Chapter 22: Chapter 22. Mercenary Tao

   Ryan-" First time I have ever seen a volcanoe erupt."

   -" swish, swish, swish." (Helicopter sounds)

   Upa-" Did your girlfriend make those too?"

   Ryan-" No, she is far beyond making rotary blade engines."

   Upa-" Huh? Whats that ball floating behind you? How is it floating?"

   I bring the Dragonball to infront of me to be easily seen and continue the conversation, allowing Upa to see it.

   Ryan-" It's a birthday gift for my girlfriend actually. It's a little hot still but, it'll cool off. And it's floating because I want it to. Can't leave it laying on the ground now can I?"

   As I'm talking to Upa, Bora awaits the soldiers from the helicopters.

   Bora-" Who are you."

   Cap'n Yellow-" I'm Captain Yellow of the Red Ribbon Ar-"

   Grunt-" Cap'n, do you see that! The Dragonball, it's floating midair!"

   Captain Yellow wasted no time in pulling out his weapon, threatening us along with his men

   Cap'n Yellow-" All of you! Back away from the dragonba-

   Grunt-" It's moving! Look at it Cap'n!"

   Cap'n Yellow-" I have eyes, I can see you moron! Go get it!"

   As the grunt walks up to the Dragonball I had moved in between us and them. Bora moves to stop them, but I stop him, I want the red ribbon to send Tao looking for me afterall. Goku's group is likely using Kashi's hammerspace again, leaving the Red Ribbon Army nothing to track.

   Ryan-" Let me handle this Bora, worry about Upa, this is no place for a child. Also Upa, please close your eyes."

   I say this while giving Bora a serious look.

   Bora-" Close your eyes Upa and keep them closed."

   Upa-" Okay."

   By now the grunt has made it to the dragonball and I mentally allow it to be moved towards them.

   Cap'n Yellow-" Finally I have the Dragonball!"

   We watch the grunt hand it over to his Captain, and I make him fumble it onto the ground with some more telekinesis.

   Cap'n Yellow-" You buffoon, how could you drop it! Hurry pick it up!"

    I continue to manipulate the ball letting it roll around the groups feet always just out of reach.

   Cap'n Yellow-" Get that damn ball!"

   Once his group has turned around and is not pointing guns in Upa's direction I turn the Dragonball into a weapon of instant death with my telekinesis.

   -" POP!,POP!,POP!POP!,POP!........."

   Bora looks at me cautiously for what I did, driving the Dragonball through their heads, turning their brains to a fine pink mist. It's unsettling but a quick painless death, for soldiers who deserve far worse.

   With a little magic I compress the soldiers into a large ball, and open a deep pit away from the tower drooping them all in including the grenadier from Cannon. After closing th pit I ask Bora.

   Ryan -" He should be fine to open his eyes now. You have any plans for the helicopters?"

   Bora-" You can open your eyes again Upa."

   Upa-" Where did the bad men go?"

   Bora-" They are gone now Upa. No, I have no use for the vehicles myself."

   With Cap'n yellow dead, hopefully Tao will show up soon.

   Ryan-" More will come. This is no place for Upa. I will watch the tower. You should take Upa back to the tribe and warn them."

   Bora-" My duty as Gaurdian-"

   Ryan-" Includes the people who live in the land. Go Bora, take Upa back home where it's safe. Come back later by yourself if you must."

   Bora-" Very well. I leave the duty of gaurdian in your hands."

   Shortly after Bora leaves I pull out my phone I haven't used in days and call Bulma.

   -"brbrbr......brbrbr........brbrbrb"

   Bulma-" Hey, handsome it's nice to see you haven't forgotten about me."

   Ryan-" I called you last weekend. I thought you were on a girl trip. You all are taking forever gathering the balls by the way."

   Bulma-" Don't you throw my words back at me buster! Now, what did you want?"

   Ryan-" Well I just so happen to have the  4 star ball in my possession. A bunch of Red Ribbon Army equipment capsules as well."

   Bulma, "Where are you again? And how did you get a dragonball without a radar?"

   Ryan-" I'm still in Korin forest that makes up the sacred land of Korin. South by South east of Yahho. And it sorta fell into my lap. A lucky coincidence. "

   Bulma-" I see it on the radar. It'll take us nearly a day to get that far. Kashi can't fly as fast as the Nimbus yet. And Red Ribbon Army goons are everywhere looking for us."

   Ryan-" That's fine. You know what tomorrow is right?"

   Bulma-" I take it the Dragonball is my gift isn't it?"

   Ryan-" Sometimes you are too smart. For your own good. I got company on the way, I'll See you tomorrow, fly safe."

   Bulma-" Kashi has us covered. I'll see you soon, bye."

   I already sense Mercenary Tao headed this way. R&R must be pissed that they keep losing track of the balls. Deciding to test my abilities but, be safe from a stupid death. I decide to form some armor under my kosode with a bit of quicksilver, Just incase Tao goes for the same shot that almost killed Goku. 

