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For the record, he should have picked his words better. Well, could you blame him? He just wanted to know more about the dragon so he could fight it as soon as possible. So what if that lady laughed at him before giving him what he wanted first. Okay, sure everyone else laughed at him too, but he got what he needed, and that's all mattered to him.

"Now where could that castle be…" Goku mumbled to himself once he was up in the air on Flying Nimbus. According to that lady, the castle was around here somewhere. The Ox King should be here too, seeing as he was apparently desperate to save his kid from the tower because she's stuck up there for so long.

His nose picked up an odd scent, almost like something was on fire. Wait.. didn't they say that there was a palace on fire? That the dragon was there guarding something or whatever? He looked around once more, spotting the a trail of gray smoke coming from the north. That must be where the fire is then! And if there's a fire, there must be something burning, and with something burning, the dragon must be there!

"Let's go there Flying Nimbus!" he pointed towards the gray smoke. Heeding him, Flying Nimbus pushed faster and flew towards where he wanted, whipping his hair back as he felt his lips curl into an excited grin.

He caught a glimpse of a group of people just standing by the end of the fire, and as he ordered Flying Nimbus to get closer to them, one of the men, the largest one with a weird helmet and goggles on, tried to get closer but the fire only pushed him back as the smaller people pulled him back from the flames.

When he landed, his tail immediately wrapped around his waist as he observed the people were still standing in front of the roaring flames. Goku observed them quietly as they talked amongst themselves. The large man with the weird helmet was shouting at the other people, many of them flinching from his harsh voice.

Goku choose this time make his presence known.

"Hey!" he shouted over the fire and the man's voice. Everyone stopped and looked at him, some even choose to gawk. Who was this man to address them, their king most especially with so casually?

"Do you guys know where the dragon is?" Goku asked, a grin on his face, unfazed by the glare that was directed to him by the large man before him.

"And why do you want to know?" the man asked him with narrowed eyes

"'Cause I'm going to defeat it!" Goku answered simply, as if it was most obvious thing in the world.

He knew that if there wasn't a helmet and some weird goggles covering the person's face, Goku would have been met with a skeptical expression on their face.

"What makes you think you can defeat the fearsome dragon?" the man questioned. "Even me, the Great Ox King can't lay a hand on it."

"Well, then you're probably not trying hard enough?" Goku suggested, scratching the back of his head. He hadn't seen any of the dragon before, but he was sure that it wasn't that hard to get a hit on the dragon, right?

"Why you- who do you think you are?" The Ox King spluttered. "Who are you to insinuate that I'm weak!"

"I didn't say you were weak," Goku denied. He was sure that he didn't say anything like that. He was just suggesting what they might be doing wrong. Besides, what does insinuate even mean? "And I'm Son Goku!" he added with a cheeky grin.

Ox King looked at him with mouth opened loosely, unsure of what to make of this man before them. He could tell that the he was sincere when this guy said that he didn't think he was weak, but the gall he had to declare that he was going to beat the mighty dragon was baffling, as if he was so confident he could beat it.

Some of the men of the Ox King shared the same looks as their leader, bewildered by his confident statement. Even their king couldn't touch it, what makes this guy think he could kill it? And what kind of name was Son Goku anyway?

Suddenly one of the men widened his eyes in recognition.

"S-son G-goku? As in the Monkey Warrior?" spluttered. Everyone looked at him in confusion. Monkey Warrior? What kind of name was that?

"The one who annihilated the Red Ribbon Army, stopped Emperor Pilaf from conquering the world, and defeated King Piccolo?"

W-what? How could he do that? The Red Ribbon Army was such a strong army the Ox Kingdom's own army wouldn't be able to handle them if they ever invaded. Was he the reason why they never were? And Emperor Pilaf was a powerful man, how in the world did he manage to stop him? And King Piccolo? One of the strongest men in the world? Even the Ox King wouldn't dare raise a hand against him.

They turned back towards the mysterious man who all of sudden produced an ear splitting grin as he put his hands on his hips as the brown belt around him unraveled and began to sway on its on.

Oh my god he has a tail.

"Yup!" Goku confirmed with a laugh. "That's me alright." Then he began to scratch his cheek. "Man, it's always so weird hearing people talk about those things. I just did them because it was the right thing to do."

So it was true…

As the people continued to marvel at the Monkey Warrior, the Ox King inspected the young man more closely behind his goggles. Supposing that he was telling the truth, that he did all of those unbelievable things, that he was so powerful he defeated even the vile King Piccolo, did this mean that he could defeat the mighty dragon? That he could save his precious Chichi?

"Oi kid," the Ox King spoke. Goku turned to face the ruler, blinking as step closer to him.

"If you really did defeat them, then I guess I'll let you face the dragon."

Goku's face lit up. Finally! He's been itching to clobber the dragon any time soon. Where was it anyway?

"But!" the Ox King said loudly. "You gotta save my baby girl first."

Goku tilted his face to the side. Baby girl? Oh right, didn't the people say his daughter was stuck there somewhere?

