Uranai Baba's Palace, Outside Arena
"Alright!" Baba called out with a small grin. "The final match! Should my champion surrender, not that that'll happen of course, I will provide you with your divination."
"Well that's new," Gokū said with an inquisitive look, but quickly shrugged it off. "Fine by me. If I make you cry uncle, I win."
"Go get 'em Gokū!" Caulifla cheered.
"Go, Go, Gokū!" Kuririn chanted to add to the moral support.
"Alright, I'm gonna win this!" Gokū announced, confident he would win this fight.
The entirety of the group stood at the edge of the arena where the bridge was met and waited eagerly for the fight to begin. In the ring stood the nameless champion, the odd cat mask obscuring any discernible thoughts or emotions, but politely bowed. Opposite of him stood Son Gokū, eager to fight this strange opponent, but also confused at the same time, given the general theme of the opponents beforehand, this was definitely an oddball. He wrapped his tail around his waist and settled into a comfortable stance.
"Excuse me!" The masked man exclaimed. "What happened to the pre-match greeting?"
"Huh? Oh!" Gokū hummed as it took a moment to register what the enigmatic champion meant. He immediately broke his stance and offered a simple bow, one fist against one palm. "Sorry. Haven't had a formal battle since the Tenka'ichi Budokai."
"I can forgive a minor slip-up," The masked man dismissed.
"For a guy in a mask, he seems a bit uptight on manners," Kuririn commented, watching the exchange, all while Muten Rōshi was stroking his beard, lost in thought.
"Let the match begin!" Baba called out.
Immediately, the two fighters settled into their respective fighting stances and did not move a muscle. Muten Rōshi observed and knew the two fighters were trying to gauge the other's strengths and weaknesses. Seconds ticked into minutes as neither fighter budged.
'Definitely a strange guy,' Gokū thought. 'He's in a different league compared to the competition before him. He knows what he's doing…'
"Make your move!" The masked man commanded.
Gokū quickly complied as he sprang forward, pulling a fist back to deliver a swift punch to the man's mask. Immediately the masked man delivered a swift knife hand jab that Gokū was barely able to duck under, but he quickly rebounded his momentum to deliver an uppercut punch, which was blocked by the masked man's right arm, and braced with the other. Both fighters grunted with equal strain and quickly jumped backwards to gain distance. The masked man was not going to wait and jumped upward in an arc over the boy's head, catching him by surprise. When the man landed behind Gokū, he immediately launched himself forward to deliver a powerful left hook to Gokū's right cheek, sending him flying backwards. Before he could skid across the cracked tiles, he planted his hands onto the ground and vaulted into another charge and delivered a swift kick to the man's jaw, staggering him backwards while Gokū landed a few meters back to gain distance.
Everyone in the spectator wing was left dumbstruck, except for Caulifla, who was watching the fight with awe and pride. Gokū was strong, but this mystery guy with the pension for manners was no pushover.
"You're good!" Gokū complimented with a smirk. "I haven't gotten this excited since the finals at the Budokai!"
"Oh ho!" The masked man laughed. "I assume Jackie Chun gave you the runaround?"
"No, I got him in the semifinals," Gokū answered honestly, but was weirded out about how this guy knew Jackie Chun.
"You beat Jackie Chun in the semifinals?!" The masked man exclaimed with surprise.
"If you want, I'll tell you about it after this fight," Gokū retorted with a challenging smirk, settling into an offensive stance.
"Very well," The masked man sighed as he settled into a stance of his own, before launching himself towards his opponent with near blinding speed, delivering a series of attacks with his fists, most of which Gokū blocked or parried, missing a few and taking the hits. One solid parry allowed the boy to deliver a swift kick to the side of the masked man's head, but before Gokū could redirect the momentum of his attack, the masked man grabbed his foot and heaved the boy into the air and slammed him into the pavement face first, followed up by a swift throw high into the sky.
"I don't like the looks of that," Caulifla muttered as she watched the fight. "Tossing him in the air is one thing, but what's he gonna follow up with?"
