To Shen's pleasant surprise, Launch unexpectedly accepted his proposition. She agreed to learn under Uranai Baba, Master Roshi's sister. However, there was still a bigger problem yet to be addressed.

Shen is in his room right now pondering about this same problem.

'How will I convince that old witch? She won't give up her trade secrets easily, and I definitely don't want to bully the elderly. . . . Wait a minute, isn't she a greedy crone? Right, I can always use money to entice such people.'

The next morning, Shen contacted Uranai Baba through her brother, Roshi. He explained the offer, especially emphasizing the one billion zeni cash payment.

Lo and behold, it turned out as he expected. How could a greedy fish not fall for a juicy bait?

"Muhahahahahahha!!" His evil laugh startled the people in the nearby rooms, particularly his next-door neighbor, Launch. The fast-asleep girl, forced to wake up so early—at least by her standards—immediately grabbed her machine gun.

She emptied a round of bullets before calming down. 'That scared me. Who was it?' The girl wasn't used to such antics.

The gunshots permeated the hideout, alerting everyone, but soon enough everything calmed down, the laughter included.

Settling down in his chair, Shen thought deeply.

'Recently, I received an invitation to Bulma's two-year birthday celebration from Dr. Brief, so I suppose it's about time for the major events of the series to begin. If I remember right, Bulma and Tien Shinhan are around the same age, so that means around the same time of Bulma's birth, Tien would have to be born as well...'

'However, how do I find Tien Shinhan or even Chiaotzu for that matter? And if I remember right, there is also a third disciple called Yurin from the same batch as those two... This problem may very well be my greatest headache yet.'

'I could probably use the Dragon Balls, but I don't wish to rely on them too much. I should only use them for problems that are impossible to solve by normal means. If I successfully locate Tien Shinhan by myself, there will be no reason to depend on the Dragon Balls for such a trivial matter.'

He hoped to use the Dragon Balls as little as possible, as he didn't know what timeline he was currently in. If this turned out to be the Dragon Ball GT timeline or any of the Xenoverse timelines from the game, he would be in big trouble if he abused the Dragon Balls. It would be a massive problem if Omega Shenron was born as a result of overusing them. (A/N: Dragon Ball GT villain)

'For that same reason, I stationed some of the old disciples at the previous Crane School's location, hoping to obtain any kind of info regarding Tien Shinhan. There's a high probability I may come across my future disciples by searching the general vicinity of the previous school. But it's too soon to say if this approach will bear any fruit, as unknown variables may arise because of the numerous changes I've made in the course of history.'

'Time will only tell if this will turn out to be a fruitless endeavor... Well, if it doesn't work, I'll have to look for other ways.'

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The same day at the hideout, a plethora of different training sessions started in full force.

After completing his own training in 10x gravity, Shen proceeded to guide the new recruits. He first focused on Blue, who was supposed to become the future General Blue of the Red Ribbon Army.

'Well, for now, he's just a kid with psychic potential.' For the remaining two hours until noon, Shen taught the boy in the field of telekinesis. The boy practiced by focusing his mind on some nearby rocks, attempting to lift them with just his will.

While Shen was separately teaching Blue, the other two were being taught by Giran and Bora.

After Blue's turn to train under him was over, Shen allowed the boy to rest and replenish his exhausted mind.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Dismissing the boy, Shen was about to check on the other disciples when, suddenly looking back, he noticed something odd. The boy was walking toward the underground lake. If he wanted to freshen up, he could have done so elsewhere, why go to the deep lake?.

Curious about what the boy was attempting, Shen secretly followed Blue. The boy dove into the lake, and after a few seconds, he resurfaced, bringing along an octopus with him, all while Shen looked on, hidden from sight.

In front of Shen's wide eyes, Blue proceeded to slowly cut off the tentacles of the octopus one by one. The octopus wiggled around in distress, but it was all for naught as the boy continued to torture the poor creature, manically grinning like a demon incarnate.

