A bright, glowing ball of energy charged in Yamcha's palms.
"Take this!" he shouted, as the Kamehameha wave blasted out toward Tien like a bolt of lightning.
The blue energy beam rushed forward, shaking the air with its power. Yamcha had compressed his Ki—making the blast much stronger than usual.
"That should do it!" Yamcha thought, watching the energy scream across the ground.
But Tien didn't flinch. He stood his ground, legs wide, and took a deep breath. The wind from the blast blew his clothes back, but he stayed firm.
"I'll catch it," Tien thought calmly. "Let's see how strong you've really gotten, Yamcha."
He activated his body control technique, and his muscles instantly expanded. His arms grew thick, his chest widened—he looked like a bald, leaner version of Broly.
The Kamehameha hit.
With a loud crack, the blast slammed into Tien's hands. A flash of light exploded around him.
"Nngh!" Tien grunted, gritting his teeth. The force pushed him back, his feet carving lines in the dirt. But he held on.
Yamcha's eyes went wide. "He caught it?!"
"Fine! Let's see how you handle THIS!" Yamcha growled, pouring more Ki into the beam.
The wave glowed even brighter and pushed harder. The ground shook under Tien's feet.
"His strength is better than before," Tien thought, struggling to hold the beam back. "But it's not enough."
With a loud yell, Tien crouched slightly, twisted his body, and threw the Kamehameha upward, like tossing a giant torch into the sky.
The beam shot into the clouds and vanished.
"No! I spent so much Ki on that!" He quickly jumped back, preparing for the next move.
Tien relaxed. His muscles returned to normal as he stretched his arms.
"That was a good warm-up," he said with a small smile. "Also, Bulma's done in the lab. She's coming out."
"We should stop fighting."
Tien started walking toward Yamcha—his arms down, his guard completely open.
Yamcha blinked.
"He's just… walking at me? Like I'm no threat?"
His pride flared.
"I'll show you who's weak!"
He dashed forward and threw a solid punch at Tien's jaw—
But it passed through.
"Huh?!"
His fist didn't hit anything. Just thin air.
"The Afterimage Technique!" Yamcha realized. "That was just an illusion!"
He focused hard, feeling for Tien's energy. As soon as he felt something behind him, he spun and kicked backward.
His foot struck nothing.
"Too fast," he thought. "I can't land a single hit…"
Tien reappeared calmly, arms folded, standing just a few feet away. His expression hadn't changed.
"You're faster than before, but not fast enough."
Yamcha gritted his teeth.
"I won't give up that easily!"
He ran forward and launched a flurry of punches and kicks. His fists flew at Tien's face, chest, and stomach. His legs spun and swept like a dancer.
But Tien dodged every hit—like he was moving just one step ahead the whole time.
"None of these are landing! He's reading all my moves…"
Tien didn't even look concerned.
"Give up, Yamcha. I'm stronger than you."
He spoke like a teacher talking to a student.
"Let me put it simply. If Puar's strength is a 10, you're at 150."
"I'm 200. There's a 50-point gap."
"No matter how hard you try, unless you've got another Kamehameha ready, you're not winning."
Yamcha's mind spun. "He's right… even with everything I've learned, he's still stronger…"
Tien stepped forward and clenched his fist.
"Let me end this."
He slammed his fist into Yamcha's stomach.
**THUD!**
The punch hit like a speeding truck.
Yamcha's eyes bulged. "GUH!"
He dropped to his knees, hunched over, gasping for air. For a moment, he couldn't breathe at all. Then, he collapsed fully onto the ground.
"I lost… just like that…"
"There's really that much of a gap between us?" he whispered, barely conscious.
Suddenly, a voice behind him spoke with a sharp tone.
"Wow. That was pathetic."
Yamcha's face twisted in horror.
It was Bulma.
She had just walked out of her lab—and saw the whole thing.
His pride couldn't take it. Without a word, Yamcha shut his eyes and pretended to be unconscious.
Bulma sighed and rolled her eyes, then looked away and greeted Tien.
"Hey, Tien! What brings you here?"
"Sorry to bother you, Bulma," Tien said with a smile. "I need your help with something important."
She tilted her head, curious.
"What is it?"
Tien got serious.
"I'm planning to build a kingdom. But I don't really know where to start. I was hoping you could give me some information."
Bulma blinked at him, completely caught off guard. Then she rubbed her forehead like she had a headache.
"A kingdom? Really?"
She tried to explain why that idea was a bit... impossible.
"Even if I gave you every guidebook ever, it wouldn't help. You can't be a king without land."
"And there's no land left to rule. The whole Earth is already ruled by King Furry."
"He owns everything. Literally the entire planet."
Tien shook his head.
"No. There's one place he doesn't control."
"There's a subcontinent in the northwest. No one lives there. It's outside of King Furry's rule."
"I'm going to build my kingdom there."
He pointed off into the sky. Bulma followed his finger, confused—until her eyes went wide.
"You mean the 'End of the Earth'? That place is... insane!"
"It's dangerous, unlivable, and full of weird weather and monsters. Can you really build anything there?"
"I'll figure it out," Tien replied calmly.
Bulma gave him a look. Then she sighed, knowing she couldn't stop him.
"Okay, okay. If you're really serious about this, I'll help."
She pulled a capsule out of her pocket and clicked it open. It turned into a small phone-like device. She typed quickly and transferred a ton of data onto it.
After the transfer was done, she turned it back into a capsule and handed it to Tien.
"This has everything you need to know about building and running a kingdom."
"I got it from my dad's private library, so it's accurate and recent."
"But listen—if you're really going to do this, you'll need help. Find an experienced advisor or a minister. Someone who knows how to run things. You can't do it alone."
Tien nodded. He trusted Bulma's advice—especially when it came to anything technical or complicated.
"Thanks, Bulma. You're a lifesaver."
He held the capsule tightly. This was it—the beginning of the Triclops Empire.
They talked for a little while longer about old times. Then Tien waved goodbye and flew into the sky.
As he soared through the air, thinking about what to do next, he suddenly sensed something.
A familiar Ki signature was racing toward him.
Tien stopped and looked down—and saw Yamcha running like a train on the ground, chasing after him.
"…What does he want now?" Tien muttered, shaking his head.
Advanced chapters ahead on patréon
www.patréon.com/ImagineMaker