Arrival on Earth

Time passed, and soon Roland's spaceship had been traveling through space for more than five months. Before long, it would reach its destination.

A dull thumping sound came from one of the rooms aboard the spacious ship, as if something were being struck violently. The ornaments hanging on the walls swayed back and forth from the impact.

After a while, the sounds gradually faded. Anyone entering the room would have seen a child less than a meter tall, balanced upside down on one finger, supporting the weight of his entire body.

His black hair hung down under the pull of gravity. Beads of sweat glistened as they slid down his cheeks and dripped onto the floor. The room was a mess, and the sturdy walls looked as if they had been struck by some tremendous force, leaving them warped and dented over a wide area.

"Hmph~"

After switching to another finger and holding the pose for a long while, Roland sprang lightly to his feet. Then he picked up a damp towel and wiped the sweat from his body.

The Dragon Ball world was fiercely competitive. Fall behind even a little, and you'd soon be reduced to a bit player. So even during interstellar travel, Roland didn't waste a moment of his free time.

Just imagine: while the original protagonist was working hard and growing stronger, you could only stand still. How would that feel? Especially when you knew even more terrifying enemies would appear later. That kind of frustration would be even harder to accept.

Roland absolutely didn't want to end up like Krillin, a bit player.

"I'll spend some time meditating next."

Roland didn't know how martial artists on Earth trained, but according to his memories of his previous life, Goku had trained this way at Kami's Lookout in the original story. Meditation was a way to calm the mind and improve one's mental state through sitting quietly. He guessed it might also help him understand Ki, so whether or not it worked, Roland set aside some time to meditate every day.

He sat quietly on the floor, his breathing gradually growing slow and steady. After a while, his thoughts went blank.

Roland stared vacantly ahead, lost in thought.

As expected, without a foundation in martial arts, meditation was no different from daydreaming.

Still no clue... Roland couldn't help sighing. Without anyone to guide him, figuring things out on his own was exhausting work that yielded no results.

Although Roland's energy had continued to increase during this time, that was because his Saiyan body was growing. He remembered that in the original story, Krillin and Son Gohan had experienced "mental battles" while traveling to Planet Namek. That was probably a higher level of meditation. If he could master that technique, his strength would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

For Roland, who hadn't even figured out what meditation was, there was nothing to do but envy them.

"Click." Roland picked up a water bottle and entered the cockpit. He drank some water and settled into the soft seat.

He stared at the ship's control screen, which showed the distance between the ship and its destination. It would take about another month to reach Earth.

But he now faced an awkward problem: the ship was running low on food.

He hadn't planned carefully enough before setting out. Somehow, even a ship full of food might not last until he reached Earth.

"If I eat sparingly, I should have enough to make it to Earth."

Roland scratched his head, troubled.

Worse still, this cargo ship didn't even have a hibernation function... A spaceship without a hibernation system? Who knew how he'd made it through these five-plus months. If he stayed cooped up in this cramped space any longer, his brain would go crazy.

The ship continued along its planned course at a steady speed. Planets along the way turned into streaks of light as they swept past on either side... With food running low in the days that followed, Roland had to conserve his energy as much as possible. He put his training on hold for the time being.

"How could I run out of food? I should've eaten less from the start."

"I'm never using a ship like this again. I can't live like this." He tilted his head back and wailed. Hunger gnawed at his mind. Roland glanced at the dwindling food in the cargo hold, smacked his lips, and forced himself to resist the urge to wolf down a meal.

The food kept dwindling. During the final few days, poor Roland could only drink a little broth at each meal. As a result, he'd grown noticeably thinner. If this went on, he'd end up malnourished.

Damn it!

Was he about to become the first Saiyan to starve to death?

Roland lay flat on the ship's floor, staring blankly into space.

Fortunately, just as Roland was about to run out of food completely, the cold voice of the ship's core computer finally rang out. At that moment, its voice sounded so dear to him.

"Beep. Approaching destination. Current location: southern region of the North Galaxy, Solar System, Earth! Total travel time: six months and nine days. The ship will land shortly!"

The computer automatically switched the data to Earth standards.

"We're finally here!!"

Roland perked up and hurried to the ship's front window. Through the sturdy transparent glass, he saw a blue planet gently turning along the orbit of the Solar System's third planet. A smaller satellite—the Moon—followed beside it.

Roland was almost moved to tears.

Haha, I finally made it.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Roland wolfed down all the food he had left in one go. His stomach, which had been empty for who knew how long, finally felt a little full, and his strength returned.

As the ship drew closer to Earth and entered the atmosphere, a force of gravity different from the one inside the ship pressed in on him. A smile spread across Roland's small face.

"Beep. Ship landing."

"The ship has landed safely. This concludes your journey. We hope you'll travel with us again."

As if there'd be a next time. I almost starved to death.

I'm never using you again.

Roland grumbled to himself, then straightened his clothes. He didn't put his battle suit from Planet Vegeta back on. Instead, he changed into the Mapa People's clothes from the cargo ship. The Mapa People were short, so the clothes made for their adults fit Roland just right. The style was a little unusual, but it didn't look bad.

With a hiss, the ship's hatch opened.

Without a word, Roland jumped down from the ship and breathed in Earth's fresh air. He instantly felt refreshed and closed his eyes in bliss. Now this was the scent of nature!

The cargo ship had landed on what seemed to be a plateau, so the landscape around Roland was rather desolate. The ground was uneven, and deep gorges split open in the distance. A few small hills rose nearby, their slopes dotted with short trees and scattered green plants.

Earth's gravity was only one-tenth that of Planet Vegeta's, even a little weaker than the gravity on Planet Mapa. Roland felt as if he might float right off the ground.

He took out the energy detector from Planet Mapa and scanned the area. Numbers appeared on the screen.

"1," "5," "4," "2"...

A string of pitifully low readings flashed across the screen. The numbers jumped around, but they were almost always the same few, and few exceeded a combat power of five. Even when a slightly higher reading appeared, it was quickly drowned out by the vast number of other readings.

Tsk, tsk.

Combat power of only five? Pathetic!

Roland's lips curled into a smirk as he delivered that classic line with disdain.