"What do you think the Demon King will specifically wish for once he collects them?" Krillin asked the room.
"Conquering the world or some other evil scheme," Yamcha added with a scowl. "Either way, it won't be anything good."
"I think he wants to restore his lost youth." Naruto's bold guess drew everyone's immediate attention. "Nothing withstands the ravages of time, not even a terrifying demon king."
"Hundreds of years pass, the world changes, and everything transforms. He was sealed away securely, but time kept flowing. If I were that demon king, the very first thing I'd do after breaking the seal would be to find a way to regain my prime youth."
"Considering how much time has passed, his body must be far weaker than it was before."
"Master Roshi thinks the exact same thing, right?"
Master Roshi wondered, 'Do I?'
Aloud, he replied smoothly, "That's right. That's exactly what I've been thinking."
'Did he really?'
Krillin and Yamcha cast highly doubtful looks his way. Only Chiaotzu and Tien, completely unfamiliar with Master Roshi's usual shameless antics, looked at him with genuine admiration.
'Wait, if Naruto is right, if Piccolo has grown physically weak over the centuries, then there is still hope for victory.'
'No wonder he's so desperate to collect the Dragon Balls. He wants his youth back.'
Having mentally deduced the demon king's real purpose, Master Roshi finally calmed down. He looked seriously at Naruto. "If the first objective is to restore his youth, then what exactly is the second?"
'Is Master Roshi purposefully testing me?' Naruto asked himself, looking incredibly confident. 'I can't let him down.'
"Piccolo's second objective is to track down and kill every martial artist."
"Kill all martial artists? Why?" Krillin asked, thoroughly confused.
"Master Roshi just explained it," Naruto said patiently. "Master Mutaito used a powerful sealing technique called the Evil Containment Wave to seal Piccolo away."
"If you were Piccolo, wouldn't you deeply fear the Evil Containment Wave after hundreds of years trapped by it? Wouldn't you worry that others in this world still know how to use the technique?"
"If I were Piccolo, I would definitely be worried. Mutaito sealed him for centuries, in the time since, others could have easily learned it."
"What do you think I would do?"
"I would send my loyal minions out to hunt down and kill every powerful martial artist alive."
"If any of them actually know that sealing technique, then it's the expendable minions who get sealed, not the Demon King himself."
"So that's how it is," Yamcha nodded slowly. "That Demon King is detestable. He's using his subordinates as expendable scouts."
"You're amazing, Naruto." Goku didn't understand most of the deep conversation, but that didn't stop him from praising his new friend. If Naruto spoke with such unwavering conviction, he had to be right.
"I just deduced this logically from the scattered information the Demon Clan member revealed. It's nothing."
Naruto turned back to Master Roshi respectfully. "It may not be completely accurate, but I'm ninety percent confident. And Master Roshi already figured this out long ago, didn't you?"
'Did that Demon Clan member really say all that? Why don't I remember any of it?'
'Now that I think about it, he actually did reveal quite a lot while gloating.'
"Ah, yes, yes." While his mind raced frantically, Master Roshi stroked his white beard and nodded.
"I didn't expect Master Roshi's analytical ability to be so sharp. I've severely underestimated you this whole time," Krillin praised sincerely.
"Hmph, you brats! Only now do you finally realize how formidable I am?" Master Roshi knocked Krillin hard on his smooth head and looked at the group shamelessly.
"But don't underestimate Naruto either. To easily deduce this much from so little information, his deductive ability is right up there with mine."
Master Roshi eagerly joined the mutual flattery, which was exactly Naruto's hidden goal. He wanted to firmly build a persona of high intelligence in everyone's minds.
That way, when he later made statements that sounded like impossible prophecies, it would feel perfectly natural rather than completely abrupt.
Still, the sheer confidence required to say "right up there with mine" was classic Master Roshi. The thickness of that man's metaphorical skin might not even be pierced by a direct bomb blast.
"So what do we do now?" Tien asked, his fists clenched. "Should we gather our full strength and eliminate the Demon King?"
"No." Naruto shook his head firmly. "Even if we gathered every single martial artist on Earth, we still wouldn't be his match."
Naruto wasn't natively an Earth martial artist, so he deliberately didn't include himself in that grim calculation.
"Naruto," Krillin asked, still confused. "Didn't you just say the Demon King's strength had significantly weakened?"
Naruto nodded. "Even if old age has weakened him, he is still leagues beyond our reach."
