To reach Flame Mountain, one must first cross the vast desert. Fortunately, for the ordinary John, who has many capsules and advanced transportation tools, traversing the desert is not a difficult task.
In the desert, the most frightening thing is getting lost; however, John and his companions do not need to worry about this. With the guidance of the Dragon Ball Radar, they can navigate without fear of going off course.
John is driving the car, with Bulma and Goku in it, while Oolong happily sings along. The atmosphere is filled with laughter and joy, completely different from the struggles depicted in the previous storyline.
On a mountain in the distance, a person is looking through binoculars at the entrance of the desert road; it is Yamcha's servant, Puar. Soon, he spots a car driving towards them.
Puar immediately flies down from his hiding place and shouts to Yamcha: "Young Master Yamcha, we have business! A car is coming towards us!"
Yamcha drinks from his teacup and takes down a sword hanging on the wall. He says, "Puar, let's go meet these people. If they know their place, we will let them go; if not, they can't blame me for being rude."
After saying this, Yamcha rides his motorcycle at high speed to intercept John's car.
While John drives towards Flame Mountain, the weather becomes increasingly hot as they enter the desert. The previously lively trio begins to feel lethargic despite having air conditioning in the car.
Suddenly, a motorcycle blocks their path. John is startled and has to slam on the brakes.
The screeching sound of tires on pavement fills the air as the car finally stops just short of the motorcycle. Goku and Oolong, who weren't wearing seatbelts, crash into the front seats with a painful cry.
Bulma wakes up and initially wants to explode with anger at this interruption but loses her fury upon seeing the handsome man on the motorcycle. Instead, she feels delighted.
John also looks at Yamcha, who will soon intersect with his fate. Unlike in the comics, this Yamcha appears much more handsome and charismatic.
Perhaps due to living in the desert, Yamcha exudes a wildness that captivates everyone around him, especially women.
Even Goku has this wildness about him, but he is still too young and naive to display it fully.
Yamcha does not notice Bulma in the car; instead, he first sees John stepping out from behind the wheel. Although John may not be as good-looking as him, he radiates an aura of strength that indicates he is a skilled martial artist.
Yamcha loudly declares: "You should understand your situation now. Hand over all your capsules, and I will let you leave; otherwise, you will see what my sword can do."
John calmly replies: "I see you are also a martial artist. Don't you know that martial artists should uphold righteousness rather than bully others?"
Yamcha swings his sword and shouts: "Enough with your nonsense! I'm not here to debate with you. Since you refuse to hand over your capsules, don't blame my sword for what happens next."
With that, Yamcha draws his sword and strikes at John.
John dodges swiftly and counters with a kick. The two immediately engage in combat; however, with his sword advantage, Yamcha maintains an upper hand.
The sounds of their battle awaken Bulma from her daze over Yamcha's good looks. Seeing them fight, she rushes out of the car.
Bulma shouts: "Stop!" Her sweet voice instantly captures Yamcha's attention.
He turns to look at her and upon seeing Bulma's lovely figure, he feels as if struck by lightning; his previously pale face turns beet red.
His body stiffens as if paralyzed and he collapses to the ground.
Goku had just exited the car intending to help John but is startled when he sees Yamcha suddenly fall down. He looks at John in fear, thinking John's abilities are supernatural.
John rolls his eyes at Goku and says: "This guy is scared of girls; he froze up when he saw Bulma."
Goku and Oolong are left speechless by this revelation.
Meanwhile, Puar realizes his master's weakness upon seeing Yamcha incapacitated and shouts: "Young Master Yamcha!" He flies over to try to carry him away.
Bulma sees this handsome guy suddenly fall down and panics; she thinks he might be sick and approaches him to offer help.
However, Bulma's approach only causes Yamcha to retreat further while shouting: "Don't come any closer!"
This infuriates Bulma as she points at herself and asks John: "Do I look ugly? Am I scary?"
John immediately shakes his head and praises her: "Of course not! You are the cutest and most beautiful girl I know."
Hearing John's words makes Bulma satisfied; she seems less angry but still questions: "Then why does he react like this? Why is he so afraid of me?"
John looks at Yamcha being dragged onto Puar's motorcycle and responds: "Maybe he was just born afraid of girls—especially beautiful ones."
Bulma pauses for a moment after hearing John's explanation before asking: "Is there such a disease in this world?"
John replies: "The world is vast; anything can happen."
"That's such a pity! He's so handsome yet can't even approach girls," Bulma laments.
At this moment, Yamcha has recovered slightly; he revs up his motorcycle and tells John's group: "Hmph! I won't let you get away with this! Wait for me!"
After saying that, Yamcha speeds away on his motorcycle.
John's group ignores him and continues driving. The desert is vast; after driving all day they still haven't exited it.
They find a flat area where Bulma takes out a house capsule and creates a dome-shaped house for everyone to rest for the night in the desert.