"Was there truly no other way for us to go about this?"
Roshi had waited a remarkably long time to ask this question, a wait which spoke to the remarkable patience which one would naturally expect from someone who has lived for so long. Still, even a man such as himself has his limits, and being asked to stay put on King Kai's planet with nothing whatsoever to do was beginning to test those limits. Hence, the question.
"I'm afraid not, my friend," King Kai said placatingly, and Roshi did his best to make sure that his host did not feel he was being ungrateful for the hospitality he had been given so far.
"I understand that these things would ordinarily take quite some time to arrange, but you've told me this man teleports just like Dende can," Roshi began as diplomatically as he could manage.
"He does," King Kai confirmed.
"And you've told me that you contacted him immediately to request an audience," Roshi continued, and even King Kai couldn't quite stop himself from sighing tiredly at the delay.
"I did," he said in a more resigned tone.
"And yet, I've been stuck here meditating-"
"Dozing."
"Meditating on and off for the last-!" Roshi began before pausing. "Damn, how long has it been?" he asked, which was a fair question on a planet that existed outside the bulk of creation.
"Three days," King Kai replied frankly. "Believe me, I'm not happy about it either, but it is not my place to question the decisions of my superior. I'm certainly not about to risk disrespecting him by potentially making him wait even a second for your arrival; we must operate on his timetable, not your own. Having you remain here until he makes his decision was the safest possible option." Roshi sighed, knowing that King Kai probably couldn't do anything about this, but still finding himself growing bored all the same. Wishing to stretch his legs after hours of arduous meditation, he got up from the porch and lifted his arms up over his head.
"Well, that's his prerogative, I suppose, although I'm unclear on what exactly is taking him so long," he remarked somewhat grumpily. "You said he was the Supreme Kai's attendant, yes?"
"Indeed," King Kai replied, unsure where Roshi was going with this.
"And that this makes him similar to the Supreme Kai in terms of status?" Roshi continued, to which King Kai nodded again, finding himself growing a little nervous.
"Right," he added with the slightest hint of trepidation...particularly when Roshi smirked.
"So then, what exactly does this 'highly respected position' entail aside from going where he goes and looking imposing until a fight breaks out?" he asked dryly, causing King Kai to sputter a hasty reprimand for his guest's impudence, hardly for the first time.
"I can't believe-we do not say such things about the great Kibito!" King Kai cried out.
"Because it's disrespectful or because it's true?" Roshi sniped back cheekily, his amusement only growing as he watched King Kai's antennae curl in uncertainty before responding.
"...Yes," he ground out, unwilling to concede the point, yet also unwilling to lie. Roshi laughed for the first time in three days and attempted to give him a bemused, yet reassuring smile.
"Well, not to worry, King Kai. I'll be sure to control my insolence by the time he finally-" Roshi began, only to watch as King Kai was suddenly left trembling in place, his face a perfect recreation of the kind of face one gets when they have been called into the principal's office. Roshi may not have heard a sound, but he could now sense a significant ki signature from behind him, one that was nowhere to be found a second ago. Similarly to what he had observed during his time with King Kai, Roshi couldn't quite get a solid read on the strength of the red-skinned, white-haired humanoid he locked eyes with as he turned around. Unlike mortal ki, which generally remained stable, the ki of divine beings like King Kai or this Kibito fellow was constantly in flux, thereby defying any form of measurement attempted by machine and mortal alike. All Roshi could tell when sensing the two minor gods in his vicinity was that, between the two of them, Kibito was stronger.
Much stronger.
"'Master' Roshi, I presume?" Kibito said stiffly, speaking with a well-practiced formality of tone which carefully disguised just how much he had debated the merits of coming to King Kai's planet and hearing them out in the first place. Able to recognize this without the need for telepathy, Roshi did his best to put on the charm and put his best foot forward, such as it was.
"Why, yes, I am he!" he began amicably. "A pleasure to meet you, Lord Kibito!" he added, complete with a respectful bow. The Supreme Kai's attendant, looking especially imposing with his massive shoulder pads and perfectly-pressed robes without a single thread out of place, did not seem to be particularly impressed with Roshi's show of respect, nor was he particularly displeased. Taking this as a good sign, Roshi got up from the bow and kept his eye on the man who towered over him.
"Yes, well, it is good to put a face to the name, I suppose," Kibito said in that same stiff tone. King Kai saw Roshi beginning to smirk and break character even before he himself realized it, and frantically waved at him not to say anything.
"Ohoho, so my reputation precedes me, then!" he said, sounding a bit more like his usual self. Kibito didn't outwardly react...but Roshi could have sworn he noticed the ghost of a smile.
"In a manner of speaking," he replied. "From what I was able to gather over the past few days, it seems that some of the lower servants of Other World have a betting pool regarding your inevitable demise." King Kai noticeably tensed up at the somewhat casual manner in which Kibito delivered this information, and even Roshi had to admit he was a little perturbed.
"Yes, well, I imagine it would be a little tricky to figure out when I'll finally kick the bucket," he said, hoping to salvage that line of discussion in some way. The ghost of a smile became more of a smirk, one that only worsened the others' apprehension.