   I then begin to form a sword, I can't help but love Kenpachi Zaraki's Zanpokuto's serated edge. It looks like a gruesome sword for sure. I go with that for now, I don't want Tao to see me moving the silver yet so I do so discreetly now before he lands. With my horns still hidden I look like a normal human swordsman, maybe i can reveal them and get some shock out of him. Or better yet I can do this.

   -"BOOOMM!!"

   Ryan-"Tao Pai Pia, I'm here for your head."

   I make this statement after stopping the tree Tao rode in on with telekinesis while it was still in the air. Letting the middle age assassin continue on without his ride for a hasty landing.

   Tao-" A rude bounty hunter looking for me here? How did you know i would be here?

   To answer Tao's question I float the Dragonball around myself.

   Tao-" I see my employers allowed information to leak. Telekinesis is an Impressive ability young man, try this one, DODON RAY!"

   Tao wasted no time, and attacks with his signature move. With a quick charge he fires the beam at me with a single finger, and I decide to block it. Letting me get a sense of how my defense holds up. 

   I watch how the bright yellow ki attack nears me. I coat my left hand in ki and forcefully catch the approaching beam."

   With a mighty crackle the beam attack meets my now silver coated hand, and exerts a lot of physical force upon me. I can feel it trying to pierce my defense, to drive me back. However unlike Goku I'm not going to be left burned from this at all. The attack slowly fizzles out having only singed my clothes. I ask Tao in my best condescending voice.

   Ryan-" Is that all? Taking your head for the bounty will be easy."

   Tao-" It's impossible! Noone has ever withstood that attack! You have earned my respect, but you must die. Since you are swordsman let's settle this with our blades."

   Tao release's a capsule containing a curved sword and takes a stance wanting to settle this with blades.

   Ryan-" I'm much more that a simple swordsman, Mercenary Tao."

   Ryan-" Catch this! RAILGUN!

   I use my magic to make a few dozen iron balls the size of marbles, combined with some magnetic magic to keep them aimed properly. I use a Kiai and telekinesis to send them downrange.

   I launch them one after the other starting slow. I don't want this fight to end too early.

   The attack is formed in less than a second and I send the first one at him with a high frequency vibration being the only noise the murderer can here.

   -SSShhhrieeeekkkk.....BOOM!!

   Tao-" What the hell is that? I thought you were a Swordsman!"

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   Ryan-" The Game has only begun Tao. Don't quit on me early keep dodging."

   -Shriek...BOOM!, shriek..boom, shriek..boom, shriek..boom.

   Tao-" Stop that and fight me!

   Ryan-" Do I hear the infamous Mercenary Tao, bitching? Try this then, BIRDSHOT!

   while not as accurate or as fast as railigun. This time he isn't dodging a singular projectile either.

   -zip,zip,zip,Ting, ting ,ting...

   Tao- "ha, ha, ha, ha, ha."

   Ryan-"That was an excellent show of your skill with the sword. Deflecting those isn't easy."

   Tao-" You think you can Toy with me, The Great Mercenary Tao!"

   Ryan-"Yes I do. Try this one, Flash steps!"

   I appear above mercenary Tao and swing my sword, he dodges the attack by ducking and rolling away, but I got what I wanted.

   Ryan-" I bet some eccentric person would love to be the owner of The Mercenary Tao's ponytail. This will do well at an auction. You just keep getting more and more valuable Tao."

   Tao-"No more games! Ahhhh."

   having successfully angered Tao, he runs at me with his chipped sword and begins to swing. I swing to meet his blade but I'm done with this fight now. I only have one more move to test on him that I can use in this forest responsibly. Plus I have to honor the main man.

   Ryan-" Drink!"

   At my command the liquid silver changes the sword in my hand into a giant cleaver, putting all of it to use, even the armor I was wearing. My new sword meets his, and I plow through Tao's sword, and Tao himself from shoulder to hip. He doesn't even let out a whimper. But his body and blood make plenty of noise as his organs fall out, and his two halfs fall to the ground.

   Ryan-" That stinks!" 

   Bora-" You exposed his organs, what did you expect?"

   Ryan-" Nice to see you too Bora."

   Bora-" Why do you name your attacks and say them like that? Looks stupid to me."

   Ryan-" I thought so too, but naming your attacks allows for better muscle memory and quicker use of those attacks.  Its a mental trick. Also it's cool, how else would the Kamehameha get famous if nobody hears the attack name?"

   Bora-" Whatever, dispose of the body and I'll get Upa from the village. You are invited to dinner with us."

   Ryan-"More enemies may show up."

   Bora-" That has always been a possibility."

   As Bora leaves to gather Upa, I first store the Dragonball. Then I destroy any tech on Tao, and incase him in ice. Sadly I don't have the teleportation tags so i store the ice block Tao in my hammerspace until Kashi arrives.

