Yamcha's Confidence

Time slipped away as Raditz poured out his sweat.

The gravity room had practically become a second home for Raditz.

Day after day, he tirelessly tempered his body within those walls.

Every increase in intensity was a challenge to his physical limits.

His bones groaned, his internal organs churned, his vision blurred, and the only sound in his ears was the thumping of his own heart.

Whenever he reached this point, Raditz would eat a Senzu Bean, and his stamina and injuries would instantly recover.

In this cycle, four times, five times... the gravity setting climbed slowly but steadily.

Raditz's body grew stronger through the constant loop of near-death and recovery.

Furthermore, maintaining the stability and peace of his internal ki under such immense pressure became an incredibly difficult task.

Raditz's perception and application of his own ki grew increasingly sharp, to the point where he could even faintly sense the ki emitted by others.

A year passed in the blink of an eye.

Raditz could now complete his full training regimen with relative ease under eight times gravity.

Less than four months remained until the opening of the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament.

The streets and downtown area of West City were draped in banners and advertisements for the tournament. A restlessness belonging to martial artists permeated the air.

That day, a familiar greeting echoed from Bulma's home.

"Hey! Bulma, long time no see." The visitor was Yamcha, accompanied as always by his little sidekick, Puar.

They looked travel-worn, but their eyes were bright; clearly, their training abroad had been fruitful.

"Yamcha? What are you doing here?" Bulma emerged from the house, looking surprised.

"My training hit a stopping point, so I thought I'd drop by while I was in the area," Yamcha said with a smile, his gaze sweeping the surroundings. "I heard that kid Raditz is staying with you?"

"Yeah, he's here." Bulma nodded, pointing toward the isolated hemispherical building in the distance. "He's in there 'secluding' himself; he practically lives in there now."

"Secluding himself?" Yamcha raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. "Is he doing some kind of special training?"

"My dad built him a gravity room, and he trains in there," Bulma explained. "It's pretty grueling every day, but it looks like it's working well."

"A gravity room?" Yamcha's eyes lit up.

As a martial artist, he naturally understood what training under hyper-gravity meant.

He felt a sudden surge of excitement, accompanied by a competitive itch.

Raditz was just an ordinary guy two and a half years ago, right? Now he's using such advanced equipment? And judging by Bulma's tone, he's been at it for quite a while?

"Can I go take a look?" Yamcha asked.

"Sure, but don't disturb him. I've seen him in some pretty dangerous states," Bulma warned.

Yamcha walked to the window outside the gravity room. Through the glass, he saw Raditz moving slowly inside, every step exceptionally heavy, as if his feet had taken root in the floor.

Though he was drenched in sweat, his breathing rhythm was remarkably steady, and his eyes were focused.

On the screen nearby, a bright red number, "8.5G," was flickering.

"Eight point five times gravity!" Yamcha's pupils constricted.

He tried to imagine what it would feel like to be in an environment with over eight times gravity, and a chill ran through his heart.

Immediately after, that stubborn, competitive spirit flared up again.

When it came down to it, Raditz only started learning martial arts halfway through his life under Master Mutten. I have years of martial arts experience, and I've also studied under Master Mutten.

If he can do it, why can't I?

Perhaps this high-tech training room is the key to catching up to—or even surpassing—Goku!

Once this thought took root, it refused to go away. For the rest of the afternoon and evening, Yamcha was somewhat distracted.

His mind kept replaying the figure training in the gravity room and that glaring "8.5G."

When Raditz came out of the gravity room and crossed paths with him, he didn't even notice, only offering a simple greeting.

"What's wrong with this guy Yamcha? He looks like he's lost his soul," Raditz asked after glancing at the dazed Yamcha.

"I don't know, he's been like this ever since he saw you," Bulma said helplessly.

Then, remembering something, she asked, "By the way, what are those beans you have? They look amazing."

"Oh, you mean the Senzu Beans?"

"Let me tell you, these things..."

Deep in the night, the Bulma household and Raditz had all gone to rest.

Yamcha tossed and turned in the guest bed, eventually climbing out of bed without a sound.

The door to the gravity room wasn't locked; after all, only Raditz usually used it.

Yamcha slipped inside, and the heavy metal door closed silently behind him.

The room still held the faint scent of sweat from the day's training, along with a peculiar atmosphere that made the very space feel oppressive.

The console sat in the center, emitting a dim, steady glow.

Yamcha walked over, staring at the buttons and screens.

"Adjusting the gravity multiplier directly..." he muttered to himself, his heart pounding in his chest.

Raditz had been able to adapt slowly from a low setting, and as an experienced martial artist, his own physical constitution was surely superior.

"Perhaps I can try a higher starting point? Raditz is using 8.5 times now, so I'll try 10 times. As long as I adapt for a while..."

A mix of competitiveness and wishful thinking took hold of him, and he slammed the manual adjustment dial all the way to the end: 10G!

Vrrr—!!!

A terrifying pressure, as if the sky itself had collapsed, slammed into Yamcha without warning.

"Urghhh!!"

Yamcha only had time to let out a short, sharp cry before he was slammed violently to the floor, his bones emitting a chilling sound of snapping.

His vision went black! He tried to struggle, but he couldn't even muster the strength to lift his arm.

Boundless fear flooded his heart, and before he lost consciousness, only two words remained in his mind.

"It's over!"

Almost immediately after Yamcha entered the gravity room, Raditz, who was meditating in his room, felt his heart skip a beat.

He was now exceptionally sensitive to the flow of ki and could sense the presence of others' ki at close range.

He detected an extremely unstable aura coming from the direction of the gravity room, and it was weakening at a terrifying rate! The aura was identical to the one he had sensed from Yamcha earlier that day.

Something was wrong! Raditz sprang up instantly, his figure shooting toward the gravity room like an arrow.

He yanked the door open, and what met his eyes was the sight of Yamcha sprawled on the floor, bleeding from his seven orifices, and the shocking "10G" displayed on the console.

"You idiot!" Raditz cursed under his breath, though his reaction was lightning-fast.

He rushed into the gravity room, feeling as if he were wading through mud; his speed plummeted.

"So close!" Raditz still couldn't fully adapt to 8.5 times gravity, and 10 times was an even greater burden for him.

Fortunately, the distance was short, and Raditz pressed the emergency stop switch on the console.

The humming sound ceased abruptly, and the terrifying gravity vanished instantly.

Raditz lunged to Yamcha's side and reached out to check him; his aura was as faint as a candle in the wind.

The situation was critical, so he didn't hesitate to take a Senzu Bean from his waist, pry open Yamcha's mouth, and insert it.

Almost as soon as the Senzu Bean melted in his mouth, the bleeding on Yamcha's body stopped instantly, his pale face regained its color visibly, and his injuries healed in a flash.

He coughed violently a few times and opened his eyes, the terror of death still lingering in his gaze.

"I... I'm not dead?" Yamcha touched his body, finding it completely intact, as if the pain and struggle from moments ago had been a phantom that never happened.

"If you want to die, don't do it here!" Raditz pulled him up, his tone harsh and stern. "Do you think the gravity room is a playground? You can't just turn it to 10 times gravity whenever you want! If I hadn't discovered you in time, you'd be nothing but a puddle of mush right now!"