Dragon Ball: A Better Bulma

"Looks like everyone is making some progress, little Bulma," the elder Gohan said to the screen in front of him.

The old man was leaning back in a beach chair in front of his master Muten Roshi's house, a huge umbrella-shaded him, but what was important were the two scenes that were unfolding in front of him.

On one side, a beautiful mermaid was swimming in the sea, enjoying the warmth of the sun and occasionally jumping out of the water to entertain Gohan.

On the other side, two young men were fighting in the sand, all under the strict supervision of Master Roshi. One was Yamcha, who wore an orange martial arts uniform and close-cropped hair.

The other was a short, bald young man with six burns on his head. Both young men were fighting, but it was obvious that Yamcha had the upper hand.

"Wolf Fang Fist!" Yamcha shouted before he began to strike at his opponent's body.

Although he did not use Ki in this fight, the force of his fists made the sound of flesh being struck quite audible. His movements were a blur to the untrained eye, but in front of Roshi or Gohan, these blows were especially slow.

Yamcha's blows were not as merciless as he was used to, but he caused visible bruises on Krillin's body and sent him flying with the last blow, which went straight to his chest.

"Okay, it's over," Roshi moved his wobbly body with unusual speed, catching the young man who was flying from the constant blows.

"Krillin, your will has faltered again, what is it?" Roshi asked curiously to the student in his arms.

"Master, I..." Krillin touched the blank spot on his face where his nose should be, a gesture he had made since he was a little boy when he imitated the behavior of other children.

"You have doubts, don't you? The new apprentice is stronger than you, and you are afraid of being replaced by him because you consider yourself weak," Roshi said, directly addressing the doubts that plagued the young fighter.

"Yes..." the boy replied sadly, but Roshi carefully placed him on the floor before patting his apprentice's bald head.

"I can't give you a magic technique to change your thoughts, but how about some advice from someone as experienced as me? I've lived many years, you might want to listen to me. You too, Yamcha," Roshi called out to the new apprentice with one hand, causing the embarrassed Yamcha to come closer.

 "Who could forget that the old pervert held the title of the Strongest Man in the World for many years," Bulma, who watched this scene from Penguin Village, clicked her tongue.

She had never thought that his encounter with Yamcha would cause him to try to learn martial arts from Roshi, since this version of the young bandit seemed more 'independent', so to speak.

But that was a pleasant surprise, maybe with the right guidance early on, a lot could have been avoided, so when she learned of this situation a few days ago, she asked her father to send training materials and resources to the Kame House.

From the Golden Grapes that gradually improved potential, to recovery potions, ointments, tonics, sturdy training clothes, and even a version of the gravity-enhancing machine that her father, Doctor Brief, had recreated.

Bulma bought Doctor Norimaki's share of the patents, along with the licenses to use many of his strange but interesting creations. Although Doctor Norimaki did not care much about receiving the money at first, the fact that Midori would give birth in the future made him accept the payments.

Due to the kindness of the entire Norimaki family, Bulma also ordered some special things for Midori, such as copies of the Peach of Beauty, which made the woman quite happy. What person would refuse to be more beautiful?

Right now, Muten Roshi's new apprentices, Krillin and Yamcha, were benefiting from these new advantages, things they didn't have in the original universe, though it seems that some situations that would come later have come now.

"Self-doubt is natural, I'm not going to tell them things like 'Don't doubt, trust yourself,' because self-confidence doesn't appear that way. What I will tell you is something that took me almost a century to understand." Roshi began his lecture, and everyone around him began to pay attention.

From his youngest disciples to Gohan. Bulma even called Goku and Chi-Chi to watch the screen with her, this was something every martial artist deserved to hear because of how valuable it was.

"I... do you know how long it took me to create the Kame Hame Ha? For 50 years, I isolated myself from the world, from everyone, just because I wanted to create the 'perfect' technique, the most powerful one, and look at me, I wasted the best moments of my life chasing after power. 

Yes, power is important to protect yourself and others, but don't let it cloud your mind, don't let it define your worth, don't let it define everything about you. Do you have doubts? Fine, but don't drown yourself in the vain desire to be the strongest. 

Because aside from the enemies that will come against you, the only enemy worth defeating is yourself. Every bit of effort, every bit of hard training, every day you can get up to eat, to play, to look at girls, all of that will be worth more than raw power. 

You are young, maybe all you have in mind now is a desperate pursuit of higher heights... but there will always be a higher mountain, and I do not forbid you to climb it, to go your way, but while you do, admire the surroundings. 

Krillin, no matter how weak you seem now, what you must look at is not your weakness, but how to overcome it. The true value of a martial artist is not that he possesses a powerful or flashy technique, but that he strives every day to surpass his former self.

Be better every day, don't let power be the controller of your life, and enjoy the journey, the rest will come to you naturally. This is my advice to you" Muten Roshi's words gave him an aura of age, and experience, but also regret. 

Muten Roshi regretted many things, the solitude he had imposed on himself to train in his obsession with power did not help him grow in strength but exacerbated his problems. 

But now, surrounded by young people, by students, seeing a wider sky like the Northern Galaxy, even if only through television, pushed this old man to overcome himself again, to gradually regain the heart he had and had been fragmented by Piccolo.

