Dragon Ball Human

But at the same time, Yamiru successfully realized that he seemed to have gotten lost...

On the 83rd day, Yamiru had nothing to show for his efforts in the towering mountain ranges. The small area marked on the map turned out to be far too large.

"I'm such an idiot. Really. I should have thought of this earlier."

Yamiru sat down on a stone by the mountain stream, frustrated, pulling at his hair in sheer exasperation.

When he was still far away from the marked Paozu Mountain on the map, his path forward had been clear. But now, standing within the vast expanse, he had no sense of direction. Where should he go next? In such a vast mountain range, with an area probably spanning several hundred square kilometers, finding a tiny cottage where a reclusive elder lives would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

It felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Yamiru was lost, scratching his head in confusion.

That feeling of an almost achievable goal slipping further away, with no way to make progress, made him feel utterly miserable.

So, he stood up and punched the trunk of an old tree.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Yamiru vented his frustration.

His Golden Gaze was useless. The range of his vision was too insignificant compared to this vast, uninhabited mountain range...

After punching the tree for a while, Yamiru calmed down.

He rubbed his fists, sat back down, and applied some of his remaining medicinal ointment. Taking out the last of his dried rations, he ate slowly by the stream, letting the sound of the gentle wind and the occasional animal noise soothe his mind. The stillness of the surroundings made everything feel so peaceful. Once he finished eating, his mind began to clear.

Onward!

Even if he had to explore this mountain range inch by inch, he would find Son Gohan. If one day wasn't enough, he'd search for a week, if a week didn't work, he'd try for a month, two months, six months! A year! Ten years! Yamiru was determined. He couldn't believe he wouldn't find him in ten years. He firmly tucked away the now-useless map and decided to take a "Free" approach.

On the 90th day, the 10th day of his arrival.

Yamiru continued to wander through the vast mountains...

He kept telling himself to be patient.

Stay calm! Focus. His Golden Gaze never slackened. He didn't even need to find Son Gohan's cottage; who knew, perhaps with some luck, he would run into the old man taking a walk in the mountains?

Yamiru found himself grateful for all his previous experiences. Without them, surviving in this deep forest would have been difficult, let alone having the energy to search for someone. In this environment, eating the wrong thing, having a wound inflicted by something strange without treating it properly, or even a simple slip could easily cost the life of a young transmigrator like him.

"Honestly, I'm impressed by my own vitality. So resilient! I can survive!" Yamiru muttered to himself.

He set up a small fire and started cooking. He hadn't been recklessly trying unfamiliar wild vegetables or fruits. Over the past few days, he mostly ate recognizable things or animals that were easier to handle. Roasted meat was definitely the most convenient.

It actually tasted pretty good. In this vast primitive mountain range, the wild delicacies were quite delicious. No wonder Son goku grew so fat and healthy.

Yamiru chewed on the roasted meat, thinking to himself.

Speaking of Son goku, he couldn't help but wonder... What day was it today? Was Son goku still flying in the sky, or had he already landed? If he had already landed, but still hadn't knocked his head too badly, did I arrive too early? Or should I give Kakarot a sneak attack? What if something goes wrong and I accidentally kill Son goku? That would be a huge loss! I'd have to apologize to the entire universe...

Yamiru drifted off into endless thoughts, suddenly realizing he was overthinking things. Here he was, still searching for Son Gohan and already worrying about whether Kakarot would be a good boy. Was he really this bored, Yamiru? Still, the question of whether Son goku was Kakarot did bother him...

It was quite a dilemma.

Yamiru continued searching through the mountains.

"Kakarot falling off a cliff and becoming the pure-hearted Son goku... No matter how I think about it, the odds of that happening are just too crazy!" Yamiru thought.

Since he had made it to the foot of Paozu Mountain, if he encountered Son Gohan, he would really have to face this issue. How should he decide when the time came?

Yamiru was lost in thought.

Should he choose to believe that some force beyond his control—fate, that is—was quietly waiting for Kakarot to take that fateful fall in Son Gohan's backpack? Or should he take matters into his own hands, risking a potential blow to Son goku, and deliver the hit himself?

"But if I do that, will Son Gohan just kick me out?"

Yamiru suddenly realized the problem.

"Ugh! Yamiru, calm down! Calm down! Stop overthinking. The priority now is to find Son Gohan."

He slapped his own head.

Two years of travel, nearly at the end of the journey, and now he was letting his mind wander, scaring himself with hypothetical worries. If he let himself be swayed now, just because of the fear of interfering with something that shouldn't be, wouldn't that be just plain stupid? Yamiru pondered: "But, now that I think about it, even if Son goku doesn't show up in the end, I could always ask Bulma or Dr. Omori to help complete the time machine in the future..."

Time stoped

1 second... 5 seconds... 13 seconds... 32 seconds... 40 seconds... 49 seconds...

50 seconds.

Time resumed, flowing again.

"Then I'll just go back in time, knock myself out, and bring the current me along," he said, laughing at his own thought, but suddenly his golden eyes flashed and he looked puzzled.

