“You…”
“How is this possible…?”
Shock, fury, and disbelief filled Cymbal’s eyes.
The arrogant demon, who had believed himself invincible, collapsed lifelessly before Alvin.
[Power Level +26]
Far away…
Aboard an aircraft soaring through the sky…
Demon King Piccolo suddenly jolted awake.
“Argh!”
A tearing pain spread throughout his body.
“Cymbal…”
“He’s dead.”
His face twisted with disbelief.
“Impossible.”
After forcing himself to calm down, Piccolo used his telepathic link to contact the child he had created only recently.
“Cymbal.”
“Answer me.”
“Cymbal!”
His expression grew increasingly ferocious.
“…No mistake.”
“Cymbal is truly dead.”
“Who killed my son?”
Inside the aircraft, the aged Demon King roared in helpless rage.
His body had become too old.
Every battle placed an enormous burden on him.
That was precisely why he sought the Dragon Balls—to restore his youth.
Suppressing his anger, Piccolo turned his thoughts toward his strongest remaining offspring.
“Tambourine.”
“Cymbal is dead.”
“Find whoever killed him.”
“Kill them…”
“…and bring the Dragon Ball back.”
“At once, Lord Piccolo!”
At that moment, Tambourine had been searching the coastline for Kame House.
Upon receiving the order, he immediately changed course and headed toward the place where Cymbal had died.
Back at the battlefield…
Goku and Yajirobe stood frozen in amazement.
Neither of them had expected Alvin to end the fight so quickly.
Yajirobe pointed at Cymbal’s corpse.
“Uh…”
“Since you were the one who killed him…”
“If you’re planning to eat him…”
“…mind sharing some with me?”
He rubbed his stomach pitifully.
“I finally finished roasting my meal…”
“And that guy ate the whole thing.”
“I’m starving.”
Alvin’s mouth twitched.
“I…”
“I don’t make a habit of eating things like that.”
“If you want him…”
“Be my guest.”
Even knowing Yajirobe’s bizarre appetite and incredible digestive system…
Alvin still found it difficult to accept.
After all…
Cymbal had been an intelligent, humanoid creature.
Unless someone was truly desperate…
Who in their right mind would eat something like that?
As Yajirobe happily began unpacking his cooking equipment, Alvin turned to Goku.
He didn’t want the two of them misunderstanding his actions.
“My hometown…”
“…was destroyed by Demon King Piccolo.”
“So…”
“I may have been a little rough with his subordinate.”
Goku simply scratched the back of his head and grinned.
“I don’t think you’re a bad guy.”
When he mentioned Krillin, however, Goku’s smile disappeared.
“When Krillin was killed…”
“I was furious.”
His fists clenched.
“But…”
“I was too hungry.”
“I didn’t have the strength to beat him.”
The innocent smile vanished from his face.
“The next time I see him…”
“I’ll kill him.”
For one of the rare times in his life, Goku’s voice carried unmistakable killing intent.
After a brief silence, he looked back at Alvin.
“You’re really strong.”
“That guy wasn’t weak.”
“But you defeated him instantly.”
A broad smile returned to his face.
“After we beat the guy who killed Krillin…”
“You and I should have a match.”
That was simply Goku’s nature.
His anger burned intensely…
But faded just as quickly once the immediate enemy was gone.
Alvin smiled and nodded.
“I’d like that.”
Then his expression became serious.
“Goku…”
“When that demon arrives…”
“Can you let me fight him first?”
Seeing the anger still lingering on young Goku’s face, Alvin quickly explained himself.
“I’m not trying to steal your revenge.”
“I just want the chance to fight a powerful opponent.”
He smiled faintly.
“You understand that feeling, don’t you?”
“The final blow is yours.”
“I won’t kill him.”
Goku hesitated.
He clearly wasn’t happy about letting someone else fight first, but after thinking it over, he finally nodded.
“Alright.”
“You can go first.”
“But you can’t kill him.”
With that settled, the two of them turned their attention to Yajirobe.
The huge body of Cymbal had already been skewered on a thick wooden spit.
A roaring fire crackled beneath it.
Yajirobe busily rotated his improvised barbecue while drooling at the rich aroma of roasting meat.
“Hey!”
“You two already said you didn’t want any.”
“When it’s finished…”
“Don’t come begging for a share.”
“‘Cause I’m not giving you any!”
He eyed both of them warily while sprinkling various seasonings over the roasting meat.
Alvin waved his hand immediately.
“We’re really not interested.”
“You can have all of it.”
He had brought three Capsule Corp storage capsules packed with food.
Between them, there was enough to feed both him and Goku for at least five days.
As tempting as Yajirobe’s cooking smelled…
He had absolutely no desire to eat Cymbal.
