After several days of travel on land, Kakarot ran out of food. Unfortunately, only rabbits roamed those lands. With so little meat on them, he'd need at least a hundred; it wasn't worth the effort of catching, skinning, and cooking them. So he gritted his teeth and pressed on in search of a region with larger prey when one presented itself before him.

A huge brown bear walking on two legs blocked his way. He had a red mohawk and a scar over a dead white eye. He wore strange armor and drew a large sword, which he pointed at Kakarot's face. "Give me everything you have, boy, or I'll have to eat you instead."

Kakarot swallowed the saliva gathering in his mouth and calculated how many days all that meat could feed him; three or four, at least.

The bear took his silence for fear. "Did you know that children are my second favorite food? Right behind sea turtles." The bear let out a haughty laugh and licked his snout with a wide tongue.

Kakarot smirked. "What a coincidence, mine is roasted bear."

The talking animal roared and lunged at him, but the great sword sliced only the air. His movements were slow; he would do better with a lighter sword. Kakarot dodged several slashes.

"You're a quick, little monkey, I'll give you that," growled the bandit.

"Quicker than a dead bear."

The bear wielded the sword with both claws and unleashed it on him from above. Kakarot side-stepped it and jumped up to his head. He broke his neck with an accurate chop, like killing a vulgar rabbit. The large animal fell and the ground trembled for a moment.

Kakarot turned the bear on its back and dragged it to a nearby stream. Using the great sword he bled the bear, as Son Gohan had taught him, and the waters turned red. He undressed and skinned the animal; it would make a good blanket. He hung the pelt on some branches to let it dry in the sun.

He gutted and chopped the bear into several pieces and put those over as many fires. While washing his hands in the river, he noticed that the leaves of the trees there were too small to wrap all the meat. He would have to eat it all in one sitting. He smiled; there were worse problems to have.

Dusk found him gnawing on the bear's bones to get to the marrow. It would be a cold night, but he wrapped himself in its soft new blanket. At dawn, he rolled the bear's skin and resumed the march north.

Several days later and after feasting on a pteranodon that tried to eat him first, he finally arrived at Son Gohan's home. Nature had begun to reclaim the small hut after almost two years of neglect. He dug up the Dragon Ball as fast as he could, but with great care. He would not disturb the Earthling's resting place.

After covering the hole again, he took one last look at the ground. The noise of an engine brought him back to reality, and he turned to face the origin of the sound. A small car approached and stopped at a safe distance in front of him.

A young girl with purple hair pulled back in a braid came out. She wore a yellow dress , a leather belt at her waist, and one of those Earthling weapons, a pistol. The girl raised her hands and showed them to him as a sign of peace. She walked toward him. "Hi, my name is Bulma. I've been looking for..." She stopped at once and pointed at him. "That!" She ran up to him and tried to grab the Turtle Hermit's Dragon Ball, which he still carried around his neck.

Kakarot pulled her hand away. "Were you never taught not to touch other people's things?"

She kept her gaze fixed on the sphere, a big smile on her face. "Relax, I just wanted to have a closer look. Yes, three stars. Where's the other one?"

Kakarot frowned. How the hell did she know he had another one?

Bulma let out a long sigh. "I'm going to have to tell you the whole story..." The girl opened the bag on her belt and took out two Dragon Balls. "I found this in my house's basement," she said, lifting the two-star ball, and then showed him the five-star one. "And this one in the North Valley."

She told him about the legend of the Dragon Balls. Kakarot listened with feigned interest since he already knew all that. The girl wouldn't stop yapping. "At first, I thought about asking for a lifetime supply of strawberries, which are my favorite food in the whole world, but then I thought, "You're rich, dummy, you can just buy them whenever you want", so I decided to wish for a super-cute boyfriend, those are much harder to come by, even for a pretty little thing like me..." She kept drilling his ears for minutes on end. Finally, she quieted down. "So... Will you give me your Dragon Balls?"

"No. Why would I give you anything?"

She took a couple steps back and gave him a weird look. "Oh, I get it. You naughty boy," she said in a slow playful tone. "You want something in exchange. You know, you give me something, I give you something..."

What the hell was she on about? All that talking and she still hadn't said how she knew he had two Dragon Balls.

She turned her back on him, lifted up her skirt with a devious smile, and swayed her hips slowly. "But just one quick little peek."

"Why would I want to see your dirty butt?"

She lowered her skirt suddenly and faced him, all red. "My butt is not dirty! Alright, kid, you drive a hard bargain. I'll pay you for them." She looked around. "No offense, but you could use some stuff, this place is kinda depressing. So, do you want cash or capsules?"

"None, they're not for sale."

She started pacing back and forth, mumbling to herself, then stopped. She unholstered her pistol and pointed it at him. "I'm sorry kid, but I really need those Dragon Balls. So give them to me."

"No."

"But I'm pointing a gun at you..."

"So?"

A droplet of sweat ran down her cheek. She closed her eyes, lifted the gun, and fired three shots. Kakarot reached up with his hand and grabbed the bullets; it stung a little.

