Yamcha Was the Real Winner in Life

Bulma stopped pursuing the matter, and Son Goku and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

At least Bulma wasn't angry anymore. Otherwise, they really wouldn't have known what to do.

Son Gohan might have been able to say something comforting. Though he was young, he was clever and knew how to soothe people.

Son Goku and Krillin, on the other hand, were both simple-minded and terrible with words.

Even if they managed to apologize, they couldn't really make anyone feel better.

That was how they were in the original story. If everyone hadn't known each other so well and been willing to let things slide, they would have fallen out long ago.

Ron didn't join their conversation.

He was an outsider to begin with, and he didn't have time to waste chatting with them.

He stood off to one side, watching them, while keeping his ki-sense locked onto Frieza deep underground.

They hadn't noticed a thing. They genuinely believed Frieza had been killed.

To be fair, at this point in time, their training in sensing ki wasn't advanced enough.

Even though Son Goku and Piccolo had reached an extremely high level in their ki training, they were still far behind Ron.

After all, Ron's training method incorporated techniques from the Devouring World in his previous life. It brought in a cultivation system from another world, making up for the lack of precise sensing in this world's ki training.

Otherwise, Ron wouldn't have been able to use ki-sensing to mimic the form of ki itself.

"So, what should we do now? The Grand Elder of Namek is dead, and the Dragon Balls on Namek have turned to stone..." Bulma said anxiously.

Their hope of bringing Yamcha, Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu back to life seemed to have vanished.

Son Goku and Krillin looked troubled, their spirits low.

Son Gohan seemed to think of something and suddenly spoke up. "Wait, Uncle Piccolo has come back to life. Doesn't that mean the Guardian of Earth has been revived too? If the Guardian of Earth has come back, doesn't that mean the Dragon Balls on Earth can be used again?"

"Hm? That... sounds right! Gohan, you reminded me. I completely overlooked that!" Krillin immediately perked up and turned to Son Gohan.

"Yeah, and now Frieza's been defeated by Dad, so there won't be any more danger," Son Gohan added.

"Then we can go back now, right?" Bulma said eagerly.

The three of them were getting excited, but before they could celebrate for long, Son Goku interrupted them with a wry smile.

"Even if the Dragon Balls on Earth can be used, Chiaotzu has already died once... Earth's Shenron can't bring the same person back to life twice." Son Goku's voice sank.

His words left Bulma, Son Gohan, and Krillin silent once again.

They had finally found a little hope, only to overlook the most important point.

"What... what should we do? Is there any way to find a loophole in the rules?" Krillin asked anxiously.

"It's not that simple. You know what Earth's Shenron is like," Bulma snapped.

If it were that easy to find a loophole in the rules, that would be great.

Of course, even as she said that, Bulma was trying to think of a solution.

After all these years, Chiaotzu had long since become one of their companions. They couldn't just leave him dead while everyone else came back.

Just as the mood grew heavy, a voice sounded in everyone's hearts from somewhere beyond their reach.

"Everyone, you don't need to worry about me. Even if I can't be brought back to life, I can keep training here with North Kai. It's all right if I don't come back."

"Chiaotzu's voice?"

"Is that Chiaotzu?"

Bulma and Son Goku looked up at the same time.

It was Chiaotzu's voice, transmitted across the distance through North Kai's telepathic ability.

"Chiaotzu, I'm really sorry. If I'd made my wish sooner, you could've come back to life too," Krillin said, full of guilt.

He blamed himself for reacting too slowly. Otherwise, everyone could have come back to life.

"You don't need to blame yourself, Krillin. We saw everything that happened on Namek. You worked hard enough and did everything you could," Yamcha's voice came through.

"That's right. You weren't obligated to bring us back to life. As our companion, you've already done more than enough! Besides, I've made up my mind. If Chiaotzu can't come back, I'll stay here with him... North Kai can train us, and maybe by the time we meet again after you've all died, Chiaotzu and I will be far stronger than you," Tien Shinhan's voice came through.

He sounded as if he'd already accepted the situation, with a clear goal in mind.

Krillin was deeply moved, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

He knew Tien Shinhan had said it for Chiaotzu's sake, and to comfort him as well.

Son Goku sighed. "If that's the case, then we really won't see each other again until we die... Tien Shinhan, have you really made up your mind?"

"Yeah. Chiaotzu and I will stay here. But you still need to summon Earth's Shenron to bring Yamcha back, since Yamcha isn't in the same situation as us," Tien Shinhan replied.

"Actually, I don't need to come back either. I could stay here with the two of you," Yamcha said, though he didn't really mean it.

Tien Shinhan was being so resolute that if Yamcha insisted on coming back, he'd look like a lousy friend.

"Heh... Then you can stay with North Kai and not come back either. That way, I won't have to put up with you flirting with every woman you see after you're revived," Bulma retorted, sounding as if she really meant it.

Yamcha panicked as soon as he heard that.

"It's my fault, it's my fault. I was too young and reckless back then, and I didn't appreciate how good you were to me. Once I'm back, I won't act that way again. Let's make things work between us," Yamcha coaxed her. He was quite good at sweet-talking people.

Bulma had sounded determined, but it was only angry talk.

As soon as she heard Yamcha's sweet words, she softened.

Ron couldn't help rolling his eyes from the sidelines.

Bulma and Yamcha had been apart for a long time by then, but their old feelings hadn't simply disappeared.

Thinking back to the original story, Yamcha only finally drove Bulma away because he couldn't give up his old habits after being revived. That was what led Bulma to get together with Vegeta.

Honestly, was it really just because Yamcha was a flirt?

It was probably because he was a flirt who didn't want to take responsibility. He couldn't control himself whenever he saw a pretty woman, and that made him seem less and less reliable, until he finally crossed Bulma's last line.

Still, as someone who'd crossed over from another world, Ron could understand Yamcha.

He was powerful and handsome enough. What was wrong with wanting to enjoy the company of countless women without getting attached?

When you got down to it, he was the real winner in life.