Dragon Ball Manga Volume #9.
New Characters:
Uranai Baba: The little old crone who floats around atop her crystal
ball. She has a very elaborate estate/fighting complex
where she will answer any question for a fee. Either you
pay 10 million zenii, or fight her five warriors.
Apparently, no one has ever had a question answered by
winning the combats. Is Kamesennin's older sister.
Son Gohan: Gokuu's dead grandfather. (Also the name of the son of
Gokuu and Chichi, who appears much later on in the series.)
Fighting styles:
Rouga Fuufuu Ken: Yamcha's "Wolf Wind Attack."
Other notes:
Story:
Volume 9
Gokuu starts clicking the Radar, looking for the next Ball. But the
Radar is busted again. In the flyer, Gokuu's friends prepare for battle
against RR's hordes. They land some distance away, and argue over
Oolong's faked stomache ache. But before they can walk very far,
Kuririn sees an approaching enemy. They hide in the bushes, but realize
that their flyer is still visible. So, Pool is sent out to retrieve the
flyer in capsule form. Gokuu is complaining about having to return to
the big city to find Buruma and get the Radar fixed again. Below him,
the group recognizes their friend and yell out to him. He wants to know
what they're doing out here, and they have the same question for him.
Yamcha says Gokuu is lucky they'd found him before the fighting started,
and Gokuu dumbfounds them by replying that the fight is already over.
Pool is set out to confirm this, and the group starts wondering about
this little boy who can single-handedly defeat an entire, well-equipt,
army. Gokuu replies that he'd been to the top of Karin Tower (and that
he also knows the secret of the Chousei water,) which makes Kamesennin
wonder even more about a boy that could do something that had taken him
3 years to do. Kuririn wants to know what Kamesennin and Gokuu are
talking about, and Gokuu suddenly realizes that Buruma is with them.
They return to the island so that Buruma can get her tools. Along the
way, everyone comments on how much Gokuu has improved.
But, Buruma can't find anything wrong with the Radar. Gokuu is
grousing about only having the 6 Balls, and not being able to find the
last one, when Kamesennin says that if they find Uranai Baba, she can
tell them where the last Ball is. The old man shows them where to go on
a map (Gokuu can't understand the concept of "maps.") But, Oolong and
Buruma refuse to go along on the trip. So, Pool, Yamcha, Kuririn, and
Gokuu head off by themselves. Kushami wonders about Kamesennin's
comment, "I wonder if Gokuu is strong enough for this...")
Along the way, the group stops to get Gokuu a new set of clothes to
replace the damaged ones he's wearing. [Notice that Groucho Marx lives
in this town.] Yamcha is paying, so he wants to the clothes to be very
cheap. The first outfit isn't quite right, so they ask the tailor to
make a copy of the old outfit, with a hole in the back for the boy's
tail. Since it'll take an hour to finish, Gokuu rushes off on Kintoen
to get Upa, so that the young boy watch them find the last Ball. Upa is
introduced to everyone, and Kuririn comments on the "cute girl." This
earns him some ribbing for having Gokuu's problem of not being able to
tell the difference between the sexes. Gokuu changes on the street
(Yamcha tells him to not play with himself.) Gokuu is happy with the
new shoes, too.
When they finally locate Baba's house, they wonder about the tough
guys standing outside the door. The ghost-butler asks if they're there
to ask a question (Gokuu gets Baba's name wrong,) and Yamcha thinks that
there's something wrong here. A rich couple comes out, happy with
their answer. The toughs go in, there's a lot of screaming, and they
come out looking beaten-up. So, the group of friends are a little
concerned when it's their turn. But, the ghost won't answer any
questions. Inside, Gokuu asks if the old woman is really Baba, again
getting her name wrong. He asks if she can answer any question, and she
says, "Yes, for 10 million zenii." But, since they can't pay, she gives
them a chance to face her 5 warriors. Since Yamcha, Kuririn, and Gokuu
had done so well in the Tenkaichi-Budoukai, they are all over-confident.
Yamcha asks about the rules, and Baba says that the only rules are:
one-on-one combat, and "if you quit, you lose." Pool and Upa don't want
to fight, and Baba is surprised that it'll be three against five.
Kuririn goes first. The fighters are brought out one at a time:
Dracula-man
The Invisible Man
The Mummy
Akku-man (A devil)
A mysterious ghost (wearing a cat mask, and a halo.)
Dracula-man starts out, and is very fast. All Kuririn has to do is
surrender and he'll receive a transfusion. Because of the halo-shape
puncture wounds on his head, Yamcha gets Kuririn to start praying (looks
like a monk) and everyone laughs at him. Then Dracula-man knocks
Kuririn out of the ring and wins the first round. Gokuu wants to know
why his friend lost so fast, and Baba asks who'll fight her man next.