She opened her eyes."What the...?!"

Kakarot lunged forward and swatted the gun away from her hand. She tried to run, but he got hold of her wrist and pulled her down to her knees, so they were face to face. "How the hell did you know I have two dragon balls?"

There was fear in her blue eyes now."Okay, okay, okay. I made a radar that detects the electromagnetic radiation the balls emit." She took a white round device from a pounch on her belt and showed it to him. She pressed the button on top and the dark screen came to life, showing four golden dots close together and three others, much farther.

Kakarot took the radar and toggled with it. "That's amazing." He had planned on making a journey around the world to become stronger, asking around for more Dragon Balls, but if this thing worked, he could blaze through to his wish.

"I know, right? I'm not just a pretty face, you know. So don't hurt me, please."

Kakarot let go of her and paced around, making sure he could use the radar. He zoomed in on the nearest signal and the device showed him the distance to it, some 1,200 kilometers to the west."Thank you, Bulma. This thing will be very helpful."

He turned to face her, but she had run to her gun and was again pointing it at him. This time she didn't hesitate, and fired until the pistol ran out of bullets. Kakarot got out of the way of fire by dashing behind the Earthling girl.

He hadn't planned to kill her, but she was willing to kill him, and most important, had created the radar. If he let her live, she could make another and become a nuisance. Kakarot broke her thin pale neck and she fell to the ground. That would shut her up.

He looked inside her car in search of anything useful and found a backpack, in which he stored the Dragon Balls. He also took Bulma's belt, tied it around his waist, and secured the radar in the belt's pouch. It was now his most precious item, he would rather have it on him at all times. With everything ready and four Dragon Balls, he headed west.

He trekked through the brush until he found a dirt road. On his way, he saw some villages but passed them by. At nightfall, he went into the forest to hunt his dinner, but he always went to sleep slightly hungry. He missed the plentiful rivers of Mount Paozu.

Days later, he arrived at the Dragon Ball's location: a village of about a hundred houses. There were vehicles in the middle of the stone cobbled streets and the smell of people lingered in the air. Still, there was nobody to be seen.

He took out the radar and zoomed in on his position, but the ball was too close to discern an exact location. Kakarot knocked on the door of the nearest house, which read 'Sherman the Shaman', and heard quiet voices inside. "I know there are people inside. Come out."

Again, no response. If they didn't want to open, he'd have to go in. He yanked the doorknob and the door opened. A figure rushed from the inside with an axe in its hand. Kakarot grabbed the weapon by the blade, and the man who had wielded it let go of it and ran back inside.

Kakarot came in and flipped the light switch on. The man, bald at the top of his head and with a thick black mustache, protected a girl at the opposite end of the house. "Forgive me, Lord Oolong," the man said bringing his hands together, as in prayer. "I'll give whatever you ask of me: food, money, even this house. But, please, spare my daughter."

"What? Why would I want your daughter for? And what did you just call me?"

The man seemed to relax a little. "You mean you are not him? Lord Oolong?"

"No."

More Earthlings emerged from the nearby houses, glad that Kakarot was not this Oolong. The whole village gathered around the house.

The man, Sherman the Shaman, he assumed, approached and bowed to him. "Forgive me for attacking you, young man. I thought Oolong had taken the form of a boy this time."

Kakarot analyzed the situation. He had no need or desire to kill so many people, but they were terrified and desperate, and that he could use. Moreover, this Oolong sounded strong if he could have an entire village under his control. Kakarot accepted the man's apology and took one of the Dragon Balls out of his backpack to show it to him.

"I come from the east in search of a sphere like this, have you seen anything like it before?"

The man adjusted his glasses and approached for a closer look. "No, I'm sorry."

"I have one just like it," said an old woman on the street. The woman, who walked with the help of a cane, went home and returned with the Six-Star Dragon Ball in her hand. "My grandmother found it many years ago while gathering mushrooms."

Kakarot smiled."It seems that you have a problem with this Oolong. Feed me, give me the ball, and I'll take care of him for you."

The old woman looked at him in silence. "I don't think a child can face that demon..."

"He might be small, but he has an enormous strength," Sherman said. He picked up the axe from the floor, and showed everyone the dents Kakarot's fingers had left in the axe's head. "We can't lose anything by trying."

"I guess you're right," the old woman said.

The whole village rushed to their homes. Kakarot sat down at the table and Sherman's daughter brought him a plate, a glass, and cutlery. The villagers lined up to leave plates and baskets of food on the table, and Kakarot began to eat.

He turned to face Sherman. "Tell me about Oolong."

"He is a terrible demon who has haunted our village for several months now," Sherman started. "He is a shape-shifter, that's why I thought you were him. Yesterday, he came as a huge red demon and his eyes fell on my daughter. He said he would be back today to take her as his bride, as he has already done with many village girls."

Kakarot swallowed a big chunk of bread. "And you've done nothing? That will only make him bolder."

"He has threatened to kill and eat every villager if any of us were to flee or resist him. We are simple farmers, too old or too young to fight."

"Well, he's coming today, isn't he? Tell everyone to go back to their homes, we'll wait for him."

