Chapter Three

Raditz felt himself hunker down into a fighting stance that left just as soon as he turned to see this new arrival. His black eyes glared at the sea turtle that had scurried behind him as he trained. If looks could kill, the Saiyan would have just committed the highest level of murder with the glare he gave off.

"Why shouldn't I just make you into Tortoise Stew?" Raditz grumbled as he discontinued his training, turning his attitude to the marine animal.

"Hey, I'm not a tortoise firstly," The large reptile said, attempting to calm down the tension it felt. He wasn't trying to be sarcastic, just throwing in logic at the threat. "I'm a lost sea turtle named Turtle, I was lost from my master some time ago and I've been trying to find my way home…"

"And I could use something to satisfy my stomach, not that I'm in a seafood mood luckily for you," Raditz shot back, obviously uninterested in having his training delayed any longer. "Find another person to help you out," He finished menacingly, trying his best to avoid making a meal out of the stranger.

Turtle didn't dare to stand down in the slightest, he didn't turn around to leave or anything, keeping his gaze on the Saiyan child. Was a bit of help too much to ask? Changing his strategy, the turtle began to make his case towards Raditz again.

"H-Hey, what if I told you that I could help you out with this training of yours, young man? I may not look like much but my dear old master is the one I can bring you to… he's Master Roshi, one of the strongest martial artists I've ever seen walk the face of this planet," He pleaded. It shouldn't be this hard, this boy was meaner than some of the snapping turtles he knew. Sympathy was out, other tactics could be of work. "I've been alive for multiple centuries, have you ever come across another talking turtle?"

"Alright tortoise, look here," Raditz grumbled through gritted teeth as he took a step towards the animal. Checking his scouter, the device beeped '.001 BP'. "Your strength is so weak and how do I know that this master of yours is going to want to aid me?" He asked.

"Ha you caught me," Turtle dumbly laughed, flopping his fins. "I'm not as strong as I was in my youth but I do weigh a couple hundred pounds. I've seen just how strong my master got just from carrying me to and from, you could benefit from taking me back to the seashore. I've seen my master train so many young people like you, I could convince him to take you on as well… I just haven't been home in two years, I promise I'll try everything to convince him!"

Raditz took a moment to himself, weighing the options he had been given. On one hand, he could say and stand on his answer and continue his training until Bulma came beckoning him to move on with the journey they were on. On the other hand he could help out Turtle and maybe have an encounter with his master, who could either live up to or fail to reach the Saiyan's own expectations of a fighter. While he honestly could care less, helping out Turtle would have been what Gohan would have made him do so maybe it was the right thing to do.

"Fine, I don't have much else to do," Raditz answered, intrigued at the idea of getting stronger. "Let me go tell Bulma to get ready and then we'll be off."

Raditz walked into the capsule home that Bulma had conjured the previous day. Searching for the woman, Raditz found the blue-haired Capsule Corporations heiress still in the bathroom he had walked in on her in more than an hour prior while he got some water mid-training session. Brushing her hair in a hot pink colored nightgown, the same one she had fallen asleep in, Raditz spoke loud and abruptly.

"Blue, pack up this contraption and let's hit the road," The Saiyan asserted as he began packing his extra sets of armor and other belongings in a duffel bag a few rooms over.

"Hey Mr. Extraterrestrial, first, are you going to tell me where we're heading so hastily or am I going to have to connect three and four?" Bulma shot back in confusion, her eyes locked onto the mirror as she brushed through the calm turquoise sea that was her hair.

"I'm leaning towards the latter choice, but I'll explain on the way," Raditz sarcastically confirmed as he barged into the restroom, now fully clad in his black set of Saiyan armor. "You're still doing your hair, it's been damned near two hours. If it isn't good now, I have bad news for you."

"Hold on, I'm not even close to ready yet," The girl whined with an exaggerated gasp. "I haven't even picked out my outfit, monkey boy! You probably don't give a monkey's ass because of that grandpa of yours but my mother told me that finding the Dragon Balls is not as important as how you look while you find them, twat!" She finished, changing moods and swaying her hair before she could even finish speaking.

