Turtle continued to train Tavor and before they knew it, weeks passed before, one day, Roshi appeared with a somewhat pale complexion, as if the blood on his face has fled from the surface.
Tavor was unleashing lightning-fast strikes when he noticed the old martial arts master whispering into Turtle's ear, all the while internally questioning what exactly could be happening to cause Roshi to appear as he did.
"This can't be good... I wonder if it has something to do with the meteor shower?"
Tavor murmured to himself as he unleashed another series of strikes before shifting his body and jumping to perform a spinning kick.
As he landed he noticed Turtle approaching with a gaze that refused to meet his own and Tavor began to feel as if something bad was going to happen.
"This cannot be good?"
Tavor's tail drooped lazily, twitching in time with every step Turtle made before he stopped directly in front of him.
Turtle stood there for a moment that seemed to drag on for entire minutes.
Tavor was about to say something, but before he could mutter a single word Turtle looked up at him, meeting his gaze with a hardened resolve.
"It's no longer safe for you here; the Demon Lord has sent out his armies and they are heading this way. Our barrier won't hold, and if you stay, they will find you!"
Tavor was stunned, his eyes going wide as he took in what he had just heard.
"So it really is my fault..." After thinking this he looks up at Turtle before bowing respectfully.
"Thank you for taking me in and teaching me Master, and sorry for the trouble I caused!"
Turtle's gaze softened; he opened his mouth to speak but hesitated, instead reaching out to pat Tavor on the head and ruffle his spiky hair, which immediately sprang back into its original wild state.
After retracting his arm, Turtle reaches into the hollow part of his shell, pulls out a leather pouch bound with string, and hands it over to Tavor.
"I took the liberty to collect and dry about fifteen of those blood-fruits, they should help in case you are ever injured!"
Tavor's eyes began to glisten, his heart filling with a warm feeling before rushing up and hugging Turtle.
"Thank you Master!" As he said this tears began to trail through the ridges of Turtle's shell.
"I'm so thankful..." He thought as he continued to hug Turtle.
Tavor soon pulled back, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the tears.
Master Roshi reappears, carrying a folded orange cloth with the Turtle School kanji clearly visible on top.
"Here boy, you are going to need some good clothes, can't have you embarrassing me and Turtle by running around half-naked!" Roshi handed Tavor the clothing and turned to Turtle.
"Come, let the boy get dressed in peace."
Turtle nodded before following Roshi back towards the house, their footsteps fading as they distanced themselves.
Tavor watched as they disappeared before looking down at the clothing his hand with a thankful expression.
"An orange martial arts gi with a blue undershirt!"
He tore the fragmented strips of his old clothes with a single movement before kicking off the remains of his pants, before unfolding the gi.
With an excited flourish, Tavor garbed himself in his new set of clothes and marveled at how comfortable it felt.
"It even has an opening for my tail, this is great!" His tail waving from side to side as if it had a mind of its own.
Tavor patted his chest, producing a muffled sound, before executing a quick series of punches and kicks to break in his new clothes.
He smiled, realizing the gear had been tailor-made to ensure his movements remained simple and unimpeded.
Once he finished inspecting his clothing, he secured the bag of blood-fruits to his belt and coiled his tail around it protectively.
Turtle and Roshi reappeared in his view and looked down at Tavor appreciatively.
"Hrrrm, the gi suits you, definitely better than my other apprentice!"
Turtle nodded along, both he and Roshi remembering the bald apprentice who had decided to return to Kunlun
Roshi squeezed his fist as he remembered that bald shortie.
"That Krillin had the nerve to steal my girly mags; if I ever see him again, I'll pummel him!" Roshi stamped the ground repeatedly as he said this.
After stamping out his anger Roshi let out a long weary sigh before gazing back at Tavor.
"Well Tavor, would you like to have a spar before taking your leave? consider it a graduation exam."
Hearing the word spar Tavor's attention snapped back to Roshi, his excitement practically palpable.
"Yes, let's do it!" Tavor takes a horse stance, his muscles tensed like coiled springs.
Roshi smiles before following suit, his aged body noticably more relaxed.
Tavor moved first, his body becoming a blur as he kicked.
CRACK...
Roshi blocked the kick with his wooden cane, the impact causing Roshi to slide sideways before he spun, using the attack's own force to empower his own as he twisted sideways and thrust his palm towards Tavor's chest.
SLAP...
Tavor crossed his arms and blocked the incoming blow, a smile on his face as his Saiyan blood began to boil in excitement.
Roshi pushed forward and forced Tavor to slide several feet backward, nearly losing his balance, before performing a backflip, landing in a crouch before launching forward with his fist raised.
"Haaaaa..." Tavor let out a war-cry as he neared Roshi, his fist swinging downwards.
The fist nearly connected with Roshi's face when he suddenly move with unnatural speed and grasped Tavor's wrist.
"Up you go." Roshi said before flipping Tavor over his body using his own momentum and slamming him back-first into the ground.
BOOM!
Tavor rolled backwards and flipped back to his feet before attempting to sweep Roshi's legs.
Roshi dodged with a simple vertical jump, but he noticed that Tavor had a smirk on his face and felt as if something was wrong.
As if to confirm Roshi's feeling, Tavor dropped low and forcibly gripped the ground, fingers burrowed into the dirt for leverage before lifting his legs and kicking upwards with both feet.
Roshi had no time to dodge or counter before Tavor's attack landed square in his abdomen.
FOOOO...
Roshi exhaled sharply as the impact sent him reeling into the air, dazed by the force of the blow.
However Roshi snapped out of his daze almost immediately before using a quick burst of ki to push himself upright and stared down at Tavor whose face bore a fierce but playful smile.
