Yamcha roared out with his hands cupped together and aimed at the ocean. Krillin stood by his side, the two moved in perfect synchrony and together with the beams of light that fired from their hands split the ocean in a pair of parallel lines with the bit of water in the middle just splitting between the two larger waves to the sides.

"I don't get it. Do we have it or not?" Krillin whined out before collapsing on his bottom. Given the short stature of the martial artist, it was a very short fall for him.

"I don't think that someone's going to jump out and put a medal on your neck, Krillin. What you have is what you get. We can do it, but it's not quite on Goku's level and nowhere near Muten Roshi's." Yamcha breathed out.

"Yeah. The amount of Ki we can release is still too small, someone stronger than us could just blast our Kamehameha away if they put out enough Ki. Remember what Master Roshi said, someone with more Ki put into it could overpower any martial arts technique..." Krillin stuck out his tongue. "I'm winded."

"That means that we need to stop practicing the Kamehameha and spar." Yamcha walked a few meters aside and entered his fighting stance. His body looked about as much like it was made of lead as it must have felt for the worn-out martial artist but the man who used to be just a lowly desert bandit once had devotion to his cause of growing stronger and utilizing the tremendous opportunity Muten Roshi gave him, at the very least.

Krillin moaned before standing up and taking a fighting stance himself. "You seem to be adapting well…" it was unclear if the boy's words were meant as a compliment or as something derogatory, given his disdain of the brutal training regimen. This time, Muten Roshi oversaw their training only under rare circumstances and left them to themselves for the most part, however, every time Krillin sat on his behind he could almost feel the old man's eyes on him and hear the derogatory discouragements and prompts to quit that he used to get back in the day.

"I need to do as much as I can before Bulma comes to visit again." Yamcha made a malicious grin before launching himself at his sparring partner. The crooked palm strike chomped at Krillin's large, bald head, making the pint-sized warrior flinch. Before he could recover from the sudden attack, Yamcha's flurry took him over and Krillin whited out to protect himself from the hurt that Yamcha was inflicting.

"At least make an effort at defending yourself…" Yamcha postured with his arms on his hips, proud as a stork.

"I thought I saw you move but my body was too tuned out to react in time…" Krillin lamented, picking himself up from the sand and spitting the irksome grains out of his mouth. The damned thing stuck to his tongue so easily!

A thunderous rumble that shook the skies above attracted the attention of both martial artists. Krillin looked up while still on his bottom whereas Yamcha did his best to not break his showy stance, waiting for Bulma to ask what his pompous attitude was all about. True heroes didn't brag about their exploits but were kind enough to share about them when asked…

A flying car with the Capsule Corporation logo on the side landed on the beach, smacking more sand in Krillin's face but the child martial artist had been getting used to it by now and with each successive mouthful – tempered by it. Bulma jumped out from the car before the engine died out with the car having enough of a semblance of artificial intelligence to kill it itself.

"Yamcha!" she shrieked out, wrapping her arms around the overjoyed dolt and smothering him. Krillin picked himself up from the sand and patted his clothes to dust himself off. The young man was not prepared for Bulma to greet him as well, she must have truly been in an excellent mood.

"Hey, hey… No smooches for the old man?" Muten Roshi appeared in the doorway, always ready to strike wherever there were Pichi-Pichi gals for him to One-Two with.

"Hmph… I know better than that!" Bulma began appearing as her old self that everybody knew and loved. "In any case, I'm staying around for a while. I've submitted my exams upfront and left on prolonged summer vacation!"

"Well… I don't know… The place has been a bit crowded… Plus, I'm not sure Launch-san can even feed this many mouths." Muten Roshi acted as if he was actually considering Bulma's request.

"She could, if you helped her…" Bulma wrapped her hands over her chest, revealing a red band with a black gadget on the front. A type of watch that did not tell time, given how it lacked any capacity for showing anything or any visual indicators of any kind.

"I'm the owner of the island. You should be helping her, as a guest…" Muten Roshi pointed out, still not dropping his fake tone.

