Chapter 1: Reborn in DBZ as a human
When I woke up again I couldn't feel any pain in my body. In fact, I couldn't feel my body at all.
I down on at myself, and realized I was but naked. But it was hard to notice even that. It was as if my body was transparent, you could barely see the outline of it. I tried to move my limbs and felt that they worked just as fine as they did before.
But when I tried to clasp my hands together they just passed through each other, as if they weren't there.
I stopped trying to figure out what happened to my body and looked around trying to get a feel for my surroundings. But all around me as far as the eye could see was white. I was just floating in an endless space of white and I didn't have a clue what to do next.
I floated around for a few minutes trying to process the situation that I was in. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with literally nothing around me.
And that when I started to panic. I tried to float around looking for anything that could help in this predicament. A hidden exit, an explanation as to what was going on.
Just as I was starting to give up hope a bright shining ball suddenly appeared in front of me. I tried to block the light with my hand, but because they were transparent, it didn't quite work.
Suddenly a deep voice sounded from the shinning orb in front of me, " Welcome Reidan, you have been chosen. You shall be judged on your actions and your fate shall be chosen."
Huh, what's going on, is this the afterlife? So I really did die when during the car crash.
"You are indeed correct you did indeed lose your life during the car crash," wow so the glowing orb could even read my thoughts now, just great.
"But that was not the only life taken! You have been judged and have been deemed to deserve punishment. With your foolishness, you cost another their life and you shall now pay by living one of struggle and misfortune ."
What, what do you mean I cost another their life? What pain and suffering? What's going on?
I moved my mouth to ask questions, but nothing came out of my transparent vocal cords.
Then the shining bright light grew and grew and soon consumed everything including me as my vision start to go black.
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"WAAAA WAAAAA," I felt a small tap in my butt as I couldn't help but start to cry. I tried opening my eyes but all I could manage was a small squint which let me see the figures of a man, a woman, and other smaller figures standing over me. Then I felt my vision dim as sleep overtook me once again.
When I woke up again I felt less sleepy this time and was wrapped around in something really warm. I tried to move my hands but they were stuck under what I think is a blanket.
I tried to open my eyes again and this time I managed to fully open them. I tried to look around but realized I didn't even have the energy to turn my head fully. But what I could manage to see was that I was in the arms of who looked to be a slightly chubby middle-aged woman, who was looking down on me with a smile on her face.
"Come Feitan, your son had just opened his eyes for the first time, come quickly." I heard heavy footsteps approaching quickly as I saw the figure of a well built also middle-aged man come into my vision.
"Ahh, he has your eyes darling," I heard him say as sleep overtook me once again.
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I drifted in and out of sleep for a few days trying to get the energy to actually figure out what had happened to me. What was going on? The shinning bright ball said that I was going to be punished but this just seemed like another chance at life after I had wasted my last one.
After a few days of trying to look around every time, I woke up I finally had a sense of what my new home kind of looked like. It was an old wooden house with a small living room, attached kitchen, and one bedroom. I could see a large bed in the middle of the living room with a small tv in the corner. I had a small crib in the bedroom next to another bed that was already there. I had seen a little girl sleeping there, she looked like he was 5 or 6 years old, she would occasionally carry me around the house.
Of course, as a growing baby, I had to get fed too. As much as it felt embarrassing to get breastfed when mentally I was already 15 years old. But strangely it felt a little natural also, I guess that's because of my new body.
I was starting to think my punishment was to live a life of being poor, but I wasn't too sure. While my new family wasn't very well off, they could even be called broke compared to what I was used to, we still had a roof above our heads and food to eat every day. So far I wasn't really seeing the struggle or suffering that was promised.
Life went on and months passed as I continued to live life as a baby. After about six months I had started to crawl around the house, I was trying to find any books or other information that I could find out about my new life. So far I had gathered that my dad, whose name was Feitan, was a farmer. He was out on the fields every day, but now that winter was approaching I'm not sure what he would do. My mom, whose name was Marie, was a housewife. She looked after me, and my sister Alice. O yea, I almost forgot, my name in this life was the same as it was in my last life, Raiden.
Life continued to be easy and comfortable for another few weeks when on a certain winter day my dad burst through the house door.
"Marie take the children to their rooms, a herd of triceratops is nearby. They already trampled over Betir's fields," he said through ragged breaths, he had probably run back to the house.
I didn't think much of it as mom picked me up and placed me in my crib when I realized, did he just say triceratops?!
The situation was quickly dealt with when my dad went and got a shotgun that he had hidden under the floorboards. When he was later talking to mom I heard him saying that they just had to fire warning shots and the herd ran away due to the loud noise.
But I was still surprised, I was pretty sure that I had just been reborn into a poor family but now there is talk of dinosaurs? Where did that come from? I hadn't seen anything else that would suggest this different from the Earth I was used to. Maybe they just used different wording around here, like they named the buffalo triceratops.
I thought of different excuses in my head to justify what I had heard but there really was no denying that this wasn't the Earth that I was used to. There were ancient extinct monsters just roaming around in herds and my dad didn't even look that shocked. It was as if it was a normal occurrence, the way he knew how to deal with them by scaring them away with his gun.
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Time kept passing as months turned to years when I was to turn 7 years old. I had grown up like any normal child would, playing with the kids that lived around us. I had come to learn that we lived in a small farming community in a rural area. When I tried to ask my dad or mom for more information about where we were they just said we were in a rural part of Amenbo island. Also, he would take the produce from the farm and go once every few months to sell it at Sasebo city.
I didn't remember hearing about any of those places in my last life so maybe this was really a new world. Also, we kept having incidents with dinosaurs over the past few years, but not on our farm thankfully. The closest incident we had was when a farm a few homes away from ours got a whole horse stolen when a flying beast swooped down from the sky for a meal. It was huge almost as big as our house itself, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
On the day of my 7th birthday, we celebrated as usual with cake and a celebration with just our family. Even though I did have friends in the area, birthdays were for family.
The day after my birthday I woke up late, still groggy from the day before. The whole family had stayed up and watched a movie on the rickety TV while eating cake. It wasn't anything special especially compared to the 80" TV had had in my own room in my previous life. But it was a heartwarming evening, one I hadn't had too many of before because of how busy my parents always were at the hospital.
After I woke up I washed up and went to the kitchen to get some food for breakfast. Surprisingly dad was still there, and he seemed to be waiting for me. He usually left early in the morning to work in the fields.
"Ah finally up huh Raiden, don't worry it's just 12 in the afternoon," he said as I sat down on the small table we ate at.
I couldn't help it when I got a shade of red lighter from his teasing. I was quite mature for being 7 years old, of course, I would be when I was 15 before. But this gave my dad little to scold me about, so he took the chances when he had them.
"I was feeling sleepy today I mumbled," started to eat my bread with a little bit of jam.
"Ha, it's good that you got extra sleep, you're going to need your energy today. It's about time you learn how to start working the fields.
I gave a little nod back to my father since I was still chewing. I knew this was coming because a bunch of the other kids that lived around here also started learning when they were young. At first, I thought that I was about to be put through child labour, but then I immediately dismissed the thought. Dad hadn't so much as hit me as since I was reborn, no way he would subject me to hard labour. Well, it's not like I gave him much reason to punish me anyway, since I was already in my 20's mentally I knew how to behave.
Anyway based on what the other kids had told me all I would be doing is following dad around and basically learning how to do stuff, like till the land, plant seeds, and other farming things. I wasn't really sure what went on around the farm.
Dad and I left for the fields a little after breakfast so I would have time to digest and we reached the fields around 10 minutes later.
When we reached the field I realized other than the plants that were already growing there was no equipment anywhere. No tractor, no shovels, no anything.
Before I could ask dad what he usually worked with he pulled out a small box from his trouser pocket. He opened it had it was full of what looked like pills of some sort with a little button-like thing on the top. I don't know why but I felt like I had seen them before.