The masked man squatted down and sprung himself upwards like a rocket to meet Gokū's altitude. With a deft flip, he pivoted his center of gravity and delivered a massive kick to the boy, sending him downwards well past terminal velocity and crashing into the arena tiles, damaging the floor even further and burying the monkey boy underneath the newly broken rubble.
"Ooh, that must have hurt," The masked man winced audibly as he saw the impact.
Before anyone could say a word on what happened, Gokū shot out of the hole like a bullet from a gun, blasting several broken tiles away in the process. Almost instantly, Gokū returned to the old man's altitude and delivered a swift kick to his torso, sending him flying towards the roof of Uranai Baba's palace. Before he could crash into the roof, the masked man quickly pivoted and landed with his feet, only to springboard off the surface and launch towards Gokū with a kick of his own. Gokū finally landed when he saw this maneuver and quickly stood upright and clenched his body, staring defiantly at the man's incoming kick. With a loud crack, the kick hit home, right at the center of his abdomen and right above where his belt was wrapped, but the boy did not keel over, but instead tanked the attack looking mildly stung.
Everyone in the spectator wing was surprised at how Gokū took that kick without flinching, while the masked man was now sweating from behind the cat face obscuring his own. Meanwhile, Gokū simply snickered with a wild grin.
"You really are strong!" Gokū complimented, settling into another fighting stance. "This really is exciting!"
'Goodness!' The masked man thought. 'What kind of training did he undergo?! He took my kick with little trouble. Always full of surprises, eh? Well let me show you a surprise of my own…'
Slowly and methodically, the masked man gestured his hands around, curling all of his fingers into a clawed position before he brought his wrists together.
"What the-?!" Muten Rōshi exclaimed, immediately recognizing the technique
"Is this guy gonna…?" Yamcha muttered, not believing someone else knew it.
"Kaaaa… Meeee…" The old man chanted as he pulled his arms back and a bright blue star of ki coalesced in his palms.
"You're kidding me!" Kuririn exclaimed, now certain this was the patented Turtle School technique.
"Haaaa… Meeee…"
"Really?!" Gokū exclaimed with pure surprise. "You know the Kamehame-"
"HA!"
The masked man finished Gokū's word with the technique and thrust his hands forward, unleashing a fierce blue beam of ki barreling towards the spiky-haired boy. Gokū's face harshened into a glara as he did not move and the beam seemingly went right through him. The mystery man dissipated the technique and was surprised to see Gokū fade to dust, wearing a cocky smirk, surprising everyone.
"A Zanzoken!" The old man exclaimed, now looking around for his target.
"Yoohoo!~" A distant voice cried out from above, only for it to be Gokū in freefall. "Ya missed!~"
"Ho ho! Now that's surprising!" The masked man chuckled at this development. "Dodging my Kamehameha and leaving an after-image behind all to escape upwards."
'It has to be him!' Muten Rōshi thought, seeing the mystery fighter launch his very own technique. 'It can't be anyone else!'
"And now it's my turn!" Gokū shouted as he dove downwards to attack.
"A fatal mistake taking to the air lad!" The masked man called out, motioning his hands to perform another Kamehameha. "You have little control in freefall, and now I have a clean shot at you again!"
"We'll see about that!" Gokū retorted with a grin, curling his thumb, index, and middle fingers into a claw position and clenching his ring and pinky fingers, and putting his hands to his side. "Kaaaa… Meeee…"
"What?! You know the Kamehameha as well?!" The masked man exclaimed, his technique faltering.
'You're close, but not quite!' Caulifla thought with a smirk. 'Let's see how he does it!'
An unusually red star of ki began to build within Gokū's clawed palms until he thrust it forward.
"BĀSUTO!"
A large red sphere of ki shot towards the masked man with incredible speed, and took him by complete surprise. Before the mystery man could jump out of the way, Gokū swiftly pulled his arms outward and the sphere detonated a few meters above, the wake of the explosion sending him flying backwards. Gokū neatly landed on his feet, but quickly sprung upwards as the masked man landed on his back a few meters away, struggling to get back up. The monkey boy brought out his knee and landed hard on the halo-adorned man's sternum, causing him to gasp for air. Uranai Baba was surprised and distraught that her final champion was brought down so easily while the remaining spectators cheered for his little maneuver. Gokū stood over his opponent, feeling very triumphant.
