Chapter 27: Muten school (Part 2)

The street was bustling with people, but no one paid much attention to the inconspicuous new shop that had opened, especially since it was a martial arts dojo. Martial arts… ten years ago, when King Piccolo was at his peak, many martial artists were looked down upon by most people.

 At the beginning, many martial artists challenged the Demon King, hoping to bring peace to the world, but… without exception, they all died at his hands.

 It was said that even the famous Martial Grandmaster was defeated.

 After that, most martial artists went into hiding, and the consequence of this was… the disdain and insults from those around them. Gradually, martial artists no longer claimed to be martial artists, and those who still ran dojos started looking for other ways to make a living.

 It wasn't until the Demon King disappeared ten years ago, and rumors spread that an unknown hero had killed him, that, after a few years, some of the former martial artists began to come out of hiding again.

 "Pah! What the hell is Shadow ghost Fist? Nonsense!"

 "Yeah, they just bully people!"

 "Just because they learned martial arts, they think they're all that! When the Demon King was around, where were they to face him?" Two boys, one fat and one skinny, walked down the street, both with swollen faces, clearly having been beaten up.

 "Hmm, when did someone move in here?"

 The chubby boy suddenly stopped and looked up at the sign hanging at the door, reading it in surprise:

 "Muten school dojo?" He pulled on his friend beside him and pointed to the sign, asking. "Arlong, do you know this place?"

 Arlong, the thinner boy, glanced at the Muten school sign and immediately sneered,

 "What big words. Is it stronger than those Shadow ghost Fists? Hmph, all martial artists are the same! What, you want to go inside? Let's just go home!"

 "I want to check it out…" the chubby boy hesitated, clearly unwilling to accept being constantly bullied. He didn't dare to go to the Shadow Ghost Fist dojo, as that would be like walking into a tiger's den. Since this new dojo had just opened, he naturally wanted to give it a try.

 "Come on, with your build! - Arlong shook his head and mercilessly shot him down. "Are you coming or not? If not, I'm leaving!"

 "I'm going in! I'm not leaving! So what if I'm fat? Can't fat people practice martial arts? My mom says being fat is a blessing!" The chubby boy was unexpectedly stubborn, and seeing his friend still trying to discourage him, he became even more determined.

 "That's because your mom is fatter than you… "Arlong sneered inwardly and waved his hand impatiently.

 "Fine, I'll go with you and have a look!"

 The chubby boy immediately grinned.

 "Hehe, let's go then!" He said excitedly as he walked into the dojo, and Arlong sighed behind him, reluctantly following.

 As soon as they entered, they turned around a wall with the large character for "Martial" written on it, coming into a courtyard of moderate size. Inside the yard were various martial arts equipment, such as sandbags, stone stumps, and stone locks.

 "It doesn't look that impressive." Arlong sneered, growing more impatient.

 "Hey, there's a little girl over there!" The chubby boy suddenly said. Arlong turned to look and indeed saw an eight- or nine-year-old girl walking out from the back yard, followed by a boy who appeared to be in his teens.

 The boy had a dark complexion, walking with a steady and forceful gait. He was not tall, but his demeanor seemed mature beyond his years.

 Arlong and the chubby boy were noticed by the boy in the dojo. He asked.

 "Are you here to learn martial arts?" Since this was the first time outsiders had entered the dojo since it had opened, he felt a bit happy and spoke in a friendly tone.

 "He's the one who wants to learn martial arts. I'm just here to tag along!" Arlong quickly clarified his stance, feeling uncomfortable about the boy's strange vibe.

 "Oh, then follow me, I'll introduce you to my master." The boy nodded and didn't think much of it. He lowered his head and spoke to the girl beside him. "Yumeko, I'll take him to the back now."

 "But we promised to go play on the street!" Yumeko pouted, clearly displeased, and glared at the chubby boy.

