Duel of the Dragon, Part 3: The Race is On

See? Told you we'd eventually come back to continue this story! Just because we have a new adaptation going doesn't mean we love the first one any less.

It'll just take a while longer to adapt this one, is all.

After recuperating the money they had lost thanks to Ryoga's reckless spending, the quartet said their goodbyes to the hot springs staff before setting off once again on their journey.

Eventually, they came to a farm where they had to ask for directions. Of course, the person they asked didn't exactly help very much.

"Eh…?" called the old man.

"Like I just said!" Ryoga angrily yelled.

"HAVE YOU SEEN THESE THREE WEIRDOS?!" Ranko called, pointing to the picture she'd drawn of Herb and her cronies.

"Eeeeeeh?"

"Did they go past here?" asked Ryoga. "Which way did they go?!"

"Ohhhh!" the old timer exclaimed when he saw the drawing up close. "I tried to stop 'em, I did. Told 'em never to go to that 'Treasure Mountain'."

"Treasure Mountain, then?" Kenma asked. "Hey, that's just the place we were looking for!"

"Well, you better look somewhere else," the old man responded. "It's stuffed to the gills with terrible, menacing monsters…not a single person who went there has ever come back alive…"

"In that case, we'll just have to be the first," declared Ranko.

"Easier said than done, youngster," the old man responded as the quartet took off to continue their quest.

Eventually, the group came to a rope bridge that led to Mount Horai…but it dangled over a deep ravine!

Somewhere on this mountain is the key to ME regainin' my manhood! thought Ranko. "Let's haul ass, boys!" she called.

"Right!" called the others, as they all ventured across the bridge. But as they went across, they saw an enormous mountain ahead of them.

"Surely they didn't…" Mousse began.

"...climb?" finished Ryoga.

Pulling some binoculars out of his pocket, Kenma looked over and saw the Musk Dynasty hopping up the side of the mountain.

"Looks to me like they did," he responded.

Further up the mountain, Herb and her subordinates arrived.

"Hm?" Mint exclaimed as his ear twitched. "Master Herb, it seems as though we're being followed by Saotome and his friends."

"Hmph! They are of no concern to us," scoffed Herb. "Our only focus is liberating the kettle from the bowels of the mountain. We can play with our pursuers at our leisure."

But as they ventured further towards the nearby woods, they found themselves surrounded by beady eyes that gleamed from within the trees.

"Oy, didn't the old bloke who showed us the way mention monsters?" asked Lime as his heart began to pound.

"I believe the word was mentioned once or twice," responded Mint.

Lime discarded his backpack as the three warriors prepared for battle…

At that very moment, our merry little band was continuing on their way up the mountain. Of course, it was quite the climb, to say the least.

"Hurry it up, why don't ya?" Ranko called.

"Curse it all…this is taking forever!" Ryoga fumed, readying a finger. "So how about I speed things up!"

"WAIT, NO!" Kenma screamed.

"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" Ryoga screamed, driving his finger into the mountainside—and blowing off a chunk of it.

"Idiot!" shouted Ranko. "Are you trying to blow us off the mountain, too? What good is blasting rocks here?!"

"...I think I'd be safer on the cloud," Kenma said.

Meanwhile, on the top of the mountainside...

Herb and her group were fighting back against the supposed "monsters".

Mint swung at them with his sword while Lime swatted them away with a tree…but, upon closer inspection, they were revealed to be a bunch of mountain-dwelling monkeys.

"Hah! So these are the 'terrible monsters' we were warned about…" Herb sneered with contempt.

As the monkeys got ready for another attack, they were overwhelmed within seconds by the combined battle auras of the Musk Dynasty's warriors. As if on instinct, they knew that a fight against these three was not a fight that they could win.

Immediately, they turned tail and ran. Herb warmed up a power blast and shot at some of the monkeys, sending them scattering as they shrieked.

"Master Herb, they were already retreating," insisted Mint.

