Kaioken

In the final week of the three-month special training, Master Roshi called Talos out to the beach alone.

The early morning sea breeze still carried the night's chill, and the beach left by the receding tide was smooth as a mirror. Master Roshi took off the turtle shell he seemed to wear year-round and stepped barefoot onto the damp sand, his grizzled beard fluttering gently in the wind. He held neither a picture book nor a loudspeaker, only an old oil lamp. Its flame swayed in the morning breeze but never went out.

"Today, we won't train stamina or spar." Master Roshi planted the oil lamp in the sand. "Today, we'll practice only one move. Kaioken."

Talos stood ready.

"You already know the principle of Kaioken—detonating all the ki in your dantian at once, causing your power level to soar by multiples. One times doubles it, two times doubles it again. In theory, you can keep increasing it, but the burden of each multiplier isn't additive. It's multiplicative. From one times to two times, the burden doubles. From two times to three times, the burden is three times that of two times." Master Roshi held up three fingers. "In my entire life, I only ever went up to three times. After that fight, I was bedridden for three months, with more than half the meridians in my body ruptured."

"But you won."

"I won, and I nearly died." Master Roshi removed his sunglasses, revealing cloudy eyes that still gleamed with sharp light. "So the rules I'm setting for you today are simple. First, you are not allowed to go above two times. Second, the moment your body can't take it, call for a stop immediately. Third, and most important: Kaioken isn't a conventional weapon. It's a life-or-death trump card. If you can win in your normal state, you are never to use Kaioken. Understand?"

"Understood."

"Good." Master Roshi took several steps back and put his sunglasses back on. "Start with one times."

Talos closed his eyes. The sea of ki in his dantian, that lake formed of ki, was calm as a mirror. Normally, drawing upon ki was like scooping a ladleful of water from the lake—you took only as much as you needed, precise and restrained. But Kaioken meant blowing up the entire lake.

"One times—Kaioken!"

The ki in his dantian erupted with a boom. Like a bomb detonating within his body, violent currents of ki surged from his dantian to every limb and bone. In an instant, his heart raced to its limit, and his blood thundered through his veins like boiling water. A layer of red light spread over the surface of his skin—the sign of ki spilling out through his pores. Pain. Intense pain. It felt as though he were being torn apart from within, every bone groaning under an unbearable burden.

Ding—Kaioken ×1 successfully activated. Current power level: 13600 (base 6800 × 2). Body strain index: 45/100, within safe limits.

Thirteen thousand six hundred. That figure already surpassed Nappa's four thousand and approached Vegeta's eighteen thousand when he first appeared. And this was only one times.

"Excellent!" Master Roshi stood beside the oil lamp, its flame nearly blown out by the burst of ki surrounding Talos. "Maintain it! Don't lose focus—feel the flow of ki! Make your body remember this state!"

Talos's breathing grew heavy. The doubled power level from Kaioken ×1 felt incredible, but the strain on his body was increasing in real time as well. His meridians were like water pipes being forced wider. They could bear it for now, but every extra second added to the accumulated fatigue.

"Master Mutaito," he said amid the red aura coiling around him, "I want to try two times."

Master Roshi fell silent for three seconds. "Can your body handle it?"

"It can."

"...Then try it. But remember—stop immediately if anything feels wrong."

Talos took a deep breath. The red aura of Kaioken ×1 still burned around him as he detonated the ki in his dantian once again within that crimson glow.

"Two times—Kaioken!"

The red aura suddenly surged. It was as if someone had poured a bucket of oil onto a burning bonfire. Talos's body began to tremble violently, veins bulging across his forehead. His power level jumped straight from 6800 to 20400—but the backlash hit at the same time. His meridians screamed with tearing pain, his muscles spasmed, and his heart beat so fast it seemed ready to burst from his chest.

Ding—Kaioken ×2 successfully activated. Current power level: 20400. Body strain index: 82/100, danger zone! Immediate deactivation recommended!

"Hold it—" Talos gritted his teeth. "For ten seconds!"