"We have to take a detour," Raditz revealed, shedding light on the change of plans he'd made agreeing to Turtle's deal. "I gotta take a friend somewhere."

"Is that a joke, Raditz?" Bulma shot back almost immediately. They had decided the previous night that they were going towards the Diablo Desert, where they would hopefully find their next Dragon Ball. "We both know you aren't the friendly type. Where are you trying to drag me now?" She added, following the Saiyan out the house without even realizing she had fallen for his antic.

Following the Saiyan out of her home, Bulma's eyes widened as she watched him hunch over and grab a giant turtle, placing the animal on his back with relative ease before he began to pace off to Kami knew where. She just sighed as she capsulized the house and brought out her own motorcycle to follow behind. She was a smart girl, so she'd go along with this but only because Raditz was his sole protector on this dangerous adventure and even if she hadn't agreed, she would be picked up and carried just as said turtle had been.

"Wow, my master would really enjoy your company ma'am," Turtle smiled, complimenting the young bluenette as he saw her bike speeding behind him and Raditz. Turtle was very grateful for the young man, Raditz, and her beautiful partner. Boy, had he missed his friend, Roshi. "I sure can't wait to make it back home, it's been ages."

Raditz, Bulma, and their new loggerhead sea turtle friend, continued down a trail leading away from Raditz's childhood home, the Mount Paozu region. Their journey carried on for about twenty miles until suddenly Raditz stopped walking, the Scouter on his eye wildly beeping as he tried to identify the source. His lips curled into a smirk at the idea of another fight, this had been an eventful journey so far.

"Hey, you two," A thunderous voice bellowed from behind the three travelers. Quickly turning, Raditz turned to face the source of the voice and his scouter's beeping as its voice roared out again. "Stop right where you are, let's discuss payment for passing my den."

The Saiyan was now facing his opponent and the cause of his and Bulma's troubles. A massive orange grizzly bear that had to be at least seven feet tall and a couple hundred pounds stood in front of the fighter, almost as menacing as Raditz himself looked. It was dressed in a bulky set of what seemed to be samurai armor and the fur on the top of its head spiked upwards into a kind of mohawk. Licking its snout, the large carnivorous beast held a large broadsword in its right paw. Bulma felt her stomach drop as she watched the mountain of grease and muscle flash its jaw full of teeth at her and Turtle.

"Your payment for what," Raditz grunted as his finger pressed his Scouter to scan the bear thief. "7, that's funny… get out of my way before I kick you through a mountain." He confidently added.

"I'm going to act like you're not trying to be difficult for the bluenette's sake," The bear thief growled as he continued licking his lips. His eyes narrowed in on Turtle's, his stomach rumbling on command. It seemed his pre-hibernation meal would be a tasty one this year. "Give me that turtle and I'll let you guys through, without your supplies of course.

"Raditz, why don't we just count our losses and give the big… terrifying bear the turtle?" Bulma cried, her anxiety building up. This was a bear… a sword-wielding bear that towered over the both of them. Its breath stunk of human remains too. "There's thousands of sea turtles you bozo, there is only one Bulma Brief!"

Raditz stood in his place, not moving or backing down in the slightest. Sure, he had heard the soft tender voice of Bulma and the brash snapping of his bear foe. The tone that the bear spoke in reminded him of the pterodactyl from the previous day's encounter. Now he wanted to rip out his tonsils.

"We don't trade lives Blue," Raditz responded as he sunk into a battle stance with Turtle still tucked on his back. His eyes were locked onto his foe's sword as he waited for the creature to attack. Making matters worse than before, his Saiyan attitude made him spit out, "Anyways back to big and ugly here, why would I listen to somebody so weak as you?"

