The newly crowned champion of the fighting world, Masked Man, suddenly announces his retirement.
The journalists went crazy. What is going on? After two years of hard work, he finally defeated the unbeatable Champion and claimed the title in the third year, only to turn around and retire?
The paparazzi rushed to Masked Man's residence, but the place was already empty.
Even the contact number for his quirky female manager turned out to be a disconnected line.
Masked Man's fans were also stunned. Three years ago, when this mysterious contestant entered the competition, they were ridiculed by fans of other popular stars. Year after year, they stuck with the regular season and playoffs, with some die-hard fans even traveling to every city to watch the games live. After struggling for so long, they finally saw their hero defeat Gaw and win the championship. It was time to celebrate, but where was he? The once-prominent Masked Man had disappeared without a trace?
It was then that they realized they had never really understood this mysterious hero.
He almost never participated in media activities and refused all interviews. Everything was handled by his manager, Tights, who represented him in public matters. He also refused any commercial endorsement deals and turned down all requests for promotional videos from the league. No one could understand why the league president would tolerate such an eccentric player for so long.
The league president sighed while reading the news of Masked Man's sudden disappearance over breakfast. He took off his glasses, exhaled deeply, and muttered, "You have no idea. His manager is the daughter of the Capsule Corporation's CEO, Dr. Brief! Over the past three years, I don't know how many calls I've received from Dr. Brief himself... and his second daughter, who is clearly destined to take over the Capsule Corporation. She's been backing Masked Man the whole time."
"This rich kid is tired of playing and leaves, huh? He's such a talk-worthy player, but there's no commercial value to squeeze out of him. Is it easy for me..."
Meanwhile, a few of Yamiru's close friends in Haier City received a message from him before he left.
Zanpa, now Mark's manager, met with him and sighed. "Yamiru and Tights are really carefree. They come and go as they please. With his fame and true strength today, he could practically become a human money-printing machine if he wanted to make money. Who would have thought he would leave so decisively without a hint of nostalgia, as though he never cared at all?"
"I should've known," Zanpa thought. "Someone like him sees a different world than we do..." He remembered the time when Yamiru saved him from a giant shark on a pirate ship, smiling calmly even as death seemed certain. After narrowly escaping death, he stayed true to his original goal and continued his journey in search of something he called Mount Paozu. "What is he going to look for this time?" Zanpa wondered.
At Gaw's former residence, he sat on the sofa watching the news about Masked Man's disappearance.
On his way home, Master Roshi was teasing passing women when he suddenly looked up, his sunglasses reflecting a flash of white light, and he chuckled to himself.
---
On the airship, Yamiru, Tights, and Gohan sat across from each other, with a folded map in front of them.
The map was a little old, with many of the folds becoming blurry over time.
Two different colors of ink could still be seen, though they had faded. They marked two distinct routes.
The red route started from the South City, heading north to land, passing through a large forest, Sloop City, crossing mountains, and going through Haier City. After a while, the line suddenly turned and headed northwest towards a remote, uninhabited mountainous area, then made a sharp turn towards Mount Paozu. The route stopped at a small city before continuing eastward, passing by Fry-pan mountain, and then abruptly ended.
The blue route also started from the South City, but instead of heading north, it took a sea route around the ocean to the east, then landed on a small island. From there, the route turned west and continued north, finally reaching Mount Paozu.
"..." Yamiru looked at the map and touched it with his hand. "This is the map I used to get to Mount Paozu. I didn't expect you still kept it, Master."
Gohan smiled gently but didn't say anything.
Tights, seeing the map for the first time, traced her finger along the red route and paused at the spot in the northwest mountainous region.
"Isn't this where Yamiru was captured by the Red Ribbon Army and tortured?" she wondered.
