As Tien Shinhan called out to summon Shenron, all seven Dragon Balls shone with dazzling light.
The light converged into a beam connecting heaven and earth.
Dark clouds swept in rapidly amid lightning, thunder, and swirling winds. At that moment, looming storm clouds covered the skies over the entire Earth.
Suddenly, a long, slender green figure rolled through the clouds filling the sky, appearing in the air before Tien Shinhan with an astonishing air of mystery.
"You who summoned Shenron, whatever your wish, you shall have one opportunity to see it granted.
Speak your wish!"
There was no denying that Shenron knew how to make a flashy entrance.
The roiling dark clouds behind him extended across the skies over the entire Earth.
His words sounded every bit as impressive.
Any wish could be granted. It sounded as though he were omnipotent.
Even Tien Shinhan, whose memories included many scenes of Shenron appearing, could not help marveling a little at seeing him in person.
Even Yajirobe, who had been hiding in the grass all this time, could not resist jumping out to get a good look at Shenron.
But while Shenron's entrance was spectacular, Tien Shinhan knew that the wishes he granted were not without limits.
Wishes made to Shenron could not exceed the power of Kami, who had created the Dragon Balls.
For example, an opponent even Kami could not defeat could not simply be eliminated with a wish to Shenron.
Shenron faced considerable restrictions when it came to combat-related wishes.
But his abilities were quite miraculous when it came to wishes that granted enhancements.
In Tien Shinhan's memories, someone had even wished to become the strongest in the universe later in the Dragon Ball story.
And that wish had come true, directly granting him power beyond even Son Goku's Super Saiyan Blue form.
But along with that enormous enhancement, the person making the wish had paid an enormous price.
The invincibility he gained through his wish was not his own power, so his body could not withstand it, and he paid the price with his lifespan.
He had become invincible, but he had only one day left to live.
That was why Tien Shinhan had long since ruled out wishing to make himself invincible outright.
The side effects of a wish like that were too severe.
Besides, invincibility gained through a wish only meant being invincible at the moment the wish was made, not being invincible forever. It was perfectly reasonable for someone to surpass him before long.
Wanting to become truly strong, and being a true martial artist, Tien Shinhan naturally would not choose such a dead end of forcing growth.
With his martial artist's spirit, he believed he could keep growing stronger through his own abilities.
Only by continually growing stronger and stronger could he pursue true invincibility and become truly powerful.
Tien Shinhan knew there was nothing wrong with his perseverance or the direction of his pursuits.
The only thing that had limited his power level in the Dragon Ball story was not that he had abandoned martial arts, but the limits of an Earthling martial artist.
Humans had limits.
Whether it was him, Krillin, or Yamcha, they had all performed on par with Goku in the early days.
But later on, they had all been reduced to marginal fighting forces.
That showed the problem was not with them as individuals, but with the limiter that constrained them as Earth humans.
As for wishing to turn his body into that of a Saiyan?
Tien Shinhan had long since ruled that out as well. It was not entirely the Saiyan constitution that was strong, but Goku himself.
So a Saiyan constitution was not the key. Besides, rashly wishing to change his identity as an Earthling could bring uncontrollable side effects, and might even halt his progress in martial arts.
Tien Shinhan believed in his conviction as a martial artist and trusted that his own body was best suited to his martial arts.
So the only thing he needed a wish to resolve was this body's existing upper limit.
Since the human body had a limiter, he would break that limiter!
This was the wish Tien Shinhan had planned before gathering the Dragon Balls.
And so, under everyone's expectant gazes, Tien Shinhan spoke his wish to Shenron.
"Shenron, my wish is to break my human limiter!"
Tien Shinhan stated his wish firmly.
As long as the human upper limit no longer existed, he believed his martial arts would have no limits.
As for his power level, without restrictions, Tien Shinhan believed he could keep raising it!
It was better to teach a man to fish than give him a fish. Tien Shinhan's wish opened a path for him toward the pinnacle of martial arts with no upper limit.
"Very well. Your wish can be granted!"
Shenron fell silent for a second upon hearing this, then quickly gave an affirmative reply.
The next moment, golden light shone from Shenron's body. It gathered in his eyes, then shot out from them and enveloped Tien Shinhan.
Bathed in that golden light, Tien Shinhan thought he faintly heard a crack, as though some invisible restraint had abruptly shattered.
"Very well. Your wish has been granted. The price is half your lifespan and all your hair."
I've gone bald! And I've gotten stronger!
The thought instinctively came to Tien Shinhan when he heard Shenron state the price.
But after touching his head, he suddenly realized that he was already bald!
In other words, losing his hair was no price at all.
As for half his lifespan, that price seemed steep, but Tien Shinhan had anticipated it.
Fortunately, he had not wished to become invincible outright, or the devastating side effect would most likely have left him with only one day to live.
As for having half his lifespan left now, Tien Shinhan had further plans to deal with that, so he was not particularly concerned.
Without the restraints of the human limiter, Tien Shinhan vaguely sensed that his power level was actually increasing on its own, little by little.
Although that automatic increase was very slow, it gave Tien Shinhan a direct sense that his limiter had been broken.
As for how to speed up that increase in power, Tien Shinhan also had a vague inkling.
Plenty of training and exercise might be a good choice.
Goku had a Saiyan constitution that gave him a massive power boost after a brush with death, and now Tien Shinhan had a trait that allowed his power level to keep rising automatically.
That meant both of them had bright futures!
Tien Shinhan was confident that, having broken his human limiter, he would absolutely be no worse than Goku.
His first modest goal was to catch up to a Super Saiyan's power level.
Previously, that modest goal might have been a little too distant for Tien Shinhan.
But now that his plan had reached the point of successfully using a Dragon Ball wish to break his limiter, that goal was no longer out of reach in his mind!
Glancing up at Korin Tower beside him, Tien Shinhan was already itching to begin training.
But before that...
Tien Shinhan looked at Shenron, who had begun breaking apart in the sky after granting the wish, and immediately used the Flight Technique to grab one of the Dragon Balls that had turned to stone.
"It's turned to stone, but luckily I caught it. Here you go, Goku!"
A moment later, Tien Shinhan returned the Four-Star Dragon Ball he had seized the chance to catch to Goku.
He had said he was borrowing it, so naturally he had to return it after using it.
After a year, this Dragon Ball that had turned to stone would return to normal.
"Haha, thanks, Tien Shinhan! Even if it's turned to stone, I still want to keep it with me."
Seeing Tien Shinhan return the Four-Star Dragon Ball so quickly, Kid Goku thanked him happily.
"What are you talking about? I should be thanking you for lending me your Dragon Ball so readily!"
Tien Shinhan said that he was the one who ought to give thanks.
"Brother Tien, congratulations on getting your wish granted, but what did that wish you just made mean?
Breaking your human limiter?
You actually had to pay all your hair and half your lifespan for something like that?"
Chiaotzu, who had been hiding far away as Tien Shinhan had instructed, flew over as well, happy that Tien Shinhan's wish had come true.
But he was a little puzzled by Tien Shinhan's wish, and the price Tien Shinhan had paid seemed incredibly steep to him.
Leaving aside the matter of lifespan for the moment, losing his hair was something he absolutely could not accept.
After all, Chiaotzu was different from Tien Shinhan. Tien Shinhan was already bald, but when Chiaotzu took off his hat, he still had that precious lone strand on top of his head.
Chiaotzu treasured that one and only strand of hair!
Even if he could become stronger, he could not bear to trade away his only strand of hair.