"Why do you think we never wished to do that with King Piccolo?" Master Roshi stated. "There are limits to the Dragon Balls."
"I suppose we could just wish for something simple," Tien said, lips pressed together in a thin line that made it clear he didn't like wasting a wish like that.
"Oh!" Goku said. "We could ask for a TON of food! We'll need to eat when we train!"
"Shenron is not a caterer!" Bulma shouted.
"What about a lifetime supply of beer?" Master Roshi said with a grin, rubbing his hands together.
Krillin huffed. "Considering what you love I'm surprised you didn't ask for a lifetime of p-"
Kayos stepped forward. "Oh Mighty Shenron! Hear me and only me! I have a wish!"
'Well… this is going to be interesting,' Piccolo thought as everyone focused on the blond man.
~MC~MC~MC~
"I knew we couldn't trust him!" Krillin shouted behind me and I did my best to block that out. Apparently he hadn't taken my comment about poisons lightly. "He's probably going to wish for immortality for himself!"
"Come on Krillin," Goku called out, "Kayos said that was a dumb wish. Why would he ask for that?"
"Because he was tricking us!" Krillin demanded.
Chichi spoke up. "We fought with Kayos against the Dragon Lord… if he has an idea for a wish I want to hear it!"
"More of a theory," I stated, looking up at Shenron. He was massive and made me feel utterly tiny and I was doing all I could not to piss myself in his presence. "I imagine, Great Shenron, that you get tired of people summoning you for petty wishes."
"Not as much as people refusing to make wishes," he warned me.
"Point taken. Which is why I make this wish: I ask for you to provide me with an indestructible scroll, that will come to my hand when I mentally summon it, and will provide in writing, that I can read and understand fully, the answer to all questions I ask of it!"
I had taken the time to think the wish over carefully. While Shenron had proven to never try and twist any wishes to harm the wisher… well, enough tales about genies had taught me that you left as little wiggle room as possible. I needed a scroll that couldn't be burned, stolen, or would write in some strange alien language. And would answer more than one question. I was sure there were ways for Shenron to dick with me if he wished but I was hopeful that he would accept what I wanted to work to create such a scroll… or even a better version.
I held my breath… and then felt a tingle in my right hand. I held my arm out and after a moment a traditional Japanese scroll flew into my hand, striking my palm with a dull slap.
"Your wish has been granted! Farewell!" With that Shenron dove back down, returning to the Dragon Balls with suddenly rose into the air, glowing a pure white before they shot out in different directions, waiting for a year to recharge and be used again.
"Going to wish for immortality, am I?" I asked Krillin who had the decency to glance away, eyes shut and arms folded over his chest. I smacked the scroll against my open palm, looking it over carefully. "Well, we need a name for this thing. Powerful mystical relics need names, right? Scroll of Knowledge? That too on the nose?"
Goku frowned, leaning forward to look at the scroll better. "But why did you ask for that?" he asked. "You could have asked to… increase your ki or master a fighting style!"
"You think too small, Goku," I teased, Isco zooming over to push him back. "Watch." I unrolled the scroll. "What would be the best method to allow Krillin during the next year to unlock his full potential as a fighter?"
"Wha?" Krillin exclaimed, snapping his head towards me. But even as he did so the scroll began to write down upon itself the answer.
GO TO THE TEMPLE
OF THE REPENTENT MISER
AND SEEK THE TEXTS OF
THE SELFISH ONES
"The… what now?"
"OH!" Roshi exclaimed in surprise. "I've heard of the Selflish Ones! It was rumored that they learned how to ensure that they lost not a drop of Ki when in battle unless they willed themselves to."
"Not lose any ki?" Krillin murmured.
Piccolo narrowed his eyes at that. "Whenever one battles they naturally lose ki… it is impossible to not let it leak out." He held out his hand and began to channel a ki blast and sure enough I saw that energy began to flicker off his fingers like smoke from a fire. "it is a natural thing. That's why the more powerful the attack the more it drains you."
"So its like the laws of thermodynamics!" Bulma stated. "Its impossible to get more energy than what you put in. You lose it to heat or other factors…"
"But according to the scroll," I said, "it's possible."
Krillin was staring down at his hands before he too began to form some ki blast energy. "I will never be as strong as Goku… I know that. Accepted that. But if I could learn how to keep my ki so that I only used it to power myself and my attacks…"
I grinned and walked away from him, wiggling the scroll. "That's why I made the wish. One wish for me to be a better fighter? That's old and busted. A scroll that tells all of us how to go past our limits and become stronger? Oh… that's the new hotness."
"Wow," Tien whispered. "With that… you could…" he trailed off, unable to finish.
"Yeah," I said with a grin, looking at them all. "So I guess it's a good thing Bulma hired me for a long time because it looks like Isco and I will be sticking around for a year!"
"I suppose I don't have a choice in this, sir?"
"Oh, you have a choice. You can leave right now."
"…I sense a trick."
"Well, other than you'll have to return your cut of our paycheck from her… I have a scroll that gives answers. Want to learn how to turn air into gold?" I asked him.
I could practically hear the cash register chimes in his little shell.