20The rains fell, thunder rolled and jagged swords of lightning lanced through the iron grey sky, lighting the battlefield bellow where the two ancient enemies stood glowering at each other, both ready for anything.
King Piccolo smirked "Are you ready to die?"
"No," Roshi smirked "But I'm ready for you."
"Is that so?" Piccolo jeered.
"Yes, that's very much so."
"Then by all means, the first move is all yours." Piccolo chucked, wearing a sly challenging grin as if he had total confidence in his winning this battle.
"Why, that most kind of you, and it just so happens I have the perfect technique to finish you off;" Roshi returned the smirk "Are you ready?"
"Bring it on worm, there's nothing you can do to hurt me, not without your evil containment wave.." King Piccolo growled, though despite himself he was sweating a little, even taking a cautious step back to buy himself a little extra reaction time, adopting a defensive stance to disguise his unease.
"Oh, that's where your wrong…for what chance has the sleeping mouse against the hungry cat standing over it; riddle me that why don't you."
the technique he was about to perform is often difficult for the casual observer to take seriously, to them it seems like nothing more than a silly bit of fun at a gullible opponent's expense, but that assessment is utterly wrong, for the Sleepy Boy Technique is one of the most devious, underhanded and subtly roguish forms of aggression around, even by today's standards which in no way reduced the impact it might have here.
"I myself never much cared for riddles, but I'll bite," King Piccolo mused, smiling patiently "What does a mouse and a cat have to do with our little quandary?"
"Everything….." Roshi breathed, dropping into an odd stance, the hands stretched out before him, fingers gesturing into the strangest patterns Piccolo had ever seen.
Piccolo wanted to tense, to act before whatever the old man finished his strange technique was, but he found himself glued to the spot, unable to move or shift his gaze from the deepening black pools or his opponents eyes, eyes that seemed to almost glow with the depths of nothingness.
"You are, sooo sleepy."
"Huh?" Piccolo mumbled, feeling a bit lightheaded; he didn't know what this was, but he didn't like it, and worse, he felt absolutely paralysed.
"You are so tired." The Old Man's voice now echoed as if over a great distance
"What?..." Piccolo felt himself yawning, it was the strangest feeling, the world around him took on a doll heavy purple hue that made his eyelids droop, then suddenly his limbs and muscles felt ten times heavier, his vision was blurring everything else but the old man and his accursed, hypnotic hands. Piccolo knew he should look away, he tried to, fought to, but he just could take his eyes off of those blurry, liquid like hands.
"When you hear me singing, your eyelids will drop"
"What is he, no, I can't….must kill, wretch…..but, so, sleepy." Piccolo didn't understand what was going on, one part of him screamed to attack, but the majority side of his mind thought maybe he could finish this after a nice long rest, come back to the fight fresh….yeah, that sounded like a smart and wonderful idea.
"You're a, sleeeeepy booooy" The old man sand, voice like gentle bells tolling lullabies.
"Sleep, yes….sleep." Piccolo yawned.
Roshi couldn't believe it, he was actually doing it, this was insane, such a simple trick, he should have done this the last time they faced off. He couldn't have felt prouder, in fact he wished he had an audience to applaud, like back in the tournament. Then in the back of his mind, he remembered that rare beauty of a village lady was watching him. Was she still there? Still watching? Could she see how well he was doing? How heroic he was being on her behalf? Did she like his muscles? Did she want to give him a big kiss with those full lushous lips….?
Master Roshi blinked. Of curse his traitorous libido, that self-sabotaging fiend demanded he glance her direction, and of course out of bad old habit, he did, just out the corner of his eye, but it was enough to weaken the hypnosis. How could he have let that happen, such a simple snare. Curse that woman for being so irresistible. Quickly he pushed his will back into the effort, hoping it wasn't too late to fix.
Piccolo yawned again "Yes, maybe just, a little shuteye, I think….I think a nice nap, right here, in this dirt, and…." Yawn "And kill you lateeeeer…..Wha!" Piccolo jerked upright, shaking and dispelling Roshi's hypnosis "Huh?...What the? Hay, stop that, I demand you stop that at once!" Piccolo leapt back, shaking his head violently as if it was full of cobwebs.
"Uh-Drat, I almost had him too." Master Roshi grumbled, swearing to devote himself fully to defeating King Piccolo without distraction from here on; besides, he could always get his kissies and a good feel after he proves his heroism. Yep, now he was motivated; but unfortunately, so was the Demon King.