Then with a flick of his wrist dad pressed the button on one of the capsules in the box and threw it to the floor. With a poof of white smoke, a large tractor appeared in front of us.
But I wasn't paying attention to the tractor, I had just realized where I knew those pill looking things from. They weren't pills they were capsule from capsule corp, and if that was true all the dinosaur and the flying monster made sense.
I finally knew where I was, I had been reborn in the world of dragon ball!
"What's wrong son are you okay?" My dad asked with a worried look on his face.
I quickly hid the shock on my face, "Its nothing, I've just never seen you use a capsule before."
"Haha, that's right you've never seen me use a capsule before. Well, they are pretty expensive so I don't use them unless it's for work. What they do is pretty much let you store and keep things in these small capsules until you throw them out, then the item you put inside appears with a poof!"
I nodded absentmindedly, I was to busy thinking about what I had just discovered. Of course, I knew about dragon ball in my past life, who didn't? But I wasn't such a super fan that I knew every little thing about the world.
The rest of the day went by in a blur and I was still lost in my thoughts. I still tried to make it look like I was interested in what dad was saying about the farm, but my heart wasn't in it. I couldn't really feel excited about being a farmer when I knew there were aliens, androids, warlords, even gods who could all kill me with just a flick of their finger.
I was starting to see what my punishment was, I was reborn in this universe where might pretty much equals right, but currently speaking I didn't have much might to speak of. But hopefully, that can change. There have been strong humans in the dragon ball universe, especially people like Krillin and Master Roshi. But most humans are naturally weak, born with a power level below even 1. I would have to work hard if I wanted to get stronger.
Luckily enough I was born on a farm, the very place where young Krillin and Goku and started their training with Master Roshi. Even though they were both freaks of nature, running the 100 meters in times that would break world records back in my old world, I had to start somewhere.
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"Dad, can you tell me what year it is?" I asked after thinking about what to do for a few days.
Even though I was in the dragon ball universe it didn't mean I had to go towards the path of fighting and training I could still live a normal life and study and get a normal job. As long as I don't cause a big enough influence on the timeline Goku and the other z fighters should continue to keep the Earth safe for a long time.
Unless they weren't here anymore... I figured out what universe I was in, but I don't know what timeline it is! Goku and all his friends could have died long ago and I would have no idea.
My dad, who was reading a newspaper at the breakfast table, looked up at me with confusion on his face. " Why the sudden interest in the date all of the sudden?" He asked before going on the answer my question anyway.
"It's the age 742." He said before going back to his paper.
I sighed as I realized that that still didn't really help me I had no idea what year the dragon ball timeline to place. But I did remember when the first world martial arts tournament that Goku took place because of a certain meme in my other world it was the 21st.
"uhh, dad when is the next world martial arts tournament?" Dad looked up from his paper again, " I heard one of the other kids talking about it," I added before he could ask questions.
"Well I do remember that the 19th one was a few years ago, I guess that means the next one will be in 2 or 3 years. What interested in joining?" He said with a chuckle, clearly amused at the thought of his little boy participating in a tournament with the world's best fighters.
"Also dad, I want to start working on the farm," I said before he could go back to his paper.
"Aren't you already doing that? I showed you around just a few days ago."
"No, I don't mean just helping you around with the farm. I mean I want to work there permanently." I said while making sure I looked at him in the eyes to show that I was serious. I seldom asked my parents for anything so I knew he would consider my request.
"Hmm, are you sure? But what are you going to do about school? I don't think your mother will let you get out of going to work on the farm. You know she wants you to study and get a job in one of those big cities."
I looked down not sure what to say. Kids in the farms around here started school at the age of 7, the same age they started learning about the farms from their parents, mostly their dads. I guess it was some sort of transitional age from child to adult around here. But I really didn't want to go to school, especially due to me probably already knowing the material that would be taught.
If I remember correctly Goku and Krillin also learned with master Roshi and all they did was reading and basic arithmetic and they were around 11 and 12 at the time.
If I wanted to start training in earnest I would need to figure out how I could get out of going to school and to do that I would need to convince my mom.
Convincing mom turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be.
At first, she was very skeptical about me skipping my schooling to go start working at the farm. But I asked her to give me some of the questions that they would be teaching during the school year and decide based on how I did on them.
I sped through all the papers that my mom prepared with ease while my mom was trying not to looked surprised as she watched me work.
The material she had prepared for me was fairly easy, just some simple reading comprehension and arithmetic. I was just glad there was no history in it because I didn't know any of it.
Finally, after about half an hour I finished up my work and handed my papers back to mom to let her look over them. She read over them slowly and after she was done she looked at me with a shocked look on her face.
"When did you even learn how to read, much less do math?" she asked.
I felt my brain shut down as I tried to process her question. Shit. Of course, how could I be so stupid? How did I do all the school work when I wasn't even supposed to know how to read because I hadn't been to school yet.
" Uh Uh, I looked at the books that you have in your room and learned from those." I stammered.
I saw my mother's face slowly turn red and I thought she was angry until she spoke again.
"You didn't read all the books in the room, did you? " she asked sounding a bit embarrassed.
I took a second to realize why she had gone so red when I realized mom must have had some steamy books that I wasn't supposed to know existed.
"No, just the ones at the bottom of the shelf. Why?" I asked trying to sound as innocent as possible.
"N no reason, I was just curious," she answered with a sigh of relief.
"So can I start working on the farm? From your reaction, I think I did pretty well on the test right?" I asked with a grin on my face.
"Yea I guess there is no reason for you to go to school if you already know everything they are teaching," she said with a thoughtful look on her face.
I could help but jump up with excitement, I could finally start my training now!
"Don't get too excited Mister! I'll give you a test like this one every year and if you don't do well you WILL go to school like all the other kids," mom said with a resigned voice.
I didn't really put the additional tests in my mind, based my the knowledge from my past world I should still be at least 4 or 5 years ahead of the curriculum here. I wouldn't have to worry about school for a while yet.
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While starting to train sounded easy enough, going through with it was hell. I tried to do what Goku and Krillin and turn the soil on the field with my bare hands and within minutes I had several broken nails and was bleeding from the fingertips. After that fiasco, I strictly used a shovel when I turned the land. I didn't want to give my mom any reasons to send me to school, and coming home with bleeding hands was a big fucking reason.
Along with helping on the farm I also started running daily and swimming in a lake near the farm, although there weren't any sharks in it.
With all the extra exercise I was getting I started eating a lot more food every day, which I'm sure mom noticed, but she didn't bring it up.
A few months passed and since with was no longer planting season so I didn't have land to till anymore since the ground was starting to harden up winter, I started to cut firewood instead.
Looking for logs in the woods, carrying them back home, then having to chop them up took a lot of energy and it was a nice replacement for farm work.
When I felt the routine start to become a little easier I even started putting rocks and other heavy things in my pockets to weigh me down, to make the exercise harder. It wasn't as if I just had a giant turtle shell laying around that I could wear.
Seasons changed and months turned to years as I continued my training. I had grown up quite a bit in the last 2 years, now standing at 4,7". I had worked hard over the last two years and it showed in my appearance. Gone was the baby fat that used to cover my body, in its place was a lean figure that even looked a bit skinny.
But if you looked closely you could see the muscle explosive muscle that was there, hidden in the wiry frame.
With only 1 year left until the 20th world martial arts tournament, I wanted to test my strength to see how I compared to how Goku and Krillin. The first test I wanted to do was the 100-meter dash, so I called my sister over from the house to measure my time for me as I ran.
After I finished running she handed the stopwatch to me and I looked at it with shock. How could this possibly be my time!
I stared at the time on the stopwatch in disbelief, 13.79. Could I still be that slow?
Of course, my training regimen wasn't anything close to Goku or Krillin who did maybe double what I did, with 40 kg shells on their backs. But still, I should have been a lot faster than 14 seconds. It was as if I was just a very athletic 9 years old.
