Yamiru left Kame House on May 1st and traveled to Fire Mountain to extinguish its flames. Intrigued by the peculiar properties of the fire, he spent his time not only putting it out but also studying it and using its ability to absorb small amounts of ki for training. Unintentionally, six or seven days had passed. The World Martial Arts Tournament, held every five years, was set to begin on May 7th at the Martial Temple on Papaya Island.
While playing with the flames, Yamiru had subconsciously kept track of the days. However, it wasn't until the dream jolted him awake that he realized it was already the opening day of the tournament!
"This is bad, really bad..."
Yamiru dashed through the newly redecorated corridors of the Ox-King's castle, sweat streaming down his face.
"Yamiru?"
The Ox-King, passing by, was surprised. In his impression, this young man was always calm and collected. What had him so flustered?
"This is bad, bad, bad..."
Before the Ox-King could process it, Yamiru ran out of the castle only to bolt back moments later, leaving a trail of sparks behind him.
Stopping abruptly in front of the Ox-King, Yamiru lifted his legs high in place and asked urgently, "Uncle Ox, where's your treasure room? Can I borrow something small to give my girlfriend as a gift? The tournament starts today, and I promised everyone I'd join them, but I might be late—"
"The tournament? The World Martial Arts Tournament?!" the Ox-King exclaimed, quickly calculating the dates. "That's right — it's today! I'll take you to... to..."
Before he could finish, Yamiru grabbed his thick arm and dragged him along. The Ox-King, hurriedly pointing the way, led him to the massive treasure room.
The heavy door swung open easily under Yamiru's push, revealing a dazzling array of gold and jewels. The room sparkled with golden light and vibrant colors. A normal person would be breathless, their heart racing with greed just at the sight of it.
Unfortunately, Yamiru wasn't impressed. He glanced at the metals and stones without much reaction.
Besides, compared to his girlfriend's family's wealth, the Ox-King's treasure was a mere drop in the ocean.
"How about this?" The Ox-King suggested, picking out a solid gold helmet adorned with various gems.
Seriously, Uncle? Yamiru was speechless. In the manga, Bulma casually gave away massive diamonds. The young lady he was gifting could probably buy the entire treasure room if she felt like it. And didn't he just mention it was for his girlfriend? A helmet wasn't exactly romantic.
Muttering to himself, "Five minutes, five minutes, no time, just five minutes..." Yamiru rummaged through the piles, trying to find something unique and less tacky.
A giant diamond? No.
A pure gold necklace? Pass.
A crown? Spare me...
After searching for a while, he realized everything in the treasure room was gold or jewels.
Tapping his toes rapidly on the floor, Yamiru activated his problem-solving brain. Just as the Ox-King was about to offer more advice, Yamiru made up his mind. Stamping his foot, he said, "DIY it is!" A quick calculation told him he had just enough time to spare.
Without hesitation, he picked out a less ornate but multi-faceted gold item, removed a few pure gold pieces, and clenched them tightly in his palm.
Yamiru focused his ki and began shaping the gold pieces with his bare hands.
He initially intended to shape the gold into the character "超" (Yamiru), reasoning that the Earthlings of the Dragon Ball world somehow recognized Chinese characters. However, upon realizing that the strokes of "超" were too complicated, he decided to craft the simpler "王" (Sato) instead. The piece was no larger than a coin but required incredible precision and skill. Fortunately, Yamiru was now a master of such techniques. He carefully smoothed the edges to ensure it wouldn't cut Tights's delicate skin.
After finishing, he strung it with a fine cord to make a necklace. Briefly admiring his work in his palm, he muttered, "No time to look; I'm out!"
"Uncle Ox, thanks! Goodbye!"
With a wave, Yamiru bid farewell.
"Goodbye…" The Ox-King smiled but wiped a cold sweat from his brow. Standing in the treasure room, he couldn't help but marvel at Yamiru's unconventional ways. A moment later, he noticed Yamiru wasn't leaving despite his farewell.
"Why are you still—" The Ox-King reached out, only to find that the motionless "Yamiru" in front of him was merely an afterimage.
"He's mastered the Afterimage Technique, just like Master Roshi... That kid's incredible."
The Ox-King stayed in the treasure room, lost in thought for some time.
Meanwhile, Yamiru was already piloting his capsule plane, racing full speed toward Papaya Island.
"Boom!"
The roar of the engine tore through the tranquil sky.
"The World Martial Arts Tournament!"
Excitement bubbled within him at the thought of seeing Tights again, but the words "Martial Arts Tournament" stirred even more passion in his heart.
