And into the Fire!

Arrival at Fire Mountain

After two days on the road, the Dragon Team finally spots the flaming silhouette of Fire Mountain on the horizon. Oolong nervously explains that a castle sits at the peak, guarded by the towering Ox-King, who himself cannot enter the blaze and who cuts down anyone foolish enough to approach. The three draw closer with dread, aware that the two-star Dragon Ball waits somewhere inside the inferno.

Chi-Chi Meets Yamcha

Not far off, Yamcha and Puar stumble upon a small girl in a bladed helmet being chased by a Tyrannosaurus. With a single throw she decapitates the creature, then vaporizes the remains using a beam fired from her helmet. When she notices Yamcha watching, she panics and attacks, but the desert bandit, still terrified of grown women yet unbothered by children, knocks her unconscious with barely a thought.

The Ox-King's Question

At the base of the mountain, Goku hops on the Flying Nimbus and scouts for a way through the flames while Bulma and Oolong wait behind. The Ox-King appears and looms over them, convinced they have come to steal his treasure. Their denials fall flat until Goku returns and openly admits he cannot find a route into the castle. Instead of attacking, the giant freezes when he notices the golden cloud beneath the boy and asks whether Goku received it from a certain turtle hermit, hinting that his own past is tangled with Goku's master.