"GRRR-Enough of your tricks old man, I'm going to kill you, you're going to die and that's how it's going to be!"
Master Roshi dropped into an immediate ready stance with an exasperated sigh "Then quit yakking and come make it happen!"
King Piccolo's response came like a freight train, a very angry, screaming freight train that was on Roshi in milliseconds, raining down blows like a hurricane with a thousand fists, forcing the old man to give ground nonstop before breaking through his feeble defences and landing shot after bone rattling shot. Repeated knees to the stomach, a strike to the throat, blows to the head and torso, the assault just kept going and going until Piccolo was practically kicking Roshi around the place like a football while Roshi himself was unable to land a single hit….or seemingly unable as it were for no matter the punishment that was heaped on him, Piccolo was confounded at how quickly the Turtle Hermit kept recovering with only minor bruises and scrapes. The gall, the insolence, the sheer audacity of this puny little human's defiance infuriated the Demon King. How dare he refuse to die!?
Master Roshi was doing a marvellous impression of being thrown around like a battered rag doll, but it was mostly just that, an impression, and also one of Goku's own favourite -make your enemy underestimate you- tricks. In truth Roshi was taking only minor damage because the instant before any of Piccolo's attacks found their mark, he would shift ever so deftly as to substantially minimize the impact and damage factor, save for some pain of course. Indeed these were the subtle motions a competent warrior feigning to be less than he is makes to appear inferior and almost helpless, motions even another experienced combatant might mistake for inauspicious flinching or jittery nerves before the inevitable impact, provided of course said foe wasn't paying close attention, or better yet was blinded by misplaced confidence. Such were the lies King Piccolo now bought and consumed with gusto, his own arrogant sense of superiority blinding him to the truth; truth he would soon choke on.
Even so there was one minor form of damage Roshi had trouble diminishing, and that was hitting the ground. There is a certain art to rolling with the punches and falling relatively unharmed from heights, problem is they aren't all that persuasive when you're supposed to be letting someone wallop the crap out of you while putting on a credible enough performance to convince them what their eyes tell them is cosier, especially when said opponent is as strong and fast as this one. Frankly this charade couldn't be maintained indefinitely, never more than thirty seconds recommended, so after a particularly unpleasant fist to the gut that sent him skidding back on his heels to fall on his backside, Master Roshi decided that now, from his current seemingly defenceless position, was an excellent time to spring his trap.
"It Ends! I win, you DIE!" Piccolo shot fourth, a glowing fist pulled back then thrown fourth to kill.
Faster than the Namekian ever expected, Master Roshi jumped up and caught the incoming fist in his left palm. The expression of utter shock on Piccolo's face was laughably priceless; too bad he had to wipe it off as it really suited the old monster.
"Wha…!" Was all the startled Demon King got out before Master Roshi pulled him down by his arm and drove a hard knuckled right fist square between his eyes, then letting go of the Namek's captured hand he followed that with a brutal right hook, a jumping left uppercut reversed into a backward left elbow followed by a harsh right hammer-fist to the top of Piccolo's head which also reversed into a right backhand slap that was then artfully swindled into a double chop to either side of the neck and a double slap to both of the Namek's sensitive ears, effectively capturing the dazed Demon king's bruised, burned face which Master Roshi promptly head-butted then concluded his dazzling combo with an aerial spin-kick to the chin that sent his howling enemy rocketing backwards.
Master Roshi was nowhere near done though, he lobbed an orb of moderately powerful blue Ki even as he chased after his far flung foe, then, putting on a sudden burst of speed, Roshi quickly outdistanced both his own attack and Piccolo himself to materialize behind the Namekian and land a crushing elbow to the back of Piccolo's head that packed enough force to make his eyes bulge and reverse his flight path straight into the oncoming orb of Ki. The Ki ball exploded painfully against Piccolo's chest and it would've tossed him skyward if Roshi hadn't pushed off the ground after delivering the elbow to catch up and grab the back of the Demon King's neck then slam his ugly green mug face first into the jagged unforgiving ground, dragging him a couple of dozen meters along it's gritty surface like a piece of sandpaper before lifting Piccolo's head and kneeing him so hard in the face it hurled him high in the air where Roshi was already waiting and ultimately sent his old enemy plummeting with a double axe-handle smash that cratered the rain muddied ground below under his nemesis's impact, a crater he would very soon expanded upon with a final Kamehameha.