Maybe I just wasn't fast, my strength should have at least still improved right?
I looked for a rock that was around the size that Goku and Krillin tried to push at the start of training. The one they used to test their strength at the end of their training was the size of a freaking mountain, so no way I was going to try and push one of those.
After a few minutes of searching, I found a rock that looked to be around the size I was looking for. It was a head or two taller than me and as wide as I was tall.
I took off the extra layers of clothing that I was wearing that had all the extra weight in them. I didn't want to be handicapped when I tried to move the rock.
I set my feet solidly making sure I wouldn't slip as I started at the rock. I took a few deep breaths as I prepared myself and pushed as hard as I could against the rock.
Nothing.
It didn't even budge.
I kept pushing and pushing but still, the rock wouldn't move. In desperation, I pressed my whole body against the blasted thing in an effort to get it to even shake or wobble. Still nothing.
After a few minutes of futile attempts at moving the stupid stone, I finally gave up hope. I still had one more test left to take and if I used the previous two as any sort of example then this one wouldn't go any better.
I got into a deep squat and pressed as hard as I could against the ground trying to shoot up into the sky by jumping just as Krillin and Goku had. They had been able to see the whole island from how high they reached but I wasn't putting myself on their level. Even a fifth of that kind of power would be sufficient enough to make me feel as though my training was worth it.
But I didn't go to a fifth of Goku or Krillin's jumping heights. I didn't even get to a tenth. After rising up about 2 1/2 feet to the air I stopped, as I felt gravity start pulling back down into the Earth.
H- how could this be happening. After all the training I had done? What was the point, of working so hard? I felt tears start to come to my eyes I started the walk back home. Alice was probably starting to wonder where I went after she timed me, I didn't want to make her worry.
As I walked back home I tried to think about what went wrong. I'm sure I worked as hard as I could while pushing my self, so why were my results so... average. If I had to guess about how strong I was right now I think it would pretty much just be a very athletic kid.
There is no way I would be able to fight the huge hunks of muscle or the beasts that showed up in the World Martial Arts Tournament. Much less win the whole thing.
No, I couldn't keep thinking pessimistically, my hard work had still paid off. I was an athletic freak with all things considered if you didn't include any aliens or freaks of nature.
I don't even know if Krillin was even human or not like he didn't even have a nose. I could also include Tien under that, he had 3 eyes for god's sake.
Was it really impossible for a normal human to get as strong as the z fighters? Even master Roshi was an immortal freak, he didn't count as normal.
As I pondered on whether I could even get any stronger due to me being human, other than the dragon balls of course, it hit me. Yamcha. I almost forgot about him because of how useless he is later on but compared to the other people on Earth he is still super strong. How had they all done it? Transcended the limits and become so much more powerful than everyone else on the planet?
My eyebrows scrunched together as I thought of a solution to my predicament when I heard someone calling out to me.
"Hey Raiden, you alright? You suddenly went running off after I timed you."
My thoughts were interrupted by my sister looking at me with concern on her face. She was clearly worried about me.
"Huh, yeah sorry I just have a lot on my mind right now," I replied. I didn't really wanna talk about how I was upset over my strength not being as much as kids who technically were still toddlers.
"You wanna talk about it?" she said as she sat down at the dinner table. She pulled the seat next to her back and motioned for me to sit down next to her.
I hesitated then decided to take the seat. I had been stuck in my own mind for far too long and maybe talking to someone would help me figure out why my training wasn't working.
I looked at Alice and noticed that she was waiting for me to speak. I let out a sigh and started telling her what was wrong.
"It's just that I've been working as hard as I can to try and achieve something. But when I stopped to actually see how much I had progressed I realized that I am still so far away from my goal." I didn't really feel the need to hide what I was thinking from Alice, she was my sister after all, and she knew I was a lot more mature than kids my age should be, so she would take what I said seriously. But obviously, I wasn't going to start talking about how I got reincarnated in an anime world, that I think would freak her out.
"Well, what I find best when trying to reach a goal or accomplish something is setting small steps on the path of what you want to achieve. It helps keep you motivated, and right now I think you could use a bit of motivation."
I took a second to take in what she was saying. Yea, I guess I had set the bar way too high right away at the start. People trained their whole lives to compete in the tournament, and I was trying to do that in just 2 years. I needed to stop comparing myself to Goku or Krillin, one of them was a literal alien. Of course, I wouldn't be able to get stronger at the pace they did. Also, my training had worked, I was so much stronger and faster than I had been 2 years ago when I started it. Just setting my standards to what was maybe unreachable had made me think I was not getting better.
I realized that I started to get introspective while Alice was waiting for me to respond. I shot out of my seat with a smile on my face, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and ran out the door.
"Thanks for the talk, I really needed it," I shouted as I left the house.
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I continued my training for a few more weeks keeping up with my routine thinking of what I could do to keep getting stronger for my goal. I followed my sister's advice and I didn't think of winning the upcoming world martial arts tournament that was in a year. I think it may be impossible based on my strength right now.
My new goal was to at least win one match in the preliminaries, against the best fighters in the world that is a nice benchmark for the future.
Then a few weeks after I had tested my growth I finally realized the difference between me and the z fighters.
They used Ki when they fought or trained, and that was what I had been missing. How could I be so stupid, I hadn't even been thinking about learning how to use ki or how to meditate at all.
But where to start, how do I even use ki?
I tried to think about how they trained with ki in the early stages of the manga, but there wasn't really any explanation. Goku just looked at master Roshi and knew how to use it, being the genius he is.
I scrunched up my forehead trying to think through the whole anime for anything that would help me at least get started and that's when I remembered. Videl had caught Gohan wearing his silly saiyaman costume and blackmailed him into teaching her how to fly.
I tried to think through their lessons, I didn't have a very clear memory of them but I do remember Videl meditating and trying to reach for the energy or ki or chi inside of her, whatever you what to call it.
I sat down with my legs crossed and tried to relax my breathing. I felt pretty nervous but eventually, with a couple of deep breaths, I was able to get my heartbeat steady as I tried to feel for the energy inside me.
And I felt it, a warmth inside me like I was standing by a campfire on a winter night. I tried to get closer and closer to that heat and grasp it. Control it.
Then suddenly it all went wrong, I had been sitting so still, so focused on my meditation that a bird landed on me, right on my hair. I snapped out of my meditation as I fell to the floor with a thump. The bird quickly flew off startled by my sudden movement.
Huh? Fell to the floor. It wasn't a long drop maybe a few inches off the ground but, I had been floating. Well, I don't think I could even call it floating at this point. I was at most hovering above the ground. Still, it was a step in the right direction, proof that I was making progress, quick progress at that. Videl had also managed to float on day 1. But she practiced martial arts her whole life, she had a much bigger lead than me. Showing signs of success was already good enough for the first day for me.
I got off the ground, patted off the dirt and small bits of grass that had gotten stuck to my pants, and walked home with a smile. Finally, I was starting to step closer to my goal of the world martial arts tournament.
As the weeks passed I continued my training with both my ki and physically. Though I saw little growth in the strength of my body; I knew I would have to keep it up, if not I would lose the gains I had already made.
But with my ki, it was a totally different story. I was able to maneuver in the air by the end of the second day, and by the end of the first week, I doubted it would ever need to ride an airplane again.
In fact, sometimes I felt like I was improving too rapidly. As if the ki in my body was developing too fast for my body to catch up to.
This had turned out especially bad when I started to try and use Ki blasts.
At first, I had been cautious. Slowly feeling out my ki and trying to direct it out of my hand in a beam. What resulted was a very disappointing poof of smoke while I looked around to see if anyone had managed to see my sad attempt at a ki blast.
But when I started to increase the amount of ki it started to feel almost natural. I tested the strength of the blasts and I could easily blast rocks of the size I had tried to lift earlier.