"Let's end it here with this last attack Tavor." Roshi placed his hands together, his body only now beginning to fall.
Still in the air he began to chant.
"Kame..."
Roshi's palms began to pulse and wirl with potent ki.
Seeing this Tavor did the same, placing his hands together and chanting.
"Kame..."
A swirling orb of ki condensed in his palms.
"Hame...x2"
The ki orbs began to swell visibly, pressing against their fingers like a trapped beast threatening to break through its cage.
"HAAAAAA...x2"
They both thrust their palms outward, with Tavor's palms facing upward and Roshi's facing downward.
Two immense waves of blue-white ki erupted from their palms and shot towards each other.
WHAAAAAASH...
When they collided, the energy generated a tumultuous vortex that simultaneously pushed and pulled at its surroundings.
Accompanying this, arcs of brilliant lightning swept outward, striking the environment and carving burning grooves wherever each bolt landed.
Roshi's body hovered in place, held aloft by the force of his own attack, a throbbing vein pulsing on his bald forehead as he continues to escalate the pressure.
However unable to absolutely overpower his student Roshi decided to change tactics, a mysterious smile forming on his face.
With a subtle change in his hand position Roshi managed to curve his ki wave so that it spirals around the other and shoots unimpeded towards Tavor whose face morphs into a picture of awe and wonder.
"Can I do that?" He thought as the blue-white ki wave closed in.
Tavor attempted mimicking what Roshi had just done but was unable to grasp the subtle processes before the kinwave struck him head on.
FWAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!
Tavor attempted to block the ki wave with his open palms, each still producing a ki wave of his own, but inevitably he was blasted back, carried by Roshi's attack until he was forced to crash onto the ground, which erupted into a cloud of dust and dirt.
Roshi panted, each breath taking in a greedy amount of air as he struggled to regain his stamina.
His eyes gazed into the cloud, unable to see Tavor but his ki senses told him that his apprentice was still there, hurt but not injured.
Suddenly, two points of light cut through the dust cloud and shot towards Roshi with a speed that shocked the aged master.
BZZZZT...
CRACK...
Before Roshi could react with his body, the beams struck the arms of his sunglasses, causing them to break off.
His trademark shades fell helplessly to the ground, revealing Roshi's full expression, which seemed to be a mix of annoyance and pride.
The dust cloud slowly began to dissipate, revealing Tavor lying in the shallow crater left by Roshi's Kamehameha.
His orange gi was caked in dirt, and his chest rose and fell with each labored breath.
Yet, despite the pain coursing through his body, a smirk tugged at the corners of his lips.
For the briefest moment, his eyes shimmered with a faint blue-white glow, the residual ki within them flickering like dying embers before fading as his gaze returned to normal.
Roshi stared at him.
Silence settled over the clearing.
The old martial artist's expression remained stern as his gaze shifted from Tavor's face to the broken arms of his sunglasses, which lay scattered across the ground.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the severity in his features began to soften.
With a weary groan, Roshi bent down to retrieve the damaged shades.
His back cracked loudly enough to make Tavor wince in sympathy.
"That was petty, Tavor!" Roshi declared, straightening to his full height and inspecting his ruined sunglasses with the solemnity of a man mourning a fallen comrade.
Tavor's smirk widened.
"Worth it."
Roshi seemed to read the thought on his face, judging by the way one of his eyebrows twitched.
"But!" he continued, slipping the broken sunglasses into his pocket. "I'm proud of you. Being able to surprise a more experienced opponent will take you a long way!"
Tavor blinked.
Then his expression lit up with a burst of unrestrained pride.
The praise struck him harder than Roshi's Kamehameha ever could, sending a fresh surge of excitement and warmth through his battered body.
For a moment, he looked ready to leap out of the crater and celebrate.
Fortunately, he remembered who stood before him.
Tavor scrambled to his feet, ignoring the ache in his muscles, and bowed respectfully to the old martial artist.
His fists clenched at his sides, not with anger or frustration, but with the barely contained excitement of someone who had caught a glimpse of how much further he could go.
"Thank you, Master Roshi!"
Roshi chuckled, rubbing his chin.
"Don't thank me just yet, kid. You've still got plenty to learn."
Tavor straightened, his grin refusing to budge.
"Plenty to learn?"
He glanced at the crater beneath his feet, then at the faint scorch marks left by their beam struggle.
"Good."
He hadn't come all this way just to become stronger than the demons trying to kill him.
He wanted to understand his power, master it, and discover just how far he could push the limits of what a Saiyan could accomplish, and if learning meant having his face introduced to the ground a few more times, so be it.
Although, preferably, not by a Kamehameha.
Roshi's smile lingered for another moment before his gaze drifted toward the distant horizon.
The warmth in his expression faded, replaced by a grim awareness of the danger drawing closer.
"Now, go, and take my blessings with you!" Roshi said before using a faint amount of ki to melt the arms of his sunglasses back onto the base of it, the sheer control requires causing Tavor to stare in wonder.
"Thank you for everything Master Roshi, and you Master Turtle, I owe you more than I will ever be able to repay!" Tavor bowed once more, a slight pang in his chest as he wondered if he would see them again.
After a few more pleasantries the two martial arts masters guide Tavor to the edge of the barrier and wave him off with warm smiles.
Tavor's journey into Limbo has finally and truly begun.
And so, a new chapter in the young Saiyan's adventure begins!
What dangers await him beyond the horizon? Who is the mysterious Demon Lord commanding an army through this twisted realm?
And will Tavor ever master the incredible ki techniques he witnessed during his training?
Find out next time, on Reborn as a Saiyan in Marvel!