"Ka….Meh….." As he fell back to earth, Master Roshi cupped his hands at his side, charging his signature attack "Ha….Meh." Just as he was about to finish, a green and black figure roaring like a wild beast shot out of the brown dirty fog below and elbowed Roshi so hard in the stomach that he was coughing up blood before the proceeding open palm strike to the face and the second giant elbow between the shoulder blades that hurled him plummeting ground side even connected. Even as he fell, Roshi felt the Demon King drive a foot into his spine to quicken his decent, wanting personally to feel his body break. Lucky thing he was in his 50% form otherwise that kick would have broken his back as surely as the jarring ground splitting impact would have crippled him. Nevertheless, now wasn't the time to embrace pain; it was act or die time.
Master Roshi twisted, rolled, his martial arts instincts taking over as he drove a surprise snap kick up that took Piccolo, who'd obviously figured this would be enough to kill him, in the stomach, launching him out of the startlingly deep hole their impact had made with Roshi tearing out after him. Piccolo's shock over his foe's quick recovery allowed Turtle Hermit to tackle him out of the air, however the two were already trading blows in a whirlwind of kicks, punches, knees, elbows and head-butts even after hitting the ground on their feet with Roshi controlling the momentum of the brawl the whole way, keeping inside Piccolo's guard and pushing him further and further back. Once Roshi even had to slap the Namek like a slighted woman when he attempted a sneak attack with those infernal eye-beams of his, sending the rays of Ki spiralling wildly sideways to collapse a once beautiful natural rock formation resembling an arch; not that Roshi was complaining, it bought him the opening he needed to deliver a none too friendly throat strike that staggered Piccolo, making him cough and wheeze for air even as he fended off and turned aside ninety precent of Roshi's relentless onslaught.
Roshi felt he should be winning, but the more hits he landed, the more ferociously savage and powerful Piccolo's retaliations became, and before long the incensed Namekian stole the momentum of the fight for a while before Roshi snatched it back only to lost it again then win it back once more in what was the most intense, vicious and potentially deadly close quarters contest he'd ever been embroiled in, and the height difference wasn't helping either. King Piccolo had to be over eight foot tall and Master Roshi was just scratching six in his 50% form. Still, being short has its advantages too, the taller man may have reach, but the shorter man can duck beneath that reach and has more vulnerable places to attack on the taller man. It's all relative in martial arts, immediate assessment, quick decisions, instinctual counter measures and improvisational skills are part of what makes a truly great fighter and sets them apart from the arrogant misfits who sit and gape like drongos every time a plan they considered infallible falls to pieces. One either change as the flow of the fight changes or they are pulled under by the current.
And so it went, they pushed one another back and forth in a severe storm of drawn out violence, and despite it all they seemed perfectly matched in terms of ability, strength, speed and even the number of bruises and red marks each received at the other's hand. Master Roshi wasn't fooled though, he knew Piccolo was holding back, at least a little, perhaps he had to power up or something. Well, whatever the reason, one thing was clear; this fight was only just getting started.
Roshi got his second wind, took the offensive. King Piccolo got his arm up in time to bar Turtle Hermit's springing advance and was about to strike back when the old man grabbed his blocking arm, spun under it and drove an elbow into his ribs. Piccolo tried to bring his own elbow down to crack the old man's skull, but Roshi being inside his reach expected this, leaned clear, then catching Piccolo's other descending forearm, he hung off them like a child on a set of monkey-bars. Annoyed, the Demon King lifted both his arms and the old man to throttle him, but Roshi, also expecting this, adjusted his position, tightened his grip and launched both legs back, slamming his feet into Piccolo's face. The Demon King grunted, staggered a bit, but recovered too quickly for Roshi to extricate himself from the path of a sudden vicious knee that rammed up into his gut hard enough to fold him in half and brake his hold on Piccolo's arms, one of which elbowed Roshi hard between the shoulder blades, slamming him with bone rattling force against the ground.