"That is not what the denizens have been betting on," he said simply, leaving it up to them to guess before moving on. "In any case, let us dispense with these petty frivolities and get to why you have requested my presence here." With that, King Kai did his best not to stutter as he finally spoke up, intending to kick things off as smoothly as possible for Roshi's sake.
"Ah, yes, of course, Lord Kibito! I know it's difficult to believe, but if you allow me to fully explain, you will see that my student here is perfectly capable of-" King Kai began, only for Kibito to hold up a hand in order to silence him.
"There is no need for this," Kibito said. "We may not have spoken often, but I trust your judgment, King Kai. As outlandish as your claim seemed to me at first, my own research has led me to conclude that this man has indeed developed an inferior version of Ultra Instinct. However, that is not what is up for debate here, is it?" he asked rhetorically before turning to Roshi and really taking full advantage of their considerable height difference to loom over the mortal master. "You wish to learn more," he added imperiously, knowing that they both knew this already.
"That's right," Roshi said anyway, for the sake of decorum.
"You believe that you are capable of mastering Ultra Instinct on your own. You, a mere mortal," he followed up, to which Roshi attempted to stand up a little straighter.
"I do," he replied, his voice filled with determination.
"And you believe that, with this power in hand, you are worthy of one day acting as protector of the universe," Kibito finished, his skepticism evident. Roshi took a deep breath as he looked up at the massive divine being standing before him...and suddenly had a very good idea of what was about to happen the moment after he gave his final answer.
"Yes," Roshi said, speaking with a resigned air which left King Kai incredibly nervous.
"I see. Well then..." Kibito said, pausing for a moment as he tucked a hand behind his back. While King Kai felt his antennae curling in fear and anticipation over what he now suspected was about to happen, both Kibito and Roshi knew there was no point to the gesture. Both of them knew that, as Kibito rushed forward at lightning-fast speeds to slash at Roshi's face with a palm strike, Roshi would leap backwards to try and avoid it, having predicted the attack before they even finished talking and even glimpsed it several seconds ahead of time. However, this did not mean that he wasn't caught off guard by just how fast Kibito moved: faster than Gohan could, albeit not by much. This also didn't mean that he could fully process how quickly Kibito moved to teleport behind him after the attack, although he predicted that as well.
And it certainly didn't mean that he dodged the first strike completely.
As Roshi landed a good ten feet away from where he had started, he was momentarily distracted by a small spurt of blood which suddenly burst from his forehead. Only once that had happened did he notice a small, yet painful gash had formed in the wake of Kibito's attack, with the resulting spurt of blood clearly intended to blind him even if he managed to dodge. Frantically moving to clear away the blood with a kiai and cauterizing the wound with a quick, yet similarly painful burst of ki, Roshi almost missed the sound of Kibito's teleportation. He wasn't positive that it made a sound at all: it happened so quickly and seamlessly that, between Kibito's Instantaneous Movement and his own Instant Transmission, it was obvious which technique was superior. Still, he quickly sensed Kibito's ki appearing behind him, and he had a funny feeling that this was only the first of many attacks to come. As he turned around to face his attacker, he found what he expected to find: the imposing divine warrior looking down upon him with his hand outstretched in what would soon become a scything motion, red blood still dripping from where he sliced into Roshi's face earlier. Roshi had faced down many threats before and lived to tell the tale, and he was reasonably sure that he would live to tell this one too. Even so, just because this wasn't likely to become a fight to the death didn't mean that Kibito had any intention of pulling his punches.
And if Roshi wanted to earn the respect of the gods, he was going to have to do the same.
"Let's test that, shall we?" Kibito asked before bringing his hand down upon Roshi's head.
"You are testing my patience, Berryblue."
Indeed, the tiny and privately reluctant attendant had chosen a rather poor time to intrude upon her lord, as her entrance into the room immediately triggered the gravity chamber's built in civilian failsafe protocol and shut off at once. True, he wasn't in such desperate need of it that he couldn't be without it for a few moments, but it was still useful to his principal goal of getting stronger and, well, it was the principle of the thing. Nevertheless, she wouldn't have done it if what she had to say wasn't important, so the still golden-haired King Vegeta sighed and ceased his attempts at meditation. Berryblue continued, swallowing down her anger for now.
Just a little longer...
"My apologies for disturbing you, my lord," she said placatingly, lying almost as easily as she breathed. "I only wished to inform you that your personal shuttle has just returned-" she continued, only to be caught off guard by just how quickly King Vegeta shot to his feet at the news. As the king did everything but run down the halls in the direction of the shuttle bay, Berryblue could only stand there for a moment before hastily following after him as best she could. After trying and failing to gain his ear multiple times over the course of their brisk walk, the reason for his alacrity made itself evident as soon as they caught sight of the Bonyu Force limping down a hallway, none of them having had the luxury of a nice medical machine bath before they returned to base. As the other mercenaries were being fussed over by his medical technicians, the one he had so rapidly come to see batted away several officers who attempted to look at her injuries, insisting she was fine when she was clearly not. She was still rather visibly bruised in places, covered in bandages in others, and arguably not remotely fit to be walking on her own, and yet...she was alive.
