Dragon Ball Human

"That's not right!"

Yamiru suddenly put down the photograph and closely scrutinized the reporter named Hisley in front of him. "I do remember a reporter coming to interview me after I got ashore that day, but I think... that reporter was a fish-headed person, right? His name was... what was it again?" He couldn't remember for a moment.

"Maybe it was Naruno?" Hisley laughed and said. "That was me too! Hold on a second..."

The guy took off the camera hanging around his neck and, looking around the front hall, spotted a decorative fountain. With a deep breath, he jumped right into it with a splash.

Nearby security guards at the combat arena noticed and spoke into their walkie-talkies. They approached the fountain. Yamiru and the old monk exchanged looks and walked over to the fountain as well. With a splash, the water parted, but instead of Hisley, it was the fish-headed reporter from the past, Naruno, emerging from the water.

"Ah! It's you!" Naruno exclaimed when he saw Yamiru.

"Sorry, could you please come out?" one of the security guards said to Naruno, who was still submerged in the fountain.

Naruno looked at himself, seemingly understanding what had happened, apologized to the guards, and with a splash, climbed out of the fountain.

"It was Hisley who met you first, right?" Naruno said, wringing out his wet clothes as he spoke to Yamiru and the old monk.

Yamiru was stunned and returned the camera to Naruno. "So, what's going on here... split personality? Dual identity? Are you two a single being?"

Naruno hung the camera back around his neck. "I prefer to call it a condition. As long as I'm in an environment with high humidity, I turn into this. Most people are either normal humans, animal-humans, or even monster-humans, and at least they know what they are. But me? Sometimes I'm a normal person, other times I'm an animal-human... sigh."

"Let's find a place to talk," the old monk suggested.

Both Yamiru and Naruno agreed. Yamiru had already learned about the Professional league, but it didn't interest him much. In his mind, the World Martial Arts Tournament was far better. The three quickly left the combat arena and strolled down the street, chatting casually.

"I've also heard of someone called a 'werewolf,' who seems to have a similar problem to yours."

The neon lights on the city streets flickered as Yamiru flipped through the photos and tried to comfort him. He had no idea that, earlier that afternoon, in the forest park, he had already beaten up the "werewolf" he was talking about.

"That guy is both human and werewolf. When he watches the full moon, it's like a switch, and he permanently transforms. He can only change back after seeing the full moon again... But unlike you, he seems to have one personality in both forms."

"I don't really know how it works." Naruno sighed, scratching his already smooth, shiny scalp. "Saying it's two personalities is a bit of an exaggeration. It's just that when I switch between human and fish-man, I forget the memories of one form. I've been to countless hospitals since I was little, but no one can figure it out. To avoid being treated like a test subject, I just gave up."

It seemed like Naruno didn't often talk about this, and he continued to ramble on. "I've started to separate the two forms in my mind, from self-awareness to social relationships. When I'm in the Hisley form, I'm my original self, with my original family relations. I'm a special reporter for Combat. In this state, I try to avoid environments with too much humidity..."

"And when I turn into this fish-man form, I gave myself a new name, Naruno. I found another job, still as a reporter, but I work for Wano Entertainment News, and my contract is more laid-back... This way of handling things, how should I say...?" The fish reporter smiled. "It's just a way of reducing stress for myself."

"So, when you were covering the South City, you kept your fish-man form because you frequently traveled by sea, right?" Yamiru asked with a smile, flipping through the photos. He had just come across one taken on a ship.

In the photo, Yamiru was standing on the ship's railing, holding the collar of a man from a couple, his face showing clear displeasure. The next photo was a dynamic shot of Yamiru running along the steel pipe of the ship's railing, then the next showed him jumping, followed by another with him in mid-air, arms stretched forward, his body fully extended. The next one was a shot taken from above, showing him diving into the sea.

"360-degree spin, perfect entry," Yamiru said, acting as if he were reviewing the performance.

Flipping to the next photo, it showed the venue of the World Martial Arts Tournament preliminaries. The main focus of the image was the crowded arena, capturing the moment Yamiru deftly avoided a punch from his opponent, just in time for his determined and bright golden eyes to be clearly visible.