"You think I care?" scoffed Herb. "I loathe monkeys. Just looking at them fills me with rage!"

And so on she went, while her subordinates followed.

Back at the mountainside, about an hour later, Ranko and the others completed their climb and pulled themselves up, puffing and panting.

"Oh…g-good…" wheezed Mousse. "We made it…"

"Finally…" said Ranko as she clawed at the ground, dragging herself forward. Suddenly, she shot up. "...hang on. I sense danger."

Once more, the monkeys emerged from the trees. Unlike what happened before, they could see some very non-threatening auras. And as a result, the simians were…not as intimidated as they had previously been.

Immediately, they all sprang from their perches and attacked the group in a furry frenzy.

"Take that, ya funky monkey!" Ranko exclaimed as she punched one in the face, only to get her face scratched by one of them. "Ouch! Oh, that's it!" She then proceeded to bite the same one who scratched her on the tail, causing it to screech out in pain.

Kenma stood nearby, shaking his head. "Well, this is getting us nowhere," he remarked before he took out his canteen and dumped water on his head. "Time to put a stop to it!"

Once he was transformed, he let out a screech to get everyone's attention.

The dust cloud cleared, showing all the monkeys and the humans in a pretzel of pummeling, with several people having limbs between their teeth.

"You! Little hairy dudes!" Kenma said. "Cop a squat, and listen to our tale of woe!"

Intrigued, the primates chose to cease their assault and listen in. After all…he did look like a monkey.

Clearing his throat, Kenma began telling his story…in great detail, recapping the events that had led them to this point, but entirely in monkey speak and via acting out everything that had happened so far.

[Think of the scene with Sid and the Hyraxes from "Ice Age 4"!]

Meanwhile, Lime had set up the Pot of Preservation and the Ladle of Locking to act like a divining rod…but so far, nothing had come of his efforts.

"No reaction from here," he said.

Herb pursed her lips. "...I see…"

Just then, Mint came down from a nearby cave. "Master Herb, your bed is ready!" he called.

"Good," Herb nodded. "Now, go with Lime and continue your search for the pail. I require my rest, so that I may save my power."

Paprika squawked in approval.

Just when Herb was about to doze off, she heard a faint slapping noise from nearby. She tried to cover her ears to shut it out, but that just made it uncomfortable.

"...whoever's making that slapping sound, be quiet!" she demanded.

"Apologies, Master!" Mint spoke up.

"We were just…gettin' some reading done." Lime explained.

"Well, turn the pages quieter!" Herb hissed as she had Paprika put some earmuffs onto her ears.

"Of course, Master!" the duo replied, before they returned to their newly acquired reading materials.

Back with the group, Kenma had finished recounting his tale to the monkeys, who were surprisingly still listening.

The primates paused for a bit before talking amongst themselves in their own language. Ranko, Mousse and Ryoga looked over, curious as to what would happen next.

Finally, the huddle ceased and the lead monkey shook hands with Kenma.

"Awesome!" Kenma beamed. "Well, guys, looks like we have some new friends!"

Befriending a bunch of monkeys. Odd, yet pleasant...Ranko thought to herself while one of the monkeys was picking bugs out of her hair.

"As great as that is, we still have one problem," said Ryoga. "We still have no idea where those guys are!"

"Shows what you know!" Kenma replied. "I still got that map recreation I did!"

"Right, then!" called Mint's voice. "Now that we've handled our more carnal desires, we can start looking for the kettle!"

"If we find the pot, maybe we'll get a reward!" Lime responded. "Oooh, I hope it's somethin' nice!"

Quickly, the quartet went to some nearby bushes and spotted them. Now, Ranko and Kenma were excited because they saw their targets.

But Ryoga had something different in mind. That thing in their hands…it's what will allow me to remain in human form—the Pail of Preservation!

And thus, he struck without warning. A swift elbow-drop to the neck was all it took to send Ranko down for the count.

"Take a break for a while, Ranma," he sneered. "I don't need any interference."

