Dragon Ball Roshi

Just like countless days over the millennia, the Northern Kai spent another uneventful day on his small planet. After waking up in the morning, he followed his usual routine: washing up and eating breakfast. Of course, he didn't need to do either of those things, but these habits borrowed from mortals helped him pass the time.

It was certainly better than lying on the grass all day, counting ants.

In the afternoon, the Northern Kai dozed off on his reclining chair. Bubbles, that gluttonous monkey, spent most of the day devouring bananas. Whenever the Kai tried to get him to help catch ants, the little rascal would run off. Left with no other options, the Kai could only entertain himself by sleeping.

Even in his sleep, the two antennae on his head twitched and swayed, subconsciously scanning the Northern Galaxy. Dream patrols were another way for the Northern Kai to kill time while fulfilling his duties. After all, if he slacked off too much, the other three Kais or even the Grand Kai might reprimand him for being the laziest of the four.

Honestly, who wants to monitor an entire galaxy every single day? It's exhausting just thinking about it.

After waking from his nap, the Kai sat in a daze for a while. Feeling whimsical, he hopped into his personally modified vintage car. With the engine sputtering, he drove around his tiny planet in endless loops.

It had been nearly a year since Taro, that old eccentric, had left the Kai's planet.

Leaning his elbow on the car window, the Northern Kai gazed at the white expanse of the sky, the boundary to Heaven above, and let his thoughts drift.

Thinking about Taro inevitably brought him back to the wishes the man had made on Namek.

To fully understand the abilities of those strange eyes, unlocking their complete power... which apparently included a more terrifying version and an incredibly robust life force.

At the time, Taro had claimed that the eyes were a mutation unique to him. But was his wish really just about compensating for a flaw in those eyes? Or was it about fixing something fundamentally wrong with his body?

The Muken was also derived from his original eyes. Now that his eyes were even more formidable, how much stronger had the Muken become? Then again, the Kai mused, Taro had only been able to maintain his eye abilities for a few seconds in battle before, likely because of the immense mental strain they caused. These upgraded eyes probably had an even shorter duration.

That man... he's shrouded in so many mysteries.

A body capable of surviving in the vacuum of space.

Did he foresee future battles with extraterrestrial beings? Or was it just a precaution for his interstellar travels? I'm pretty sure I never mentioned anything about Frieza or the Cold Force to him…

The most suitable place in the universe for cultivating spiritual energy.

That must be his way of overcoming the limitations of his eye abilities, the Northern Kai thought. But spiritual training wasn't common. Only a few extraordinary races had the capacity for it—like those enigmatic sorcerers. The Kai recalled a vague tale the Grand Kai had once let slip, about a terrifying sorcerer who had created an even more horrifying monster.

Surely Taro won't turn into that kind of sorcerer, will he?

The sputtering sound of the car engine broke his train of thought. Put-put-put...

The vintage car circled the small Kai's planet again and again, its lonely horn occasionally breaking the stillness of the diminutive world. Finally, with a screech of brakes, the car came to a halt. The Northern Kai, his plump body bouncing slightly, pushed open the door and hopped out. The two antennae on his head swayed as if searching for answers.

"Let's see… what are you up to now, you old eccentric?"

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm… judging by his enhanced physique, he's probably using those high-gravity planets I mentioned to him for training."

Using his unique Kai abilities, the Northern Kai shifted his perspective, rapidly scanning across the universe in search of Taro.

The first planet he checked was a high-gravity world about 60 times Earth's gravity. It had a developed atmosphere, liquid water, vegetation, and some primitive life forms.

"Not here… no traces of human presence either. Looks like he didn't come to this one."

With a quick sweep of his senses, the Northern Kai moved on, targeting the next likely planet in Taro's path.

Soon, his vision reached a planet with 194 times Earth's gravity.

Unlike the previous world, this was a barren, lifeless rock exposed to the vacuum of space. As his gaze swept the surface, he immediately noticed something unusual.

"These are energy wave impact marks!" he exclaimed. "And over here… footprints. That old rascal did come here! This place has nearly 200 times Earth's gravity—20 times stronger than my planet!"

The Kai paused, his antennae twitching in disbelief.

