"You and Goku didn't participate in this martial arts tournament, so winning this championship doesn't really feel meaningful," Tien Shinhan said.
"You can't say it like that. At least it's a title," Yamiru replied.
In the distance, the sunset was vibrant on the horizon. Under the umbrella at a small eatery outside the Martial Arts Temple, Yamiru and Tights were chatting with Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu.
After all, with all the daily martial arts training, Yamiru's physical exertion was immense. Even though he wasn't a Saiyan with an iron gut, his appetite was much larger than an average person's.
This was convenient for Tights. She didn't want to eat too much and get fat, but each dish looked so tempting that she ordered one of everything. She would take a small bite of each and then pass the rest to Yamiru to finish. Over the years, as the two of them traveled together, this became their routine. Tights felt that her boyfriend was really useful.
Tien Shinhan expressed a little complaint.
It was clear that he understood Yamiru and Goku not joining the tournament, but since Yamiru was already there, just being a spectator seemed a bit uninteresting.
Yamiru just smiled and teased, "Just think about it. In the future, when we gather together and look back, Master Roshi once won the martial arts tournament, I've won the tournament, and Goku will most likely win the championship in the future. If you're the only one who hasn't, wouldn't that be a bit awkward for you?"
Chiaotzu, who had been eating dessert, paused and agreed with Tien Shinhan, saying, "Yamiru makes a good point!"
"..." Tien Shinhan looked annoyed.
Tights, hearing this, couldn't help but laugh. Seeing their confusion, she explained, "It reminded me of a joke my dad once told about a master's engineer and his Ph.D. friends..."
After chatting with old friends for a while, the sky started to darken, and they decided to call it a day.
Tien Shinhan didn't often visit the Spiritual Realm. He usually trained near Master Roshi's place, with the old master keeping an eye on him. But when it came to gaining battle experience, he didn't refuse to spar with Yamiru in the Spiritual Realm. Even Tien Shinhan could feel that Yamiru's martial arts had far surpassed that of Master Roshi's.
"But speaking of which, it seems like I haven't seen Goku in the Spiritual Realm for a while," Tien Shinhan said, just before they parted ways.
"Goku?" Tien Shinhan stopped and looked at the horizon, in the direction of Master Roshi's house on the ocean. "A while ago, he came riding his Nimbus Cloud to Master Roshi's place to train with him."
Yamiru said, "Goku's strength should already be on par with Master Roshi, right?"
"That's true," Tien Shinhan nodded and slowly said, "He's been training with Master Roshi. Rather than focusing on martial arts training... it's more like he's learning Master Roshi's unique lifestyle. I heard it was his grandfather, Son Gohan, and his mother who suggested he go find Master Roshi."
"I see now," Yamiru said with understanding.
The true treasure of martial arts on Earth wasn't in strength or techniques, but in a way of life. The outer world and one's inner self.
Eat well, train well, rest well, and play well. Don't bully the weak, don't ignore wrongdoings. Don't do things that leave you ashamed, and don't lose to yesterday's self. Align your body and mind, your inner world and outer world, into a harmonious and complete balance... This is why Goku and others, especially Goku, can stand strong over time in the manga, and why even the proud Saiyan Prince would feel inferior.
Gohan obviously understood this. And after a period of training at Korin Tower, Gine also had a similar understanding. That's why they wanted Goku to find Master Roshi.
Tien Shinhan sighed, "Master Roshi's style is really different, much more so than my former Master Shen, or even Tao Pai Pai... Maybe that's why he and Gohan are able to teach outstanding disciples like you and Goku."
"So?" Tights was confused. She didn't understand the connection between Goku not visiting the Spiritual Realm and Tien Shinhan mentioning Goku going to Master Roshi's house.
"Goku can't enter the Spiritual Realm anymore," Tien Shinhan turned back to look at Yamiru and Tights. "That's what he said. The connection to the Spiritual Realm that he used to feel so naturally suddenly vanished."
Tights nodded. "I see now... that's what happened."
As they watched Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu leave, Tights took Yamiru's hand and sighed, "I remember you said your power threshold for entering the Spiritual Realm was around 100–200, right? Looks like Goku's strength has exceeded 200. Truly impressive. Guess it's no surprise, he's a Saiyan after all."
"Not just because he's a Saiyan," Yamiru shook his head, "Even if Goku was just a regular Earthling, he'd still make progress that exceeds others. He's just that pure and incredible of a person."
"'Just'?" Tights noticed Yamiru's choice of words.
Yamiru tightened his grip on Tights's hand.
'That brat Goku, he really is amazing', he thought.
Although Yamiru had expected that Goku's martial arts would surpass his own someday... having it happen so suddenly, so coldly smacking him in the face, still caught him off guard.
Yamiru had imagined countless times what his feelings would be like when the day came and he could only watch Goku's back.
"I wonder... what I'm feeling now?"
Yamiru and Tights walked hand-in-hand along the streets of Papaya Island at dusk. The tropical early summer evening breeze, mixing heat with the coolness of the ocean, felt both sad and comforting.
According to many fantasy novels from his past life, this would be considered Yamiru's defeat to Goku. 'Looks like I'm really not the main character of the story after all?' He thought. He'd never seen a protagonist in any story who would be overtaken by a peer who was once behind him.
