'Cause and effect? Every sip and every peck?"
'Wow, what's going on? This old man's vibe feels… off.'
Yamiru listened to the old man speak, pursing his lips for a long time without responding.
"I know, you must have a lot of questions in your mind," the old man said, stepping forward and gesturing for Yamiru to follow. As he walked, he continued, "For example, who am I? Why do I seem to know you? Why do I have Senzu Beans? Why did I ignore you before but call you over today? And why… do I seem to know the truth behind those golden eyes of yours?"
The old man's tone was casual, but the content left Yamiru scrambling to keep up, both mentally and physically.
'Yeah, who are you? Why do you act like we're old pals? Where did you get the Senzu Beans? And what's with the hot-and-cold treatment? Also, tell me already—what's the secret behind these fiery golden… er, these eyes of mine?' Yamiru's head buzzed with questions, all of which the old man seemed to address without even being asked. Finally, Yamiru managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Uh, well… then why don't you tell me?"
The old man walked briskly, and it was only thanks to Yamiru's consistent running regimen post-reincarnation that he could barely keep up. But as he ran, a suspicion crept into his mind:'Could this be one of those cliché moments from novels where the mentor adjusts their pace to be just fast enough to push their student to the limit?'
Before long, the two exited the park and headed east along a quiet road.
Yamiru, huffing and puffing at the rear, struggled to keep up with the seemingly leisurely old man, who never looked back. Yet his voice carried clearly over his shoulder:
"Since I called you here, it's only natural that I explain."
No kidding.
"First, who am I? Well, given that we may never cross paths again, there's no need for you to know."
Seriously? That's your idea of explaining? Are you trying to pull a Kakashi on me? Yamiru rolled his eyes, trailing behind with an exasperated expression.
"You think you're a nobody, and, well… to be fair, you're not entirely wrong. But there are people out there who are aware of your existence. I just happen to be one of them."
The old man paused for a moment.
The abrupt silence made Yamiru, who had been straining his ears, suddenly tense up. But then the old man continued, "Oh, not because you're particularly important or anything. I just happened to hear about you. And then…"
Another pause. Yamiru's heart sank.
Still facing forward, the old man smiled faintly and spoke in a soft voice, "Back then, I was lost and confused myself, but fortunately, someone lent me a hand. That was many years ago, but seeing you wandering aimlessly like that the other day… I couldn't help but want to do the same for you."
Hearing this, Yamiru felt his previously tense heart settle, a faint warmth spreading within him.
"You don't need to thank me," the old man, still walking ahead without turning back, spoke plainly, almost as if he could read Yamiru's mind and sense his burgeoning gratitude. "I only bothered to give you a hand because I see that you have some potential. If you were nothing but a rotten piece of dead wood, content to waste away in a cesspit, I wouldn't have spared you a glance."
Wait, does that mean… I'm actually pretty decent? Far from feeling offended, Yamiru was pleasantly surprised by the comment.
Self-confidence wasn't something Yamiru had much of—especially in comparison to the mighty warriors and prodigies of the Dragon Ball world. As someone who came from a peaceful and mundane existence, he often felt out of his depth. Back in his previous life, he hadn't even been part of his school's Taekwondo club, let alone a martial artist. But now, this mysterious and clearly powerful old man had just confirmed it: he, Yamiru, had "some potential," enough for someone of this caliber to feel compelled to step in rather than watch him squander it.
"So… does that mean you're going to take me as your disciple?" Yamiru couldn't hold back the question, panting slightly as he tried to keep up. The old man's pace was relentless—it felt more like running than walking.
"Take you as my disciple?"
The old man abruptly stopped, and Yamiru almost crashed into him. He barely managed to avoid the collision but was startled when he felt a gentle yet powerful force push him backward. The force stopped his forward momentum and left him standing upright. Yamiru's mind raced. 'Was that… ki? This ability to push someone from a distance? This old man was definitely a master of ki manipulation.'
Then again, it made sense. The old man could fly, so of course, he would be proficient in using ki.
'But who was he?' Yamiru wracked his brain. Was this character even part of Dragon Ball lore?
Lost in thought, Yamiru suddenly realized that the old man had unknowingly led him to the harbor. The Southern Capital, situated on a continent in the southern hemisphere near the equator, was surrounded by ocean—much like Australia in his previous world. The harbor was bustling with activity, with all kinds of cargo and passenger ships coming and going around the clock.
The crashing of the waves almost drowned out the old man's calm voice: "Didn't I tell you from the start? The chances of us meeting again are slim. Taking you as my disciple? I neither have the time nor the energy for that."
"Then why did you call me here?" Yamiru was bewildered. Was all this just to give him a pep talk and tell him, "Hey, kid, you've got potential"? On second thought, wasn't that enough? Gratitude was a virtue, and greed was something Yamiru had always despised. With that in mind, he calmed down and asked in a steady voice, "Then why did you bring me here?"
The old man smiled faintly.
He stepped behind Yamiru, who suddenly felt a bony yet surprisingly strong finger press against his back. Before he could react, the force behind it propelled him forward against his will.
"Hey, old man, don't push me!"
"There's no road ahead!"
"I said it's a dead end! I'm going to fall—below is the sea—AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Nearby tourists and workers at the port heard the scream and turned their heads in its direction, but no one could spot a person. Some tourists on departing ships raised binoculars, scanning the coastline curiously. One of them muttered, "Could someone have fallen into the water?"
"A person? Master, what person?" The tourist was none other than Marda, the muscular man in a tank top and sunglasses whom Yamiru had encountered earlier. Beside him stood his adorable, curly-haired son, Mark, who tilted his head curiously and asked, "Let me see too!"
The little boy took the binoculars from his Master/father and peered at the shoreline. After a moment, he spotted a boy's head emerging from the water. His mouth fell open in surprise, but then he noticed an elderly man in simple clothing hovering above the surface of the sea. The old man glanced coldly in his direction, and before Mark knew it, there was a sharp "snap." The binoculars stopped working.
"Master, the binoculars are broken," Mark mumbled.
---
"Phew! Are you trying to drown me?!" Yamiru splashed in the water furiously. "I'm still injured, you know! I got seven stitches on my head yesterday!"
"Didn't I give you a Senzu Bean?" the old man replied calmly, still hovering effortlessly above the waves.
"Well, uh…" Yamiru hesitated, treading water. "A kid from a poor family like me wouldn't want to waste something so valuable."
The old man ignored his excuse. "Open your mouth."
"Ah," Yamiru reflexively complied, and before he could react, something hard dropped into his mouth with a soft plop. It nearly went straight down his throat. "Cough, cough!"
Secretly delighted, Yamiru was glad he hadn't eaten the two halfs of a beans he had saved in his pocket. Now he had scored a free one! Grinning to himself, he chewed on the second Senzu Bean the old man had given him, savoring its crunch before swallowing it down. The moment he did, the pain from his water-soaked wound vanished entirely.
His energy was fully restored!
"Amazing! So this is a Senzu Bean!" Yamiru marveled inwardly.
"Don't get too caught up in celebrating. Feeling recharged?" the old man's voice echoed, growing distant. "Now, turn around."
Floating on the water, Yamiru turned his head, only to see a shark's fin slicing through the surface like a knife, heading straight for him…