Who's Got My Balls?!

An Ambush in the Mushroom Forest

Cruising once again through the Mushroom Forest, Oolong asks Bulma what she intends to wish for once the Dragon Balls are all gathered. Her answer, the world's most perfect boyfriend, strikes him as a waste of a cosmic miracle. High above them, Mai watches from atop a mushroom and orders Shu to strike. Shu obliges with his Pilaf Machine, reducing the hovercar to scrap and making off with the suitcase that holds five of the group's six Dragon Balls.

Pursuit and a Closing Door

Goku takes off after the thief on his Flying Nimbus, but Shu has already abandoned the empty Pilaf Machine. The naive Goku mistakes the hollow mech for the culprit itself and returns empty handed, noting only that the Four-Star Ball is still safe in his sack. Bulma reaches for the Dragon Radar to track the stolen balls and realizes with horror that their capsule case was also in the stolen suitcase. Yamcha and Puar, who have been tailing the party the whole time, step out to offer help, though still with their own agenda. Bulma immediately takes a liking to Yamcha, which sends the woman-shy bandit into a panic.

At his castle, Emperor Pilaf fumes that only five balls have turned up in the suitcase rather than the full set. Mai notices the final ball drawing closer as the group arrives at the gates. The heroes step inside, follow a helpful arrow painted on the floor, and suddenly find a wall sliding into place behind them, sealing them inside.