Within those ten seconds, he performed the complete set of basic Turtle Hermit School martial arts. Straight punch, crushing punch, chopping punch, rising punch, cannon punch—every strike blasted toward the ocean with the power of Kaioken ×2. Enormous craters several meters deep exploded across the beach. The sea was split apart by his fist winds, erupting into white columns of water dozens of feet high. The spray was scattered into a fine mist in midair and fell across the beach like a light rain.

"Release—!"

The red aura went out in an instant. Talos dropped to one knee and spat out a mouthful of blood onto the sand.

Ding—Kaioken ×2 deactivated. Peak body strain: 91/100. Minor meridian tears detected. Estimated recovery time: 3 days. Warning: Body strain has exceeded the danger zone. Ensure full recovery before next use.

Master Roshi walked over to him and looked down at the panting boy kneeling in the sand. He remained silent for a long time. Then he removed his sunglasses and spoke in a seriousness Talos had never heard from him before. "Talos, that final punch of yours had more power than any human martial artist I have ever seen in my life—including Master Mutaito himself back then. And you're only twelve."

"Thank you, Master Mutaito."

"I'm not praising you." Master Roshi put his sunglasses back on. "From now on, you owe your body a debt. Get proper rest for the next three days. If I find out you're secretly training—"

"I won't."

"You'd better not. You always say you won't, then turn around and double it." Master Roshi turned and headed toward Turtle Hermit House. After two steps, he stopped again. "Once you've stabilized Kaioken ×2, do you want to learn three times?"

Talos raised his head.

"We'll talk about three times after the martial arts tournament." With his back to Talos, Master Roshi waved a hand. "First, nurse those meridians of yours back to health."

Talos sat on the beach, moonlight shining on his pale face. The pain in his body was slowly fading, and the system's recovery boost had already begun to work. The strain of Kaioken ×2 had indeed far exceeded his expectations, but a power level of 20400 could already crush Vegeta's initial eighteen thousand. The cost was minor meridian tears—worth it. But he didn't dare touch Kaioken ×3 for now. Master Roshi had nearly died using three times. Talos's body was stronger than Master Roshi's, but not by that much. At the very least, his base power level needed to surpass ten thousand before he could attempt three times with any confidence.

"System, simulate the power level of Kaioken ×3."

Ding—Assuming the host's base power level reaches 10000, the effective power level of Kaioken ×3 will be 30000. Body strain is expected to exceed 95/100, with an extremely high risk of meridian rupture. It is recommended that the host attempt three times only after the base power level exceeds 15000, at which point the strain can be kept within safe limits.

A base power level of fifteen thousand. That was a level only attainable near the end of the Saiyan saga. Before Vegeta arrived, he had to break through that number.

For the next three days, Talos was forced to rest. Master Roshi confiscated his black iron weighted vest and had Goku and Krillin take turns "watching" him—if he dared circulate his ki in secret, Goku would immediately shout, "Master Mutaito! Talos moved again!" But Talos was not truly idle. Over and over in his mind, he replayed the activation process of Kaioken ×2, using the system to analyze the trigger points behind every strain peak. By the time he resumed training three days later, the stability of Kaioken ×2 had improved by at least twenty percent.

On the evening before their departure for Papaya Island, Master Roshi called the three of them to the beach. The setting sun dyed the sea gold and crimson, and three orange gi fluttered loudly in the evening wind.

"We leave tomorrow. The martial arts tournament preliminaries are in three days." Master Roshi stood before the three with his hands behind his back, the lenses of his sunglasses reflecting the golden sunset. "The sweat you shed, the blood you spat, every limit you endured over the past three months—it was all for that arena. Remember—the Turtle Hermit School may be defeated, but it must never be intimidated."

"Yes!" the three answered in unison.

That night, Talos sat alone on a reef, gazing toward the western horizon. That evil presence was no longer hiding—King Piccolo was awakening.

"System, estimate King Piccolo's power level."