King Vegeta had known this, but that didn't make the sight of her any less relieving.
"Oh! Vegeta! Forgive me, I didn't expect you to see me like this-!" Bonyu began, sounding a curious mixture of ashamed and embarrassed before her excuses were silenced by his hands suddenly grasping onto her shoulders with the same quiet intensity she now saw in his eyes. It was almost unnerving, but also endearing in some strange way. Like there were a million things which he was either unwilling or downright unable to say to her yet, so all he could think to do was...this. This abrupt, instinctive reaction which was nothing like his earlier flirtations, all bluster and bravado reinforced by the euphoria of his recent triumph. No, the brief time they had spent together and the far longer time they spent apart had yielded an expression of affection or lust or some mixture of the two which was unrefined. Sloppy.
Genuine.
Judging by the growing crimson of her cheeks, Bonyu had no idea what to do with that.
"I will kill the one who did this to you," he growled. "Slowly. Painfully. She will suffer."
Well, hardly the most "romantic" statement in the universe, but she was hardly complaining.
"Ah, all in good time, my dear," she attempted to quip a bit more quickly than usual to hide her newfound lack of composure. Perhaps this was merely some odd side effect of the painkillers. Yes, sure, that sounded plausible. In any case, she had bigger things to worry about right now.
"Hrm! Yes, of course," King Vegeta agreed in a similar manner, his expression giving away just how self-conscious he was now that he realized that all of these eyes were trained on him. He was more reserved this time around, in a way he hadn't been mere days ago in the throne room. Bonyu had to take a moment to mentally strangle the small voice inside of her that called it adorable. The others mostly looked away and tried not to think too much about what they all knew to be true about their new king and his new right hand: the less they knew about what they did behind closed doors, the better. And as for Berryblue...she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow with a devilish smirk on her face. She had been in the throne room, of course, but this...this was something different, now.
This was something she could use.
"Captain Bonyu!" King Vegeta declared to try and distance himself a little. "I order you and your men to report to the gravity chamber as soon as you are once again cleared for active duty. I would ask for a full debrief of your mission, but that will have to wait until my return from a private expedition of great importance which I will be conducting personally. Let it be known to all that you are to act as regent in my absence from this point forward." With this declaration made, the hall was already filled with whispers until the king's glare silenced them, while Bonyu straightened her shoulders. This was it: this was what it meant to be the consort of a king. This was what she wanted, what both of them wanted, not this-this stupid, mushy nonsense!
...Right?
"It shall be done, my lord," Bonyu said relatively smoothly, punctuating her statement with a bow as best she could in her current condition. "Are there any other commands you wish for me and my men to carry out in your absence?" she asked, to which King Vegeta paused. He spared a glance at Berryblue and the other personnel, most of whom frantically took whatever excuse they could think of to depart after getting caught whispering earlier, then shrugged his shoulders as though he weren't making a monumental decision which could feasibly spell the end of his reign.
"See to it that the Palace Guards are ready to be deployed to the front if necessary," King Vegeta whispered, and for how careful she had been, Berryblue couldn't hide her feelings now.
"Are you insane?!" she blurted out, netting her a harsh glare from both Bonyu and the king himself which caused her to pale just a bit. Not the time for that, not remotely. "Ah, um, what I meant to say was: my lord, the Palace Guards are needed here! And besides, they would strongly object to that prospect: that's why they became Palace Guards in the first place!"
"Yes, I am well aware. Their position has always been rather superfluous," King Vegeta said dismissively. "What point is there in having guards when you are the strongest man in the universe?" he asked rhetorically, and while Bonyu could acknowledge his logic, she did have concerns.
"I'm afraid I must agree with Berryblue: they won't be happy about this," she warned him, to which he chuckled as though they were sharing an inside joke. Perhaps they were.
"Relax, my dear. All I wish for you to do is quietly make the arrangements: I will give the actual order upon my return and face whatever consequences come from it alone," he assured her, and against her better judgment, Bonyu found herself placing a hand atop his own.
"Not alone," she said simply, in a similar manner to the much more off-putting thing that he had just said, and the two fell into an awkward silence for a moment before they both decided to hastily clear their throats and got to the more important business of transferring command codes. Berryblue, meanwhile, simply watched with bemusement and sinister anticipation as she relayed silent instructions to a wandering officer who happened to be in her pocket. This officer, in turn, would speak with other such officers, who would in turn speak with their Frost Demon superiors at great personal risk, who would in turn speak with their friends in the Palace Guard at much less personal risk, each of them saying only that "Madam Berryblue requested you." She would not actually be meeting with any of these people in this instance, but that was the beauty of it. This elegant system she had put into place right under Lord Cooler's nose was entirely implicit, so subtle that it couldn't possibly be traced back to her unless she revealed her involvement. Her spies didn't need to know exactly what they were doing from her own lips: they'd figure that part out on their own. All they needed to do was pay attention to her and obey her chain of command.
Much like how it would work once this bastard monkey was dead.