"Weak?" The bear growled, repeating after the Saiyan as another of its vicious roars flooded the area with the smell of rotten teeth and saliva. Forget the heartburn he knew that eating Human flesh would give him, he was going to crush this punk in his jaws! Speaking again, he barked, "I could kill you punks in less than a minute and have dinner for a week! You'd be the first to die, you long-haired prick… very slowly and painfully in front of your little girlfriend,"

Raditz's eyes shot open, shooting the bandit a fearsome glare. His body moving on its own, the Saiyan shot forward with unmatched speed. With Turtle still on his back, Raditz launched off his back foot, landing a punch at the giant bear's gut. Now doubled over, Raditz's opponent attempted to use a claw to take off the Saiyan's head but the son of Bardock swiftly pivoted to his right, narrowly dodging the attack. Now having room to counterattack his opponent, Raditz lashed out with a powerful kick to the wall of muscle that was the bear's arm. Bones broke apart as Raditz followed through completely, his leg hitting the thief's body with the force of a sledgehammer. Another attack, a punch to the chin, was more than enough to knock the animal completely unconscious on impact as its body came to a thud on the pavement.

Holding his flared up hand out, Raditz sighed in disappointment as he let the last of his energy dissipate from his palm. Doing away with the bear would be nothing but a waste of his energy, he'd just have to wake up and realize that it was as insignificant as a waterbug compared to Raditz -and that in itself was more painful than the sweet death he would have at Raditz's hand.

"And that's about it," The Saiyan rejoiced with a smirk as he continued forward with no remorse for his defeated opponent. Turtle laughed as he realized that he was safe in Raditz's hands and Bulma still had a flabbergasted expression on her face at another spectacle she witnessed from her Saiyan partner. "Let's get back to moving, we're already on dead time." He added, hoping Bulma would catch on and follow behind him and not mention the onslaught he had laid on their ambusher.

Some time passed until finally, the group of three finally arrived at their destination. After another three hour venture following their encounter with the would-be thief that Raditz had done away with, Bulma was just glad to finally reach the shoreline. They had gone off track of one Dragon Ball but they had stumbled right on path for another one, it was funny how good deeds worked!

"Thank you both very much for bringing me here," Turtle cried, hunkering off of his escort's back and into the ocean. "I'm going to be back before it gets too late… I'm almost certain that my dear old master would be glad to repay the both of you for getting me here."

"Whatever," Raditz responded, his usual stern voice accompanying his rolling eyes. He hoped this would be worth it and that this Turtle Hermit wasn't just a folk tale. "Just try to hurry back at least. I'm not trying to wait here forever, tortoise."

With that, Turtle then slowly began his journey back to where it was that he had come from. Now for the next few hours at least, Bulma and her tempered Saiyan friend were left without much to do but wait for their reptilian friend and whatever awards his friend had for them to return.

"You think he'll come back?" Bulma asked her friend, worrying about the time they had lost trekking to the shoreline.

Raditz didn't respond to Bulma, he didn't need to. Turtle had seen just how easily he had dealt with the troubles they had run into. If the sea creature knew what was best for itself, it would be back by the time the moon came out. Then, he sat down cross-legged on the sandy floor under him. Beginning to meditate, he began to focus on bringing his energy out again. Before he could make it spark in his palms though, the raven-haired Saiyan was interrupted as Bulma's voice entered his ear.

"What are you doing, just sitting there?" Bulma spoke, just as her accomplice's eyes seemed to close.

"I'm trying to meditate so that my energy can be focused and then it can be brought out," Raditz answered with boredom and closed eyes, trying not to look like an entire fool in front of the woman he spent most of his day with. This was how he had worked on his energy in the past and after years, he was only now beginning to master the craft. "Now if you want to stop distracting me and put that brain of yours to use, you can join in if you're keen enough to learn to fly." He added afterwards. This was as good a time as any for the bluenette to try to tap into her inner ki. He was just curious as to whether or not she would succeed.

"Alright, just tell me what to do and I'll try my best," Bulma smiled as she felt included in Raditz's training. She had watched the young man move gracefully and do things such as fly around and it all just seemed too good to be true. She imagined the possibility that she could do these things but if Raditz could, why wouldn't she be able to! She was the head of Capsule Corporations. She then sat herself next to Raditz, mimicking the warrior's position.

Raditz opened his eyes for a second, caught by surprise when he saw that the Earthling woman had actually followed his orders and sat next to him. Closing his eyes with his signature smirk on his face, he began to explain to Bulma just how Gohan had taught him many years ago.