But when I tried to pour even more ki into the blasts, that's when complications started to occur. I increased the amount I was using in my blasts by nearly half and tried firing it into a larger rock to see what kind of damage I could do.
Then in the middle of the blast, I felt my whole arm feel as though it was about to burst. It was as if the ki had overloaded the arm itself it was not short-circuiting. The Ki blast that came out was the same size as the one I had fired off before and I managed to figure out, from the brain-numbing pain that was coming from my arm, that the rest of it was still somehow stuck in my arm.
I quickly got into a meditative position trying to force the rest of the ki that was in my arm out of my system. I bit back a grunt of pain as the skin on my arm literally starting peeling apart as if the ki was trying to force itself out of my body.
I entered meditation easily, I had become quite proficient at it in the last few weeks, and focus my mind on my right arm.
I felt the residue of ki left behind from my ki blast as I focused my mind to once again take control of it. I gathered up the remaining ki and fired it off into the ground by my feet, setting out a sigh of relief as the pain left me.
Well, most of it anyway, half of the skin on my arm was still missing, even though it was quite a light wound, akin to one you would get from being under the sun too long, it still hurt like a bitch. I floated down to the ground, for some reason I found it much easier to meditate in midair than on the ground and looked at my arm to make sure the injuries weren't too bad.
I walked to the nearest water source, which happened to be a tiny lake of water that we often used to wash our clothes. I washed off the blood on my arm, much of which had started to dry, as I tried to think how I would explain to mom how I got sunburnt on the bottom and top of my arm.
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"Raiden." I flinched when I heard my mother scream my name as I entered the house. "Where were you! Mister, you know what time dinner is, and this isn't the first time this week either!
"The foods starting to get co-" my mother stopped when he saw the state my arm was in. It looked torn up, and with the blood starting to dry and scabs forming it looked a lot more gruesome than it actually was.
Quickly the angry expression on my mother's face changed to one of worry as she crouched down beside to and examined my arm.
"Ohh my poor baby, what happened how did you get hurt?"
"Uhhh, I fell?" What else could I tell her? That I had figured how to use a mystical energy called ki, and it nearly caused my arm to explode while I experimented with it.
No way, at that point I wouldn't need to worry about my arm anymore, I couldn't even be allowed to leave the house.
My mother raised an eyebrow at my lame attempt at an excuse but decided to deal with it later seeing as I was still injured.
She quickly grabbed the first aid kit we kept in the house, my dad had bought it after one of the other villagers had nearly gotten tramped to death by a stay T-Rex.
She quickly put what I'm pretty sure was alcohol on my arm, from the way my arm burned when she sprinkled it on me. Then she bandaged my arm, making sure to cover all the peeled away skin, and even made a makeshift cast so I wouldn't accidentally hit my arm on anything. By the time she was done, I looked like I had actually broken my arm not just gotten minor wounds on it.
"Raiden! What happened?" I heard the door open when my sister, go had gone to one of her friend's homes for the day, stepped into the house. What followed was a scream even higher pitched than my mother's.
As she starting to fuss over my arm, I let out a deep sigh. It was going to be a long night.
After that whole incident with my arm, I didn't leave the whole for almost 2 weeks. Not because I was being cautious, but because my mother simply didn't let me leave the house until I was fully "healed".
I would have been mad, but I could tell she did it because she was actually worried about me. If she's this concerned about that level of injury, I don't want to think about how she will react when I ask her if I can go to the world martial arts tournament.
The time spent at home wasn't totally wasted though. Even if I was prevented from doing my physical training for a few weeks I could still meditate and experiment with my ki. I just made sure I wasn't floating while I did it.
One thing I did discover was another way to use my ki.
My arm had started to scab over and of course, I couldn't help but pick at it. But when one of the scabs started leaking blood, which I should have known would happen, I tried something new.
I focused my ki towards the open wound from the scab and tried to create a blockage of some sort to stop the blood from flowing.
If the ki could force itself outward almost making my arm explode surely I would be able to maneuver it to some extent.
While it took a few days and a bit of practice I was eventually able to get my blood to stop flowing out from the scab.
While it wasn't anything ridiculous like Dende being able to heal life-threatening wounds in minutes, the trick would let me stop the bleeding if I was ever injured and give me time to get help.
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After I was finally released from my grounding, I began to train at full force.
I increased. my physical training, now that I could use Ki to increase my power and stamina my body could take a lot more.
But I did it with caution, when I used the ki inside my body I felt as if I was a balloon. I could keep on using ki until a certain point where it would become too much and I would pop.
I was also able to realize that the amount of ki I could use increased as I got stronger physically. But not a lot of physical growth was happening, no matter how hard I trained. And if there was any, it was minuscule or simply due to me getting older and naturally stronger.
But with only around 10 months left till the tournament, I knew I would have to start changing my way of training. I was hitting a plateau and getting increasingly frustrated as the days went on. Also, it would be useful for me to practice actual martial arts for the rest of the time until the tournament, not just physical labor since it wasn't helping me anymore.
I knew that with my newfound abilities to use ki I could probably already win the whole tournament but that wasn't what I was working towards. Using ki blasts to just explode everyone wouldn't be satisfying at all and I didn't work this hard to just not get challenged at the competition.
No, I would use the ki to enhance and stamina and strength, but ki blasts and other ki attacks were off-limits. At least until I fought someone strong enough to match me.
But to get actual experience I would need to leave home, and that's where the difficulties started.
I doubt my mother would be very excited to let her little boy run off to explore the world looking for ways to get better at fighting, and my sister wouldn't be too happy either.
I think dad already kind of knows what I'm planing. He has seen me do all my training and my exercising around the farm, and I asked him when the next Budokai would be. But I don't think even he was ready for me to ask about it this early.
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"NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. Why do you think there is even an option for it. I knew I should have made you go to school, then we wouldn't even be having this conversation."
I glanced at my dad hoping for some help but he clearly wasn't going to argue with mom, putting his hands up, pretty much saying don't look at me.
"But mom," I tried once again to plead my case.
"No buts. No. And that's final." She stood with her hands crossed in front of her clearly not willing to humor any argument I was about to give her.
"Please just give me a chance, let me show you what I can do. And if you think I'm still not ready after that I won't ask again. Please?"
This time it was my dad who spoke up, "Cmon honey at least you can give him a chance, if you still think he can't handle himself then you can just say no after that."
"Fine fine. You can show me. But I'll still say no anyway, what's the point?" Mom relented with a sigh of resignation.
We all walked outside and I stepped in front of a huge Boulder that was almost time my size.
"Ready guys? Watch closely," I said to my parents with a grin as they stood by unimpressed.
I focused my ki and directed as much of it as I could to my right arm, then I punched the rock as hard as I could, watching it crack then fall apart in the process.
I looked back at my parents and couldn't help but laugh at the shocked look on their faces.
I brushed off a little bit of dust that had gotten on my arm from the punch as I turned back to my parents.
"So did I change your mind?" I teasingly asked my mother.
My mom looked like she was still trying to process what had just happened just stared at me with her mouth slightly open in awe.
After a few moments of silence, my dad finally spoke up, " Well that was certainly something."
Mom who seemed to be finally out of her stupor just stared at me. She opened her mouth to say something just closed it again due to how speechless she was.
"Well he showed you what he can do, now you have to decide if he can go or not," said my dad with a smile.
Finally breaking free of her thoughts my mom looked at me and said, "Do it again. You could have set it up with dynamite or other explosives. Do it again with another rock. If you can get the same result. I'll... consider your request."
Even though I was slightly annoyed at her thinking I would lie, I understood that she was just concerned. Where would a kid get explosives anyway?
I led my parents to another boulder that was nearby. It was a little smaller than the first one so I looked at my parents to make sure it was fine. As if she knew what I was about to ask, mom just nodded slightly to say the rock was satisfactory.
