Chapter 4: Bringing Out The Power Within and a New Adversary

[Location–Dagobah Beach]

[Time–6:03am]

Yesterday's training was a successful one according to Bardock, with Izuku's power giving Bardock the insight on how to train him from this point forwards.

Izuku arrived like usual, saying good morning to Bardock, which the Saiyan warrior gave the greeting back.

"So, Mr. Bardock? Are we going to continue my training from yesterday?" He asked, which Bardock answered quickly.

"Nope. When it comes to training, there isn't one thing that makes you strong, but many little things working together." Bardock paused to allow his words to sink in for Izuku.

"What I had you do yesterday is something you would be learning later on, but I wanted to see how well adapted you are with your own energy." Bardock explained, seeing Izuku write in his notebook.

Izuku closed the book and asked Bardock what he will be doing today, but his whole body tensed up as an evil grin began to plaster itself on Bardock's face. Izuku could swear he heard Bardock laugh, but before he could ask if everything was okay, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, then feeling his body being thrown from the force and onto the sandy beach. Izuku could only hurl over his stomach from the pain, but when he was able to look up, he saw Bardock with the same shit eating grin on his face, with his fist tightly shut.

"W...wha...at was t...that for?!" Izuku asked with shock and horror.

"Listen kid, you may have a lot of power waiting to be released with both your energy and the power of OFA, you still need to learn how to fight before you can use them." Bardock said, as from Izuku view, he saw Bardock appear in front of him instantly and land a hard kick into Izuku's hunched body, sending him a few meters away.

Bardock barked at Izuku, telling him that until he land a single attack on him, a proper attack, no flukes, he will be sparring with him until he does. Izuku was frozen with fear, as he never expected such a fearful aura to emanate from Bardock, but he knew if he didn't start, he wouldn't be anything but become Bardock's personal punching bag. He threw off his school bag and put his fist up to face, showing his mentor he was ready for a long fight ahead of him. Bardock smiled, getting into his usual fighting stance.

Izuku ran up to Bardock, pulling his arm back for a punch and him hurling it towards him, but Bardoxk easily dodge the attack, leaving him behind Izuku. He took this opportunity to slam his elbow into Izuku's back to knock him down into the sand. Izuku was disorientated from the blow, along with the sand blinding his eyes; picked up when his face was slammed into the ground. He rubbed the sand out of his eyes and looked around to see Bardock, so he hurled another punch at Bardock, but he dodge the attack again with ease.

"Your attack are slow kid! Pulling your arm back for a punch just wastes time and it leaves you vulnerable both before and after your attack! You need to focus on quick and precise attacks!" Bardock said, sending a quick uppercut at Izuku, knocking him back onto the ground.

The both of them kept up this song and dance for hours until the sun was close to setting. After many hours of sparring, Izuku was left completely exhausted. He was covered in many bruises and cuts, and he was barely able to sit up. Fortunately for Izuku, Bardock was smart enough to not let him come home in the state he was in, as his mother would give him an earful if she found out, so he used his energy to heal Izuku's body, along with restoring his stamina.

"Feeling better?" Bardock asked, helping Izuku off of the ground.

Izuku looked over his body and nodded, then looked down somberly, apologising to Bardock that he couldn't keep up, but Bardock cut him off before he could finish.

"Listen kid. You need to understand that it takes months or even years to master any skill or technique." Bardock said, as Izuku quietly listened to Bardock.

"I don't care if you don't hit me today, tommorow, a month from now or even a year from now. It is all up to you to adapt to the situation, that's how fighting works. You can't fight recklessly, as it would just get you killed." He said, as Izuku began to shake in worry, as his mind wondered to a thought that Bardock experience this or he knew someone who made this same mistake.

"It will take a long time for you to actually hit me, but with enough hard work and proper strategy, you'll get there." He said, ruffling Izuku's hair playfully.

Izuku laughed from Bardock playing with his hair, as he promised Bardock he will work as hard as he can and make him proud as his master. Bardock smiled, seeing the determination in his eyes becoming as bright as a raging fire.

"That's good to hear. Now, why don't you head back home. It's getting late and I'd rather not get on your mother's bad side." Bardock said.