Five years ago, he was just an unknown nobody who couldn't even get Master Roshi's full attention and had been eliminated in the preliminaries by King Chappa.
"Vroom!"
The plane flew straight toward the southern sea, toward Papaya Island.
As the sun grew brighter, Yamiru's urgency intensified. Suddenly, breaking through the clouds, he spotted Papaya Island below!
"Finally here! Tights and the others must be waiting for me..."
He maneuvered the plane into a dive. From above, the Martial Temple complex stood out vividly against the island's backdrop.
As the plane approached an altitude of a few dozen meters above the temple, Yamiru left the cockpit, climbing out of the window mid-flight. He opened a small hatch on the plane, pressed a button, and—"Boom!"—the capsule activated. Holding the shrinking plane in capsule form, Yamiru effortlessly landed on the ground.
"Tights, Tights... Where are you, Where are you..."
Humming to himself, he darted through the crowd, heading for the registration booth at the temple's entrance. His sharp eyes scanned the area, searching for familiar faces. Surely, they would have come as a group to watch the tournament.
Reaching the registration desk, Yamiru suddenly saw Master Roshi and his party!
Master Roshi, Son Goku, Bulma, Tights... Even Dr. Omori and — Jaco? Why was the Galactic Patrolman here?
"Hey! Everyone!" Yamiru greeted them casually as he jogged over.
"Ah!" Son Goku beamed. "You finally made it! I thought you'd miss the registration, haha!"
Bulma made a finger gun and mockingly aimed at Yamiru. "You're super late! My sister's been waiting impatiently!"
"It's fine," Tights said with a playful wink. "You're already registered, Yamiru."
Walking over to the registration desk, Yamiru glanced at the list on the table. Sure enough, his name was at the very bottom. Above him was none other than Son Goku. Yamiru also scanned the list to check for a certain name — Wu Maro, Jackie Chun, or any similar variant — but found no trace of it.
"What's going on?" he asked curiously.
The Martial Arts Tournament shouldn't allow someone else to register on behalf of a participant, right? He remembered in the 22nd Tournament from the manga, the group had to wait for Goku to return from his training journey to register himself.
"This is outrageous!" Jaco couldn't hold back his frustration, pointing his thumb at himself. "I'm a Galactic Patrol elite! How did I get stuck registering for someone like you?"
"Idiot!" Dr. Omori clamped a hand over Jaco's mouth. "Why are you saying that out loud?"
Sure enough, the temple monk in charge of registration gave them a suspicious look.
"Good day! I haven't missed the deadline, have I?" Yamiru grinned and confidently wrote his name on the registration form — as Jaco!
Tights burst into laughter and high-fived Yamiru. "All set!" They looked like a pair of mischievous conspirators.
"Hey! You call this all set?!" Jaco broke free from Dr. Omori's grip, ranting as Dr. Omori pushed him toward the preliminaries entrance. "Who wants to participate in some primitive planet's tiny tournament?! I'm a Galactic Patrol elite! This is an insult to my status — don't I have any dignity left?!" His voice trailed off as he was dragged away, heels scraping against the ground.
"Sorry for being late." Yamiru finally smiled at everyone, though his gaze was clearly fixed on his girlfriend. From his pocket, he retrieved the handmade gift.
Bulma stood on tiptoes to get a better look and scoffed, "That's one ugly necklace."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Yamiru put on a hurt expression. "I made it myself from a chunk of gold!"
Tights chuckled, seeing right through him. "You must've realized the tournament started today and rushed to make something last minute, right? A chunk of gold... Let me guess. You figured I wouldn't care for ordinary jewelry, so you came up with this idea to make a unique, personalized gift. Am I right?"
Yamiru was defeated. "You're too smart..."
"Still, it's not bad," Tights teased, tilting her head slightly. "It's ugly, but charmingly so. I guess I'll accept it — just this once." She closed her eyes and lifted her chin, revealing her smooth, pale neck. Yamiru couldn't help but be tempted to kiss her, recalling the dream he'd had earlier. Instead, he helped her put on the "Sato" necklace.
The group headed toward the preliminaries entrance together.
"I've got a gift to show you, too — tada! A Moonlight Rod!" Tights said, pulling a glow stick-like object from her bag and proudly showing it to Yamiru.
"Right, how's the research with Goku going?" Yamiru remembered the project. "A Moonlight Rod... Don't tell me this little stick can simulate full moon waves?"
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Jaco: 985
Son Goku: 77
Yamiru: 111