"This guy struggled for ages just to adapt to my planet's gravity, even with the Muken technique… and now, with that enhanced physique from his first wish, he's already conquering 194 times gravity?"

He let out a low whistle.

"After training under such conditions… just how much stronger has he become? With the Muken and those strange eye powers of his, I wouldn't be surprised if he could take out Frieza's elite soldiers now. Even those freaks in the First Special Forces Team…"

The Northern Kai hesitated, his expression turning grim.

"Although… two of them would still be exceptions. Those two are monsters. To think they could even…" He shook his head, unwilling to finish the thought.

"Let's just hope that old man doesn't cross paths with them."

His perspective continued to jump from one high-gravity planet to the next.

250 times gravity: No sign of him.

290 times gravity: Nothing here either.

374 times gravity: Still nothing.

"The jumps are getting bigger… He must have managed to get a ship. Probably one equipped to simulate high-gravity environments," the Kai mused.

"I remember he asked me for the locations of several moderately advanced planets back then…"

As he continued his search, he stumbled upon something unexpected: a squadron of spherical spacecraft moving through the void. His expression darkened immediately.

He knew these ships all too well—they were single-pilot pods from Frieza's army.

Suddenly, an explosion echoed across the cosmos.

BBOOM!

A formation of spherical spacecraft streaked across the blackness of space, leaving a faint white trail in their wake. Though space is silent, the aura of menace emanating from these vessels was palpable, especially with the unmistakable insignia of Frieza's army painted on their surfaces. Their very presence seemed to radiate a sense of invincibility.

"Hmph, off to conquer another planet, are they? These scoundrels!"

The Northern Kai's antennae twitched uneasily as his gaze lingered on the two crafts bearing the emblem of the First Special Forces Team. Those symbols alone were enough to send chills down his spine. Wherever the First Special Forces Team appeared, total annihilation of any civilization was inevitable. Each member was a terrifying powerhouse, the elite among Frieza's elite.

Shaking off his apprehension, the Northern Kai's perspective continued its search, finally reaching a planet with a staggering gravity of 500 times Earth's.

"Is that… a spaceship?"

The vessel hovered silently in orbit, a lone sentinel against the stark void. Inside, the Kai spotted an odd, rat-like figure holding a handful of feed and water, tending to seven brightly colored birds.

"Those are Taro's birds! So that old rascal did get himself a spaceship! Now, is this rodent-looking guy the one who built it for him, or just someone managing it for him?"

Shifting his perspective, the Kai zoomed in on the planet's surface.

This was another barren, lifeless rock, utterly inhospitable to normal humans. But Taro, who had made a wish on Namek to enhance his body, was anything but ordinary. The Northern Kai had no doubt that Taro had now completed training in environments exceeding 400 times Earth's gravity. While he couldn't gauge the exact extent of Taro's power, one thing was certain—he had become a monster in the best possible way.

Soon, something unusual on the planet's surface caught the Kai's attention.

"What is this?"

A vast shadow stretched across the terrain, formed by countless rocks swirling around the planet in a dense, chaotic orbit. The stones wove a massive net, enveloping the entire surface.

And amidst this storm of rock, a lone figure hovered just above the ground. Taro stood with his eyes closed, moving gracefully as he dodged the endless barrage of stones. Each projectile came hurtling at him from every conceivable angle, yet not a single one grazed him. His movements were so fluid, so precise, that even the tiniest pebble approaching from the trickiest angle failed to make contact.

It was as though, despite his closed eyes, he could see everything—every trajectory, every motion—perfectly, in all 360 degrees.

"This old rascal…" the Kai muttered, astonished. "His skills are terrifying! It's not just raw power; his mastery has reached a whole new level! He's concealing his energy so well that I can't even sense his true strength. Hmm… let's find out directly."

The Northern Kai focused his energy, projecting his voice into Taro's mind.

"Old man!"

The sudden voice startled Taro, snapping him out of his trance.

"Kai-sama?"

Taro's pitch-black eyes, deeper than the void of space itself, shot open. For a brief moment, his lapse in focus allowed a stone to rocket toward him from the side. Reacting instantly, Taro's hand darted out, catching the rock effortlessly. With a quiet squeeze, he reduced it to fine dust.