Watching Aragon's figure disappear into the distance, Taro stood still, frowning and pondering. "Muken..." This unique martial art he had comprehended from his Mangekyou Sharingan seed to have an insurmountable barrier for others.
It was as though... the people of this world were not supposed to learn this technique.
Aragon's talent was not weak, but even so, after six years, he still couldn't grasp it, nor could he even get started—he couldn't even perform the Double Muken. At the sa ti, during these six years, he had spent most of his ti on Muken, which had delayed his progress in other areas of his martial arts.
Taro pondered over the issue of Aragon's inability to comprehend Muken but could not co to any conclusion. In the end, he had to resort to a compromise, using his Sharingan genjutsu to directly display his partial comprehension of Muken to Aragon, helping him get started.
---
The Next Day
Morning broke with the rising sun.
On the fractured surface of the mountain destroyed by Taro's palm, golden sunlight scattered in fragnted beams.
The two stood facing each other. Aragon, with a serious expression, gazed at Tsuru's disciple opposite him, slowly assuming his starting stance, his feet shifting on the ground. On the other side, Tsuru's disciple sneered disdainfully, also taking the starting stance of the Tsuru style.
The wind blew gently.
The two moved!
"Your disciple... seems a bit different?" Tsuru, floating in the air alongside Taro, asked, watching Aragon and his disciple begin to engage below, a look of surprise in his eyes.
A master like Tsuru, with a sharp eye, could instantly tell how much confidence soone had. However, what puzzled him was that the aura emanating from Aragon had not strengthened at all compared to yesterday.
Taro smiled, also watching the battle below.
Bang!
Aragon and Tsuru's disciple locked their arms together, staring fiercely at each other up close. Suddenly, Tsuru's disciple grinned oddly, abruptly releasing his strength. Aragon's body lurched forward uncontrollably, and although he imdiately responded by sinking his waist and gathering his energy, it was... too late!
Tsuru's disciple seized the fleeting opportunity, raising his knee and crashing it into Aragon!
Bang! Aragon's arms numbed from the block.
But this was just a feint. As Aragon's arms went numb from the impact, Tsuru's disciple suddenly made him feel weightless and, with a loud shout, tossed him into the air!
"This is bad!" Aragon realized the danger, desperately channeling his energy to stabilize his body in the air with his Bukujutsu. But just then... a dazzling white light shot up from the ground toward him.
Aragon's pupils contracted sharply, the bright Mangekyou glow shining in his eyes, growing closer and closer...
Double Muken.
"That's Tao Sura's technique, right? You figured it out?" Taro pointed at the beam of light shot by Tsuru's disciple and smiled at Tsuru.
Tsuru grunted, noncommittal. He narrowed his eyes. Aragon had clearly had nowhere to retreat just now. The beam his disciple fired should have been a sure hit, but... that kid's speed suddenly exploded for no reason, and he managed to dodge it!
"Kid, what was that move of yours? Sothing's not right!" Tsuru's disciple frowned as well. As one of the combatants, he could more clearly sense the abnormality when Aragon dodged.
Although there was no sudden burst of energy, Aragon's speed... had doubled inexplicably?
Aragon landed back on the ground opposite Tsuru's disciple, smiling slightly.
"You're strong. If it were the old , I would've lost to you. But... today, you've already lost."
Tsuru's disciple's face darkened, coldly snorting.
"You talk big!"
Aragon replied, "If it's just talk, you'll find out soon enough."
With that, he let his ntal will rge with his internal energy, and with a stomp of his foot—Bang!—he shot like a shadow toward Tsuru's disciple!
"So fast!" Tsuru's disciple exclaid in shock.
If soone observing from a high vantage point were to look at Aragon's internal state, they would notice that his energy level had not changed at all. It remained slightly weaker than Tsuru's disciple's. But when Aragon used his energy to move, strike, fly, or unleash energy blasts, the power he released was exponentially greater!
If his internal energy was compared to a sword...
Before yesterday, Aragon was like an ordinary person holding this sword, capable of cutting wood and chopping trees; but today, he could wield the sa sword to cut through iron and gold!