"So, that was your spin-off move I take it?" Rōshi asked Caulifla, who was grinning proudly, easily answering the hermit's question. "Not bad kiddo."
"So, do you give?" Gokū asked, raising a fist in case the masked man was not done yet. "If not, I'll knock you out cold!"
The masked man simply chuckled as he tried to regain his breath, confusing the boy standing above him. With a quick motion, the masked man gripped the tail wrapped around Gokū's waist and squeezed tightly. The spiky-haired boy let out a strained grunt before losing strength in his body. The masked man got to his feet and swung Gokū down onto the pavement with ease.
"Oh crap!" Caulifla exclaimed. "He's gone for his tail!"
"What do you mean?" Bulma asked, now seeing Gokū tossed around with ease.
"If you squeeze his tail, he gets weak!" Yamcha explained, now worried for his friend's well-being. "It's as if he's figured it out! He really must be a master to spot something like that."
"Careless, weren't you?" The masked man chuckled, holding the boy upside down by his tail. What he did not expect to see, however, was a mild sign of struggle, but nothing too major. "You may as well concede now."
"N-Never…!" Gokū groaned out, only for the masked man to proceed with slamming the boy into the ground.
"Eeeeeheheheheeee! The tables have turned you runt!" Baba cackled with renewed glee, watching the masked man repeatedly slam Gokū into the pavement by his tail. "Should've trained your tail more!"
"He didn't figure it out," Muten Rōshi surmised. "He knew all along."
"What do you mean?" Bulma inquired, now wondering if the old hermit has figured out the mystery fighter.
"At first I was skeptical, but this sealed it," The Kame-Sennin sighed. "The masked man is Gokū's dead grandfather, Son Gohan."
"WHAT?!" The majority of the crowd cried out at this suggestion. Lunch, Upa, Checka, and Gebo were unaware of Gokū's past, and Caulifla was not listening. She was too focused on Gokū's situation, her worry building by the minute.
"Concede already!" The masked man commanded. "If you don't you'll die!"
"STOP!" Caulifla cried out. "You're gonna rip off his tail!"
The masked man was suddenly distracted by this sudden outburst and his grip slackened ever so slightly, but it was enough for Gokū's strength to recover. With a quick motion of his hips and his tail, the boy whipped the old man away and freed his tail. With the remaining momentum, he gingerly wrapped the tail around his waist once more.
"G-Gokū's dead grandfather?!" Kuririn stammered, now in a state of pure disbelief.
"S-Son Gohan?!" Bulma exclaimed. "But I thought he died a long time ago!"
"Well, yes he did," Muten Rōshi nodded. "See the halo floating above his head?"
Back to the fight, Gokū recomposed a fighting stance, gingerly rubbing the base of his tail with how sore it was, while the masked man stood in a manner that looked as if he was caught.
"Rrrrrgh, You were trying to rip off my tail?!" Gokū snarled with newfound fury. "It took eight months for it to grow back last time! Now I'm mad!"
The masked man flinched at this realization but then proceeded to chuckle and fold his arms behind his back.
"Uncle," The masked man said flatly. "I lose."
Gokū was now completely dumbstruck as his stance slackened and the victory slowly sunk in. Baba simply sighed now seeing her final champion called the match and everyone in the sidelines were equal parts confused and elated.
"You've gotten quite strong, Gokū," The masked man said politely. "You've trained well, though lacking in some key areas."
"D-Do I know you from somewhere…?" Gokū asked, even more confused as the man addressed him like he had known him since forever.
"You neglected to train your tail," The masked man pointed at Gokū's waist, which was wrapped by his own tail. "Clever to wrap it around your waist, but I did warn you about it."
"W-wait a minute," Gokū stammered, the epiphany now coming to him. "A-Are you t-trying to tell me-"
"Oh goodness me, how embarrassing," The masked man chuckled as he began to remove the cat mask from his face. "It took you this long to figure it out? That's right, lad. It's me."
