checked her Dragon Ball, relieved to find it still there before following Tang En downstairs.
"What's going on, Goku?"
"He's a thief!"
"I'm so sorry! I was just so hungry... I haven't had seawater in so long, so I..."
Turns out, little Goku had heard noises in the house during his morning training and found the turtle rummaging through the fridge, leading to the scuffle.
"Ohhh, so you were just hungry? No big deal! Why would I, the great Bulma, pick on a hungry turtle?"
Instead of punishing the turtle, Bulma fed it salt, seaweed, and fresh water until it was full.
Little Goku, curious, asked, "What's a turtle? Are they really not tasty at all?"
The turtle flinched in panic.
"I'm from a small island in the sea! I got lost and ended up here—I swear I'm not tasty!"
Goku slapped his own cheeks excitedly.
"Ohhh, I see! I'm not interested in things that aren't tasty at all!"
The turtle sighed in relief. Seeing the trio didn't seem like bad people, it hesitantly added,
"I'm from the eastern sea... Could you help me get home? I'll make sure the Immortal rewards you properly..."
Before Goku could answer, Bulma cut in impatiently.
"No way! Tang En, we still have to find the Dragon Balls! We can't waste time on this turtle!"
"But the turtle said the Dragon Balls are to the east—isn't that the same way we're going?"
Bulma checked her radar and reluctantly agreed. Meanwhile, Goku, ever enthusiastic, hoisted the turtle up and declared, "Let's go!"
After half a day's journey, they finally reached the sea. Tang En set the turtle down in the water.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! Please wait here a moment."...
After a short while, Turtle crawled over with a stylish old man on his back.
"Good afternoon, everyone."
The stylish old man jumped down.
"I heard you saved Turtle?"
"Old man, who are you?" Little Goku asked curiously.
"I am... the Turtle Hermit!"
Tang En felt slightly excited.
The Turtle Hermit—Goku's first true master.
However, this old man possessed many extraordinary abilities. Thinking of this, Tang En quickly cleared his mind to avoid having his thoughts detected.
"Who saved you?" the Turtle Hermit asked the turtle beside him.
"It was these two young boys who carried me here, Hermit."
"Oh? Is that so? You two have worked hard. As a token of my gratitude, I'll give each of you a gift."
"Turtle Hermit, I don't need any gift. Could you give me a bead like this instead?"
Tang En took out a Dragon Ball and showed it to the Turtle Hermit.
"Oh? This bead? I found it a long time ago. If you want it, I'll give it to you—no take-backs."
The Turtle Hermit took the Dragon Ball from around his neck and handed it to Tang En.
Bulma was thrilled to see Tang En actually obtain a Dragon Ball.
"As for you, young man... Hmm, I'll give you this."
"Come forth! The Phoenix!"
"Eh? The Phoenix?"
"What's a phoenix?" Goku asked.
"It's a bird that never dies! Does something like that really exist?"
Bulma looked expectant.
After a moment, Turtle cautiously reminded the Turtle Hermit, who was still posing dramatically: "Hermit, the phoenix died last year from food poisoning."
Everyone present broke into a cold sweat.
The Turtle Hermit coughed awkwardly. "Ah, it died? I see. Well then, come forth! Flying Nimbus!"
Soon, a yellow cloud floated over and stopped in front of the Turtle Hermit.
"This is the Flying Nimbus. Only those with a pure heart can ride it."
Goku asked curiously, "How do you eat this?"
"It's not for eating. Riding the Flying Nimbus lets you fly freely in the sky. Isn't that amazing?"
"So cool!"
Little Goku was overjoyed and immediately jumped onto the Flying Nimbus, bouncing up and down.
"Whoa!"
Except for Tang En, everyone was astonished that someone could actually ride a cloud.
Goku soared through the sky at incredible speed on the Flying Nimbus.
Soon, he flew back down and said to the Turtle Hermit, "Thank you, old man!"
"Ah, I never expected you to tame the Flying Nimbus so quickly."
The Turtle Hermit wiped his sweat.
"Hehe."
Goku had obtained the Flying Nimbus, while Bulma and Tang En had gained another Dragon Ball. Everyone was happy.
The three continued their journey. By evening, they used a Capsule Corp. house to rest for the night before setting off again.
Three days later, Tang En and the others arrived in a desert, having now collected the fifth Dragon Ball.
They had also gained a new companion—Oolong.
With Tang En's help, the trio easily exposed Oolong's tricks to the villagers and obtained the Dragon Ball.
To prevent Oolong from causing more trouble—or rather, because Oolong begged Tang En to take him along—the small team grew by one.
...
"What! You're going to Frypan Mountain? Are you crazy? That's the Ox-King's territory!"When Tang En checked the destination, Oolong happened to see him.
Oolong thought of the fearsome reputation of the Ox-King and immediately trembled in fear, even considering running away.
"Who is this Ox-King? Is he strong?"
Little Goku asked curiously, then pulled out his Power Pole and swung it eagerly, looking excited.
"I really want to fight him."
Oolong ignored Goku's actions, frantically gesturing to emphasize his point, afraid others would dismiss his words.
"That's the Ox-King! The ruler of Frypan Mountain, a notorious bandit!"
Oolong shivered while secretly plotting how to escape these ignorant people.
Little Goku didn't care at all, grinning innocently beside them.
Tang En knew about the Ox-King's role, but what surprised him was that Yamcha, a very important character from the original story's early arcs, hadn't appeared yet.
The desert was vast—they must have taken different paths. It seemed they might miss him, but that wasn't a big problem.
Tang En knew the Ox-King was Turtle Hermit's disciple and would later become Goku's father-in-law. As for combat power, he was definitely stronger than Tang En now, at least over thirty.
Bulma stood nearby, arms crossed, head slightly raised, mocking Oolong:
"You cowardly Oolong! With Tang En and Goku protecting us, why should we fear some Ox-King?"
"You foolish woman! You know nothing of the Ox-King's terror!
Go yourselves if you want! I, the great Oolong, won't accompany you!"
Oolong's face twisted in fear as he prepared to flee—he wanted to live a few more years.
Bulma looked confident. After Oolong left the room, she shouted: "Beep! Beep!"
Sure enough, Oolong soon returned, looking exhausted.
He glared at Bulma and said bitterly, "You horrible woman! What did you do to me?"
"Heh heh, you ate the beep-beep medicine I gave you. If you dare run away again, I'll make sure you keep having diarrhea!"
Bulma looked triumphant while Oolong wore a pained expression, too angry to speak.
He switched targets, desperately trying to convince Tang En about the Ox-King's power and suggesting they take a detour...
But Tang En knew the Ox-King's background and didn't want to engage, so Oolong had to give up.