Chapter 411 and 412
Chapter 411: Stops and Starts Along the Way (4)
Tao Pai Pai leaned back comfortably, picking his teeth before lowering his feet. "Let me ask you—are you a disciple of the Crane School?"
The boy sneered. "I'd rather be weak forever than join you."
---
Shen smirked disdainfully. "Tell me… if we originally had no intention of killing, but because of your unnecessary interference, this village really does get wiped out… how would you feel?"
The boy stood up, dusting himself off, and exhaled. "Do whatever you want. I'll do what I can. My conscience is clear. Don't think you can pin your madness on me."
---
"Just nod your head now, and even if Tao Pai Pai does the work, these three deaths will still count as your doing. What do you say? Three heads for a full meal?" Shen stroked his mustache, speaking as if offering a kindness. And it was a kindness—these three were nothing but bandits who had jumped out at them. Tao Pai Pai would be the one to kill them, so where was the moral dilemma? Could the terms be any more generous?
Sixteen days without food, the boy—emaciated, his face gaunt—lifted his head weakly, eyes bloodshot. His lips moved slightly before he spat out: "Go to hell."
---
Ahem. "Listen up, all of you." With Tao Pai Pai's oppressive aura forcing the villagers to their knees, trembling, Shen cleared his throat and spoke in a sinister tone. "If this little friend here kneels and begs me to take him as my student, if he willingly asks to learn martial arts from me… then my brother, who loves killing, might just spare you all."
He helpfully pointed at the boy beside Tien. Tien, sweating slightly, took a small step away.
The boy's eyes were hollow. The villagers' desperate pleas, their screams as Tao Pai Pai slaughtered them, curses hurled at no one in particular, Shen's booming laughter as if savoring his torment—flames, shrieks, wails, laughter—all of it tore through his mind like shattered film, searing into his soul. Flashes of the nightmare replayed endlessly, leaving him dazed.
---
"Sorry for causing you so much trouble," the boy murmured with relief, saved by the couple. "I'm glad you're okay…"
---
"You really seem afraid of them," Tonpo observed as the boy wolfed down his food. "Even though you've escaped those two, you still act like you're looking over your shoulder."
---
Just like before, the boy jolted awake from a nightmare. After steadying himself, he stepped out of the small hut and stood by the deserted roadside on the outskirts of South City, gazing blankly at the quiet dawn horizon. When he started running, there was none of his former carefree energy—instead, every few steps, he couldn't help but scan his surroundings, as if wary of something unseen.
---
Returning to the park, he found no trace of the mysterious old man.
The boy rubbed a coin between his fingers, sitting alone on a bench all morning.
---
Because of that strange boy she'd met before, Tights had developed an interest in sci-fi. She had just left a lecture on space exploration when, turning a corner, she ran into him again after so long.
He looked… different.
---
At a street-corner café, Tights listened as the boy spoke lightly about his travels, forcing herself to smile and match his tone.
"Well, see you around."
At the café entrance, they parted ways again.
Walking away, bag slung over her shoulder, Tights paused to glance back, her expression uneasy.
Waves crashed against the shore, splashing the hem of the animal-masked figure's clothes.
---
In the wilderness, a campfire's embers glowed faintly.
The boy slept fitfully, his face pale, teeth clenched, body twitching. With a sharp gasp, he jolted awake, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily.
"It's fine… it's fine…" He rubbed his temples, muttering to himself. "I'm alone here… just me…"
Catching his breath, he stared up at the dim stars.
He didn't notice the animal-masked figure sitting across the dead fire, silently stirring the smoldering Tonporcoal.
---
A small-town therapist's office.
Through the cracked door, the boy sat on a soft recliner, the doctor speaking gently.
Outside in the hall, the animal-masked figure leaned against the wall, arms crossed, listening.
---
The mountains of Paozu.
Deep in the woods, the boy scratched his head in frustration. He'd made it to Paozu, only to realize finding Gohan in this vast wilderness was easier said than done.
All he could do was trek onward, searching as he went…
---
As the boy passed through the forest, the animal-masked figure sat perched on a branch, breathing in the tranquil air.
Then, his thoughts froze—
1 second… 5 seconds… 13 seconds… 32 seconds… 40 seconds… 49 seconds…
50 seconds.
For an instant. Yamiru snapped back to awareness, whipping his head toward the direction of Dr. Omori's island.