The man removed his mask and behind it was a well-aged face with kindness behind his eyes, a thick white mustache atop his upper lip, and a sort of goofy neutral expression that was almost welcoming. Gokū meanwhile stared in awe as he began to smile and tears began to well in his eyes.
"G-Grandpa Gohan…?" The spiky-haired boy croaked out, seeing the man who cared for him when he was so little once more. "Grandpa Gohan!"
Immediately Gokū ran in for a hug, tears of joy running down his face, all while Gohan pleaded for his adoptive grandson to be careful.
"Easy there my boy," Gohan said as he patted the boy's back. "No need to cry."
Over by the spectators, Bulma and Yamcha simply smiled at this development, while Pu'ar broke into tears at this reunion. Kuririn couldn't help but shed a tear at the sight, and Caulifla was no different.
"I'm sorry for almost ripping off your tail, lad," Gohan apologized. "It looked like you hadn't properly trained there, so I thought I'd give a refresher."
"It's fine," Gokū sniffled, wiping the tears from his eyes. "And I'm sorry about the full moon."
"T-The full moon?!" Gohan stammered with surprise. "So, you know…?"
"Yeah," Gokū nodded. "But I'm training to control it! Caulifla helped me figure out that it's possible, and we do it far away to make sure no one gets hurt!"
"Goodness me!" Gohan exclaimed. "I'm impressed lad, though if anything, I should be the one apologizing. I should've told you the truth sooner. In any case, judging by your gi, you've received training from Muten Rōshi?"
Gokū nodded as the older man turned to face the Kame-Sennin with a bow.
"Long time no see, Sensei," Gohan greeted his old teacher. "I do apologize for the disguises, but I wanted it to be a surprise."
"It's fine, Son," Muten Rōshi waved off. "If anything, I wouldn't have figured out it was you if you didn't use my technique."
"That reminds me!" Gokū exclaimed. "When did you come back to life, Grandpa?!"
"Well, technically, I'm still dead," Gohan explained. "Uranai Baba is one who can travel freely between this world and the afterlife, and likes to scout out champions for matches here. The pay is nothing to sneeze at either. However, those she finds are guests back to the living world, and can only stay for 24 hours."
"So, her picking you for this day was total coincidence?!" Bulma inquired, somewhat confused.
"'Total coincidence' she says!" Muten Rōshi scoffed. "I told you that my sister was clairvoyant! She knew we'd be coming today, right?"
"Yup," Baba nodded. "Son Gohan told me to let him know if and when a lad with a tail would show up, but I wasn't expecting his grandson! I also didn't expect a lass with a tail to follow alongside."
"Uh, hello," Caulifla greeted with a small bow, now introducing herself. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Son."
"Well aren't you well-mannered?" Gohan commented on Caulifla's introduction. "So you're the one who's been helping Gokū train to control himself under a full moon?"
"Y-Yeah, that's me," Caulifla answered, feeling unusually nervous around this man. " Of course I also helped bring him up to speed on some schooling and made him an awesome chef."
"Well, I can't thank you enough for that!" Gohan chuckled, earning a small bashful look and blush from the girl. "Though, forgive me if this is asking too much, but if you have a tail, does that mean…"
"Yeah," Caulifla nodded sullenly. "The full moon turns me into an Oozaru as well."
Gohan stroked his mustache, lost in thought. 'Another just like Gokū?' The deceased master thought. 'Perhaps I shouldn't keep any further secrets, though I can only wonder how it'll affect the lad's friend here…'
"Oh, Grandpa!" Gokū exclaimed, racing off. "I've got something to show you!"
Gohan watched as Gokū raced off to the front of Uranai Baba's palace and raced back with a backpack over his shoulder. Carefully he opened the pack and gently spilled six amber jewels onto the ground, each containing a set amount of red stars within, and one of them carrying a familiar number and pattern, which Gokū picked up and held in front of his adoptive grandfather.
"Well now!" Gohan said with a chuckle. "It's been a while since I've seen that little bauble, though I didn't realize there were more!"
"It's a long story, sir," Bulma knowingly added. "That bauble changed Gokū's life forever."