   -Poof!

   I deploy my ship, stripping, my bloody clothes off as I walk up the ramp to get  a new set. On the way i check my power level. Although him not being able to harm me with a blocked Dodon ray was expected, it's still amazing to see my defense in action.

   -Beep.

   177. I'm still weaker than Goku was at the tournament. Yet Tao felt weaker than myself in action. Like a limp noodle. I didn't get an accurate read on his power level, but I sensed it was similar to mine during the fight. Yet all his actions were slow. This must be my augments making the difference. They must be showing dividends as my power level and my skill at enhancing my strength increases. Not to mention that my quicksilver constructs are powered by my Ki. That sword I made at the end had a boosted attack rating of over 300. Much like the Kamehameha, many techniques can increase the power level of the user.

   This is invaluable data for me. I know now that I'm stronger than my power level shows. Combined with my techniques and quicksilver, I don't have much worries until Raditz shows himself.  And by then I hope to be far stronger than him.

   Upa- "Are you in there weird man? Dinner will be ready soon"

   Ryan-" My name is Ryan, Upa. What's for dinner?"

   

   LATER THAT NIGHT.

   Bora-"  You claim to have reached the top of the tower. Do you have proof?"

   Ryan-" Only my words, if it is proof you seek, climb it yourself."

   Bora-" Maybe I shall."

   Upa-" What was at the top of the tower?"

   Ryan-" An adorable fluffy white cat, who ate all my fish, and taught me the ancient song of his people."

   Upa-" What is the song? Sing it for us!"

   Ryan-" I cannot, if you want to hear this song full of wisdom. You must climb the tower yourself."

   Upa-" I'm going to practice my climbing!"

   Bora-" It's time for bed Upa. I'll keep watch with our guest. Go get some rest."

   Upa-" Yes, Papa."

   Ryan-" Goodnight Upa."

   Upa-" Goodnight weird man!"

   Ryan-" You have a good son there Bora. Most kids wouldn't listen quite so well. 

   Bora-" He is a well behaved child, it is one of the reasons that I chose him as my successor. One day he will take my place."

   Ryan-" With any luck that will be a long ways away. I'll be retiring to my ship for the night, but I'll stay alert for any intruders. Once my friends arrive I'll be leaving."

   Bora-" Thank you for all of your help, you are welcome here anytime Ryan.

   Ryan-" My friends may come seeking to climb the tower one day Bora. Don't let them beat you to the top."

   With our goodbyes said I went back into my ship and pulled out a bed from my hammerspace. It was unlikely the Red Ribbon would come here again after I made the Dragonball dissappear. And the ship would alert me to any other vehicles nearby. But before I slept I had to make a call.

   -brbrbr....brbrbr....brbrbrb

   Bulma- It's awful late, why are you calling now?

   Ryan-" Because is past midnight here. And I wanted to be first. Happy birthday Bulma.

   Bulma-" Thank you Ryan. You may be cheesy, but you certainly are sweet.  You wouldn't imagine what we found the other day. Do you remember that old legend of the pirates treasure?"

   Ryan-" The one about a lost treasure in Pirates cave?"

   Bulma-" Yeah, that one. While tracking one of the balls underwater, R&R attacked our sub, and we were forced to run away. It forced us to the underwater entrance to the pirates cave. There was an entire abandoned facility down there full of traps. We explored the area and found a giant robot that was left to gaurd the facility. Kashi used her illusions to make us invisible while it attacked the Red Ribbon army soldiers. 

   After we snuck past, we found the treasure hidden past some walls. Kashi used her hammerspace to store most of it. And Goku found the ball underwater. We made it out safely and now Kashi is wearing gold jewelry like some kind of royalty. They didn't let me get the robot though.

   Ryan-" How did Chi-Chi like finding so much treasure?"

   Bulma-" Well, we couldn't let an actual princess go without. She freaked out for a while once she realized that neither Goku nor she will ever have to work in their life."

   Ryan-" Sounds like more time for training to me."

   Bulma-" So why did your dragonball dissappear?"

   Ryan-" Well, after I talked to you last, the R&R sent Mercenary Tao."

   Bulma-" The Mercenary Tao you warned me about? The one with a hundred million bounty on his head!? Are you ok?"

   Ryan-" Yes, I'm fine Bulma. I neutralized Mercenary Tao, and sealed him in ice. I need you and Kashi to get here asap so I can get the tags from her."

   Bulma-" I'm glad they didn't send him after us. Anyways, let me wake everyone up. We will fly through the night and meet you first thing in the morning."

   Ryan-" See you soon Bulma."

   Bulma-" Bye."

   After my call with Bulma finished I laid down on the full size mattress I keep in my hammerspace and fell asleep. I have a crane to start hunting tomorrow and two students to recruit for Roshi.

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