Thus, John settled down for the second time in Master Roshi's house, but this time he had to pay for his meals himself; it would be difficult to take advantage of Master Roshi again!
After resting for a few days, John began his training plan, focusing on the Sky Dance technique.
The Sky Dance technique—while it may seem that every Dragon Ball warrior can master it in later stages—was actually a very impressive skill in the early stages. If one wanted to fly, aside from airplanes and the Flying Nimbus, the Sky Dance was the way to go.
It is a signature technique of the Crane School, just like the Kamehameha is for the Turtle School.
However, from John's perspective, while the Kamehameha is powerful, it lacks the flexibility of the Dodon Ray in terms of technique.
In later stages, only Goku continued to use the Kamehameha, while Krillin switched to his own invention, the Energy Sphere Slash, and Yamcha opted for his own Energy Ball technique.
To use the Sky Dance technique, controlling one's internal energy is crucial, and John certainly had a lot to say about that.
At the beginning of his training, John started trying to control and adjust his internal energy.
On a high mountain on a small island, John began to attempt controlling his energy to lift himself off the ground.
Given that John's strength was already considerable, within just one day he could lift himself a few feet off the ground.
As time went on, John's altitude kept increasing until he finally created his own version of the Sky Dance technique without any guidance.
Six months later, under the envious gazes of Krillin and Yamcha, John soared freely in the sky.
Krillin said with envy: "This guy John is really amazing! I can't believe he can use his energy to fly freely in the sky."
"I wonder when I can do that too," Yamcha added. "We can only work hard; John has already taught us how to use the Sky Dance technique. If we can't learn it too, it will just mean we lack talent."
With less than six months left until the World Martial Arts Tournament, under intense pressure from John's strength, Krillin and Yamcha pushed their limits and finally mastered the Sky Dance technique before heading to the tournament venue.
Master Roshi shouted from outside: "Hey! Are you guys ready? Hurry up! We need to catch our flight; if we miss this one, we'll have to wait another week for the next!"
"We're coming!" Hearing Master Roshi's words, everyone grabbed their luggage and walked out together. John, Krillin, and Yamcha were all wearing suits made by Launch.
Master Roshi smiled at Launch and said: "Launch, thank you for staying behind to take care of things this time."
"Okay! Everyone do your best!" Launch smiled encouragingly at everyone. But just then a gust of wind blew her hair into her face; with a sudden sneeze, blue-haired Launch turned into blonde Launch.
Seeing everyone sitting on the speedboat with their bags packed, blonde Launch immediately realized they were going to participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament and wanted to leave her behind again like last time.
Blonde Launch became unhappy and pulled out an unknown submachine gun from somewhere and fired several shots into the sky before asking: "Are you guys planning to leave me behind again?"
Everyone was startled by her sudden outburst. Thus, all members of Master Roshi's house set off for Papaya Island where the tournament would be held.
The next day at noon, they finally arrived at the tournament venue. After registering at the registration desk, Master Roshi couldn't help but ask the staff: "Excuse me, has a child with a long tail named Goku registered?"
"Goku? You mean last tournament's top four contestant?" The staff suddenly remembered who Goku was.
"Yes! Has he registered?"
"Sorry, I haven't seen him yet," the staff replied regretfully.
"Is that so?" Just as Master Roshi pondered whether something had happened to Goku, a voice suddenly came from nearby.
"Ah! Look who I see! When did you come out of your shell, old turtle?" A scruffy old man wearing a crane hat approached them and immediately mocked Master Roshi upon seeing him.
Master Roshi recognized him as his arch-rival—Master Shen—and retorted without hesitation: "I thought it was someone important; turns out it's just you. Aren't you afraid an eagle will catch you if you leave your chicken coop?"
"You filthy turtle! I know your Turtle School made quite a name for itself in last tournament; this time I've brought my disciple here just to take you down. I want everyone to know that in martial arts schools, our Crane School is number one!" Master Shen shouted loudly at Master Roshi.
"Sorry to burst your bubble; even if you bring your Crane School here this time, you won't be our match. You can just follow behind us!" Master Roshi replied without holding back.
Instantly their eyes met as if sparks flew between them with crackling sounds echoing around them.
Their disciples ignored their masters' banter and focused on their upcoming opponents instead.
Krillin remarked from aside: "The disciples of Crane School look quite strange—one has three eyes and another has a puppet-like face."
Compared to Master Roshi's group, those from Crane School certainly stood out even among crowds.
Tien Shinhan also noticed three people opposite Turtle School but especially focused on John in the center.
He didn't find John impressive; rather he noticed that this person had no aura of power around him—John seemed like an ordinary person in his eyes.
But could that be possible? Tien Shinhan couldn't believe that someone trained by Master Roshi could be an ordinary person with no martial arts skills at all.
"We're leaving!" Feeling that arguing with this old turtle in public was too embarrassing for him, Master Shen called his disciples and left the registration area.
At this moment, Krillin walked up beside Master Roshi and asked: "Master Roshi, who is this person? It seems like you have quite a rivalry with him?"