"Sure." Izuku said, grabbing all his stuff and heading home, waving Bardock goodbye.

[Location–Dagobah Beach]

[Time–7:26am]

[Many Weeks Later]

Over the next few weeks, Izuku trained with Bardock, sparring with each other with Bardock dodging and weaving around all of Izuku's attacks and attempts, but that didn't stop him. Sometimes he would get close, but Bardock would always be out of reach by a hair. Recently, when Izuku began to get faster in his attacks, Bardock introduced energy blasts to keep Izuku out of range, increasing the difficulty.

"You never said you would use energy blasts!" Izuku cried, as he ran from the column of explosions erupting from behind him in fear.

"When did I say that?! Villains won't play fair when you fight them! They'll use tricks, lies and illusions to win their favour in a fight, so you must do the same!"

Bardock would keep that little memory as a fond one. Only he and he alone would know that he takes a small amount of pleasure from knocking the kid around, only a little.

"C'mon kid! Where's that determination of yours at! I know you are close, I can feel it! just use that head of yours!" Bardock said, as he dodges a flurry of punches as he sweap kick Izuku and punch his way, but Izuku tried a desperate attempt to rectify this problem.

Twisting his body just enough, Bardock's punch was able to pass just under him, allowing Izuku to lock Bardock's arm using his right arm and back. Smiling, he prepared to throw Bardock over him and slam him against the sand, but when Izuku tried to move, Bardock wouldn't budge an inch. He only realised just now Bardock had him trapped, but it was too late as he felt a sharp pain in his back rupture through his body. Turning around, he saw Bardock's free arm planted deep into his back. Before he could react any further, Bardock used his now free arm to grab the front of Izuku's weighted armour and throw him across the beach.

"Nice try kid, but you'll have to try something a little less obvious." Bardock said, as he held up his hands towards Izuku

Bardock then shot a barrage of energy blasts towards him, causing Izuku to get to his feet quickly and start running. Izuku knew he had to make up a plan or one of the rouge energy blasts Bardock like to thrown him catches him off guard. Izuku kept thinking and thinking, trying to drown out the loud explosions to concentrate, until his mind latch onto the energy blasts.

Izuku looked behind him, watches how, even though he wasn't that fast compared to Bardock, he was still outrunning them, even though Bardock can easily send one his way to hit him perfectly, but he was purposely holding back. Izuku didn't know why Bardock would hold back, but he was going to use this to his advantage as he quickly thought of a plan to exploit it.

Bardock kept sending blasts towards the kid, ready to face him in hand to hand when he either gets bored of sending blasts or when the kid closes the gap himself. He then saw Izuku twist his foot to allow his body to turn to face him, as Izuku allows his momentum to carry him forwards. Izuku could feel the heat of the energy blasts past him, but he didn't let their heat to faze him.

("The kid isn't trying to dodge! Dammit kid, what are you planning?") Bardock thought, as he slowed down his energy blasts, but kept sending them Izuku's way.

Izuku saw the blasts mostly pass him, so when he saw one blasts actually coming to him, he braced his body, pulling his arms up to his face in a cross and allowed the energy blasts hit him, causing a large explosion to erupt and kicking up sand around him.

"Kid!!" Bardock screamed, surprised to see Izuku tank one of his attack on purpose.

Bardock immidiantly stopped his attacks, walking up to the cloud of sand his energy blast pick up, expecting to see Izuku either unconscious on the ground or barely standing, covered in sand a small burn marks. However, he saw a small amount of movement from within the cloud and he brace for an attack, but a rock was launched from inside the cloud and Bardock dodge the rock, watching it fly away, but when he looked back, he saw Izuku throw a clump of sand in his face.

"ARGH!!! DAMMIT!!!" Bardock stepped back, clutching his hands onto his face, feeling the burning pain in his eyes from the sand.

Izuku took this opportunity to run behind Bardock, as he knew he couldn't keep Bardock distracted quick enough to launch an attack after that stunt, as he watches Bardock bring his fist down onto the ground in front of him, rumbling the ground as if a mini earthquake shook the beach.

