NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13: Youth
Shen fills The Turtle Hermit in about the Dragon Balls.
Roshi, like everyone else, has heard the rumor of someone becoming the king of the world after a wish from Shenron.
"Turns out the legend about the Eternal Dragon is really true. You even managed to collect six of the balls already... Also, who would have guessed this whole time the glowing jewel I've been carrying is actually one of the Dragon Balls."
The surprised expression on Roshi's face is palpable, as it isn't every day that you hear such sky-falling information.
Shen, on the other hand, silently contemplates, looking back on his past uneasiness... Contrary to his preconceived notion, the situation turned out well.
initially he had found it soo cumbersome to meet with Roshi but now reflecting on it the experience was not the world ending disaster that he had made it out to be, before.
—the wall was afterall, only in his head.
Emotions like fear and happiness are not real in the first place; these are just states of mind. In actuality, these things never exist. Shen had an unexpected realization this day. He was too caught up in the barriers of his own making to even try the uncertainties of life.
He stays still for a whole minute, then he simultaneously opens both his mind and mouth..
"For how much are you going to sell the ball for?" Shen directly asks the old man, he doesn't try to beat around the bush or smooth things out between he and Roshi.
Roshi annoyingly glares at Shen "What kind of person do you think I am—"
Shen just blankly looks at Roshi, his silence conveying more than a thousand spoken words.
Roshi was speechless. "Ahem! A million Zeni would suffice," he mutters.
Shen softly scoffs at his lousy rival. 'What a sucker... not even 3 million. Business certainly isn't his strong suit.'
Roshi, not getting a reply, thinks Shen doesn't have the amount. He smugly speaks again, "So? Do you have the money or not?"
"Obviously I have the money. The deal is now done..." Shen immediately clarifies.
"If only all these balls were as easy to get as this one," he blurts out, lamenting on all the hours it took to find the glowing balls.
Hearing Shen, Roshi wonders if his selling price was a little inadequate. . . . has he been scammed?... but now it's already too late to have such thoughts.
"Can we reconsider the price?" he weakly asks.
"Are you going against your own words?"
To that, Roshi keeps quiet. Not able to utter words any further, his attempt to renegotiate failed before it started.
Shen takes the ball from the embarrassed Roshi and hands him over a bundle of one million Zeni. He always carries around some cash with him while going out.
"What are you going to use them for?" Worried, old Roshi asks before handing over the Dragon Ball.
"Worry not, my wish won't affect anyone else other than me. You will understand in a minute. I bet you will be shocked."
"Sigh! If it doesn't harm anyone, then all is well." Roshi relents.
Now all the seven Dragon Balls are in Shen's hands. Placing them near each other on the ground, he shouts the incantation to summon Shenron.
"Come forth, Shenron, and grant my wish!" —it's just the name of the Eternal Dragon in common language.
The world becomes dark, and lightning crackles as the seven Dragon Balls converge into a streaks of golden light, rising to the sky.
The light Whirls in the clouds and transforms into a majestic Eastern Dragon.
"Are you the one who summoned me?"
"Yes!"
The dragon knowingly looks at the elderly man.
"Speak your wish... Any single wish you have shall be granted," the dragon roars out.
"Transform my body to the best condition it can be."
The dragon thinks for a moment and answers...
"It is within my power to upgrade your current physique to its prime version. However, you should have no expectation of any drastic increase in power, as I am not able to bring out someone's latent potential... that is beyond my capabilities. I myself need to be upgraded for something like that."
Shen is not discouraged; this is well within his expectation. "It is more than enough. A perfect body for martial arts is what I want."
"An easy request," the dragon announces, and subsequently, Shen is enveloped in a bright light.
Shen is not worried about his wish being misinterpreted. Unlike many others in fiction, Shenron does not grant wishes partially or incompletely... he gives precisely what the receiver wants. When someone wants eternal youth, he won't transform them into babies.
Gradually, the light dissipates, and a new figure emerges.
Long wavy hair, luxurious skin, tall and well-built; Shen looks like one of those TV idols young girls die over. Still, he isn't completely unrecognizable; his haughty arrogance is still plastered on his face. Some people are just molded like a villain. [A/N—Look at the cover pic]
Shen takes out a pocket mirror from his long coat and sees his reflection, he sighs!
'Tch! Here I thought I would look less like a scammer. Guess these are things I have no control over.'
Besides the complaining man, his old rival Roshi is currently flabbergasted. Even having known what was to come, when Shen stated his wish, it was of little help right now.
"It truly is surreal seeing a person transform from an old man to a handsome youngster," he exclaims under his breath.
"Your wish has been granted... I have regressed your age back to your early thirties, and your body condition has been tempered to the highest level a human being can achieve. In addition, you will never be sick or suffer from diseases, and you will have more resistance to climatic elements."
The Paradise Herb had already stopped his aging, so that means he now also has eternal youth.
"Now, farewell." Suddenly Shenron's voice rings out, taking both men out of their stupor.
In the sky, the dragon reverts back into a stream of light and then transforms into seven round identical stones. Shen wastes no time and captures all seven balls before they have the chance to disperse.
"No way am I going to repeat the process. I still have other uses for these. As for the continuity of the plot—hmph!—I can simply place them in their intended location when the time comes."
The dragon balls were initially supposed to end up in different locations and in the hands of certain individuals...
later Goku and bulma would go on a journey to find them, but now because of his actions, that is not possible so he has decided to manually take the dragon balls to where they are supposed to be in the future.