Tonpo scratched his nose. "Just now, your eyes looked golden... So weird!"
"Golden?!"
Yamiru immediately recalled waking up from his nap earlier, thinking his eyes had turned gold.
He had dismissed it as an illusion, but now it seemed to be happening again.
He hurriedly climbed into the vehicle, headed straight for the restroom, grabbed a small stool, and stood in front of the mirror. Staring at his reflection, his eyes appeared perfectly normal—still the same deep brown as always.
A pang of disappointment hit him, mixed with a growing sense of curiosity.
One thing was certain: he hadn't mentioned anything about his eyes to anyone else. For Tonpo to suddenly say his eyes had turned golden meant Tonpo must have really seen it.
"My eyes… really turn golden?" Yamiru mused, turning on the faucet. Water gushed out, and he splashed some on his face. "But why does it happen sporadically? Hmm... Thinking carefully, it doesn't seem like I feel any strong changes in myself when my eyes shift. Could it be a mutation? A disease? Or…"
His heart raced as he splashed his face again, gripping the sink's edges tightly. He muttered to himself, "Or is it… some kind of superpower? Eye technique? Damn it, eye techniques are such a classic protagonist trait... They're powerful and stylish... Could something this lucky really happen to me?"
His thoughts raced, spinning in every direction.
Water dripped from his face, tickling him as it trailed downward.
Drip. Drip.
After a while, Yamiru turned off the faucet, wiped his face with his hands, and slowly raised his head. Staring back at him in the mirror was a young man with glowing golden eyes, smiling faintly.
"It's real… not an illusion…"
Yamiru's eyes widened. He leaned closer to the mirror, carefully examining his golden irises.
Looking left, then right.
"They're good-looking, sure, but what do they actually do?"
He was baffled. He didn't feel any special energy or power radiating from his eyes.
If this was some kind of "cheat ability," it didn't come with an instruction manual.
Yamiru felt his mind start to drift. Suddenly, he truly believed he was the legendary protagonist destined to conquer everything. He couldn't help but imagine scenes of himself with glowing golden eyes, like twin flashlights, slicing through foes just by turning his head. He saw himself decapitating the Freeza underlying with a casual glance.
But then, out of nowhere, he realized that the golden glow in his eyes had vanished, returning to their ordinary deep brown.
"What? Why?" Yamiru was utterly puzzled.
Was it all just his imagination? If these golden eyes were some kind of superpower or cheat ability, their activation and deactivation were far too unpredictable—completely unannounced.
Yamiru felt frustrated, mostly confused.
He left the restroom, pacing for a moment, then turned around and went right back inside.
"Hmm... let's find the right state…"
Standing on the small stool, Yamiru gripped the sink with both hands, closed his eyes, and faced the mirror.
Muttering to himself, he seemed like an actor preparing for a scene, psyching himself up to better immerse into character.
"Okay, that should do it."
Yamiru opened his eyes, and sure enough, the boy in the mirror now had dazzling golden eyes. They were stunning to look at.
"Cut! Next take."
Yamiru wiped his face, closed his eyes, and lowered his head, trying to shift his mindset again.
'I'm a loser. I'm a loser. I'm a loser… ' He hypnotized himself with relentless negativity, feeling as though the pessimism would erupt from his skull and contaminate the entire planet.
"Action."
Opening his eyes once more, he looked into the mirror.
Just as expected, the gold had disappeared. The boy reflected back at him was just ordinary.
"Hard work, determination!"
This time, Yamiru didn't close his eyes. He calmly stared at himself in the mirror, his thoughts shifting again.
He dug out those once-pure, beautiful, steadfast emotions he had once felt, brushed them off, and placed them back into his heart.
In the mirror, his eyes turned gold again.
Yamiru felt an unexpected calmness, as though he had always known this would happen.
Then, in the next moment—
"Hell yeah! I am the chosen one! Those trash Saiyans? Those so-called Gods of Destruction? They're all destined to be crushed beneath my feet! One punch each!"
Yamiru caught himself reveling in a fleeting moment of arrogance. Who doesn't occasionally have thoughts they'd rather not admit to—dark, vain, or ridiculous?
And just like that, under the weight of this self-induced delusion, the golden glow in his eyes disappeared again.
"Is it really this reactive?" Yamiru muttered to himself.
At the very least, he could confirm one thing—this golden-eye phenomenon wasn't some disease like conjunctivitis. No illness could come and go so conveniently at will.
"Do your best. Focus on improvement."
Yamiru didn't say it aloud but instead reinforced the idea firmly in his mind, silently encouraging himself with determination.
And so, the deep brown eyes in the mirror slowly began to shimmer with gold once more…
"Let's be real—Earthlings can't compete with Saiyans. I'll say it again: the best an Earthling can ever hope to be is someone like Krillin."
The gold in his eyes faded away yet again…
Why bother comparing yourself to Saiyans? The most important thing for a person is self-improvement.
The golden hue in his eyes reappeared...
Hey, this is actually kind of fun!
Yamiru realized these eyes were utterly hilarious, fascinating, and downright peculiar.
As long as he pumped himself full of motivational speeches, his eyes would inexplicably turn golden. Though their usefulness remained unclear for now.
On the flip side, if he fed himself negative thoughts, the golden glow would vanish, as if disgusted by his pessimism.
Who handed out this ridiculous cheat ability? Yamiru ranted internally. Does this mean if I'm a loser, I don't even qualify for a cheat? And I can't let myself get cocky or arrogant either, or it'll disappear? What the hell…
Suddenly, a thought struck him. Perhaps this fluctuation was linked to his subconscious self-perception.
If the eye's transformation represented some latent potential within him, then it made sense. When he affirmed himself, the change rewarded him with positive reinforcement. Conversely, when he doubted himself or embraced negativity, the transformation aligned with his mindset, refusing to activate.
It wasn't a bad explanation.
Lowering his head, Yamiru appeared contemplative.
"So… what should I call these eyes that currently have no clear purpose?"
"Mirage Eyes?"
"Golden... Golden Mirage?"
---
"What's this kid doing, hiding in the bathroom?"
While driving, Tonpo flexibly raised one of her pig ears, listening carefully to the faint noises coming from the restroom. "Don't tell me he fell into the toilet?"
Suddenly, there were footsteps in the bathroom, followed by the sound of the door opening and closing. Yamiru emerged, walking up behind Tonpo and saying, "Stop looking around. Just focus on driving!"
Tonpo glanced at the windshield and noticed Yamiru's reflection. Even in the faint outline, she could discern that his eyes were golden again.
"How did they turn gold again?" the pig-headed driver asked while keeping her eyes on the road.
"Colored contacts. Got a problem with that?" Yamiru replied in a relaxed tone.