(Holy crap! If I tried to attack straight away, I might not have made it in one piece.") Izuku thought as he pulled his hand into a fist, ready to end this fight.

"I swear kid, when this is all over, I'm going to..." Bardock was cut off with a punch to his left cheek, leaning back from the sudden force he wasn't expecting.

Izuku smiled at his success, happy that he finally beat Bardock's challenge. He was jumping around in the sand, smiling as wide as possible, as Bardock was wiping the sand from his eyes as best as he could. Even though he was a little pissed that he fell for a simple trick, he couldn't help but smile at the kid's brilliance.

"Here Mr. Bardock. This'll help wash out the sand from your eyes." Izuku handed Bardock a water bottle where Bardock opened it and pour the entire content into his face, feeling his eyes ease from the pain as the sand was washed away.

When Bardock's eyes was able to process what was in front of him, he saw the happy smile on Izuku's face, seeing how proud he felt that he was able to finally land a hit on him. Bardock just laughed, ruffling Izuku's hair, saying he is proud for his quick thinking. Izuku laughed, thanking Bardock for the praise, but then felt Bardock's fist slam hard into his skull.

"OW!!! What was that for?!" Izuku asked in shock, rubbing his head in pain.

"What you did was reckless and could've gotten you killed!" Bardock said as his proud smile morphed info a stern glare.

"What you did was irresponsible! What would have happened if at least one of those blasts were strong enough to blow your body to bits, huh?! You are lucky those blasts were weak enough to only scuff you up if you were hit by one of them." Bardock said, showing how disappointed in Izuku he was for being so reckless.

"B..but I m...mean. I knew they weren't dangerous and I knew you would expect me to dodge so I used that knoledge in my favour. It worked didn't it?" Izuku said, trying to justify his reckless plan.

"The reason they were weak is because this is just training. But if you fought against a villain or god for bid, someone as strong as me, they wouldn't hold back on you." Bardock said, seeing Izuku's body slump in sadness.

"Never hold back on your enemies, as they wouldn't hold back on you. You either defeat them swiftly or if that's not possible, you outlast them. That's how it works." He said with Izuku oppologising.

Bardock sighed, saying that's why they are training. To make mistakes and how to learn from them so that they can not happen again or as little as possible. Izuku understood, telling Bardock he will be better next time.

[A Few Minutes Later]

After Bardock let Izuku rest for a few minutes, he told Izuku that he should be able to learn how to properly learn to control his energy once they finish their short rest. Izuku smiled, happy that he can learn to control his energy.

Izuku pulled out a notebook, having various notes of techniques and abilities he can make using his energy from the knowledge he has from various techniques Bardock knows, like flight and energy sensing to his own abilities like construction formed from his own energy to attack names; mostly names after All-Might's and Bardock's signitures moves, and theoretical physical of how energy actually works.

("Where does he keep pulling those books out of nowhere?! Does he have a secret quirk or something?!") Bardock thought, shaking his head as his mind struck a thought he wanted to ask the kid for a few days.

"Hey kid, there's something I have been meaning to ask you." Bardock pulled Izuku's attention from his notebook.

"What is it Mr. Bardock?" Izuku asked, curious about what Bardock wanted to know.

"I saw you were trying some fighting styles over the past few days. Have anything you want to talk about?" Bardock asked, wanting to see where he can move to this conversation to.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! During my free time at home during the weekends, I have been researching more about how other people fight from heroes to master martial artists." Izuku explained as Bardock kept silent to allow Izuku to speak.

"I tried to mimic some hero's fighting styles, but those are usually used to support their quirks, so I looked at martial arts styles from both after and before quirks appeared. I have a notebook full of the many different fighting styles I research from the common fighting styles like kung fu, karate, tai chi to some of the most rarest. So rare that the masters who invented them are still alive." Izuku said, catching Bardock's attention.

"What was the style you use today called?" Bardock asked, which got Izuku thinking.

"Well, that's the thing. It's name isn't known to the public and there are very few who knows the style, along with the master of it, and they have very secretive lives. The only way I was able to learn about it is from forums and the few videos of both the 23rd and 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament that happened many years ago." He said.

