Chapter 19 - Good Old Times

…

Bullets rained down on him, and the impact was so strong that some cracks appeared around Yamcha's barrier.

But during these raining onslaughts of bullets, Yamcha couldn't help but think how the Pirate Robot looked like a xenomorph from the Alien series, with a long backhead skull.

[Pirate Robot - Lvl 34] [PL: 70]

It was quite a high level for a machine. Yamcha wondered how many people or creatures stumbled here by accident and were killed by the robot.

He created another barrier under the first one that was about to shatter. This was the perfect time to grind some skills; mindless enemies who would shoot at him even when the shots had no effect were rare in the world.

[Barrier Magic leveled up to 2]

Yamcha played with the robot until it ran out of bullets, and the Barrier Magic skill sadly didn't level up after that second level. The robot took out a sword and charged at him. He canceled his barrier and was about to blast the robot away when he got a better idea and just used two small blasts from his finger to blow the creature's arms off. Then he did the same with its legs and put everything in a capsule after neatly ripping out some cables so the robot wouldn't move.

'Bulma will love a gift like this. If she is successful in secretly building a gravity machine, she deserves some gifts. Maybe she could make some robots to use for training?'

They say a way to a man's heart is through their stomach, but for Yamcha, it was a gravity machine. To any man who has seen Dragon Ball, who hasn't dreamed of training in a gravity machine?

His thoughts felt like those of a gold digger. Well, if he married Bulma, he will be the one to gain the most from the relationship. He would have done it in a heartbeat if this wasn't a world of planet-destroying aliens.

After he was done thinking of strange and contemplating how traveling alone he might dare himself to do something weird, Yamcha explored the caves and openings.

He triggered many traps, from cliche arrows shooting out of walls to the even more cliche pitfall traps into lava and to the worst cliche, a spherical stone rolling down about to crush him.

It would have been a more exciting adventure if he couldn't use a barrier to block arrows, fly, and crush the stone with his fists.

If he wasn't in a bit of a rush, Yamcha would have been tempted to try it and see how well he could do. Might have even increased one of his stats and used it as training.

He fought against a random electric eel, and it was during that route when Yamcha stumbled on a room. It was an underwater room; some wall had collapsed and sunk the whole thing in. Gold coins, swords with rubies embedded in them, and crowns. All kinds of unimaginable riches. This wasn't even the room with the goddess statue he was looking for.

'Did I stumble on One Piece? Just who the hell were these guys? This much wealth from pirating, they must have been world-famous during their time.'

It took hours, maybe even days (it was hard to tell time down here) for Yamcha to find all the treasure in the cave and stuff it in his inventory. From the story, he only remembered a chest of gold and diamonds before the whole place was sunk down, and they had to escape. But since he hadn't seen the show in decades, there was more wealth than he had thought. Enough Gold to crash the market if he released it all to the public.

After milking the whole place dry, Yamcha used a Kamehameha wave to crash the whole thing down and flew off.

Now he had the money, but he had another dilemma. Where do you go to buy an island? It's not like they will sell islands at yard sales or the flea market. Yamcha took out his phone from the inventory and called someone who might know something about it.

"Hello? Who is this?" A voice came from the other side.

"I-"

"Wait, wait, don't tell me." Dr Brief interrupted him. "I have developed a new machine that can tell me where you are just by a phone call alone."

"But I wanted to ask where you can buy an island?"

"I will text you the number later."

'You have a number about that?' Yamcha was even more confused. But Dr Brief was a weird guy, so he didn't question the man's actions too much. Bulma's mom might be a younger clone of herself, or maybe Dr Brief developed a machine that stopped aging. If that was the case, why did he stop aging when he was so old?

Since they were on the phone, and his curiosity was killing him, Yamcha asked. "Sir, if you had a machine that could stop aging, hypothetically, of course. Why would you stop aging when you're old and not younger."

"Because of the mustache, of course," the old man answered without even a split second of hesitation, and that was when Yamcha decided to stop asking any more questions. He just confirmed that this mild old man was smarter than the average fan would assume.

A couple of dozen silent, awkward seconds passed.

"Oh, that's where you are," Dr Brief said. "Are you flying? From the satellite, I can't see any vehicle around you. That's impressive, and I didn't know martial arts could do that."

'Satelite? Spying? Like father, like daughter.' Yamcha thought. "So, will you send me the contacts?"

"Sure."

…

Two days later, Yamcha was the proud owner of an island with its own wildlife in the middle of nowhere sea. He paid in diamonds and gold. No questions were asked.

Those same contacts also moved the people over to the island to build the school, fields, and everything else needed to learn martial arts. Yamcha dealt with all of the most dangerous animals and let the workers do their jobs.