It would've been a tricky situation if reflex hadn't made Roshi curl up and roll forward with the impact then scissor his legs out, tricking Piccolo into automatically stepping back whereupon Roshi transferred all his weight to his hands, brought his legs together again then forcefully pushed himself up and backward, unbalancing his opponent with a firm two-legged kick to the chest, then, twisting in the air with the momentum, Roshi aimed a downward right hook at the Demon King's face, but Piccolo caught the punch so Roshi kicked him in the side instead, and the kick connected, but in achieving that small success he'd left himself open to the green fist that slammed into his forehead with dizzying results. Still, despite the shot throwing him back some meters, Master Roshi kept his balance, merely skidding back on his heels, his guard still up, awaiting King Piccolo reprisal, and it came, just not in the fashion he'd anticipated.
The bombardment came then, a combined onslaught of Ki beams shot from both The Demon King's eyes and fingertips; Master Roshi barely had time to evade before the golden streaks began shredding the ground around him. The beams weren't aimed randomly either; continuous, unrelenting and contrived to kill, Piccolo was being thorough, not only aiming at Roshi but also covering all the direction Roshi might feasibly counter attack from, effectively forcing him to remain dancing on the defensive and trapping him in a situation where only his speed, agility and centuries of experience kept him a hairs breadth from death. Constantly retreating, Roshi dodged and desperately dodged as King Piccolo displayed a deranged flare for Ki style calligraphy by scorching a jagged ever growing line pattern of shallow smouldering groves in the dirt around him, each groove symbolic of a death avoided. Roshi dodged until one lucky shot blasted him tumbling away, and despite managing to cross his arms into an X to block, the Ki burns were still enough to down him.
Tasting impending victory, King Piccolo quickly clapped his hands together, enveloping them in an eerie bronzy glow, then, with a terrifying war cry, he thrust his hands before him, this time cutting loose a full on beam of energy the point of which was shaped suspiciously like deformed arrow head, and it was baring down on the dazed Master Roshi with astonishing progress.
Roshi had only one hope of surviving it, and only one technique to ensure he did. But after all this fighting, was he strong enough to use it? "Oh I hope this works." He thought and threw his hands forward, palms pressed together with fingers curled inward like opposing crab pincers as he concentrated all his energy into a warding net formed with invisible weaves of telekinetically bolstered energy which, with great strain and a great concussion wave, trapped Piccolo's oncoming beam like an angry cat tossed in a sack. Master Roshi called it -The Ki Catcher-; however it does more than simply catch Ki. Once the net enshrouds a foes energy blast, Roshi channels his aura into the net's invisible weaves and, provided the captured energy doesn't utterly eclipse his own, he can overpower and ultimately convert, or rather –tame- the Ki tangled in the net, and then, for the best part, the net becomes like a tarpaulin and bounces the energy wave back at its creator even stronger than before.
Still, it was a near thing; the power Piccolo had shoved into that one blast almost broke the hold of his net and it took everything Roshi's 50% form had to overwhelm and turn the captured golden energy blue; he almost lost control of it twice despite the whole process only taking a matter of about three seconds. Roshi did it though, overwhelming Piccolo's static influence on the Ki with his own, then, struggling to a semi standing position, Roshi took a laboured step and threw his hands forward exhaling a warcry and redirecting Piccolo's own converted Ki blasts back at him. Thank goodness beings like the Demon King are so full of themselves because had the Namekian not been so confident of his victory and instead payed attention, he'd have realized intensifying the beam even a little would have assured that victory. But instead he stood there laughing and gloating; pausing only long enough to gape stupidly as his own attack came flying back at him.
Roshi could also have absorbed that energy into himself, but that wouldn't have be wise as every living organism has its own unique specifically attuned Ki signature, meaning Piccolo's Ki wouldn't mesh well at all with his own, and while it's true energy can be transferred between two parties willingly, it isn't the case with energy unleashed through aggression; that's not to say he could use the energy, but that kind of bad alchemy comes with any number of dangerous and even fatal side effects, especially when mixing Evil Ki with Good Ki which is a sure recipe for spontaneous combustion if ever there was one.
Sadly it was too much to hope hijacking Piccolo's attack would win the day, and it almost did….almost. Seeing his energy beam about to fly back in his face, The Demon King yelped, threw up a shielding arm as he leapt aside, avoiding all but the edge of the great beam which scorched the hell out of his shoulder and spun him around twice with the force; unfortunately though it wasn't enough to detonate the beam itself which shot off into the rainy grey sky without a single boom. Staring at the nasty scorch and hole burned in his favorite GI, Old Piccolo hissed through his teeth in pain and fury, completely disbelieving what just happened.