"Bummer for you," said Kenma. "Because you'll receive PLENTY!"

"And that's 3!" Mousse said as he drew a pair of tekko-kagi claws.

"What? You think I can't handle both of you at the same time?" snapped Ryoga.

"Sure, you've fought us each at different times," said Kenma. "But what if we double-team you?" he added a wink to the readers.

"I'm not gonna be as merciful as I was to your brother!" the lost boy warned as he assumed his fighting stance.

"If this is your idea of mercy, I'd hate to see what you consider brutality!" Kenma cracked his knuckles as he took a defensive stance. "Let's go, pork rind!"

"You first, banana slammer!" Ryoga shot back.

"Fine, then!" Kenma exclaimed as he sprang from his spot, fists at the ready. By now, Lime and Mint had overheard the noises and went over to see what the big fuss was.

"Hold on, Mint." Lime paused in his tracks. "Ain't those fellas we fought back in Nerima?"

"So it would appear." Mint confirmed upon further inspection. "I suppose we have fate to thank for this chance encounter. Or just pure coincidence."

"Either way, I'm itchin' for a good scrap!" Lime grinned as he boxed his fists together.

"As am I," admitted Mint. "Let us go and satiate our appetites."

Meanwhile, Kenma and Mousse were still locked in combat against Ryoga.

"You think you can take me on?" snorted Ryoga. "There's a reason Ranma is my rival, monkey boy—he's better than you!"

"Maybe in fighting, but he's not exactly good at other such things," Kenma shrugged as he dodged a punch.

"Oh, what? Because you have those powers from your curse, you think it makes you any better?" Ryoga sneered as he delivered another punch. "It's a cheat. You don't deserve any of it!"

"Well, the style is called 'Anything-Goes'!" Kenma exclaimed as he grabbed Ryoga by the fist, and pulled him over. "Also, you don't have any room to call me a cheat, Mister 'I'm-Akane's-cute-widdle-pet-piggy'! At least I'm honest with who I am."

He then elbowed Ryoga in the stomach. "When you…"

WHOOM!

"...stop being…"

WHOOM!

"...a chickenshit…"

WHOOM!

"…and tell Akane the truth…"

WHOOM!

"...instead of trying to worm your way out…"

WHOOM!

"...THEN you get to judge me!"

Ryoga was launched into the air with a strong kick to the chin, before being ensnared by Mousse's Manriki chain and thrown into a nearby wall.

"How's that for a cheap magic trick?" the bespectacled boy taunted.

"So that's how it is, then…" Ryoga remarked. "...okay, my turn."

Taking a deep breath, Ryoga concentrated before he let out a shout that caused him to break through the chains. But before he could continue his assault…

"Well, hang on, don't stop on OUR account."

"Yeah, yeah! Keep it up, pour it on!"

"YOU!" the lost boy shouted at the sight of Lime.

"Uhhh…yeah. Me!" the bigger man said nonchalantly.

Enraged, Ryoga turned to Kenma and Mousse. "You guys get a free pass, for now. I got a score to settle with the big one."

Lime tilted his head. "Eh…sorry, chap, 'ave we met before?" he asked.

Ryoga's face went from cocky, to blank, and then to outright anger. "You mean you forgot about how you humiliated me a week ago?!" he sputtered.

Lime shrugged. "I fight lots of blokes," he replied. "I don't keep track of them."

"And you, Mr. Fox!" Mousse called out to Mint. "Don't think I forgot about how you caught me off guard with a cheap shot!"

"If you want a fight, you'll have one," shrugged Mint.

"You're not gonna get one on me this time!" Ryoga exclaimed.

"Talk, as they say, is cheap," Mint responded.

"Hey, if you're gonna fight, I want in!" Mousse exclaimed. "Guess I'll take the big guy!"

"In that case, have fun," said Kenma as he stepped aside. "I'll see if Ranma's alright."

"Right!" Mousse answered before engaging his opponent.

And so, another confrontation was about to begin.