Being afraid of death is not shameful. The vast majority of living beings fear death—especially Yamcha, who has already died once before. For him, that fear is even greater than for most.
Yes, in the original Dragon Ball story, no matter how dire the crisis, Goku and his allies, as the protagonists, always managed to resolve everything in the end.
But here's the problem—
How can you be sure that the world you're in is the main timeline?
How do you know that everything is unfolding exactly as you remember it?
How do you know that you're not in Future Trunks' timeline, where Goku died from the heart virus, and the world was nearly destroyed by the Androids?
How do you know that Vegeta and his crew won't arrive earlier than expected to seek allies? That Frieza's army won't suddenly show up searching for the Dragon Balls? That the egg sealing Majin Buu won't be awakened ahead of time?
How do you know this world won't be suddenly wiped out by some unknown villain?
And most importantly, how do you know that your own existence hasn't already caused an unpredictable change in this Dragon Ball world?
These are all unknown variables, like Schrödinger's Dragon Ball—a state that simultaneously exists and doesn't exist until the moment it is observed.
Yamcha has no way to be certain.
He doesn't even know if this world belongs to the Dragon Ball Z timeline, the GT timeline, the Super timeline, Dragon Ball Heroes, or Super Dimensional Battle.
There are too many "what ifs."
And Yamcha refuses to gamble his fate on the chance that others will protect him.
That's why he must become stronger—stronger than ever before.
At the very least, he needed to be strong enough to handle the enemies he would face in the future.
In the Dragon Ball world, the easiest way to grow stronger early on was to seek out a master—preferably a famous master—and undergo their training.
On Earth, the three most renowned masters were: Master Roshi (the Turtle Hermit), Korin (the Guardian of Korin Tower), and Kami (the Guardian of Earth).
All three had once trained Goku himself.
However, at the moment, Yamcha had no way of becoming their disciple.
Where exactly was Master Roshi's island?
Yamcha only knew it was on some remote island, but the exact location? He had no clue. The ocean was vast—he wouldn't even know where to begin searching.
Since the legendary "God of Martial Arts" had chosen to live in seclusion, it only made sense that his island was hidden where ordinary people couldn't easily find it. Unless he had an organization as powerful as the Red Ribbon Army to help locate it, finding Roshi would be almost impossible.
And Korin Tower? Yamcha had no idea where that was either.
Ever since he had reincarnated into this world, he had been focused entirely on training. He had never visited West City, one of the most famous cities, nor Mount Paozu, the starting point of so many adventures. His activity had been limited to the area near Fire Mountain.
If he couldn't even find Korin Tower, then Kami's Lookout, which was hidden even higher above it, was out of the question.
Even if he did find Korin Tower, how was he supposed to climb it?
Of course, these were only the traditional early-game methods of getting stronger in the original Dragon Ball.
If Yamcha's only advantage was being reincarnated into his body, then he would undoubtedly pour every ounce of energy into tracking down Master Roshi and Korin Tower.
But here was the game-changer—
Yamcha had another way.
The Superpower Training Box from Doraemon's world.
That method is called breaking the "fourth wall" and traveling to another world.
Or, to put it in a simpler way—
Dimensional travel.
The "Superpower Training Box" was something Yamcha obtained after breaking the "fourth wall" and traveling to Doraemon's world. There, he traded some small gadgets with the protagonist, Nobita Nobi, to get it.
As for why he has this ability? Yamcha himself doesn't know.
And as for how he mastered it? He can't explain it at all—or rather, there's no way to describe it in words.
It's an inexplicable and innate ability, much like breathing.
If you ask someone:
"Why do you breathe?"
"Why do you need to use the bathroom?"
They'd probably stammer and struggle to give you a proper answer.
However, Yamcha's trip to Doraemon's world was not a pleasant experience.
That world has an organization known as the Time Patrol—law enforcers from the 22nd century.
Yamcha was almost arrested for "disturbing the timeline"!
If he hadn't run away fast enough and immediately traveled back, he would have been captured.
The 22nd-century Time Patrol in Doraemon's world is a terrifying organization, far larger and more powerful than the Galactic Patrol from Dragon Ball.
They have all kinds of insane secret gadgets, cause-and-effect manipulation tools, and world-destroying devices that seem like mere toys to them.
Forget about fighting the Time Patrol—
Even against a random Galactic Patrol officer, Yamcha would stand no chance!
And who knows? Maybe the Time Patrol even has a gadget specifically designed to block his "fourth wall-breaking" ability!
If that happens… Yamcha is done for.
Yamcha really didn't want to gamble—nor did he dare to.
Even though Doraemon's world was filled with countless tempting and powerful secret gadgets, without the ability to protect himself, Yamcha had no intention of going back.
At least not for now.
Fortunately, high risk comes with high reward.
Besides obtaining the Superpower Training Box, he also managed to get half a bag of Momotaro Rice Balls and a piece of Translation Konjac—some minor but useful items.
Honestly, if Nobita Nobi wasn't such a kind person, Yamcha wouldn't have been able to get anything at all.
Although he missed out on those god-tier gadgets like the Time Furoshiki, What-If Phone Booth, and Lie 100, Yamcha was already more than satisfied.
So yes, not being able to learn from Master Roshi and other great martial artists was a bit of a regret, but only a minor one.
After all—
"Behind every successful man, there's always a great woman supporting him."
But in Yamcha's case?
Behind him stood entire dimensions.
He had 10,000 ways to become stronger, countless possibilities for growth.
And right now—Yamcha could feel it.
He was ready for another dimensional jump.
Since his ability to travel through worlds wasn't granted by a system, there was no tutorial, no guidance, no explanations.
All he could do was trust his instincts.
Last time, he had accidentally ended up in Doraemon's world.
Since everything had happened so suddenly last time, Yamcha wasn't prepared at all—which was why he only managed to grab a few small items.
Honestly, he was lucky the protagonist of that world was Nobita Nobi—if it had been someone else, he probably would've returned empty-handed.
Of course, traveling between worlds wasn't something he could do whenever and wherever he wanted.
For example, One Punch Man—Yamcha could feel deep in his bones that he wasn't capable of traveling there yet.
Same with Saint Seiya—something about that world also seemed out of reach to him.
He had no idea why.
It just wasn't possible.
After thinking it over, Yamcha guessed it had something to do with his current power level.
As for why he was able to travel to Doraemon's world…
Maybe because it was a lighthearted, comedic, kid-friendly universe?
That being said—
The proud Saiyan Prince once said:
"Never fight against a gag character."
And after his last experience, Yamcha had developed a deep wariness toward comedic, kid-friendly worlds.
Unless he had a perfect strategy, he would never recklessly step into those kinds of dimensions again.
Luckily, this time—
The world he was about to visit wasn't a comedy.
And the power system of that world?
It aligned perfectly with his desire to become stronger.
Yamcha slowly closed his eyes and took a step forward.
In the very next moment—
He vanished into thin air.
As if he had never existed in the first place.
All that remained was the howling wind across the vast desert—
And Puar's soft, sleepy breathing.
(End of Chapter)