Korin

Roland had read quite a few Dragon Ball fan-fiction novels. In them, the protagonists would rack their brains to obtain Senzu Beans from Korin, whether by trading fresh sea fish, resorting to outright deception, or appealing to his emotions with sincere displays of affection to move the cat.

After pondering the feasibility of these methods, he reached a conclusion.

It was all nonsense.

Although Senzu Beans were merely tools to fill one's stomach in the early stages of the plot, they were painstakingly cultivated by Korin. How could they be so easily obtained? Korin might be a cat, but he was a transcendent, otherworldly immortal cat; how could mere sea fish possibly sway him?

As for deception, that was even more ridiculous. Korin had guarded Korin Tower for over eight hundred years; could his wisdom really be inferior to that of a mortal?

Was he supposed to act like Yajirobe and shamelessly loiter on top of Korin Tower?

After much deliberation, Roland rejected all these methods!

He was a Saiyan; he should do things with a bit more dominance.

His speed of ascent increased, and the whirlwind he stirred up instantly scattered the clouds surrounding the tower. If calculated by height, he should have already flown past the atmosphere, yet blue skies and white clouds remained all around, and the distance to the top of the tower was still unknown.

"This Korin Tower is strange. The surrounding space seems to be bolstered by some mysterious power; in reality, the tower shouldn't be this tall."

After marveling at the wonder of Korin Tower, Roland accelerated toward the summit.

Meanwhile, inside the flat, spherical building at the top of Korin Tower.

Korin was leaning on a wooden staff, his expression grave as he watched Roland's ascent through a water jar.

In fact, the moment Roland entered the vicinity of Korin's Sacred Land, the incredibly powerful energy radiating from him had caught Korin's attention. Compared to the martial artists on Earth, the energy within Roland was exceptionally abundant. Because he didn't know how to suppress it, he was like a searchlight in the dead of night, exposing his formidable power at every moment.

"Oh my, where on earth did this monster come from? To possess such terrifying power at such a young age."

Korin had seen countless people, but he had never encountered a monster this powerful.

If the other party wanted to cause trouble, his own strength would be nowhere near enough to stop him. Korin paced back and forth beside the water jar, cold sweat beading on his forehead as he felt a vague sense of unease.

Soon, a surging cyclone reached the top of the tower, and a violent storm howled in his ears.

"He's here!"

Korin's heart tightened. He shifted his gaze away from the water jar and saw a small figure floating in mid-air outside the building at the top of the tower. The boy looked only four or five years old, his face still retaining a youthful innocence.

Feeling the other's ki at close range, Korin suddenly felt a tremor of fear.

"What a terrifying brat, to have passed the trial of Korin Tower so quickly." Korin looked at Roland in shock, but since a guest had arrived, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk forward.

Kami was surely watching this place as well, but that brought him little sense of security.

Roland was also observing the fat white cat leaning on a wooden staff before him. It looked very plump, just like in the animation! He had heard it was over 800 years old; he wondered what breed it was.

In the Dragon Ball world, cats were a truly miraculous species.

"May I ask what brings you here, Excellency? If you are here to challenge Korin Tower, there is absolutely no need given your strength!" Korin asked cautiously.

"Whether there is a need or not is beside the point; I am quite interested in this place of yours."

Roland narrowed his eyes as he sized up Korin. This expression made the cat shudder, as if something ominous were about to happen.

Ignoring Korin, the master of the house, Roland swaggered around the first floor of the tower as if it were his own home, occasionally tapping and commenting on the items atop the tower. He walked over to the water jars, lifted a lid, and took a look. It was said that these three jars represented the past, the present, and the future, but Roland saw nothing inside. It seemed special techniques were required to see clearly.

Korin stood to the side, watching with a helpless expression.

The opponent's strength was too great; he was powerless to do anything.

After a while, Roland had a rough grasp of the situation on the tower and said, "I heard you have something called a Senzu Bean here, where eating one keeps you full for ten days. Give it to me."

Korin replied, "There is such a thing, but it is prepared for the martial artists who challenge Korin Tower..."

There was no extra food on Korin Tower. In the past, when martial artists climbed the tower, they relied on Senzu Beans to stave off hunger. However, few had successfully reached the summit in the last few hundred years, so there was a surplus of beans.

"Heh..."

A sharp glint flashed in Roland's eyes. His power surged, and he suddenly hurled an energy ball toward the base of the tower.

With a thunderous boom, a violent explosion erupted below. Korin lunged at the railing at the top of the tower, and through the clouds, he could vaguely see a blood-red mushroom cloud.

The towering mountain range at the edge of Korin's Sacred Land had been at least partially obliterated.

"See, it would be better to just hand over the Senzu Beans..." Roland looked at Korin with a smile, playfully manifesting another energy ball in his hand.

The energy ball, flickering with brilliant light, made Korin break out in a cold sweat.

This guy wasn't here to reason.

"Gulp~" Korin swallowed hard, his body shivering as he hurriedly shouted, "Wait! I can give you the Senzu Beans, please don't fire any more energy blasts."

Roland laughed heartily, "That's more like it. Bring them here."

"I need a moment to look for them; I haven't used the Senzu Beans in many years," Korin sighed dejectedly.

"Make it quick."

"..."

This guy was too strong; even Kami probably wasn't his match. He truly didn't know where such a monster had popped out from.

But thinking about it, given Roland's current combat power, it was inconceivable to Korin, who lacked the necessary knowledge of powerful beings from the universe and was encountering one for the first time. The impact on him was akin to the sky collapsing and the earth splitting.

The power levels on Earth were relatively low. In a world where the average person's combat power was less than 5, a martial artist with a combat power of several dozen could be called an expert. Someone like Master Roshi, who had trained for hundreds of years to reach a combat power of over a hundred, was even rarer—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a legendary martial artist.

In such an environment, the sudden appearance of a monster with a combat power of 460 was something he had never seen or even heard of.

It was so strong it was suffocating.

Korin sighed as he rummaged through boxes and cabinets on the tower, finally pulling out a ceramic jar from a pile of clutter.

It had the characters for "Senzu Bean" written in red on the lid. Upon opening it, he found it filled with green, shriveled beans.