Luckily though, Master Roshi wasn't suffering from the same inertia and had the good sense to seize an opportunity when it presented itself. Still, deflecting that blast had taken a bit out of him, but not as much as he'd expected and he was still in good enough shape to fight. But would it be enough? "Well, only one way to find out!" He made his move.
Faster than he thought he'd ever moved in his life, Master Roshi blurred toward his unwary enemy and jabbed a soled elbow straight at the Namekian's windpipe only for his strike to pass right through the one thing he'd not expected "Gah, afterimage?! You cheapskate no-good rotten copy cat!" Master Roshi raved loudly just as the copy-cat in question rematerialized and kicked him in the back, though luckily Roshi had sensed him at the last instant and started moving forward with the arc of the kick, avoiding the bulk of what might've been a devastating blow "Alright, you want to play that game, fine!"
Instead of crashing in a heap, Master Roshi performed a nimble mid-air flip and rebounded off the ground straight back at the Namekian, his out slung fist passing through another afterimage of a particularly startled looking Piccolo. This time though Roshi wasn't thrown and a scant instant later King Piccolo loomed up behind him and threw a kick that passed through Roshi's own after image which faded just as the old man himself attacked from the side, dispersing another of Piccolo's afterimages who in turn scattered Roshi next afterimage. Soon the surrounding area was filled with waxing and waning copies of the two combatants snarling, sneering, smirking and even pulling faces at eachother as they played their roundabout game of cat and mouse, a game that Roshi, who was an old hand at this, won with a triple afterimage and a well-timed punch to the Demon King's jaw.
Piccolo tottered backwards, growled, rubbed his aching jaw, then actually smiled "Hmhaha, not bad, not bad at all; I'm, impressed, really I am;" King Piccolo panted with a chuckle, still catching his breath as Roshi himself was after their long engagement "You should be proud, only one other has ever managed to draw blood against me."
"Yes, a little boy with a tail and a natural gift for mischief if I recall;" Master Roshi jeered "He was my best student you know, quite fitting when you think about it, a descendant of the same martial arts school you decimated is the one who finally ended you."
"A fluke that shall never be repeated, I assure you;" Piccolo snapped, wiping some blood from his lip "In fact once I'm done with you, I think I will go find that spiky hair little scoundrel, or man given the passing of time, and make him suffer so exquisitely he will beg me for death."
This time it was Roshi's turn to chuckle smugly "Oh, you really haven't caught on yet have you? What, weren't you paying attention to your roommates in hell? No?" Roshi tutted, shaking his head "Well you should've made their acquaintance, and not just because anti-social behaviour is unhealthy, but because most of them would tell you their one way ticket into the purgatory you now know so intensity was given to them by that same spiky haired boy with the tail, or one of his allies;" Master Roshi was actually laughing now "Oh, but wait, here's the kicker; any one of your Hell-mates, any –one- of them, alone, could destroy you with a flick of their small finger."
"Nonsense!" The Demon King snapped "Lies, your merely stalling the inevitable."
"Oh come now, surely you've met them? Surely you already know this? Or have you spent all this time brooding and sulking in denial under some dark rock?...No, stupid question, of course you have, but see here's the thing," Roshi took a step forward, raising a hand to his mouth conspiratorially "I'm going to let you in on a little secret," Piccolo blinked, Roshi grinned "I'm nothing compared to my students now, both my students, and their best friends, one of whom is in fact your son, Piccolo Junior; and guess what? He alone eclipses the both of us in power several -million- times over."
In a lot of cases the egomaniac fighter mistakenly believes that anger makes them stronger, and while there can be a savage kind of strength in reckless action, what little beneficial strength rage gifts is ultimately far surpassed by the accursed burden of stupidity that comes with it, stupidity that now afflicted the irrational Demon King in abundance.
"No, you're lying, you're stalling, nobody is stronger than me, I am the ultimate warrior, I am the greatest this universe has ever seen, and soon I'll prove it to them all, starting with YOOOOU!"
Roshi let out an exasperated, almost rye noise and met the maddened Nemakian's charge in a whirlwind of fists feet and Ki, all the while saying "We're old news Demon King, yesterday's castoffs, forgotten, and the sooner you accept it the more bearable your eternity in hell will be…..for me!" Roshi landed a bone rattling blow to Piccolo's ribcage but took a shot of his own and was flung away.
