On Papaya Island, where the Martial Arts Temple is located, crowds were bustling.
This tropical island was a famous tourist resort, and even on days without the World Martial Arts Tournament, it was always lively like a festival.
Women in light clothing, with graceful figures, walked back and forth on the streets, their images reflected in the lenses of sunglasses.
Master Roshi, dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase, looked somewhat dignified, but every now and then, he let out a lewd chuckle.
"Oh ho ho, truly a beautiful tourist spot," the martial arts master stretched his neck and turned to watch the passing ladies, "The scenery is indeed nice~"
His two disciples, the tall Tien Shinhan and the short, bald Krillin, exchanged glances, both feeling slightly embarrassed...
They turned their eyes away and noticed not far off a handsome, wild-looking young man searching for a place to sit, his legs trembling.
Floating next to him was a blue, cat-like pet that seemed to be comforting him.
"So many beautiful women..." Yamcha covered his head.
Although his body was excited, his mood was somewhat gloomy.
His bad habit of getting stiff and his heart racing when he looked at pretty girls, especially when locking eyes with them, was so embarrassing.
Puar muttered from the side, "Yamcha, are you happy, or are you sad?" It urged, "Young Master, hurry and sign up, or it might be too late."
Yamcha perked up, nodded, and with Puar, made his way toward the Martial Arts Temple.
"Are you here to participate in the tournament too?" Tien Shinhan wondered, watching his back.
Yamcha, with his back to Master Roshi and the others, thought, Three bald heads... tall, short, old, and young—everything is here! As a former desert bandit, his observation skills and caution weren't low, so he had also noticed Tien Shinhan and the others. Although they were blending into the crowd, their aura was outstanding.
It seemed that strong individuals were naturally attracted to each other! Yamcha excitedly thought. What is this excitement I'm feeling? Is this why Mr. Gohan wanted me to join the tournament?
The World Martial Arts Tournament? I'm in!
Meanwhile, on the shore of Papaya Island, a boy climbed onto land, dripping wet. In front of passing pedestrians, he calmly took off his clothes and wrung them out.
The furry tail scratching his back behind him drew the attention of the people passing by.
"Tien Shinhan was the champion last year, and it seems a lot of people recognize you," Krillin remarked, walking with Master Roshi and Tien Shinhan toward the Martial Arts Temple.
The closer they got to the registration area, the more people turned to look at them.
It seemed that Tien Shinhan's three-eyed feature made him highly recognizable.
Tien Shinhan wasn't too concerned. "If Yamiru had participated that day, the championship wouldn't have been mine."
"Master Roshi and Tien Shinhan, you always mention this Yamiru. What kind of person is he?" Krillin asked curiously.
Tien Shinhan thought for a moment. The Yamiru who had once dared to spit at Shen and Tao Pai Pai—what kind of person was he? Many words came to mind: determined, brave, resilient… In the end, Tien Shinhan summed up, "He's a powerful person. Even when he was weak, he was already a strong person."
Krillin was a bit confused. What does that mean? Was he weak or strong?
At this moment, Master Roshi chuckled, "He's right over there."
He pointed his wooden staff ahead to the registration desk at the entrance of the Martial Arts Temple, where a pair of handsome man and woman, both wearing the same sunglasses, were looking back at them.
The blonde beauty was still waving at them, and next to them were Yamcha and Puar, whom they had seen earlier on the road.
"Hey, you guys made it!" Tights greeted them.
So they all knew each other? Yamcha was surprised.
Yamiru introduced Yamcha and Puar to Master Roshi and the others, and they exchanged nods and greetings.
This is that Yamiru. Krillin thought to himself, As expected, he's impressive and handsome, no wonder his girlfriend is so beautiful... Wait, these two?
"He who can't stand anymore, has no need to endure," Yamiru winked at the little bald head.