Ding—Target power level estimate: 800–1000 in normal state; may reach 1200 in an outburst state. Host's normal power level: 6800. Kaioken ×1: 13600. Kaioken ×2: 20400. Complete suppression in terms of power level.

He closed the panel. Power level wasn't the problem. The problem was the Evil Containment Wave. Master Roshi had already decided to use the Evil Containment Wave to seal King Piccolo away, and the price of the technique was life itself. In the original story, Master Roshi died after failing to use that move. He could not let history repeat itself.

Ding—Hidden quest "All Members of the Turtle Hermit School Survive" accepted. Quest objective: Ensure Master Roshi survives the King Piccolo incident. Reward: Power level +2000, skill "Evil Containment Wave: Injury-Free Version."

He looked at the notification and slowly clenched his fist. He didn't need the system's reward. He had intended to do this anyway. Master Roshi wanted to play the hero who sacrificed himself—but Talos would not allow it.

The next morning, the three boarded a ship bound for Papaya Island. Master Roshi did not come to the dock to see them off. He said he was staying at Turtle Hermit House to "prepare a few things." But Talos knew the old man was writing his will. After the ship left the harbor, Talos stood at the stern, watching the pink outline of Turtle Hermit House grow smaller and smaller. A tiny figure appeared on the dock, a turtle shell on his back, and waved toward the ship. Then he turned and walked back into the island, his steps unhurried, but he never looked back.

Talos withdrew his gaze and headed into the cabin. Goku and Krillin were eating breakfast inside. When Goku saw him enter, he held up a rice ball. "Talos! This is good!"

"Eat more." Talos sat across from them. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "Goku, Krillin, there's something I need to tell you."

He told them everything about King Piccolo from the beginning. He hid nothing and did not downplay anything. The seal from three hundred years ago, Mutaito's sacrifice, the backlash cost of the Evil Containment Wave, Cymbal's appearance, Master Roshi going alone to the sealing site—he explained it all clearly.

"So Master Mutaito is going to seal that Demon King by himself?" Goku clenched his fists, his tail stiffening straight behind him. "He's going to die alone?!"

"He said he's lived long enough," Krillin said quietly.

"What does that even mean, he's lived long enough?!" Goku's eyes reddened. "He taught us at Turtle Hermit House for three months! He hasn't finished teaching us yet! There are still so many moves I haven't learned! He said he'd teach me advanced uses of the Kamehameha after the martial arts tournament—he hasn't taught me yet!"

Talos placed a hand on Goku's head. "That's why we won't let him go alone."

Krillin stood up. "Talos, tell us what to do."

"We have to fight in the tournament. We also have to fight King Piccolo." Talos looked at the two of them. "But we can't get the order wrong—first, we make the name of the Turtle Hermit School resound throughout the martial arts world at the tournament. Then the three of us will go bring Master back together."

"The three of us, together." Krillin repeated it, then smiled. "I like that plan."

Goku nodded hard. His eyes were still red, but his gaze had already turned resolute.

The ship continued toward Papaya Island. The sea was calm, and the sky was clear as freshly washed glass. Hundreds of kilometers ahead, martial artists from all over the world were gathering on Papaya Island. Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu had already arrived, King Piccolo's subordinates were watching from the shadows, and the arena was about to ignite with the most iconic passionate battle in the world of Dragon Ball.

The uniforms of the Turtle Hermit School trio snapped in the sea wind. The three boys stood shoulder to shoulder at the bow, with the endless blue of the South Seas behind them and the sky of the martial arts tournament before them. Meanwhile, Master Roshi stood at the entrance of Turtle Hermit House, holding a yellowed copy of Mutaito's Notes as he watched the departing ship.

"Master, these three disciples are the finest work of my life," he murmured. "So this time—I won't die."

He tucked the notes into his clothes and turned back into the house. A sealed letter lay on the table, with three names written on the envelope: Talos, Goku, Krillin. He put the letter into the deepest part of a drawer, then took off his sunglasses and wiped the lenses with the corner of his shirt.

"At the very least, I have to live long enough to see them win."