'I know a sadist when I see one. I knew I had to remain alert around this kid. I recall him being very evil in the series too... He needs to be disciplined before it's too late.'

Not wanting the situation to continue any longer, "Oi, you rascal, stop right there!" Shen shouted at the psycho kid, stunning the boy in place for a moment.

Shen heavily knuckle punches the boy on the head. "What do you think you're doing?"

The boy screams in pain... while reeling from the pain, he looked up at Shen questioning expression. "Is there something wrong, sir?"

Shen just gazes at the boy for a few seconds. "Are you seriously asking me what's wrong? Why were you torturing this creature?"

"...." The boy doesn't reply.

"You think you're free to do anything you want just because you're strong?"

"Um! Sir? Is there something wrong with that thinking? that is what we were taught at the RRA"

Shen gets annoyed by those words.

"Tch! This brat!... Fine, I won't teach you through words. From now on, you will clean all the toilets and the pigsty too. You will also take care of all the needs of Inoshikacho—food, water, and even cleaning up its shit. Everything."

The boy instantly felt cold shivers down his spine. This wasn't because of his wet clothes; this was because of the new reality that had dawned on him.

"B-but master, I don't want to get dirty like that... Please give me something else to do." He tried to appeal.

Shen resolutely rejected, "I am stronger than you." He plainly stated.

Left alone by his teacher, the boy became quiet, not even a squeak coming out of his mouth.

Blue, who was overly sensitive to filth... from that day, he knew true pain.

Although Blue's behavior was particularly concerning and in comparison, the other two disciples were a lot better.. Yet still, Violet and Silver weren't without their own problems either.

Violet had a habit of sneaking around the hideout and, whenever she got the chance, randomly stealing expensive-looking objects such as machinery parts and even real money.

Silver, on the other hand, had a hasty and impulsive nature. Whenever Shen assigned him tasks like assisting Dr. Flappe, he would get overwhelmed, often disrupting the lab and creating more issues. less harmful than the others, but still problematic, nonetheless.

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Two months quickly passed, and Shen started to see some changes in the bothersome tendencies of his new disciples. Whenever his disciples, more specifically; Violet or Blue displayed problematic behavior, he would punish them by giving them more training or making them do things they hated the most. And when their behavior improved, he would reward them with things like rest breaks, reduced punishments, or even jewelry , incase of Violet.

His carrot-and-stick approach was starting to work. Two months ago, they were like wild horses; now they were tamed and controlled. Yet it would still take longer to truly change them from the inside.

The interactions between everyone at the hideout, including the old and new disciples, had also significantly improved... excluding a certain outcast.

Generally, most of the time, others liked to maintain some distance from Blue because of his occasionally weird tendencies. Licking his lips whenever he saw someone else was a behavior far too suspicious for just about anyone.

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After a whole year of staying together, two things became clear to everyone regarding Blue: one is that the boy has good talent in the psychic field, and another is that the boy is very creepy.

However, unlike others, Shen notices that Blue's dangerous nature has significantly diminished in recent months. He even seems to have become good friends with the pet pig; Inoshikacho...

There is naturally a story behind this change.

Shen only found out about this incident later, as during that time, he was busy attending Bulma's birthday celebration, but from what he heard...

One day, unable to bear the everyday duty of cleaning toilets anymore, Blue had attempted to sneak out by trying to swim away from the hideout, through the underground lake.

He didn't have a submarine, and he would have been found out by the Robot guards if he had tried to steal one, so he had no other option.

Unsurprisingly, he nearly drowned. If it wasn't for the pig, who closely saw the whole ordeal unfold and meticulously saved him in time, the boy would have been a goner. Who would have thought pigs are good swimmers?

Like this, around two more years went by. Meaning somewhere in the range of three years had passed since Shen's attack on the Red Ribbon Army and the Tenkaichi Budokai...

Today, Shen's ears caught some good news: after a long wait, his disciples had found the whereabouts of Tien Shinhan.