"See that tower," the King pointed at the highest tower ways away them. "Chichi's been up there for three years. Normally, I'd assume the worst, but for the past years we see her looking out of the window, healthy as can be. I don't know how that works or what she's even eating, but she's alive and that's all I care about."

The men around all nodded, concern etched on their faces. Goku guessed that they must like her to care for her like that. From all the other kingdom's he's been too, most of the warriors didn't like their princesses. Aside from Upa (who wasn't really a princess but her dad was the chief so she's kinda one), those princesses were usually resented by the kingdom's people because of apparently the ruling family's lifestyle. Apparently this one was different.

"So yeah, kid, just save Chichi first then you can beat the dragon," the Ox King repeated.

Goku knitted his eyebrows together. "Wouldn't it be better if I killed the dragon first?"

"NO," the King said sternly. "My daughter comes first, boy. It's been years since I last held my little girl. You will save her first before anything." Suddenly, his mouth twisted into a sly grin. "If ya want. I'll even give you her hand in marriage."

What?

The men suddenly began to panic.

"A-again your majesty? Are you sure? I know you only offered it at first to motivate the other warriors but what if he did manage to-

"Then he deserves it!" the Ox King bellowed loudly. "Besides, my Chichi only deserves the best, and who else would it be than the one who saved her. I'm sure she'll be fine with this marriage."

Goku became even more confused. What in the heck are they talking about?

"It's okay," Goku said to him. "I don't want any of this marriage thing. I just want to fight the dragon."

The Ox King once again looked at him with an open mouth. What kind of boy didn't jump at the opportunity of marrying a girl, a princess at that?

"Unless you know, I can eat it," Goku added with a sheepish grin.

The king could only stare dumbly at the warrior, trying to process if this boy was actually serious. Something he could eat- Was he really picking food over a beautiful princess like his daughter? Food?!

Ah, whatever. As long as Chichi was back with him safe and sound. And if Goku still wanted to marry Chichi, that's okay too.

"Whatever you say kid, just save my daughter from that blasted tower," the Ox King shrugged.

Goku was about to reply, but he was suddenly interrupted by a loud roar. They turned towards the direction where it came from, directly from where the tower was situated. Slowly the very being that Goku was searching for emerged from behind the tower.

The dragon stretched out its long body, green and blue scales glinting from the flames. Sharp talons protruded from its fingers, and he was sure that it could kill him easily if he took a wrong move. It's golden eyes looked around the area, roaring once more as it coiled itself around the Tower.

Goku could his blood rushing madly through his body. His heart beat faster with all the adrenaline starting to build up in him. His whole body was itching to move and fight this beast. He felt his lips curl into an excited grin. This was going to be so good.

"Damn it's awake," the Ox King swore under his breath. "I didn't think it was already that late in the morning. And we still don't know how to get up there." As if suddenly realizing something, he quickly turned to Goku with a question. "By the way boy, how are you gonna get up there. We've been trying to figure something out, and still after three years we got nothing."

Goku, as a reply, only grinned wider. "You'll see," he answered before he turned around and cupped his hands around his mouth, leaving the Ox King and his men with confused expressions on their faces.

What in the world was this man doing now? The more he spent time with them, the more he gets weirder and weirder.

Taking a deep breath, Goku opened his mouth and shouted, "Flying Nimbus!"

They all waited with bated breaths, anxious to see what this "Flying Nimbus" thing would be. Was it a secret weapon? An item to defeat the dragon? A magical spell that would help him against the hot fires of the burning castle?

The Ox King seemed to have recognized the name though.

They waited a few moments more, eager to see what it could be. But, after waiting some more, nothing seemed to appear. They all looked at each other in confusion. Was this man serious at all? Defeating the dragon and saving the princess weren't joking matters to them.

Suddenly, they heard a weird faint noise growing louder and louder, as if it was getting closer. They tried to search where it came from, but they couldn't seem to find what was making the noise.

Until something passed them before stopping in front of the Monkey Warrior.

"There you are Flying Nimbus!" Goku patted what seemed to be a yellow cloud that hovered too closely to the ground. W-what was that? They knew magic existed in the world, but they've never

Without waiting another second, Goku immediately jumped on the cloud, surprising all of them when he didn't pass through it at all.

"So I just gotta save the princess in that tower right?" he asked as he turned to face them, their mouths slack in awe. "Then you'll let me defeat the dragon?"

The Ox King, realizing that Goku was talking to him, shook his head out of his trance and nodded shakily. "Y-yeah," he confirmed. "Bring me my daughter first, then after you can do whatever you what with that pesky dragon."

"All right!" Goku cheered. He couldn't wait to beat this dragon.

"Be careful though," the Ox King cautioned before Goku could do anything. "With the dragon awake, it'll be much harder to reach the tower. It guards it thoroughly, especially when it's awake, and it'll kill anything that gets close."

Goku only snickered and rubbed his nose with his hand.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," he assured them. "Besides, it's not fun if it's not trying to kill me."

All of them, once again, couldn't do anything but stare at him with baffled looks.

This man was crazy.

"I'll bring back your daughter safe and sound!" Goku called out as he left them, flying on his yellow cloud towards the burning embers of the castle and the roar of the dragon.

Hopefully, he would come back alive with their Princess.