Chapter 5 - The Desert Bandit

"Man Kintoun is so fun to ride! I never knew that flying this felt so invigorating!"

Bulma pouted with jealousy at the airborne Goku as he did more summersaults while still keeping speed with her motorcycle.

Soon the duo arrived a little village that was too quiet for Bulma's liking.

"Hey, this is where the radar says the fifth dragon ball is, but I don't see any people?" Bulma felt very uneasy in this apparent ghost town that she instinctually scooted closer to Goku.

"Hmm well, let's knock. I can sense people so maybe they have a good reason."

Goku went up knocking on the door expecting silence. Knocking again just for pretense, he shouted,

"Hello, is anyone here!? We are wandering travelers and came to this town for something! Why is everyone gone?"

He hoped the residents heard so he could reduce the misunderstanding. Alas, either the residents were too fearful of even strangers to be kind to them.

"It looks like its locked." Seemingly ignoring Bulma remark, Goku pries the door from its hinges while making sure the door stays intact.

Just as he did, a shadow from the inside rushes towards him with an ax at hand.

Noticing his assailant, Goku pushes the door between them as a makeshift shield.

"Hey, what's the big idea old man?" Goku exclaimed pretending to be angry.

"There are two of you? You aren't Oolong! Who are you?"

This time it was Bulma's turn to be a little angry.

"Didn't you hear? He said we are travelers! We didn't do anything wrong and yet you attacked us for no reason. Explain yourself!"

"Sorry young miss but I thought you were Oolong! He is a terrible being that comes to our village to take away our young maidens! My daughter was next so I thought you were Oolong coming to take her away!"

When the other villages realized that the duo wasn't the terrible Oolong, they started crawling out of the woodworks everywhere in the village.

"Hmph, you almost killed us, so you need to pay up. We are looking for these things called Dragon Balls. It looks like this, have you seen something similar?"

Bulma was blowing the situation out of proportions since Goku wasn't going in any danger but old habits die hard.

After showing the orange ball, an old lady from the crowd came up claiming she has one as well.

"Ah, how about you give it to me? In exchange, I will forget that you people almost killed us AND we get rid of this Oolong character?"

Bulma went in for the one-two punch making the villagers feel like they owe Bulma even more for such a small compensation.

After explaining Goku's fighting prowess, they planned to just have Goku hide and launch a sneak attack on the unsuspecting Oolong.

---

(Night)

"Little lady! Little lady! I have come for you!" Coming from the edge of town was a huge ogre-like creature with horns with the attire groom.

"These flowers are for you! Wuh? Where are you?"

At this point, Goku came from behind one of the buildings and lept towards the monstrous being.

"AHHH"

Oolong yelped in surprise as Goku launched with all of his strength. Goku's fist landed right on his forehead as Oolong passed out instantly due to the impact.

"That was anti-climatic."

The villagers witnessed the seen and started hugging each other while crying. Then, the huge monster turned into a puff os smoke. Underneath that smoke laid a pig wearing green military clothes with a red star on the cap.

All the villagers exclaimed in surprise as all of them stared at Oolong with a dumbfounded expression.

Bulma came from within the crowd with a bucket. Inside the bucket was ice-cold water as she poured it on Oolong.

He woke up with a yelp and started squirming because of the water.

"He is literally a pig that is a pervert. I should of expecting something like this when they told us of your personality. HEY, LOOK AT ME YOU PIG!"

Oolong, already terrified of Goku's strength almost passed out again when faced with the ferocious Bulma.

"The girls your kidnap are safe?" Oolong meekly nodded. "Alright take us to them."

Goku tied Oolong to a rope as he Bulma received the Dragon Ball from the old lady.

Oolong leaned closer to Goku, "Your girlfriend is scary."

"She isn't my girlfriend." Goku had a straight face when he answered. On the other hand...

"I HEARD YOU PIG!" Bulma was red with either fury or embarrassment.

Oolong paled and obediently led them to his abode.

---

After arriving, the villagers burst through the doors expecting the worse for their daughters.

Only to find that their daughters were having the time of their life relaxing.

Everyone looked at Oolong with confusion while Goku looked at him with amusement.

"I wanted an obedient girl...please do take them back."

"So you are a beta male." Goku said to Oolong looking directly in his eyes.

"H-Hey its not true! T-T-These girls are just that scary."

"Hey, I am not judging."

Leaving the villagers to berate the girls for worrying them, Bulma led Goku and Oolong to talk.

"Hey Oolong, you can shapeshift, right? How can you do that?" Bulma looked at Oolong like he was a specimen ready to dissect.

