Dragon Ball Human

This didn't feel right.

No, no, something was off—his height, for one.

Sato Yamiru scrutinized the elderly man practicing martial arts. He was tall and slender, completely different from the short and hunched Master Roshi.

His demeanor didn't match either.

The man had prominent cheekbones, wore loose gray-green robes, and exuded an otherworldly aura—almost like a celestial being.

Yamiru paused as this thought crossed his mind.

"Celestial being," he mused. "Doesn't that feel a little out of place for the Dragon Ball aesthetic?"

But then again, wasn't he the most out-of-place element in this world?

"So what if it clashes? Let it clash," he thought.

No way was he changing his name, though—not in this lifetime. That was the only thing tying him to his past life.

So, the gray-green-robed old man's appearance and demeanor neither matched the turtle shell nor the muscle-bound forms of Master Roshi. He clearly wasn't the infamous perverted old man.

Could he be Master Shen?

There was a slight resemblance based on his looks.

But then again, was Master Shen even capable of such refined technique?

Not to mention Master Shen's sleazy, rat-faced grin and scruffy little mustache were so distinctive that Yamiru would recognize him immediately. The man standing before him clearly didn't have that vibe.

"Could this guy be a hidden mastial artists master in the Dragon Ball universe? Hmm, since I've actually crossed into this world, I shouldn't let my knowledge from the manga limit me. It's not out of the question." He lowered his gaze, deep in thought. "I, Yamiru, while doing morning exercises, stumbled across a martial arts master in the park…"

While his mind raced with chaotic thoughts, Yamiru was debating whether to approach this mysterious, seemingly powerful elder.

The whole scene screamed "trigger event" from a game or novel.

What if this was some legendary "Drunken Sword Master"? Wouldn't it be a shame to miss out?

"Thick skin is the key to mastery," Yamiru encouraged himself.

After all, wasn't it Goku who boldly sought out Master Roshi, Kami, and King Kai? And it all worked out! Perhaps the masters of the Dragon Ball world were eager to pass down their teachings. Hyping himself up with this logic, he resolutely walked toward the elder, who remained detached from the crowd. Despite Yamiru standing right in front of him, the old man carried on as if he didn't exist—eyes closed, moving slowly and gracefully through his martial arts routine.

"Excuse me?" Yamiru tilted his head slightly and tried speaking up.

In his mind, he imagined the old man opening his eyes and saying, "Hmm? Where did this little guy come from?" teasing him about his current short stature. Should he play along with a joke, perhaps cosplaying as Edward Elric and snapping back with, "Who are you calling short, old man?" Wouldn't that lighten the mood and leave a stronger impression?

But just as he was embellishing the scene in his mind, the elder still ignored him.

"Seriously? You didn't hear that?" Yamiru was baffled.

Watching the elder complete his routine, Yamiru refused to give up. Unwilling to admit defeat, he raised his voice and called out from behind the elder: "Hello! Sir!"

The other elderly people in the park's fitness area heard Yamiru's shout and turned to look… it seemed like they all thought he was calling out to them. When they saw a little kid trailing behind an unfamiliar old man, they quickly lost interest and went back to what they were doing. However, the gray-green robed elder, who had been the target of Yamiru's shout, finally paused in his movements. He twitched his ears slightly before slowly opening his eyes.

Thankfully, the elder had his back to Yamiru, or the sharp gleam in his eyes upon first opening them would have definitely frightened Yamiru.

The gleam flashed and was gone in an instant, and the elder's eyes settled back into the cloudy, typical state of an older person. He lowered his fists and turned to face Yamiru, his hands clasped behind his back. Looking around, he asked in confusion, "Hmm? Where'd the person go?"

:He actually said that!!" Yamiru took a deep breath.

True masters in the Dragon Ball world—especially the ones on Earth—would never neglect their training in ki.

But this old man seemed "blind and hard of hearing," which made Yamiru lean toward his previous suspicion… maybe it had all been a coincidence. Had he become too paranoid after crossing into this world? He felt slightly discouraged. On Earth, the true martial arts masters were limited to the Turtle and Crane schools, the Sacred Korin Tower, and the Kami's temple—strong masters could be counted on one hand. It was impossible that he'd just randomly run into a super powerful fighter who could shake an entire forest with a single punch.

"Oh, you're over here." The gray-green robed elder looked down and noticed Yamiru. "Little one, what's the matter?"

Can you fly? Can you throw energy blasts? Do you know Master Roshi? Have you climbed Korin Tower? Yamiru's mind raced with questions—these were his shallow, basic standards for measuring whether someone was a true martial artist on Earth. But as the words were about to leave his mouth, he suddenly realized how rude it would sound, so he changed his approach. With a cute expression, he asked instead:

"…Grandpa, are you thirsty?"

Smack! Yamiru mentally slapped himself. What an idiot.

The gray-green robed elder probably didn't expect Yamiru to say something like that, as he couldn't help but twitch his gray-white eyebrows. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he seemed to pull two coins out of nowhere and flicked them with his fingers, sending them flying into Yamiru's palm.

"Take it, I'm not thirsty," the elder said.

Yamiru stared in confusion. Wait… is he treating me like a little boy selling bottled water?

He looked down at the two coins in his palm.

Suddenly, something felt off. Yamiru turned his hand over, palm down, but the coins seemed to be stuck to his hand, as if they were magnetically attached, refusing to fall.

"Hey…" Yamiru shook his hand, but the coins stayed stuck. "Hey!"

He pried the coins off, only to realize that the small area of his palm felt numb and warm, almost as if it had lost sensation. But there were no coin-shaped marks, so it didn't seem like an injury.

The two coins, stacked on top of each other, refused to separate, no matter how hard he tried.

Yamiru: ...Now I really can't use them!

But this little trick immediately told Yamiru something important: This old man... had some serious skills!

He felt a surge of excitement, but when he looked up, the gray-green robed elder had already quietly slipped away, and Yamiru couldn't tell when he had left.

"Seriously?! You're just going to leave like that?!"

Yamiru, still holding the coins that wouldn't separate, caused a stir among all the elderly people in the park as he searched for the mysterious elder. But no matter how much he wandered around, he couldn't find any trace of the old man.

"Did he do that on purpose…"

Yamiru sat on a park bench, deep in thought, analyzing the situation.

"Assuming he's a hidden master, there's no way he didn't notice me getting that close."

"So, he deliberately ignored me."

Yamiru concluded that even if he had chosen a different opening line, the elder probably still wouldn't have bothered with him.

It made sense. The old man had been working out in the park, far from the others, clearly enjoying his solitude and not interested in mingling with the little kid who had wandered over.

"But why would he mistake me for a little boy selling bottled water and then still show off some real skills?"

Yamiru began to piece together the puzzle. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Wait a minute, if we're talking about the early stages of Dragon Ball being inspired by Journey to the West, there's Goku as Sun Sukon, Tien Shinhan as Erlang Shen, Chiaotzu resembling the celestial dog(Xiaotian Quan), Bulma as Tripitaka, Oolong as Zhu Bajie, and Krilin… well, he's at least a bald guy. But I've never heard of anyone based on Puti Laozu, Wukong teacher.