Bardock thought about this, as such a rare martial arts technique catching Izuku's attention so much that he would dedicate himself to look through the Internet for hours to find these videos.

"Do you know the master's name at least, or his title or alias?" Bardock asked, which Izuku nodded, saying he is known as 'Master Roshi' or 'The Turtle Hermit'.

Bardock kept a mental note to remember this same for later, as he told Izuku that their little rest is over and they should get back to their training for this morning before Izuku have to go to school.

A few minutes goes by and Izuku is trying to form a ball of energy successfully this time, repeating the same steps he did yesterday. He held his arms forward and pulled the energy from his stomach, but just like last time, all he could accomplished was a few sparks and that's it. Bardock told him he was trying too hard and to relax, but Izuku wasn't able to as his body was still too excited from the feeling of his own energy moving through his body. Then his arms fell from exhaustion, as he breathed hard, trying to slow down his heart rate.

"C'mon kid. I know you can do better than this. You are trying to force your energy out, but in doing so, you will only damage your body." Bardock said, as Izuku turned towards him.

"Then how am I supposed to know what to do when you aren't telling me the right way to do it?" Izuku asked, obvious frustration in his tone.

"Well that is where we both run into a hurdle, kid. Unlike you, I was able to pick up the ability to use my energy like walking, so I have no idea exactly how to make it work. Why? I have no idea, but I know you are smart enough to push yourself over this hurdle to succeed." Bardock said, as he watch Izuku contemplate what he needed to do.

("Maybe I need to calm down. It's best to have a clear mind to think.") Izuku thought, as he took in a few deep breaths, letting his body relax and began to think, but he then realised.

("Wait! Mr. Bardock said I was trying to force it out of my body. But maybe my energy is like a living thing, where it doesn't like being forced to do anything. Maybe, I should...") Izuku thought as he began the same process again.

Putting his hand up, he allowed his energy to flow up his body, down his arm and concentrate into his palm, but he did it again, as sparks began to appear from his palm, but Izuku allowed his muscles to relax, as he let the energy flow to his hands, as he closed his eyes so that he couldn't be distracted by his surroundings.

Bardock watches from the sidelines feeling Izuku's power flow through his body. He could feel the kid struggling like all of his previous attempts, but when Izuku relaxed his body, Bardock could feel his energy change. To him, it feels like his energy was pushed through a single point forcefully through his body, but now the energy flowed through his body without restrictions, but a lot more slower and less dense.

Izuku kept piling his energy into his hands then when he remembered when Bardock formed a ball of energy in his palm, but unable to form a ball as forcing his energy out his body would just put him back where he was before. Keeping his mind calm, he tried to picture a small ball infront of him, trying to trick his body to try and form the ball without forcing it.

Bardock watch as Izuku's palm tremble, as his energy also start to fluctuate like a sleeping animal being woken up, he watches small sparks form infront of Izuku's hands; not on his hands. The sparks then stopped and Bardock felt Izuku's energy concentrating in the space where the sparks were and Bardock could only smile, proud of the kid.

Izuku kept his eyes closed and his body relaxed, keeping the image of a ball of energy in his mind. He then felt those same small sparks on his hand again, but as soon as they appeared, they dissapeared and Izuku could feel a sudden source of light and heat in front of him, growing brighter and hotter as the seconds passed. He slowly opened his eyes to see a ball of energy, glowing his signiture dark green, around the size of a football and slowly growing, but Izuku was too entranced by the ball's light.

"I...I did it. I actually did it. Haha... I did it!" Izuku celebrated with all the excitment a teenage boy can have, but he kept his arms locked on the ball. "Mr. Bardock, look! I did it! I really did it!" Izuku kept cheering, showing off the ball he created to Bardock.

But before Bardock could give his praise to the kid, he felt a strange power fluctuating from the ball and his eyes widen in realisation. Before Izuku could react to Bardock's sudden change in mood, he felt himself being pulled away by Bardock, leaving the energy ball where it was.

"W...what?!" Izuku yelled, not expecting the sudden shift in movement.

