"I deem you qualified to graduate from the Turtle School."
Krillin clapped his friend on the back and gave him a conspiratorial wink, signaling to Ajax that he was in the know. "Congratulations, Ajax. You've earned this."
Ajax blinked in surprise at both Master Roshi's words and Krillin's admission. He had predicted that his graduation would occur soon, but he hadn't expected it to be thrown at him so abruptly and without any forewarning. More importantly, the graduation ceremony of the Turtle School, it was—
"I get to shoot my own Kamehameha? Not the concussive training version, but the real deal, at full power?" Ajax exclaimed, his eyes widening.
"Yep," Master Roshi confirmed with a nod, "Goku should be arriving any moment now. I let him know since I'm aware he wouldn't want to miss your graduation and your first official Kamehameha."
As if summoned by the mere mention of his name, Goku's voice echoed from the distance, his arms waving frantically in excitement as he surfed in the air with Nimbus. Moments later, Goku touched down on the island without any fanfare, the grin stretching from cheek to cheek.
"Oh boy! Looks like I'm right on time! Sweet!"
Master Roshi cleared his throat with a few deliberate coughs, capturing the attention of the gathered students. He raised a hand and began, "Okay, everyone is here now. A few final words before we start the cere—"
But just as he was about to continue, Master Roshi abruptly stopped, a look of realization crossing his face as he swiveled around to face Goku and Krillin. "Wait, now that I think of it, the two of you didn't undergo the ceremony since I haven't actually taught you two the Kamehameha. I believe the last time we performed the ceremony was for Yamcha. You two little genius rascals practically stole—!"
"Alright, Master Roshi. We get it!" Krillin cuts in impatiently and rolls his eyes in exasperation.
Master Roshi, grumbling something unintelligible under his breath in response to Krillin's interruption, finally turned his attention back to Ajax.
"Normally, I would have another lesson on humility for you, but one of your strengths lies in recognizing your weaknesses, so I think we can forgo that." Master Roshi shot a quick stink eye toward Krillin. "It would also have helped if someone didn't spill the beans about my lesson plans!"
Upon hearing this, Krillin's cheeks flushed with embarrassment and he rubbed the back of his head, avoiding eye contact with the others. And he was so proud to have finally figured out who Jackie Chun was too…
Krillin's embarrassment sparked Goku's curiosity, and Goku couldn't help but scrunch his face in confusion. "What? What do you guys mean?"
"Don't worry about it, Goku." Master Roshi waved a dismissive hand at Goku. After a brief pause, Master Roshi raised his voice and addressed the group with an excited glint in his eye. "Alright, you zygotes! Let's get this ceremony started. Ajax, fire the biggest Kamehameha you can!"
Ajax nodded with anticipation and gracefully assumed a crouched stance. He closed his eyes and positioned his hands near his waist, held slightly apart, as though cradling an invisible sphere. Deep breaths filled his lungs, and he quickly cleared his mind completely. As the seconds ticked away, he delved deep, tapping into the wellspring of power within him.
Within his closed palms, a minuscule speck of light materialized, casting a faint glow. As he channeled his energy, the tiny dot swelled and expanded, forcing him to adjust the gap between his hands to accommodate its growing size.
Ajax kept his eyes shut, his entire frame trembling with effort as he compressed the ki within the now eye-piercing blue sphere. He began to chant the familiar incantation: "KAA-MEE-HAA-MEE..."
Ajax compressed the orb one last time, feeling it attaining the critical density, the minimum required for a successful attack. This was it, the moment he had trained so diligently for. He is about to make into reality the dream of millions, right here, right now! And it won't be a fart this time! His heart pounded as he unleashed his battle cry, "HAAAA!"
An enormous beam of sharp, azure light, as wide as a human torso, erupted from Ajax's outstretched palms, creating twin plumes of water that surged on either side, driven by the sheer force of the beam. It danced gracefully across the water's surface, its piercing brilliance briefly transforming the darkening sky into a radiant shade of blue. The energy blast continued for a few seconds, whistling through the air with its resounding power. Then, with an adept twist of his Ki, Ajax cut off the flow, causing the mighty beam to rapidly shrink and sputter out. In the wake of that attack, the sea's surface remained uneven and rippling from the tremendous force it had experienced moments prior.
A grin of wild joy swept across Ajax's face as he bathed in the afterglow of his first official Kamehameha. Raising one triumphant fist into the air, he let out a resounding roar of excitement and pride that echoed across the serene seascape.
In the wake of his achievement, a chorus of excited clapping and cheers erupted from behind him, as Goku and Krillin offered their congratulations. But before they could continue their jubilant cheering for too long, Ajax spun around to face the rest of the onlookers, cutting them off.
"Let's do one together!" Ajax exclaimed, a large smile gracing his face. "Goku and Krillin never did the ceremony, right? Let's all fire one together, like one big graduation!"
The ear-splitting grin on Goku's face stretched even wider and his enthusiasm soon proved too much for him to contain. He whooped with delight and leaped into the air; a move swiftly mimicked by Krillin. Wordlessly, and in unison, the three Turtle School alumni turned their expectant gazes to Master Roshi, who chuckled in response to the eager looks he was receiving.
"Very well, let's do it. Since we're doing a group graduation, I have a few words to share!" Master Roshi declared, commanding the attention of his students. "Train well! Learn well! Play well, eat well, and rest well! Enjoy your lives to the fullest and be merry! The Turtle School will be with you always! Let's dedicate the next Kamehameha as our greatest!"