The sword was the sa sword, but the wielder's level had beco worlds apart.
One was simply swinging the sword, while the other had mastered the way of the sword, rging with it, and was able to perform unimaginable feats with the sa sword.
And Now...
Aragon, using the Muken that Taro had taught him, grabbed the sword within his body and slashed it toward Tsuru's disciple, like striking steel!
"You've lost." Tsuru, suspended in mid-air, no longer had any interest in watching. He looked at Taro, puzzled.
"So this is your so-called Muken? What's going on? This kid's aura hasn't changed at all, but his punch power and speed have doubled! This completely defies logic!"
"There's nothing strange about it. Your move, the one mimicking Tao Sura, can also burst out power beyond your own strength, right?" Taro smiled aningfully and said. "The Muken just makes every punch and every step like that."
Tsuru frowned deeply upon hearing this.
Seeing Tsuru lost in thought, Taro said to him, "Talking won't do as much as a real fight. Co on, it's been many years since we last sparred."
Tsuru almost chuckled in anger. He pointed to the ground beneath them, the remnants of the mountain Taro had shattered, and said, "I don't want to end up like that! I still want to live a few more years!"
Taro rely smiled and looked at him.
Suddenly, Tsuru seed to realize sothing and stared into Taro's eyes.
"That palm strike of yours... was that the Muken?! Your disciple can use double the effect... how much can you use?"
"You'll find out by trying." Taro pushed Tsuru slightly, and they both retreated a few ters in mid-air, facing each other as they hovered. He said, "I've suppressed my energy to this level, not using a single bit more."
Tsuru looked at him deeply and could sense that Taro's aura was only about one-tenth of his own.
"Let's see then. I want to see just how much mystery you have!" Tsuru took a deep breath and casually assud a stance. With his current master-level skills, a martial arts starting stance was more of a habit than anything else.
Taro's face beca calm, and he raised his hand. The ninefold Muken nearly activated instinctively.
Whoosh! He charged toward Tsuru at high speed.
"The aura hasn't changed... but this speed is almost on par with my full force!?" Tsuru's pupils shrank, and he quickly dodged the incoming punch from Taro!
As Taro's fist ca at him, Tsuru suddenly launched a powerful strike at Taro's arm. Taro flipped mid-air, and his following whip kick aid for Tsuru's head!
Tsuru let out a low grunt and raised his arms, which were as solid as steel. With a Bang, he blocked Taro's kick, then grabbed Taro's leg, and with a shout, he tossed Taro into the air.
"This is insane! Using only one-tenth of his energy and he's nearly matching !?" Tsuru thought to himself, but just as Taro was thrown into the air, a series of white energy blasts shot toward Tsuru!
"This energy blast intensity... he used it without any change in aura!?" Tsuru had no ti to dodge, and with a roar, he raised his arms in front of him to block. Bang, bang, bang, bang... His clothes were torn, and white smoke swirled around him.
From a distance, Taro's voice rang out.
"How's that?"
Tsuru slowly lowered his arms, his expression thoughtful. Hearing Taro's voice, he glanced over and narrowed his eyes... suddenly, he sneered, retracted his aura, signaling the end of the fight. Taro understood, and flew over.
"What's wrong?" Taro asked, noticing Tsuru's odd expression.
"What's wrong? Heh heh... You're confused! You've gone down the wrong path and don't even know it! If the Master were alive right now, he'd beat you senseless!" Tsuru laughed coldly.
Taro frowned, quickly reflecting, and asked, "What do you an?"
Tsuru replied, "Don't you think the way you're using your energy is all wrong? Your Ki only has pure energy in it, but there's no trace of yourself in it! Anyone with the sa energy as you could unleash the exact sa attack!"
Seeing Taro deep in thought, Tsuru sneered and continued, "You're not like a martial artist at all; you're more like a fighter. Your energy isn't a part of you; it's just a tool you use, right? Your strength hasn't grown in ages, has it? You're a fool!"
He shook his head repeatedly and then said: "Consider this repaynt for the Bukujutsu from over ten years ago." He looked at Taro's disciple, who was lying on the ground, gasping and dazed from the earlier battle. Tsuru flew down to him.