Before Bardock could explain his reasoning, the energy ball exploded, causing a small fire ball to expand and coughing up kilos of sand around it, throwing it in every direction, while Bardock's shielded Izuku from the blast.

Izuku looked on in horror, wondering to himself what would have happened if Mr. Bardock didn't save him. Would he had died? Would he have been seriously injured? He was thankful though that Mr. Bardock saved him.

"You okay kid?" Bardock asked Izuku.

Izuku shook off the shock and said he was fine, thanking him for saving him. Bardock nodded, saying that was a close call, but knows it won't be the first time it would be happening.

"W...what happened? Why did it just explode? I thought it needed to collide with something to explode." Izuku asked, wondering why the energy ball even exploded in the first place.

"Because you pored too much energy into it." Bardock said, shocking Izuku.

"Wait, but wouldn't it need a constant flow of energy, so that it doesn't burn out like a flame, but I wasn't really thinking..." Izuku asked, starting to mumble so Bardock smacked Izuku over the head to knock him out of his muttering.

"No kid, energy can only, "burn out" when you allow it to, by absorbing the energy back into your body." Bardock explains, fully standing up.

"Now, before you apologise, you did well. All you need to do now is keep the energy stable and from there, we can move onto more complex stuff." He said, watching Izuku write down notes in his notebook.

Bardock told Izuku that they had enough excitment for one morning and told Izuku to head back home so he can then go to school from there. Izuku understood, believing he should rest a bit before trying after school today.

"Mr. Bardock." Izuku called, gaining Bardock his full attention.

"What is it kid? Forgot something?" He asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"No, I just wanted to say thank you. For doing all of this for me." Izuku said, catching Bardock's eyes slightly widening from shock, so he continued, "If it weren't for you, I may not be as strong as I am now, and I might not be a great hero because of that. So I wanted to thank you for all you have done for me." Izuku said, giving him a smile eerily similar to All-Might's large grin.

Bardock smirked, saying it isn't much, but told Izuku he is still at the beginner level when it comes to fighting and using his energy. Izuku nodded in approval, saying he will always train to become better and become a better hero for tomorrow. With that, Izuku left, leaving Bardock alone with his thoughts.

("The kid is learning fast. Incredibly fast. I wonder if it is just his determination to become a hero or was his growth enhanced by OFA?" Bardock thought, always amazed at the growth Izuku displays through his training.

("Whatever it was, he can definitely become one of the strongest beings on this planet.) Am I right, Namekian?" Bardock thought, turning his head to the side as he revealed the person who was hiding nearby.

"I gotta agree with you. That brat has potential. But who knew his growth would be this great." The man revealed himself, as Bardock turned to face him.

He wasn't human, Bardock obviously knew this, as the deep green skin, antenna and elf like ears with his arms having protrusions that looked similar to muscle tissue stood out. He was wearing a simple purple gi, with the most eye catching parts of his clothing being his turban and the large white cape, along with his orange pointy shoes.

"How long?" The stranger asked Bardock, surprised he was even noticed.

"I knew you were hiding for a while. Watching as the kid grew. But it isn't the kid you are interested in, is it?" Bardock asked, as he watched the stranger's brow slightly twitch.

"What is your purpose to be here. Your obviously not from around here. One moment I was just training in the mountains like normal, then I sensed an enormous ki from nowhere. So, explain!" The stranger demanded, physically tensed at feeling Bardock's power this close up.

"My reasons being here has nothing to do with you. Unless you want to prod a little further?" Bardock said, taking a step closer.

The stranger got into a stance, physically ready for a fight but every nerve in his body screamed at him to run, to book it for the mountains, far away from this monster.

"Calm down, you are obviously here for answers, and we both know you stand no chance against me. So why don't we introduce each other. My name is Bardock, I'm here to lay low for a while, until I feel ready to reveal myself." Bardock said, holding his hand up to ease the stranger's nerves, but he was still tense.

The stranger eyes narrowed. Who was this guy hiding from. If he is this strong, how strong is the person he is hiding from. If he wanted to not be obliterated by the man, he decided to stay on his good side and introduced himself calmly.