If he remembered correctly, he had indeed heard Dr. Omori and Tights mention later that in order to save Tights—who had nearly died in a rocket accident—Jaco and Dr. Omori had no choice but to activate the doctor's unfinished time machine, freezing time for 50 seconds...
Yamiru's thoughts stirred, and his body erupted with a radiant white aura. In mere seconds, he crossed countless mountains and rivers, arriving high above the island where Dr. Omori resided in the blink of an eye.
The rescued Tights was laughing and joking with Jaco and Dr. Omori, carefree as if nothing had ever happened.
---
Deep in the mountains, the boy lay sprawled on the ground like a starfish, catching his breath like a worn-out fish.
"Just one more minute of lazing around... just one..."
As he muttered to himself, his eyes suddenly caught a streak of light streaking across the sky.
---
"If things aren't as your father fears, we'll come get you right away."
Outside the round spacecraft's glass, a slender, delicate black-haired woman gazed at him with worry.
"Remember, you must live well," said a man with the exact same spiky hair as the boy inside the pod, stepping beside the woman. His usually stern expression softened as he pressed his rough hand against the glass, matching the tiny hand on the other side.
"Wait for us!" Gine urged, her voice trembling with sorrow and concern.
"Farewell," Bardock said as the pod slowly lifted off, watching it disappear into the distance, heading toward a planet called Earth. "Kakarot..."
---
The sleeping black-haired boy murmured a name in his dreams, a tear trailing down his cheek.
BOOM—
The pod hurtled forward like a meteor, streaking across Earth's sky, soaring over mountains and seas, cutting through forests.
---
On the ground, deep in the woods, the boy stared intently at the "shooting star" streaking overhead before suddenly breaking into a frenzied sprint, Tonposing after it with wild shouts and leaps.
---
Old Gohan, carrying a basket while gathering herbs, suddenly straightened up with an "Oh-ho?" and turned his gaze toward a faint but rapidly approaching energy.
---
"Hurry! The Saiyan is coming!" Jaco urged Tights and Dr. Omori to board the ship. "We can't let him destroy Earth!"
---
High in the sky, the animal-masked figure turned his head, sensing the foreign energy plummeting toward the planet.
---
At the Lookout, bathed in backlight, the silhouette of the second Kami stood indistinct. Gazing down at the mortal world, he murmured under his breath:
"Goku..."
Chapter 412: Whis?
"Goku?"
Many years ago, during his training, Piccolo had accidentally overheard his master and the Supreme Elderly Lord mention this name in conversation.
It seemed to belong to someone incredibly powerful.
Even someone as strong as his master held this person in the highest regard.
Naturally, Piccolo was curious—just who was this Goku?
"A Saiyan," his master had said. "Someone stronger than anyone else. And someone I once admired."
Though his master always wore a mask, Piccolo was certain that when speaking of this so-called "admired person", his master had been smiling.
But… a Saiyan? What was that? Piccolo never quite understood. However, the Supreme Elderly Lord seemed to immediately grasp the significance upon hearing the term.
"Like you said, similar to what happened with Yamoshi later?"
His master nodded.
"Ah, I see now," the Supreme Elderly Lord said.
See what? Piccolo had no idea.
Saiyans. Yamoshi. Were they supposed to be extraordinary?
Is that right, Goku?
"So you too came from beyond the skies…" Piccolo, the second-generation Kami, stood at the edge of the Lookout, murmuring to himself. "Just like me."
His gaze pierced through space, observing everything on Earth, landing on that place called Mount Five Elements.
A spacecraft, falling like a meteor, had crashed into the mountains, leaving a massive circular crater.
A small boy with a brown-furred tail, clad in strange battle armor, crawled out of the opened pod, blinking in confusion at the crowd of nervous onlookers peering down at him from the crater's edge.
A golden-eyed boy, tense yet excited.
An old man with a white beard and a basket on his back, brimming with curiosity.
A space cop who looked like a boiled egg, stern and ready to draw his blaster at any moment.
The woman from the spaceship, more focused on the golden-eyed boy.
The bald old man beside her, utterly astonished.
And high above, hovering in midair—Yamiru, wearing an animal mask, silently observed everything below.