He flew across his new island. It was a big island, about the size of a medium-sized country. Many helicopters and aircraft flew by and landed atop some mountains where Yamcha was building his new home.

…

Yamcha flies over a deserted place. His Flying Skill had grown to levels where taking a plane would be just a waste of time. Though it still takes quite a bit of Ki to fly since he was still weak compared to the aliens, but Senzu Beans made Ki a non-factor in this. So he could power-level the flying skill as much as he wanted.

He arrived at a small village with a water reservoir, but not enough. This was Nam's village. He sensed the stronger power in the village and saw Nam in the distance teaching his younger brother how to throw a punch. Yamcha got closer.

"You must keep your body stable at all times. That's how you can throw multiple punches at maximum power," Nam instructed his younger sibling.

Yamcha watched from the sidelines.

Family. Though he tried to put the thought in the back of his mind, Yamcha had left a family behind.

He had two younger siblings who were about ten years younger. By the time Yamcha had left that world and come to this one, they should be entering high school. He wondered how they might be doing. What if they were bullied when he wasn't around? They probably wouldn't since they were a handful themselves.

What about his mother? Would she be able to take care of all those bills on her own?

He clenched his teeth, and a calming wave washed under him. Gamer's Mind didn't allow his emotions to dull his abilities. In this case, he needed to get Nam on his side and start the Earth Defense program.

Yamcha's eyes hardened. 'One day, I am going back. I'm a selfish man who likes to have the cake and eat it too. In this world, I will have fun and one day go back. Then come here and have fun whenever I want.'

There was no answer from the Gamer Interface, like always.

There was nothing he could do; even bawling his eyes out and crying wouldn't change anything. So he will continue walking forward, and always be many steps ahead of everyone else, one day he will find a way back.

So Yamcha continued like he always had, walking one step at a time and didn't worry about things he currently had no control over.

'I really need a travel companion to keep me from thinking depressing shit like this. It's easier when my biggest worry is how big my Kamehameha Wave is.'

Nam was a man who provided and took care of his family and village. They always came first. It was his responsibility as a man and the strongest in the village.

He looked at his younger brother, so young and fragile he could see his brother's ribs. Despite having water, the land wasn't fertile enough to grow anything healthy. It was torturous for someone to see their family suffer through this.

Nam clenched his hand, and he shook in anger at himself. If only he was stronger, better, smarter, he could have given his people a better life. He spent hours training every day but no longer became stronger, even if he meditated all day. A sense of shame rose within his chest to admit to himself just how weak he was.

He needed to be stronger in case Tao decided to keep his promise. From what Nam knew, the assassin had escaped from his hospital room even with the heavy injuries Yamcha had dealt him.

"Is something wrong?" His younger brother asked him.

"No, no, just thinking of what to teach you next. It has been so long that I barely remember the basics nowadays," Nam smiled and waved his worries away.

"Yo!" Suddenly someone spoke behind them. Nam recognized the voice and turned around with a smirk.

"Yamcha, how have you been?" It was hard for Nam to keep the smile off his face. This was the man who had saved him and his people. "Everyone in the Martial Arts community is talking about you and how you defeated Tao. Then you go and disappear on everyone."

"Really?" Yamcha grinned back. "I seem to be out of the loop."

"Damn right you are," Nam offered a handshake, and Yamcha took it. "This is my little brother. He is quite the rascal."

"That's how younger siblings are nowadays. If it wasn't for us older brothers, they would be weak," Yamcha joked. "We toughen them up by having them fight people many times their size."

Nam understood what his friend meant by people many times their size, which was the older brothers.

"I have something I want to talk to you about."

Nam nodded and motioned to his brother. "Go and play with the other kids a little. I and my friend are gonna talk here."

As the kid went off, Yamcha's face became more serious as he looked at the village. Nam felt ashamed. Even with the capsule he had given him, he couldn't carry the water fast enough for people to drink and the plants. They couldn't cultivate without water.

"You know, this isn't a good place for people to live," Yamcha commented. It seemed like there was more he wanted to say, but he held back.

"Our ancestors have lived in these lands for generations," Nam stated calmly. "Why are you here?"

"Then let's get right to the point. I am opening a Martial Arts school on a private island. You are a strong fighter, and your willpower was unmatched during the fight against Tao." Yamcha complimented him without an ounce of hesitation. "I know how strong you can be, and I'm willing to take your whole village to my private island. The land will be fertile, and they won't have to worry about food for as long as I live."

