Namekian Hierarchy is very intriguing.

 It seems Lady Luck hadn’t given up on him completely after all, because he was born as one of the respected members of the Dragon Tribe. The caste that was able to use magic and was usually in a type of leadership and a protected role. Due to their ability to reproduce and their unique skills which included healing and crafts, they were highly valued.

Lians was the name bestowed upon him by the elder Mallus. He was a tall and skinny Namekian who might as well have been a walking tree with his long thin arms and a wrinkled and rough face. He was also his great-great-grandfather of shorts.

He had been spending his days reading through scrolls on how to better control his abilities while secretly observing the Warrior Tribes train. He was so glad that language barriers basically didn't exist in DBZ and even if it did, with the entire race being basically made of telepaths and genetic memory being hyper-charged, kids were basically born knowing the basics of survival and their culture. It was literally ingrained in them.

While Namekians were generally pacifists in his memories of the series, it seems in this world or timeline things were very different. Unlike during the Freezia Saga where Namekians were seemingly the only sentient life form on the planet, here they were surrounded by powerful beasts from all around. Thins that seemed as if they walked straight out of Starwars or some kid's Spore game with all the mods.

Green towering behemoths that shook the ground with their every steps, mysterious sea serpents that lurked beneath the depths, and winged monsters that could blacken the skies with their sheer numbers. Did he mention almost all of them could instinctively use Ki and could fire laser beams of death? Because they could, and it was absolutely pants shittingly terrifying.

It was truly a dangerous world he had found himself on.

He felt like a caveman trying to hide from dinosaurs. If dinosaurs could fly at supersonic speed and casually destroy mountains.

Thankfully the village he was born in wasn’t a weak one. Although they did not have many warriors, each one of them was strong and clever. Using their superior intellect and coordination they could take down most lower leveled creatures that wandered too close for comfort.

Also, their unique physiology which only needs water and didn’t require food coupled with their relatively low numbers made them extremely mobile and easily hidden from their predators.

“Lians! What have I told you about sneaking off? Come, let us return to Elder’s place and stop bothering the Warriors.”

A small kid who looked to be 5-6 had wobbled over and grabbed his hands before tugging on his wrist. It was Slujj, his older cousin by 2 years. Or was it uncle? Brother? Namekian family trees were convoluted, to say the least when one’s species can asexually reproduce and occasionally fused together. It was more fucked up than the ancient Greeks or Egyptian royal family or divine family trees. Seriously, having dying warriors fuse with a chosen heir or closest family member was a common practice, one of the stronger warrior had fused with 3 other Namekians before, it was ridiculously confusing.

“It’s quite alright Slujj, it is heartening to see one so young show such an interest in our arts. Tell me Lians, would you like to learn?”

“But Shell, he’s only a child, far too young for something so dangerous!”

“Calm yourself Slujj, I’m merely going to give him some pointers, not taking him into the wilderness.”

With a firm tone, he pacified Slujj and prevented any further argument. A series of rapid and exciting nods was Lians’ answer, doing a very good imitation of a bobblehead and causing the older Namekian to laugh. It was deep and reverberated in his chest. He motioned for Lians to follow and the two flew off some distance to a clearing far enough to prevent disturbing the others or causing any damage, but close enough to still be within the village's security. It was a large grassy plain with the village still in sight.

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“Come little one, let us have a small test. Show me everything you’ve got!”

A large grin on his face and a green sharp thumb pointed at his chest the taller alien beckoned Lians to come at him. Lians didn’t disappoint as in mere moments after the last word had left his mouth the younger Namekian charged forward at surprising speed. While he had all the memory and knowledge needed, flying was still a bit too difficult for him without further practice. Hence he merely used it to lighten his body and give extra propulsion to his steps. He had clearly taken the warrior by surprise as the man couldn’t react in time to block his punch to his stomach.