Before long, the tailed boy, fiercely resisting, was pulled out of the crater and ended up fighting the golden-eyed boy. Then came the debate with Jaco, the Galactic Patrolman, over whether the Saiyan child should be eliminated. While waiting for Bulma and her father to arrive for an assessment, the golden-eyed boy grew closer to his future wife. Then came the trip to West City. Later, they would all witness the Saiyan child transforming into a giant ape under the full moon. Finally, Jaco would relent and leave, while the golden-eyed boy and the Saiyan child remained at Mount Five Elements, living under the care of the Turtle School's top disciple, Gohan…
"And so the story begins."
Yamiru's voice was soft.
The story of Goku—and his own story—had begun just like this.
Or rather, from his current perspective, this was how it had always begun.
Suppressing the waves of emotion, Yamiru turned his gaze toward a distant place. Now, only one question remained unresolved in his mind:
Back then, outside the Fortuneteller Baba's palace… did I really see Whis?
Was that… just an illusion?
Whoosh.
Holy white light enveloped Yamiru's body, and in an instant, he vanished from the sky.
Inside a crystal ball, the forests of Mount Five Elements swayed, a passing breeze the only evidence that someone had been there.
Annin, having returned to her normal size, sat on the edge of the massive Furnace of Eight Divisions, her slender fingers tapping rhythmically against the crystal ball's surface. Her expression was unreadable.
The Supreme Elderly Lord did not seem to be in a good mood.
"I've decided—today, we're having hot pot!" she declared loudly.
Her energetic voice echoed through the desolate Mount Five Elements.
Her giant silhouette, illuminated by the furnace's flames, flickered across the crystal ball's surface like a dancing shadow…
Reflected dimly in the crystal was the figure of the first-generation Kami, standing on the arena built over the lake, Fortuneteller Baba beside him in a fluster.
"I-I never expected Your Excellency to grace us with your presence…" Baba bowed deeply, her voice trembling with reverence.
Silence.
After a long pause, she dared to glance up. The first Kami, just as in the past, wore an animal mask, his gaze fixed on the lake without a word.
Baba didn't dare rush him. She could only wait.
Wasn't it tens of thousands of years ago that the first Kami, as the world's savior, declared that humans, animal-people, and monsters should all be treated equally?
Is this animal mask his vow to that ideal?
Lost in thought, Baba suddenly heard him speak:
"I'll be resting here for a while. There's no need to disturb me—pretend I don't exist."
"Huh?" The Fortuneteller Baba was stunned.
At first, Baba had been cautious, worried about the presence of the First Kami. She carefully performed divinations for the fools who came knocking at her door, charging modest fees and refraining from her usual extortion. But soon, she realized the First Kami truly couldn't care less about such things—so she gleefully returned to her old ways. She squeezed every penny out of those who arrived by car or plane, and before long, she was back to exploiting her inherited privileges from her master, the Supreme Elderly Lord, summoning underworld warriors from the afterlife to fight in her arena.
She loved watching people fight. Heh heh heh.
And to her surprise, the First Kami turned out to be unexpectedly easy to get along with.
Well, it'd be hard not to be.
He kept to himself most of the time, spending the majority of his days in deep meditation—whether he was sleeping or training, she couldn't tell. He only emerged when it was time to eat.
Baba had also noticed that the halo above the First Kami's head had vanished. He must have been revived—no longer bound to the afterlife.
Not long after the First Kami settled in her palace, Joey, the "little" companion of her master, flew over as if she'd known he'd be there all along.
Grinning mischievously, Joey teased Baba about her aged and "ugly" appearance before cheerfully skipping over to the meditating First Kami. Like a living doll, she crawled into his coat pocket, snuggling contentedly against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. Soon, she was fast asleep, her soft breathing rhythmic and peaceful:
Haaah… huuuh…
Baba's palace was sometimes deserted, sometimes bustling with visitors.
Haaah...…
In the arena, a warrior and a mummy clashed.
Huuuh...…
A single fallen leaf drifted onto the lake's surface outside the arena, rippling in slow, widening circles.
Time flowed swiftly, and before long, over two years had passed.
Then, one day—
"Finally found it!"
A loud shout came from the palace gates.
Hm?
Baba glanced over in surprise and saw a wild-haired boy standing on a golden cloud, looking around in awe.
"Whoa, there's so many people…"
A circling aircraft slowly descended near the entrance. Tights stepped out, holding Bulma's hand, followed by someone else who hopped down and gave the plane a firm pat—PON!—shrinking it back into a capsule.
As he pocketed it, he looked up at the palace entrance, where a little straw-hatted ghost was directing the crowd, and smiled.