Her finger moved along the route eastward to a small city. "And this is where I met Yamiru. At the time, he was on the verge of dying from a fever, yet he still had the strength to save someone else. I remember when he was in the hospital, the machines would beep every time his body twitched slightly, even though he was unconscious. It's hard to imagine the torment he went through at the hands of the Red Ribbon Army..."
She didn't want to continue looking, because she knew what had happened after that and couldn't help but squeeze Yamiru's hand.
Yamiru was also staring at the map, his eyes fixed on the two winding paths.
The red and blue routes, though faint, were almost identical.
After all, the first time Yamiru went to Mount Paozu, he had lost the map after being captured by the Red Ribbon Army.
The second time, during his journey, he recorded the new route while reflecting on his past failures, using them to encourage himself. "We've come this far. How could we give up now?"
That's right. We've come this far. How could we give up?
Yamiru had never given up on being a true martial artist.
And a true martial artist didn't necessarily mean the one with the strongest fighting power.
Even on the fighting stage, Yamiru never stopped surpassing himself. He had never broken the vow he made as a martial artist to live without shame. When he encountered injustice, he stepped in to help. He trained hard, rested well, and sought perfection in body and mind.
But humans do have limits.
At the time in the Spirit World, Master Roshi had also agreed with this point. Back then, he and Crane Hermit explored their limits in their own ways, but both failed in the end.
Yamiru, too, inevitably realized his own limits.
Mutaito, Master Roshi, Shen—these people truly lived up to their reputation as outstanding martial artists among humans.
The reason they never broke 300 in combat power was not without reason.
Later, there were Son Goku, Tien Shinhan, and Krillin—rare martial arts geniuses.
Even Yamcha, after meeting Little Goku for the first time, without anyone's guidance, self-taught and raised his abilities dozens of times.
Bardock, with his top-notch talent and battle skills, and Gine, who was even designated by the Earth's gods as the next candidate for immortality, with a pure mind far beyond ordinary people.
Compared to these people, Yamiru never felt that he had anything exceptional about him.
In recent years, the increase in physical strength had become slower and slower—this was probably the physical limit he had discussed with Master Son Gohan and Bardock.
As for martial arts insight... Master Roshi took three years to complete his Ki training, and what about him?
How many years had passed since he first climbed Korin Tower? Yamiru recalled the words of Korin. Perhaps the bustling world was indeed suited for someone with his personality. And that's exactly what he had done. He threw himself into the fighting world, using a method that concealed all his senses, battling against all kinds of people in the fighting arena. For over three years, he crawled and fought in a world of darkness. But even so, until today, he still couldn't claim to have reached the expectations set by Korin...
---
Several hours later, the airship landed.
The hatch opened, and passengers began to disembark one by one, carrying their luggage.
Son Gohan also left with a couple off the airship. The moment they stepped out, a wave of hot air hit them.
This was... South City.
The scorching sunlight, the distorted air in the atmosphere—it had been a long time since he felt this heat.
"How could you stay here for months at first?" Tights, wearing a sunhat and sunglasses, waved her hand, jokingly. "I heard that Bulma came here with her mom and dad back then? She sure has a lot of energy."
Yamiru nodded, wearing the same sunglasses. "That's when I first met Bulma. She saved my life."
Tights slightly lowered her head. Her sunglasses slid down her nose, revealing her beautiful big eyes, and she raised an eyebrow. "I saved you too~"
"Thank you for saving me." Yamiru gently kissed the hand of his girlfirned, Tights, then spoke to Son Gohan, who was walking ahead. "I wonder if my little house is still there. Master, I'll contact a friend to ask."
He turned to Tights. "Can you stay with Master for a while?"
Tights nodded, pointing to a cold drink shop outside the airport. "I'll wait for you there."
Yamiru waved his hand and left.
With his stamina, he didn't need to call a taxi. His long legs took him to a commercial street in no time.
On the street, he even saw someone wearing the work uniform of the delivery company where he had once worked. He couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Excuse me, sir?" The jewelry store owner reminded him. "Your ring..."