"Okay, first you gotta just sit and let your body and mind become fully relaxed," Raditz began, inhaling as he spoke calmer than Bulma had ever heard him. "When you try to tap into your inner ki, you need your mind completely cleared, so try to take it off of everything around you and concentrate on what you feel inside -your breathing, how your blood flows, anything until you feel that little source inside of you… that's it, that's your ki."

As he spoke and followed his own instructions, Bulma's eyes opened as she felt an intense heat. To her sight, she saw the young Saiyan become engulfed in a translucent shield of purple flames. They didn't seem to burn or affect Raditz in the slightest, actually, they looked so beautiful that she would touch it had it not been for the timid feeling she felt in her gut.

"Now, once you manage to find that bundle of energy within yourself -just start to pull it all out, little by little," Raditz continued, a dim white light shimmering in the Saiyan's hands as he began to physically bring out his ki. Growing smooth yet uncontrollably, Bulma was left astonished as she watched her partner hone his craft. "Bringing out too much too soon can make everything just fizzle and blow up in your face so remember, bring it out piece by piece… slow always wins this race." He added as he continued to bring out more and more energy.

As the Saiyan's energy grew in both mass and intensity, the shapeless mass of ki formed into a consolidated shape similar to a sphere. Floating harmlessly in the palms of Raditz's hands, it gave off the impression of a miniature star to Bulma. Her cerulean eyes widened as she saw this. She had seen ki a few times before, when Raditz had used it to fight and for flight but this was a brand new perspective of it. With all the pep talk that she had been given on it, she half expected and pictured a destructive and combustible force not a warm and beautiful blanket when ki came up.

"Wow, I've never seen anything so stunning, so amazing," Bulma mumbled, her mouth left open as she leaned in towards the shapeless form. She watched on in innocent curiosity, captivated like a child in a candy shop. As the ball flickered to nothing, Bulma snapped back to reality and fell into her own meditative posture. 'Alright, just do what Raditz said, Bulma… you got this,' She reassured herself as she closed her eyes, leaving her hands cupped in front of her body.

"Remain calm, Blue," Raditz coached as Bulma slowed her breathing just as he had earlier. The Saiyan watched on in anticipation as his student tried her best. Maybe she was going to do it on her first go -who knew, she was only Human but she could have had a talent for harnessing her ki. "Now, don't breathe too fast -there, you got it," He added with a proud feeling identifiable in his voice.

It might have taken a fair bit of time, but once she managed to hold onto what she thought as an even breathing pace, Bulma perked her back up. Sitting as straight as she could, Bulma focused every fiber of concentration on only herself -how little strands of her hair ruffled past her ears and how two beads of sweat were dripping down to her chest. Then she felt it, the small power source in the center or herself that Raditz had told her about. She mentally reached for it, she needed to grasp ahold of it and just draw it out! She had to, she was so close to the core of herself… she could feel its warmth radiating through her body.

Raditz felt his eyebrow arch up as his scouter's reading on Bulma's power level began to increase… first by a single unit, then another three and then another five. Was she actually going to do it? Was Bulma actually drawing her out ki correctly on the first go? He could sense more and more of her dormant energy being bought out by the second. Had she actually made such quick progress with just the basic instructions?

Bulma's lips tugged as her straight face slipped into a frown, some more beads of sweat forming across her forehead as she struggled to slip the warmth within herself out. She wanted to bring it out and show it off to Raditz, she wanted to see the smile on his face and that's what rejuvenated her motivation. Determined by her willpower, Bulma could feel the invisible rope within herself tug at her and she pulled back at it. Then, opening her eyes she began to feel that same warmth embody her palms. In her hands now, a small pearl colored sphere of energy now sat just as Raditz had done -albeit noticeably smaller than the Saiyan's.

'Am I really doing it?'

