Tao Pai Pai leaned back comfortably, picking his teeth before lowering his feet. "Let me ask you—are you a disciple of the Crane School?"
The boy sneered. "I'd rather be weak forever than join you."
---
Shen smirked disdainfully. "Tell me… if we originally had no intention of killing, but because of your unnecessary interference, this village really does get wiped out… how would you feel?"
The boy stood up, dusting himself off, and exhaled. "Do whatever you want. I'll do what I can. My conscience is clear. Don't think you can pin your madness on me."
---
"Just nod your head now, and even if Tao Pai Pai does the work, these three deaths will still count as your doing. What do you say? Three heads for a full meal?" Shen stroked his mustache, speaking as if offering a kindness. And it was a kindness—these three were nothing but bandits who had jumped out at them. Tao Pai Pai would be the one to kill them, so where was the moral dilemma? Could the terms be any more generous?
Sixteen days without food, the boy—emaciated, his face gaunt—lifted his head weakly, eyes bloodshot. His lips moved slightly before he spat out: "Go to hell."
---
Ahem. "Listen up, all of you." With Tao Pai Pai's oppressive aura forcing the villagers to their knees, trembling, Shen cleared his throat and spoke in a sinister tone. "If this little friend here kneels and begs me to take him as my student, if he willingly asks to learn martial arts from me… then my brother, who loves killing, might just spare you all."
He helpfully pointed at the boy beside Tien. Tien, sweating slightly, took a small step away.
The boy's eyes were hollow. The villagers' desperate pleas, their screams as Tao Pai Pai slaughtered them, curses hurled at no one in particular, Shen's booming laughter as if savoring his torment—flames, shrieks, wails, laughter—all of it tore through his mind like shattered film, searing into his soul. Flashes of the nightmare replayed endlessly, leaving him dazed.
---
"Sorry for causing you so much trouble," the boy murmured with relief, saved by the couple. "I'm glad you're okay…"
---
"You really seem afraid of them," Tonpo observed as the boy wolfed down his food. "Even though you've escaped those two, you still act like you're looking over your shoulder."
---
Just like before, the boy jolted awake from a nightmare. After steadying himself, he stepped out of the small hut and stood by the deserted roadside on the outskirts of South City, gazing blankly at the quiet dawn horizon. When he started running, there was none of his former carefree energy—instead, every few steps, he couldn't help but scan his surroundings, as if wary of something unseen.
---
Returning to the park, he found no trace of the mysterious old man.
The boy rubbed a coin between his fingers, sitting alone on a bench all morning.
---
Because of that strange boy she'd met before, Tights had developed an interest in sci-fi. She had just left a lecture on space exploration when, turning a corner, she ran into him again after so long.
He looked… different.
---
At a street-corner café, Tights listened as the boy spoke lightly about his travels, forcing herself to smile and match his tone.
"Well, see you around."
At the café entrance, they parted ways again.
Walking away, bag slung over her shoulder, Tights paused to glance back, her expression uneasy.
Waves crashed against the shore, splashing the hem of the animal-masked figure's clothes.
---
In the wilderness, a campfire's embers glowed faintly.
The boy slept fitfully, his face pale, teeth clenched, body twitching. With a sharp gasp, he jolted awake, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily.
"It's fine… it's fine…" He rubbed his temples, muttering to himself. "I'm alone here… just me…"
Catching his breath, he stared up at the dim stars.
He didn't notice the animal-masked figure sitting across the dead fire, silently stirring the smoldering Tonporcoal.
---
A small-town therapist's office.
Through the cracked door, the boy sat on a soft recliner, the doctor speaking gently.
Outside in the hall, the animal-masked figure leaned against the wall, arms crossed, listening.
---
The mountains of Paozu.
Deep in the woods, the boy scratched his head in frustration. He'd made it to Paozu, only to realize finding Gohan in this vast wilderness was easier said than done.
All he could do was trek onward, searching as he went…
---
As the boy passed through the forest, the animal-masked figure sat perched on a branch, breathing in the tranquil air.
Then, his thoughts froze—
1 second… 5 seconds… 13 seconds… 32 seconds… 40 seconds… 49 seconds…
50 seconds.
For an instant. Yamiru snapped back to awareness, whipping his head toward the direction of Dr. Omori's island.
If he remembered correctly, he had indeed heard Dr. Omori and Tights mention later that in order to save Tights—who had nearly died in a rocket accident—Jaco and Dr. Omori had no choice but to activate the doctor's unfinished time machine, freezing time for 50 seconds...
Yamiru's thoughts stirred, and his body erupted with a radiant white aura. In mere seconds, he crossed countless mountains and rivers, arriving high above the island where Dr. Omori resided in the blink of an eye.
The rescued Tights was laughing and joking with Jaco and Dr. Omori, carefree as if nothing had ever happened.
---
Deep in the mountains, the boy lay sprawled on the ground like a starfish, catching his breath like a worn-out fish.
"Just one more minute of lazing around... just one..."
As he muttered to himself, his eyes suddenly caught a streak of light streaking across the sky.
---
"If things aren't as your father fears, we'll come get you right away."
Outside the round spacecraft's glass, a slender, delicate black-haired woman gazed at him with worry.
"Remember, you must live well," said a man with the exact same spiky hair as the boy inside the pod, stepping beside the woman. His usually stern expression softened as he pressed his rough hand against the glass, matching the tiny hand on the other side.
"Wait for us!" Gine urged, her voice trembling with sorrow and concern.
"Farewell," Bardock said as the pod slowly lifted off, watching it disappear into the distance, heading toward a planet called Earth. "Kakarot..."
---
The sleeping black-haired boy murmured a name in his dreams, a tear trailing down his cheek.
BOOM—
The pod hurtled forward like a meteor, streaking across Earth's sky, soaring over mountains and seas, cutting through forests.
---
On the ground, deep in the woods, the boy stared intently at the "shooting star" streaking overhead before suddenly breaking into a frenzied sprint, Tonposing after it with wild shouts and leaps.
---
Old Gohan, carrying a basket while gathering herbs, suddenly straightened up with an "Oh-ho?" and turned his gaze toward a faint but rapidly approaching energy.
---
"Hurry! The Saiyan is coming!" Jaco urged Tights and Dr. Omori to board the ship. "We can't let him destroy Earth!"
---
High in the sky, the animal-masked figure turned his head, sensing the foreign energy plummeting toward the planet.
---
At the Lookout, bathed in backlight, the silhouette of the second Kami stood indistinct. Gazing down at the mortal world, he murmured under his breath:
"Goku..."