"Berryblue! We! Are! Leaving!" King Vegeta called out impatiently, startling her out of her reverie with a barely repressed and barely audible snarl before she composed herself. No matter that he wasn't dead yet. No matter that she had been forced to endure two coups and unimaginable loss before she would finally finish what her true king had started and take back control of her life. No matter that the empire was falling apart and might not be salvageable by the time she comes back from this little excursion...assuming she comes back at all.
Berryblue shook her head. As far as she was concerned, death was better than having to spend the rest of her life like this, especially after she had sacrificed everything to get where she was. These connections which she could exploit did not come out of thin air. They represented years, decades of thankless labor on behalf of the greatest empire in the universe, all in the earnest hope that she could be something. She didn't care about accolades or glory, and until the recent troubles began, the notion of ruling such an empire even on a temporary basis would have never occurred to her. Still, for better or worse, there didn't seem to be anyone else suited for the job anymore. She had been hopeful that Bonyu could get them back on their feet, but with everything that had happened since Vegeta ruined everything, after everything Bonyu had done...well. No matter.
They would both be dealt with soon enough.
"Of course, my lord," she said, her usual mask restored. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"
"I must say, I am impressed - by your arrogance, that is."
As Kibito spoke, Roshi was left panting from exhaustion about ten feet away from him, bleeding slowly from a dozen different wounds that had to be left untreated if he had any hope of avoiding the attendant's nearly non-stop barrage of attacks. Forget actually dealing any damage back to him: Roshi may have given himself some breathing room on occasion with the more unorthodox picks from his vast repertoire of techniques, but even with 50% Max Power and the Kaio-ken pushed as high as Times Ten at points, Kibito was still far too strong for him. King Kai could only watch in horror as the battle progressed, as while it may have left his planet relatively unscathed, his student certainly couldn't say the same. Although he had tried to speak up on Roshi's behalf, one look from Kibito had silenced the poor fellow at once, and Roshi couldn't exactly blame him after being on the other end of Kibito's ruthlessly pragmatic assault for the last five minutes - or was it six? He had honestly lost track, the majority of his thoughts focused only on survival while the rest of him marveled at how, well, godlike his opponent truly was. There was no overextension in his movements, no telegraphing of his attacks, no wasted motion whatsoever. Everything Kibito did was precisely calculated not to kill, not to stun, but simply to hurt.
And oh Dende dammit did it hurt.
"Surely one who died so recently ought to know that King Yemma's record-keeping is impeccable," Kibito continued disdainfully, giving Roshi only a split second to dodge a swift kick aimed at his left ankle with that same merciless intent. "Every lie, every mistake, every pathetic act of your pointless life of debauchery, all cataloged and tucked away in triplicate for when it finally ends." Although a part of Roshi found himself uncharacteristically rankling at Kibito's attempts to taunt him for his past actions, he nonetheless attempted to maintain his nonchalant facade.
"Heh, tell me about it: the man kept me sitting in line for five minutes as he read it all out. Practically an eternity on his timescale-" Roshi attempted to quip in response, only to find himself barely dodging a devastating blow aimed at one of his ribs. It came so quickly that the best he could do was to make sure that it was bruised instead of broken from the impact. Still, a few more near-miss knockout shots like that, and Roshi suspected he would be swiftly taken out of consideration. He may not have had quite as much riding on the outcome of this particular test, but that didn't mean he was going to let Kibito win quite so easily after making his remarks.
"And yet, here you are, even with your reputation," Kibito continued with more than a hint of distaste. "Allowed to train with the great King Kai, and several masters before him. Entrusted with secret knowledge that has given you abilities most mortals can only dream of commanding. Brought back from the Other World itself by your fellows not just once, but twice, for reasons which I still cannot fathom." With this last remark, Kibito aimed a swift palm strike at Roshi's face which he narrowly dodged, leaving him with yet another light cut to add to the growing number of injuries he had sustained over the course of this one-sided bout. "What is your secret, 'Master' Roshi?" Kibito asked, letting the old man breathe for only a moment. "How is it that so many continue to support someone as repulsive and pathetic as you?" At this point, Roshi finally moved to defend himself from Kibito's verbal assault.
"So. That's what your problem is," he began, his voice already somewhat unsteady as a result of his injuries. "Fine. You know what? I'll admit it: I've been a real piece of work for almost as long as I can remember, and looking back on it now that I'm older and wiser...I honestly can't even tell you why." He would have said more had Kibito not launched a devastating kick that he only barely avoided. From the look on his face, Kibito was less than impressed with his defense so far.
"You have been 'older and wiser' for quite some time now, 'Master' Roshi," Kibito said, and something about the increasing contempt with which he said that title was really starting to get on Roshi's nerves. "Old and wise enough to know better, and yet you speak of even somewhat recent behavior using the past tense...as though you've actually changed." His abundant skepticism bled through his words by the end of his brief retort, but Roshi wasn't about to let him go unchallenged.
