Dragon Ball Roshi

"Since even Kami is powerless to help with my eyes, I'll take my leave for now. As for that favor... I'll come back when I think of something," Taro sighed. Six years had passed, and he had no idea how Fanfan and the others, along with Aragorn, were faring.

He walked to the edge of the temple, the cold wind biting at him. Taro focused his senses, thinking.

"I'm almost there... Who are you? Why are you following me? What do you want?"

Behind him, Kami noticed the faint scent of blood on Taro's clothes and silently pondered.

"Goodbye." Taro said, eyes still closed. He jumped from the temple at an altitude of several thousand meters, plummeting straight down.

"Go ahead." Kami said as he and Mr. Popo turned and returned to the temple.

Taro descended quickly. Soon, the presence of Korin grew closer. He slowed his descent and floated lazily into the tower's chamber.

Korin had already sensed his arrival and, seeing Taro float in, asked:

"Kid you see the god of earth? Were you surprised?" He assumed that Taro, seeing someone who resembled King Piccolo, would be incredibly shocked.

"I did go to the temple, but I didn't meet God Piccolo." Taro smiled.

"Didn't meet him? What happened?" The Cat Sage was puzzled.

"Because I can't see." Taro said, opening his eyes to reveal two lifeless pupils.

Korin was greatly surprised and immediately asked.

"What happened to your eyes? You can't see anymore?" He waved his hand in concern.

Taro sighed and explained.

"It's due to certain reasons, my eyes are ruined." After a pause, he added. "I came by to borrow some more Senzu Beans."

"Borrow? Last time, when you took some magic clouds, you also said it was a loan!" The Cat joked with Taro, as they were quite familiar with each other. He ran to the lower level of the tower, quickly returning with a jar that contained all the Senzu Beans from the tower.

He generously grabbed a handful, putting it into a bag and handing it over to Taro.

Taro accepted the bag but didn't immediately take any of the beans. The Cat, curious, asked.

"Could the Senzu Beans not fix your eyes?" He guessed that Taro must have tried the beans after his eyes started failing.

Taro nodded.

"Yeah, they didn't help."

At that moment, he sensed something—someone was hiding below the tower, and their presence was growing more indistinct. If it wasn't for his extreme sensitivity due to his blindness, he would not have noticed this unusual energy.

"That's a shame." Korim said, scratching his furry face, feeling a little sorry for Taro. "It seems like Kami couldn't fix them either."

"Yeah." Taro nodded, letting out a breath. He tightened his grip on the bag of Senzu Beans and said. "Well, I'll be going now. It's been too long since I've been home, I should head back."

"Alright, go ahead." Korin replied casually.

Taro nodded, floating up and flying out of the tower.

Suspended in mid-air, Taro hesitated for a moment. Instead of flying back to Sayuan City, he fell straight down.

The Cat, watching from the tower, scratched his head in confusion.

"Thinking, Wasn't he supposed to be in a hurry to go home? Why is he falling down?"

After a while, Korin shrugged and went back inside.

Meanwhile, Taro had already landed on the ground beneath the tower.

The local indigenous people immediately noticed Taro's sudden arrival. A tall, muscular man with a long wooden spear approached, unsure, and asked.

"Taro?"

Although Taro couldn't see, he recognized the voice and smiled slightly, saying.

"Is that you, Ubumajin?"

The middle-aged man, Ubumajin, who was over forty, stared in disbelief.

"It really is you! Taro, after all these years, how do you still look the same as when we first met?"

He was truly astonished. In his mind, Taro should have aged along with him, but now, Ubumajin had a large beard and many wrinkles on his face. Yet Taro, still looked like he was in his twenties—this was beyond strange.

"Leaving aside the effect of the Elixir of Immortality, just the fact that I've been to the Demon Realm means I've lost six years of my life. Naturally, I'm aging slower." Taro thought to himself, but said aloud.

"It's probably due to my years of martial arts practice and the improvement of my Ki."

"Perhaps..." Ubumajin murmured.

"Father!" A child's voice came from behind Ubumajin.

Taro smiled, asking:

"Your son?"

Ubumajin chuckled, holding a small dark-skinned child in his arms.

"Yes, I had him late. He's only eleven this year. Come, Domu, greet Uncle Taro."

"Hello, Uncle Taro." The child obediently greeted.

Taro smiled faintly and said.

"I remember when we first met. Back then, Tsueu and I came here like wild men, and it was all thanks to you, Ubumajin, for your hospitality."

"Yeah, so many years have passed in the blink of an eye... Has it been seventeen or eighteen years?" Ubumajin was a simple man, and when Taro mentioned this, he sighed in reflection.

