Master Roshi

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Master Roshi (龟仙人)
Alias(es)	Master Wu Tian; Cheng Long, his tournament disguise 844 871
Gender	Male 843
Affiliation	Turtle Hermit Style / Turtle School 861 899
Occupation/Role	Martial arts master; World Martial Arts Tournament champion; later tournament referee and commentator 879 970
Residence	Turtle House, also called Kame House, on his island 861 1192 1204
Status	Alive in his latest documented appearance 1243
First Appearance	Arrives riding his giant sea turtle 843

Power Progression

Roshi’s documented increases are temporary combat states rather than named cultivation-realm breakthroughs.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Focused, muscle-enhanced state	845	His muscles begin to bulge as he fights Great Ape Goten seriously. His speed lets him evade the larger opponent’s attacks.
Expanded muscular state	860 861	Removes his shirt and enlarges his normally thin body before firing a Super Kamehameha. Returns to his ordinary appearance afterward; the detector reading is redacted.
Full power state	877	Grows approximately five centimeters taller. Combat Power increases by at least 50%, from roughly 70–80 to over 100.

Background / History

Earlier Career

Roshi studied under Master Mutaito alongside Master Shen, the Crane Hermit. Mutaito sacrificed his life fighting King Piccolo. Roshi subsequently remained virtually invincible for decades, with Shen unable to match his strength 845 911.

During the earlier conflict with King Piccolo, Roshi encountered Kanan, a powerful Demon Race warrior who betrayed Piccolo. According to Roshi, Kanan believed his own corrupted existence should end and asked Roshi to kill him. Roshi later admits that this was not an ordinary victory over a resisting opponent 909 910 911.

Training Goten and Goku

Roshi meets Son Goten and Son Goku after they help his sea turtle reach the shore. He thanks them, then accepts Goten’s challenge to his claim of being the world’s strongest martial artist 843 844.

Goten uses the full moon to fight him as a Great Ape. Roshi counters with superior agility, Kamehameha blasts, and close-range strikes, defeating Goten before offering to train both boys 844 845.

His initial training tests their running speed and sends them into a dangerous forest to recover a thrown rock. Having witnessed Goten’s transformation, Roshi deliberately chooses a day without a full moon and a more hazardous forest 846.

At the Ox King’s castle, Roshi condemns his former pupil’s wrongdoing but agrees to extinguish the fire. His Super Kamehameha destroys both the flames and the castle. He then brings Goten and Goku to Turtle House and teaches them the technique’s finer points; Goten’s System credits the lesson with unlocking its hidden bonuses 860 861.

Goten eventually leaves to seek stronger opponents. Roshi feels both pride in his talent and anxiety at how quickly his student might surpass him 862.

Tournament Champion

Roshi enters the World Martial Arts Tournament disguised as Cheng Long, defeating Yamcha before facing Goten. He explains that he entered to test his disciples and prevent them from becoming arrogant 871 877.

After revealing his identity, Roshi fights at full power. Goten injures him with a combined Sky Cross Slash and tracking Hole Hole Wave, then nearly forces him out of the ring with Demon Wind Fist. Goten jumps below the ring first, allowing Roshi to land safely and win the championship 877 878 879.

At the banquet, Roshi acknowledges that he would have lost under the ring rules if Goten had not surrendered. Goten nevertheless considers himself inferior in direct combat. Roshi also accepts Yamcha’s request to learn martial arts 879.

The Younger Generation’s Rise

Roshi directs his disciples to travel and gain experience, then helps them reach Crystal Baba and explains how defeating her fighters can earn a divination without payment. Goten’s victory over the resurrected Kanan convinces Roshi that his era is ending, but also rekindles his desire to compete 880 906 913.

At the next tournament, Roshi competes openly against Tien Shinhan. He survives heavy attacks and counters with rapid afterimages, but eventually jumps off the stage voluntarily. His parting lesson stresses that Tien still has room to improve and should forge his own path 932 936 937 938.

Roshi joins the effort against the revived King Piccolo, although his age and limited energy leave him struggling against the demon forces. Goten ultimately defeats Piccolo, but the public credits Roshi with the victory. Roshi is embarrassed when that reputation is raised during a later tournament 949 955 960 982.

He gives up his own training, trusting Goten, Goku, and Tien to protect the future, and becomes a tournament referee and commentator 965 970.

Namek and Later Support

When the group becomes stranded on Planet Namek, Roshi assigns Tien Shinhan to deliver seven Senzu Beans supplied by Korin through Yajirobe. He also requests gravity-training equipment for Tien and Chiaotzu’s modified spaceship 1058.

Goku and Krillin continue training at his home afterward. Krillin returns again during preparations for the threats expected in three years, although Roshi pays more attention to his beauty magazines than to his student’s requests or progress 1149 1162 1164.

During the Android and Cell conflicts, Kame House remains a gathering and recovery location for the group. Roshi later joins the others at Capsule Corp and recounts the history of the World Martial Arts Tournament when they learn of Cell’s proposed competition 1192 1204 1243.

Appearance

• Ordinary appearance: A bald elderly man with a mustache, sunglasses, casual clothing, a large wooden walking stick, and a purple turtle shell on his back 843.
• Combat appearance: His normally thin body becomes taller and heavily muscled when he releases greater power 860 877.
• Tournament clothing: Wears a martial arts uniform when competing openly after his disguise has been exposed 932.