Understanding his position, he gulped before answering. "I went to South shape-shifting preschool, it wasn't that hard but since I didn't graduate, I can only shape-shift for 5 minutes."

"Do you think you can teach us? That skill seems very useful!"

Oolong was stuck between a rock and a hard place, namely Goku.

---

On a boat towards their next destination, Oolong was teaching them how to shape-shift.

"Well for starters, humans have it much harder to shape-shift to different things. That's why in my shape-shifting school, they mostly accepted humanoid animals instead."

Oolong hoped that with this information, they would give up and let him leave.

"I have a tail, does that count?"

Oolong looked at Goku with exasperation.

"Of course it does...NOT YOU DIMWIT! Hmph, shape-shifting is a supreme art that not just anyone can do! It takes years to practice the magical nature of it."

Bulma finally saw the chance to ask something that has been on her mind for a while.

"Hey Goku, I have been meaning to ask you. What's with that tail? It moves like it is a real tail but it is a highly technical accessory right?"

Goku smiled, "Nope! I was born with it!"

"EHHHH!" Bulma and Oolong gasped in surprise. They started discussing it totally forgetting anything else as they ventured on to meet the desert bandit.

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"Ehhh, I told you everything I know about transforming. It's not like I am very good at it, I can only transform for 5 minutes myself!"

Currently, Goku, Bulma, and Oolong were in the middle of traveling through the desert. Bulma was her signature bike with Oolong behind her as Goku was trying to shapeshift on the Flying Nimbus.

Goku had the foresight to keep the capsule case next to him by convincing Bulma that he will better protect it.

'I feel like the transformation technique has something to do with Ki but is also entwined with magic. I have little Ki control and no magical affinity, unlike Oolong who is a natural. My guess is that even though Oolong has no ki control, he relies on his magical prowess due to his species to transform albeit not for very long.'

"We should put the transformation training on hold for now. If Goku can't do it then I probably can't either." Bulma said as she had one hand on the wheel while the other was preventing Oolong from groping her.

"Hey, I see a cloud of smoke! I think someone is approaching." Goku from his elevated height could see Yamcha and Puar approaching them in their bike.

Soon both parties stopped in their tracks. Yamcha was the first to speak up.

"Hey, you guys seem to be in the wrong place. This is my desert and I am the hyena who lurks it. If you fellas don't want to get killed so soon in your life, hand over your money and any capsules you have.

Bulma was wearing a helmet along with the windshield made her figure unidentifiable while Oolong was cowardly hiding behind Bulma.

Goku is the first to show any reaction. He smirks at Yamcha as he is the first real match he will have since his Grandpa.

"Show me your moves!" Goku gets off Kintoun and beckons Yamcha with his fingers as he has a smug expression plastered on his face.

"I didn't really want to slice you up kid but it seems you don't know your place!"

Yamcha charged at Goku with an arrogant grin. He wields his swords and swings it horizontally where Goku is standing.

Goku backs away barely dodging the fatal blow as Yamcha confidently exploits the opening he is given.

Just before he can swing again, he feels something wrap around his foot. He is abruptly pulled as his feet are airborne. He hits his head on the sandy ground feeling a little dazed as he can see the sky.

Before he can make sense of the situation, he finds a foot coming towards his head with lethal intent. He quickly rolls away from the ax kick and uses the momentum to spring up to his feet.

"What was that?!" Yamcha exclaimed confused about how he tripped.

Puar from the sidelines was having an argument with Oolong after he wanted to know the situation by disembarking the bike. However, he was still observing the battle intensely.

"Yamcha-sama! He has a tail! That's how tripped you!"

Yamcha looked closely at the small boy only to find that behind him, a tail was slowly waving back and forth in a hypnotic manner.

Suprised, Yamcha tensed up a little more, "It seems you aren't just a little kid. I shouldn't have let my guard down but you will go down here nonetheless! What's your name kid? Mine's Yamcha!"

"Son Goku!" Goku responds getting into a defensive stance.

Rushing towards Goku once again, this time Yamcha threw his blade at Goku. Goku easily dodges the sword as it lodged into the ground a few cms away from his tail. Yamcha, still rushing, used his ultimate technique on the young child.

"Wolf Fang Fist!" A shadow of a wolf appeared behind Yamcha as he kicked Goku with his full force. Goku parried his move as Yamcha fists turned into claws that resembled a wolf.

Yamcha hit Goku blow after blow with lighting fast claw attack only for Goku to either block or parry his advances.

