On Earth in the Dragon Ball world, cultural differences between regions are very noticeable.
In the East, there is a clear influence of Eastern culture, similar to that of Earth's past.
Characters like Son Gohan and Dr. Omori from the Eastern region have names that follow the tradition of having a family name first and a given name second, reflecting a classical style.
On the other hand, the West is influenced by "Western culture," with names like Bulma, Tights and Brief. These names are distinctly Western.
At the foot of Mount Paozu, there are even families with the same surname as Son Gohan, the Son family.
Other names might sound unfamiliar or familiar, but some clearly resemble Chinese names, while others, like Dr. Omori, have a peculiar blend of modern and ethnic styles. In this sense, Yamiru's name, appearance, and posture fit right in around Mount Paozu, blending seamlessly.
The two brothers left the western side of the Paozu Mountain range and continued their journey westward.
As they traveled west, Yamiru and Son Goku began to encounter more and more "Western" faces.
After two years in the isolated area around Mount Paozu, Yamiru felt as if he had stepped into a completely different world.
Having been in such an information-deprived place for two years, he almost started to think of this world as a high-fantasy Eastern martial arts realm. But as he watched a wolf-headed man walking hand in hand with a blonde woman in front of him, Yamiru remembered that the Dragon Ball world is, after all, a melting pot, a world where different cultures blend.
"People outside are so strange," Son Goku said, looking around curiously. Suddenly, he pointed at a passerby and shouted, "Wow! Did someone pull his neck like that?"
"Huh?"
Yamiru, who was haggling at a stall, turned to see Son Goku pointing at a giraffe-like man.
"Don't say such silly things," Yamiru said as he walked over, dragging Son Goku away. "Sorry, my brother hasn't seen much of the world."
"Hmph, country bumpkin," the giraffe man muttered, walking away without looking down.
Son Goku was still astonished. He had never seen an animal person in the small town at the foot of Paozu Mountain. Now, he was truly amazed by the diversity of the outside world.
"You've got a monkey tail too, so why the big fuss?" Yamiru teased, his long legs elegantly straddling a bicycle. He motioned for Son Goku to hop on the back seat and laughed at him.
Son Gohan had saved the money they earned over the past two years working on construction sites and farms. Before leaving, he put it in Yamiru and Son Goku's backpacks.
Yamiru used the money to buy a bicycle.
That day, Yamiru, now back to his 1.7-meter height, could finally sit comfortably on the bicycle, his feet firmly on the ground, feeling triumphant.
Although Son Goku had never seen a bicycle, he was quick to grasp the concept. Understanding Yamiru's signal, he lightly jumped onto the back seat. With his excellent balance, he didn't even need to hold onto Yamiru's back to stay steady.
"Do I have a monkey tail?" Son Goku asked, confused.
"Don't you remember?" Yamiru opened a map and marked the route to West City with a marker. "Your tail is like those wild fruits around Paozu Mountain; they bloom and bear fruit every year, and then—plop!—they fall to the ground."
"Ah?" Son Goku, who had been feeling behind himself, was immediately startled. "Did my tail fall to the ground?"
"It might've been eaten by some wild animal," Yamiru teased.
"Ah..." Son Goku quickly shrugged it off. "Oh well, whatever. Yamiru, where are we going?"
"West City," Yamiru smiled, closing the map. "To see your childhood friend."
Son Goku was puzzled about who he was tllking about, but before he could ask, Yamiru pressed down hard on the pedal, and with a whoosh, the bicycle shot forward like a gust of wind along the road.
The speed was unbelievable. As a dog-headed uncle riding a three-wheeled motorcycle that puffed black smoke saw the bike whiz past, his glasses almost slipped off his face in shock.
Yamiru pedaled with such intensity that it seemed he was testing the limits of the bike's chain and gears.
"Hahaha!"
The boy behind him laughed joyfully, the sound diminishing as the bicycle sped further away. But suddenly, from the distant road ahead, a faint voice could be heard, the boy shouting three crisp syllables into the sky.
Soon after, a golden cloud unexpectedly descended from the sky!
