

Roshi and Master Shen (Crane) were rivals while growing up. But why did Crane
not die of old age?


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2019-02-21T01:33:52.807
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2020-01-28T17:42:16.880
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question
dragon-ball-series
Roshi is over 300 years old because he used Dragon Balls, but how is Master Shen still alive?


This is a mistake which was overlooked and never addressed in the series. It
was initially assumed that they drank the _Elixer of immortality_ from the
_Fountain of Youth_. However, Roshi later claims this doesn't really exist. So
yes! There is no logical reason explaining why the Crane Hermit is as old as
he is.


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2019-02-21T02:41:58.663
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2019-02-21T02:41:58.663
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answer


A major thing to keep in mind is that Roshi is an unreliable narrator (and his
turtle isn't terribly smart by human standards). He routinely lies and twists
half-truths to help people get through something tough, motivate his students
to work harder, or get something he wants that he thinks people otherwise
might not give him. It's a generally benign sort of thing, serving his mostly
comedic perversions or serving some sort of "greater good".

As Gary mentions, in the original series there is mention of an Elixir of
immortality/Fountain of Youth, and Roshi at one point tries to console Tien by
pointing out that he (Roshi) is immortal, so there's nothing to really worry
about. This was another lie or half-truth, though, as Tien was soon knocked
out and Roshi was killed by the strain of the technique he used to try to save
the day. So, as indicated, he twisted the truth, or outright lied, to help
someone out. Most people at this point presumed that in fact the
elixir/fountain only stopped him from dying of old age (and possibly other
natural causes), but suicide/exhaustion/getting eaten/laser beams to the
face/etc. would still be lethal in the usual fashion.

In _Super_ , Roshi sends Goku and Krillin out to fetch some [paradise
herb](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Paradise_Herb) in exchange for
teaching them a super secret technique. The technique was a half-truth,
though. It was meant to motivate them to do the quest, and thereby help Goku
increase his control of his energy and for Krillin to overcome his (very
justified) fears. So they were taught something useful for combat, but not
really a "technique" (and certainly not one of Roshi's martial arts
techniques). He had also stated that eating the herb would increase his
lifespan by another thousand years. Whether that was another lie, or a bit of
dramatic license, or not...we don't know. But it stands as the current best
explanation for Roshi's long life. Presumably, Master Shen and his brother
also partook of this herb.

Alternative options do exist, however. Demon King Piccolo used the dragon
balls to acquire Eternal Youth, which was inherited by Piccolo. This prevented
Piccolo from aging once he hit his physical prime (a mere 4 years later), but
neither of them had true immortality and could be killed by means other than
aging. Conceivably Roshi, Shen, and others may also have made such a wish at
some point.

A standard martial arts trope is the long-lived master, where their supreme
skill and spiritual development gives them an unnaturally long lifespan; this
may even be a specific "technique/skill" of theirs. Such a technique may have
been found by Roshi/Shen/General Tao/Baba and used amongst them, only they
found it later in life and it does not revert your body to an age before you
acquired it. Part of Roshi's character is how he at once serves this role of a
transcendent master of martial arts while also being a perverted, lazy,
goofball.

And there's the fact that if he _is_ in fact several hundred years old, then
he may have gone through a _lot_ of stuff, and the reason he has lived so long
is buried somewhere in all of those adventures, possibly stretched across
several of them in a complex fashion, and he may not even remember them all.
After all, he once had true immortality by owning a Phoenix (which ironically
died, and the immortality was lost). Which is to say there's plenty of story
telling room to "retcon" the reason for his long life and insert some new
justification(s) later. All of which serves the handy purpose of making others
distrusting of his claims, and difficult for others to achieve what he has
(which could be dangerous to the world, as well as those attempting the feat).


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2019-02-21T05:10:54.180
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2019-02-21T05:20:31.383
2019-02-21T05:20:31.383
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answer


It is important to remember that Immortality doesnt always= unkillable it
often means you wont die from age sometimes refered to as agelessness. In
roshis case this is the most likely senario from one of the above mentioned
possible sources of said immortality


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2020-01-28T17:42:16.880
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