'Won't you look at that… she's actually getting the hang of it,'

As excitement rushed into and flooded Bulma's body, it was then and there that her concentration and control began to lapse. In less than the blink of an eye, the warmth shot back to its core as the bridge between itself and Bulma faded to nothing. The Human let off a gasp in shock as the sphere of ki ignited and fizzed to nothing, sapping the strength from her body. Before she could collapse face first from exhaustion though, Raditz had leapt forward, grabbing the girl's arm.

"Bulma," Raditz cried in concern, helping the woman to her feet. First, he hadn't expected her to take her training seriously but she had actually managed to draw a chunk of her ki. A feeling of pride swept through the Saiyan's body at this, although she hadn't harnessed enough to do something like attack, fly or even just hover off the ground. For somebody that had no martial arts background, it was outstanding progress. "You alright, woman?" He asked, his cheeks letting off a faint pink color that he never had seen before.

With her breathing pace now back to a normal rate, Bulma managed to force a weak smile onto her sweat-ridden face. Looking upwards at Raditz in approval, she could almost cry in excitement -she had actually felt it! "I-I did it, didn't I Raditz? I can fly now right? Right, Raditz?" She giggled, patting his chest as she celebrated.

"Yeah, you did it Blue, but that doesn't mean you can fly yet," Raditz answered, laughing as her face stretched back into a frown. He couldn't help but laugh, he knew the feeling all too well. During his first flight lesson, after harnessing his ki he had found out the hard way after failing to take Gohan's advice. His teacher was a fractured fibula amongst other things."Before you can do that, you gotta learn to manipulate your ki. Don't get me wrong, you did pretty good for this to be your first time messing with ki -all you gotta do is keep working at that over the next couple of days and then once you become a pro at that, learning to fly will be a piece of cake. Let me tell you gist of it now… to fly, you take your ki and move it underneath your body -it gets tricky when you're dealing with currents in the air and stuff like that but you've got a nice brain on your shoulders, you should learn how much ki is enough for you to float,"

Bulma didn't have a nice brain on her shoulders… she had the best that West City, and this half of the world, had for somebody in her peer group. She was tired but she would catch on to the whole ki concept before this journey between her and Raditz came to an end -that would make getting these Dragon Balls child's play.

"What else can I do?" She asked abruptly, smiling like a dog that had found its first bone. "You gotta teach me everything!"

"First just work on the basics Blue," Raditz started, his own smile coming across his face at Bulma's newfound energy. She would make a terrific partner and hell, maybe a good asset in a group fight should anything come to that at this stage in their relationship. She could make for a Saiyan who'd made it to Earth and then forgot about her heritage but what sort of Saiyan would ever forget everything they knew like that? "My grandfather was a regular Human just like you and I've seen him do things I'm still working on mastering. I don't see why even you shouldn't be capable of using your ki to enhance yourself, fly or into strange blasts like my Saturday Crush attack." He continued, focusing his attention on creating another sphere of ki. Though he was fully aware that he was nowhere near a master at manipulating his own ki, he had put some work in and had to give Bulma something to look up to. Hell, teaching somebody else would help him improve his own ki manipulation. "Learn that and it'll be useful in multiple aspects outside of just flight."

"And how exactly could one put light balls of energy to good use?" Bulma shot back with sarcasm, though her ears were peeled open to pack in as much information as she could.

"Well let me show you what would have happened to both of our two ambushers had I not been holding back," Raditz responded, raising his arm in front of his body. As he did it, a burst of purple colored ki danced and sparked throughout his veins and then into the palm of his hand. From basic ki blasts to energy shields and energy waves, ki was one of the most important skills to have mastered in battle. Even his Great Ape transformation converted ki into mass and pure strength to morph his body. Everything had ki and ki even dialed down to a person's lifespan. "From maneuvering to attacking and then defending yourself, you can even use ki to increase your speed and power."

"So, can I get a demonstration?" Bulma suggested to her instructor, an almost irresistible smirk coming across her face. She had seen the elegant side of the ki spectrum, now she wanted a fireworks display. She also knew he was a sucker for that particular smirk of hers, so now getting her way with Raditz was definitely getting a tad easier.

