Soy Training - Part II (Solo/Paprika Wasteland)

Sometimes weird things happens and some of those things aren’t just something casual, they have a greater meaning behind them. Earth was a peaceful planet due to the nature and innate power of its main population, but it was also a very dangerous place to be, filled with terrible creatures that lurked around every corner of it, invading the small Blue Marble and tainting it with their evil ways. The saiyans were guilty of that, just like the Kold demons, the brenchians and the herans, but the funniest thing on such scenario was that one of the greatest threats to the small blue planet of the Solar System was created by the earthlings themselves. They had an amazing potential at creating thing, no wonder the Capsule Corporation had managed to create technology that completely outclassed any other technology in the world, despite the fact that Earth was among the less developed planets on the universe.

Maybe it was the reason behind so many different races got interested on such a faraway planet. Maybe that was the reason the Saiyan Empire tried to conquer it. Damn! Earth even had a namekian’s exclusive: a whole dragon ball set to fulfill the desires of anyone brave and lucky enough to gather them all. Nasu, the young saiyan warrior from the Alliance was just now starting to understand that, as he spent time on the planet, meeting a whole set of different people and situations so eclectic, that no other planet on the Northern Galaxy could even dream to compare. Not even the various races of the evil Planet Trade Organization could compare to it. And as he kept on learning the secrets of the Soy School, he also learned a bit of the history of the universe; his father, Natto, liked it a lot, a trail he inherited from his long deceased father, Douchi, the middle class saiyan from the Empire.

When he finally got back to his cavern, he stopped there to catch his breath. He was far more used to his weights right now and his total power level was reaching an amazing mark of forty thousand, but that wasn’t nearly enough to the power Atsuko had at the moment, and that annoyed him to no end. Still, he had some clear goals on his mind, and, as soon as he managed to unlock the potential that lied on the teachings of the Soy School, he would have plenty of tricks under his sleeves to use against his enemies, especially the albino saiyaness. – I have everything prepared on my mind… I will attack her when she least expect and I will wait for the perfect opportunity. The full moon! She is not an elite like me and I know for certain she didn’t have a true saiyan training from neither the Alliance nor the Empire. – he paused smirking with the corner of his mouth and chuckling a bit. – Therefore, when I become a Great Ape, I will far outclass that bitch! And if she has the stupid idea of turning too, she will probably be a mindless stupid Ape with an obvious weakness!!! It will be the death of her and I will destroy that lookout and the namekian as a freaking bonus! Hahaha! – he laughed, delighting with his dream of vengeance that was getting close to be complete. – And with my fighting style on the works, not even that stupid demon friend of hers will be a worthy opponent to the mighty Great Ape Nasu!! I will show them the true power of a real saiyan warrior on his prime! And all they will be able to do is to beg for mercy!! And I shall give them none!! – he said to himself, maniacally laughing afterwards. Nasu had these spurs of evil feelings from time to time, even though he wasn’t completely evil per say. He was mostly angry and resentful, and filled with shattered pride, and he needed something to caress his huge ego, and the more he failed to achieve that, the worst he got.

You just have to remember that, at first, at least on Tau’s and Arion’s case, he just wanted to hurt them badly, but he didn’t intend to kill. Now it was a whole different story, and he was desiring it even more by the hour. The young saiyan warrior sighed after that and grabbed a canteen of water, drinking it all in a single gulp, before sitting on the ground and looking at the second scroll of the Soy School. He was about to read it hours ago, but he had that little issue where Komatsu was in trouble, but now he was ready to get back into his training; if he was to help his brother learn the Soy School, he better become a master soon, otherwise the brat would get his hands full with annoying almost self-taught training with his father’s digital ghost and a heavy dose of nostalgia that could kill a freaking Great Ape even if it managed to turn into a super saiyan, as unlikely as it was.

When he opened it, there was another dose of story before getting to the point:

”Soy School of Martial Arts.
Reborn Saiyan Alliance Fighting Style.
If you are reading this scroll it means that you’ve just mastered the first virtue: Mental Discipline. Congratulations, but that was the easiest part of your training. Before I proceed to tell you what the second virtue is, I need to tell you a brief story about one thing that happened on my life.
When I was still a soldier from the Empire, due to a twist of fate, I was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Stationary Defense Army of the Saiyan Empire. By the name you can already notice that it’s a fancy position with tons of responsibilities involved. I was still very young, on my early twenties and had just been promoted to an elite warrior. This responsibility allowed me to become even stronger, as I had plenty on my shoulders, and I took it very seriously. Due to that I managed to unlock my hidden potential and become a super saiyan; I had plenty of people and my home planet to protect.
With that power came the absolute pride: I had just tapped into a power that was part of our race’s legends and I was among the few who had attained it. This got into my head and made me become sort of an asshole in a couple situations. This ultimately led me to conduct a very intense training session, where I pushed my friends to far beyond their limitations. Then, during one part of the training, my pride and arrogance blinded me and I wanted to show off my power, to show that I could take them all alone without breaking a sweat, and fired a far more powerful attack than they could handle: Aspa lost his left leg with the attack and the training session was cut short. It was my complete fault for ignoring the others and thinking only about myself.
On that particular situation, it wasn’t about me. I was training them, so, obviously, it was about them getting better, not be showing off. My pride cost my best friend’s leg and this haunted me for years. Aspa eventually got better and grabbed himself a cybernetic leg that was further enhanced by Kyuri, Tomoroko’s mother, but, still, every time I looked at that I was reminded of my foolish act.
Therefore, the second virtue is: Humility.
It’s necessary for a warrior to recognize that they aren’t perfect. Perfect beings need no improvement as they are already perfect. A true martial artist never sees himself as perfect and, therefore, constantly looks for improvement!
On this particular training I can’t really tell you what to do, as pride varies from person to person. Find a way to find your own humility without sacrificing the pride that pushes you forwards.
Grand-Master Natto.”

