Upon hearing the masked man's reminder, Fortuneteller Baba suddenly exclaimed, "That's right, it's the Mount Five Element! The residence of the Supreme Elderly Lord!"
Yamiru silently pondered, 'Is this related to the filler arc with Goku and Chi-Chi's wedding? I remember there was something about the Bansho Fan, a furnace, and the Supreme Elderly Lord. Wasn't the Elder portrayed as some giant woman? But…
What does this have to do with the result of my divination?'
He was utterly confused.
Even Fortuneteller Baba, who seemed deep in thought trying to decipher the vision, couldn't make sense of it after some time.
Yamiru decided not to press the issue.
He smiled and asked, "Baba, what kind of person is this Supreme Elderly Lord exactly?"
"Mind your tone!" Baba snapped before explaining, "The Supreme Elderly Lord is a deity residing on the Mount Five Element, personally tending the Furnace Of Eight Divisions. You must understand that every soul on Earth, upon death, passes through the steam emitted by this furnace on their way to the underworld. According to legend, the Elder has been tending this fire for tens of thousands of years, guarding the gateway between the worlds of the living and the dead."
Yamiru thought, nodding. But he quickly asked, "Wait, I heard you could summon souls from the underworld to the living world. The fighters we faced before were demons summoned from hell, right?"
"Well…" Baba coughed awkwardly. "That's just a little hobby of mine. It has nothing to do with Earth or the Supreme Elderly Lord. Interfering with souls meant to cross into the afterlife. even I don't have the authority for that. In fact, not even the Supreme Elderly Lord does. That's strictly a privilege reserved for the higher gods."
Yamiru finally started to piece things together.
In essence, the entrance to the afterlife lies at the Mount Five Element. The steam emitted by the Furnace Of Eight Divisions serves as the highway for souls entering the underworld.
Just as rain naturally flows toward the earth due to gravity, the souls of the dead follow this mystical order to the Mount Five Element, where they ascend with the furnace's steam to the underworld for King Yemma's judgment. This has been Earth's natural order since time immemorial.
As for the Supreme Elderly Lord, she's essentially just the furnace operator — though her furnace happens to be top-tier.
Fortuneteller Baba might be seen as an intermediary shuttling between the two realms, but ultimately, only Earth's Namekian guardian has the authority and ability to directly intervene in how souls traverse the afterlife.
For instance, when Goku and Raditz died together, Kami outright bypassed the natural process, taking Goku's soul and body directly to King Yemma.
This only reinforced Yamiru's earlier thoughts:
"As long as you're alive, you can do as you please. But the moment you die, you're entirely at the mercy of these gods and celestial beings. They can even snatch your soul and corpse without a second thought. Even beings as powerful as Perfect Cell didn't make a peep after death. And as terrifying as Majin Buu was, when King Yemma decided he should reincarnate as a good person, the mighty Majin obediently became Uub without protest. No dignity whatsoever."
Thinking back, even Goku's Super Saiyan-level body could be effortlessly recreated by the gods in the afterlife.
And let's not forget the special exception King Yemma made during the Buu saga, granting Vegeta his body to assist Goku. At that point, Vegeta's power level was at least in the Super Saiyan 2 range. What kind of strength is that? To put it into perspective, consider Perfect Cell during his fight with Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. That guy claimed his Kamehameha could wipe out the entire solar system.
The gods of the Underworld could casually grant such a powerful body and energy without a second thought. It was truly mind-blowing.
In the original Work, after Goku had died once or twice, he seemed to adopt a more laid-back attitude toward life and death, especially when he was confident the Dragon Balls could resurrect everyone. While Goku was naturally optimistic and carefree, Yamiru couldn't help but wonder: during those seven years in the afterlife between the Cell and Buu sagas, had Goku realized something? Had he pierced through the veil of life and death in some profound way? No one could say for sure.
Thinking about Zeno from Dragon Ball Super, who could erase entire universes with a snap of his fingers, Yamiru found himself increasingly amazed by how extraordinary the gods of the Dragon Ball universe were. These gods might sometimes appear weak, could be killed, or even destroyed, but the abilities and significance they embodied were enough to send chills down his spine.
For now, Yamiru pushed aside his chaotic thoughts. He heard Fortuneteller Baba say hesitantly, "I'm afraid only by going there yourself can you truly find the answers you seek."
"Alright, I understand."
Though he didn't fully grasp the meaning of the "Mount Five Element" in her divination, at least it provided a lead — a clue toward a brighter future.
"Still, I can sense that it's not yet time to seek those answers," Yamiru murmured to himself.
He might still be weak, but he was no longer powerless.
As a qualified martial artist of the Turtle School, he had developed his own judgment about his path forward.
"For now, even though my progress has slowed, there's still room for improvement. Besides, I haven't climbed Korin Tower yet, nor have I visited Kami's Lookout. If this 'Mount Five Element' clue points to a level where I could punch through a planet, then there's no rush. I'll go when I'm ready."
Bidding farewell to Fortuneteller Baba, Yamiru stepped out of the palace and stood in the desolate desert, gazing up at the sky.
"Or when the day comes that I truly despair of my own potential, then I'll go and seek those answers."
A gust of sandy wind swept past as Yamiru tossed out a capsule containing a small plane. Climbing into the cockpit, he flew straight toward the Turtle House on the eastern sea.
Inside the palace, the masked man watched Yamiru's plane disappear into the horizon. Suddenly, a palm-sized, miniature woman emerged from his chest pocket, yawning and stretching. "Ah, that was such a good nap. Your steady heartbeat always puts me to sleep. I can't help it."
"Did I disturb you?" The masked man chuckled as he floated into the air, heading westward. "Let's go back. Annin said she just finished making a hot pot. Let's eat together."
"Hot pot? Yay!"
---
Yamiru had spent most of the day at Fortuneteller Baba's palace and several more hours flying toward the Turtle House. By the time he arrived at the island, it was already night.
Under the starlit sky, the black ocean shimmered with fractured moonlight.
"No full moon tonight."
Yamiru glanced up at the night sky as he maneuvered his plane to land on the sandy beach of the Turtle House's island.
The house was brightly lit, and faint sounds of Goku and Bulma arguing could be heard, along with Master Roshi's mischievous laughter.
Inside, Tights sat quietly by the window, reading a book. Hearing the sound of waves and a landing plane, she looked up.
The sea breeze blew through the open window, tossing her short golden hair into disarray. Turning her head toward the source of the sound, she saw Yamiru putting away his plane's capsule and walking toward the house.
Setting her book aside, Tights smiled in delight. "You're back! All seven Dragon Balls have been gathered. We're just waiting for you to summon that Dragon God or whatever it's called."