"The name's Piccolo. Jr. Son of King Piccolo. My goals right now is to take over the planet and to defeat one man, Son Goku." The now named Piccolo, introduced himself to Bardock.

"Well, Piccolo. Sorry to say this, but if you are going to take over the planet, it would be quite hard to do with me and the kid around." Bardock said, belittling Piccolo by putting Izuku on a pedestal above him.

"Why are you so invested in the kid. He's just a human. Nothing special about him. No matter how hard he trains, he won't reach the power I am at. Trust me, I met my fair share of strong humans and non of them stood a chance against me, or my father for that matter." Piccolo said, scoffing at the idea that the brat Bardock was training could ever be stronger than him.

"You really call yourself strong, like you're one of the best. Well to tell you the truth, I cam sense a couple dozen people around the planet that could defeat you, even if most of them needed to team up to beat you." Bardock said, sneaking at Piccolo's twitching anger.

Piccolo's body shook with fury, angered by this stranger's insuation he was weak, pathetic. But at the same time, he couldn't argue against the man who could probably take him down with a flick of his finger.

"You haven't answered my question. What is so special about that kid to you?" Piccolo derailed the conversation to his earlier question, hopefully to calm the situation down for himself.

"Well, I really don't know. At first I saw myself in him, or at least a little. Someone brought down by his peers and superiors, all because he was seen as weak and useless." Bardock explains, thinking back to the scrawny cowardly kid he met that day.

"So you helped him because he has some similarities to you. Not the best reason to train a human, but still a reason non the less." Piccolo said, crossing his arms accrossed his chest, able to calm his body down to not shake aggressively.

Bardock watched the Namekian, he calls him, wondering if he was a threat to him, or more importantly the kid. To him, the Namekian wasn't a threat, but to the kid, he could easily kill the kid before he finish his training.

"Listen. Why don't we come to an agreement. If you decide to take over the world, I would let you do what you want if you leave me and the kid alone. Sounds fair?" Bardock asked, watching the gears working in Piccolo's head.

"Like you would allow me in the first place. Plus, before I could take over the world, I still need to kill Son Goku, as he is the only one besides you who is actually a threat to my future rule." Piccolo said, which Bardock grinned.

"Well, I tried. But before I go..." Bardock said, suddenly appearing in front of Piccolo, slamming his knee deep into his stomach, causing the Namekian to hurl over from the sudden pain, "...stay away from the kid. Lay a single finger on him and I'll show you hell. Got it?" Bardock asked, as Piccolo stared into Bardock's eyes, only seeing anger and fury buried deep inside, ready to be thrown at any pore soul who gets in his way.

He agreed, saying he will rethink his world domination, and only focus on his personal matters. Bardock nodded his head, telling the Namekian good luck on his endeavours. Piccolo was confused for a second, but before he could reply to Bardock, he was already gone, his only trace being sand disturbed.

Piccolo let out the biggest breath in his entire life, then feeling the sweat of fear covering his body. He fell to the ground on his knees, taking in deep breaths, feeling like he cheated death multiple times in that single moment.

("What the hell! Just being around him caused me to tense up! How?! How is he this powerful?! Where did he come from?! He didn't explain how he got here?!") Piccolo asked so many questions to himself, feeling like he has more questions than he started with.

"And why the hell does he look exactly like Goku? That haircut is too recognisable. But there were no reactions to when I said his name. Is their looks just a coincidence, or do they actually has some relation. If so, could Goku get as strong as him?" Piccolo kept contemplating more questions, till his curiosity took the better of him.

"Goku needs to know about this. Everyone does. No matter how much I hate them, that man is too much of a threat. We would need all the help we can get to keep him in check." Piccolo said, flying off towards the nearest wastelands.

Author's Note: To those who were wondering if the MHA world and DBZ world were combined, here's your answer. And to those that doesn't know when in Dragon Ball this takes place, it takes place some time before Raditz lands on Earth. But don't get too excited, Bardock won't be meeting any of the Z Fighters untill around after the Sports Festival, of that.

Before I reveal too much, I'll see you next time on a new chapter. I'll be also working on other, more original works. Hope you had a wonderful time reading or listening and have a lovely day.