While the outside world was still caught up in a blazing-hot discussion about Dragon Ball, Roy was doing special training.
That's right—special training.
Because you had to understand: the original Android 18 was the kind of monster who could pin a Super Saiyan to the ground and beat him into the dirt!
Her combat power was top-tier even on a universal scale.
Android 18 was an incredibly powerful android modified from a human base. Because of her perpetual energy reactor, she possessed effectively infinite energy. Her cells aged extremely slowly, she wasn't prone to growing old, and she didn't need to eat—though she did still need to stay hydrated.
When she first appeared during the Cell arc, her strength was slightly above Vegeta right after he turned Super Saiyan.
And according to official interview material, Akira Toriyama himself once said that Android 17 and Android 18 could become stronger through training.
What does "can become stronger through training" mean?
It means that in Android 18's memory, there was a method for cultivating Ki.
And Dr. Gero poured his entire life into creating these two overwhelmingly powerful androids—there was no way he wouldn't have implanted the very best training methods from Earth's Dragon Ball world into Android 17 and Android 18.
After all, with those spy insect-style robots collecting data, Dr. Gero essentially grasped the training methods of the Z-Fighters, the Turtle School, the Crane School, and other major martial arts factions.
Then he refined them—taking the best, discarding the worst—merged the various training systems together, and implanted the result into Android 17 and Android 18.
In other words, the training method Android 18 possessed was the most top-tier Ki cultivation method in the entire Dragon Ball world!
Note: Although Nen training also cultivates "energy," and the term overlaps with what Dragon Ball calls "Ki," to keep things clear from here on out, Dragon Ball's training will be called "Ki," and the Hunter world's system will be called "Nen."
And since Roy was Android 18's husband, he naturally received that teaching without the slightest reservation.
So, under Android 18's meticulous guidance, Roy's strength began to surge at an astonishing pace.
First came Ki.
Nen cultivation is energy cultivation, and in Dragon Ball, it's also energy cultivation.
There was a subtle connection between the two.
Roy discovered that when he trained Dragon Ball Ki, his Nen dramatically boosted his training speed.
And conversely, Dragon Ball Ki also boosted his Nen training.
The two worked like complementary gears—supporting each other.
That new discovery delighted Roy.
Roy also told Android 18 about the Hunter world's Nen training methods.
But she wasn't interested at all.
Which made sense. With Android 18's current strength, she had more than enough power to carve her way through the entire Hunter world—and maybe even the Dark Continent—going in and out seven times over.
Hell, if she got annoyed and fired off a single Ki blast, she might even be able to destroy the whole planet.
Still, it was better to understand it a little.
If she ran into some especially bizarre ability—something like the Dark Sonata—then it could still be troublesome.
And so, under Android 18's instruction, Roy learned Ki control and application methods one after another, along with Flight, Kamehameha, and Destructo Disc.
As for Nen training, Roy didn't neglect it either.
But whether it was Ki or Nen, both required a powerful body—so tempering his physique remained Roy's primary approach to cultivation.
Besides, it wasn't just the front-line battlefield that demanded physical stamina.
There was another battlefield, too—like what happened between the sheets—and that required a body that wouldn't get completely drained dry.
…
Seven days after Dragon Ball went on sale, Roy finally received the item manifested by his Nen Ability: Manga Realm.
It was that familiar milky-white glow again.
When the light dispersed, the item that appeared made Roy sink into thought.
A turtle shell.
And the instant the shell appeared, Roy received the information in his mind:
Master Roshi Brand Custom Weighted Turtle Shell (50 kg): A fifty-kilogram weighted turtle shell specially commissioned by Master Roshi to train disciples of the Turtle School.
Dragon Ball had only been on sale for seven days. No matter how explosive it was, it still hadn't reached that truly "phenomenon-level, national-craze" tier yet.
So the manifested item couldn't be that high-grade.
But as Roy stared at the weighted turtle shell in front of him, his eyes slowly lit up.
Everyone knew that in Dragon Ball—setting aside the Saiyan bloodline's special traits and certain foods that could boost strength—there were three "normal" methods that could rapidly make someone stronger.
First: training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. The time ratio—one day equaling one year—could let you become far stronger within a single day.
Second: unlocking potential.
Whether it was the Great Elder (Guru) on Namek unlocking someone's potential, or Elder Kai's mysterious ritual that drew out hidden power—both could grant overwhelming strength.
And the third method of getting stronger was simple: weighted training.
Whether it was young Son Goku and Krillin training under Master Roshi while carrying weighted turtle shells, or the gravity room Bulma's father built later on—both were incredible methods for accelerating growth.
During Android 18's Ki instruction, Roy had tried weighted training before, but the results were underwhelming.
It wasn't useless, but it was ordinary.
In other words, it was just the normal effect of wearing weights—nowhere near the kind of explosive progress Son Goku made in Dragon Ball through weighted training.
Maybe the difference was the equipment itself.
Now that Roy had this weighted turtle shell, using an original Dragon Ball weight-training tool might finally reproduce that Dragon Ball training effect.
So Roy strapped on the shell and threw himself straight back into training.
(End of Chapter)
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