The Dragon Balls

Thanks to a year of training under him, Shen's disciples are now able to train themselves even without his constant supervision. Other than guiding them in some advanced training methods, his days pass by with little to do.

Today, however, is different. Today, the boring days come to an end with something of interest in his hands... literally!

"So, this is the Dragon Ball Radar you made?" he says to the man before him, while examining a round, watch-like object in his hands.

This Radar is more than twice as large as the one Bulma makes in the original series. It's also relatively heavy... From the slight compression he feels on his palm, Shen estimates the weight to be around 10 kg. It's like holding an old, rusty hunk of a hard disk.

Even though carrying something like this is no big deal for Shen, he guesses the same won't be true for ordinary people... not that he plans to give it to anyone else.

Now that he has the radar, he plans to soon leave the cavern in search of the Dragon Balls. He won't be bringing anyone with him.

Shen has already set up a daily routine for his disciples. They will also be provided with some weighted clothes, similar to the ones he wears, so they can continue their training for a long time.

Concerning the scientist Dr. Flappe... Shen has ordered his disciples to attend to all his requests and assist him in his work... but if they aren't able to do so, he has left them with Dr. Brief's personal telephone number. Any difficulty they encounter, Dr. Brief will surely be able to solve it.

Bulma's father has been a huge help, till now... He was the one who provided Shen with all the workers and scientific equipment for the hideout...

The next day, after all the arrangements were made, he immediately set off to collect the Dragon Balls. Using the radar, he found one ball deep in a riverbed, while another was at the bottom of a crevice in some rocky mountains.

Right now, he is on his way to collect his fourth ball.

Beneath his speedily flying figure, sprawling vegetation envelops the whole landscape. The Dragon Ball is hidden among these dense trees.

'Goodness! Won't searching here be yet another tedious endeavor? This is such a chore. Why do these balls have to end up in such difficult-to-reach places?'

Last year, he had easily gotten his hands on a Dragon Ball from a village woman. Apparently, it was a family memento, passed down through generations. He only had to pay her a small price of 3 million Zeni to obtain it.

'Compared to all this, buying it from the villagers was so easy. This radar is also not very helpful; it can't even pinpoint the exact location of the Dragon Balls... guess the current technology of Earth still lags behind a lot.'

'Thankfully, it isn't all too bad... Certainly, the ability to fly and telekinesis always comes in handy.' His psychic powers, mainly telekinesis, have been very helpful in the search.

After the integration of the previous Shen's remnant spirit into his own soul, he can feel his power has increased drastically, especially his psychic powers... They have reached a whole new level.

Currently, if he had to estimate his power level... it has likely reached somewhere around the range of 600-700... 'I am probably the strongest person on Earth... Maybe only surpassed by Mr. Popo. It's unclear how strong that genie is.'

After an hour of relentlessly searching the forest, he finally finds the Dragon Ball in the hands of a group of monkeys. With this, the number of Dragon Balls in his possession reaches four. Then he finds two more the next day.

Now, only the one belonging to Old Roshi is left... From what he remembers, Roshi has been wearing the ball as a necklace for a long time now... Up until now, Shen was deliberately avoiding this one, but now he has no other choice left...

He could easily reach a speed beyond Roshi's sensing capability and snatch the Dragon Ball hanging from his neck, but he doesn't want to do that. Of course, there's the worry that if he tries to approach Roshi at such speed, he could accidentally break the old coot's neck.

However, more importantly, even if he is incomparably faster than Roshi right now, he doesn't want to commit such a cowardly act. It doesn't suit a man's dignity. He can't keep avoiding annoying situations forever...

Now that the two Shens have become the same person, it is about time he faced his unresolved inconvenience.

Having decided on a course of action, he immediately sets off toward Kame-House.

Less than an hour later, he is already hovering over a tiny house in the middle of the ocean, built upon a similarly tiny island. Somehow, this seemingly unimpressive house looks comfy in Shen's eyes.

"Truly impressive... It's every man's dream." Some people have peculiar interests and Shen is one of them.

The Turtle Hermit, as always, is currently basking in sunlight since it is still morning and the hot radiance of noon hasn't caught up yet.

His eyes, previously hidden by the cover of an inappropriate magazine, suddenly dart up. Having perceived the unique Ki of Crane Hermit, he puts down the magazine, almost like he's welcoming the arrival of his old rival.

Standing up from his chair, he glares at the man above him.

"What have you come here for?" Same as his disciple, Roshi's attitude isn't very polite.

"You don't have a good mouth, do you?" Shen speaks sternly while looking down.

"As if you're the one to talk, you foul-mouthed geezer."

"Hmph! You're an even bigger foul-mouth." Shen is still menacingly floating above the old man.

The two old men continue shouting at each other, throwing insults and calling each other names like pervert, dead-bones, oldie, scammer, etc.

It is only after Master Roshi's talking pet turtle intervenes that the quarrel comes to an end. Now, inside the house, they sit on a pair of mats and converse calmly, befitting their advanced age.

Roshi eyes the man before him with a questioning look.

"I heard you even went to meet Gohan. Truthfully speaking, I am thankful to you for convincing Gohan to take the Paradise Herb. Though I tried many times, my stubborn disciple would never listen to me."

"So Gohan has already come here to obtain the herb! Good, then I suppose I have a lot less to tell you."

"Yes! Although it's hard to believe, you wouldn't go around spouting such things without any benefit for yourself, but this time to do this, I really see nothing for you to gain from it... For now, I have no reason to doubt you."

Roshi continues speaking in a stale voice.

"So, why did you come to my humble abode?"