Yes, since the death of his master Mutaito and the display of exaggerated power of the Great Demon King Piccolo, Roshi's mentality has slowly changed. The loneliness only aggravated these symptoms, this small hole in his psyche that almost overwhelmed him and stopped his progress. 

He trained his first two disciples, Gohan and Ox, but it was when he saw the path his disciple had created that the hole in him began to close, the flame began to rekindle, and the broken, power-obsessed heart began to beat. 

He meditated again for the first time in decades after his conversation with Gohan that day! Slowly but surely, his mental health was recovering, and even his exaggerated perversion was diminishing.

He was still a perverted man, but not a sick man with no self-control like his canonical version. Perhaps noticing the change in his master, Gohan made an effort to live with and help him more. 

So when Muten Roshi met Bulma a few years ago, the image Bulma expected to see was very different. Although his body was old, there seemed to be a new vitality underneath it, as if he had a young heart again. 

Now, Roshi wanted to prevent his students from falling into her situation, because he could already see it in the future: they would reach the natural limit of their talents, and instead of breaking them, they would stop striving, maybe even retire.

Roshi didn't want that! People had a limit, but at least it was better than before, the creations of the Brief family could raise that limit more and more, step by step. 

Roshi could see a further way! He reviewed everything Mutaito had taught him, from the very basics to the very latest. He remembered his training at Karin Tower and even reviewed those years of obsession with power. 

And then... Roshi did not want to prevent his students from repeating his mistake. Power is important, but it should be neither the end nor the means, but something you gain by observing the landscape. 

Power should be something natural that comes to you, and with this revelation, Muten Roshi felt that this bottleneck in his power had completely loosened, allowing him to become strong again. 

...

"Master Roshi healed," Gohan murmured, feeling a strong emotion in his chest, relief. 

"Brat, I can hear you," Muten Roshi growled before noticing the device in Gohan's hand, something that appeared to be a tablet.

"Say hello to Bulma, Goku, and Chi-Chi, Master," Gohan said, turning the tablet in his hand to show the faces of the three youngsters on the screen. 

"Hey guys!" Goku greeted, and both Krillin and Yamcha returned the greeting.

They had met before, Yamcha had fought Goku while Krillin had been introduced via video call, so they had at least communicated a lot. Muten Roshi stroked his white beard and looked curiously at the screen. 

"Technology does change quickly," the old man said, before also waving at the camera. 

"By the way, youngsters, when will you be back, I'd like you to guide your younger brothers a bit!" Roshi, as an elder from an era of traditional customs, took some things related to teaching martial arts very seriously. 

It didn't matter if you were a 90-year-old man, when you entered a new martial arts school as a new apprentice, the apprentices with more time would be your elders, even if one of them was 10 years old, you had to respect him as an 'old person'. 

"Master Roshi, no one pays attention to old age anymore," Krillin muttered to the side, but Roshi patted his head angrily. 

"Son Gohan is my student, they are my 'grandchildren', so they are your big brothers and sisters, so respect!" although he looked angry, there was a big smile on the old man's face.

'Master Mutaito, wherever you are, I hope you can see what I have accomplished here... your legacy will live on,' Roshi thought, remembering the old scenes he had experienced as a young man. 

Dramas with his other disciples, his older brothers, younger brothers, or equals. That arrogant young master, his rivalry with Tsuru. Roshi saw the reflection of his master Mutaito's school in his disciples, and that made him happy. 

"Right now I'm learning knowledge with Doctor Norimaki, old man," Bulma said, not saying when she would finish.

"I'm learning magic!" said Chi-Chi excitedly, showing the magic book in his hand. 

"Do you have a new technique, Grandpa Roshi?" asked Goku excitedly, and Roshi adjusted his dark glasses before answering. 

"Well, knowledge is important, but don't forget to practice, Bulma. Chi-Chi, do you have a master? My sister is a powerful witch, I can introduce you to her. And Goku... yes, I have a new technique, would you like to see it?" asked Roshi, who began to thunder the bones in his neck and arms. 

"Master, when did you create a new technique?" asked Gohan in amazement. 

"When you were playing with that mermaid, you ungrateful apprentice," Roshi said to Gohan, causing the man's face to turn red. 

"Anyway, let me show you what watching the path as you climb the mountain can bring you," Roshi walked a bit and came to the edge of the beach. 

"I must say that Yamcha's technique of creating ki images inspired me a lot, it's been a long time since I felt so inspired, now admire my new technique," Roshi said before his body inflated.

His height increased, his muscles bulged, and even the flannel he was wearing tore, revealing his naked torso to everyone. Ki surged out of his body and the image of a black turtle with a snake tail appeared behind him. 

"Genbu!" Roshi shouted before punching forward with his fist. 

A bolt of blue Ki, similar to Kame Hame Ha, came out of his fist. This Ki attack pierced the air and split the sea. But even though it appeared to be a simple ki attack, its specialty was revealed at that moment. 

The energy attack began to expand, eventually turning into a wave of energy that pushed everything in front of it until it rose into the air, covering the entire sky with the bluish glow of this attack. 

"What do you think?" asked Muten Roshi, exhausted by such a display of energy, but quite excited by what he had accomplished. 

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AN: Roshi is back, bitches! Okno xD

Read my original novel~