"Hehe," Krillin recognized them. Yamiru and Tights were the guests who had once visited the Orin Temple to see the Fourteenth Elder. They had warned him when Krillin was bullied by his seniors. That's why Krillin had left the Orin Temple a year ago, met the old sea turtle, and found the reclusive Master Roshi, becoming his disciple.
When Master Roshi heard that Yamiru had been directed by Gohan before his passing to guide Yamcha to participate, he had a rough idea of what his old disciple meant.
Tights looked at the slightly shy little bald head and smiled, "Who's this?"
Master Roshi casually replied, "His name is Krillin, my new disciple."
Krillin, feeling a bit shy, twisted his fingers, "Hello."
Tien Shinhan smiled, "Yamiru, you're not just going to observe this time, right?"
Yamiru smiled as well, "You should be careful. At my level, I might not even make it to the finals this time."
Tien Shinhan was quite surprised. He had a good understanding of Yamiru's strength and didn't expect him to say something like that.
"Oh?" Master Roshi, at his age, could roughly tell what was going on by the tone of the conversation. "Could it be that someone like Goku is participating?"
Anyone who could make Yamiru say such a thing would probably be as strong as Goku.
Yamiru looked toward the sky behind Master Roshi and the others. "Here they come."
Everyone turned to look and saw two figures rapidly getting bigger in the sky, landing directly down.
Thud, thud, thud.
Gine landed while holding Chi Chi, and Bardock and Raditz followed, gently tapping their toes to the ground. Raditz wore a blank, disdainful expression, standing off to the side.
"Hello, everyone!" Gine greeted cheerfully.
"Hello!" Chi Chi said obediently.
Raditz wasn't really interested, and neither Yamiru nor the others were eager to engage with him.
A bad... uncle...? Krillin secretly eyed the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Bardock.
"They flew down?" Yamcha gasped. But when he looked around, Tights, Yamiru, Master Roshi, Tien Shinhan, and Krillin all had no surprised expressions, as if they hadn't just seen people descend from the sky. The desert wolf wondered aloud, "Didn't you see that? They can fly!"
"Of course, we saw it," Tights said, "They're just flying. It's pretty normal, right?" She winked at Yamiru and the others.
Krillin nodded, "Yeah, we fly all the time, Tien Shinhan."
Tien Shinhan nodded.
Master Roshi scoffed, "No big deal."
Yamiru floated a few meters into the air, shrugged at Yamcha, "See?"
Yamcha stared at him with suspicion, about to ask Puar, but when he turned, he saw the cute blue cat-like Puar floating nearby as well…
At that moment, Gine gently laughed.
"Heh, tsk," Raditz made a strange sound, seemingly dismissing the situation, as if he found it ridiculous that someone would be surprised by something as simple as flying.
Isn't he paying attention? Yamiru thought Raditz had no interest in what the "weaklings" were discussing.
Chi Chi and Raditz went to register.
"Just that kid left," Yamiru said with a smile.
Tien Shinhan smiled as well, "This time, I'm definitely going to beat you guys."
Raditz, walking back after registration, silently rolled his eyes. He couldn't understand why these people were so excited. For him, the only person who could really pose a challenge was Kakarot. As for the Earthling named Yamiru, with his weird and dangerous techniques, after using them that one time, he had said he wouldn't use them again. If the opponent wasn't using them, Raditz didn't take him seriously at all.
The monk in charge of registration at the Martial Arts Temple reminded them, "Only 10 minutes left until the registration closes."
Tights checked her watch, "Bulma said she'd come watch the tournament…"
"She's here."
Yamiru patted her shoulder and pointed to the sky. A 17-year-old girl full of youthful energy was flying a sky motorcycle, trailing a long streak, elegantly spiraling toward them.
"He is here."
The usually silent Bardock suddenly spoke.
Master Roshi was already looking toward another entrance of the registration area. In the reflection of his sunglasses, he saw a wild-looking young man running toward them at full speed, his arms stretched out, thudding as he ran.