Yamcha asks if it would be ok if Upa and Pool can fight as one person,
since they're so small. Baba lets them. Upa eats some garlic, and Pool
does some shapechanging -- they win this match.
Baba is amused, and Yamcha (still over-confident) goes next. The
teenager is waiting for his opponent to arrive, but he's already in the
ring and we now learn that he's The Invisible Man. Gokuu wants to know
why Yamcha is acting so funny, and Kuririn has to explain the concept of
invisibility to him. Then, Kuririn yells at Gokuu to rush off to get
Buruma and Kamesennin. As they wait, Yamcha starts listening for his
opponent's footsteps, and gets in a few good shots before Baba catches
on and starts singing about how cute she is. Baba then asks if Yamcha
is going to give up. But, Gokuu arrives first, and Buruma yells at
Kuririn for having been dragged to the shiai (fight.) Buruma and
Kamesennin are a little slow in noticing Yamcha getting beaten up.
Kirin positions the two with great care, awaits his moment, and then
pulls down Buruma's tank top, causing Kamesennin to suffer a nosebleed
so great as to coat the Invisible Man. This gives Yamcha his chance,
and he uses Rouga Fuufuu to get in a few shots before the Visible Man
surrenders.
Yamcha wins, Buruma yells at Kuririn for showing off her breasts,
Kuririn says he did it to save her boyfriend, and Kamesennin berates
Kuririn for trying to kill him by hemmorage. However, Kamesennin also
thinks it was a nice move, and is happy with the boy. Baba reminds them
that they have 3 more fighters to face. Buruma asks if the old crone is
Baba, and Kuririn fills in the background details. Then, Kamesennin
says it's been a long time since he's seen his older sister -- Uranai
Baba. Baba replies in kind, and asks if Kamesennin is still a
sukebe. Kuririn thinks that since the two old folks are related, that
the fights will be called off, but Baba disagrees, and Yamcha replies
that he's up for the next contest. However, they have to go inside to
find the next guy (and Buruma now gets introduced to Upa.) In the
building, Yamcha is told that this is a place of bad magic, and when he
asks Kamesennin for advice, is told "Don't die." Baba points Yamcha to
a door, and takes the rest up to the observation deck. When everyone is
in place, Baba shows that the pool below Yamcha is not filled with plain
water. Yamcha agrees that this is a "bad magic" place. Here, if you
die, you lose. Then, Mirai-kun (The Mummy) appears.
The fight starts, and Yamcha thinks that since the Mummy is someone
that does a lot of pushing, and the footing is bad, he'll have to rely
on speed. Pool yells to his friend to not die. However, the Mummy is
too fast (Kamesennin is surprised to notice that Gokuu isn't shocked at
the Mummy's speed.) When Yamcha is almost knocked off the tongue, the
Mummy asks him to surrender. Instead, the group yells encouragement as
the boy tries Rouga Fuufuu. But, it fails and he's again asked if he
wants to surrender. Baba gloats until Yamcha seemingly wins by pulling
the Mummy off the tongue. Then the Mummy recovers again and they fight
some more. Eventually, Yamcha has to surrender to avoid being dropped
into the pool. Baba is happy. Buruma is pissed because Yamcha failed.
Yamcha apologizes, and Baba asks who the last fighter will be. After
Gokuu cheerfully volunteers, Upa tells him to please not die. Then,
they banter before Baba tells them to start. The Mummy is concerned
when he realizes that Gokuu LIKES fighting. After getting in a few
blows, the Mummy thinks he's won. Then Gokuu stands up and says it's
his turn now. Pool and Kamesennin are shocked at Gokuu's stamina and
lack of visible damage. With one punch, he drops the Mummy, and asks
if this means that he's won. Baba grudgingly says it does. The rest
are having trouble realizing that this is their friend, and the old man
reminds them that the boy had single-handedly defeated Red Ribbon. Gokuu
then asks if he needs to beat 2 more people, and Baba angrily says
"yes."
Akku-man wonders what the deal is with the kid, and the ghost laughs
to himself. Gokuu wonders at the weird-looking devil, and Kamesennin is
concerned (if Akku-man is number 4, then fighter #5 has to be REALLY
good.) They start, the demon surprises people at being able to fly, but
Gokuu is still too fast. They fight. Kamesennin says that Akku-man
shouldn't be underestimated, having won the Tenkaichi-budokai twice in
the past. Finally Akku-man unleashes his secret weapon -- his power is
to cause the least bit of evil in a person's heart to expand and cause
the victim to explode. Baba tells Akku-man to stop, but it's too late.
