The Dragon Balls had an owner.
This wasn't the first time Yamiru and the others had encountered such a situation.
The Seven Dragon Balls were, by appearance alone, very beautiful, and ordinary people might easily mistake them for unseen gemstones—at the very least, beautiful glass balls or something of the sort. Therefore, it wasn't uncommon for someone to find one, keep it as a trinket, or turn it into a necklace or some jewelry. The fourth Dragon Ball they collected this time was bought from a small shop in a small town in the Eastern Capital, along with some other things.
However, in this remote mountain wilderness, the Dragon Ball was strung into a necklace and worn by such an ordinary-looking little chubby boy.
The fish the chubby boy was roasting was, indeed, enormous.
Normally, a child just over ten years old like him wouldn't be able to roast such a large fish alone, let alone even move it. And in this primitive mountain forest, it was hard to imagine that any ordinary adult could survive for long. Judging by the boy's simple attire, his wild, greasy long hair, and the carefree wooden sandals, along with a black-sheathed long knife casually tucked at his waist, it was clear this was no ordinary person—this was a tough, strong individual.
"Hehehe... Hm?" The little chubby boy, drooling over the fish, suddenly heard a noise behind him and jumped up, his right hand already gripping the hilt of his knife. "What's that? A dinosaur?"
"Don't be nervous, we're humans."
The chubby boy then noticed the man and two women walking out. The man was tall and handsome but gave off an unpleasant vibe, while the other was tall and beautiful, though the little girl beside her had a rather annoying expression.
"..." The little chubby boy, Yajirobe, relaxed his grip on the knife. "What do you want? Are you going to steal my fish? Let me tell you, that's not going to happen."
Yamiru observed the little boy carefully. The strength of his presence was impressive! It was the first time he had felt such a strong energy from a child other than Goku. Yamiru didn't yet use his Golden Veil and hadn't fully tuned in to sensing ki, but his instincts as a martial artist told him this was a formidable opponent.
Tights smiled and said to Yamiru, "Hey, this guy... he really reminds me of you in the beginning. He's been living alone and struggling since a young age, but it looks like he's very capable."
"Hehe," Bulma chuckled, clearly enjoying the situation.
"Hey, as a girlfriend, is it really okay for you to say that?" Yamiru laughed. "At least, I definitely wasn't as fat as him back then, right? But—back then, I wasn't nearly as strong as him."
"..." Yajirobe seemed to sense Yamiru's serious tone and assumed he was about to take action. He immediately spread his feet and adopted a cautious stance. "What do you want to do? Did I steal your floating car last time? If you want it back, you're being way too naïve..."
Bulma laughed. "So, you're a thief, huh?"
Yajirobe huffed. "Heh, I just like stealing from rich people like you."
Bulma snorted. "And you're really fat."
Yajirobe grumbled, "Stop talking nonsense! What do you want? If you're here to cause trouble, I'll start chopping!"
Son Goku could eat a lot, but he never got fat… Bulma thought of this and immediately said, "We came for the orange-yellow bead around your neck. Sell it to us."
"This bead?" Yajirobe looked surprised. The stolen knife, stolen clothes, stolen floating car, stolen capsules, and the sixteen hidden treasure points buried in the mountain… he had thought of many reasons why someone might come to settle a score with him, but never considered they might want this. "I found this in the mountains a few months ago. It's not even a gem, so it's not worth much. Why do you want it?"
"Since it's worthless, just sell it to us," Tights said with a smile.
"Tch, just because it's worthless doesn't mean I should sell it to you," Yajirobe grinned with a shrewd, businesslike smile. "It's clearly worthless, so why would you want it? Also… it's weird how you found me here. I haven't gone out for a whole month, so how could you know where I am? You're idiots."
"One million," Bulma held up a finger.
"I'm not selling it." Yajirobe clutched the Dragon Ball.
Yajirobe thought the rich girl might raise another finger and casually offer him a number that would make him slightly interested… maybe two million or something. After all, what could this bead possibly be worth, right? Of course, if the offer was decisive, he was prepared to raise the price and play along.
However, Bulma didn't raise another finger. She just said, "Ten million."
"Here you go." Yajirobe swiftly took the Dragon Ball from his neck and handed it over to Bulma with great respect.
"Thanks." Bulma pulled out a fragrant handkerchief, wrapped the Dragon Ball in it, wiped it, and then took it. The little wild chubby boy's greasy hands were disgustingly oily, and Bulma couldn't hide her disgust.
