Korin Tower

Son Mirai had already pierced through layer upon layer of white clouds, yet he still hadn't reached the top of the tower.

And when he looked up, the top was still nowhere in sight.

Son Mirai couldn't help saying, "As expected of Korin Tower. I've climbed this high already, and there's still no sign of the top..."

But he wasn't discouraged. If anything, his eyes shone even brighter.

Today, Korin Tower was still a towering mountain to him. But one day, it would be nothing more than a place name.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and gathered his strength to climb again.

A day passed.

The sun set, and the moon rose.

Son Mirai finally saw the top of the tower.

"I'm finally here!"

Once he saw the finish line, Son Mirai's speed suddenly increased.

In just a few breaths, he reached the top.

The night breeze brushed against him, bringing a hint of coolness. A faint fragrance lingered in the air.

He walked up the stairs and saw a white cat with its back to him, leaning against a jar.

"Hello!"

Son Mirai greeted him politely.

Korin turned around and saw Son Mirai.

"Oh, you made it up here! That was fast!"

Korin checked the time and said, "I noticed you as soon as you started climbing the tower.

"You were pretty fast, but you took quite a bit longer than I expected! I was waiting so long I nearly fell asleep..."

Son Mirai scratched his head awkwardly.

"Ah, you've been waiting for me for a long time?

"Sorry, I couldn't see the top, and I didn't know how much farther I had to climb, so I kept some strength in reserve..."

Korin nodded.

"I see!"

Son Mirai looked around and said, "Korin, I came to ask for the Ultra Divine Water!"

"The Ultra Divine Water?"

"Yes!"

Korin picked at his ear with his little finger and drawled, "That stuff? I do have some here.

"But if you want to drink it, you'll have to take it from me!

"Of course, you can only use your own strength. Tools, tricks, and things like that won't work on me!"

Son Mirai nodded.

"I understand the rules. Someone told me about them. So, can we begin?"

Korin casually reached out and picked up the jar containing the "Ultra Divine Water."

"All right, we can start!"

Son Mirai assumed a fighting stance and shouted, "Here I come!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Son Mirai's gaze sharpened, and his whole body took on the air of a hunting leopard.

Without warning, he shot toward Korin.

His explosive power far surpassed what he'd shown while climbing the tower. He moved so fast that a blur trailed behind him.

Son Mirai curled his right hand into a claw and reached for the jar in Korin's arms.

Just as Son Mirai had expected, the moment he was about to touch the Ultra Divine Water, the jar was pulled away.

Son Mirai was startled. He hadn't even seen how Korin had disappeared.

Suddenly, Korin's voice came from behind his ear.

"No good! You're too straightforward. You won't take it from me that easily..."

Son Mirai spun around and charged at Korin again.

But Korin calmly dodged him once more.

Son Mirai ran a few more steps in the direction of his charge to bleed off his momentum.

Korin moved nothing like him.

His fluid, unhurried movements stood in stark contrast to Son Mirai's clumsy ones.

Son Mirai's attack missed. His heart tightened, and he turned with the momentum, using a feint to continue the pursuit.

As Korin dodged, Son Mirai swept his left leg out like a whip,

trying to block Korin's possible escape routes as his right hand darted forward again.

But Korin simply tossed the jar into the air, ducked beneath the wind of Son Mirai's kick, and slipped past him.

By the time Son Mirai turned around, the jar had settled safely back in Korin's arms.

The whole sequence was as smooth as flowing water. There wasn't even a noticeable slosh from inside the jar.

Son Mirai's expression grew serious.

This time, he'd seen Korin's movements clearly...

But he was still nowhere near getting the jar.

Korin smiled. "You've got good strength, and your movement speed is decent too,

"but your reaction speed isn't good enough. You're a little clumsy..."

Son Mirai listened to Korin and turned his words over in his mind.

His reaction speed was too slow, but his movement speed was decent!

It was true: reaction speed and movement speed were two different things.

Reaction speed was how quickly someone responded to an unexpected situation...

Moving quickly meant planning out one's actions in advance to some extent,

and having a body strong enough to sustain the speed required.

The stronger the body, the faster it could move.

His training with Master Roshi, including his weighted exercises, was improving his movement speed.

For now, his reaction speed depended entirely on his natural talent.

If his body could dodge on its own, he would have reached the threshold of Ultra Instinct.

He was still a long way from that, but he had to start training for it now.

Son Mirai didn't answer. He took a deep breath, tamping down his frustration at losing the first exchange.

He began to adjust his strategy instead of recklessly charging in.

"Again!"

This time, Son Mirai slowed his pace. He no longer tried to snatch the jar in one decisive attack.

He kept his eyes fixed on Korin, watching his movements as he pursued him.

Son Mirai's advances were sometimes real, sometimes feints. He tried to restrict Korin's room to move while also learning his patterns.

Korin still didn't make any large dodging movements.

At the last possible moment, he always slipped out of the way with the smallest movement.

After a brief chase, sweat began to bead on Son Mirai's forehead.

Seeing Son Mirai stop trying to take the jar, Korin smiled. "What, are you giving up already?"

Son Mirai wiped away the sweat and said, "I've only had breakfast today. I'm hungry..."

Korin fell silent.

"Are you saying that if you were full, you could easily snatch the jar?" Korin asked.

Son Mirai shook his head. "That's impossible. I can see the difference between us..."

Korin paused slightly.

"You're clearly strong, yet you have a keen sense of your own limitations!

"In that case, I'll give you something to eat!"

As he spoke, Korin casually pinched a Senzu Bean from the jar and tossed it toward Son Mirai.

"This is called a Senzu Bean. Eat it, and you'll completely recover your strength..."

Whoosh!

Son Mirai had just reached out to catch it when he realized Korin had thrown the Senzu Bean toward the bottom of the tower.

Son Mirai was stunned. Korin's aim was precise, so the bean hadn't gone astray by accident. He'd clearly done it on purpose.

Seeing Son Mirai freeze, Korin continued, "Oh dear, you didn't catch it?

"Wasting food is bad, you know!"

Before Korin could finish, Son Mirai leaped after the Senzu Bean.

Unfortunately, it had already been falling for several seconds.

Even though Son Mirai used Korin Tower to pick up speed on the way down, he still couldn't catch up to it...

The Senzu Bean would most likely hit the ground.

But Son Mirai didn't panic or try to take one of the other Senzu Beans from the jar. He chose to keep chasing it.

He knew very well that climbing the tower was training, too.

Korin was only doing this to make him climb it one more time.

Besides, once he got the Senzu Bean, he'd have something to eat.

He'd also figured out roughly how tall Korin Tower was, so climbing it again would take less effort and be easier.

After Son Mirai went down, Korin looked toward the water jar. Son Mirai's image appeared on its surface.

Once Son Mirai reached the ground, he ate the Senzu Bean. His spirits immediately lifted, and his strength was completely restored.

Then, without taking a break, he shot toward the top of Korin Tower like a rocket.

Seeing how fast he was, Korin couldn't help being surprised.

"This kid is improving so fast!"