"Your lying, your lying, your lyyyyying!" The Demon King howled, amping the ferocity of his assult to levels Rosh was hard pressed to match. Over the gutted ground, in the air with the rain and lightning falling overhead they're battle raged, concussion wave, flashes of Ki and the clashing of limbs compounding the thunderstorm's electric brilliance.
Damn he'd forgotten how hard battling a stronger foe could be on the body, his training in retirement hadn't exactly been intense, but intense or not, training and even sparing simply can't compare to a battle as involved and savage as this. If he survived this fight Roshi swore he'd start training for real again, maybe even do what Goku and the others did with the gravity chamber. It bore consideration at least, especially since he was sure to outlive everyone he now knew.
Abruptly the engagement split, opening a few yards between them, leaving the two ancient foes glowering at eachother. Then, oddly, King Piccolo began chuckling "Ah, I see your angle now….so you think goading me into an irrational stupor will give you an edge huh?"
"Am I really that transparent?" Master Roshi asked, perhaps a little sarcastically.
"Like glass….." Pccolo gave him a grin that was all teeth "And like glass, you'll soon shatter beneath my might."
That one made Roshi laugh "Ha! Nice line, you should take up acting, the theatre troops are always looking for a generic stereotype villain; and I think you'd fit the bill nicely. Don't you?" He laughed again, seeing the vain pulsating at Piccolo's temple.
Piccolo was grinding his teeth now "Your still trying to anger me….you will not succeed." Growled the lying Namekian.
"Oh I don't know, you say that now, but I think this'll get you nice and angry." Suddenly Master Roshi threw his arms wide, making Piccolo anticipate some feeble energy wave, but instead Roshi jumped and punched both hands deep into the ground, shattering the rock, concentrating with all his will on unleashing and directing the Ki that not half a second later irrupted right underneath the Demon King to send him flying into the air on a geyser of blue energy, his insignia branded blue tunic smocking as he screamed in pain.
Seemingly having won the element of surprise, Master Roshi ran, jumped, leg extended just as Piccolo righted himself high above the ground and launched an overzealous wave of golden energy that engulfed Turtle Hermit's oncoming form. King Piccolo smirked at his easy victory then gaped as his beautiful golden wave of destruction was split in half and detonated by a much smaller blue bubble that used the resulting explosion to bridge the gap between them faster than the Demon King could blink, and before he knew what hit him, the heel of the Turtle Hermit's shoe stamped it's imprint on his forehead hard enough to set the world around him spinning.
Simultaneously using the kicks force to push himself and the Demon King far away from eachother, Master Roshi rebounded off the Namekian and corkscrewed in the air, controlling the direction he flew toward, eyes intently fixed on his goal as he landed in a handstand. Exploiting this fortuitous break in the action, Roshi performed three front flips in the direction of an ugly grey dead looking tree, stopping about ten yards away from it, where he gathered and channelled his telekinetic power into his outstretched arms and used the power to simultaneously uproot and carve the foot of the trunk into a giant murderous spear point, finishing just as he finessed the giant spear into position hovering above and just in front of him. Then with a sharp fluid motion he spun and launched the spear like a javelin at his foe who even now was rushing toward him with bloodlust in his eyes.
A comical yelp actually escaped the Demon King at seeing what was coming his way. With scant meters to spare, Piccolo disintegrated the tree-trunk turned pointy projectile using his eye-beams, watching as the splinters rained down on the rapidly advancing Master Roshi whom he nearly didn't spot. Leaning forward to gain extra sprinting speed, The Turtle Hermit summoned a sphere of energy in one hand and feigned a lunge to the right then launched both the glowing sphere and himself to the left. As Roshi intended, Piccolo did mistakenly dodge left, but he also spotted the incoming Ki sphere and ducked it then quick as a flash struck out to put an end to the old man's reckless bull-charge; and failed.
"Time to give my new Image Projection technique a whirl!" Roshi thought as Piccolo crippled his tree spear and ducked his pitiful Ki projectile.
Image projection is another of Master Roshi's new techniques, or rather a modification of an old one. Where an afterimage remains static, an Image Projection does the same thing, only it pushes that afterimage straight at the enemy with telekinetic propulsion, and since people moving at speed are usually somewhat blurry, most foes shouldn't be able to tell the difference until they attack the illusion, leaving themselves open to the illusionist shadowing their illusion. If timed correctly and balanced between stymieing the opponents reaction time and making the illusion appear threatening, for example with an arm pulled back to strike, it makes this technique very handy in headlong rushes, and to Roshi's delight Piccolo did attack the illusion, his eyes bulging out of his head with disbelief as the afterimage flicked out to reveal the real Roshi following behind it.