"Did you bring so much money with you?" Tights asked curiously.
"Mm," Bulma casually tossed the money capsule to Yajirobe for him to check. "I don't really need the money anyway."
Yajirobe opened the capsule and was happily counting the money when he overheard the conversation between Bulma and Tights. He couldn't help but have a dark thought: "I should've waited! Maybe I could have gotten twenty million!"
At that moment, everyone felt the ground shake, and the tremors were rapidly approaching. Yajirobe hurriedly packed the money capsule away and said seriously, "Uh-oh, that bastard dinosaur is coming! He's going to steal my fish!"
Everyone sweated. So, you're in the mountains, and you're fighting with a dinosaur over food…?
Looking back, they saw an enormous dinosaur charging toward them, rampaging and headed straight for the group.
"This time, you won't get to eat it!" Yajirobe hurriedly grabbed the hilt of his knife. "I'm still hungry! Idiot!"
But when he reached for the knife, his hand grasped nothing.
The massive dinosaur charging at them suddenly collapsed… It was as surprised as anyone else, looking down to see both of its hind legs neatly severed at the roots.
Yamiru, who had appeared behind the massive dinosaur at some point, casually twirled his knife and remarked, "I used to have a pretty nice knife, too."
The giant dinosaur fell with a thunderous crash, and Yajirobe quickly ran over, angrily shouting, "You idiot! Who told you to cut off its legs?! We're supposed to be friends!"
"Friends with a dinosaur?" Both Tights and her sister found this guy even more bizarre. Maybe he was like some wild man from a novel… Raised by dinosaurs?
Yajirobe, still a child, couldn't help but tear up, hugging the massive dinosaur's head, which also seemed to have tears in its eyes.
"You really are strange," Yamiru said, casually sheathing his knife into Yajirobe's scabbard. He took out a Senzu bean from his pocket and grinned, "Just right, I haven't had a chance to test out the Senzu bean's other functions... Hey, open up, big guy~"
The giant dinosaur hesitantly opened its mouth in fear. Yamiru flicked his finger, and the Senzu bean flew through the dinosaur's enormous teeth, straight into its cavernous mouth…
"Ah, it's that bean, the Senzu bean," Tights instantly recognized it. It was the magical bean that could multiply one's happiness several times over. She thought to herself, "No chance to test its other function?"
"Its legs are growing back!" Bulma was the first to notice the change.
Everyone, including the giant dinosaur itself, was stunned. After the creature collapsed, it had trouble getting back up. Yajirobe used all his strength to push it, making it sway unsteadily. In the end, Yamiru reached out a hand and forcefully pushed the dinosaur, making it stand up successfully. The dinosaur hopped around on the spot, and its legs had truly returned! But when it looked behind, its two severed legs were still there… its low intelligence made it confused.
"Ah, your eyes…" Yajirobe slapped his hands together, looking up to see that Yamiru's eyes had turned golden at some point.
Yamiru turned off his Golden Veil, and after his earlier observation, he was more certain of his hypothesis about the Senzu beans.
Indeed, the Senzu beans contained heavenly energy, but more importantly, they acted as a catalyst, a key to unlocking the heavenly dimension of the underworld. The spell that cultivated the beans used the heavenly energy to absorb more of it from this celestial dimension, thus repairing whatever part of the body needed fixing, whether it was physical strength or bodily injuries…
He hadn't had a chance to test it earlier, but that was the truth.
Yamiru wasn't reckless enough to harm himself, and he certainly wouldn't hurt Tights...
Now that he had the Dragon Ball, it was time to leave.
However, before boarding the plane, Yamiru casually told Yajirobe the location of Korin Tower, laughing, "The beans are from that tower. If you can climb it, give it a try."
After all, those who could settle at Korin's tower in the comics were tough people, and Yamiru didn't mind giving him a little push in the right direction.
Watching the inexplicably appearing and quickly departing plane, Yajirobe snorted, "What a weirdo! …But the way he uses his knife seems pretty good."
---
On the plane to Mount Paozu.
Bardock looked at Yamiru in the pilot's seat and thought, "Yamiru is clearly much stronger than that little fat guy. He could've easily taken the Dragon Ball by force… Is this how Earthlings are?"
The plane continued its journey, and Bulma was napping in Tights's arms...
After some time, Bulma was gently woken up by her sister. "Bulma, we've arrived at Mount Paozu, wake up..."
She rubbed her eyes. "Finally, we've arrived?" Her spirits lifted. Now they could analyze the three Saiyan cells side by side, hee hee~