"I can sense the vast power gap between us."
"Even if Master Roshi, the strongest here, Tien, and Goku all aggressively attacked together, he could still defeat them with one hand tied."
Regardless of whether ki sensing became commonplace much later, it was a perfect tool for showing off right now.
Krillin sighed. Though they hadn't actually fought, he had a rough idea of Goku's limits, and Master Roshi was even more unfathomable. If even those three fiercely working together couldn't win...
Unthinkable.
Krillin swallowed hard. "Is the Demon King's power really that terrifying?"
"His power is entirely extreme," Master Roshi answered, his expression deadly grim. "You didn't live through that dark era. No matter how I describe it, you cannot truly imagine how powerful he was."
"You are rare, gifted prodigies, the kind that appear once in a hundred years. But centuries ago, during the peak of martial arts, there were many who were as strong as you, or far stronger."
"Even then, with the combined desperate strength of martial artists from all over the world, they still couldn't defeat that Demon King."
"Then what do we do?" Yamcha looked entirely dejected. He had once thought he was strong, but one expert after another steadily appeared, each heavily surpassing him. This martial arts tournament had already crushed his fragile confidence many times. "Are we just waiting to die?"
"Of course not." Naruto smiled knowingly at Master Roshi. Master Roshi happened to look at Naruto at that exact moment, seeing the calm smile, he awkwardly returned a polite grin.
To the others, it looked exactly as though the two wise fighters were sharing a secret, knowing glance.
'It seems they already have a solid plan,' everyone thought with relief.
"As expected of Master Roshi. You've already seen right through my thoughts," Naruto continued smoothly, his face full of fake reverence. "Truly worthy of the God of Martial Arts."
Master Roshi wondered, 'Did I see through anything at all?'
Still, to faithfully maintain his dignity in front of his disciples, he nodded and looked deeply at Naruto. 'What did I see through? Hurry up and just say it.'
As if easily hearing Master Roshi's frantic inner voice, Naruto finally spoke up. "Master Roshi, allow me to explain the detailed plan to everyone. If there's any problem with my arrangement, please correct me immediately."
Master Roshi continued nodding wisely.
"First, if the Demon King wants to restore his prime youth, he must collect all the Dragon Balls. As long as we securely hold onto even one, he can never gather all seven."
Naruto casually held up the Four-Star Dragon Ball.
While the Dragon Radar could efficiently detect the balls, there were scientific ways to block the signals. The Pilaf Gang had once created specialized boxes for that very purpose.
If they could make one, Bulma could easily do the same.
Blocking the signal would make it a complete pipe dream for Piccolo to ever collect the set.
"If he can't gather all seven Dragon Balls, he can't summon Shenron, and he can't make his selfish wish. He'll be permanently stuck with his old, frail body."
Although the elderly Piccolo still possessed overwhelming battle power, his raw physical strength and endurance had declined significantly. During his peak, he had suffered greatly at the hands of martial artists and remained sealed away for hundreds of years. Given his cautious personality, he would never leave hiding permanently unless he fully restored his youth.
"I understand now."
Krillin's dark eyes brightened. Before Naruto could finish his explanation, he interrupted excitedly, "You're planning to hide the Dragon Ball, let him slowly age, and then simply wear him down until he dies!"
Krillin finished speaking with an eager expression that practically begged for praise.
"Hmm, wearing down the Demon King Piccolo? That is certainly a valid option." Master Roshi stroked his beard, appearing to seriously consider the tactical proposal.
Krillin wasn't entirely wrong, but waiting them out was definitely not Naruto's plan. If fighting Piccolo required such overly cautious tactics, dealing with Raditz later, let alone Frieza, would be an absolute nightmare.
"That's not it." Naruto shook his head gently. "Hiding the Dragon Balls is only the very first step."
"Once, I came across a dusty ancient text."
When in doubt, always consult an ancient text. Even Bulma originally discovered the legend of the Dragon Balls in an old book at her family home, which had kickstarted the entire grand journey. It only made sense that Naruto could easily learn a secret or two from ancient texts as well.
===============
Dear Readers and Fans,
For those eager to dive into next chapters earlier before others, I invite you to join us on Patreon. By becoming our Patron, you not only gain access to exclusive advanced chapters but also help us continue this endeavour and expand it further.
pat reo n.co m /8Ashes8
(no space)
You can read upto 30 Chapters in advance.