“I wonder…”
“How would Kami feel if he could see this?”
The thought suddenly crossed Alvin’s mind.
After all…
Kami and Piccolo were originally one being.
Watching someone roast and eat Piccolo’s offspring would probably be…
complicated.
Still…
There was one thing Alvin had to admit.
Yajirobe’s taste in food might be bizarre.
The man treated Senzu Beans like ordinary snacks and would eat almost anything.
But his cooking skills…
Were exceptional.
The aroma drifting through the forest was genuinely mouthwatering.
“Come on, Goku.”
“I just remembered something important about training.”
“Let’s talk somewhere else.”
Afraid that prolonged exposure to the irresistible smell might tempt him into making a terrible decision, Alvin quickly dragged Goku away from the campfire.
“Okay.”
Goku followed without resistance.
Watching them leave, Yajirobe finally relaxed.
“Hmph.”
“You two don’t know what you’re missing.”
“If you’d tried to steal my barbecue…”
“I would’ve been in real trouble.”
With two fighters roughly as strong as himself nearby, he hadn’t felt entirely safe protecting his meal.
Once they were some distance away, Alvin explained everything he had learned about Ki cultivation.
He also shared the method Master Roshi had taught for sensing the Ki of others.
Goku’s childlike nature hid extraordinary talent.
After listening only briefly, he quickly grasped the basics.
Like Alvin before him, however, he still wasn’t particularly skilled at sensing other people’s Ki.
That ability would require more practice.
Of course…
Teaching Goku wasn’t Alvin’s real objective.
What he truly wanted…
Was to learn how to gather Ki to its greatest possible extent.
The Kamehameha was the perfect example of that technique.
At this point in history, very few people on Earth could even perceive Ki.
Even fewer were capable of concentrating it into a devastating attack.
Master Roshi had spent decades creating the Kamehameha.
Originally, Alvin had intended to ask him for guidance.
Unfortunately, events had moved too quickly.
Everyone had split up to search for the Dragon Balls before Alvin found the opportunity.
Fortunately…
Goku was here.
“I want to learn the Kamehameha.”
Alvin said it directly.
Goku nodded without hesitation.
“Sure.”
“It’s really simple.”
“You just…”
“…do this.”
“Then…”
“…like this.”
“And finally…”
“…you send it out like this.”
As Goku enthusiastically demonstrated with countless “thises” and “thats,” Alvin felt his head spinning.
“What exactly is ‘this’?”
“And what does ‘like that’ even mean?”
After listening for several minutes, he finally surrendered.
“Goku…”
“Could you just use it once?”
“A very weak Kamehameha is enough.”
“I’ll learn better if I see it.”
“Okay!”
Goku immediately assumed his stance.
Realizing Alvin was trying to study the technique, he deliberately slowed every movement.
His Ki began flowing through his body.
Gradually…
It converged toward his cupped hands.
“Kame…”
“…Hame…”
“…Ha!”
Alvin watched carefully.
The Ki circulating inside Goku gathered between his palms, condensing into a brilliant blue sphere of energy.
As Goku thrust both hands forward—
A brilliant blue beam shot across the clearing.
The blast struck a nearby boulder.
Boom!
The rock disintegrated into dust.
Only scattered fragments remained.
“I see…”
Alvin’s eyes lit up.
Without wasting another second, he mirrored Goku’s stance.
Using his newly awakened Ki perception, he carefully reproduced the same circulation pattern he had just observed.
The energy inside his body gathered between his palms.
A blue sphere slowly formed.
He quickly realized something.
The amount of Ki condensed within the sphere could be adjusted freely.
The more Ki he gathered…
The greater the Kamehameha’s destructive power.
There was, however, a limit.
Once more than half of his total Ki was compressed into the attack…
His control rapidly became unstable.
Any further concentration would cause the technique to detonate before it could even be fired.
Just then, the familiar system notification appeared.
[Kamehameha Lv.
1 acquired.]
Infinite Combat Evolution System
Host: Alvin
Race: Earthling
Age: 17
Power Level: 184
Skills:
Kamehameha Lv.
1
Life Level: 0.1 (Increases by 1 for every additional 50 million power level.)
Passive Abilities:
Power Inheritance
Danger Sense
Alvin dispersed the energy between his palms and dismissed the system interface.
His thoughts drifted toward another technique he had been considering for some time.
Not the Kamehameha…
But something closer to the Kaio-ken.
He wanted to develop a method of explosively releasing Ki throughout his body.
By flooding every muscle with compressed energy, he hoped to dramatically increase his speed, strength, and overall combat ability.
Only then…
Would he stand a real chance against the terrifying power of Demon King Piccolo.
Send those stones my way—the more, the merrier.