The next morning, Tien woke up early and didn't waste any time. He got ready quickly and said goodbye to his small friend, Chiaotzu. Then, without stopping, he flew straight toward Capsule Corporation.
Tien was very skilled at flying. At this time, not many people in the world could fly—only a few martial artists from crane school knew how. Flying wouldn't become common until three years later, when someone named Raditz would show up. For now, only a few people in their group—like Tien, Chiaotzu, and Piccolo—knew how to fly.
As Tien flew through the sky, he looked down and saw a huge building below him.
"There it is," he said to himself. "Capsule Corporation."
He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"So this is where Bulma lives? This place is enormous! No wonder—her dad is the richest man in the world."
Tien nodded to himself, feeling hopeful.
"Bulma's family must know a lot. They're smart and rich. If anyone can help me figure out how to start a country, it's them."
With that thought, Tien began to fly down. But just as he got closer to the ground, he felt a sudden burst of energy nearby. It was strong—but also familiar.
Tien paused in the air and looked toward the source of the energy.
"That's someone I know," he muttered, changing direction to land closer to where the energy had come from—in Bulma's yard.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, Tien saw a man walking toward him with a big smile on his face. The man wore a bright orange martial arts outfit, and a long scar ran across his cheek.
"Tien!" the man called out happily. "Man, it's been two years since we saw each other! Great to see you!"
He grinned and gave Tien a friendly punch on the chest.
"I felt your energy heading this way. What's going on? Were you looking for me?"
Tien gave a small smile and shook his head.
"Good to see you too, Yamcha. You've gotten stronger since we last met—at Goku's wedding, right?"
Then he added politely, "But no, I didn't come here for you. I wanted to speak to Bulma about something."
"Could you please let her know I'm here?"
Yamcha's smile faded a little, and he scratched his head awkwardly. But he nodded.
"Yeah, sure thing. I'll call her right now."
He pulled out his phone and tapped on a contact. Tien happened to see the contact name—it said _'Nasty Harpy'_. That name made him raise an eyebrow.
It looked like things weren't going well between Yamcha and Bulma.
The phone rang.
"What do you want, Yamcha?" came Bulma's angry voice from the other end.
Yamcha winced and gave Tien an apologetic smile. Then he quickly explained, trying to calm her down.
"Hey, Bulma. Tien's here. He came to see you—he's in the yard."
There was a pause, followed by the sound of rustling, like she was moving something.
Then Bulma spoke again, and this time, her voice was much more cheerful.
"Tien's here? That's a surprise. I didn't expect him."
She sounded happy, then added, "Tell him I'm in the middle of an experiment right now. I need five minutes to finish. After that, we can talk."
Tien nodded.
"No problem, Bulma. Take your time."
Bulma quickly said thanks and hung up the phone—without saying anything else to Yamcha.
Tien gave Yamcha a strange look, but Yamcha just laughed in a slightly embarrassed way.
He blocked Bulma's number, put his phone away, and sighed.
"We broke up," he said, smiling awkwardly. "She caught me hanging out with another girl downtown and got mad."
Tien wasn't surprised. He patted Yamcha on the shoulder, trying to comfort him.
That was exactly what happened in the original timeline. Yamcha had cheated on Bulma, and their relationship ended.
"Maybe I came at a bad time," Tien said, feeling a little awkward.
But Yamcha just laughed it off.
"It's alright. Honestly, I wasn't too serious about her. We only went on one or two dates anyway."
"I spent most of my time training at Master Roshi's place, so I wasn't really thinking about relationships."
He shrugged. Tien gave him a few supportive pats on the back, then stopped talking.
Sensing the awkward mood, Yamcha smiled again and put a hand on Tien's shoulder.
"Hey, I've got an idea," he said. "Since Bulma's busy for a few minutes, why don't we do something fun while we wait?"
"Let's fight. It's been forever since we last sparred—since the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament!"
"I've gotten way stronger since then. This time, I won't lose!"
Yamcha cracked his knuckles with a grin. He still remembered that fight—Tien had broken his leg during the match, and the pain was terrible. But that was years ago, and Yamcha had healed.
He was ready to test himself again.
"You want to fight me?" Tien asked, raising an eyebrow. He studied Yamcha seriously. Despite Yamcha's laid-back attitude, he was a strong fighter.
And if Yamcha had improved since their last fight, then maybe this would be a good challenge.
Tien jumped back to make some space, then bent his knees and got into his Crane School stance.
"Alright," he said. "Let's go."
Yamcha smiled and dropped low, crouching like an animal ready to pounce. His hands were claw-shaped, his body tense and ready to explode.
"Wolf Fang Fist!" he shouted, and then rushed forward.
Yamcha moved fast—almost like a blur—his hands slashing at Tien's chest and shoulders. His strikes came one after another, sharp and wild, like the claws of a wolf.
Whish! Whish! Wham!
Tien moved quickly to block. He raised his arms, catching some of the hits, while dodging others by leaning and stepping back.
'He's faster than before,' Tien thought. 'More aggressive too. But I can still read his movements.'
Yamcha jumped and spun, throwing a wide kick. Tien ducked, then slid to the side and raised one hand. His fingers pointed straight up, glowing with yellow light.
"Dodon Ray."
A thin beam of energy fired from his finger with a sharp sound—Zzzap!
"Oh crap!" Yamcha shouted, dropping to the ground just in time. The beam passed over his head and exploded behind him.
Smoke rose in the air.
Yamcha quickly flipped backward and landed a few feet away. He winced as dust settled on his shoulders.
"Man, you always go serious," he said with a half-smile.
"I thought you wanted a real fight," Tien replied.
Yamcha took a deep breath and planted his feet firmly.
"Alright. Let's go big."
He brought his hands together in front of him, palms open, fingers curved. A small ball of blue energy began forming between them.
"Kame..."
Tien's eyes narrowed.
"He's going for the Kamehameha. That's a powerful technique, but it takes time.'
"...hame..."
Tien didn't wait. He raised both hands and began firing more Dodon Rays. Short, fast blasts shot out like machine-gun fire.
Zzap! Zzap! Zzap!
Yamcha jumped to the side, rolling across the grass. One of the beams hit his arm and burned the sleeve of his gi.
"Gah!" he growled, gripping his shoulder. "I hate this move!"
But still—he kept charging the blast.
"...ha...!"
The energy in his hands grew brighter and bigger. His muscles tensed. His hair blew back from the force of his power.
'Tien's trying to interrupt me', Yamcha thought. 'But not this time!'
Tien stopped firing. He saw that the Kamehameha had reached full power.
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and braced himself.
"HAAA!!"
Advanced chapters ahead on patréon
www.patréon.com/ImagineMaker