"I have changed...a little bit, anyway," Roshi replied, speaking the words as though even he was still a little surprised that they were true. "Took dying twice and six years of soul-searching to get there, but I did it. I don't do any of that stuff anymore, and I've been meaning to apologize to the people I...pursued. As many as I can, anyway," he admitted with more than a hint of reluctance. "Not exactly easy, and maybe it'd be better to just let my actions speak for themselves instead of dredging up old business that's better left forgotten, but...I figure they ought to be given the chance to decide that for themselves. They deserve that much, at any rate." As soon as Roshi said the words, he found himself dodging an even more vicious palm strike than any Kibito had tried, one that might have actually hospitalized him if he hadn't glimpsed it a few seconds in advance. These glimpses seemed to be the only reason he was even conscious, and yet...they still weren't enough.
Against Kibito, the master was truly outmatched, albeit hardly for the first time.
"What they deserve is someone better. Someone who can actually protect them," Kibito spat, the first hint of unchecked emotion which Roshi had heard from the man since he arrived. Although aware that he was most likely in for a world of hurt regardless of how he responded to that, something in the old man compelled him to seize this momentary rhetorical advantage.
"Yeah! Yeah they do! And they all have at least one such 'someone' now, more or less: I helped make sure of that," Roshi quipped, thinking fondly of the people he had helped bring together in his own unique way. "Perhaps that's the only apology they'd want out of me after all is said and done," he mused to himself before getting back on track. "In any case, if you want a better candidate for protector of the universe, ha! Take your pick! You and I both know that each of my students is a better man than I'll ever be, but unlike me...they won't be around forever." Roshi paused for a second despite his best instincts, lost in melancholy thoughts he did not like dwelling on for too long. It was just enough time for Kibito to nail Roshi with a palm strike that cut a small, yet painful gash into his cheek, causing the old man to stumble backwards and snap back at the implacable godly servant. "Agh, come on: do you want to talk or test me, which is it?!" he cried out indignantly as Kibito reappeared ten feet in front of him, his gaze impassive for a moment before he crossed his arms with a huff and gave the old man his answer.
"Speak," he commanded sternly. "Enlighten me on what your point is, 'Master' Roshi," he added in a rather dry voice, causing Roshi to huff as King Kai frantically waved for him to consider his next words very carefully. With a deep breath, Roshi endeavored to finish making his case.
"My point is the same as it was before you got here: when it comes to maintaining a lasting peace throughout the universe, as monumental a task as that is...I believe that I'm the best man for the job, if your superiors can be persuaded not to see me as a threat," Roshi began, to which Kibito's expression twisted into a disapproving frown. Roshi scoffed. "Look, you don't like me because of the man I used to be? That's fine. That's fair. But if you ask me, it's pretty rich to hear all of this moral outrage over what I've done in the past from someone who had never even met me before today," Roshi pointed out, to which Kibito remained impassive. "And you know something else? If you really know as much about me as you claim, then you should know that I have always stepped up to do my part when innocent lives are at risk, even at my worst. That is the sort of man that I have always been, that is the sort of man I have helped each of my students to become, and that is exactly why I intend to do everything I can to keep their legacies intact for as long as I can...but I can't do it as I am now, not by a long shot. This test of yours has made that pretty damn clear, I gotta-tell you! Hrk! Gah!" Roshi continued as his constitution began to give way, forcing him to cough harshly into his sleeve the moment he finished his sentence. Kibito seemed somewhat surprised that he was still so determined to continue despite his inevitable failure, a fact which caused Roshi to look at him with contempt this time.
If he really thought that Roshi was going to give up because of a little bit of blood on his sleeve, then he didn't know the first thing about him, no matter how many records he had read.
"I don't need some holy report to tell me that I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. I've been painfully aware of that fact for nearly three hundred years now," Roshi said, doing his best to remain steady on his feet and steady with his words all at once. "Still, for better or worse...I'm no quitter, and the way I see it, there's no good reason for me to quit following the path which fate seems to have planted me on. Not when I could still do so much good." With his speech over, Roshi could only stand there and endeavor to push through the lingering pain left by his injuries as Kibito paused for a few critical seconds to consider Roshi's words, leaving King Kai and even Roshi himself to wonder if he was finally starting to understand their position.
Then Kibito's gaze hardened, and Roshi knew that such hopes were well and truly dashed.
"I can think of one good reason: you, 'Master' Roshi, are a failure in every sense of the word," Kibito said harshly as he stood across from the weakened warrior, poised to strike him down the moment this conversation ceased to have any useful purpose. "I concede that the logic of your position is sound: a mortal with your abilities and longevity would certainly make for a fine Universal Guardian. I simply cannot understand why you think that you are capable of playing such a role, let alone deserving of it," Kibito said, that same coldness dripping out of every word. "You speak of yourself with such confidence, such assuredness...and yet. You have not shown mastery of Ultra Instinct beyond the very basics of the technique. You have not grown beyond the majority of your peers in terms of raw power. Most significantly, however, in every major instance where you have 'stepped up,' as you so eloquently put it...you have failed," he finished, catching Roshi off-guard.
"What are you-?" he asked, but deep down, he already knew. Within the sanctum of his own mind, he had already had such thoughts several times before. He didn't need this quite literally holier-than-thou errand boy to repeat them aloud, not that Kibito had any intention of doing so.
