Dragon Ball Super – Goten's Potential Unmasked.
Chapter 2: Roshi's Metaphor of Life
I am finally heading to Roshi, hoping he'll be able to teach me, or rather refresh my memories about Ki-based attacks. Of course, I could simply create blasts in the blink of an eye and blow everything in this world up, but then again, power does not equal destruction and mayhem – instead, it equals concentration and perseverance. The master may be thousands of times weaker than me, but he is a human hundreds of times stronger than his own kind, which by itself is an almost unattainable achievement. Neither my dad nor my mother have told me much about him which I find extremely odd – he was the one who set my father up for his adventures anyway. Why wouldn't he tell me anything about him? I've always been curious about my father's past. According to Gohan, he wasn't always as strong as he is now – not even close.
I am sure he'll be able to assist me in my training, too. After all, being injured for so long has taken me out of shape.
I arrive to Kame House and start knocking on the door.
Roshi opens it and greets me, holding a sexual magazine with his left hand. "Oh, Gohan, is that you?"
"No, you pervy old chump – it's me, Goten," I respond.
"Goku, Gohan, Goten; it's all the same to me. What's next, Gorrat? And expect me to remember these names?" He says, with a smirk on his face.
"I have to admit, I don't blame you for that. I really wonder who came with these ridiculous names for my father, my brother and I. It must be a curse."
"Very funny, kid. Now, drop the jaw: what do you want? I have some important business to attend to in my house." He lifts his magazine, opens it and shows me an exotic picture, which by occasion is not even remotely interesting to me.
"Look you elder, I just need your help to train me. You trained my father and heck, even Krillin. Now I want you to help me."
"Whoa! I would help you, but I think you're forgetting that both of the people you mentioned were little kids, and at the time much weaker than myself. You're too old for this, Goten, and also too powerful compared to me. Might as well ask Hercule Satan to help you with your training."
I laugh. "That clown? Very funny. But really, please assist me with my training – don't you dare even compare yourself to the typical human because you're dozens of times more powerful than them and more importantly, you know how to handle your Ki."
"And you're not more powerful than the 'typical human'? You don't know how to handle Ki yourself? Just go home. Again, I have important matters to attend to!" He yells and goes back to his house, and right when he's about to shut the door, I place my foot in the middle of the process and push it back.
"Listen Roshi-"
He interrupts. "I told you I am not going to teach you, so go back home and tell your mother… beautiful mother…" He stops. "Tell her to cook you some vegetables and make you some orange juice. Maybe that along with pushups is going to help you with your training. Now, you can only stay here if you want to watch some explicit cassettes with me, but other than that, go away!"
I am about to explode, but I control myself and don't let his words stay in my mind. I don't want to destroy half the world because of an old man anyway – that'd be ridiculous.
"Alright, have it your way," I decide to pull out my secret card, "but don't even dream of meeting my beautiful ex-girlfriend. She left me because she believes wisdom is more important than one's physical attributes."
I take out a picture and show it to him. It is a young and slender, red-haired and brown-eyed supermodel. Of course she was not my ex-girlfriend – just some chick I found in a modeling magazine, but this should be enough to convince him to train me. I am sure of it.
"That goddess… she was your girlfriend?" He asks.
"Yes Roshi, but like I just said, he prefers old men. The older the better."
He snaps. "Then bring her here! I couldn't be more interested in anyone in this life!"
"The thing is, master, nothing in this world is free. I am going to need you to help me tra-"
Again, he interrupts what I was going to say. "Yes, Goten – I'll train you without any hesitation. I accept your deal. The thing is, though, you'll kill me in the blink of an eye if we actually spar together."
"I understand that. I don't want to personally fight you either in case that wasn't clear – I just want you to show me how you manipulate Ki yourself. I don't know if you found out what happened to me, but it isn't pretty."
"I think I understand your situation. You lost the fight against the goddess of…" He pauses, "never mind, I don't even want to remind you of that. Forgive me. If you want to train with me, we'll start tomorrow in the morning. For now, just rest. You'll need to recover your strength for the coming days."
"Thank you so much, Roshi! And don't worry about the incident. Everything happens for a reason, and in this case, such was simply a reminder that I need to keep up with the others when it comes to power. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go back home to sleep. Like you said, I need to be as ready as I can for my training tomorrow."
He stares at me with empathy. "If you want, you can simply sleep here – it will not be a problem. It's late now and while you can fly at an incredible speed, you're still a mortal and I don't think you should waste more energy than you already have. Now, come in, son."
"That won't be necessary, but you're right, I am extremely hungry. Know what? To hell with it. I'll take your offer, but only if you have food."
"I have a refrigerator full of food, now come in and rest. Do not eat all my provisions, though! And also," he pauses dramatically and looks at me with a seriousness… "For any reason, do NOT forget to bring your super-hot-queen-wonder to my house, understand?!"
"Don't worry, old man, I won't."
Hereafter, I go in and alas, finish everything he has whether he likes it or not. I go to my room and it is extremely dirty and apparently, nobody takes care of this house properly. It is beautiful and in a great location to live in unless you can't fly, but the fact that it is so hoarded with trifles makes it unbearable as a condition to breath. I sleep and prepare for the next day.
I brush my teeth, put on my training weighted clothes, and go outside Kame House right where Roshi told me to meet him.
He's looking at the sea as the sun is rising. The reflection of the colors projected on the ocean water is simply astonishing. Now I understand why he'd live here even if he does not get help from anyone to organize his house, or does it himself… It's simply because this place, through the water, takes you back to everything that you've been through since childhood. It reminds you of those graceful moments you've spent with your loved ones in glamorous ways. It is the definition of life.
Roshi slowly looks back and finally, stares at me. Is the reason why he always wears those sunglasses the fact that he's seen everything there is to see, and wants to hide the vast emptiness of the universe with those spectacles? Is it the opposite? One shall never know.
"Kid, what the hell are you waiting for, do you want to train or not?"
Master… Now I understand why the destiny had chosen my father to be your pupil in the lightest of times. It is because your heart is filled with gleam that prepared him to face the ironically dazzling darkness of iniquity.
I respond. "Yes. Now, shall we begin our training?"
"What did you say? I can't hear your puny baby whispering."
With the heaviest of tons and the lustering radiances, I look at him with an imposing smile and respond to his demand like there will be no morrow, and by the occasion, no more posterities in this existence.
"Yes, Master Roshi! I've never been more ready in my entire life! Let's do this!"
And so, the wind flows through my veins. I am ready to kick major ass.
