A bald old man, three smaller bald guys, a beautiful woman, and a sea turtle greeted Alaric as he arrived. Krillin eyed him suspiciously. This future strongest Earthling was still just a kid, not yet fully grown into his power.
Tenshinhan also looked cautious; having recently turned away from his dark past, he was training under Master Roshi as well. Chiaotzu, wearing a hat, stood quietly in the background, Alaric knew he was bald too.
"You're Krillin, right? Master Roshi's student?" Alaric asked, looking up at Krillin, who barely reached his chest. "I'm here to train in hand-to-hand combat with Master Roshi."
Krillin said nothing, but the old man beside him spoke up firmly, "Go back. I'm not taking any more disciples."
Despite that, Alaric still held Master Roshi in high regard, a noble martial artist, a great teacher, and a fearless warrior. He has seen how he fight even on the latest universe arc.
"Are you Master Roshi?" he asked. "It was the Master Karin who sent me."
"Oh? You've met Master Karin?"
"Yes, I trained under him at Karin Tower," Alaric replied.
"If you've already drunk the Ultra Divine Water, why come to me?"
"I want to train in hand-to-hand combat," Alaric said.
Master Roshi nodded thoughtfully, paused for a moment, then added, "I'm no longer accepting disciples. But if it's just martial arts training you want, I can offer some guidance. Besides, my students need sparring partners."
"Thank you, Master Roshi," Alaric said gratefully.
Krillin was pretty skilled, but during their sparring sessions, he hadn't learned to hold back, and as a result, Alaric's face took a serious beating.
"Hey, little bald guy, are you jealous because I'm better looking than you? That's why you keep punching me in the face," Alaric muttered, rubbing his sore cheek.
Krillin just scratched the back of his smooth head and laughed, "No way."
'To think this little baldie marry android 18…' Alaric tought bitterly.
While Krillin didn't mind the "little bald guy" tease, Chiaotzu found it annoying.
After that, during their fights, Alaric often lost control of his body, and his ki flow slowed down. But Alaric noticed that holding back his ki actually helped his training in a strange way. Ignoring Chiaotzu's irritation, Alaric charged at Krillin again, determined to keep his handsome face intact by pushing himself to get stronger.
Fighting purely with his body, Alaric was clearly no match for Krillin, but that was exactly the point. "Here we go!" Alaric pumped himself up.
"Bring it on!" Krillin was just as eager to battle.
The air sliced sharply with each clash on the small island, their fight as exciting as any World Martial Arts Tournament. Watching nearby, Tien was itching to jump in. Suddenly, he leaped into the fight, and Alaric found himself getting hit from both sides.
Meanwhile, Master Roshi sat nearby, casually flipping through a cultured magazine, but his eyes were secretly watching the fight between Krillin, Tien, and Alaric. He felt proud seeing how much Krillin and Goku had grown, especially Goku, his own disciple's grandson.
Roshi's lips curled into a smirk. "Alright, time to eat."
Launch, with her split personality, had prepared plenty of food, and six people plus a turtle gathered around the table.
Between bites, Krillin asked, "By the way, what's your name?" Tien and Chiaotzu paused and looked expectantly at Alaric.
It was only then that Alaric realized he hadn't even introduced himself. "I'm Alaric, a man destined to travel the entire world," he said with confident smile, already dreaming of documenting the cultures and customs of every corner of the planet.
Master Roshi nodded with approval, clearly impressed by Alaric's ambition. Krillin, on the other hand, seemed indifferent, travel just wasn't his thing.
Tien and Chiaotzu stayed quiet as usual. Though quiet now, Tien would later shine during the Buu saga, with his Tri-Beam (Kikoho) standing out as one of the most known techniques in the entire Dragon Ball series.
After their meal, Alaric took the chance to ask Master Roshi some questions, which Roshi patiently answered one by one. Then, remembering a pressing need, Alaric spoke up, "Master Roshi, do you know where I can get better weighted gear? What I'm wearing just isn't heavy enough anymore."
Krillin's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, you've been training with weighted clothing all this time?" he exclaimed.
Tien and Chiaotzu looked at Alaric, equally surprised.
Alaric nodded calmly. "Just 15 kilograms. I've been wearing it since I climbed Karin Tower. Now, it hardly feels like anything."
Hearing it was only 15 kilos, Krillin relaxed. He and Goku had started out carrying 20-kilo turtle shells, and Krillin was already planning to upgrade to 40 kilos soon, matching Master Roshi's usual training weight.
"Why not try 40 kilos like us?" Krillin suggested, and Master Roshi agreed.
They stopped in front of a wardrobe, but instead of clothes, it was filled with turtle shells. Alaric broke out in a cold sweat, he'd forgotten that Master Roshi's weighted gear were turtle shells, which felt much heavier and more oppressive.
"Is there anything a bit more normal?" he asked nervously.
Roshi smirked. "Take it or leave it."
Not wanting to argue, Alaric quickly apologized and strapped on a turtle shell. That was just the beginning of the hard days ahead.
Since they were overseas, Krillin and Alaric had to shop on shore, but Master Roshi insisted they never take off their weighted shells. Every trip to the market turned into a grueling test… not only for physical endurance, but also his mental edurance.
The extra weight made training tougher, but Alaric could clearly feel his fitness improving, and he found he could channel more ki throughout his body. Sparring daily with Krillin and Tien, he slowly picked up their fighting techniques and stopped getting punched in the face so often.
Sometimes, he even managed to knock Krillin down, which made him pretty proud. Half a year later, Alaric upgraded his weighted gear again, from 40 to 50 kilos.
Meanwhile, Tien, Chiaotzu, Krillin, and Yajirobe planned to climb Karin Tower together. Training alone was dull, but if Alaric wanted to compete in the next World Martial Arts Tournament, he had to push through the boredom.
Finally, the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament kicked off.
"Kamehameha!" Alaric unleashed his full power for the first time, cutting the sea in front of Master Roshi's house right down the middle with his energy blast. He estimated his fighting strength was now on par with Piccolo Jr.
"Alaric, are you ready?" Master Roshi asked.
Since Tien, Krillin, and the others had left, Roshi had been focusing all his attention on training Alaric, officially taking him on as a private disciple.
"Ready, sensei!" Alaric called out, standing tall in a sleek black suit.