Once again I charged my fist with as much ki it could take, and this time instead of crumbling apart it blew up in a small explosion.
But I was prepared for this. I had already surrounded myself with my ki, creating what looked like an aura of ki surrounding me keeping me safe from the shrapnel like rocks.
As for my parents, I had already told them to stand far enough back so the chance of them being hit by the stray rubble was next to nothing.
Both dad and I looked at mom to see what her response would be. For a while, she just stared at me and I thought she was about to refuse even after seeing me use my ki. Then finally she gave me a small nod as she sharply turned around and walked back to the house.
I could tell she wasn't happy about giving me permission but nevertheless, she had agreed and I could start packing for my trip.
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Well, packing turned out to be an overstatement since I had completely forgotten about the existence of capsules. Dad just handed me a capsule that he said had a tent with basic equipment and toiletries in it and that was pretty much all I needed.
They had also wanted to buy me some sort of hovercraft or bike or my road to the southern continent, I had told them I was going there first, would be easier. But I had resolutely denied the offer. I knew that I would be able to fly faster than any vehicle they bought me so I didn't want to waste their money.
I had wanted to leave the very same day but mom refused, saying she wanted to eat one more family dinner together before her little baby went off on his own.
I didn't object either, I wouldn't be seeing my family again for maybe a year so spending one more evening together wasn't going to hurt.
What followed was the biggest feast I've ever had. Mom really gave everything she had and by the time I was done I had to ki to reinforce my stomach, I didn't know if it could take so much food.
The whole family chatted around the dinner table and although it was a happy occasion it was easy to tell there was a somber tone to everything.
The next morning was when I officially left the house. Once again they had tried to give some sort of transport but I denied saying the trip was also a form of training.
I kissed my mom and sister on the cheek, hugged my dad, then ran off into the distance. I knew they were still there, waving at me as I ran further and further. I distinctly heard the soft sobs of my mother and I felt my eyes start to get wet. But I didn't look back, I knew it would just make it even harder.
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After what seemed to be an eternity of running I finally turned around and looked back at where I came from. The house was but a mere speck in the landscape and the chance that they were still standing outside of the house, much less be able to see me from there were almost none.
I wiped my eyes and rose to the sky. I had to keep my mind on what was important and right now that was finding my way to Sasebo city. It was the only city on the island we lived in and where my dad would often go to sell his excess crops.
I quickly look a glance at the map I had and shot off in a blur of speed towards Sasebo city.
It took me almost the whole day to fly to Sasebo city, mostly because I could only fly so fast without putting a strain on my body. As my reservoir of ki kept increasing day by day not being able to use it was becoming increasingly frustrating.
Several times during my flight I had to hold back and not increase the ki I was using to fly. Having body parts threaten to blow up while hundreds of feet in the air wasn't really on my to-do list.
When I finally reached Sasebo city the sun was starting to set and I needed a place to crash for the night.
I descended down into a lone alleyway into the city to make sure I didn't get spotted. I wanted a place to sleep and since I was going to go training soon I might as well sleep in a bed while I have the chance.
But first I needed to know where the hotels in the town were.
"Excuse me, do you know where the nearest hotel is?" I asked a person walking nearby. He was a young man with light blond hair and a cowboy hat.
"O just continue down this road and take a right when you see a building with a pointy bit on top. You can't miss it."
"Thanks," I said while running towards the direction mentioned.
It turns out the guy was pretty accurate with his descriptions of the place. The hotel was one of the largest buildings in the area and was decorated by a large spire.
I walked in and noticed that there were a bunch of brown-skinned men in white togas gathered around the desk.
"What do you mean there aren't enough rooms for all of us? Do you know who we are? You dare insult the students of the great king Chappa!"
The young lady at the desk stayed impressively calm as she spoke to the group of students trying to intimidate her.
"Once again all we have left is 2 single bedrooms, I'm sorry we really can't give you all a room"
Before they could keep arguing with her I stepped forward next to them.
"Can I have a single bedroom for the night please?"
The lady looked surprised that I just ignored the students of king Chappa but she remained professional nonetheless.
"Of course, that will be 1500 Zeni for the night."
I quickly handed her the money and took the key she offered.
Before I went to my room I turned towards the students still trying to negotiate with the clerk. I thought they would try to harass me for taking one of the remaining rooms but at least they had the decency not to bully a kid.
But this was the best chance I had at learning martial arts right now. I had no idea where kami Island was, and even if I did know there was no guarantee that Master Roshi would even help me train. Goku and Krillin had to kidnap a person for him to help them so I think that idea is out the window for now.
"You wouldn't happen to know the great King Chappa, would you? You guys are dressed pretty similar to him." I asked the one who had the highest ki in the group, though even his was almost nonexistent.
By the way his face lit up I could tell I had successfully sent out the bait he had caught on like a moth to a fire.
"You know of our teacher! To think his reputation had spread to the point where even kids know his name," he said with a hearty laugh.
"Yes, my father is a big fan of his martial arts. If he's your teacher is there any chance I can meet him?" I asked trying to sound as excited as possible.
"Ahh sorry kid. Right now our master is at his dojo in the south capitol training for the upcoming world martial arts tournament. He said his goal is to be crowned the best in the world this year. I don't think he will meet any fans or even his own students for quite some time."
"O that's ok. Thanks for helping." I said before I walked to my room.
Now I knew where to find the man I just had to get there. This was my chance to get real martial arts training from one of the best on Earth. I just needed to figure out how to convince him to train me.
After getting a good night's sleep at the hotel, I took off early the next morning to get to the southern continent.
I'm on Amenbo island right now so to get to the southern capital I would need to fly over to the southern continent. It wasn't too far of a journey but I still wanted to leave as soon as I could if I wanted to use my time efficiently.
Right at the crack of dawn, I flew out of my hotel room window, and with a quick glance at my map to make sure I was flying in the right direction, I shot towards the southern continent.
King Chappa stuck out with his fist leaving yet another training post dented and in need of repair.
He had sent out his students the day before to Amenbo island and from there they would travel to papaya island where they would train and wait for his arrival to compete in the 20th world martial arts tournament.
He was breathing heavily and his fists looked as if they had been through a blender, bloody and swollen.
'I'm so close, in just a few months I should reach the level of 8 arms and master the eight-arm fist.' he thought as he calmed his breathing to get ready for another bout of training.
Just as he was getting prepared to work on another training dummy he felt a presence in the compound.
Even though Chappa had yet to obtain mastery of ki, he was still an experienced martial artist and had no trouble feeling when he was being watched.
"Come out you coward, if you have enough skill to watch me from the shadows come out and fight!" shouted King Chappa as he shifted into a fighting stance.
Then slowly a presence slowly appeared behind one of the pillars in the dojo.
Chappa could finally feel the presence of the man clearly now. Before all he had was a suspicion he was being watched, a suspicion that turned out to be correct. But now as he could sense the actual location of the man, he turned around to face him.
Chappa couldn't help but widen his eyes as he took in the figure that was now standing in front of him.
Standing about two feet shorter than him the man, no not man, boy would be the more appropriate word, had a presence so great Chappa and yet to meet someone his equal. He looked to be around 4 and a half feet tall with light brown hair. His face was innocent and still contained a little bit of baby fat that matched his stature.
He was a child concluded Chappa based on his appearance, but why was he here and what did he want with him?
Raiden stood there and stared at Chappa seemingly at ease even though one of the best fighters in the world was sizing him up.
Chappa weighed his options and decided that fighting right now while he was injured and exhausted from training, was not the best choice. Hell given the way the boy carried himself he didn't know if he would have won even if he wasn't injured.
Making his decision he asked while staying in his fighting stance, "Who are you, and what do you want."
Raiden gave a slight smile, one that sent a shiver up King Chappa's spine, as he watched the man in front of him squirm.