Without much warning or even a response, Raditz unleashed the energy that had been building his outstretched palm in a sudden burst. Spiraling forward like a cannonball, the purple colored energy rocketed through riptides in the nearby ocean at the speed of a military grade fighter jet -raising waves and tearing through any rock that got in its way. Raditz's palm then let off a stream of musty smelling smoke with the energy wave had died down, entire pieces of rock striking the ground as the wind blowing through the area died down.

'Unbelievable,' Bulma found herself pondering, her mouth open in awe at the brilliant yet powerful display before her. Raditz truly was an extraordinary person and she was glad that she'd be able to do a fraction of the things he'd shown her in less than three days' time. Looking up she could see his face was ridden in sweat, so now it was her time to offer help. "Y-You okay?" She asked between his heavy breathing, glancing at the Saiyan.

"Heh, yeah of course," Raditz lied once again, using a burly forearm to wipe the sweat from his face. A smile crept across his face, he had managed to not make himself look like a complete fool by perfectly firing a ki blast for Bulma to witness. Sure, he was tired but yet very proud of himself for the achievement. Mastery of ki… here he came!

"My, my, that was quite the trick," An elderly man interjected from the ocean, making himself known as he stood perfectly still upon Turtle's shell. Riding him to the coastline, the man made himself known stepping off his ride. 'As far as I am aware of, only my students and those Crane students are aware of ki manipulation techniques,' The stranger thought to himself, approaching Raditz and Bulma. The boy was strong, his presence gave off that from the jump. This worried him.

"Ahoy there friends… hehehe," Turtle's deep voice bellowed as he returned to the two teenagers who had returned him back home happily. "Master, these are the ones I was telling you about… Raditz and Bulma, they're some of the good ones."

"It was nothing really," Raditz responded to the Earthling, frowning at the site. This couldn't be some legendary martial arts master, Turtle had conned him. The man was shorter than he, bald and definitely not what you'd called muscular. Was it even worth scanning him with the scouter? "You can't be this martial arts master that Turtle mentioned, who are you?"

"The old chaps call me Roshi, but I'm known as the Turtle Hermit nowadays," The old man replied, though he didn't consider himself much of a hermit, just a laidback fellow. "Thank you for bringing this old fool back home but how'd you learn to move your ki like that, if you don't mind an elderly squab asking you?"

"I'm a quick learner," Raditz quickly retorted, not offering any extra information.

"Yeah, no kidding," Roshi chuckled, rubbing his scalp as he spoke. "It took me damn near seventy years to learn how to do a fraction of what you just showed off with… another ten before I could make an energy blast even half the size of that little spectacle of yours. How old are you?"

"It isn't my fault that your people are the epitome of pathetic," Raditz responded, shrugging his shoulders. This Roshi guy gave him Gohan vibes, maybe he could let his guard down. "I'm eighteen, you got a couple decades on me I'm afraid,"

"Try a couple of centuries, but you say weak?" Master Roshi countered, taking offense to the brat's words. "They don't tell you folks anything nowadays… for your information, I just so happen to be the greatest martial artist to ever walk the face of this planet, young man. My three Budokai Tenkaichi titles would like a conversation if you're not convinced."

'Let's see if your power level backs up that claim,' Raditz said to himself, hitting his Scouter. As the yellow digits flashed across the screen, the Saiyan's eyes widened as he read them to himself. '139,' He said to himself. 'Damn he's stronger than he lets off. Even old man Gohan wasn't that powerful, an Earthling with triple digits?' This was going to be very, very thrilling. Painful but nevertheless a thrill.

"Alright old man, what do you say that the two of us have some type of spar for whatever reward you were going to give me?" Raditz suggested, his clenched fist at his side as the prospect of fighting a stronger opponent made his blood boil. He was literally begging for a good fight, he needed it! "You're the strongest person I've met since my Grandpa Gohan, you have to let me fight you!" He begged. 'I might get beat up pretty badly but my Saiyan genes should help me bounce back stronger than before.'

"So, you know my old student Gohan?" Roshi asked, stroking his beard. "He was one of the toughest students I ever trained, I'll agree to your challenge. Let's see what the Saiyan boy he raised is capable of," He added, surprising Raditz.

