[Tale 4: The Turtle Hermit] with that announcement time resumed.
The turtle with the old man continued to approach. After reaching land the old man hopped off and walked a few steps forward.
The old man was now close enough to speak without having to strain his voice.
"Howdy Young'uns!" The old man said his voice surprisingly healthy for someone who was clearly passed his prime.
Nobody looked at him and a slight smile formed on his face. Despite master roshi's perverted character he really was a fun character, but he quickly shelved his nostalgia aside as he realized Goku and Bulma had been talking to the Roshi or the turtle hermit while he was internally thinking.
"Come to me…IMMORTAL PHOENIX" The old turtle hermit shouted while he raised his cane into the air.
Seconds passed with no movement from the sky or anything in the distance.
"What that "immortal" or "invisible"?" Bulma said breaking the awkward silence with a joke or perhaps it was a genuine question nobody could tell but Nobody sure couldn't.
"Sir…if you'll recall the situation with the tainted bird seed" the turtle said reminding the old man of the immortal phoenix's fate.
"That's right we did lose the poor fella" the turtle hermit lamented after recalling the incident.
"The immortal phoenix died?" Bulma asked once again confused.
"So the immortal phoenix could grant immortality, but it probably didn't have it" Nobody said trying to alleviate some confusion.
"It was something like that" the turtle hermit remarked before once again taking a deep breath.
"COME TO ME…. KINTO'UN" The turtle hermit repeated his same pose and a few seconds later a cloud that had a yellow hue to it.
As it slowly came down Goku and Bulma's both eyes widened.
"Nobody was right you are getting a cloud" Bulma said to Goku who was both excited and a little bit confused.
"How do you eat it?" Goku asked the old turtle hermit.
"You don't eat a magic cloud" he scolded.
"You ride it, it'll take you to wherever you desire" he explained while looking at the cloud.
"Why does the turtle hermit have a magic cloud?" Bulma asked thinking he'd have more turtle based rewards.
"Why would he have a phoenix?" Nobody answered with a question since both seemed out of left field for a random old man to have.
"It'll really fly?" Goku asked with a bit of wonder. While he had seen a lot of things. He hadn't seen a cloud that could act like those vehicles Bulma has.
Nobody looked towards the clouds again their seemingly weightless form drawing his eye. As he stared he began to see them shift revealing a pig who was changing forms.
He quickly realized Oolong was in the clouds. It was truly odd to see the ability he faked actually manifesting. The cloud itself also was more interesting to watch than they had been before.
It was like he was being changed fundamentally. Which was odd, and before he could continue to think about it he heard a thud as he looked down to see the old turtle hermit on the ground in pain.
"Yaaa, My Hip!" He was rubbing his sides as he slowly stood up. Bulma was laughing at his pain and the turtle was confused since it surely the old turtle hermit didn't have any devious intentions in his heart.
"Surely it's defective" the turtle said as it supported the old man.
"Nah he's just too worldly" Nobody smoothly put it ignoring the real reason the old turtle hermit fell.
"Let me try" completely undeterred by the old man's failure Goku leaped onto the cloud his feet landing gently onto the cloud.
"I'm on a cloud, I'm on a cloud" Goku cheered as he jumped around the on cloud. It was like a soft but solid ground beneath his feet.
"Goku how about a test flight" Nobody suggested prompting Goku to instantly start flying. Once he was gone with a motion quick motion all that was left were Nobody, Bulma, the turtle, and the turtle hermit.
"Mind handing over that necklace" Nobody said pointing to the dragon ball hanging from the turtle hermit neck. The old man looked down at the necklace he wore.
"It has some worth ehh?" He said with a slight calculating look in his eye as he looked towards Bulma.
"Wait a second, hey turtle I think I should get something for helping out" Nobody said trying to get the turtle to nudge the old man in the right direction.
"It's the right thing to do" the turtle said which seemed to convince the old man to temporarily dropping whatever scheme was brewing behind his shades.
"Okay..okay can't even let an old man have fun anymore" He mutter to himself tossing over the dragon ball.
Nobody caught it and passed it over to Bulma. Before she could even finish counting the stars Nobody looked at the clouds once more.
He didn't actually intend to see the future but he realized that the best way for him to get stronger was to imply some strength or training off screen, or at least imply a technique.
"I'll have to depart something interesting is happening" Nobody said as he steadily walked off.
Bulma was about to ask him where he was going, but he wasn't technically apart of the group and the turtle had been safely escorted.
…
[You aren't going to get stronger] Miru commented as he left.
[you didn't do anything to garner strength nor did you imply anything to add more diverse abilities] she continued
"I know, but I can't just talk about how strong I am someone else has to do it for me…but I do have a plan" Nobody said squatting down and motioning for Miru to move closer.
"I'm going to beat up Oolong and get the villagers to hype me up, but I just have to stop Oolong from running since I'm not as fast as a rocket." Nobody knew he was still a basic human. One who knew some sword tricks and could see the future, but a human nonetheless. That being said he was still stronger than a pig. While their strength may be equal he wasn't a coward like Oolong who would avoid fighting.
"I do need a way to get to the village though. It was supposedly a three day journey, and that was with a motorcycle." Nobody then decided to cloud search for a path forward and he saw himself barely hanging on to a raptor like dinosaur.
…
"Dammit stop running so fast" Nobody said as he felt the wind pulling him of the back of the dinosaur. The dinosaur simply roared back in frustration as it increased speed running even faster. It eventually saw some buildings up ahead and swiftly turned directions finally knocking off Nobody.
He hit the dirt and rolled a few times. Miru hanging on his back like a mechanical backpack.
[Did you actually see how this plan would end?] Miru asked unlatching from his back.
"I didn't" Nobody said as he dusted himself. It came off surprisingly easily. It seemed like the material was actually some quality stuff he didn't notice it before.
"But it seems like we made it to the place, and we should have some time before they get here." He knew they traveled fast, but he was pretty sure his timely exit would give him more time.
…
The village was relatively normal except for the wide variety of outfits that made the place feel a bit more diverse than what it should be since it was pretty far out in the sticks.
"Hello young man, looking for anything in particular?" an old man said while sitting at a stall.
"Nothing in particular, but have you heard of Oolong?" Nobody asked since he should be relatively infamous. The old man's eyes widened slightly as he motioned for Nobody to lean in.
"It seems even travelers have heard of Oolong the terrible. He's a powerful shapeshifter who has been terrorizing the local villages. Luckily he hasn't been by here recently" the old man said in a whisper almost as if he were afraid of the world overhearing.
"I see…" Nobody nodded along before he continued to look around the village.
…
While sitting down on a stump from a felled tree he saw a giant demon with two horns wielding a giant spiked club walking from the distance the ground vibrating with every step.
This was Oolong the terrible. The man…no the pig who he was equal in strength to.
Nobody stood up from the stump and let out a small sigh.