"How is Muten Roshi sounding as the reasonable one while all he's trying to do is lewd over Bulma-san?" Krillin mumbled to Yamcha. The two have grown a bit tighter due to the time they've spent training together.

"Fine, I'll give you something in return. What do you want? I've got all sorts of capsules with me…" Bulma took off her bag and began browsing her capsule case. It was then that her eyes fell on the watch she was wearing, making the girl lift her hand up and point at it for the old man.

"Humph… What does an old man need a watch for? I've got all the time in the world!" Muten Roshi shook his head, he began creeping up to Bulma, gently touching her with his hip. "Although… Just a bit of Paffu-Paffu…" he whimpered with an old man's blush as he made inappropriate gestures with his hands, reaching out for Bulma's chest.

"This isn't some usual watch!" Bulma jumped back, becoming desperate to sell her newest invention now. She pressed the button on it only to become encased in a bright aura and begin shrinking together with the aura that surrounded her until she was not much taller than a rodent. Something squeaky and unintelligible came from her side, forcing Muten Roshi to lean in closer to hear what she was saying but Bulma, having realized the problem, boosted herself back to normal size before repeating it.

"It's the Micro-Band – my newest invention. I've got too much time on my hands now that I'm not babysitting Goku while he breaks my stuff and Yamcha's away. You can have it if you let me stay. Chores are off the table though…" Bulma lured the old man, knowing full-well of the dirty thoughts running through his head at that moment. She was not sure exactly how he would go around exploiting it, maybe he'd shrink himself in front of the TV so that the breasts of all the attractive women there would seem even larger… She lacked the mind for perversion opportunities, it compensated elsewhere and Bulma could not have been happier that it did.

"I see, I see… Well then… Relax and feel yourself at home." Roshi snagged the watch off of Bulma's hand with all of his inhuman speed while remaining gentle enough to not leave as much as a dent or a scratch on the gadget. "Launch-san, we need more lemonade! At least four more boxes!"

"Whaaat!? But we have a whole box!" the voice of the gentle Launch came from the kitchen.

"Yes but Bulma's come to visit and she is a lemonade sinking machine. If you could be a dear and grab the submarine, go to the shop and pick some up. We'll drink ice tea in the meantime!" Muten Roshi kept on abusing the fact that Launch was also living under a similar deal with the old man and had promised to look after the home for him.

"A submarine? But what about the plane? It flies faster than the submarine." Launch covered her mouth horrified. The door closed shut in front of those two, leaving the three on the beach to themselves with only brief mutters of the conversation indoors.

"Nobody fixed the plane since Sea Turtle mixed it up with the submarine and went underwater with it to visit his sons. The submarine can both fly and move underwater but the plane can only fly, after all..." Muten Roshi kept on trying to convince Launch to buy an excessive load of lemonade.

"Geez, that geezer. I offered him any capsule but, of course, he'd pick something he could use to perv with… How come you never come in to defend my honor?" Bulma turned her furious glare at Yamcha who often found himself to be the go-to person to blame.

"Uh… I mean… He's my master, Bulma… I have to respect him, you know?" Yamcha tried weaseling his way out of a tough spot.

"Oh, you mean you don't have to respect me!? I'll have to know that as the lady of your life I have priority over all other priorities and oaths in your life!" Bulma postured at Yamcha who just took it all in, decided to take the verbal beating and hope to live another day.

"Now I don't feel bad about losing to Yamcha at all… The poor guy needs all the wins he can get…" Krillin pondered to himself, remaining a neutral observer of the situation in this case.

A squeeze forced all traces of air out of the bodies of Yamcha and Krillin. It was tough to tell what was going on in the beginning, especially when Yamcha saw the eyes of his sparring partner bulge out from their sockets but once his eyes settled on the rope shining with a blue aura - the source of the binding force became clearer.

"B-Bulma…" Yamcha looked at his girlfriend who had passed out beside him.

"Well, well… It seems like some of your intelligence has paid off. Then again, I very nearly ended up slicing through this girl in half with my rope, you should have warned me that she's not a martial artist…" a rather high-pitched for a man voice made Yamcha tilt and turn his head toward where his assailant must have been. Shaking and twitching, doing his best to try and power through the psychic rope trick, Krillin did the same.