Yamiru turned around, pointing at a silver metal ring. "Just engrave the name of South City on it. Don't make it too big, there are still many places to engrave."
The store owner immediately understood, put on a monocle, and smiled. "Traveling with your lover, or on a honeymoon? You secretly ran away, didn't you? I get it, it's a surprise."
Yamiru smiled and asked, "Can I borrow your phone?"
"Of course." The owner started engraving the silver ring.
"Thank you." Yamiru nodded and walked to the store's landline, recalled the number, and dialed.
Soon, after a few beeps, the call was answered, and an impatient shout came through. "You still know to call back? You idiot! Hurry up and get your ass back here!!"
Yamiru moved the receiver away, waiting for the other side to stop ranting. When it paused, he put the receiver close to his ear and helplessly said, "Tonpo? It's me, Yamiru."
"Huh, Yamiru?" On the other end, the pig-headed Tonpo paused. "It's you."
Yamiru smiled and asked, "Who did you think it was? Idiot, is it you and Elizabeth's kid?"
Mentioning this, Tonpo exploded with anger. He grumbled, "Yeah, that damn kid is impossible to handle. After getting caught stealing the female teacher's underwear, he was expelled from school. Then he started saying he couldn't face people and ran off with the RV. Who the hell did he learn this from? Damn it!"
Seeing his old friend ranting about his son, Yamiru quickly intervened, saying, "He must have learned the transformation magic, right? He should be fine going out for a walk. There's no danger."
Tonpo muttered, "I'm worried someone might throw that kid in a pot and cook him! He's all soft and white, like a little pig…"
In the background, Elizabeth's faint crying could be heard.
Yamiru rubbed his forehead, feeling exhausted. "I'm in South City right now. Let's meet up and talk."
"You're in South City? Alright, I'll come pick you up."
"Is my little shack still around?"
"Yeah, Elizabeth and I still go there sometimes."
"Alright then…"
After hanging up, the jewelry store owner had already finished engraving the ring. Yamiru paid, packed it up, and headed back in the direction of the airport.
When he returned, a hovering car had just arrived, and on it were Tonpo and his wife.
"Wow, how did you grow so tall?" Tonpo's eyes nearly popped out as he stared, dumbfounded, at the 1.8-meter-tall young man walking toward him.
Yamiru took off his sunglasses, revealing his golden eyes, and smiled. "Let me introduce you. This is my master, Son Gohan, and this is my girlfriend, Tights." He then introduced Tonpo and his wife to Son Gohan and Tights.
Tonpo, who had already noticed the beautiful blonde woman, hadn't expected her to be Yamiru's girlfriend.
"You really know how to live…" Tonpo was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, but since Elizabeth was nearby, he didn't dare show it.
After catching up, Yamiru and the others followed Tonpo and his wife along the road toward the outskirts of the city.
This road was one Yamiru had once run back and forth on day and night, and looking out the car window, it seemed like he could still hear the powerful sound of footsteps from his past.
They arrived at the modest little wooden house.
"It's so run-down," Tights commented first. "You really lived a tough life back then."
Yamiru replied, "Actually, it wasn't that bad."
Back then, he was full of ambition, thinking about things like Super Saiyan, Destroyers, and Angels, even though his strength was so weak. He never cared much for material conditions.
Tonpo had clearly taken good care of the little house, even preserving some of the old items, like Yamiru's notebook, in a small box.
"You really took care of this," Yamiru said, thanking him.
Elizabeth smiled. "He's always bragging about how you're the coolest friend he knows."
Yamiru chuckled as he and Tights opened the box.
At the top of the pile was a diary, with many pages torn out.
Tights found a poster so old that the front design was barely visible, but it seemed to be a promotional image for the World Martial Arts Tournament.
Flipping it over, there was a hand-drawn comic strip.
Looking at the character's design and expression, it strongly resembled Super Saiyan Bardock.