7 - Time-Skip, 3 Years Later
From that day, Jesse's real training began. Every day he'd train with Orzo, getting physically stronger, learning how to fight, and getting closer to them. After the massive wall of Orzo's initial trial, it was much easier for Jesse. He felt strong, and, at least in the Dojo he was. Eventually he began sparring with other students and Truffel, who wasn't far behind him in strength.
Before he knew it, three years had passed. It seems Orzo was right about his potential, as he was now, he was as strong as the tougher group of Orzo's students, at only the age of 13. Orzo had come to mostly focus on training Jesse, which did make a good few of his other students leave. He didn't care though, he felt he saw something great in him, and he pretty much considered him a son.
Today was Jesse's birthday, his second year of being in this new world. He was able to find out exactly how old he was and when he was born by "borrowing" certain records from his local hospital.
Besides that, though, he really hadn't been out much, Orzo didn't want him going around by himself much, so he had to sneak out quite a lot. It would make sense, not letting a child as young as him wander around, but mentally he was much older, plus he was pretty strong, so he wanted to go out by himself, and really start a journey of his own.
However, no matter how many times he asked Orzo, he wouldn't let him, he was too worried about him. He said that he'd let him leave when he could defeat him in battle, yet refused to ever fight him, which somewhat annoyed and frustrated Jesse.
A big celebration was obviously due for the occasion, many of the students of the Beetle School, and of course Orzo and Truffel, attending.
"Happy Birthday Jesse!"
Jesse stood near the table where many people were seated. It was immediately obvious Jesse changed a good bit, that is how aging works after all. He was taller, now measuring about 5'3, his face was also more chiseled now, but still looked cute.
What was most obvious of his changes was his body, specifically his physique. No longer was he skinny, or even only somewhat muscular, he was what people would probably call shredded, though not in a huge way, he was more compact.
Thats what three years of intense training does to someone, at least in the world of Dragon Ball. Jesse still wasn't exactly sure how strong he was compared to the rest of the world, but he was one of the strongest in the dojo, and he was at least stronger than most people.
As for current plans, Jesse had many. He'd already found out that in terms of timeline, the original dragon ball story had already started yet judging by the current age, that was easy to figure out, he just wasn't sure what point it was at, just pre-Z. Next, while the Beetle School was surprisingly good, they didn't know how to use ki. Ki would be absolutely necessary for Jesse's journey.
Throughout his time, he tried to draw out his ki, but he just couldn't. He was able to feel something faint inside him, which he'd been trying to tap into, he felt he was getting close, but he really wasn't sure. Regardless, today was a day of fun for him, no training or worries. He wasn't planning to totally optimize his life or anything after all, that'd be ridiculous.
With a small smile on his face, Jesse sat down next to Truffel and Orzo. The massive plates of food made him salivate, no matter how much of Truffel's cooking he had, it was always amazing.
"Alright! Everyone dig in!"
A long and quite joyous birthday party ensued, lasting almost the whole day. As Jesse and the others ate their cake happily, he thought about his time here at the dojo, and thought about his future in this world. He was strong, but only in reference to the others here.
Compared to many others on Earth, he was nothing, never mind the whole universe, even the multiverse. He had no idea what the evil soul, what Hugo, would be doing, if he was even on earth at all.
He needed to get strong, the entire timeline could be thrown out of balance from Hugo. With how many times the Earth or even more was only saved by an inch, he needed to be ready to be strong enough to deal with his threats. This was always his plan since the start, but he was much more emotionally invested now, he had connections to this world, friends, family, people he needed to protect. Throughout the whole party, Orzo kept giving him bitter-sweet looks, but he mostly brushed it off.
After the party, Jesse was meditating in his room, as he did quite often. His meditation was entirely for the purpose of training and trying to draw out his ki.
Though he was never able to draw it out, his meditation had been steadily increasing the power of his ki, so when he could finally draw it out, it should be decently powerful.
Suddenly, he began to feel something, that same feeling, that ki he could feel, it felt like it was moving inside him, breaking free, unlocking. However, before he could go any further, he was promptly interrupted by a knock on his door.
Opening it revealed Orzo, wearing a deathly serious face, mixed with that same bitter-sweet stare he was giving him earlier.
"Is something wrong gramps?"
"Jesse, it is time... follow me..."
He was still pretty confused, but he followed him anyway. He brought him to the courtyard, which was oddly empty, usually at least a few students were training here, especially at this time. Jesse scratched the back of his head in confusion, still not sure what was happening.
"It is time to see if the bird is ready to leave the nest..."
Orzo got into his fighting position.
"It is time to see if you have the strength to live on your own! Now is your promised fight!"
He yelled passionately, brows furrowed. Jesse's confused expression quickly morphed into an excited smile. As he moved into his own fighting position and they prepared to battle, one thought rung through his mind.
'Finally!'