'I am losing ground! How is this kid so strong, I can't even land a decent hit!' Yamcha, done with his combo, unleashes the finishing move as both his fists come together for one last powerful hit.

Goku, easily predicting his advance, sidesteps out of danger. Yamcha with no target to hit overextends a bit with his body.

Goku uses the opening and punches him in the stomach while Yamcha doubles over from the impact. Quickly thinking through the pain, Yamcha grabs the sword that he threw behind Goku and does one last feeble swing towards Goku's head.

Goku retracts his arm and ducks a bit as his hair is slightly grazed making a few small strands to hit the floor. Goku, already crouching, spins quickly on his left foot and counters with a round-house kick with his right.

Yamcha sword in hand collides with his bike with bruises and bits of scratches from the rough treatment of the sand.

"Yamcha-sama! Are you all alright? We have to retreat, he is out of our league!" Puar goes up to Yamcha and helps him get to his feet.

"W-We can't retreat! Our reputation in this desert will plummet if the other bandits find out I got beat up by a kid!" Yamcha stood up with a steely determined gaze towards Goku.

"I suggest listening to the advice your friend there gave desert bandit. Goku is the strongest person I know, you won't be able to defeat him easily." Bulma finally gets off her bike and takes off her helmet.

Her hair is flowing with the dry breeze as it emphasizes her beauty its peak. With her brown booty shorts, purple tank top, and leather jacket draping over her back because she didn't use the armholes. Her eyes land on Yamcha seemingly staring into his soul while her nose wrinkles cutely due to the sandy winds.

Yamcha is frozen on the spot until he lifts up the bike from its side and runs away at his full pace.

"I will get you next time SON GOKU!" Very soon, you can see Yamcha's fading back like he has seen the worse thing on the planet.

"W-Wait! Yamcha-sama! Don't leave me behind! Don't lose your cool, use your bike instead of carrying it! WAIT!!!" Puar turned into a bike himself as he sped towards Yamcha screaming his engines out.

"What a weird pair. What do you guys say to spending the night here?"

Oolong and Goku wake from their stupor and quickly agreeing to Bulma's request as they into their newly materialized house.

---

After eating a hearty meal, the gang started feeling a little sleepy and decided to turn in for the night.

As Bulma was taking a shower, Oolong was having some doubts about this adventure.

"Why are you guys going on this adventure? We are all probably going die at frypan mountain because you lot are insane."

"Hmm, we are going to collect a relic there, it's part of the set. I don't know if I should say more since Bulma is the one that is collect them. I am just here to help her while having fun and growing stronger."

Unknown to Bulma and Oolong, Yamcha was sneaking around on the outside planning an attack.

Bulma came out of the restroom with a pink nightgown and a towel wrapped around her hair.

"Hey, guys I am going to turn in for the night. Oolong you are sleeping on the couch, Goku you sleep on the floor next to me."

"WHAT! Why does this brat get to sleep next to you?"

"To keep pervs like you away!"

Oolong scurries away with a blush on his face from being found out so easily.

---

A couple of seconds later, Puar and Yamcha sneaked inside the house to find and steal the capsules and money as per usual for their banditry.

As Puar and Yamcha came saw Bulma, a shadow with spiky hair was already awake next to her.

"Pervert."

That night, you can hear the screams of Yamcha and Puar as they got the tar beat out of them.

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(Bonus Scene)

(Old Earth)

"We are here today to mourn the death of my son, Kris Lander." Kris's dad was on top of platform looking down on everyone as he talked.

The crowd wasn't large, only family and friends were invited.

If you have known the Landers for a long time, you would notice that this is one of the only times you can see the emotion on their faces.

"I thought that we were going to be the first to die due to age or the nature of our job. That's why I never wanted kids. It was too risky."

Kris's mom lamented her son's death to her husband after he said his words.

This time, a female with luscious blonde hair stepped onto the podium. Shifting slightly at all the looks she was given, she took a deep breath and began her speech.

"It has been a full month without Kris and I have been feeling his absence harder and harder every day. I haven't known him for too long but I felt like I have known him my whole life. He was the best person that brought the best out of me in return. He was the spark of life in these dark times, especially when we don't know how much longer we have left to live."

As Feign was wrapping up her speech, a bright light flashed in the distance. Everyone felt a shockwave course through them as chills crept up to their spines.

Everyone was panicking while Feign was dazed muttering to herself.

"At least you aren't here suffer this Kris."

A single tear left her eye and ran through her cheek before landing on Kris's coffin.