How Grandpa Gohan met the Turtle Hermit

Set in Age 683, this is a story which shows how a younger Grandpa Gohan met Master Roshi and became his student.

Story
Sometimes the sea is like a vast wasteland and fishermen have no luck. Under all of those waves, there may be nothing. Treasure hunters may also have no luck in the vast seas of the world. Many compete with pirates in their quest for riches and some are killed by pirates. Piracy was anything but extinct and Earth’s government actively worked to stop the pirates with the world’s navy. However, the navy was not strong enough to police all of the world’s oceans. Everyone knew the risks of the world’s oceans but that did not stop a man named Son Gohan from looking for treasure.

Gohan did not look like a very intimidating man. He was only around 162 centimeters in height but was slightly muscular. Some mistook him for being weak but that was not true. Pirates who viewed him as an easy target later regretted it. In his hometown, he was something of a legend. He always won in bar brawls and defeated a local boxing champion. His hometown, Feiyu Haian, was a coastal town. But there was nothing for him back there. He didn’t want to be a fisherman or a schoolteacher, the main jobs in that place. He was an adventurer and left that town years ago in a quest for treasure.

One day, Gohan sat in his boat. He was probably far away from any land but not any pirates. He was minding his own business looking at a map that would show where some hidden treasure was.

“Ah, so that is where they say it is buried. But I have already checked there. Who could have possibly taken it?”

A speedboat passed by, disturbing Gohan’s peace. He lost his train of thought and noticed that they were heading straight for him.

“What’s that you got there with you? Is it a treasure map?” A man in a speedboat asked, sounding intimidating.

“If it is, we’ll be taking it.” Another man said.

There were four men on the speedboat which had a pirate flag. But Gohan was not scared. These were the Sea Wolves, a notorious pirate gang. There were more of them besides those guys since they were sort of a large organization. In every one of his encounters with them, Gohan had defeated them.

“No thanks. It’s mine.” Gohan said.

Two of the men jumped on board Gohan’s boat without any warning. At gunpoint, they threatened him.

“Looks like you’ve found some treasure. Lots of gold coins from wrecked ships. Mind giving that to us?” Said one of the Sea Wolves.

The two men wore raggedy clothing and smelled bad. They had teeth missing and one wore an eyepatch.

Gohan knocked the pistol out of the man’s hand and side-kicked the other pirate out of his boat. The other pirates in the Sea Wolves boat looked in awe and drew their cutlasses. The disarmed Sea Wolf took a swing at Gohan but his hand was grabbed and he was flipped out of the boat.

Both of the pirates swam in terror as sharks chased them.

“Save us! Save us boss!” They cried out to their captain. “Are you going to help your buddies and get lost? Or are you going to bother me?” Gohan said.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve talking to a Sea Wolf like that!” A man with a hooked hand said.

One of the Sea Wolves was not so lucky, the water turning crimson where he had been dragged down by a shark. The other Sea Wolf who was sent into the water had climbed back aboard the speedboat.

Gohan ducked as two of the pirates shot at him with their pistols. He threw a smoke bomb onto their speedboat. In a puff of smoke, they stopped shooting as they were stunned. Gohan jumped onto their boat, knocking a guy out with a single kick. He disarmed a pirate of his own cutlass and cut down another.

There were two pirates left. One was a very burly man and the other was a hook handed man with long red hair. The burly man slashed at Gohan with his cutlass while the hook handed man, whom Gohan had disarmed of his cutlass, kicked him. Gohan managed to avoid both attacks, amazing them. He knocked the hook handed man out with an elbow to the face and then punched the burly man in the stomach. After this, he gouged the man’s eyes and then slammed a palm into his face. The burly man fell down.

Gohan chuckled to himself. He called that move “Rock, Scissors N’ Paper.”

Distances away, Gohan was being watched through a spyglass.

“Ho ho ho. My, my. That lad is quite a fighter. What is he doing all the way out here?” An old man said.

Gohan had beady eyes and bushy eyebrows. His hair was black and he wore it in a crew cut. His outfit consisted of a green vest over a brown tunic with some cargo shorts and sandals. Many thought he looked just like an ordinary guy and not a good brawler who took down pirates.

Gohan saw that his boat was getting a bit flooded because of some bullet holes. So he took all of his treasure and put it in the Sea Wolves speedboat. He tossed the unconscious bodies of the pirates into the ocean and tore off the flag of the Sea Wolves. The Sea Wolf flag was tossed into the water as well.

Getting the speedboat working, Gohan began to head north in it.

The old man watching Gohan through a spyglass noticed he was getting closer and closer in his speedboat. Closer to the old man’s island.

A while later, Gohan noticed the old man on his island ahead.

The old man yelled out. “What are you doing out here?”

“Treasure hunting!” Gohan replied.

“You’re a good fighter, son! You must be hungry from sailing?”

“Sure, I could do with a meal!”

“You’re free to stop here at my island.” The old man said. Gohan parked the speedboat at some wooden docks on the old man’s small island.

He saw that the old man was living in a shack. A loggerhead turtle was on the island near the shack.

“Hello.” Said the loggerhead turtle.

“Ho ho. That’s my friend, Turtle.” The old man said.

“A turtle that can talk?” Gohan said.

“He keeps me company. I am a hermit, you see. He learned to talk after living with me for years.”

“There are stories about an old man who lives on a remote island. A wise old hermit.” Gohan said.

“Ho ho, there are many stories like that.”

The old hermit whom Gohan had met was bald with a white Fu Manchu mustache and beard. He was around 165 centimeters tall and wore a vacation shirt and khaki shorts with sandals. The old man had a walking stick and wore a turtle shell on his back, which Gohan found odd. He also wore sunglasses.

“Say, why do you wear that shell on your back?”

“Because I am Master Roshi, the Turtle Hermit. Haven’t you heard of me?”

“That is impossible. You’d be more than two centuries old!”

“I am 253 years old, yes.” The hermit said.

“How can you be that old?”

“We martial artists have our secrets.”

“If you’re the Turtle Hermit, prove it.” Gohan said.

“Alrighty.” Roshi said.

Roshi threw down his walking stick and turtle shell. He took off his shirt and seemed like a scrawny old man but suddenly became very buff. He got into some sort of a stance.

“KA...ME...HA….ME...HAAAAAA!”

Roshi shot a large blue energy wave across the ocean, splitting the waves.

“The Kamehameha? The Turtle Destruction Wave! Now that was another legend but...it is real?”

“Yep. It is real alright.” Roshi said.

“A-amazing!” Gohan said, bowing. “Teach me!”

“Alright. I will teach you.” Roshi said. “Say, how old are you?”

“I am 25.” Gohan said.

“You seem like an experienced fighter. Most people couldn’t take out armed pirates with as much ease as you did. Not a scratch on you. Have you studied martial arts before?”

“No, but I was a brawler back in my hometown.”

“And where is that?”

“Feiyu Haian. Boring coastal town with lots of fishermen.”

“What’s your name?” Roshi asked.

“Gohan. Son Gohan!”

And that is how Son Gohan, adoptive grandfather of Son Goku, came to meet the Turtle Hermit. He would eventually meet the Ox-King and train alongside him, also becoming a wielder of the power pole and learning the Kamehameha Wave.