"You trained Gohan?" Raditz replied, stunned. "And he told you about me?"

"Why wouldn't he? You were the apple of his eye," Roshi laughed before his laugh turned to a sigh. "I heard about what happened, I wish I could have spoken to him one more time… we always had a thing for the ladies."

"Wait," Bulma interjected, interrupting the conversation as her eyes caught sight of the glowing ball hanging from the Turtle Hermit's neck -another of the Dragon Balls they had been looking for. How had he come across the Three-Star Ball? Did he know about what they did or where the others were? Would she be able to get him to give it up? "M-Master Roshi? Turtle promised us a reward for bringing him home, not that it mattered very much in the end, but m-may I please have that thing hanging from your neck?" She pleaded, in her most sincere voice. She needed that to make her collection up to four out of seven! She'd give almost anything to have it.

"You mean this old thing I found washed on my island one night?" Roshi bartered, his once clueless smile turning into a vindictive smirk. Removing the necklace he began to wonder just how much this girl wanted this necklace… his face got warm as he thought of this and his tongue licked his crusty lips. "I guess I could let you have it you know… if you were to uh… hehe… if you were to let an old man get a peek at your mmm… at what's under your panties," The Turtle Hermit spat out through a snicker, staring Bulma right in her face as it dropped.

Bulma didn't even know what to say. Her face flashed a cherry red color… this guy couldn't have been serious! He wanted her to show off her goodies in exchange for something that she NEEDED… something that he probably didn't even know the true capabilities of! She needed that Dragon Ball -but was the price too high? Either she could show off her underwear and have the Three-Star or she would give in to her pride and leave here wishless… What a predicament!

"Have you forgotten your code, Master?" Turtle immediately shouted, attempting to put his friend to shame. It had taken a year being gone but he had almost forgotten how much of a pervert his dear friend was. It had to be them movies he watched everyday playing tricks on his old brain. "Come on Master, that's very wrong! Don't make the young lady do that. It's no wonder you could no longer ride your old Flying Nimbus out here! Just let her have the ball, we don't need it!" He mumbled, trying very hard to plead his case to his dirty old bastard of a friend.

"Shut it Turtle, can't an old man forget about training and just lay back and have his fun," Roshi squealed, still snickering and licking his lips like the pervert he was. His eyes widened through the dark sunglasses he wore, he stretched his hand out, saying, "So, do we have ourselves a deal young woman?"

Now, Raditz felt the sudden urge to slowly rip apart the man's spinal cord -vertebrae by vertebrae -at the suggestion but managed to just barely restrain himself. What the hell was that? Bulma was his woman… no, mate… err, traveling partner! Nobody was going to disrespect her without answering to his wrath and even then, how much flirting could you do with a dislocated jaw line. Moving at a speed that neither Bulma nor Turtle, but Roshi could have grasped, the Saiyan swiped his hand and in one motion, managed to snatch the necklace from the Human before he could even react. "Here, Bulma," Raditz growled in irritation, tossing the sphere to his blue-haired friend's open hand. "Now you, let's get this fight started," The Saiyan finished, lashing towards Roshi with malicious intent.

"Pretty fast I must say," Roshi chuckled, pouncing backwards with enough speed to cause some sand to shoot upwards, blinding his pursuer. Then, blocking a well-placed strike from his Saiyan foe, the Human struck out with a left foot, placing Raditz on the defensive. Watching him fall into a fighting stance, Roshi couldn't help but laugh as nostalgia played through his head. "You even stand like him when you fight, Gohan must've stapled perfect form into your head," He laughed, thinking about past training sessions he'd put his former student through.

This didn't stop Raditz though, choosing to get back on the offensive. Cutting the distance between himself and his opponent, Raditz flared his aura, causing grains of sand to shoot into the air as he shot across the battlefield. Lashing out with an output of punches and kicks at Roshi, on the receiving end of the blows, the Turtle Hermit seemed to be easily ahead of each strike -easily sidestepping and blocking anything that tried to strike him. Staying ahead of each blow, Roshi managed to lash out with his own jab, this one breaking the sound barrier. Moving faster than anything he could follow, Raditz felt a sharp pain in his cheek as the old man's wrinkled fist connected with his jawbone. Hit with more than enough force to send him to the ground a few meters away, the Saiyan let off a desperate grunt as Roshi walked towards him. "Had enough already?" The old man asked his opponent, the rays of sun reflecting off the hermit's black sunglasses.