He had thought up a lot of different ways he could get King Chappa to notice him and had decided that a show of strength would work the best.
He flew over to the South Capitol from Sasebo city, a journey that took a couple of days, and finally let him use the capsules given to him by his parents for camping.
Finally, after arriving at the southern capital he had found King Chappa's training compound.
It hadn't been that hard, given the fame of the dojo in the city. All he had to do was ask a few people on the street before he met someone who gave him directions.
Finally, after finding the compound he had masked his ki and simply jumped over the 12-foot wall directly into the training grounds.
He had watched king Chappa train for a few minutes before he had noticed him. He had to give it to the man, being able to feel his presence without the use of ki was difficult, to say the least.
"What I want," he said with a small chuckle. "Is to make a trade."
"A trade? What could I have that you would need. I'm not a very materialistic person," asked Chappa still wary of the stranger.
"Tell me Chappa what do you know about Ki?" Raiden said slowly walking closer to the other martial artist.
"Ki?"
"Yes ki. Or you may have heard it be called something else. Energy, power, essence. It's all the same really what you call it, but I prefer to use Ki."
"Yes I've heard of something along the lines, but what does that have to do with a trade?"
"Listen carefully because I'll only say it once. In exchange for teaching you the basics of Ki, I want something in return from you. What it is I'll tell you if you want to agree to the trade." said Raiden who was now standing directly in front of Chappa.
"What's in it for me? How do I know that this "ki" of yours will help me?" asked Chappa with a hint of suspicion in his voice.
"Don't worry bout that, I'm pretty sure you'll end up benefitting far more from this ordeal than I will. But if you still want a demonstration, watch carefully," ordered Raiden as he raised his right arm and aimed it towards one of the pillars in the room.
His hand started glowing a bright yellow before a beam of light shot out and hit the pillar. The pillar was left smoking with a large chunk of it blown away.
"By the end of my instruction, you'll be able to do at least that," he turned to a shocked king Chappa. "Think about it I'll be back tomorrow for your answer," said Raiden before he shot into the sky.
As Raiden flew back into the city he couldn't help but feel smug about the way the negotiation had gone. He was sure king Chappa would accept his offer now, especially after the show of strength he had done.
Raiden flew slowly back to his hotel as he admired the city skyline below him. The south capital was so different from anywhere he had been before, even now when the sun had already set it was still shining brightly and was full of life beneath him.
Raiden flew back into his hotel room through the window and started to meditate on his bed. Another benefit he found to meditation was that it could somewhat delay the need to sleep.
While it couldn't totally replace it, Raiden had found that it could delay and keep his exhaustion on hold, letting him train for longer.
Raiden worked on his Ki control for the whole night as he meditated. The faster he could move the ki around and out of his body the faster his attack and defense would be.
He felt the rest of the night lost in his meditation and training as the moon slowly circled through the sky.
Raiden was soon snapped out of his meditation from the rays of light coming through the hotel window. He got up and gathered his things from the room.
'If I'm right and Chappa accepts my offer then I won't need to stay here anymore. But I should wait till evening to let him decide, it would make my entrance more dramatic' he thought with a smile.
He went downstairs to check out of the room and also pay for his stay. He would have to spend the rest of the day outside, not that it bothered him, he wanted to explore the city anyway.
He walked around the city slowly taking in the sights and stores that decorated its streets. Of course, he had lived comfortably in his past life, but still, he had never experienced the city quite like this. In his past life, he had lived in a gated suburb community and he rarely got to travel to the city, except when he visited his parents at their hospital.
He walked around and just enjoyed himself for the day, trying out the food and even stopping to watch a few street performers either dancing or singing.
As the sun started to dip in the horizon Raiden grudgingly placed his new toys and gadgets into one of his capsules and flew off towards King Chappa's compound.
This time as he got close he made no attempt to hide his ki letting the so-called 'king' feel his presence as he entered the training ground.
As he floated down to the floor he noticed that Chappa was sitting on the floor in the center of the compound. He had his eyes closed and was seemingly deep in thought.
He waited for a few minutes to see if it was just pretense but after Chappa still didn't react he finally let his presence be known by softly clearing his throat.
He watched as king Chappa's eyes shot open and he stared at Raiden with a small frown on his face.
They measured each other through their eyes for a few moments before King Chappa stood up and broke the silence.
" I will agree to your offer to a trade," he declared. "But first I need to know what I'm giving in return."
Raiden hesitated before answering Chappa," In return I want you to train me in martial arts," he said softly as his face turned a shade redder.
King Chappa burst into a hearty laugh as the expression on his face turned to one of amusement, "I have seen your prowess in ki yesterday, what could I possibly teach you that would benefit you?"
"While it is true that I am well versed in using ki. My experience in actual martial arts is ... almost nonexistent. I spent so much time mastering ki that I had no time to actually learn martial arts that would let me utilize the ki to its full extent," Raiden explained.
"And how long would I have you to teach you martial arts for? If you want to get to my level that might take years," questioned Chappa with a hint of suspicion in his voice.
'Wow even though I'm a cautious person this king Chappa acts like he's got a stick up his ass 24/7. Not everyone is out to get him' he thought.
"Don't worry I only want you to train me for the next 7 and a half months, and in that time I will teach you basic ki control," said Raiden as he stuck out his hand to seal the deal.
"Ahh 7 and a half months, I think I might all well give you the world martial arts champion title right now," muttered King Chappa as he reluctantly reached out and gave Raiden a firm handshake.
"Who knows, you might be able to beat me after that long, I am teaching you how to use ki after all," said Raiden with a smirk on his face.
Raiden had thought King Chappa's training would be different from Master Roshi's and in a way he was right. At first, they focused mainly on his form and movement as Chappa slowly introduced him to martial arts. Shift your right foot two inches, raise your hands diagonally 1 in, Raiden was surprised at how passionate Chappa was about his teachings. They had been training and teaching each other for a month and Raiden had improved massively.
Little did he know Chappa was just as surprised at how quickly and furiously Raiden was absorbing information and techniques. He was like a sponge as he advanced through the martial art styles that Chappa practiced, the multi-arm technique. In fact, you could already see a phantom hand appear when Raiden stuck out.
Raiden knew that in the end the number of hands that you could make appear didn't have anything to do with technique, it was just based on how fast the individual was. If he remembered correctly one of King Piccolo's minions had killed king Chappa and mocked him by using 100 phantom hands when he did it.
Still, the technique wasn't without its uses. It let him strike out efficiently when he attacked, learning how to target an opponent's vital points while he did so.
Still, there were parts that Chappa couldn't teach him, his way of martial arts focused on the arms and precise striking, what Raiden needed the most right now was a way to evade attacks.
Although he hated to admit it, his biggest weakness right now was his weak body. If he could create distance between him and who he was fighting he would be able to use his ki to attack from range. But from close up, he was no different than an average 10-year-old.
'No not an average 10-year-old,' he thought. Even though he had had only 1 month of training even he could tell he was advancing at an astounding pace. Chappa seemed more and more surprised almost every day and his once sloppy and horrible battle sense had quickly improved through constant spars with Chappa.
Even though he lost those spars handily, mostly because Chappa had told him not to use Ki, for the sake of 'training'.
Of course, he was not the only one improving, he had started to teach Chappa how to use his ki and while his pace wasn't as fast as Raiden's, he was still improving rapidly. Within a few days he could float, and now a month he could fly pretty easily, albeit nowhere near at the speed Raiden could.
It had been a little over 2 months after Raiden had started his training and he woke up at the usual designated time of 6 A.M to begin his routine for the day. As he walked to the training ground he noticed something was different.
Chappa was standing there as usual but there was a sickly sweet smile on his face that didn't suit his 6-foot frame.
"Good Morning Raiden, Good Morning," he greeted Raiden with a laugh.
Immediately he knew something was wrong, this was far too different from Chappa's usual stoic behavior.
"What are we doing today," asked Raiden bluntly.