With his piece said, Master Roshi transformed, his frail appearance gave way to a display of sheer power as his muscles bulged and veins throbbed beneath his skin. With an almost dismissive gesture, he tossed aside his cane, no longer needing it to support him. In a matter of moments, the once-tired old man had morphed into a colossal mountain of rippling muscle.
In the ensuing moments, silence enveloped the beach. No words were spoken because there was no need to. At that moment, on that beach, bathed in the soft hues of the setting sun, every member of the Turtle School knew exactly what to do. They stood in a straight line, two paces apart, each assuming the iconic charging position of the Kamehameha, and began to charge their attacks. The last sliver of the sun dipped below the horizon. Then, unison:
"KAMEHAMEHA!"
As the sun sets completely below the horizon and darkness envelops the world, four brilliant beams of pure blue light streak across the water, their radiant intensity rekindling the night sky. As the beams and their light raced into the distance, the night slowly cast a gentle darkness over the small island, which is now solely illuminated by the soft, interior glow of the Kame House. In the faint light seeping from the house, three pairs of voices screamed their joy and triumph into the night sky, accompanied by the contented chuckling of a fourth.
"These old bones shouldn't linger in the cold, ocean air for too long. I'll go prepare some hotpot for dinner." With that, Master Roshi turned around and began shuffling inside.
Before Master Roshi could put too much distance between himself and the group, Goku's voice rang out, the excitement still not fully drained from him. "Why don't we hold a party tomorrow? Bulma and Yamcha couldn't make it on such short notice today, but they can join us tomorrow!"
Master Roshi, intrigued by the idea, paused in his tracks, turning to regard his students. A contemplative expression washed over his face.
Beside Ajax, Krillin nodded his agreement rapidly, clearly very in favor of the plan. "That's a great idea, Goku! We can gather everyone for a grand celebration!"
"Well, you don't need to give me a reason to see Bulma again," Master Roshi said with a nonchalant shrug.
Goku turned to Ajax, eager for his response. In reply, Ajax simply mirrored Master Roshi's sentiment with a shrug of his own.
"Okay, it's decided then! I'll bring along a surprise too! See you all tomorrow!!" With that, Goku bounded onto the Nimbus and took to the skies, presumably heading home. The group wordlessly watched the figure of Goku as it rapidly receded into the night, enveloped by the deepening darkness.
"Uhhh… did he just fly off?" Krillin said, surprised. "But we haven't even decided on a time yet!"
"He did that right after my wish too," Ajax explained with a wry smile, shaking his head. "Just took off, completely forgetting that neither I nor Bulma could fly."
"Did he now?" Krillin laughed, his amusement plain in his voice.
"Well, considering it's Goku, one less mouth to feed in this case means MUCH more food for us. I'll be back inside the house." Master Roshi started to retreat into the Kame House, stooping down to pick up his cane along the way.
Ajax decided to remain outside a little while longer. As his gaze fixed on the vast expanse of the ocean, a somber, contemplative expression washed over his features. He had a strange feeling that tonight's events seemed to mark the end of something, and he couldn't shake that lingering sense of finality.
Still alert, Ajax's pensive mood did not escape Krillin's notice. "Hey, what's up? What's got you down?"
"No, no, I was just thinking. It's been five years since the last Tenkaichi Budōkai, isn't it?"
Krillin raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Yeah? You want to enter the next one?"
"No. Not ready." Ajax replied, shaking his head.
"You're really too humble, dude. Take it from someone who's been in your shoes. Don't stress about the things right before you. You've already put in the work to get where you are today, and that has to count for something. Just go at it step by step. Deal with your challenges and opponents one by one. If you genuinely feel you're not ready, that's perfectly fine! Just wait for the next tournament; no need to force yourself and risk performing below your best from pressure, of all things. That's just a tip from your Senpai who's done these before."
Krillin felt the cold air seep through his gi and instinctively wrapped his arms around himself, shivering.
"It's cold! Don't stay out too long, Ajax. I need to check on Master Roshi's hotpot." After a brief pause, he muttered to himself under his breath, "Who knows what kind of weird stuff he's going to put in it."
After Krillin left, Ajax remained standing alone, contemplatively staring into the night sky. Five years had already passed since the last tournament. His time is up. The events of the canon are set to unfold at any time, and once it does, it'll be a continuous of enemies until it culminates into a confrontation with Frieza. Ajax gritted his teeth, the weight of it all bearing down on him.
He couldn't deny it; he was terrified. Terrified of failure, of death, and most of all, terrified that THE MASTERPLAN, his bastion, might fail him. As things stood, he couldn't envision how he could contribute against a foe like Raditz when he was barely on par with Krillin. His hand trembled in the cold night air, and he clenched it into a fist.
"I'm not ready yet, damn it!"
Ajax closed his eyes, and Krillin's words echoed in his mind. He can't just sit this one out! ...can he? A rush of anxiety coursed through him, and he took a deep breath to steady his racing thoughts. As he opened his eyes once more, his eyes were calm.
"Follow THE MASTERPLAN one step at a time, that's all I can do."
"Hotpot's ready!" came the shout from within the Kame House.
"Coming!"
***
THE MASTERPLAN:
Learn the Kamehameha – (COMPLETED)
Learn to use Ki – (COMPLETED)