South City had become a living hell.
Explosions echoed without end as buildings collapsed like stacks of toy blocks. Flames devoured what had once been a thriving commercial district.
There were no earth-shaking clashes of overwhelming ki.
Only a one-sided massacre.
The eerie silence was far more terrifying than the explosions themselves.
The Z Fighters split up, searching the maze-like ruins for the two monsters whose energy could not be sensed.
Yamcha raced between shattered storefronts and overturned cars.
His heart pounded.
His palms were drenched with sweat.
He had cut his long hair short and put on a brand-new orange gi, hoping to face this battle as a new man.
But the anxiety buried deep inside him refused to disappear.
It clung to him like a shadow.
"I can't sense anything..."
Yamcha landed on a broken streetlamp, cold sweat beading across his forehead.
He had worked harder this past year than ever before.
He watched Krillin grow stronger at an unbelievable pace.
He watched Tien train relentlessly every single day.
Even Yajirobe, whose greatest talent was eating, had his own role delivering Senzu Beans.
Yamcha refused to be left behind.
He trained inside Bulma's gravity chamber until he coughed up blood.
He broke bones.
He pushed himself until his body collapsed.
Even in his dreams, he fought Vegeta over and over again.
He truly believed he had become stronger.
"Over there!"
A terrified scream cut through the chaos.
Yamcha vanished in a blur toward the source.
At a bombed-out intersection, he finally found them.
One was fat and round as a ball, wearing a small pointed hat with pale white skin.
The other was a thin old man with a white beard and cold, sinister eyes.
They had a civilian by the throat.
In an instant, the victim shriveled like a balloon that had lost all its air.
"Stop!"
Yamcha shouted as he landed before them, assuming the stance of the Wolf Fang Fist.
The elderly man, Android 20, Dr. Gero, casually tossed aside the dried corpse before turning toward him.
His emotionless mechanical eyes scanned Yamcha from head to toe.
"So you're Son Goku's companion... Yamcha."
"Combat data indicates your power has improved beyond expectations."
"But you're still insignificant."
His raspy metallic voice grated against the ears.
"Don't look down on me!"
Yamcha roared.
His pride had been stabbed far deeper than any blade.
He launched forward.
The ground exploded beneath his feet.
"Wolf Fang Fist!"
His fists rained down like a storm.
Every strike carried enough force to tear through steel and crush a battle tank.
Yet Android 20 didn't even bother to defend himself.
The punches landed against his body with nothing but sharp metallic clangs.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
"Impossible..."
Yamcha's pupils shrank.
His strongest attacks hadn't even damaged the old man's clothes.
"Too slow."
Android 20 suddenly raised one hand.
To Yamcha, the movement was so fast it resembled Instant Transmission.
He couldn't even see the attack.
Only a cold sensation spread across his chest.
Slash.
The old android's hand pierced straight through his torso.
Blood exploded into the air, splattering across Android 20's expressionless face.
Pain.
Agonizing pain.
It consumed every nerve in Yamcha's body.
He opened his mouth to scream.
Nothing came out except blood.
"Already finished?"
Android 20 sneered.
He didn't withdraw his hand.
Instead, the energy absorption device embedded in his palm activated.
"Your energy isn't much."
"But it will make a decent appetizer."
Yamcha felt the ki draining from his body.
His life was fading away.
His vision blurred.
The world around him slowly turned gray.
Am I...
...going to die again?
Time seemed to stop.
There was no flashback.
Only bitterness.
Only regret.
Why?
Why is it always me?
I trained with everything I had.
I risked my life adapting to insane gravity.
I thought this time would be different.
I thought maybe...
Maybe I couldn't defeat the final boss...
But at least I'd get to fight with dignity.
Instead...
Reality was just like the hand piercing my chest.
Cold.
Cruel.
Merciless.
I was one of Goku's very first companions.
Back when he was still a wild kid living in the wilderness...
I was already the desert bandit everyone feared.
Back then...
We were equals.
When did that change?
When did he get so far ahead that I could only see his back?
Tien has the Tri-Beam.
Piccolo has the Special Beam Cannon.
Vegeta is the Prince of all Saiyans.
Gohan is a prodigy born of two worlds.
Even Krillin...
Krillin, another Earthling just like me...
Now stands high above everyone else.
He has a happy family.
Unmatched strength.
Even Bulma...
The woman I once loved...
No.
I don't hate Krillin.
He earned everything he has.
The determination he showed.
The way he gambled his life again and again.
I could never match that.
The only person I hate...
...is myself.
Why is the man called Yamcha...
...so painfully ordinary?
Is this really the limit of an ordinary human?
Does hard work become nothing more than a joke when standing before true monsters?
"What pathetic energy."
"So full of weakness."
"So full of hesitation."
Android 20's voice echoed from somewhere far away.
Weak...
Yeah.
I am weak.
I thought about retiring.
I thought about living an easy life as a professional baseball player.
But every time I saw everyone else fighting...
I couldn't stay away.
I wanted to prove...
...that I still belonged among them.
But what happened?
I became dead weight.
Just another injured teammate waiting to be rescued.
If...
If there's another life...
I don't want to be a martial artist anymore.
It's too exhausting.
Trying to chase monsters you'll never catch...
...is simply too exhausting.
Darkness swallowed Yamcha's fading consciousness.
The hand through his chest greedily drained the final spark of his life.
Then...
A streak of golden light tore through the gray sky.
"Hey, old man."
A familiar voice rang out.
Casual.
Almost playful.
Yet it made Yamcha's nearly stopped heart beat once more.
"Take your filthy hand..."
"...out of my friend's body."
Boom!
The air exploded.
Suddenly, the pressure vanished from Yamcha's chest.
The grim reaper holding him was struck like he'd been hit by a speeding train.
He disappeared instantly.
Yamcha's body collapsed.
But instead of crashing onto the broken concrete...
He landed in a warm pair of arms.
With blurred vision, he slowly opened his eyes.
Through the smoke...
He saw that unmistakable bald head shining brightly beneath the ruined sky.
"Kr... Krillin..."
"Don't talk."
"Open your mouth."
A green Senzu Bean was pushed between his lips.
Krillin placed a hand against Yamcha's chest and gently lifted his chin, helping him swallow.
The instant the Senzu Bean reached his stomach...
Life exploded back into him.
The gaping hole in his chest closed before his eyes.
Broken ribs reconnected.
His exhausted ki returned to its peak in a heartbeat.
Yamcha jerked upright, gasping desperately for air as though he had just surfaced from the deepest ocean.
"I..."
"I'm alive?"
He touched his perfectly healed chest.
His hands were still stained with blood.
It felt like waking from a nightmare.
"You were close."
"But as long as you're still breathing..."
"I can drag you back even if King Yemma himself has already claimed you."
Krillin crouched beside him and patted his shoulder.
Yamcha stared silently at his old friend.
Krillin wasn't releasing any overwhelming aura.
There was no earth-shattering display of power.
Yet somehow...
Standing beside him felt as solid and reassuring as a mountain.
"Th... thank you..."
Yamcha lowered his head.
His voice trembled.
"Quit thanking me."
"We're brothers."
Krillin stood and turned toward the ruins ahead.
Not far away, Android 20 crawled out from beneath a pile of rubble.
His hat was gone.
Part of his transparent mechanical skull was exposed.
The arm Krillin had kicked was twisted beyond recognition, electrical sparks hissing from the damaged joints.
"Alright, Yamcha."
"Fall back."
Krillin rolled his neck, his joints cracking sharply.
"From here..."
"I'll take over."
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