The smile on Chappa's face only grew wider giving him a Joker-like expression.
"It's not what WE are doing today, it's what you are," Chappa said happily.
Raiden raised an eyebrow questioningly, whatever Chappa had planned he didn't like it.
'Bastard' Raiden couldn't help but curse Chappa again in his read as he ran as fast as he could while taking deep gasping breaths. Finally, he found cover as he dived behind a boulder and watched a stray dinosaur run past where he had been just a second ago.
He now knew why Chappa had been so happy when he says him this morning, he had a new type of training ready for him. Survival Training.
He had flown with Raiden west of the south capitol and dropped him off in a forest that stretched as far as the eye could see. He only had one goal and that was to stay for 5 months alone in the jungle and fend for himself.
Raiden had to admit it was a good way to deal with the aspect of evading your enemy he had told Chappa about, but he didn't have to be happy about it.
He had been in this godforsaken jungle for nearly 2 days and hadn't had anything to eat the whole time. He could have easily used ki to hunt and cook monster meat but noooo that would be far too easy Chappa had said.
He had been drinking water from rivers and streams that flowed through the forest but if he didn't find food soon he would be in trouble.
He trudged through the forest moving shrubbery and loose branches that were in the way. He was following a stream downhill hoping it would lead to a lake so he could find some easy food to catch. Of course, he had tried fishing in the streams but animes and mangas make it look much easier than it really was, and as soon had he managed to catch a fish in his hands it slipped out just as fast.
As he made his way through the forest he caught a whiff of something he couldn't ignore, cooked meat. He followed the scent through the forest until he found a small clearing surround a rocky outcrop.
When he stepped into the clearing he was greeted by a huge piece of meat hanging over a raging fire. The meat smelled pretty much cooked and his mouth couldn't help but water at the apparent meal that had just been handed to him on a platter.
As he used the multi-arm technique to cut off a piece of meat from the giant slab, he couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu, as if he had seen this exact situation before.
After days of not eating Raiden never thought such plainly cooked unseasoned food could taste so heavenly. He took his time eating savoring the food, and also because he knew that if he ate too quickly after his stomach had shrunk he could get sick.
After all, he wasn't like those blasted Saiyans who could eat mountains of food and not be affected at all.
As Raiden ate he was so focused on the food he lost track of his surroundings that he didn't notice someone else walk into the clearing with rather heavy steps.
"Stop you thief, get your hands off my breaktis." Yelled a loud gruff voice from the edge of the clearing.
Raiden looked up from what remained of his slice of meat and checked who was yelling at him.
Standing at the edge of the clearing was a slightly obese young man wearing a red sleeveless robe. He had a black sash tied around his bulging belly and attached to it was a samurai sword that hung by his waist. He had a mane of wild black hair and small beady eyes that looked too small for his rather round face.
Raiden stood up and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Of course, someone was cooking the food, why would it just be in the middle of the woods otherwise. He recognized Yajirobe from the dragon ball manga of course, but he was such a minor character he didn't remember much about him.
"Ahh I'm sorry I was lost and hungry, I didn't know it was your food." Raiden apologized.
Yajirobe looked at the kid and the small slice of meat missing from the huge slab and realized there was no point getting too angry, especially since the 'thief' was just a little kid.
Yajirobe moved forward next to the rest of the meat, he sliced off a large piece, big as his head, and started eating it hungrily. " Is alrid kid, hw yu gt los?" He said with his mouth full.
Raiden tried not to cringe at the slob of a man in front of him. "I'm here to train for the upcoming world martial arts tournament," he said, " I was supposed to be doing survival training, but I didn't know how to catch my own food," he admitted.
Yajirobe laughed at the predicament Raiden found himself in. "Well, that's too bad kid." He said as he cut himself another slice.
Raiden knew this was his only chance to get help in this hell so he took it, "Please can you help? Just with how to catch and cook food?" he begged.
Yajirobe shook his head.
"You already took my food kid, what else do you want? I'm not in the mood to babysit" Yajirobe said still focused on his food.
Raiden racked his brain, how could he convince Yajirobe to help him? His eyes lit up as he remembered something from the Dragon Ball anime.
"If you help me I promise to buy you food at the best restaurant in the south capitol," he said with a smile.
Yajirobe looked up from his food, he had finally caught the fat man's attention.
"Best restaurant? Why should I go with you when I have all the food I need right here?" Yajirobe questioned.
Raiden smiled. He knew he had Yajirobe hooked already. " Because I can guarantee that it will take at least 10 times better. I'm not saying you're a bad cook, but the people there do it for a living."
Yajirobe stood up and dusted off his clothes, " How do I know you'll keep up your end of the deal."
"Because I have the money for your meal ready right here." Raiden brought out one of his capsules and squeezed it. Out came a stack of paper bills that equaled about 50 thousand Zeni. It was all the money his parents had given him for his trip and he had yet to use much of it.
Yajirobe's eyes widened at the money but before he could get any ideas Raidens quickly put it back into the Capsule. "Believe me now?" He asked.
"Rich bastard," Yajirobe muttered. "Alright kid we have a deal, I'll teach you how to fend for yourself in the forest, and in return, you owe me a meal."
Raiden prowled through the undergrowth as silently as he could taking care not to step on any stay branches. It had been 2 months since he started training in the forest with Yajirobe and all of it had been hell.
Every time he messed up when they were hunting or searching for food Yarijobe would go into a rage and demand they spar as 'training'. He would then proceed to beat Raiden up to release the anger of him losing their food, and the man hit like a truck. Never before had Raiden seen someone so obsessed with a meal.
But it wasn't for nothing. While he was with Chappa he had learned how to strike and fight efficiently and precisely as was king Chappa's style. But with Yajirobe it was different.
Yajirobe didn't teach him any martial arts, he doubted the man knew any, when he fought it was pretty much just a brawl. But he did learn how to move quickly and silently. How to sense for danger at any given moment, and to keep track of his surroundings. Living in the forest was dangerous and Yajirobe was accustomed to it. Raiden was still surprised at how fast the man moved given his overly large frame.
Raiden had also tried to teach Yajirobe how to use ki because of all the help he had given him and Yajirobe had quickly agreed after Raiden gave him the same demonstration he gave king Chappa.
But the man showed almost no talent for it. Meditation was the most challenging for him, mostly because he couldn't sit still and focus long enough to channel his ki. He did have success in using his ki mid spars unconsciously when he channeled it through his sword, but other than that he was unable to use it.
Raiden knew he was supposed to spend the rest of the time until the Tournament in the forest but after about 4 months he thought he had done enough. His body wasn't improving much physically, same as usual. And his senses and instincts were now fine-tuned to react to danger at a moment's notice.
He decided he would leave early and spend the rest of the time training his ki for the future while continuing to work on his martial arts at king Chappa's compound.
Of Course, he had promised Yajirobe a meal, so carrying him by his shirt, Raiden had no intention of hugging him, he started the long journey back to south city.
"How much longer till we get there," asked Yajirobe for what Raiden could have sworn was the 100th time since they started their flight back to south capitol.
"I already told you, it'll take at least 1 more day to get there, so stop complaining. I know you're just angry because your hungry, like always." Raiden said with a smirk.
Raiden heard Yajirobe mutter something about bratty children but ignored him. He was scouting the land below to find somewhere they could camp for the night.
"We can land for the day and get some food, I hope you're happy now," said Raiden as he flew down to a small clearing he stopped with from decent cover. When he reached a few feet above the floor he let go of Yajirobe and heard his hit the ground with a satisfying thump.
Yajirobe quickly scrambled to his feet and glared at him but Raiden just smirked, there wasn't anything Yajirobe could do when he was still in the sir.
"Alright alright calm down," said Raiden as he floated down to the ground. He threw out his capsule with camping and cooking gear. "If your angry let's spar it's good stress relief." He added.