"Seventeen or eighteen years?! How could it be seventeen or eighteen years?!" Taro exclaimed in shock.

"What's wrong? Isn't it correct?" Ubumajin asked, puzzled.

"No, no... It can't be seventeen or eighteen years... How could seventeen or eighteen years have already passed?!" Taro's expression turned disoriented, and just as he was about to process this startling realization—

A faint killing intent surged!

A sudden rush of energy exploded out!

Like a sword drawn from its sheath, it was ready to be bathed in blood!

"Watch out!" Ubumajin shouted, holding his child protectively.

Taro's lips curled into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. He seemed slow to react, but despite the delay, he barely managed to dodge. However, a dark, curved dagger still struck him, and with a soft "whoosh," it grazed his arm.

In the blink of an eye, his arm turned a deep purple.

It was poison.

Dizziness swept over Taro's mind. Though his eyes were blind, he could still sense everything clearly within his mind. Channeling the full power of his Ninefold Muken, he directed a powerful blast of Ki toward the source of the attack!

Whoosh—

The assassin spewed blood, nearly having their chest caved in by Taro's devastating palm strike! They were sent flying, tumbling across the ground for what seemed like miles. The dagger they held clattered to the ground, and where it landed, the grass immediately withered.

The sudden change left Ubumajin frozen in place, but when he snapped out of it, he roared in fury.

"Who the hell dares?!"

His muscles bulged as he entered a battle-ready stance, his body as solid as granite. The child in his arms cried out in pain from the pressure.

Ubumajin hurriedly placed the child on the ground, preparing for a fight.

"Don't worry, he's taken my blow. He won't live long." Taro said, his lips dark and purple, showing the rare and deep toxicity of the poison.

"I ask you, who sent you?" Taro fell to the ground and coldly questioned the assassin still struggling nearby.

"Heh..." The assassin spat out a large mouthful of blood but didn't speak.

Taro narrowed his eyes, thinking for a moment, then asked.

"Was it one of Tao Sura's subordinates? Hmph... Taokuan Killers?" He vaguely remembered the name of this suspected assassin organization mentioned by Tao Sura years ago. Fortunately, because of Tao Paipai, he had paid some attention to Tao Sura, so he could recall it now.

"You actually remember?" The assassin seemed surprised.

"When did you start following me?" Taro's eyes were now tinged with an unusual bluish hue. The poison's intensity surpassed his expectations.

"You won't last long either. There's no harm in telling you. Yes, I received a secret letter from Tao Sura before his death. I've been watching you near Mutaito Mountain for the last eight years, waiting for this moment to kill you! You disappeared for six years, and I thought you discovered me and went into hiding!" The assassin sneered, seemingly at peace now that his target was eliminated.

"You're quite impressive to have avoided my detection of your Ki." Taro said, genuinely admiring the assassin. It seemed he had underestimated the world's hidden talents.

"Bah!" The assassin rolled his eyes, spat out another mouthful of blood, and finally his head tilted, dead.

"Are you alright, Taro?!" Ubumajin, seeing that Taro was nearly gone, crouched by his side and supported him, asking urgently.

"It's nothing." Taro's voice was weak, but he kept his eyes open. The four corners of his right eye spun rapidly like a windmill. A streak of dark red blood oozed from his eye socket, sliding down his cheek. Then, the pattern in his right eye gradually faded, leaving behind entirely white pupils…

Ubumajin's eyes grew wider as he saw the purple toxicity on Taro's face vanish in an instant.

Taro stood up as if nothing had happened.

"You, what... what is this?" Ubumajin felt as if his entire worldview was shattered. What was happening in front of him exceeded anything he could have imagined.

"Just a little trick." Taro smiled, closing his eyes and exhaling a long breath.

Then, he extended his hand, digging into his eye sockets. There was a disturbing "pop" as his eyeballs were forcibly removed, accompanied by the horrifying sound of blood and flesh scraping together.

Ubumajin, completely at a loss for what his brother was doing, quickly covered his son's eyes, not allowing him to see such a psychologically jarring sight.

Blood streamed down both sides of Taro's face, but despite the excruciating pain of gouging out his own eyes, he didn't let out a single sound.

He casually threw his eyeballs to the ground, and with his bloodstained hands, he retrieved a Senzu Bean from his bag.

Crunch.

He chewed a few times and swallowed it…

In an instant.

Before Taro could even feel his eyeballs regrowing, his eye sockets were already filled with a sense of completeness. He let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes…

The colorful world, long missed, rushed back in, shining brightly into his vivid black pupils.

Taro smiled brightly, something rarely seen, and said to Ubumajin:

"Long time no see."