Chapter 38: Training Ki (I)

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Declaring that, I continued to speak to the two, pointing my finger at Zastin. "Even you Zastin, if you disguise yourself well enough, you can fight there. And you Lala, if you want, you can fight there. The Kourakuen is welcome to everyone. If you remember that short old man, he's actually the owner of that place, and he currently has his eyes set on me to become the champion. I'm afraid my next couple of years will become quite hectic, actually.", I said, explaining my present situation to Lala.

"So you really do like fighting. You are quite similar to Papa, in a way, Baki-kun.", Lala replied with a smile.

"Heh.", I said, rubbing my nose a bit.

"I've looked into things a bit and the humans here seem mostly at peace for the time being, so I didn't take you to belong to a warring nation.", Zastin also mused to himself.

"It's not like we humans are actually at war. There are many evil organizations out there that like to cause harm to its people. You familiar with superhumans, Zastin?", I asked Zastin, who quickly shook his head.

"Superhumans? Can't say I have.", Zastin said, shaking his head.

"Then if you still plan to hang around some, you can look into the superhumans our world has. I would even go as far as to look into a race known as the Saiyans. I am not sure if His Majesty has come across them.", I suggested to Zastin, which raised his interest, hearing another word he wasn't familiar with.

"The Saiyan Race, eh? There are many aliens out there, but they are likely one of many. I can definitely look into them.", Zastin said.

"I'd appreciate that.", I replied. I decided to leave the discussion of Dragon Balls existing alone for now, these two didn't need to know that unless Lala does end up staying here in the long term.

"I have a better bearing of things now too, so thanks for explaining how it's like here, Baki-kun. I am looking forward to attending your school~", Lala replied, clapping her hands.

"So you say thinking you'll remain here after the next two days pass.", I retorted with a playful smirk on my face.

"Hehe, the one who has to say no is you Baki-kun~", Lala retorted with a teasing tone.

"Ugh, don't remind me.", I said, shaking my head at her words.

"Haha, I have a feeling it won't turn out like that. Maybe it's just a hunch I have.", Zastin said, doing a small motion of his hand. Who knows, perhaps the engagement will get finalized in two coming days, and nothing else will happen?

"Anyways, apart from the Kourakuen fighting arena, there is one final place I want to show you for now, Lala-can.", I began to say, pointing my finger toward one more building far off in the distance. But it was close enough where we could see a rather tall and unique building with a large, plastered image on it, which took up the bulk of the front side of the building. Just this front side of the building made it stand out from the rest.

On it had Doppo's plastered image of him wearing a martial art gi and a black belt, facing off against a monstrous animal, a white tiger, with Doppo in a winning stance against it. He was one, if not the only person to have actually slain a white tiger with his bare hands in the past.

"And that building, Lala-chan, that's the Shinshinkai Dojo we will be heading to in an hour, courtesy of the Grandmaster himself.", I explained, pointing my finger at the very large distance in the distance.

"Oooh, that bald guy did mention you went there last night. I didn't think humans could become that large.", Lala mused.

"You met that poster guy directly, Lala-sama?", Zastin said, observing Doppo's image for a good minute before he turned toward Lala's direction.

"Yep! He gave off a hidden pressure, I could tell he was pretty dangerous, but he didn't act out of line. Is he your friend, Baki-kun?", Lala asked me.

"Friend? That I am not sure. I can say that he is the most renowned in the field of Karate, and specializes in an art that his dojo takes pride in. Among the martial arts we have, its striking power boasts tremendous strength. Remember that my oyaji is called the strongest creature on earth? Figures like Doppo possess similar strength to him, but I don't know how they would fare against each other. I regret to say even my current strength pales in front of Doppo.", I explained, scratching my cheek a bit.

"And such a prominent figure is walking about not too far away from here?", Zastin mused.

"Take it as you will, but Doppo has his own morals he goes by, as do I. He invited me to what he calls his home turf, so I'll respond to it. A fight could erupt, considering he has a special event happening today. Perhaps it wasn't just by coincidence he wanted to bring me there.", I said, shrugging my shoulders at Zastin. "Are you fine with me bringing Lala to such a place?", I asked Zastin.

"I don't see a problem with it. Lala-sama can fend for herself quite easily. Isn't that right?", Zastin asked Lala.

"Yeah! Plus I even feel fully recharged after that delicious lunch too, Baki-kun. Don't worry, my body is quite sturdy, despite how I look. If something really does happen, I can use Warp-kun in a pinch.", Lala responded, assuring she would be fine heading to Doppo's dojo with me.

Right, I almost forgot about Lala's crazy inventions. Though if she did use her warping device, it couldn't target a specific destination, just something within a short distance, and it strips her clothes as a side effect. I do remember her improving it later on.

"Haha, got it. We'll be heading to that building in an hour from now. You're free to stay Zastin, but if you're done with your report gathering, we'll be staying up here for the next hour.", I said to Zastin. "I'll be doing what's called Shadow Training, and teaching Ki to Lala. You're welcome to stay though.", I said to him.

"Ki? You know about Ki?", Zastin immediately retorted me with a surprised look in his eyes. I didn't expect Zastin to react like this, even going as far as to place his hands on my shoulders.

"What's Ki, Zastin?", Lala also questioned.

"Do I know it? His Majesty frequently trains ki release. That's part of why he grew to be so powerful. I was not expecting such a backwater planet to know of ki's existence.", Zastin explained.

'So Gid trained in the use of ki? Kind of makes sense in a way seeing how powerful he was in the To-Love Ru-verse. He had his racial traits backing him up, but by training in ki, one can strengthen one's body to unsurpassable heights. That much was shown in the DBZ-Verse where figures would show up, capable of destroying planets with ease or just by a snap of a finger.

"There's only a select few that know how to utilize it. I currently do not know their location here, so I was hoping you could help with that, Zastin. That was part of why I wanted you to investigate the Saiyan Race.", I explained, shedding light on the matter. Zastin nodded his head in a serious manner.

"Understood. Now it's becoming clearer. To think there would be humans or perhaps an alien race that can make use of ki. Are you suggesting you can as well, Baki-sama?", Zastin asked with interest.

"I can feel a strange flow of energy inside of me, but I haven't found a way to control it yet. This was the other reason why I came up to my terrace, Lala-chan. Training in ki requires a clear mind, among other things.", I said.

"Oh! Now that you mention it, it is quite soothing up here.", Lala happily responded.

"Right?", I said. After saying that, I turned around, and approached the entrance to the terrace, which was a large hatch door that was still open, and created a small distance between me, Lala, and Zastin. There were a couple benches around, as well as some potted plants to create more ambiance.

After creating some space, I turned back around, and suddenly sat down, crossing my legs, and entered the famous lotus position. Seeing me do this, Zastin walked over toward one corner of the terrace, and started to observe the bustling streets that eventually crossed into the large Tokyo Dome.

Lala saw me do this and walked my way, but still kept her distance.

"So what are you going to do by doing this, Baki-kun?", Lala asked.

"I need to be of a calm mind. What I will be doing is a form of meditation. Why don't you just sit there for now, Lala-chan?", I asked her.

"Hai~", Lala said, raising her hand at me. Lala found herself comfortable, and started to enjoy the passing wind, sitting down herself. Zastin just watched on with interest, creating some space for me.