Hours passed as the group recounted the tale of the Dragon Balls, from Gokū's first encounter with Bulma, all the way to Gokū and Caulifla's single-handed crushing of the Red Ribbon Army, bringing them to seek one more so that they may resurrect Upa's father. Gohan was listening to this story with awe and was proud that Gokū made so many new friends along the way.
"This whole time I thought your spirit was stuck inside this one!" Gokū chuckled, holding up the four star Dragon Ball. "Though you being here kinda proves me wrong on that."
"And once we find the last one with one star, Upa's dad will be back among the living!" Kuririn announced, a wide smile on the monk's face. He looked to see Upa somewhat off-put by the idea. "What's the matter?"
"Well," Upa began. "Gokū's grandfather is dead. To just revive my dad just seems unfair."
"Oh, don't worry about little old me!" Gohan dismissed with a hearty laugh. "I've lived a good long life, and the afterlife has plenty to keep me occupied. Your father still has much life to live, so using such a wish on me would be wasteful."
"T-Thank you sir!" Upa thanked with a gleeful bow.
"Now Gokū," Gohan said to the boy. "Can I pull you and Caulifla over for a moment?"
"Uh, sure," Gokū hesitantly nodded, while Caulifla reluctantly shrugged. The three walked to the far side of the arena and the deceased master turned to face the two monkey children.
"You're not gonna marry us together, are you?!" Caulifla quickly inquired, her face turning red and nervous beads of sweat immediately rolling down her face.
"Wha-? No, silly!" Gohan dismissed with a chuckle before turning serious again. "It's just that since Gokū had found someone like himself, I wouldn't feel right taking any more secrets about him to my grave."
"What do you mean?" Gokū asked, now giving his adoptive grandfather his full attention.
"Well, you remember the bamboo grove back home?" Gokan asked, kneeling down and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "The one I said was hallowed?"
"Yeah?" Gokū nodded, wondering where he was going with this.
"Well, at the entrance is a journal I've written down telling of your past before you hit your head all those years ago."
Gokū instinctively reached for the back of his head where he usually scratches, meanwhile Caulifla looked at her friend with surprise.
"You hit your head when you were little?!" The girl exclaimed.
"He did," Gohan answered before turning his attention back to Gokū. "And in that journal details everything I know about you before that point. Deeper in the grove is where you'll find where I found you, and you may find answers to questions even I couldn't begin to answer. I planned to go with you and show you eventually, but…"
Gohan pointed to the halo above his head and then turned his attention to Caulifla. "Now, the reason I'm telling you this as well Lass, is because if you're just like Gokū, this may be a revelation to you as well."
"Oookay?" Caulifla nodded, not sure what the old man was getting at.
"Well, I only hope you two are ready for such a trek," Gohan finished with a ruffle of their heads. The trio walked back over to the main group where Baba had hopped off her crystal ball for the first time since meeting her, and she had it floating in front of her.
"Well, I'm a crone of my word," Baba sighed. "I'll divine this Dragon Ball for you."
"Before that, may I say my good-byes?" Gohan requested, to which Baba nodded. Gohan turned to Gokū. "I'm glad to see you again lad. I'm also glad we've cleared this up."
"Couldn't agree more!" Gokū nodded with renewed vigor.
"I'm glad to see you're as spry as ever. Well, for someone who's dead anyways," Muten Rōshi commented, earning a hearty chuckle from Gohan.
"Likewise, Sensei," Gohan nodded. "If you see him again, tell Gyūmaō I said hello." Gohan then turned to Uranai Baba with a bow. "Thank you very much Madame for this opportunity. Truly."
"Sure," Baba responded. "Take care!"
"Well, I'll be seeing you all one day!" Gohan said with one last good-bye. "Take care, everyone."
With that, Son Gohan vanished from the spot, returning to the afterlife once more, and more at peace than when he had begun.
"Good-bye, Grandpa Gohan," Gokū said. "I'll make sure to toughen up my tail from here on out and continue to get stronger!"
"Sheesh, if you get any stronger, I'll be out of work," Rōshi muttered.
"What work?" Baba retorted with a small snicker, causing her younger brother to grumble with indignation. "Well, you want me to divine the location of the last Dragon Ball, right?"
Everyone nodded.
