— — — — — —
"Well, you're not wrong."
Master Roshi stroked his beard and nodded. Surprisingly, he didn't seem all that sad. Maybe after living so long, he'd already made peace with the cycle of life and death.
"Huh?"
He suddenly blinked and turned to look at Dragorr, confused. "Wait a sec—how'd you know I'm immortal, kid?"
After all, he didn't rember ever telling him that.
Dragorr just grinned. "Because I can see glimpses of the past and future. Otherwise, how do you think I got this strong so fast?"
At this point, he was so used to spinning nonsense that the lies rolled off his tongue like butter.
"Wait—what? I thought you got strong using technology?"
Roshi looked completely baffled.
"Hmm… well, maybe it's possible?" Roshi mumbled, starting to second-guess himself.
He knew there were plenty of weird things on Earth—like how Korin had that Super Sacred Water or whatever. Maybe that gave Dragorr an ability like that. But stuff like that wasn't easy to co by—not to ntion, Dragorr never had the qualifications to get his hands on it back in the day, let alone drink it.
That stuff could kill you if you weren't strong enough, and Dragorr's body and mindset back then were both nowhere near ready.
Besides, Roshi hadn't sensed any trace of training from him before. That's why he'd assud Dragorr was relying on pure tech.
As for Earth's Kami? Roshi had never even t the guy.
"You sure you're not just full of crap?" he asked suspiciously.
"Haha, co on! If I were lying, how do you explain everything I've accomplished? Everything I know?"
"Okay, okay, whatever you say," Roshi said, waving it off—he'd already gotten his hands on the sexy stuff, and that's all he cared about.
Dragorr also nodded, "Let's not dwell on it. Grab your stuff—we're heading back. Don't want Bulma waiting too long!"
Before Roshi could argue, Dragorr grabbed him by the shell and—ignoring his protests—teleported both of them back to the main island.
"Back already?" Bulma asked, arms crossed. "What were you two up to, sneaking off all secretive like that?"
"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" x2
Dragorr and Roshi both answered in perfect sync.
Then Roshi turned and waved at young Goku. "Hey, kid! Co here a sec!"
"Huh? You an , gramps?" Goku blinked and jogged over.
"I heard your grandpa was Gohan. Is that true? And do you know how he died?"
Roshi reached out and ruffled Goku's hair—but paused when he realized sothing weird: no matter how much he ssed it up, the kid's hair just bounced right back into place. It was like it had its own built-in styling gel.
"Hah, reminds of back when I was young and had a full head of glorious hair!" Roshi sighed dramatically. "You'd better appreciate yours while you've still got it, kid."
Dragorr: "…"
Sea Turtle: "…"
Bulma: "…"
"…This old man gives the creeps," Bulma muttered, poking Dragorr in the side. "And why do I get the feeling he's a total perv?"
Dragorr shrugged. "That's just how he is. Super strong, but yeah… massive perv. Don't worry, I already warned him. Just keep your guard up."
"Thought so." Bulma nodded knowingly, glaring at Roshi with barely concealed disdain.
anwhile, Goku stood there looking completely lost. "Yeah, my grandpa was definitely nad Son Gohan. That's what he told ."
"As for how he died… I don't really know," Goku said, his expression darkening. "I think it was so kind of monster. A really scary one. When I woke up, he was already… gone."
Just rembering it made Goku feel heavy inside. He really missed his grandpa.
"A terrifying monster, huh…?" Roshi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So it wasn't natural causes… Maybe soday I'll ask my sister to check the afterlife and find out what really happened."
Then he winced. 'Though… I'm broke right now, so let's put that idea on hold.'
"Don't worry about it," Roshi said, patting Goku gently on the head when he saw how down the kid looked. "Don't be sad, alright? From now on, you can train under . I already promised Dragorr I'd teach you martial arts. So… what do you say? Want to beco my disciple?"
He ruffled Goku's hair again—and this ti, he was seriously checking his potential.
And sure enough, the kid was the real deal. A natural-born martial arts genius.
Dragorr hadn't been lying.
"Talk about hitting the jackpot…" Roshi muttered to himself, impressed.
"Oh yeah! Turtle!"
Roshi turned toward his longti companion, as if rembering sothing.