"You have failed to do much of note since your second return from the dead," Kibito began, starting with the easy one first before working his way up. "You failed to defeat the Saiyans even with your last resort, and perished to a sneak attack from a man half-dead, for which only your own carelessness is to blame. You failed to stop the Demon King Piccolo on multiple occasions, and for that, two of your students paid with their lives...one of them right under your very nose." The oblique reference to that horrible discovery after the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai left Roshi's hands trembling ever-so-slightly, but this was nothing compared to what Kibito said next. "Not to mention what happened to your master the first time around."
It was this final statement which triggered something almost forgotten in the old warrior, an old anger and a deeper pain which he had kept under careful lock and key for centuries. Roshi had been angry at times, yes, but he had not been left at the mercy of his passions for many years now, at least as far as his anger was concerned. The only time he had ever come close to that in recent memory was during the return of King Piccolo, and even then, the crisis had not allowed him to dwell upon the long-bottled tempest of emotions brought on by his master's death. But here, although this had certainly been a rather one-sided battle, there was no crisis to be found. Kibito would not kill him: he only sought to hurt him, to make him understand that he was ill-suited for this role he sought to claim. As such, Roshi was free to truly tap into the rage and grief that had lain dormant within him for so many years, and if this was Kibito's intention, if all of this was just another part of his twisted test of Roshi's worthiness, then dammit, it was working.
For the first time in forever, Roshi was furious.
"Don't," he said lowly, as polite a warning as he was able to offer in his current state of mind, a state of mind which was rather foolishly considering throwing everything he had at the benevolent bastard in the vain hope of making him pay for what he was about to say next.
"From what I read of your records, you never seemed to take your training as seriously as you should have done, at least until this war of yours broke out," Kibito continued. "And even then, no matter how hard you trained, you never could grow strong enough to defeat the 'Demon King,' could you? Instead, your master had to sacrifice his life just to imprison that monster...a monster whose cage he entrusted to you. A monster whom you couldn't even keep away from a trio of bumbling fools...not that you evidently cared enough to protect it in the first place." King Kai's eyes widened as he saw the changes in Roshi's expression, changes he had never seen before, and this was enough for him to regain some semblance of courage.
"Lord Kibito, I-I really think you've made your position quite clear-!" he began with as much bite as he dared, but just as Kibito turned to level another glare in his direction, Roshi suddenly took advantage of the gap in his attention to teleport in front of him, moving with an alacrity that made it clear he had seen this first mistake of Kibito's coming. With his aura blazing a brighter red and his muscles expanded to a greater size than King Kai had ever seen from his oldest student, Roshi landed a punch to Kibito's stomach powerful enough to send him staggering backwards. For the first time, one of his attacks had actually damaged the divine servant.
And if Roshi could do that, then perhaps he still had a chance.
"How dare you?! How dare you?!" Roshi cried, the intensity of the Kaio-ken Times Twenty clearly enacting its horrible toll even as it gave an outlet for the tremendous rage that had been so carefully locked away. Kibito did his best to respond to the sudden assault, but found his estimation of what Roshi should have been capable of to be critically lacking, resulting in several blows making it past his guard and actually managing to hurt him.
"Wha-how are you-?!" Kibito whispered, only to get swiftly punched in the nose.
"You can hurt me!" Roshi growled as he landed a follow-up punch to Kibito's jaw, enjoying the sound of bone breaking it that accompanied it. "You can mock me for whatever the hell you want!" he added, punctuating his statement with a punch to the side of Kibito's face which left him dazed momentarily. "And you know what?! If you had just flat out refused to hear me out, I would have accepted it! I would have backed down! But NO!" Roshi screamed before landing an especially vicious blow to Kibito's chest which sent him sprawling into the dirt and shakily attempting to get back up, forced to swallow a rather painful truth whether he liked it or not:
He was rather suddenly outmatched.
"You had to comb through everything you could get your hands on!" Roshi said as he slammed the ground on where Kibito had been before he barely teleported out of the way.
Kibito couldn't understand how this was happening. Roshi had barely left a scratch on him when attacking with the Kaio-ken Times Ten and 50% Max Power, and yet the Kaio-ken Times Twenty in conjunction with what Kibito could only assume was 100% Max Power had allowed him to suddenly close the power gap between them. Was his rage truly that strong?
"You had to lead me along and lecture me about my mistakes like you had any right to do so!" Roshi continued, firing off a blue ki blast which sent Kibito shakily moving backwards in an effort not to lose balance a second time.
No, no, it wasn't just his anger. Any way Kibito looked at it, none of this should be possible from what information he had carefully gathered about Roshi in the last few days: information which suggested that the Kaio-ken Times Twenty was beyond him, and that 100% Max Power rendered the user completely immobile. Somehow, Roshi was briefly ignoring both of these limitations somehow, and even though he suspected that this second wind was more of a dying gasp than anything else...a part of Kibito had to wonder if his assumptions about Roshi were wrong.
