After defeating the Red Ribbon Army and taking their Dragon Balls, Goku finds that one is still missing. To find it, he goes to the palace of the All-Seeing Crone, Baba Urani, who agrees to find the ball for free if Goku and his friends can best her five supernatural champions in one-on-one combat.

"In the original Japanese edition, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z are known collectively as the 42-volume series Dragon Ball. The English Dragon Ball Z was originally volumes 17-42 of the Japanese Dragon Ball." In keeping with the original Japanese format, this book reads from right to left.