其之一
Chapter 1

ブルマと孫悟空
Blooma and SON Gokuu

Story

In a mountainous region quite far away from civilization, a boy with a monkey tail returns to his tiny home, where he attacks a large log in order to chop it into pieces. He then realizes that he is hungry, so he heads into his house to retrieve his staff and tell "Grandpa" (a tiny orb with four stars) that he's off to find food. Elsewhere, a teenage girl steps out of her car, and uses a round device to confirm that something is nearby. Thus, she gets back into her car and drives off. The monkey-like boy, meanwhile, is walking through the woods, and once he reaches a cliff, he decides he'll eat fish this time. He hops down, grabs a protruding branch, and springs off of it onto a spot on the bank of the river. He then removes his clothes and dips his tail into the river to fish with it. This catches the eye of a large fish, whom the boy manages to kill with one hard kick. He then claims his prize, and gleefully heads back toward his home with it.

As the boy reaches the road, the teenage girl's car quickly approaches him. She comes to a screeching halt, nearly hitting him and his giant fish. The girl scolds him for being in the road, but the monkey boy is also angry, believing that the car is a monster that wants to steal his fish. He lifts and tosses the car aside, challenging it to attack him further. The girl emerges from the wreckage with a pistol in hand and begins shooting at the boy, who thinks her to be an evil demon that has come out of the monster. The girl's shots are accurate, but the boy is barely harmed at all by them, and angered by her use of evil magic. The girl is shocked by his survival, so the monkey boy explains to her that he has been well-trained. He then prepares to attack her, but the girl quickly screams out that she is human, like him. The boy stops and attempts to confirm her claim, but is troubled by the fact that she seems thinner and weaker than himself. This prompts the girl to inform him that women are the fairer sex, after all.

However, the monkey boy is quite shocked to learn that she is female, for he has never seen one in person before. He does recall his late grandfather teaching him to treat women kindly, though, much to the girl's delight. The boy then inquires about her monster, which she explains is actually an automobile. He has heard of automobiles as well, and then wonders if this girl came from the city, which she confirms. The monkey boy then invites her to his home, where he'll feed her per his grandfather's advice. As they travel, the girl begins to think that the boy's strength may be of use to her.

When the duo arrives at the boy's house, he informs "Grandpa" that he has brought a woman home. The girl takes a look at "Grandpa," and shrieks, realizing it is a Dragon Ball. She excitedly notes her radar's accuracy and attempts to pick the ball up, but the boy will not allow her to touch Grandpa's memento. In response, she pulls two similar balls from her pouch, explaining that these things are called "Dragon Balls." She had found one of them (which has only two stars on it) in her basement, which prompted her to research it, where she learned that there are seven Dragon Balls in all, each with a corresponding number of stars on it. The monkey boy notes that Grandpa's ball has four stars, which makes it the Si Xing Qiu. The girl's two balls are the Er Xing Qiu, with two stars, and the Wu Xing Qiu, the ball with five stars that she found in a northern valley. When asked why she is searching for them, the girl explains that when all seven Dragon Balls are gathered, Shen Long, the dragon god, will appear to grant you any one wish you desire.

However, the Dragon Balls did not stay together after the last person, who apparently became a king, used them, and thus they are now scattered all over the world again. She intends to wish for a dreamy boyfriend, hence her need for his Si Xing Qiu, but the boy still refuses to give up Grandpa's memento. The girl then attempts to bribe him by lifting up her skirt and offering to let him feel, but he has no interest in touching filthy rear ends. However, her next idea is more successful: she suggests that he join her on her search, since it could be good training. The boy agrees, but he'll hold onto the Si Xing Qiu himself. The girl then thinks to herself that he will make a good bodyguard.

As they leave the house, the boy wonders how they'll find the other balls, to which the girl proudly explains that she created a device that can detect their signals: a "Dragon Radar." It currently shows that the next Dragon Ball is about 1200 km to the west, which will require a vehicle. As she searches her pouch for an apparent solution, she asks the boy his name, to which he responds, "I'm Gokuu. SON Gokuu!" She replies that her name is "Blooma." Blooma then remedies the vehicle situation by opening a case of capsules, throwing one, and in a cloud of smoke, a motorcycle appears. Gokuu is suspicious, but nonetheless, he hops onto it behind her, and they drive off.

Twenty minutes later, the motorcycle comes to a stop after taking a rough bump. Blooma then excuses herself, which Gokuu doesn't understand, and so she angrily blurts that she has to pee. Gokuu does not understand her secretiveness about it, but his thoughts are interrupted by her scream, so he quickly runs to discover the problem. Gokuu then finds her in the clutches of a pteranodon, but does not understand the problem. The pteranodon uses this to his advantage and ties Gokuu to a tree as he flies away to supposedly talk with Blooma. Blooma angrily yells to Gokuu for help, explaining that she'll be eaten, so Gokuu unties himself with his tail. He then realizes he may be able to "fly" with the motorcycle, and fiddles with the gears until it starts. When a hill gives him enough altitude, Gokuu jumps off of it, and wills his Compliance Staff to extend until it is long enough to whack the pteranodon over the head, killing it. The three of them fall down toward a ravine, but Gokuu tosses his staff and lands safely on the ground. Blooma, on the other hand, is left hanging from the Compliance Staff in the side of a cliff, where she finally relieves herself.

Continuity

The events of this chapter are depicted in Dragon Ball 1, first aired approximately 14 months after this chapter was first published. One major difference is an additional scene in the anime involving Pilaf.

Cast

• SON Gokuu (Debut)
• Blooma (Debut)
• Big Fish
• Pteranodon

Setting

The events of this chapter take place primarily on Mount Baozi. There are also scenes at Grandpa Gohan's house, which is located on Mount Baozi.

This chapter takes place during Age 749, about twelve years after Gokuu's birth. It is also set during Blooma's summer vacation from school, with 30 days remaining.

Miscellaneous

• Naturally, this chapter officially began the Dragon Ball series. However, within the Dragon World chronology, it is not the beginning of the story. Particularly, the entirety of the first Dragon Ball Z TV Special takes place 12 years before the events of this chapter.
• The artwork used in the title page for this chapter is used as one of the scenes in the first three Dragon Ball EDs.
• At 30 pages, this chapter is by far the longest, and more than twice the length of all following chapters. As a result, the first tankoubon volume has only 11 chapters, while all others have at least 12. Likewise, the first kanzenban volume has only 14 chapters, while the others each have at least 15.
• Despite the fact that Blooma's hair is purple in nearly all other colored manga pages and artwork, this chapter first had her hair as blue.
• This chapter features the first appearances of the Compliance Staff, the Dragon Radar, the Dragon Balls, and Hoi Poi Capsules.