"And for what?!" Roshi demanded. "Is your 'divinity' so fragile that you felt threatened by one upstart mortal?" he asked sardonically, firing off another ki blast that did succeed in sending him tumbling to the ground a second time. "Felt like you had to tear me down just to make yourself feel better, did you? To feel like you're not nothing more than a holy manservant?" Roshi followed up as he pulled Kibito up to look him in the eyes, his bitterness and rage causing him to forego any pretense of formality he had maintained. King Kai hesitantly took a step towards the pair to try and stop this before one of them did something they couldn't take back.
"Alright, both of you, enough! This test has gone too far, and though this may be beyond my station, you are both on my planet!" he said, speaking relatively firmly for the first time since all of this began. "I will not see it marred any further by this farce! You...you have dishonored yourself, Lord Kibito!" he said, the tremor in his voice making it clear that he knew how risky that sentiment was for him to express, even if it was correct. Kibito couldn't help but growl somewhat faintly.
"You dare-?!" he spat before Roshi punched him across the face, leaving his eye bruised.
"Roshi, enough! You can't keep this up much longer!" King Kai said, his tone clipped yet still somewhat softer than when he had chewed out Kibito. Roshi had already raised another fist, intent upon hopefully knocking Kibito unconscious, and in that moment...Kibito could have sworn he saw something. Something he had assumed Roshi lacked the capacity to achieve despite his confidence, and yet...here it was.
His eyes were glowing silver.
Kibito had believed that a man like Roshi could not possibly command the powers of Ultra Instinct beyond the limited uses of it which he had observed in their contest, and he had believed that the weaknesses of his body and his mind made him ill-suited to the task he would have Kibito's masters allow him to attempt with that divine power in hand. Kkibito's mockery earlier had been calculated, intended to reveal just how unsuitable he was for such a role in no uncertain terms. He thought it had been working, but he had evidently underestimated just how effective his taunting would be at unlocking a dormant part of Roshi's very soul...and with it, it seemed, a wellspring of power that chilled his unfocused anger into a cool rage.
A rage that would have won Roshi the fight if he didn't stand down.
Roshi sighed, although it was more of a growl at this point.
"You're right, King Kai," Roshi said as he fell out of both altered states at once, visibly shrinking into the tired old man one would expect upon hearing the name 'Master Roshi.' "He isn't worth it," he growled, letting Kibito fall to the ground with an unceremonious thud, defeated. "I just want to know," he added in that same tone, looking Kibito directly in the eyes as only their silvery glow and his own injuries remained as evidence of how he had been beaten. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Roshi spat, and Kibito no longer had as sure an answer to that question as he would have given ten minutes ago, especially not when faced with the silent judgment of the corpulent deity he had long considered only slightly less below him than all of those who were beneath his station. He had been so arrogant, he now suddenly realized, and for what? Because he was the favored servant of the last Supreme Kai? Because he had served faithfully for millennia? How did any of that justify what he had done today, what could only be described as the height of hubris on his part? Who was he to decide that he knew what was best for the entire universe? Who was he to decide that Roshi was unworthy of even being given a chance to prove himself?
Who was he, really?
There was only one answer he could give, in the end, not that it came to him especially quickly. For better or worse, this battle had changed both of them in one way or another, and for Kibito...it was perhaps a wake-up call, one he had sorely needed for countless centuries. One he never would have expected to receive from a mere mortal...yet one he accepted, all the same.
"A god," Kibito said simply, with just a hint of regret. "Or at least...I thought I was."
Well. This should be interesting.
I gotta admit, I sorta went back and forth on how I wanted this test of Kibito's to go, since while I'm probably lowballing him a bit here even with the comparison to Gohan, the only data I have on how tough he's supposed to be is that he can give base teen Gohan a run for his money, gets one-shot by Dabura, and couldn't make Kibito Kai relevant enough to stick around in Super. Anyway, point is, it's kinda vague, so I wasn't sure whether I wanted Roshi to beat the odds or have him try everything he had and fail, with that last exchange at the end having a more brutal tone in my original vision. I think having him tap into Ultra Instinct just enough to truly close the power gap ultimately works, and really, it was more of a psychological victory than anything. Puny god's got a lot to think about now.
Doing a bit of a different spin on power levels this time; just testing something out.
Kibito: ~180 million. Just a little bit stronger and faster than Gohan currently is in Wrath State.
Roshi (Enraged): ~200 million. Keep in mind this is with MAX Power, the Kaio-ken, *and* what he can manage of Ultra Instinct firing on all cylinders for a very short period; this is definitely a massive outlier compared to anything he's pulled off so far. Like I said, hopefully it lands.
And with that, on to reviews! We've got a lot of them, so strap in!
Emrys Akayuki says:
"Ha! I'm right there with you, only read Moro onwards (and the films) so idk what I've missed earlier on even if I know the storybeats.
And roshi can sense god ki? That's interesting, is that par for the course in this universe, even if its still not measurable,? Or has he already started adapting to things?
...nothing preventing any mortal from using god ki either, now that I'm thinking about it... damn goku not sharing techniques... although, beerus probably wouldn't like that one getting around..."