"Alright, lemme work my magic," Baba sighed. She held her hands up to the crystal ball and began reciting an incantation that was more like gibberish to the layman's observer. Whatever it was, it worked, and the crystal ball began to glow. Baba proceeded to observe as the image within became clear. "It's moving?"
"Moving?" Gokū asked.
"See for yourself!" Baba beckoned as she pointed to the crystal ball. "The Dragon Ball you're looking for is in an old car! See?!"
Sure enough, within the crystal ball was a moving black Mercedes-Benz driving down a desert road. Gokū tried to make out who was in the car, but couldn't due to how tinted the windows were.
"That's weird," Bulma groaned as she clicked the Dragon Radar several times. "Why isn't it showing up on my radar?"
"Where is it?!" Gokū impatiently asked. "Where's it going?!"
"It's over thattaway," Baba answered with a finger point in the right direction. "About... 200 kilometers away, and coming this way."
"Thank you Baba!" Gokū thanked as he began to bounce with newfound glee. "KINTO'UN!"
Immediately the somersault cloud descended to greet its master, surprising Baba in the process.
"You wanna come with, Caulifla?" Gokū asked as he hopped onto the yellow cloud.
"I don't see why not," Caulifla eagerly answered, clamoring onto the cloud. "Someone's gonna do the talking if these guys aren't too bad."
"Well welcome aboard!" Gokū nodded. "Alright Kinto'un! Go thattaway!"
The yellow cloud complied to Gokū's command and zoomed off in the direction of the last Dragon Ball, leaving Baba and the others behind.
"So those two squirts can ride a Kinto'un," Baba muttered. "They definitely have a leg up on you bro."
"Oh shut up," Rōshi grumbled.
"It still doesn't make sense," Bulma muttered. "If it's in a car, why can't we track it with my radar?"
"Well, at least there's no traffic for miles," Yamcha sighed. "They should be back soon. Though I can't shake this feeling..."
"You think something bad's gonna happen?" Pu'ar inquired.
"No, not bad, but… weird…"
200 Kilometers Away, 2 Hour Earlier
A small console with a tall satellite dish connected to it displayed an unforgiving battle between Son Gokū and the masked man. The boy was weakened as his tail was held tight by the older fighter. Huddled around this console was an odd assortment of people. A tall beautiful woman in a long trench coat and straight raven-black hair, this was Mai. A short fox man in what can be described as a ninja's gi, complete with katana and scabbard slung over his shoulder, that was Shu. And a blue goblin-like creature with dapper clothing that made him look more like a clown than royalty, was none other than the self-proclaimed emperor of the world, Pilaf, and he was cackling madly.
"YES!" Pilaf cheered in between cackles. "That brat's weak spot is his tail!"
"Good thing we had that satellite up in orbit, sir," The woman known as Mai commented.
"When we found out that monster brat was looking for the Dragon Balls again, I nearly gave up, but God has not abandoned me!"
"That box I put together works like a charm!" Shu snickered. "No radar on Earth will be able to detect it while it's in there!"
"And with the 6 Dragon Balls that little monkey brat has, we'll have all 7 in no time!" Pilaf squealed with glee. "Why was I even scared of that little kid?! At long last, Emperor Pilaf will reign supreme over the world! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!... Laugh with me!"
"Uh, Muahahahaha!...!" Mai and Shu half-heartedly laughed alongside their impish master.
"Now let's go steal some Dragon Balls!" Pilaf cheered as the other two packed away the equipment into an old black Mercedes-Benz, with Mai at the wheel, Pilaf riding shotgun, and Shu in the back. With that, they were off, world domination within their grasp!
...It's not happening.
A/N: HOOOOO SCHITT! What could possibly be hidden within the hallowed bamboo grove at Mount Paozu?!~ This was a fun chapter to write. The fight was fun, the closure was fun, and what's this?! More secrets?! (I need to calm the fuq down.) But yeah, Goku be keeping his tail instead of having it snap off AGAIN. Also, the Pilaf Crew! I'm gonna have so much fun tormenting those Team Rocket oafs in the next chapter. Anyways, I hope this was a fun read, and do leave a review sharing your thoughts. :)