 "Alright, alright, I'll buy you some extra snacks on the street later, okay?" Aragon compromised. This young lady wasn't easy to deal with, and before he had learned to fly with the cloud, she had often teased him with the Flying Nimbus.

 There was that one time when Yumeko had spread a long cloth over the Flying Nimbus, tying Aragon to it. She made the Nimbus spin around in the air, and when they landed, Aragon was completely dazed, his legs wobbling uncontrollably.

 The chubby boy entered the dojo with Aragon, while Arlong waited outside, staring at Yumeko in a silent showdown.

 After a while, the chubby boy came out with Arlong.

 "Get ready, you'll start proper lessons tomorrow." Aragon said.

 "Yeah, I'll definitely learn well!" The chubby boy's eyes sparkled, as if he had just witnessed something extraordinary in the back yard.

 As they left, Arlong couldn't help but ask.

 "What happened? What did you see back there?"

 "Hehe…" The chubby boy just kept smiling.

 "Fatty, are you going to say something or not?"

 "Hehehe…"

---

 After having stunned the chubby boy, Taro shook his head and smiled in the back yard.

 "Taro, you really are showing off in front of a child?" Fanfan teased him from the side, but Taro, unconcerned, replied. "These kids, these young people come to learn martial arts for this reason, don't they? If they didn't see that they can actually learn something worthwhile here at our dojo, how would they come?"

 "By the way, I heard the biggest dojo in this city… what was it called again?" Taro asked his wife.

 "Is it called... Shadow Ghost Fist?" Fanfan thought for a moment.

 "In a couple of days, let's have Aragon visit." Taro decided after half a second of thought.

 "Let Aragon go meet them? He'll probably get bullied." Fanfan said, somewhat concerned. After all, she was the daughter of a Martial Arts Grandmaster and understood a thing or two about the world.

 Taro smiled and said.

 "If they're angry and come knocking on our door, it's fine. We'll handle them one by one. It'll be easier that way, and more people will come to learn martial arts from us."

Fanfan laughed at him.

 "Look at you, scheming behind their backs."

 Taro, however, replied.

 "I have no choice. If my master hadn't asked me to take on disciples before he left, I wouldn't have bothered." It's not that I don't want to take in disciples, but the ideal one won't appear until 300 years from now.

 He had someone like Son Goku in mind—someone with perfect character and potential—who would be the ideal disciple. But, until then, he wasn't interested in anyone else.

 He added:

 "Honestly, I'm even worried that Aragon could handle those people all by himself. If that's the case, I won't need to lift a finger."

 "Is Aragon really that strong?" Fanfan asked, surprised.

 "It's not that he's particularly strong. It's just that there are so many so-called martial artists in the world who don't actually measure up to it's name."

 Taro shook his head, recalling the scene from the original story during the World Martial Arts Tournament. Gokh aside, even Krillin, who was just a beginner, could easily defeat opponents at that level. He couldn't help but shake his head. "This isn't a true World Martial Arts Tournament; it's more like a city championship."

 If it weren't for Goku and his friends supporting it, it would just be a rural martial arts tournament with clowns jumping around on stage. Over time, the audience couldn't even recognize martial artists' ki blasts or flight techniques, thinking they were magic tricks. Eventually, the tournament crowned a villainous figure like Satan as the world champion.

 This showed how few real martial artists remained in the world.

 However… Taro thought that now was not the right time to interfere with the martial arts scene on Earth. What if an extraordinary talent appeared, and under his guidance, their power skyrocketed, just like Krillin in the original story? The martial arts world on Earth could experience a massive boom, and before they knew it, the Saiyans might send a combat squad to Earth. That would be a huge problem. So, he decided to wait until Goku arrived on Earth before considering his next move.

 Taro looked up at the sky. Once the martial arts school was stable, he planned to leave everything in Aragon hands and travel every so often.

 The Muken needed to be further honed and improved, and on the other hand… who knew? He might just come across a Dragon Ball by accident.