"How could I fight like that?" Yamiru clicked his tongue, despite the event having happened recently, he could already spot his mistakes in his tactics on the tournament stage.

Yamiru quickly flipped through the photos, landing on those taken during his match against King Chappa.

Calling it a match might be a bit too much, as King Chappa had essentially sent him flying out of the ring with a single move. Though he had asked King Chappa to use his secret technique—the Eight-arm Fist.

The photos of the Eight-arm Fist were remarkably clear, showing it as though eight extra hands had sprouted from King Chappa's body. Even though Yamiru used his sharp eyes to scrutinize the photo, he couldn't tell which six hands were illusions and which two were real.

"Can't tell the illusion from the photo records..." Yamiru thought to himself. "Then, the video recordings probably don't work either… Do I need to look directly at the target with my eyes?"

That bit of information was still a gain!

"Alright, it's yours back," Yamiru said, putting the photos back into the small plastic bag. "Here."

Naruno said, "There's also a newspaper clipping. Aren't you going to look at it?"

Yamiru flipped through again and indeed found a small newspaper clipping with only two lines: 'The youngest contestant in the history of the World Martial Arts Tournament' and 'Lost to the famous King Chappa in the top eight'.

"Lost?" Yamiru shook his head. "Don't be so modest. I was knocked out in one move!"

Naruno smiled, took the small bag back, and put it in his bag. Just as he was about to say something, he noticed the youthful and energetic expression on Yamiru's face, which seemed to hold a kind of determination, shining brightly. It made this seasoned man feel a bit of envy. So, he decided to keep quiet.

Pop. Naruno suddenly disappeared and reverted back to the ordinary middle-aged man, Hisley.

"..." Hisley stood dazed for a few seconds, then suddenly twisted his head to look around, realizing he was already on the street. "Ah! Ah..." He quickly calmed down and understood what had happened.

Yamiru couldn't help but comment, "Living like that must be exhausting! Always so jumpy, it's not good for your heart..."

"There's nothing I can do, just have to get used to it..." Hisley said. "I've gotten used to it."

The three of them walked for a while longer, but the conversation began to cool down. Finally, Hisley asked Yamiru if he would agree to an interview. The article that had been published last time lacked details because he hadn't been able to interview him. Yamiru politely declined. He didn't want to end up like Mr. Satan. Fame and reputation meant nothing to him.

Watching Hisley's figure disappear into the distance, Yamiru opened his sharp golden eyes and kept staring for a while.

"What's wrong?" the old monk asked.

"..." Yamiru thought for a moment and decided there was no harm in saying it. "These golden eyes of mine can see through illusions and transformations, even King Chappa's Eight-Hand Fist was exposed by my eyes. But..."

Unable to resist, he glanced again at Hisley's faraway figure. "I can't see through him. When he's human, I can't see his fish-man form. And when he's a fish-man, I can't see his human form. It's strange..."

The old monk seemed to understand, then said with relief, "So that's why you decisively attacked that rabbit. What amazing eyes you have. It's like the 'wisdom eyes' spoken of in Buddhist scriptures." He smiled. "Maybe it's because both of this reporter's forms are his true self. So even your eyes, which can see through illusions, can't penetrate it."

"Covered truths with truth, so I can't see through it... Maybe that's it!"

Yamiru exhaled deeply. When did he become so arrogant? Did he think that just because of these eyes, he could see through all the mysteries of the world? He felt the warmth in his eyes become gentler, as if resonating with his inner thoughts. It felt like a joyful sensation reaching deep into his heart.

The two continued walking down the street, heading back to the inn.

"I wonder what exactly these animal people are..." Yamiru casually muttered. "Half-beast people are one thing, but there are even people like this, who are sometimes purely human and sometimes half-beast..."

The old monk pondered for a moment. "According to Buddhist scriptures, it seems to be related to an ancient event, when the gates of hell were opened... A night of a hundred demons, the aura of the underworld devil tainted the human world..."

"Isn't that just something those boring experts use to slander animal people?" Yamiru asked in confusion. "Could it really be true? Are animal people and monster people really the descendants of demons?"

The old monk shook his head. "No one really knows the specifics. Perhaps it's a secret that only the immortal beings in legends can truly understand."