Akku-man laughs -- "Explode!" Gokuu wants to know where the strange
light came from. The magic has no effect, and Gokuu is shown to have a
pure heart. Then, Akku-man uses his pitchfork, and Gokuu has to get
serious. Which appears to have been a bit more serious than he'd
thought. Kamesennin can't believe the boy's speed.
Since Gokuu has won, he needs to face the final fighter. But, the
ghost asks Baba to move the combat back outside to the fighting circle.
She asks if he can win, and the ghost reassures her. Kuririn wants to
know why Gokuu is suddenly looking so strange, and the boy replies that
there's something comfortable about the ghost's smell. At the ring, the
ghost has to tell Baba something that makes her very amused (the ghost
has met Gokuu before.) Kamesennin also thinks that the ghost seems
familiar. Then, the last fight starts, but the ghost wants them to bow
to each other first. Gokuu still doesn't know what he recognizes about
the ghost, but the two of them seem to be evenly matched. Everyone else
is impressed. Gokuu gets thrown up into the air, then kicked to the
ground.
The ghost plummets after the boy, laughing. But, he stops laughing
when Gokuu leaps back up. Then, Gokuu takes the full power of the
ghost's kick without moving. Gokuu is having fun, and the ghost is
getting worried enough to use Kamehame-ha (a technique that only Gokuu,
Kamesennin, and Gokuu's dead grandfather know how to use.) So, Gokuu
uses "One Pattern" to evade the shot and leap upwards. The ghost thinks
he's vaporized the boy, Kamesennin finally understands, and Gokuu issues
a challenge to the ghost. The ghost laughs, preparing to use
Kamehame-ha again, but Gokuu gets in his Kamehame-ha first. It looks
like Gokuu has won, and Baba is upset. But, the ghost starts laughing,
and then grabs Gokuu's tail.
Yamcha has to tell everyone else that this is Gokuu's single weakness
(when his tail is grabbed, Gokuu loses his strength and collapses.)
Somewhere else, Pilaf and his two assistants are watching the fight via
satellite dish. Pilaf now know's Gokuu's flaw, and plans on exploiting
it to get the other 6 Dragon Balls. Pilaf has the last ball in a box
that is lined with a material that renders it invisible to Dragon Radar.
So, Pilaf orders his crew to drive out to Baba's estate.
Back at the estate, the ghost is flailing Gokuu around, and asks the
boy to surrender. This is when Kamesennin realizes that the ghost is
actually Son Gohan -- Gokuu's dead grandfather. Gohan is about to kill
Gokuu, when the boy's tail snaps off. The group reacts to the idea of
Gohan trying to kill Gokuu. Realizing that he's blown it, and seeing
how mad Gokuu has become, Gohan gives up. Baba takes this gracefully
("Oh well, can't be helped.") The ghost says that Gokuu is strong, and
the boy is puzzled that the ghost knows his name. The ghost says he
also knows that grabbing the boy's tail is his one weakness. Gokuu
starts to realize who the ghost is when it removes it's mask to reveal
Son Gohan.
Gokuu greets his grandfather (who really is dead, hence the halo.)
Gohan had been working for Baba as a talent scout for getting fighters
for her, and had one day left on his contract with her. Baba knew that
Gokuu would come in time to meet the ghost, because she can see into the
future. Gohan thanks Kamesennin for taking care of the boy for him, and
asks about him. But they're interrupted (neither old man wants to give
away how much they care about the boy,) when Gokuu wants to show him
something -- Gokuu has Gohan's Dragon Ball. The ghost marvels over the
other Balls, and Buruma has to tell the ghost about the properties of
the Balls.
Now that the Balls are about to be brought together, Kuririn tells Upa
that Bora can now be brought back. But, Upa thinks that since Gohan is
here, and is also dead, that Gohan should be brought back, instead.
But, the ghost is happy remaining a ghost, having found his own stash of
pichi-pichi girls (Yamcha uses the opportunity to heckle the old sukebe,
Kamesennin.) Upa thanks Gohan, Baba thanks Gohan, Gohan thanks Baba.
Everyone says their goodbye's, and then Gohan is gone. (In the TV
series, this is a much more emotional sequence.) Apparently, Gohan
still has Gokuu's tail, and the boy promises to grow up strong (which
makes Kamesennin a bit concerned.)
Baba uses her crystal ball (which can change sizes, as well as
float,) to locate the last Dragon Ball -- it's in an approaching car,
200 km away. This confuses Buruma, who still can't locate the Ball with
the Radar. Gokuu is happy with knowing where the Ball is.
End of book 9.
-- Curtis H. Hoffmann
June 20, 1993
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