Based on the manga, after being surpassed by Goku, who would ever truly stand ahead of him again?
'So... is Dragon Ball... Yamiru's story over now? Is it Goku's legendary story from here on out?'
As night fell, Yamiru and Tights lay on the grass in the outskirts, gazing up at the stars.
"Such a beautiful sky. We don't have anything like this in the Spiritual Realm," Tights said.
Tights lay back on the soft grass, her golden hair splayed out.
She kicked off her shoes, revealing her fair, curved feet, the five delicate toes stretching. She didn't have Yamiru's iron feet; after walking for so long today, her feet were sore. She lifted one foot and placed it on Yamiru's shoulder, then shifted her body on the grass until both slender, straight legs were draped over Yamiru's back, gently tapping left and right.
Suddenly, Yamiru grabbed both of her feet, pulling them forward. Tights ended up pressed against his back.
"Don't kiss me, it tickles," she said, feeling the soft friction at her left ankle, instinctively wanting to lift her foot to kick, but her feet wouldn't budge in Yamiru's grip.
"After finding out that Goku's martial arts have surpassed mine, I'm a bit happy, Tights," Yamiru said.
She heard Yamiru's words, then felt her ankles pulled sharply and shaken.
Tights immediately felt the layers of force, cleverly transmitted and colliding through her body. Before she could react, her body bounced, and by the time she registered what happened, she found herself straddling Yamiru's neck, like a little child.
"Happy?" Tights asked, hugging Yamiru's chin and looking down at his face, laughing mischievously. "So Mr. Yamiru is that open-minded, huh?"
Noticing the spark in Yamiru's eyes, which didn't change even as she teased him, Tights stopped.
"You're mistaken, Tights." Yamiru, whose mouth was upside down in Tights's view, said, "Of course, I'm not happy being surpassed by that guy Goku... I feel a bit frustrated. But I'm also very happy! Really, I'm happy that I haven't gotten discouraged."
Tights's beautiful big eyes reflected Yamiru's slightly relieved expression.
That pure expression was so similar to the first time they met, many years ago.
At that time, Yamiru was severely injured, gravely ill, but his eyes still shone with that same light.
There was no Goku, no Dragon Ball, no Super Saiyan... back then, all Yamiru wanted was to get to Mount Paozu by himself, nothing more.
'Yes! Goku's battle power has broken 200, and he's clearly surpassed me.'
Yamiru did feel some disappointment.
But what made him even more pleased was that he hadn't let his belief falter just because he was surpassed by Goku.
Since the day Goku landed on Mount Paozu, Yamiru had imagined many times what it would feel like to be surpassed by him.
It was a day that would eventually come.
Sometimes, he even worried about whether he could withstand the blow of being surpassed by Goku. After all, once he was left behind by Goku, the likely outcome would be that he'd always be eating dust in Goku's wake.
It would be a lie to say that Yamiru had no such concerns. Although he didn't dwell on these thoughts constantly, this worry about the future would indeed arise unexpectedly in his mind.
And this was also why he had gone back to ask the fortune-teller to divine the answer to that question.
When the day suddenly arrived, Yamiru realized his true feelings.
Indeed, being surpassed by Goku left him somewhat unwilling.
However, Yamiru's martial arts and training were never about surpassing Goku.
It wasn't even about defeating some boss or killing a big bad guy who didn't even know where they were.
Yamiru practiced martial arts, cultivated his body, and strengthened his mind… All the efforts he had put in so far were never for such shallow goals.
Disasters might come one after another, and it was up to him to find a way to deal with them. Yamiru had revived Bardock and the others, privately discussed the Saiyan matters with Bulma, and given Tights advice about Arale. Wasn't that his preparation? And these preparations, made for the unexpected dangers in the future, didn't require Yamiru to possess overwhelming power because he had partners like Goku and Bardock, who could become stronger more quickly. Even as a weak Earthling, Yamiru could still make contributions within his limits.
As a martial artist, however, Yamiru's world of training had always been about himself.
Training was a solitary journey.
It wasn't about defeating an evil villain, or being stronger than anyone, or making sure he wasn't left behind by someone. Yamiru practiced martial arts solely for self-improvement, for his own enrichment. As for who was stronger, who had better skills—that was outside the scope of martial arts training.
Yamiru clearly saw into his own heart.
"You are already an amazing martial artist, Mr. Yamiru," Tights said.
She leaned down and gently kissed Yamiru on the lips.
After a while, the strange sensation of being upside down made her giggle. She pulled away but noticed Yamiru's eyes still fixed on the sky, his brow furrowed in confusion.
Tights jumped off the grass and looked up at the sky as well.
The star-filled night sky, which had been so bright earlier, was now completely black, with not a single star in sight.
"Are there a lot of clouds?" she wondered aloud, when suddenly, the ringtone of a portable phone in her bag sounded.
...
On the other side of Earth, golden lightning shot into the sky. A massive dragon, with scales of greenish blue, coiled around itself, slowly bowing its head, gazing down at the person on the ground.
"The one who gathered all seven Dragon Balls, speak your wish…"
The giant dragon's head reflected in its emerald green eyes as it spoke, "No matter what the wish is, I can grant it for you…"