Nasu sighed deeply with that, feeling slightly irritated with the words he had just read. – You gotta be fucking kidding me! To say that there’s no perfect warrior! That’s bullshit! Us, saiyans are supposed to be able to achieve that, just like you did, dad! – he roared in anger and just as he did that reality struck him hard, like a haymaker to the guts. ”But even he died when he lowered his guard!” the sudden realization left the young saiyan warrior speechless and he gulped, feeling his throat was choking with nothing! He was frozen, with eyes wide open and arched brows. This feeling, this crushing reality was once again shattering his pride to dust! His eyes got watered when he remembered when Emer’s ki blast pierced right through Natto’s guts and left him bleeding to death on the floor, no senzu bean left, as he had just eaten the last one after the clash with the queen.

Even though he was teaching the Soy School students about humility, pride was Natto’s ultimate downfall, as much as rage was Tomoroko’s downfall. Nasu should have learned that back then, but he was too blind to face reality and decided to turn all of his pain into rage and desire for vengeance. ”I’m such a damn fool! My father’s teachings are right… There’s no perfection since there’s always room for improvement… If you slack off, you will always allow for there to be stronger fighters than you! Doesn’t matter if you are a saiyan with the greatest potential on the whole universe… One moment with a lowered guard can be enough for you do die a foolish death, just like my father did.” and tears began to shed from his eyes, as he accepted such reality. Indeed, his father’s words on those scrolls were directed to his sons. Of course it could still teach others efficiently, but as a father, it was obvious he wanted his school to be inherited by his rightful blood heirs, and they were having an amazing effect on Nasu. They were changing him more than his previous years managed to. The young saiyan warrior nodded to himself and wiped his tears with the back of his white glove and got back on his feet, closing the scroll and tying it again with the small yellow hope it had. – I will always have room for improvement… But how do I manage to hold on to my pride accepting such a humiliating truth?! – he asked himself, frowning his eyebrows and gritting his teeth as the answer refused to appear.

Nasu clenched his empty fist hard and cursed fate for giving such a difficult task to accomplish, but there was no way he would’ve given up on that. He needed to understand how to make pride and humility to walk together and allow him to evolve on his training and capable of heading to the next phase. He carved for the fighting techniques he needed to master, but he was now well aware that such mastery over one’s self was of ultimate importance in order to develop properly and it amazed him and, at the same time, frustrated him. He knew very well that he would need days, if not weeks to come up with such a difficult answer. With that in mind, Nasu meditated for days on his cavern and its surrounding areas.

Some days he would get too pissed and frustrated and break into a rampaging rage that led him to blow some cliffs and rocks around the area, other times, he would just become sad from his inability of understanding the chain that linked those seemly opposite traits. ”People sometimes never get started on their fate because they cannot humble themselves to learn, grow and change… But… If I don’t have my pride to push me, how can I grow and change?! I will get stuck with learning… And it will be useless, right?!” he wondered for hours without an answer. ”Pride is necessary in order to maintain high standards towards my accomplishments, this is what makes me want to do even better! And I can feel pride for another… Like… As much as my stupid side of pride hates to admit, I was proud of Koma when I saw that he was nearly as strong as I was when I first met here on Earth…” and that was when he finally realized. ”I can be proud of others and that doesn’t have to make me sad! It can make me humble and work hard in order to feel proud of myself again! That’s it! Pride and Humility, walking side by side! I think I finally got it!” and that realization made his stomach get filled with butterflies with the amazing sensation of being proud of accomplishing something, while, at the same time, he recognized another thing. ”Hahaha… Funny… Although I’m happy with myself… Proud, really… I just noticed that this is just the beginning and I still have so much to learn in order to become a real warrior… This is the humility my dad was talking about! It’s just… Amazing!” he thought to himself, chuckling a bit, as he finally managed to rest his mind.

Another important step of his training was completed, and now he would allow himself to have a long night of sleep. He had earned it! Tomorrow was a new day, and he would head straight towards the southern islands, to the secret ruins beneath the ruins of his father’s old training hall to report to the digital ghost of Natto. He was making his father proud on the other world for managing to be humble for the very first time on his life.