"You really did get rescued by these guys?"
"Yep!" the turtle said with a nod. "Thanks to them, I didn't get eaten by wolves or mauled by a bear! They even brought all the way ho! You better make sure to thank them properly!"
He, Turtle, was soone who always paid back his debts—favor or grudge, it didn't matter.
"I hear you," Roshi replied with a nod. "Dragorr already got his thanks. Now then... Goku, how about you? What kind of gift would you like as a thank-you?"
Of course, this was just an excuse. The old man just wanted to give Goku a proper welco gift.
"You've got that Flying Nimbus cloud, right? Why not give it to Goku?" Dragorr suggested casually.
To be honest, that was pretty much the only cool thing Roshi had that was worth giving.
"Hmm… now that I ntion it, I rember Korin having a bunch of them up at Korin Tower. Maybe we can trade for more when we head there later," Dragorr thought to himself.
As for that whole "pure of heart" requirent to ride it? Well, rules were made to be bent. He'd look into it later.
It was flashy enough to be worth the trouble.
"Oh yeah! That's a good idea!" Roshi's eyes lit up. He raised his staff dramatically, pointed it at the sky, and shouted, "Co forth—Flying Nimbus!!"
A soft breeze blew by... and then... nothing.
The breeze passed. Still no cloud in sight.
Bulma, the turtle, and everyone else just stared at Roshi with increasingly unimpressed looks.
The silence dragged on. Roshi started sweating awkwardly.
Thankfully, at that mont, a streak of golden light appeared in the sky.
A golden cloud zood over at high speed and stopped right in front of Roshi.
"Hahaha! There it is!" Roshi laughed triumphantly. "This is the Flying Nimbus! It lets you soar through the sky at crazy speeds!"
"Let show you how it works!" he added proudly. "But rember, Goku—only people with a pure heart can ride it!"
With that, Roshi did a few warm-up stretches, limbered up like he was about to perform a stunt, and then leaped onto the cloud…
…only to go right through it and crash face-first into the ground.
Goku: "???"
Turtle: "Oof. That's rough. But, well… kinda expected."
Bulma: "Pfft—HAHAHA! Oh wow, so you can't ride it? I an, duh! You reek of perviness, and the cloud only lets pure people ride it. This just proves it! Hahahahaha!!"
Bulma wasn't even finished, she added, "If I were you, I'd be dying of sha. Haha, I can't believe you actually think you're pure. Do you even know what that word ans? Or maybe your old age left nothing in that rotten head of yours but perviness." HAHAHAHAHA!"
Roshi: "…..."
He'd completely forgotten about that rule. What an embarrassing fail.
Still, his skin was thicker than leather. He dusted himself off, cleared his throat, and pretended like nothing happened.
Sha? That's not even in his vocabulary.
"Ahem! Anyway—your turn, Goku! Give it a shot. You should be fine."
He was confident in his judgnt. Goku was clearly just a simple, innocent kid. That kind of pure-heartedness was rare.
"Okay, Master Roshi!" Goku nodded and walked over to the cloud.
Heave-ho! Heave-ho!!
Just then, a sound echoed from the sea. Everyone turned their heads toward that sound.
A small boat was cutting across the waves, being rowed vigorously by a tiny monk in yellow-orange robes.
He was giving it his all, paddling hard toward the island.
Before long, the little boat bumped onto the shore.
The young monk hopped off, looked around, and quickly spotted Dragorr, Master Roshi, and the others.
His eyes lit up, and he broke into a wide grin as he ran straight over to Roshi.
"Ah-hah! You must be the great, wise, and legendary martial arts master—Master Roshi, also known as the Turtle Hermit!"
"I'm Krillin from the Shaolin Temple! I ca here to learn under you—please, accept as your student!"
He quickly took off his backpack, opened it, and revealed a stash of glossy, ahem, adult magazines.
"I brought these as my offering for apprenticeship!"
"Hmm?" Roshi, who hadn't really taken him seriously at first, suddenly beca very interested—cough—that is, he was moved by Krillin's sincerity. He leaned in for a closer look, a pervy grin already forming on his face.
"Ohoho~ Not bad. Not bad at all…"
Bulma: "…Seriously?"
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