With five dragon balls in his backpack, Kakarot followed the sixth through a long river on the Turtle Hermit's capsule boat. He made land on a bend and started westward on foot. Soon a vast desert dotted with rock formations appeared on the horizon.
His stomach began to roar at dusk, but there was nothing to eat, so he stopped to rest. Kakarot closed his eyes and let the desert breeze carry him to sleep. But the wind's wooshing sound changed into a metallic throttle; something mechanical approached.
A hovering motorbike crossed the desert in his direction leaving a trail of dust in its wake. Upon reaching him, it took a sharp turn and stopped.
A young Earthling jumped off to the ground, accompanied by a blue and brown floating cat. The boy, tall and strong-looking for his kind, had long black hair and a mocking smile on his suntanned face. He wore a green sleeveless jacket, fastened with a white belt, from which hung a curved sword.
"You wanted something?" Kakarot asked, knowing perfectly well the answer.
"The name's Yamcha and this desert is my domain. I don't usually prey on children, but times are tough, I guess. If you want to leave this place alive, you will give me all your money and capsules."
Kakarot stepped up and stood between the bandit and his backpack. "I have no money and only one capsule, and I'm not giving it to you. But I'm fine with one of us dying here today."
Oolong had turned out to be a phony, but this boy seemed like the real deal.
Yacmha drew his sword slowly, the last light of the day shining on the steel blade. "Well, if you're so eager to die..."
"Yeah, kill him, Lord Yamcha," the floating cat yelled.
Yamcha dashed forward with the sword in front of him. He attacked from all angles in a long sequence, every slash filled with killing intent, but Kakarot dodged it without too much trouble. He jumped back, but Yamcha launched himself in pursuit and continued his attack. The Earthling was quite impressive, it was clear to the naked eye that he had talent, but he was untrained; his technique, unpolished. It was getting boring fast, and Kakarot wondered if the Earthling only knew how to fight with a sword.
Yamcha unleashed his blade from above in an arc towards Kakarot's head. The Saiyan chopped with his hand sideways, and when the two forces clashed, the blade broke in two. The desert bandit stood back with his eyes open and fixed on his broken blade. He threw it to the sand and adopted a low fighting stance with clawed hands. He leaned back and smiled. "It's been too long since I've faced a worthy opponent." The air around him became hazy, as if by the heat of the desert, and for a second seemed to take the form of a wolf with open jaws. "Have a taste of my Wolf Fang Fist!"
The desert bandit closed the distance in the blink of an eye and unleashed a flurry of punches, kicks, and claw-fingered strikes on him. Kakarot took the full brunt of the attack head-on. The combination ended with a powerful double open-handed blow, which pushed Kakarot back a few meters.
Kakarot smiled. He had underestimated his opponent, thought the Earthling would be unable to hurt him. But he felt that last attack, even if he remained unharmed. Those strikes were enhanced by ki.
"You are better than most, Yamcha, I'll give you that," Kakarot said. "But that won't save you."
Yamcha smiled with grim determination and retook his fighting stance. "Seems like you need another taste."
The Earthling lunged at him, but this time Kakarot intercepted him with a punch to the chest. He felt the boy's ribs shatter under his fist, and Yamcha fell to the ground, struggling for air, choking on his own blood.
"Lord Yamcha!" the cat cried and flew to his master's aid. Yamcha did not last long. The cat looked at him with tears in his eyes. "Damn you."
Kakarot raised a hand and finished off the talking cat with a burst of ki. The bandit's bodies lay in the sand, together in death.
That wasn't bad, Kakarot thought and hoped he would encounter more Earthlings like this one.
In a better mood, but still hungry, he got on Yamcha's floating motorcycle and drove it west until it ran out of fuel. The end of the desert could be glimpsed in the distance. It was starting to get dark, so Kakarot hurried out of the sand and looked for a place to stay for the night. He settled for a hole in one of the nearby rock formations.
The next morning, after several more hours of walking, a light appeared on the horizon. As he approached, he discovered that it was a mountain on fire, at the foot of which spread the ruins of a dilapidated village and the bones of what he could only assume were its former inhabitants. At the top of the mountain, seemingly safe from the fire, stood a castle. The radar indicated that the Dragon Ball was inside.
The closer he got to the mountain, the clearer it became that getting this ball was going to be a problem. The heat was unbearable even several hundred meters from the fire. He tried using the Power Pole to reach the castle from above, but the air burned even hotter up there; he couldn't even breathe.