Son Goku leaped off the bicycle's back seat and onto the Flying Nimbus, throwing a punch backward and then pointing forward. He grinned wide and shouted "Yohoo!" The Nimbus accelerated, overtaking the speeding bicycle beside it.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Yamiru yelled, both amused and exasperated. He stood up, pedaling furiously to catch up with the Nimbus.
The two raced like youths for a while, quickly entering a forest along the road.
Riding the Nimbus, Son Goku, while ensuring Yamiru kept up with the bicycle's pace, zigzagged playfully along a "Σ" shaped path, admiring the lush greenery of the forest below.
This path reminded Son Goku of his running training at Mount Paozu, and the forest below brought back memories of that place.
Yamiru, on the other hand, rode leisurely through the forest road.
After two years of rigorous training, his strength and stamina were unmatched. To put it simply, in a long-distance race, he could easily outrun the version of himself from two years ago, who had also considered himself a long-distance running expert. Riding this bike felt effortless. If it weren't for the bike's limited quality, Yamiru could have ridden even faster.
As they traveled, the scenery made Yamiru think back to the tough "learning journey" of two years ago. He stretched out his arms, letting go of the handlebars to feel the wind against his face, listening to the sounds of the surrounding trees, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Ah, Yamiru, something strange ahead," Son Goku's voice came from up ahead.
Yamiru gripped the handlebars. "What's wrong?"
The Nimbus slowed and lowered its altitude to match Yamiru's pace, as Son Goku sat on it and said, "There's nothing, it's all barren..."
"That's a desert wasteland. We'll pass through it." Yamiru wasn't surprised. The route was the one he had planned. "We'll cross the desert to visit an old man's castle. Maybe we can even get a Dragon Ball for free."
Son Goku, curious, asked, "Oh... does this old man have a four-star ball like Grandpa's?"
"No, the stars on the other Dragon Balls are different."
As they chatted, they didn't slow down. After a while, they emerged from the forest. But the road they were following didn't extend all the way through to the desert area; the road ended before reaching the barren stretch of land.
Riding on the cracked, dry earth of the desert, Yamiru looked back, gazing at the forest that was gradually receding into the distance.
Three years ago, he had been in the same position, watching the forest disappear, but back then, he was forced away by Tao Pai Pai and Master Shen, unable to resist his loss of freedom. Today, three years later, Yamiru was a completely different person. He shifted his gaze, calling out to the Flying Nimbus, which was darting around in the sky, "This place is too open, be careful you don't get lost!"
"Got it~" The Nimbus obediently flew back.
Through a pair of binoculars, the strange scene of a boy sitting on a golden cloud and chatting with the young man riding a bicycle in the desert left everyone dumbfounded.
"This is ridiculous, what's up with that cloud?!" the leader of the desert bandits muttered, setting down the binoculars and telling his men.
His subordinates, eager to see, grabbed the binoculars from him as he walked to the back of the group.
A boy with thick, messy black hair swayed nonchalantly. The bandit leader watched in irritation and slapped the boy on the back of the head, shouting, "Yamcha! Stop goofing off and get ready, we're going to catch some sheep."
The boy, named Yamcha, rolled his eyes and chewed on a dry piece of grass. "Yeah, yeah, I know."
"Boss! Boss! Those two strange kids seem to be heading toward our hideout!" one of the subordinates called out.
"What? That's not good! After them!" the bandit leader ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
"Get moving, you lazy brat! I need you to help out too..."
---
The sound of a bike tire scraping against the cracked ground echoed as it quickly came to a halt.
"Huh?"
Son Goku, hearing the noise, turned around and saw Yamiru stopped by a towering rock, sitting on his bike and staring at the wall of the rock.
With a whoosh, the Nimbus rolled up in waves and carried little Goku back.
Son Goku noticed that Yamiru was staring at something written on the wall, four large characters.
"Goku, do you recognize these characters?" Yamiru asked with a smile.
Son Goku squinted to read them. "Qian(Thousand)... Chui(Hammers)... Bai(Hundred)... Bai..."
He couldn't recognize the last character.
"Liàn!(Refinement)"
The last character wasn't spoken by Yamiru, but by someone nearby, shouting loudly.
Both Yamiru and Son Goku turned toward the voice.
---
Bandits: 5
Yamcha: 6