Not even just "not sharing techniques," it's not sharing mentors, lmao. Like, come on: they got to train with everyone else Goku's trained with! Except the Yardrat, I guess. xD
Also, the whole spiel about god ki is more of an extrapolation on my part: I know they say it's different from normal ki and can't be sensed, but Goku could lock on to King Kai's signature a whole bunch of times, so either King Kai doesn't have god ki or they didn't really think that one all the way through. That it can be sensed and yet can't be measured by mortal beings seemed to be the best compromise between those two elements of canon.
Shahryar says:
"Dang you actually made Kibito cool and not racist that's wild. That was cool. And take your time.
Also not to be that guy but UI did actually start off as solely defensive, only getting in like one good hit on Jiren in its debut, then against Kefla she straight up says Goku's punches in Blue Kaioken hurt more than in UIO, leading to him resorting to the Kamehameha, but he was getting the hang of things and by the time it came back he understood it enough to land solid hits with it."
Okay, you're gonna need to explain that to me, because it's been a long time since I last read the Buu Saga. It doesn't really surprise me, but like, it still kinda does.
And fair enough, the dodging was definitely the most focused on aspect, but then it felt like it sorta got a little too close to a Super Saiyan-ish thing. Part of why I really wanted to explore the implications behind Roshi's portrayal in the Super Manga, tbh: here, I like to think it feels more like his own thing.
Falox2 wrote a lot, so I'm gonna try and break it up a bit if that's alright.
"Hello, I binge read this entire thing for like 15 hours straight and really enjoy how you've portrayed the characters and given in-depth thought as to how a simple change would affect the story and how you've differentiated your story from canon. I'm interested to see where it goes." Aw, thank you! But also, like, maybe take it a bit slower from now on. xD
"I noticed you've been having difficulty with finding a way to keep piccolo relevant ( or maybe your not I don't know ), my suggestion for this is, and maybe you already had the idea because I got it from you, is to have piccolo utilize Bulma's shrink band technology you mentioned in combination with his gigantification and max power technique so he only gets the x16 power boost, or maybe have it give an even greater multiplier due to compression of mass and energy or something. Although with how big he can get I don't know if he would shrink enough, which if it happens would mean this fic really likes techniques which cause someone to grow bigger with Gotham's wrath state, the common use of the max power technique, and now "piccolo big but not to big form."
I sorta have, tbh, and this...I never would've thought about this. I only reintroduced that little doohicky to facilitate a fluffy little girls' night like fifteen chapters ago, I didn't ever imagine it could actually be plot-relevant. It's definitely an interesting concept, especially with how Piccolo's the only one who really still bothers with weighted clothes and the one who'd have the most issue with being helped along by anything other than his own power. I'll have to think about it, but if it comes up, I'll give you a shoutout!
"On a separate note I love how you chose to focus this story on master Roshi. He's a character I feel is very underutilized and represents that battles shouldn't just be about raw power, and unlocking transformations. Which is something I feel a lot of authors use to get out of planning a good plot to their stories and just so they can almost force their characters to get stronger so they can be the main combatant which is why I love your approach to writing this fic. You've chosen to make a story focusing on all of the characters with a little extra attention to roshi instead of " oh roshi trained and it spite of all logic he's now stronger than Freiza, has mastered ultra instinct, and has become the new destroyer so now all problems are solved." This is a great fic, keep up the good work."
Yeahhh...yeah. Honestly, that's why I've sorta just tuned out the whole "What If?" genre of DBZ videos at this point. MasakoX's were fun, but they got repetitive, and as far as the others go, I swear to God if I see one more "Stuck in the time chamber" or "Made God of Destruction" thumbnail, I'm gonna pull a Gohan. I've often worried that Roshi has too little focus in this story literally named for him, so I'm glad to hear that you don't mind him being more of a supportive protagonist than center-stage.
Back in Chapter 54, Cerric says:
"Glad I'm finally caught up! Not much to say except I'm always happy to see your writing improving with every chapter leap-and-bound. You've got a bunch of cool pieces and characters juggling through the air as of this moment — I'm excited to see how they land! All the best."
Hey, long time no see! Sorry I kinda dropped off the face of the Earth a bit: new interests, new obligations, never enough time, you know how it is. Hope your fics are likewise doing well: I'll have to return the favor and catch up on them myself (go check his stuff out, guys, he's good!). All the best to you as well. =)
And finally, SmartCookie0 says:
"With the afterlife waiting to catch him, staying the same is the only self-preservation. I feel happy; it's nice to read someone resist modification."
Oh, I wouldn't say he's resisting it: he just isn't in the mood to be lectured by this perfect stranger when he's already working on himself as best he can. If it were Bulma or Launch chewing him out, it'd be a very different story, because those are people who were actually impacted by his actions and have the right to question if he's changed. As it stands, this guy just read a bunch of Other World reports listing all of Roshi's sins and thinks he knows everything about Roshi enough to justify all of this stuff.
Clearly, he doesn't, on multiple accounts.
Anywho, with all that said, thank you all for reading, stay safe, wash your hands, wear a mask and get vaccinated if possible, have yourselves a fantastic night, and take care. See you next time!