A tall hunk of blue eyes and blond hair appeared from the corner of the house as an entire battalion of soldiers descended onto the small island which Kame House has been located in. Planes lowered from the clouds, opening up and letting out handfuls of soldiers wielding automated weaponry. The Blue Ribbon army was much better equipped and appeared more professional than the Silver Ribbon Army, at least they looked more like a military squad and less than a band of armed thugs.

The supposed leader of the troupe wore a brown military uniform and a red tie, a brown double-layered officer's cap with a blue ribbon logo on top that appeared to be stitched onto something else underneath. It comprised a cross with the red ribbon making the horizontal line and the blue ribbon hanging vertically. The blond man was accompanied by another one, one of much rougher build and wild, red hair. The red-haired man did not look too comfortable in his uniform as he kept scratching at his collar and trying to undo the neck of his uniform whenever his superior was not looking.

"Well… I was operating under suspicions, for the most part. When I found out that the aliens that demolished the Red Ribbon wielded more precise Dragon Radars than ours, I figured it must have been the Capsule Corp that aided them." Ex-Commander Silver declared, looking as proud on the favorable deduction and the supposed use to Commander Blue as he was irritated by the itchy and tight uniform.

"Of course, the grievance of West City against the Red Ribbon over old conflicts, the opportunity of these aliens, common sightings during the World Martial Arts Tournament… I should have found it out earlier… Who is in charge of intelligence in our army?!" the commander yelled out at his platoon that quivered in fear and all pointed at a single, anthropomorphic ram who just gulped and pointed his furry finger at himself.

Commander Blue pulled out his gun and shot the unfortunate soldier on the spot, right in between the eyes. Krillin looked more worked up over the nonchalant execution than the soldiers of the Blue Ribbon Army were.

"Is it wise, executing your own soldiers like that? He might have still been useful despite his failure…" Silver wondered.

"Do not question my orders. If you were any less intelligent and charming, you'd join this buffoon in his fate." Commander Blue glanced back at his new favorite soldier while licking his glossy, pink lips. "You may raise a fine point though, when you first stumbled onto our base, I was ready to shoot you on sight. Though when I saw you in that beaten, half-bare, sweaty state… You should thank your fate that it made me hesitate long enough for you to tell me you could still be of use."

"Eeeek!" Launch burst out of the Kame House, screaming. A handful of soldiers turned their guns at her and a pair of them opened fire, restraining themselves on the last few inches to lift their guns just slightly above the frightened woman. Their orders were not to execute but to capture hostages to be used as bargaining chips.

"L-Launch-san…" Yamcha grunted through the immense pressure of the ropes and the paralysis shine that irradiated from them and seemed to sap all of his strength.

"I was… I was going to tell you there is a dwarf man in the toilet, b-but…" Launch kept weeping while the men caught her and brought her to Commander Blue who looked at the woman, wondering if she might have been useful.

"Tell me, Silver, martial arts aficionado that you are… Is this woman a martial artist too? She seems pathetic and feeble, like all women." Blue stuck out his tongue and spat out some to better accentuate his distaste for the weaker sex.

"No. She is not a martial artist that I have heard of…" Silver shook his head, looking offended at his commander that he was addressed just by his name as if he was nothing more than these prisoners that he had captured with Silver's help, no less.

"I see… We've no use of her then…" Blue extended his gun over her head to shoot but Silver's distressed tone halted the commander from firing the fateful bullet.

"Wait! That thing she said… About dwarfs in the toilet… Let her explain herself, we cannot allow anything to be overlooked with these dangerous folk. They've been working with those aliens, maybe they're fostering more?" Silver explained himself, softening the death-inducing glare that he had earned by daring to speak up and interrupt Commander Blue's precious battlefield execution.

"I see… Maybe you're right… Speak, woman. Do not think to dilly-dally either, if I grow bored or find your story useless, I'll kill you but it will not be by a shot in the face, it will be slow and excruciating, as only I am capable of." Blue ordered but Launch was a total wreck and in no condition to talk.