Yamiru suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Just now, I...?" He rubbed his temples, his face slightly pale, his heartbeat quickening as he struggled to recall the fleeting feeling from moments before. "Why did I feel a moment of suffocation? No, not suffocation, more like..." He pressed his fingers to his forehead, thinking hard, trying to describe that strange sensation. "It felt like just a flash, but also like experiencing endless, terrifying stillness... Ugh, I'm dizzy."

Yamiru gave up on thinking.

He decided to continue searching for Son Gohan. Perhaps that moment of heartache was just the result of the long days of searching, causing him to get anxious. Maybe he'd just had a mini heart attack...

He self-deprecated to ease the frustration that had been building up over the days.

Nightfall. Today, Yamiru still had no results... He spread out the map and used a pen to mark the corner of the mountain range he'd been circling in black.

At least after these 10 days in the mountains, he now knew that, so far, there had been no sign of a wild old man in these areas.

Exhausted, Yamiru climbed into a tree and slept fitfully.

In the deep mountains, the wind blew, and insects chirped.

The moonlight was beautiful.

The next day, Yamiru didn't wake up until the sun was high in the sky.

For the entire second journey, Yamiru's sleep had been extremely poor, far from the physical and mental state he had when he first arrived on Dragon Ball Earth.

He hadn't had a regular routine, with early mornings and late nights, in a long time.

It was hard to fall asleep, and when he did, it was shallow. Sometimes he would wake up startled, unable to fall back asleep. Once he did manage to sleep, it was like being knocked out, completely unaware of the world, just like now.

"Whoosh... whoosh..."

Yamiru, still in deep sleep, suddenly rolled off the branch and was caught by a hanging vine, causing his breath to stop abruptly, his face turning purple. He quickly opened his eyes and struggled to free himself, finally managing to pull away from the vine.

"Ha—" Yamiru collapsed under the tree, gasping for air, and muttered, "Yikes, I almost became the first transmigrator to hang myself..."

After so many misfortunes, the unlucky guy felt utterly exhausted, a mix of emotions surging within him. He just lay on the ground.

"Actually, being a carefree lazy bones wouldn't be so bad, would it?"

Yamiru muttered those words, not really believing them, as he lay staring at the small patch of sky before him. The clouds moved slowly and leisurely, making him envious. At this moment, Yamiru's arms and legs were covered in countless small but numerous scars, his clothes were torn and filthy. Living alone in such an environment wasn't as easy as it seemed...

"One more minute, just one more minute. I'll steal one more minute of laziness..."

Yamiru lay flat on his back, muttering to himself.

Of course, he wasn't about to back down at this critical moment; he just wanted to say some lazy words to loosen up and... huh?! What's that?!

Having been aimlessly staring at the sky, Yamiru suddenly saw something. He shot up from the ground as if his butt had caught fire. His eyes locked on the straight white streak descending from the sky, widening in shock. His golden eyes seemed to shine brighter than ever before, as if they were glowing, radiating with intensity!

That was—!!

Yamiru felt the pounding excitement deep in his chest.

Reflected in his golden pupils was the growing and becoming clearer white streak across the sky.

Charge! Chase it!

Yamiru didn't waste a second thinking. Everything else seemed meaningless at this point. The sight in front of him made his entire two-plus-year journey in this strange world come alive in a way he'd never experienced before. By the time he realized it, he was already running, sprinting after that streak, not knowing how far he had gone.

"There! Right there!"

Yamiru was running wildly, using every ounce of his strength.

In his golden eyes, the head of the white shooting star was clearly visible, a spherical object faintly discernible!

"Where it lands, I'll definitely find Son Gohan!"

Yamiru kept running, leaping forward.

He raised his fists at the sky, shaking them at the bastard who might still be fast asleep up there.

He laughed maniacally, even when he tripped and fell, immediately rolling and getting back on his feet without stopping. He had to get there. He had to chase it down. He had to witness this moment.

With every step he took, Yamiru realized how foolish he must look! But he was so excited.

Never before had he felt so certain that what he was chasing in this world was truly real.

---

"Boom!!!"

A white beam of light, like a meteor or comet, fell into a deep valley in the ancient mountain forest, startling flocks of birds into flight.

The tremendous crashing sound echoed far across the mountains, especially the tremor in the earth, which startled many wild animals and caught the attention of an old man with a graying beard not far from the valley. He, curious, carrying a basket full of herbs on his back, followed the sound.

Soon, the old man came upon a giant, round crater in the ground, with a faint trail of smoke rising from the center.

From the bottom of the crater, there was the faint sound of machinery opening and the hiss of gas escaping.

But more than the unclear objects at the bottom of the crater, the old man's attention was drawn to the boy standing opposite it. The boy was panting heavily, clearly having run all the way here, but the old man had never seen this child before. Yet, he noticed the boy with the strange golden eyes was staring directly at him...

"Ah, Yamiru, so this is the Paozu Mountain you were looking for?"

Suddenly, a surprised voice rang out from above the giant crater.

Yamiru, stunned, looked up. There, on a uniquely designed flying vehicle, Tights was sitting, holding her hat, while inside the vehicle were the equally surprised Dr. Omori and... a strange, miniature alien resembling a little salted egg: Galaxy Patrolman, Jaco.

"Woaaa!!!"

At the bottom of the giant crater, a wild cry from the boy echoed, grabbing the attention of the five onlookers above.