Super Dragon Ball: Paradise Hysteria

A Guide to Gods of Martial Arts

"What is this place!?" Sharpner gasped, clinching to Videl's neck as the two soared through the clouds, following Gohan and the rest as they made their way through and burst with energy to ascend to God Temple level faster.

"Please don't cover my eyes, Sharpner-kun," Videl complained as the terrified stud wrapped himself around Videl's upper body like she was his life raft and Sharpner found himself lost in an ocean during a storm. "If we miss the God Temple, we'll end up shooting into the upper atmosphere and into outer space."

"U-Upper atmosphere, outer space!?" Sharpner shrieked and closed his eyes before Videl did a neat tunneling spin through the last layer of clouds and then made her final push to the temple. When the air resistance lightened up and breathing began feeling rough, Sharpner opened his eyes only to see God's Temple in all of its glory. At that moment, fear gave way to awe, which let Videl complete their ascension and put the fledgling martial artist down.

"G-God Temple? You mean the actual God lives here!?" Sharpner looked around, staring at the deep blue sky above him as if expecting a colossal pair of eyes to open and for some gigantic sky fairy to reveal itself to the assembled martial artists.

"I like to think of myself as more a Guardian than a God," Kami Upa butt into the conversation, walking out from the God Temple and calmly strutting into the circle of gathered martial artists to calm Sharpner's mind since he was the only one horrified at what he was seeing around him. Even if this was Goten and Navy's first time on the God Temple too, they seemed to take this a lot better than Sharpner, since the boys were just looking around and memorizing the place. Knowing the two, they were just gathering the courage to erupt into standard toddler buffoonery. Navy too was counting all the different ways he could get into trouble here with an ecstatic smirk on his face.

"What's wrong with him, Videl-san?" Goten asked, turning to Videl who bowed to Kami Upa, showing an apt level of respect to someone who is one of the honorable martial arts masters she's studying from. "Did he hit his head like Dad? It's okay, Sharpner-kun, you'll get over it in time!"

Still whimpering a tad, Sharpner regained his composure and stood back on his own two feet, at the very least. He could only let out a goofy giggle in response to being teased by an actual three-year-old. Despite the internal humiliation that Sharpner was boiling with, he took the teasing and held up as firmly as he could.

"Don't feel too bad about all this, young man," Muten Roshi patted the shoulder of the strapping young man. "If it helps at all, you might feel easier knowing that despite practicing martial arts for centuries, I've only been in this temple while it served as a sanctuary and never as a student."

"I... I see..." Sharpner blinked in rapid succession before leaning to Gohan's side while pointing to Muten Roshi. "Who's that old-geezer, anyway?" he asked with a whisper, not wishing to be heard or to insult the old-timer.

"Oh? That's Muten Roshi-san," Gohan replied with his ordinary voice and tone. "He is an incredible martial arts master my Dad once studied from. Videl learned a thing or two from him too, but I don't think I've ever had the honor of studying under him."

"Hmm..." Sharpner scratched his chin.

"I can't believe it," Muten Roshi shriveled up in disappointment. "Has my skill and renown around the world truly dipped so much that nobody knows my name anymore?"

"Say, old man..." Sharpner clapped his hands together and bowed to the old martial arts master. "Could you teach me a thing or two while we're here? Gohan told me he's never had the honor of studying under you, so I will take any opportunity of one-upping him!"

"Get lost, you brat!" Muten Roshi shook his staff over his head. "After insulting my pride as a martial arts master, thinking that I would accept a fresh young'un as a student as some kind of favor, you'll have to make up to me for fifty years of servitude in the Kame House before I'll teach you anything!"