Raditz slowly found himself to his feet, using the last bit of strength in his legs to force himself up. A small pool of fresh blood drenched the sand around their battlefield, gritty pieces of dirt sticking to the Saiyan's bruised arms. His eyes widened and he felt like his lung was in his stomach, of course the Turtle Hermit had hit him with everything that he'd had in him and damn, had it fucking hurt. Most people would have lost hope. Raditz, however, felt his blood continue to boil in eagerness of continuing their fight. Using his forearm to wipe the blood from the wound on his lip, Raditz turned to face Raditz with a bloodlust look in his eyes.

"I'm just getting started," Raditz barked, his purple aura flaring faintly outside his body. Hiding a smile filled with enthusiasm, the Saiyan shot forward again with intent on striking with a kick. However, instead of landing the boot on course, he was caught off guard as his foot was caught. As time seemed to freeze, Roshi shot out with a punch using his free hand. Raditz's insides howled out in pain, but before he could even react to the feeling, another double-fisted hammer slammed directly into his back as the Turtle Hermit continued his assault. All that the Saiyan could remember really was lying on the ground, almost completely unconscious from Roshi's counterattack.

"No," Raditz grumbled to himself. His body burned and he could barely feel his legs but he wasn't going to give up. Shooting out his arms ahead of him, the raven haired combatant let off two point-blank ki blasts at his foe. As they reached the orange-suited Human, Raditz watched in disbelief as both of his energy attacks were deflected with relative ease. 'S-Stupid weakling,' The Saiyan cursed himself. He was too weak, just like he had been too weak to help his whole race. Looking ahead with just one unbeaten eye, all that he could see was the elderly martial arts master getting into a position that he'd seen Gohan fall into just once before.

"Ka…Me…Ha…Me..Ha!" Roshi began to chant as the sphere of energy in his hands grew to a considerate size. Gusts of wind spiraled around his body as debris and sand began to lift off of the ground, surrounding the Earthling's body as his energy doubled by the second. Raditz was seeing firsthand just what it meant to be a master at manipulating one's ki… he had to get Roshi to teach him how to perform the Kamehameha Wave. Raditz raised his arms at the best, trying his best to deflect it before it devoured him, thankfully not hitting nearly as strong as Roshi was capable of unleashing.

Nearly two hours passed after Raditz had fallen unconscious. His eyes snapped open as he found himself in a cotton bed, softer than anything he had lied on before. He looked down to see that his armor had been stripped from him, or at least what remained of the torn set. He noticed his body was wrapped in a layer of bandages around his shoulder and chest area from the damage he'd taken during battle. He was barely able to move his neck but he turned to see Bulma lightly tending to his wounds with a soft piece of cloth.

"I see that you're awake," Master Roshi stated, entering the same room just as the Saiyan came to life. Handling the Saiyan a fresh set of Battle Armor he said, "I was going through your stuff and found this, I figured you'd want to throw that one away. You've got potential Raditz, how about I train you just like that grandfather of yours?" He said, his facial expression not changing.

"Right now I'm helping Bulma out with something but if the offer still stands I'll come by as soon as this is finished?" Raditz responded, not failing to see the smile stretch across Bulma's face. Roshi nodded at this before telling Raditz to rest however long he wanted, however, Raditz had no more time left to waste. Placing his scouter on his eye, Raditz slowly placed his armor back over his tender body, grimacing as his bones seemed to still be healing. Raditz picked up the Dragon Radar from the shelf, turning to the door as Bulma followed after her. The hunt for the dragon balls was going to have to carry on, whether his body was fully ready to or not.

Power Levels

Raditz: 71

Bulma: 3

13 (bringing out ki for the first time)

Turtle: .001

Bear Thief: 7

Master Roshi: 139