"But you mustn't kill him, if such a thing is even possible. He keeps the other girls in his lair, and we don't know where that is."

Kakarot nodded and put on his scouter to anticipate Oolong's arrival, and continued to eat until he was full. He went out and walked around to digest his meal. A while later, the scouter detected a power level approaching his position. It was of only 1, though, it couldn't be Oolong.

Still, Kakarot hid behind a house and waited. The ground began to rumble with footsteps, each closer than the last. Perhaps the scouter was broken, or Oolong's magic could not be measured the same way as fighting strength. If so, the scouter would not be of much use, so he put it away in his belt.

Kakrot leaned in for a look. A red demon as tall as the village houses and two horns on his head walked down the main street. He wore a suit and had a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He fitted the description.

He stopped in front of Sherman's house, adjusted his tie, and checked his combed hair. "Sherman, come out and hand me my cute little bride."

Kakarot stepped out beside him. "Are you Oolong?"

The demon glared at him. "Yes. I don't recognize you, boy. You're not from this village, are you?"

"No."

"Did you want anything? I'm kinda busy right now."

"You will take me to your lair right now. As to whether you'll do it before or after I've broken every bone in your body, I leave up to you."

Oolong snarled with a huge mouth full of pointed teeth and threw his bouquet of flowers aside. "You dare defy the Great Oolong? Now you shall see my rage and power." A cloud of white smoke covered him for a moment, and where the costumed demon had been, a large brown bull with huge horns dragged its hooves on the cobbled floor, ready to charge. "Now bring me the girl or you will suffer my wrath!"

Kakarot smirked and cracked his knuckles.

"I'm giving you a last chance, kid," Oolong said, huffing and puffing. "Can't you see how strong I am?"

"Show me, you big, ugly cow."

"You chose this."

Oolong ran with his head down and his horns at Kakarot's height. It was bigger than any bull he had ever seen, but much slower. He grabbed him by the horns and held back his charge. He lifted him over his head and stamped him on his back against the cobblestones.

The bull exploded in a cloud of smoke on impact with the ground, and as it dissipated, there was only an unconscious pig in green clothes.

The villagers came out of their houses and surrounded their tormentor.

"Is this Oolong's true form?"

"He's just a filthy pig!"

The people's anger was growing, and if it wasn't for the fact that they needed him to take them to his lair, they probably would have beaten him to death right then and there.

Oolong came to his senses after a few minutes. He raised his head and blinked several times. "What happened?" He stood up, and seeing himself surrounded, raised his tiny hands to try to calm the people's spirits. "Now, now, let's not do anything stupid. Let's talk..."

But he transformed again, this time into a bat, and flew up and away from the village. Kakarot wouldn't catch up with him by jumping, since Oolong could change directions in the air and he couldn't. Kakarot unsheathed his Power Pole, resting one end on the ground, and aimed the other at Oolong's trajectory. With a thought, the staff lengthened, and in an instant, he crossed the distance to the bat. His red eyes almost flew out of their sockets when he saw him flying next to him. He tried to escape again, but Kakarot grabbed him by the long pointed ears.

Back on land, in the middle of the wilderness, Oolong regained his original form and raised his hands. "Alright, alright, you got me. I'll take you wherever you want."

They walked through the thicket and up towards the mountains. Soon the largest house Kakarot had ever seen came into sight. Behind the doors, there were at least a dozen girls lounging in the spacious mansion. Some relaxed on armchairs bigger than beds, read magazines, or fixed themselves a drink. A huge television dominated the main room, and everywhere there were trays with all kinds of delicacies.

"Are you happy?" Oolong asked him. "You got what you wanted, now let me go."

"Shut up, pig," Kakarot said and addressed the girls. "I have come to take you back to the village with your families, follow me."

One of the girls, who drank from a tall glass, lowered her sunglasses and looked at him with a sneering grin. "No way. Living in this mansion is much better than working in the fields."

The others agreed, and none seemed willing to change their minds.

Kakarot hit the nearest wall with his fist, and the house trembled. All the girls turned to him with fear in their eyes.

"I don't care what you do after," Kakarot said, "but right now you're going to come with me or I'm going to tear this house to the ground."

The girls glanced at each other and hurried outside. Kakarot led the group back to the village, where their families ran to them and smothered the embarrassed girls with hugs and kisses.

The old woman approached him and gave him the Dragon Ball."Thank you very much, boy. You've more than earned your reward. Please, stay for dinner. We are going to gather tables on the outskirts of the village to celebrate the girls' return."

"Sounds good to me."

Sherman the Shaman approached and examined Oolong in his wretched true form, which Kakarot still had by the ears. "What should we do with him, who has brought us so many evils?"

Kakarot watched the villagers carrying food to the outskirts of the village. It was mostly bread, fruits, and vegetables. Kakarot found himself craving something more substantial, a good main course. "Well, how do you like roasted pork?"

Power Levels

-Kakarot (12 years old): 89

-Bear Bandit: 12

-Bulma (16 years old): 2

-Oolong (9 years old): 1