Roshi's leapt straight at his quarry and opened up into a ferocious blurring bicycle kick. Left-right-left-right-left-right, his legs pumped, peppering the green man's ribs, chest and face with hammering blows, the momentum constantly driving Piccolo further and further back on a hopeless defensive that lasted several seconds until Roshi's forward momentum dissipated and he quickly shifted tactics by corkscrewing in the air, gifting the reeling Namekian a spin-kick to the jaw, a straight right punch to the nose, another spin-kick to the chest and a free flight of several meters in whatever direction he was now being catapulted.
Master Roshi didn't let up though, immediately he gave chase, but just as he caught up, he was a heartbeat to late parrying when King Piccolo halted his backward propulsion by bracing his hands against the moving ground and performed a flip kick that tossed the Turtle Hermit away like any number of tumbleweeds journeying through the desert. Instantly Piccolo was in hot pursuit, making Roshi think this fight was growing more precarious than two equally heavy fat guys on a rickety old seesaw as he pushed off the ground like Piccolo had and launched himself into the air with The Demon King hot on his heels, both of them trading blows on a horizontal axis as they rose higher and higher into the air to the point Roshi thought they might reach the clouds and get themselves fried by all the lightning dancing about up there. Up and up they went, right up until Roshi reached the peak of his jump, freely gifting Piccolo, who had the ability to fly, a momentary advantage between rise and fall; but it was enough.
Falling, falling, that was the next thing Master Roshi felt after the heavy combination of painful hits he'd just taken. Now through the white sparkling stars dancing behind his eyes he saw the ground looming up fast to make his acquaintance. From a lesser height he might endure the landing, but this was too risky, so rather than attempt to physically absorb the impact and risk serious injury, Master Roshi gathered both Ki and Telekinetic energies, then just a few meter before impact, he unleashed an invisible wave of force that momentarily tampered with gravity and punched a perfectly smooth bowl shaped indentation in the ground where he landed light as a feather. This trick, though handy, was in fact part of a greater rouse to later spring on the sadistic Namekian, but it wasn't time for that though as Piccolo hadn't yet commented about his inability to fly, but that would come, proud egomaniac that he is, even old Piccolo should be starting catch on by now.
His great enemy briefly levitated above, looking down with mild surprise, again reminding Roshi of the foolish dependency the new generation place on their ability to fly and making him huff in disapproval as Piccolo landed a casual dozen yards away. They were both breathing heavily and had their share of scrapes and bruises, but to Roshi's dismay it appeared his enemy was in slightly better condition than himself. He wasn't giving up though, far from it, he'd never realized how much he missed the exhilarating rush of this life. Still, he couldn't help wondering if confronting the monster had been such a good idea, he could very well be killed again. But no, he was here to settle a score and that's what he'd do.
"Ah, that punch was well placed for a fella your size." Master Roshi stated, actually complimented, not because he admired his foe but because it actually was a skilful shot, quite the surprise for an opponent who relies on his brutish size and power; that and it's always fool hardy not to respect a competent enemy, let them think you underestimate them, but don't actually underestimate them for real.
"Why thank you, I do try to put on a good show for my victims; so I hope your enjoying yourself, because it all downhill from here." A smirking Piccolo chuckled smugly, then stiffened to his full overwhelming height, a sudden brief but terrible glow flashing in his eyes before his aura flared gold around him, only this time it was different, as if he was on fire, licking and crackling flames of whispy life sapping bronze, Master Roshi actually flinched away, feeling the fatiguing, energy draining paralysing heat coming off of them, flames so hungry they'd sap the hydration, the will to fight and the very life force out of a man in seconds, and Roshi didn't need to be a genius to figure out not to let those fires touch him even before an exhalation from the Demon King sent those hungry bronze death fires his was on a powerful on rushing air current. This had to be one of the most cowardly and diabolical techniques he'd ever witnessed.
Master Roshi focused his whole aura into an invisible protective shell that shrouded him like a cloak, weaving together any gaps and leakage points tight so the flames couldn't get in, feigning complete helplessness as he did, even whining "I, I can't move….wha, what is this?"