Covered in sweat and soot, Kakarot hurried away back to the village. As he racked his brains looking for a way to get closer to the mountain, a huge axe came hurling and carved itself into a nearby rock. Kakarot jumped to the side and stood on guard.
The biggest man he had ever seen approached with great strides. He wore antique-looking armor and a horned helmet, which only showed the lower half of his bearded face. The giant dug up his axe and held it over his head with a menacing grin. "What are you doing on my land? Aiming to steal my treasure? Look around you, lad," he said, pointing to the scattered skeletons. "That's how we treat thieves on these parts."
If this guy owned the castle, he might know a way of getting inside. Kakarot unsheathed the Power Pole and prepared to make him talk.
The Earthling lowered his axe. He approached and lowered his head to look at him. "That staff... Is it the Power Pole? Where did you get it, lad? Tell me!"
Wait a minute. He had heard about a man this big before, Gyuma, the Turtle Hermit's last pupil before him. This could be useful. "My grandfather gave it to me."
"Is his name Son Gohan?"
"Yes. It was..."
Gyuma walked to a nearby rock and sat upon it, his gaze down. "Was? Oh, Lord! I knew your grandfather. I'm really sorry to hear he passed away."
"Thanks," Kakarot said, and pulled out a Dragon Ball. "I'm looking for something like this, do you have one by any chance?"
"Yeah, I think I still got it. But it's inside the castle, and there's no way in."
Kakarot weighed his options. "How on earth does a mountain catch on fire?"
"Well, ten years ago I paid a wizard to surround the base of the mountain with a ring of fire to ward off thieves. But things got out of hand and the whole mountain caught aflame. I haven't been able to go back since." Then Gyuma lifted his head, his lips turned in a half-smile. "But perhaps, there's a chance. Have you heard of the Turtle Hermit?"
"That and more. I've been trained by him."
The man jumped to his feet with glee, making the ground tremble as he laughed. "He has this magical artifact, the Bansho Fan. It can raise a typhoon with a single wave, a thunderstorm with two, and a monsoon with three. With it, we could put the flames out, no doubt."
Kakarot thought about something like what Gyuma described among the Turtle Hermit's stuff. He recalled it. "I think he used it as a pot holder. But one day he spilled wonton soup on it and threw it away."
"Well, maybe he could do something about it. Do you know where he lives?"
"Yes, but I'm afraid he died recently."
The man sighed louder than most men can yell and fell to the ground. "That's where hope gets you, I guess. Oh, maybe if I had been a better student, I could have learned the Kamehameha, that may have put the fire down."
"If that's what it takes, I can do it," Kakarot said.
The man got back on his feet and lifted him by the arms with his huge hands. He spun him while mumbling something songlike. "You magnificent little bastard! Of course Son Gohan's grandson would be able to! Put down the flames and you can have as much of my treasure as you want; within reason, of course."
He left him back on the ground and stepped back in silence. Kakarot jumped to the top of a ruined house to get a clear shot at the mountain and got into position. He breathed in deep and cupped his hands. "Kame..." He brought them back by his side. "...hame..." He felt the compressed ball of ki, like a bright star between his hands. "...ha!"
The white-blue light covered the world for an instant. The force of the attack carried away the flames and large rocks of the mountain's surface. When the roar ceased, there was no trace of the flames, save for the charred marks on the rock.
They climbed the mountain together and entered the castle. The floor and walls were still warm, but it was bearable. Gyuma guided him to the large chamber where he kept his treasures, all the while talking about the old days, Son Gohan and the Turtle Hermit, much to Kakarot's chagrin. Kakarot took a long time, but he ended up finding the Dragon Ball. Gyuma couldn't seem to shut up, and his words made Kakarot's blood boil.
He shot a ki blast through Gyuma's huge chest, and he fell to the stone floor dying. "You had to keep talking about them, didn't you?" Kakarot said to the corpse. He had thought of fighting and killing him after getting the Dragon Ball, but the man had driven him crazy with his unending yapping. Too bad, it could have been a good fight.
Kakarot checked the radar and left the castle bound for the last Dragon Ball.
"Hello!" said a high-pitched voice. She was a child about his age, although somewhat taller than him; pale of skin, black hair and eyes. She wore strange, armor-like clothing, though there were many parts left uncovered, and a helmet topped by a metallic ridge. "Have you seen my father?" She asked. "He is very big and strong, and wears a horned helmet."
Kakarot wondered if he should send her to her father or with him. "He's in the castle."
The girl leaned slightly. "Thank you. What's your name?"
"Kakarot." And without another word, he set out for the west. Killing her outright would have been less cruel, but he would end up doing it eventually anyway.
