Chapter 294: Yamcha in a Good Mood

Once the time was right, Taro took Gohan and the others to West City. Today, Goku was going to participate in the even more intense round of sixteen elimination matches.

Gohan took Goku to the tournament venue first, while Taro wandered around the streets of West City with Hathaway. They first went to the research lab, where Hathaway, with help from her assistant and Jarvis, swiftly took care of a pile of work. She then confidently took Taro with her and left again.

Hathaway didn't lack money, and Taro had never considered money something he needed to worry about. With a walking elevator like Taro at her side, the two of them strolled around the bustling areas of West City, laughing and chatting, never needing to squeeze into the subway or fight for a cab.

Today marked the beginning of the World Martial Arts Tournament's outdoor round of sixteen, and many people wore signature baseball caps from the event, streaming toward the massive tournament arena in the city. Hathaway and Taro, going in the opposite direction on a whim, seemed like outliers—but nobody noticed them, so nobody could disturb them either.

Recently, Hathaway had taken a liking to dressing up her husband. Besides the clothes she made for him herself, she often bought mature and stylish outfits that matched his vibe, along with little things like sunglasses. It all depended on her mood.

Taro let her enjoy herself.

"What do you think of this one?" Hathaway asked, holding a lipstick up to test the color. But she noticed her husband's gaze was directed elsewhere. Curious, she looked over and saw a boy and a girl walking together. The two kids looked about the same age as Goku, but both had rebellious expressions, and their clothes were deliberately torn and ragged.

Hathaway had no love for that kind of rebellious youth fashion, so she looked away. But Taro was still watching them. She turned to him, puzzled. "What is it? Those kids…" Suddenly, she remembered something. Looking at the boy and girl approaching them, their features seemed to mark them as siblings.

"Wait… are they that brother and sister from seven years ago?" Hathaway suddenly recalled how, seven years ago, when she and Taro left Mount Paozu, they passed a peasant couple. The farmer had carried two children on his back. If she remembered correctly, Taro had stared at the kids on the farmer's back for a long time. He'd even said something was strange about the way one of the kids looked at him.

Strange?

Just as Hathaway was remembering this, the siblings walked past her and Taro. She vaguely heard the boy complaining to his sister about their "stepdad" and saying something "gross". That instantly reminded her of that peasant woman they'd met—flirtatious and all dolled up. Had she divorced and remarried? Were the kids rebelling because of their broken family?

In her mind, Hathaway quickly pieced together a likely story. Taro finally looked away from the girl and said, "If you like that one, then get it. The match is about to start—let's go." He took her hand and led her to the counter to pay.

But just then, the girl who had already walked past—Lazuli—turned her head suddenly, a deep frown on her face as she looked back at where Taro had been standing.

"Hey, Lazuli, what's up?" her younger brother Lapis asked with a cocky attitude.

Lazuli didn't respond. She just frowned. Then, suddenly, she felt something cool on her cheek. When she raised a small hand to touch it, she was shocked—and so was Lapis.

"Wait, are you crying?!" the boy blurted.

Lazuli silently shook her head and said in a soft, cool voice, "I don't know…"

She turned her gaze back to the road with a dazed expression. The siblings continued walking, hearts heavy with the urge to escape their fractured home.

---

In a small town near South City, close to both desert and rainforest.

The town's weathered buildings bore the marks of shifting climates, and even the townsfolk had developed rough habits to match the seasonal dust storms.

It wasn't a peaceful place. Many thugs and loafers wandered the town aimlessly, doing nothing but bullying the weak. If an outsider came to town, they were sure to be hassled and shaken down for what the locals jokingly called a "settling fee."

But a few years ago, two outsiders arrived—and they were different.

It was a father and daughter. None of the local thugs or gangs ever got anything out of them. The reason was simple: they couldn't win.

Just one look at the father told you everything. The man stood well over two meters tall, with a waist almost as wide as his height, and arms thicker than most people's legs. How do you fight a guy like that?

Word was, this man had nearly joined the Martial Arts Association. That alone was enough to scare off the troublemakers.

Especially after the last time they'd tried to cause a scene at the father-daughter's restaurant. The man had simply grabbed one thug in each hand and tossed them out like trash. After that, no one dared to stir up trouble again. In fact, strangely enough, many of those same punks started coming to the restaurant to eat and hang out—and they always paid their bill. (Not that they had a choice.)

The place was called Ox King Signature Dishes Restaurant, and it had since become a well-known spot in the town.

Yamcha had once been one of those small-time thugs, but lately he'd had a change of heart. He was determined to become a powerful martial artist! And he had good reason…

First, after the Ox King and his daughter moved to town, Yamcha—who used to tail the gang leaders—realized just how strong martial artists could be! The Ox King hadn't even joined the Martial Arts Association, and he was already beating up the town's thugs left and right, even forcing them to turn their lives around. If he could do that… just imagine!

Second, and even more importantly—just a few days ago, while messing around outside the town, Yamcha had stumbled upon a tattered martial arts manual. Thankfully, he could read, so he recognized the title: Wolf Fang Fist…

With dreams of mastering Wolf Fang Fist and mowing down his enemies, Yamcha had wandered into the Ox King's restaurant without even realizing it.

The place was packed. On a television mounted in the corner of the wall, a tournament seemed to be playing.