Picolo growled an evil chuckle, it would be over soon he knew; this very technique had thwarted that little spikey haired brat in their first encounter, and though this old man, this –Roshi was stronger than the brat was that day, he isn't as strong as the child had been in their later rematch, so this should be more than enough to crush this insolent martial artist without fear of getting another hole punched through his chest; damn that had really hurt.
Roshi feigned weakness. Piccolo rushed forward, throwing a punch with far more force behind it than actual speed or technique, it was the kind of punch reminiscent of a flying brick screaming the message –I'll smash whatever I hit-, except what it hit was the waiting palm of a miraculously recovered Master Roshi who all but winced at the impact before drove one foot so hard into a very shocked Piccolo's gut that it half doubled him over with saliva and blood spraying from his mouth. Then Roshi repaid the Demon King punch for punch, planting a fist at the end of the wrenching monster's nose which caused him to totter drunkenly backward and plop wheezing and sputtering on his oversize can.
"What….Impossible…." Old Piccolo gasped, hacking up more purple spittle "How did you? UGH!"
"He-hehe, sorry, but I know better than to expose myself to strange energy techniques, too bad really, it was a good trick, and you certainly believed it'd be enough to defeat me….but you see;" Master Roshi grinned devilishly "Here's the funny thing about perception….It's an unspoken narrative and a paradox all rolled into one clever concept definable only in how it is received, used and and projected….for example."
Piccolo quickly rose, tense as a bow string, the old man was up to something, his arms were crossed in an X before him and his eyes were suddenly glowing pale white, eyes Piccolo once again couldn't tear his gaze from quickly enough. Without warning the very air around the Martial Arts master began to swirl in a bizarre vortex of a deep icy blue, rapidly expanding and reaching out until it enshrouded them both, hiding the surrounding rainy landscape behind swirling walls of blue and black, as if they were trapped in a cylindrical tunnel without an up or down, a left or right or an entrance or exit; it was like they'd been transported through a portal to a strange eldritch world.
"Wha-what it this?..." So dumbfounded by the sudden dizzying tunnel of colour, Piccolo nearly missed the old man disappear...no, wait, not disappear, more like break apart into long ethereal blue streamers virtually indistinguishable from the strange vortex walls all round him. The streamers fluttered fast toward him like a stone skidded across the surface of a lake, ripples and all to circle around him. Then before Piccolo knew what was happening he was being assaulted from all sides, a blow to the jaw, two more to the stomach, a sharp impact on the back of his neck then another behind his leg, dropping him to his knees. Savagely the Demon King struck at one of the streamers fluttering around him, his fist finding only air as another sharp blow impacted painfully in the small of his back, he rose whirling and lashed out with an unsuccessful chopping arm that of course found nothing while the punishment of his invisible cowardly foe grew increasingly frequent and merciless.
Grunting in pain and getting battered to crap, Piccolo descended into a blind fury and let loose a wayward volley of Ki bolts in all directions at phantom attackers, hoping to strike it lucky, and in a sense he did as the Ki seemed to briefly pierce the vortex's swirling walls, revealing the desolated landscape of their battlefield beyond before the punctures mended. Now he knew, it was an illusion, somehow this old bastard had figured out how to project his aura and use it to tamper with his opponent's sight and perceptions. Well, that was easily dealt with. Throwing his arms wide and roaring to the heavens, the Demon King flared his own aura to its brightest, awakening the absolute penicil of his youthful strength and powering up to his maximum.
The sheer abruptness of King Piccolo's rising Ki and wildly blazing aura was more than enough to disperse Master Roshi's blue vortex like so much unwanted smoke and catapult the mortified Turtle Hermit himself who knows how far away until he slammed into a large rock face so hard his likeness might as well have been paint there. Roshi could now feel the power pouring from his long time enemy, true it was nothing compared to Goku or the others these days, but it was enough to eclipse his own abilities. Damn it the Demon King actually felt stronger now than he had been when he and his Master Mutaito trapped him in the electronic jar over three hundred years ago. One thing was very clear though, this battle was about to get very ugly, particularly for Roshi himself, he still had some tricks and other devious techniques left to surprise the Demon King with, but would they be enough to overcome a power this much greater than his own?
Power Levels for readers who prefer them.
Master Roshi –more muscled- 50% form : 245
King Piccolo –Serious but not 100% - : 250
King Piccolo -100% Full Power- : 275