Mount Paozu.
"Flying—Nimbus—!"
At the edge of a cliff, a young boy's clear voice echoed through the air. In the blue sky, from the depths of the clouds, a flicker of light shot out. A brilliant yellow arc streaked across the heavens with a whoosh, rushing down toward the cliff in response to the call.
"Kame…hame…"
Deep, measured syllables echoed through the mountain valley, resonating over the waterfall as the Nimbus sped over, so fast that when it passed through the cascading water, it sliced the waterfall in half, leaving a visible gap in the stream.
Perched ahead of it, under a crooked-necked tree growing from the cliffside, hung a black-haired boy. Suspended upside down by his brown, furry tail, he held his hands cupped at his waist, a small blue-and-white glowing orb forming between them.
Years had passed, and Goku had long overcome the weakness of his tail. Now, it was no longer a vulnerability but more like an extra limb—one he could use to attack.
He had already mastered the Kamehameha, even though he hadn't yet fully awakened the ki within him. But Gohan wasn't worried. Goku's talent was extraordinary, and grinding his skills a little more before truly unlocking his inner potential wouldn't hurt. In fact, it might even be beneficial. So he hadn't rushed to teach Goku how to sense ki just yet.
As the Nimbus drew near, Goku flexed his tail and launched himself into the air, landing steadily atop the cloud. It didn't slow down at all—barreling toward the pool beneath the waterfall. As the Nimbus tilted forward, Goku ended up head-down, feet-up, clinging to it with centrifugal force.
"…HAAA!"
With a shout, the intense beam of ki between his hands exploded downward, slamming into the pool with a deafening BOOM. A towering geyser of white water shot into the air, while the force of the Kamehameha pushed Goku even tighter against the cloud.
Amid the massive ring of water surrounding him, even upside down, Goku's sharp eyes didn't miss a thing. His gaze lit up as he pulled the red staff from his belt and shouted:
"Power Pole, extend!"
VMMM!
With a sudden lunge, the staff extended into the surging water. When he pulled it back, it was skewering a string of bizarrely shaped giant fish, all with eyes rolled back and giving off a savory aroma—already cooked by the blast of his Kamehameha.
"Heh heh! With this many fish, Grandpa's gonna be super happy!"
Goku grinned and slung the string of massive fish over his shoulder, calling the Nimbus to fly back toward his house in Mount Paozu. Whoosh! The cloud spun in the air and soared back toward the cliff. Goku sat back on it, enjoying the wind in his face.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of a car engine chugging up the mountain trail below.
"Huh? Someone's coming up here?"
He leaned over to peek down...
---
"What a dump! These mountain roads are a nightmare!" Bulma complained as she drove the off-road vehicle along Mount Paozu's winding paths. The bumpy ride wasn't fun, but her flying machine couldn't fly this low, and she wasn't confident enough in her piloting skills to try—so driving it was.
She grabbed her Dragon Radar and pressed a button, checking the direction she was heading.
Just then, as she rounded a bend along the mountain path, something massive burst from the jungle onto the road ahead! Bulma's heart nearly stopped—was that a dinosaur?!
Screeeech…
She slammed the brakes with all her strength, the tires squealing loudly on the gravel. Panicking, she reached for her backpack, fumbling for a weapon capsule. Meanwhile, the dinosaur that had stepped into the road noticed the iron box that had screeched to a halt. With glowing yellow eyes, it stared at the vehicle and began lumbering toward it with heavy steps.
"I'm doomed… I don't even have a boyfriend yet…"
Bulma had pulled out her capsule case, but her hand slipped, scattering them all over the car floor. She froze with fear as she stared at the creature's massive head—bigger than her car, with a single eye larger than her whole body. A strong urge to pee surged through her.
"Please spare me, oh mighty Dino-sir!" she cried, pale as a ghost, shutting her eyes tightly.
"Haha! It's you again. Did your tail grow back?"
A voice, seemingly falling from the sky, approached rapidly. Nervously cracking open one eye, Bulma looked out through the windshield—and saw the back of a black-haired boy.
He stood between her and the dinosaur, a long red staff slung over his shoulder with a bunch of giant cooked fish skewered on it.
The voice just now must have come from him.
That terrifying dinosaur, upon seeing such a small human child, actually displayed an expression of extreme fear. It let out a low growl, like a mourning sound, and with its tail between its legs, it ran off. Only then did Bulma notice that the dinosaur's tail was actually cut in half, looking quite comical.
"Hey, don't run away! Your tail is delicious!" Son Goku shouted in dissatisfaction.
He was the type to eat anything he saw, so he wouldn't intentionally hunt the dinosaur. When he saw it last time, he had already eaten a good meal, so he just chopped off half of its tail to taste it. He didn't expect it to be so tasty. Now that he saw it again, he wanted to stew the other half of its tail... or maybe roast the whole dinosaur? Who cares? He'd grab it first and figure it out later!
Just as he was about to chase it, he heard a girl's voice from behind. She seemed to be scared, her voice trembling, but there was also a hint of surprise and disbelief:
"Y-You... are Son Goku?"
"Huh? You know me?" Son Goku stopped in his tracks and turned around. He saw Bulma walking out of the jeep and asked in confusion.
When Bulma saw his face, excitement appeared on her face, and she happily waved her hands:
"It's me, Bulma! Don't you remember me? We met at the World Martial Arts Tournament before!"
"World Martial Arts Tournament?" Son Goku scratched his head. Now, at sixteen, Bulma was already much taller than the twelve-year-old Son Goku, and with a bit of face blindness, he couldn't quite recognize her. However, it was good that he had only attended the tournament once... He then realized, carrying the fish skewer with his Power Pole, his tail swaying, and exclaimed: "You're the girl who peed blood!!"
"Shut up!!!!!!"
Bulma was furious. What seemed like a romantic, fated encounter had instantly been ruined. This little monkey was still the same as before... still so... Bulma angrily stared at Son Goku, but he just smiled at her. She thought to herself, he was still the same, clueless as always, really... Without realizing it, she found herself smiling.
"My name is Bulma! Don't bring up that old story again, okay?!" She walked over and tapped Son Goku on the head.
"Why are you hitting my head?" Son Goku complained. He pointed to Bulma's jeep and asked, "Is that your car?" Bulma nodded. Son Goku then asked, "Do only good kids get to ride in it?" Bulma tilted her head, confused. Son Goku pointed the fish skewer held by the Power Pole to the sky. Bulma looked up and saw a yellow cloud, and three question marks appeared above her head.
"Never mind. Do you live here?"
"Yeah."
"Does Grandpa Gohan live here too?"
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Then do you know about this bead?"
"Huh? How do you have my grandpa's Dragon Ball?"
"Is it real? Haha... Ahem, take me to see your grandpa, little monkey... No, wait, Son Goku! Heh, come to think of it, your grandpa is also my elder!"
"You know my grandpa?"
"You wouldn't understand even if I told you, but you'll find out when you meet him!"
"Alright then, what about your car? Do you want me to help tow it?"
"Of course not! I'll handle it myself!"
And so, the rich girl from the city and the naive boy raised in the deep mountains walked into the mountains together. This extraordinary encounter marked the beginning of a golden age of martial arts on Earth, though neither of them realized it yet.