Personality

Roshi is a strict instructor who wants his students to surpass him, but initially finds their rapid growth threatening to his pride. His disguised tournament entry combines genuine concern about their arrogance with his own determination to remain the world’s leading martial artist 846 862 877.

He gradually accepts that the younger generation has overtaken him. His voluntary withdrawal against Tien emphasizes guidance over victory, and he later openly describes his former “Number One Under Heaven” status as belonging to the past 938 1150.

His wisdom coexists with vanity and lechery. He boasts that his teaching deserves credit for his students’ achievements, comments on Bulma’s figure, and repeatedly neglects Krillin’s training requests in favor of beauty magazines 932 979 1162 1164.

Abilities & Skills

Physical Martial Arts

• Strength: Shatters the ground with a palm strike; at full power, his punches break the tournament ring and generate wind pressure strong enough to knock spectators away 844 878.
• Speed and evasion: Dodges Great Ape Goten’s punches and tail sweeps despite the transformation’s destructive strength 845.
• Durability: Continues fighting after Goten wounds his torso and survives Tien’s apparently crippling back attacks 878 937.
• Afterimage attacks: Creates numerous moving images to surround Tien and deliver a barrage of punches. Tien learns to counter the repeated technique using his unusual eyesight 937 938.
• Limits: Age restricts his energy and rate of improvement; prolonged combat noticeably depletes his strength 938 955.

Kamehameha

• Standard blast: Clashes with Great Ape Goten’s Saiyan Impact, producing a massive explosion 845.
• Quick, smaller blast: Strikes Goten directly in the forehead after the initial clash 845.
• Super Kamehameha: Uses his expanded muscular state to destroy the Ox King’s burning castle 860 861.
• Charging: Greater destructive output requires preparation; the text identifies vulnerability during charging as a drawback of the technique 861.
• Instruction: Teaches Goten and Goku its combat applications, helping both improve their use of it 861.

Demon Wind Fist

• Generates a green rotational wind that spins an opponent uncontrollably and directs their movement 877.
• Goten’s System identifies it as a D-Class skill with a zero Skill Coefficient, listing body control and confinement through sealing energy among its attributes 877.
• Its zero coefficient does not mean it is cost-free: the technique can consume physical strength, potential, and life rather than ordinary attack energy 879.
• Roshi cannot evade Goten’s Hole Hole Wave in time while using the technique. When Goten later turns it against him, Roshi breaks free with a shockwave directed at the ground 877 879.

Other Energy Techniques

• Energy Ball: Launches a rapidly gathered projectile against Tien Shinhan 937.
• Demon Seal Wave: Knows the sealing technique associated with King Piccolo; Goten distinguishes it from Demon Wind Fist 877.
• Ten Thousand Nations Shocking Sky Palm: Identified as another powerful technique available to Roshi, though he does not demonstrate it in the cited match 938.
• Ki perception: Recognizes the unsettling familiarity of the Man in Black’s energy 943.

Teaching and Tactical Judgment

• Adjusts training conditions to account for Goten’s full-moon transformation 846.
• Encourages disciples to seek independent experience rather than remain dependent on him 880.
• Recognizes Tien’s potential and urges him not to follow the Crane Hermit’s path blindly 936 937.
• Arranges both supplies and training facilities for the Namek relief mission 1058.

Equipment / Items

• Sunglasses — Part of his usual appearance; discarded when his battle with Great Ape Goten becomes serious 843 845.
• Wooden walking stick — Carries it on arrival and throws it aside during combat 843 844.
• Purple turtle shell — Worn on his back 843.
• Beauty magazines — Frequently distract him from Krillin’s training 1162 1164.

Relationships

• Son Goten / Chen — His first documented challenger and most accomplished disciple. Goten nearly defeats him in the tournament, then becomes a warrior whose achievements Roshi proudly acknowledges 844 879 906.
• Son Goku — Disciple trained alongside Goten. Roshi teaches him Kamehameha and later admits privately that Goku’s power has surpassed his own 845 861 979.
• Krillin — Disciple who repeatedly returns to study his techniques, despite Roshi’s increasingly distracted instruction 916 1162 1164.
• Ox King — Former student. Roshi reprimands his wrongdoing and destroys his burning castle while extinguishing the fire 860 861.
• Yamcha — Tournament opponent who requests instruction after Roshi’s championship victory; Roshi accepts 871 879.
• Tien Shinhan — Rival-school opponent whom Roshi urges toward an independent path; later entrusted with the Namek Senzu Bean mission 936 938 1058.
• Master Mutaito — Teacher who sacrificed his life fighting King Piccolo 911.
• Master Shen / Crane Hermit — Fellow disciple and rival whose strength Roshi historically exceeded 845 937.
• Master Korin — Roshi previously trained at Korin Tower. Korin later supplies the beans used in Roshi’s Namek relief mission 850 1058.
• Giant Sea Turtle — Companion and mount who also comments dryly on Roshi’s declining reputation 843 1150 1204.
• Kanan — Former enemy who requested death at Roshi’s hands after betraying King Piccolo 909 911.

Notable Quotes

“To witness the strength of you disciples, and also to tell you that there's always someone stronger, so you don't become too arrogant, I personally entered the competition.” 877

“You young people are working so hard. This future belongs to you.” 970