"Kid, tell your master that if he hasn't made any progress, he should take down the Muten banner soon! Being a Muten master isn't just about being able to fight!" Tsuru sneered at Aragon, grabbed his dazed disciple, and soared into the air, heading toward the now high-risen morning sun.
"What happened?" Aragon, exhausted from the fight, was slightly confused by Tsuru's cryptic remarks. He looked up, seeing Taro slowly descending.
"Master, I won!" Aragon walked toward Taro, smiling with joy.
Taro ca back to his senses and patted Aragon on the shoulder without saying much. Just then, a voice called from the distance.
"Daddy, Aragon, what are you doing over there?"
Aragon turned his head, his expression slightly excited. As Master had said, Yuko should now be considered his fiancée. Taro smiled faintly at the sight but said nothing.
Yuko had never liked practicing martial arts since she was young, so the mountain path was particularly difficult for her. By the ti she reached Taro, she was out of breath. She looked at the two of them in confusion and asked:
"What are you two doing here so early?"
"Well..." Aragon scratched his head, glancing at Taro, then at Yuko, feeling a bit awkward.
"What's wrong with you?" Yuko laughed as she looked at Aragon, feeling like he was acting strange today.
"Stop asking so many questions!" Taro said, noticing the four-star Dragon Ball in Yuko's hand. He curiously asked,
"Why are you holding this out?"
"This bead is pretty! And it feels nice to touch." Yuko casually replied, then handed it to him when she saw Taro reach out his hand.
"Where are Uncle Tsuru and the others?" Yuko asked.
"They've left." Aragon answered honestly.
Taro's fingers rubbed the unusually smooth surface of the four-star Dragon Ball as he murmured to himself,
"Martial arts, huh..." He turned his head towards the east, where a golden sunrise hung in the sky, casting light on the earth. The trees and grasslands in the early spring morning looked full of life.
Flap, flap, flap... At that mont, a colorful bird flew across the sun, its wings flapping rapidly. It landed on Taro's shoulder, its claws scratching at his arm. It eventually walked down to his wrist, pecking at the four-star Dragon Ball Taro was holding.
"What a beautiful bird!" Yuko exclaid, reaching out to pet it.
Taro was also surprised, though he didn't pay it much attention. His mind remained on the words Tsuru had spoken earlier. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his mind, and Taro couldn't help but hiss, lightly pressing his fingers to his temples.
"Master?" Aragon noticed and asked with concern.
"It's nothing."
Taro waved his hand dismissively, the bird still perched on his wrist. He slowly walked to the edge of the broken mountain and gazed at the distant scenery. In the hazy morning light, he seed to see the martial artists from the original story...
"Krillin, Tien, Piccolo, Son Goku..."
"Son Goku..."
He rembered the scattered fragnts of his previous life, the explanations about "Ki" in Dragon Ball: Ki included all kinds of energy—courage, anger, righteous energy... He recalled how, in the original, Krillin and the others could sense a person's goodness or evil just through their Ki.
Then he rembered the visit of Vegeta, who, after learning about the use of Ki from Earth's martial artists, had made rapid progress in his power.
Taro reflected on himself.
It seed... from the beginning, he had just wanted to squeeze out the highest potential of his current body. He realized he had fallen into the trap of "only focusing on Ki quantity" and "only valuing battle power." After confirming his body's potential had reached its limit, he had abandoned traditional martial arts cultivation in favor of Muken.
After a long pause, Taro turned around, flicking his arm. The bird flapped its wings and flew up, but it continued to fly around him, as if unwilling to leave.
"Let's go, back ho."
Taro smiled and led his daughter and disciple down the mountain.
Soon, the three of them left the base of the broken mountain and returned to the Muken dojo, where Fanfan had already been waiting for them. When she asked about Tsuru and his disciple, Taro simply said they had left, and Fanfan did not ask any further.
"Martial arts... The will of martial arts... Perhaps it was ti to calm my mind and reflect."
The dojo gate slowly closed, and inside, a group of disciples wearing white martial arts uniforms practiced repeatedly, honing their skills in the training ground.
(End of Volu 2)
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