"Hmph… Women…" Commander Blue cleared his throat before raising his gun once more over the head of the collapsed woman who had her face hidden underneath the locks of curly, blue hair and stuck in the sand at the same time, as if she was trying to avoid the nightmare she just left into.

The bullet that left the barrel of Blue's gun and left it smoking did not hit Launch's temple nor did it kill her, it did hit the sand, although prematurely so, with no contact with anything else but Launch's head of curly, blond hair while the woman swept at the feet of Commander Blue with newly reborn vigor, avoiding death by awakening into her more violent persona, whether by her mouthful of hair or the sand she was nearly drowning in forcing her to sneeze subtly as only a dainty lady such as herself could have.

Not quite overwhelmed by a superior fighter but more so overwhelmed and confused by the vigor and brutality born within the blond bandit, Commander Blue was caught in complete surprise and fumbled over. Yamcha and Krillin felt the tension around their bodies weaken but it was too surprising for them to work with as it did not take any less than half a second to return to full force. Commander Blue raised his head from his flat position and did his best to maintain a steady hold on his bindings. He did so in spite of Launch holding his own pistol over his head with a cocky smirk.

"Yer not offin' me that easily, ya prick!" blond Launch declared while preparing to unload the magazine at Commander Blue but, instead, she found hitting the walls of the Kame House as Silver dashed up to her and disarmed the woman, flipping her over his shoulder and then punching her in the face a pair of times. He was surprised to see that not a drop of blood trickled from the woman's face, implying she was decently tough. Silver's morning routine used to comprise of him knocking out multiple tough soldier types and just local boxers that loved money enough to get in the ring with him.

"What a quim…" Commander Blue cursed, getting onto his knees and then back on both feet, stretching his back out like a string and then glancing down at the woman while his eyes kept up their cerulean shimmer. "Had I not improved my psychic abilities through non-stop training, I'd have lost focus just there… The demise of the Red Ribbon caught us all unprepared but it has also hardened us, did it not, Silver-kun?"

"Silver…kun?" the demeaned officer grunted to himself before letting all the pent up fury out in a wheeze and then nodding in agreement. It was not like what Commander Blue said was completely wrong – he himself also trained tenfold as hard as he did under the Red Ribbon's command just to avoid the fate that befell his superiors and it still caught up to him.

"You two… Go scan the house for any dwarves and shoot them on sight." Commander Blue instructed a random batch of soldiers on his command.

"Ummm… But Sir… They're dwarves, what if they're too small to shoot?" the anthropomorphic dog scratched underneath his floppy ear only to be shot in the face for insubordination.

"General Dark, I'll assume you will take up this task onto your own… Admittedly to broad shoulders?" Commander Blue glanced at a pathetic excuse of a soldier. Fat, possibly short-sighted, if his spectacles were any indication to go by and having a milky stubble of a teenager just fostering their first brush for a few weeks man clapped both of his leather shoes against one another and saluted his Commander.

"Yes, Sir! Move it, you insubordinate dogs, no pun intended, scour through that house, shoot any alien scum on sight, crush them, if you must!" General Dark ordered the soldiers surviving the purge of their commander.

Author's Notes: Some of you wondered about how General Blue (Commander Blue in this case :P) has come to catch both Muten Roshi as well as his pupils, well, first of all, I was yet to get to that part, also, we've already seen in Dragon Ball chapter 80 that, given the chance to get a drop on somebody, General Blue has the ability to capture Goku, Krillin, and Muten Roshi at the same time with his psychic ropes. In this case, it is a General Blue with improved mastery over his psychic abilities as well as one that has some assistance from Colonel (or ex-Commander) Silver, so I don't think it is too much of a stretch to assume that someone capable of capturing Roshi, Goku and Krillin could capture Krillin and Yamcha (we'll see about Micro Roshi's fate in the next chapter, won't we?), moreover given that the pair is exhausted after their training.

Some might say I'm wanking General Blue, but he IS the final boss of this arc (in case it was not clear at this point :)).