"The reason you lost to me," Soro said with a smile, his gaze calm as he looked at Krillin, "is that you got scared before the fight even began."
Krillin didn't want to say anything anymore.
He straightened up, let his arms hang at his sides, and turned his gaze toward the sea.
Could you try putting yourself in my shoes?
How could I not be scared?
Even if you lowered your battle power to 2,000, what if you suddenly unleashed your real strength?
That's a battle power of 50,000!
You could kill me so easily!
And setting battle power aside, I'd still have to worry about you using the Flash Technique to blind me.
Krillin's eyelid twitched. He instinctively rubbed his eyes.
There was no way to fight like this!
"Krillin!" Master Roshi sighed as well. He got to his feet, leaning on his cane, and adjusted his Sunglasses.
His voice was steady.
"Soro's right. You need to have confidence when you fight! No matter how strong your opponent is, remember... you might not lose to him. Look at Goku. He's always thought that way, and that's why he's never been defeated!"
Krillin turned to look at Master Roshi. The corner of his mouth twitched as he silently grumbled to himself.
Easy for you to say!
When I asked you to fight me just now, you weren't willing.
Now you're lecturing me from the sidelines.
Krillin took a deep breath and swallowed his complaints.
"By the way." Soro looked silently at Master Roshi, his gaze passing over the Sunglasses. "You're Krillin's teacher, right?"
Master Roshi's body stiffened slightly, and his fingers tightened around his cane.
His heart skipped a beat, and his eyelid twitched. He hurriedly tried to deny it.
"That's right!" Colin perked up at once, looking delighted. He stepped forward and stood beside Master Roshi. "He's my teacher, and he's known as the strongest human on Earth. He's been given the title Master Mutaito, and is also called the God of Martial Arts."
He turned to look at Soro, his eyes lighting up.
"Soro, why don't you spar with Master Mutaito?"
"Sure." Soro nodded thoughtfully, letting his gaze rest on Master Roshi for two seconds.
"Um..." Master Roshi rolled his eyes, then immediately clutched his stomach and crouched down. "Ouch, my stomach hurts!"
His brows knit together, and his face scrunched up like a steamed bun.
"What's going on? Did I eat something bad today?"
Krillin: "..."
Krillin's jaw nearly hit the ground. His mouth fell open, and his eyes widened.
"I can't hold it anymore. I have to use the bathroom!" Master Roshi said, then quickly made his escape.
His slippers slapped against the ground as he raced away in a flash, leaving his cane behind on the lounge chair.
Soro silently watched Master Roshi's retreating figure, hands in his pockets, lost in thought.
As a Dragon Ball fan, Soro remembered that during the Tournament of Power, Master Roshi had actually managed to fight Jiren for several exchanges.
That showed that the old man's strength was definitely not as simple as it seemed.
Still, that was many years in the future.
For now, he might really just be a weakling with a battle power of around 100.
Soro shook his head and looked away.
"Train hard!" Soro patted Krillin on the shoulder.
Then he lifted off the ground and quickly flew away.
Krillin stood where he was, looking up in the direction Soro had disappeared.
He reached up to touch the bruises on his face and bared his teeth in a grimace.
Before long, Soro returned to Capsule Corp's headquarters.
He descended from the sky and landed on the lawn.
Then he plunged into the Gravity Training Room and began another round of training.
Although his fight with Krillin hadn't been overwhelmingly beneficial, Soro had still gained a lot from it.
At the very least, he'd found Krillin's fighting techniques incredibly memorable.
Krillin's punches were fierce, and his footwork was nimble.
After all, he was a student of Master Mutaito. His fighting skills were excellent.
Soro stood in the center of the Gravity Training Room and took a deep breath.
He walked over to the control panel and increased the gravity from ten times normal to twenty times normal.
Pressure pressed in from all sides.
Soro clenched his fists, then started throwing punches, kicking, and moving around.
Sweat soon soaked through his clothes.
He trained for another three hours or so.
Soro had completely adapted to twenty times normal gravity.
The pressure on his body felt as light as a feather.
At the same time, Soro's battle power had increased considerably.
It had gone from 2,000 to 3,000!
He clenched his fists, felt the power surging through him, and smiled.
"Creak!"
The metal door opened.
"Huh?" Bulma stood outside. When she saw Soro coming out of the Gravity Training Room, she hurriedly asked, "Soro, didn't you go challenge Krillin? When did you get back?"
"I came back after the fight." Soro smiled and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Krillin must have gotten beaten pretty badly, right?" Bulma asked with a smile, tilting her head.
"More or less." Soro grinned. "But next, Piccolo's the one who'll have a rough time."
"Y-you're going to fight Piccolo too?" Bulma was speechless, standing with her hands on her hips.
"I'm off!" Soro rose into the air, hovering above the ground.
He waved goodbye to Bulma.
"Let's have a moment of silence for Piccolo!"
Bulma: "..."
Bulma stood there, looking up in the direction Soro had flown.
How did you know I was going to have a moment of silence for Piccolo?
Bulma's mouth twitched. She lowered her head and silently counted to ten.
Ten minutes later.
Soro arrived above a desolate mountain valley, the area where Piccolo often trained.
Soro hovered high in the air, arms crossed over his chest as he looked down.
Piccolo was hovering ten meters above the ground, legs crossed and hands resting on his knees.
He had his eyes closed, training through meditation.
Ki flowed slowly around his body, stirring faint currents of air.
As if he sensed a presence above him, Piccolo immediately opened his eyes, glanced upward, and looked up at Soro.
"Soro!" Piccolo's expression darkened, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
His brows furrowed.
What's this guy doing here?
I don't remember doing anything to provoke him!
Piccolo came out of his meditative state, landed, and stood on a rock.
"Y-you need something?" Piccolo asked warily, keeping his eyes fixed on Soro.
"Nothing important." Soro smiled faintly as he slowly descended from the sky and landed on a rock opposite Piccolo. "I'm bored, so I came to spar with you."
Piccolo: "..."
Piccolo's face turned pale beneath his green skin.
You have such a high battle power, and you came to spar with me?
Isn't that just picking on me?
Piccolo's back tensed slightly, and his fists clenched without him realizing it.
"Your battle power is around 4,000 right now." Soro smiled, his tone relaxed. "I'll lower mine to around 3,000 and fight you."
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