Although he probably hurt himself more than he did his opponent judging by the stinging pain in his fist, he didn’t let that deter him as he quickly sent a sidekick to Shell's shin, only for it to move out of the way before he could connect. A large and wild grin was on Lian's face as he fully immersed himself in the joy of letting loose after all that time stuck confined inside his shell and the many more days and weeks of hiding inside the village. It felt good to really push his body, even more so for the fact that despite its small frame and young age, his new Namekian body was miles better than his old one. In fact, he was sure even with his unrefined motor control he could outrace Usain Bolt while running backward.

A right hook that seamlessly flowed into an elbow as he spun his body and twisted sharply to shoot a heavy roundhouse. None of the blows connected, but that hardly detered him, it only drove him to push himself all that much more. Faster, stronger, and heavier, his blows rained down on the other Namekian as he used him as a way to vent all his frustrations. Shell had finally broken out of his stupor and was refocused on the mock battle at hand.

“A most excellent offensive start, Young Lians, but to win a battle one must do more than simply rushing forward. Let us see how you handle being on the defensive.”

Lian’s eyes could barely track the movement of the rushing veteran of battle, rather he managed to locate him using his ears and highly developed Namekian sense of hearing. Utilizing his shorter stature he ducked beneath a roundhouse kick and managed to get behind him while he was still off-balance from his attack.

He stomped with all his considerable might on the back of the man’s knees to no avail. A harsh backhand sent him flying back and tumbling on the ground. It was a trick and he fell for the bait. The man didn’t give him a chance to catch his breath however and exchanged a series of harsh blows. No matter how hard he tried or how quick his counters and reactions, Shell was always just the slightest bit ahead of him. But even with the man holding back considerably, his superior experience and techniques combined with his sheer mass and reach advantage were not easy to keep up with even with similar physical prowess.

He would have to get a bit creative and maybe just a little bit dirty.

Shell jumped forward and turned to face his small opponent before proceeding to fly forward into a tackle. Lians tried his best to time it so he could hop over the man and climb onto his back before pulling his head covering over his eyes and blinded the man. He wrapped both legs around his neck and started wailing on the man with tiny fists. They were both sent tumbling down when Shell accidentally flew into a nearby cliff face.

Two nearly identical groans were heard before roaring laughter and clapping from around them made them look up as if two deers caught in headlights. It seems that they had unknowingly gathered a rather large audience and didn't notice until now because of how absorbed into the spar as they were.

“A most spectacular effort Lians! I can’t believe you actually managed to land a blow on Shell, not to mention three!”

“Splendid! A true prodigy, he may be part of the Dragon Tribe, but a Warrior’s spirit burns bright within!”

“Getting slow in your old age, Shell? I can’t believe a 3-year-old managed to get the best of you.”

These were some of the louder verbal outburst from the other warriors, which was nothing compared to the mental bustling hub of chatter. Thankfully he knew how to tune it out so that it was only white noise like a T.V playing in the background, or else he felt like he would’ve gone insane.

Shell eventually got up and extended a hand to help him up. With a single raise of his hands, the crowd became quiet and all joking settled down. After all, despite his relatively young age of 235, Shell was the strongest warrior in their village and was considered the Chief of the Warrior Tribe in charge of the safety of everyone.

“Although your methods were quite... Unorthodox, they were very effective and showed a keen battle sense. Tell me, Lians, would you like to be my apprentice and join the Guard Squad? Your immense talents would be wasted sitting around all day!”

The Guard Squad was a strange group that was their equivalent of a military. Not only did they scan the surroundings for dangerous creatures, but they also retrieved materials needed by the Dragon Tribe and kept an eye on other villages. Almost composed entirely of Warrior Tribe members it was the first time in 300 years since a Dragon Tribe members had joined. Not only because of social tradition but because Dragon Tribe members usually had low battle sense and a weaker constitution. They were healers and creators at heart and few had the disposition for combat.

“I’ll be honored to join you, Master Shell!”

“Good, from tomorrow onwards meet me here at sunrise every day. We shall start your training in the ways of Martial Arts and Scouting.”