He traveled through a giant mushroom forest for days. He saw a city in the distance, but there was nothing he needed there, and still a long way to the Dragon Ball, so he passed it by. He followed a dirt road towards the setting sun until the mushrooms ceased to abound, although they still dotted the sides of the path. The radar indicated he was getting close.
An atrocious shriek cut through the air, and a strange shape approached at full speed. Kakarot hit it to the side, where it exploded upon impact with the ground. A machine with a vaguely human shape landed before him. Inside, behind a pane of glass, sat a dog dressed black from head to toe. It looked at him with open eyes and a slacked jaw.
The machine raised a tube-shaped arm with another explosive projectile ready. "Give me the Dragon Balls and no one will get hurt," the dog said, his voice distorted by the machine.
Kakarot lunged at the mechanical armor, narrowly dodging the long, strange bullet, and smashed through the glass with his fist. He gripped the dog by the neck firmly, but without cutting off his breathing.
The dog pulled a lever and the machine took off to the air. Kakarot let go of the dog and yanked the hatch. The interior reminded him of his space pod, although the technology was much more rudimentary. He tore the dog from the machine and jumped, softening their fall with the Power Pole.
Back on land, the dog got down on his knees and begged for his life.
"You better start talking," Kakarot said.
"I work for Lord Pilaf, who is looking for the Dragon Balls to become the Emperor of the World."
"Well, that was easy." Kakarot pointed west. "Is this Pilaf in that direction?"
"Yes, and he has the Dragon Ball you're missing. I've already told you everything, so please—"
Kakarot broke his neck with a flick of the wrist.
A car started in the distance and moved away from him at full speed. It didn't matter, they were headed in the same direction. After a long walk, Kakarot arrived at a large castle with a vaulted roof and towers that stood on top of a stepped structure. The gates were open.
Kakarot came in and took a look. The long stone corridor had no doors or windows and led somewhere out of sight. It looked like a trap, and Kakarot had no intention of falling into whatever this Pilaf had prepared for him. With all the Dragon Balls in one place, he couldn't afford the slightest mistake.
He went out again, and with the help of the Power Pole, he reached the roof. He punched a hole in the main vault, which was topped by a large satellite dish, and dropped inside.
Two Earthlings, a woman with long dark hair and a small being with bluish skin, raised their arms. Behind them was the Dragon Ball.
"We surrender!" said the little man as he slowly retreated towards the large control panel behind him, which occupied an entire wall, full of buttons, levers, and screens that showed the maze-like hallways of the castle. "We'll give you anything you want, but please don't—"
He pressed a button and a mechanical arm emerged from a trapdoor in the ceiling. It grabbed and lifted Kakarot off the ground with steel tongs.
The little blue man laughed out loud. "Did you think you could outwit Lord Pilaf, future Emperor of the World? Such a shame. With your strength, you could have been a good general of my armies, but you have stood in my way and killed my loyal Shu, and that I cannot forgive."
"Well said, Lord Pilaf. Let's squish him!" the woman said.
Pilaf turned a dial, and the metal arm began to exert more and more pressure on Kakarot's body.
Kakarot pushed his arms to the sides, counteracting and overpowering the mechanical arm, which short-circuited and lost all strength. He dropped back to the floor.
Pilaf and his minion threw themselves on their knees and begged for their lives. It seemed to be the signature move of their small band.
Kakarot walked to the Dragon Ball and grasped it in his hand. He killed the two and went out through the hole in the ceiling. He climbed down before the castle gates and gathered the seven spheres on the ground. They began to glow intermittently, like the beat of a heart.
Kakarot smiled and raised his arms. "Shenron, come forth and grant my wish!"
The evening sky turned to absolute black; the glow of the Dragon Balls was the only light in the world. A long, meandering figure of light emerged from the balls, covering the sky.
Shenron took form and time seemed to stop so he could see the dragon in all his splendor. The scales that covered him from head to tail were as green as jade. Two antlers crowned his head, under which two red eyes glanced back at him. Shenron opened his big fang-filled jaws, moving the long flowing whiskers on either side of his face. "Reflect upon your desires, mortal. For I shall grant any wish... But only one..."
Shenron's voice, deep as thunder, rumbled in Kakarot's chest. He smiled. "That's all right. One wish is all I need."
Power Levels
-Kakarot(12 years old): 89
-Yamcha (16 years old): 17
-Puar (9 years old): 1
-Ox King(48 years old): 62
-Who-Who(12 years old): 14
-Shu (26 years old): 3
-Mai (21 years old): 4
-Pilaf (34 years old): 2