Warriors don't cry, thought Nam. He had already cried during the tournament, and he didn't want to make a habit of this. But… But damn it! Tears spilled out of his eyes, and as they did so, Yamcha turned away fast enough not to see them.

"Yes, of course," Nam answered. "Seems like I won't ever be able to pay you back in this life."

"Don't worry about the small details," Tamcha reassured him. "I will call over some big choppers so they can carry your whole village, even the houses, if you want them."

"No need, we will build new ones," Nam shook his head and smiled at his friend's joke.

Normally he wouldn't trust some random guy saying that he will move the whole village, just trust him. But Yamcha had done a lot for him. "Also, I need you to take care of something for me. There is a village that was attacked by demons recently, and I wanted to donate some money."

Yamcha took out a sack and put it in Nam's hands, he opened it up and gold coins spilled out.

He had to stop for a second and take things into account again. Was Yamcha rich? This sack of gold could buy you whatever village out there.

"I don't care how you do it. But I would appreciate it if you did this for me."

"Master Roshi, look at this new Comic. Isn't it cool?" Krillin asked. "It's about an alien kid who landed on earth and fights villains. His hero's name is Superman."

Roshi didn't care about any comic unless it was of the adult variety.

They flew on his plane toward a jungle where Goku was training. If what Yamcha said was true, he would become the strongest human on earth. Wait, maybe Yamcha was already the strongest.

Roshi wouldn't consider himself a competitive or stubborn old man. But if he could make his students stronger, he would do anything to make them the best version of themselves. Maybe Goku would pass Korin's test too.

"Do we know where Goku is?" Krillin asked while reading his new favorite comic book.

"Dragon Radar," Roshi answered simply. Goku always kept the four-star dragon ball on him, and Roshi knew the general direction he had gone to train. So this had to be Goku.

Yahoo Jungle was a dangerous place that most humans didn't dare enter, and it was one of the places where usually only armies enter. There were many places like that on earth, either due to their dangerous environment or dangerous creatures.

Finding Goku here normally would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But with the Dragon Radar's help, they found the young monkey-boy napping atop a tree. "Goku! Wake up!"

"Huh?" Goku rubbed his eyes and looked at Roshi. "Oh hey, master Roshi," and then he fell asleep. "Just a minute."

"Don't worry. I have a perfect technique I have developed." Krillin jumped down from the plane and walked up to his friend.

'A new technique? As expected of my brightest student.' Roshi nodded proudly.

"GOKU! FOOD IS READY!" The young monk yelled out, and while the so-called technique sounded dubious, Goku shot right up and looked around, confused.

"Oh, Master Roshi, Krillin. What're you guys doing here?" He asked with a smile.

"I'm going to take you to one of my old teachers," Roshi picked up the sleepy Goku like a sack of potatoes and put him on the plane as it levitated in the air. Technology was an amazing thing. He didn't have to copy anything from that Crane-necked fool, Shen.

Planes were clearly better at flying than some fancy levitating technique that took way too much Ki. Shen wasn't better than him. Unlike Roshi, he was just an old man who hadn't caught up with the times.

Korin's tower was close, so Roshi flew over them in less than an hour and landed at the bottom of the tower. Once there, Goku looked around, and a giant of a man with caramel skin and a native look came out with a frown on his face.

Back when he climbed the tower, there were no living people around the base of it. But that was quite a while ago.

Roshi got ready to fight against the man, and his muscles tightened. But when the native man saw Goku, a smile came on his face.

"Goku!" The native man went and greeted the youngster.

"Do you know them?" Roshi asked his student.

"Yea, we fought against some bad guys."

"Bad guys?" Roshi was a little confused by that. What did bad guys mean in this case? Because Goku would call a giant dinosaur ready to rip a human to shreds a bad guy, he would also call a simple rude person a bad guy.

"Yes, some men who called themselves the Red Ribbon army took my son hostage to steal my Dragon Ball. Son Goku here helped save my son," the native man explained, and as soon as he did so, a young native lad came out of the bushes.

"We are here to climb Korin's tower," Roshi got straight to the point.

"All of you?" The man asked curiously.

"Uhhh…" Krillin looked at the tall tower and seemed about to pull out, but Roshi put a hand on his student's shoulder.

"Yes, all of us," by Roshi's estimation, Yamcha was probably one of the strongest people out there. His talent was nothing short of monstrous, either. The power he displayed was no joke either, and the only other person of similar power he could compare to was Demon King Piccolo.

If Yamcha were to grow, Roshi had no doubt in his mind that the young man would become a force to be reckoned with and reach heights no human had before. "Goku, you must beat Yamcha in the next Tenkaichi Budokai, understood?"

"Yes, master Roshi!" Goku beamed.