Senzu Beans

Selyne hummed in acknowledgment, then followed Mr. Popo into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with a curious look on her face.

After they entered, the Hyperbolic Time Chamber's golden doors slammed shut. Chaya knew that time now flowed differently inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. One day outside was a year within.

With nothing better to do, Chaya sat alone in the Sacred Temple's corridor for quite a while before wandering through it along the circular white jade staircase.

No one could determine exactly when the Sacred Temple had been built. Perhaps it had been several thousand years, perhaps even longer. Yet time had left few traces upon it, which was likely its most remarkable quality.

Half-meter-tall golden patterns were embedded in the walls on both sides of the corridor winding down around the Sacred Temple's main structure. These reliefs were vivid and lifelike, carrying the flavor of Incan murals. They mainly depicted scenes from ancient times of humans farming by slash-and-burn methods, hunting, and making pottery alongside nature.

Chaya also discovered that magnificent golden doors were spaced every few meters throughout the crisscrossing corridors. Behind each door was a room. Some were ordinary storage rooms piled with miscellaneous items, while others were special spaces enhanced with magic, like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

After wandering the corridors for a long while and passing through the maze-like branches, he finally returned to the Sacred Temple's entrance.

Just then, Kami approached him with a cane in hand.

"Chaya, so you're here! Karin already told me about your situation. I never imagined there were so many powerful fighters in the universe. Compared to them, Earth is truly far too weak." A trace of helplessness appeared on Kami's aged face.

After learning from Korin about the strength of other lifeforms in the universe, Kami had been haunted by the fear that the strong inspired in the weak. He feared that aliens might invade Earth one day and bring devastation to all living things.

Since Kami had brought it up himself, Chaya did not beat around the bush. He said plainly, "Yes, Earth's overall strength is indeed too low. In the universe, it is probably one of the lowest-tier planets."

"Still, you need not belittle yourselves. Although Earthlings are not individually very strong, you possess advantages that other planets can hardly match. Your martial arts philosophy is far more advanced than that of the people of the universe. As long as you make good use of your strengths, I believe Earthlings will not be weaker than them."

Chaya was not merely comforting Kami. In truth, Earthlings would not remain weak forever. Once the Dragon Ball warriors truly rose to prominence, even a pure-blooded Earthling like Krillin would become far stronger than the vast majority of people in the universe!

Of course, that required opportunity.

Kami froze for a moment. He had not expected Chaya to think so highly of Earth's martial arts.

"Even so, there are simply too few strong fighters on Earth. Over the past few centuries, true martial artists have been dwindling, and there are even fewer people worth cultivating. Sigh!" Kami could not help letting out a sigh.

Among the martial arts of the lower world, the Turtle School and the Crane School were renowned far and wide, their fame shaking the world. Yet there was a gap among the younger generation of martial artists. This lack of successors was extremely unfavorable for Earth, which could face invasion by people from the universe at any time.

Ever since realizing Earth's predicament, Kami had begun pondering how to increase Earthlings' strength.

"By the way, I heard that you possess many miraculous spells, Kami. I need you to do me a favor!" Chaya suddenly thought of something and said with a smile.

"I know a little magic. What do you need help with?" Kami asked curiously. He did not think it unreasonable for Chaya to seek his help.

The universe was a society where the strong preyed upon the weak, and the law of the jungle granted the strong far too many natural privileges. For instance, the weak serving the strong was considered perfectly normal and natural by many strong people, and even by the weak themselves.

Chaya turned around. A brown, furry Tail fell from his waist and swayed in midair. Ever since he had cut off his Tail during the full moon on Selma, it had grown back over the past few months.

"This is the Tail of us Saiyans. I hope to use your power, Kami, to keep it from growing back again."

Kami had never seen a human with a Tail before, so he stared at it carefully for a while, thinking it might be a racial trait of the Saiyans. But just then, a furious, roaring Giant Ape suddenly appeared in the depths of his mind.

A violent, savage aura surged toward him, relentlessly battering his mind.

Horror appeared in Kami's eyes, and he quickly looked away.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he said with lingering fear, "What a terrifying mental assault. What exactly was that Giant Ape? That ominous aura nearly tore my mind apart."

"Cut off your Tail first. Then I'll use magic to prevent it from growing back."

"Alright!"

Chaya nodded and cooperatively condensed a Ki blade. With one slash, he severed his Tail. It fell to the ground, and blood flowed from the wound.

Seeing Chaya act so decisively, Kami nodded. Next, it was time for him to use his magic. He extended an arm from his white divine robe, held two fingers together, and began chanting. A sparkling point of light flickered several times before flying toward Chaya's wound.

Pfft!!

Magic enveloped Chaya's body. A warm sensation soothed his flesh as shimmering green light flickered continuously, gradually dimming before disappearing. The wound behind him had already healed as well.

After moving around a little, Chaya immediately sensed the difference. To his surprise, he found that without his Saiyan Tail, his control had improved slightly.

"Thank you, Kami. If Earth ever faces any trouble in the future, just notify me, and I will naturally lend a hand."

Chaya was in an excellent mood and readily made the promise. As for whether he could fulfill it, that would depend on whether he was on Earth at the time. Still, he knew that Earth would not face any major crisis at least until Dragon Ball Z began, and after Dragon Ball Z, Son Goku and the others would presumably have grown strong enough.

Kami, however, knew none of this. After receiving Chaya's promise, a smile appeared on his face as well.

"Then we will have to rely on you in the future."

Without making it explicit, the two had completed a pleasant transaction. Chaya had eliminated the potential instability caused by his Tail, while Kami had gained a promise that Chaya would help should Earth come under threat. Each had gotten what he needed.

After chatting for a while longer, Chaya raised many questions concerning training, and Kami answered them one by one. Though Kami was weaker than Mr. Popo in terms of power, his knowledge of martial arts was exceptionally broad and likewise surpassed Chaya's by far.

Chaya benefited immensely.

After receiving Kami's guidance, he felt as though a fog had lifted from his mind, and many of his previous doubts vanished.

By then, more than half the day had passed. Seeing that there was still plenty of time before Selyne and the others emerged from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Chaya thought for a moment before leaving the Sacred Temple and flying directly toward the top of Korin Tower below.

This time, he had come to Korin Tower to obtain Earth's sacred healing treasure from Korin—the Senzu Beans.

He had been too busy training to ask Korin for Senzu Beans before, but they were something he was determined to obtain on this trip. The Saiyan physique combined with the healing effects of Senzu Beans—there was no combination more exciting than that.

Korin Tower, atop its flattened spherical peak.

Korin was lounging leisurely on a long chair, resting. Suddenly, he sensed a powerful aura approaching him.

Opening his eyes, he saw Chaya standing before him at some unknown point.

Out of habit, Korin yawned, climbed up from the long chair, rubbed his eyes, and asked, "Chaya, shouldn't you be training up there? What brings you to my place?"

After spending more than ten days together, Korin believed he had already come to understand Chaya's nature, and his manner of speaking had become quite casual.

Chaya got straight to the point. "Karin, I heard that you have something called Senzu Beans here. Could you give me some?"

"Senzu Beans?"

Korin's narrowed eyes opened slightly. He nodded indifferently. "Yes, I do have those. Eating one Senzu Bean means you won't need food for ten days. If you want some, I can give you a few."

"Wait, let me look for them. I remember putting them somewhere nearby."

As he spoke, Korin began rummaging through boxes and cabinets. After pulling out a large pile of miscellaneous items, he finally found five sealed ceramic jars at the very back. The words "Senzu Beans" were written on them in red. When he opened them, they were indeed filled with shriveled emerald-green beans.