Yajirobe stood up like he was about to agree but then plopped down back on the floor. "No way I'm too hungry, I haven't eaten all day."
'Dam this fatass, he ate just a few hours ago' Raiden thought with a frown.
"I'll tell you what, if you win the spar I'll go hunt for some more food. But if I win you have to do it. Also, I'm gonna go all out." Raiden bargained.
Yajirobe's eyes lit up at the mention of food, got into a fighting stance, and motioned towards Raiden " Don't complain when you lose."
Raiden also set himself in a fight stance, albeit a different one than that of Yajirobe's. Yajirobe's style was pretty wild, while Raiden liked to use Chappa's precise striking. Although he had changed the stance a little bit, to allow for more movement.
Silence filled the area as the two eyes each other up, waiting for someone to make the first move.
Then with a flash Rajirobe charged forward appearing next to Raiden. The man was built like a truck and hit like one too, but moved with impossible speed for someone of his build.
Yajirobe kicked towards Raiden's side and Raiden was forced to block the kick with his leg. He then pivoted on his other leg a sent a kick towards Yajirobe temple. Yajirobe dodged by leaning backward and transitioned into a backflip as he retreated.
Yajirobe got back into a fighting stance and frowned at Raiden, " You're using ki" he said accusingly.
Raiden smiled in response, " I did say I was going all out. Anyway, I wouldn't be able to keep up with you if I didn't use ki."
"hnn, "Yajirobe grunted as he unsheathed his sword. If the brat was going to use ki, then he would go all out too.
As they both got into battle stances again Raiden was the one who attacked first. He pointed a finger towards Yajirobe shooting a small beam of ki at him.
Yajirobe dodged by side stepping but his eyes widened when he didn't see Raiden in front of him. He felt a sharp pain in his back as he flew headfirst into a nearby rock.
Yajirobe stuck his sword into the floor to slow his momentum and quickly turned in time to block another kick from a quickly approaching Raiden.
He then slashed out with his sword forced Raiden to retreat due to the difference in range.
"That's just cheating, how am I even meant to get close," Raiden grumbled.
He quickly rolled as Yajirobe once again charged forward this time slashing and stabbing with his sword. Raiden was forced on the backfoot as he dodged and weaved the dangerous weapon.
Raiden tried to get Yajirobe to retreat using a ki blast but the man kept slashing at his arms when he tried to aim. At close range, Yajirobe was at a big advantage with his sword.
Using a flash of inspiration Raiden dodged another sword slash and open his mouth as wide as possible. Yajirobe was stunned as Raiden's mouth started to glow with bright yellow light and was forced to duck an upcoming ki blast.
He quickly jumped backward and slashed towards the figure of Raiden that was quickly approaching.
His eyes widen when his katana went clean through Raiden, his image becoming blurry.
He felt a hand on his back and sighed in defeat.
"You better get started looking for dinner," Raiden teased.
"Stupid brat with all his ki blasts and fancy techniques," Yajirobe muttered as he walked into the woods looking for dinner.
After eating a full dinner that Yajirobe caught and cooked Raiden got comfy down in his tent with a satisfied look on his face.
He had finally managed to beat the fat bastard and also his use of his ki during the fight was pretty much perfect.
He had taken a bit of Chappa's striking style and Yajirobe brawler style and combined them with his ki oriented style to make his own new style.
'And I still have a few months to perfect it,' he thought as he slowly fell asleep.
When Raiden and Yajirobe finally reached south city they headed straight for king Chappa's compound.
It had been a long journey and Raiden had enough of sleeping on the hard floor after months in a jungle. They reached the compound and Raiden dropped Yajirobe on the floor and collapsed in the room he had in the dojo.
When he awoke the next day the first thing Chappa wanted to do was of course spar. Chappa had been excited to see how strong Raiden had gotten, especially if he was confident enough to end his training early for it.
The fight was over before it had even started. Raiden who was used to Yajirobe's blinding speeds appeared in a flash behind Chappa's and gave him a small chop to the back of his neck, knocking him out.
Chappa woke up enraged that he was beaten so easily, then challenged Yajirobe to a match.
This one turned out much like the last with Yajirobe not being as gentle, simply punching Chappa in the gut. Chappa bent over holding his stomach in pain, but at the same time looking at Raiden and Yajirobe in disbelief.
"H-How did you get stronger so fast? And where did a find a freak like him to train with?" He said gesturing to Yajirobe while still grimacing from the pain in his stomach.
"Well it's a long story, but pretty much I stole his food, then promised him more food," said Raiden with a laugh.
"And what about you, how did you get so much faster? Last time you were here we were pretty much even when you didn't use your ki blasts."
"That's because the training in the forest did what it was supposed to do. All of my footwork and senses got better. Also, I refined my control over ki, letting me focus it almost instantly. For example, what I did just now was focus it on my feet and legs letting me flash forward with a burst of speed." Raiden answered.
Chappa's head drooped in defeat. Not only had he been defeated by Raiden, who he already knew was going to be stronger than him. He was also defeated by a random fat man! The humiliation.
Chappa gave Raiden and Yajirobe one last look before turning around and going back to his training. His progress with ki had slowed and he didn't know what the bottleneck was. "Hopefully I don't meet them until the final," he muttered as he walked away.
Raiden couldn't help but laugh at Chappa's plight as he also started to stretch, he still had 2 months to train before the tournament and he would use it.
Raiden glanced at Yajirobe who seemed confused about what to do, "Aren't you also going to train?" He asked.
"No, never have before," Yajirobe replied with a grunt.
Raiden couldn't help but curse the fat bastard in his head, how had he gotten so strong without ever training before. But he did live in the wild, maybe being in constant danger all the time was training enough.
"Here," Raiden said while handing Yajirobe a few thousand Zeni. " Go explore the city or something. Just don't stay here looking like a lost child at a mall"
"Mall?" Yajirobe muttered as he snatched the money out of Raiden's hand and walked away.
Raiden smiled looking at the now empty lot, finally, he could practice in peace.
He got into a meditative position and slowly floated off the ground focusing his ki. This idea had been nagging him for a couple of days now, since his last spar with Yajirobe.
He slowly drew his ki out onto his hand where he willed it into the shape of a ball. Slowly but surely the ki turned into a small ball in the palm of his hand.
He had gotten the idea by seeing Yajirobe use his sword and the way he channeled ki through it when he attacked, whether he did it consciously or unconsciously, Raiden wasn't sure.
If Yajirobe could use his ki outside of his body, then so could Raiden. The whole problem he had was having a vast pool of ki inside of him, but his body being too weak to utilize the ki. So what if he took his body out of the equation?
What if he kept the ki out of his body and learned to hold his ki out of his body. Then even if his body couldn't handle the use of his ki it wouldn't matter.
The only problem was that his body would still be a weakness, if it continued to improve at the rate it was, he would get killed with just one punch in the future. But he could worry about that later.
Raiden willed as much ki as he could out of his body and forced it into his hand. The process was slow and tedious, if he went too fast he could cause his arm to explode from the overload of ki running through it.
After hours of drawing the ki out of his body, Raiden opened his eyes from his meditation and looked at the enormous ball of Ki in his hand. It was almost as big as himself and measuring the amount of ki Raiden put in it, it could blow up a whole mountain.
Raiden frowned, he couldn't just go around carrying a huge ball of ki around with him, there would be no point, how would fight like that?. He once again closed his eyes and tried to control and condense the ball of Ki in his hand. It started to slowly decrease in size and grow heavier as the ki got denser.
Then out of nowhere, a droplet of water hit Raiden on the head. It started raining and the massive focus Raiden was putting into maintaining the ball of ki in his hands was shattered.
Raiden opened his eyes in panic as he felt himself starting to lose control.
'Shit'
If the ki exploded now it would create a blast that would level miles around it, killing Raiden and thousands if not hundreds of thousands in the process.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone