"Master Roshi, are you testing me?" Naruto said confidently, a faint smile on his lips. "Well then, I can't let you down."
"The second goal of Demon King Piccolo," Naruto continued, "is to kill every martial artist on Earth."
"Kill all martial artists? Why?" Krillin asked in confusion.
Naruto explained patiently, "Didn't Master Roshi just say it himself? Master Mutaito sealed away Demon King Piccolo using a forbidden technique known as the Evil Containment Wave."
"So think about it—if you were Piccolo, and you'd been sealed for hundreds of years, wouldn't you still fear that technique? Wouldn't you worry that someone else in the world might still know how to use it?"
"If I were Piccolo," Naruto said, crossing his arms, "I'd definitely be worried. Mutaito sealed him away once, so who's to say that in the hundreds of years since, no one else—someone like a 'Turtle-Taito' or 'Heaven-Taito'—has learned a similar sealing art?"
He smiled faintly. "So, what would I do? I'd send my subordinates out to find all the strongest martial artists in the world—and have them all killed."
"That way," Naruto continued, "if any of them do know the sealing technique, it's only his underlings who'll get trapped—not the Great Demon King himself."
"I see now," Yamcha nodded grimly. "That's truly despicable. He's sending his minions out to test the waters for him."
"You're amazing, Naruto!" Goku said cheerfully, even though most of the explanation had gone over his head. Still, it sounded smart, so it must be right.
Naruto chuckled modestly. "It's just a deduction I made from what that demon warrior said earlier. Nothing special."
Then he turned toward Master Roshi again. "I might not be completely right—but I'm at least ninety percent sure. And I imagine you already figured all that out long before me, didn't you, Master Roshi?"
Roshi blinked.
Did that demon guy really say all that? Why don't I remember any of it?
Wait… thinking back on it, he did let a lot slip, didn't he?
"Ah, yes, yes, exactly," Roshi said aloud, stroking his beard and nodding wisely.
"I didn't realize your analytical skills were that sharp, Master!" Krillin said sincerely. "I've really underestimated you."
"Heh heh, you foolish boy, now you finally see my brilliance!" Roshi said proudly, rapping Krillin on his shiny head. Then, thick-skinned as ever, he added,
"But don't underestimate Naruto either. To deduce that much from so little—his reasoning is almost on par with mine."
It was a round of mutual flattery—but that was exactly what Naruto wanted. He was carefully building up a reputation for intelligence and insight, so that later, when he made what sounded like "prophetic" statements, everyone would just nod and believe him.
Still, Roshi's shamelessness was something else entirely. To declare with a straight face that Naruto's intellect was "not below his own"—his skin must be thicker than a bomb shelter.
"So what do we do now?" Tien asked. "Should we gather all the world's martial artists together and take the fight to the Demon King?"
Naruto shook his head. "No. Even if we united every martial artist on Earth right now, we still wouldn't be able to defeat him."
Of course, Naruto wasn't counting himself—he wasn't an Earthling martial artist.
"But Naruto," Krillin said, puzzled, "didn't you say the Demon King's power has weakened?"
Naruto nodded. "Even weakened by age, his power is still far beyond what any of us could handle."
"I have the ability to sense differences in power levels," he added.
"Even if the strongest among us—Master Roshi, Tien, and Goku—were to fight together, Piccolo could defeat all three with one hand."
Power sensing might become commonplace later, but for now—before Dragon Ball Z—it still made for good showmanship.
Krillin's eyes widened, and he sucked in a sharp breath. He knew roughly how strong Goku was—and Roshi was even deeper and harder to read. If Piccolo could crush them without effort…
He swallowed hard. "Is he really that strong?"
"Yes," answered Roshi himself, face grave. "You can't imagine his power if you didn't live through that era. My words alone can't describe it."
"You are indeed rare geniuses," Roshi continued, "but hundreds of years ago, when martial arts were at their peak, there were many who were your equals—or even stronger."
"Even so, when all the world's martial artists gathered together, they still couldn't defeat the Demon King."
"Then what can we do?" Yamcha muttered, looking dejected. He'd already been humbled several times during the tournament; he'd thought he was getting strong, but new monsters just kept appearing. "Are we supposed to just wait for death?"
"Of course not," Naruto said, smiling faintly. He turned to glance at Roshi—and by chance, Roshi looked back at him at the same time. When their eyes met, Roshi reflexively returned the smile, polite yet awkward.
To everyone else, it looked like the two of them had just exchanged a knowing look.
So they already have a plan! everyone thought.
"As expected of Master Roshi," Naruto said respectfully. "It seems you've already seen through my idea. Truly worthy of the title 'God of Martial Arts.'"
Roshi's mind went blank.
What did I supposedly figure out this time?
Still, to maintain his dignity in front of his students, he nodded solemnly and looked at Naruto.
Come on, hurry up and say it! What did I see through?!
Naruto, as if reading his mind, continued smoothly:
"Master Roshi, please allow me to explain to everyone. If there's anything wrong with my plan, I trust you'll correct me."
Roshi simply nodded again, keeping his expression neutral.
"First of all," Naruto began, holding up the four-star Dragon Ball, "for the Demon King to regain his youth, he must gather all seven Dragon Balls. So as long as we keep even one of them safe, he'll never be able to summon Shenron."
Even though the Dragon Radar could locate Dragon Balls, it wasn't impossible to hide their signal. The Pilaf Gang had built a box that blocked radar detection—so Bulma could definitely create something even better.
"If we block the Dragon Ball's signal, then no matter how hard Piccolo searches, he'll never collect all seven. Without that, he can't call forth the dragon—and his wish will remain forever out of reach."
"That means he'll be trapped in his old, weakening body…" Naruto concluded.
Even though Piccolo's fighting power would still be immense, his stamina and vitality had deteriorated with age. In his prime, he'd already been sealed away by martial artists; knowing his prideful nature, he'd never dare appear publicly without first regaining his youth.
"I get it now!" Krillin suddenly exclaimed, eyes lighting up.
"You're planning to hide the Dragon Balls and wait until he gets weaker and weaker—until he dies of old age!"
Please drop some power stones support me at my
PS: Access the complete/finished chapters/series at Patreon: NanamiTL