After saying that, he clasped his hands behind his back and prepared to leave.
Krillin thought of the days when he'd been bullied at the temple. How could he just give up? His expression suddenly grew resolute.
"Please wait, Master Mutaito!"
Master Roshi paused in surprise and turned to look at him.
"Please let me make one last attempt to convince you!"
He glanced around at everyone, then cautiously picked up his bundle.
"Master Mutaito, please come with me!"
After speaking, he gave Master Roshi a pleading look, then stepped away from the group and into a corner.
"Why are you being so mysterious? Honestly!"
Master Roshi muttered, but his curiosity had been piqued.
"I want to see what new trick you've got up your sleeve!"
Son Gohan looked a little uneasy, but when he thought of his own earlier behavior, he decided not to interfere. After all, Krillin would be an important catalyst for Goku's transformation later on. It was fine to trip him up a little, but he couldn't actually let him get kicked out of the school, could he?
Krillin had been waiting anxiously in the corner. When Master Roshi arrived, he stopped hiding what he was doing and quickly pulled a beautifully made picture book out of his bundle.
"Master, I know you're a great martial artist. You must consider money and gold worthless, so I didn't bring you any expensive gifts. I got this from a righteous man after I helped him on my journey!"
Master Roshi narrowed his eyes and scrutinized it.
"I know I'm still young and can't be trusted with these treasures, so I'm giving them all to you today, sir!"
When Krillin saw that Master Roshi's reaction was lukewarm, he clenched his teeth, stamped his foot, and opened his bundle. A huge pile of little books spilled out, their pages gleaming white.
The beauties in them came in every shape and size, each one alluring in her own way: there were blue-eyed blondes, voluptuous women, and delicate beauties next door.
Most importantly, they wore very little clothing. Some of them were practically wearing nothing but a few scraps of fabric. They were the very picture of performance art.
At the sight of so many picture books, Master Roshi hurriedly shut the one in his hand and covered his nose with both hands. He didn't even need to think about it; the rush of blood surging through him told him these were the good stuff.
"Ahem. Since you put so much thought into this, I'll take them and give them a thorough critique!"
"As for you... you can stay for now."
"Yeah! I finally managed to become your student!"
Thinking back on the long journey he'd made, Krillin's eyes slowly welled with tears, and they grew red around the edges.
"I'll work hard and study martial arts!"
His earnest expression made Master Roshi feel a little bad about giving him a hard time.
But feeling bad was one thing; he still had to put Krillin through the proper test.
"Goku, come here!"
After calling to Son Goku, Master Roshi pointed toward Bulma and Xiao Wu.
"Before you can officially start learning martial arts, you have to find me two cute girls!"
Since Gohan has already set an example for you, just use the girls he found as your standard!
Master Roshi coughed and issued the task with a completely serious expression.
It wasn't that he was greedy. He'd already figured out that one of them was Gohan's girlfriend, so she was off-limits. The other one followed Gohan's lead too, so she was someone he could look at but not touch.
Without someone to keep him entertained, he'd be miserable. This arrangement would put his mind at ease!
"Okay, no problem!"
The easygoing Son Goku readily agreed.
"Mm, there's no rush. Let's find somewhere else first."
"Goku, take Krillin with you."
"Gohan, you and the others can ride your dragon. We're leaving right away!"
After assigning everyone their tasks, Master Roshi climbed onto Old Turtle's back.
Yamcha stood there, dumbfounded. (•ิ_•ิ)
"Master Mutaito, what about me?"
"Your training has already started. Don't even think about slacking off. Swim after me!"
After scolding him, Old Turtle surged ahead, and everyone followed using their own methods.
Bulma looked down at Yamcha, who was paddling furiously, and asked curiously,
"That guy's got it rough. I get the feeling that lecherous old man doesn't think much of him?"
Son Gohan shook his head at Bulma's puzzled expression.
"You can't judge by appearances. In just half a month, his ki has increased by a huge amount!"
"He used to be nowhere near Goku's level, but now he can more or less fight him to a draw."
"Huh? He's improved that much?"
Bulma scratched her head, then thought of something and quickly rummaged through her backpack for the Battle Power Tester.
"It's been a long time since we tested everyone. Why don't we take this opportunity to check again?"
After speaking, she picked up the gadget.
"Let's start with you, Gohan!"
"Click!"
"Beep beep beep beep..."
"Battle power... 57!"
"Huh, your battle power went up that much?"
Muttering to herself, Bulma continued scanning.
"Beep beep beep beep..."
"Beep beep beep beep..."
"The battle power readings are... 140, 27, 25, 14, and 12!"
"Everyone's numbers have changed!"
Bulma marveled.
"That's normal. If you keep up with your daily training, you'll make a lot of progress."
Son Gohan was satisfied with these readings. He was already close to sensing ki, so to build a solid foundation, he hadn't done much strength training. Most of his time was spent meditating.
After watching Master Mutaito perform the Kamehameha at Fried Bread Mountain last time, he'd basically grasped the fundamentals of ki, and his strength had naturally improved as well.
As for Son Goku, one word described him: a monster. He'd figured out the Kamehameha on his own without even understanding the most basic concept of ki!
His strength had improved the most by far. Just look at Yamcha, who'd gone through Master Roshi's devilish training and could only match him now.
As for the rest... Master Mutaito was really letting himself go these days. His normal reading had dropped another point, so he clearly hadn't trained in a long time!
"How can that be? You're only two hundred years old—you're in the prime of your life! You should be training like crazy! Master, let me help you improve from now on!"
With a sly grin, Son Gohan was already plotting how to work the old man to the bone.
"Hey, Gohan, why do you have that wicked look on your face?"
Bulma shivered when she saw him like that.
It wasn't just her. Even Master Roshi, who was leading the way, felt a chill run down his back, as if some monster had set its sights on him!
The group quickly headed east, and after half a day, they arrived at a vast peninsula.
Master Roshi jumped down from Sea Turtle's back and tossed out the Capsule House.
"Everyone, take the rest of the day to relax. First thing tomorrow morning, we'll begin our Kame Style training camp!"
"Goku, take Krillin and get going. Try to be back by tonight!"
Master Roshi rubbed his hands together furtively, apparently unable to wait.
Before you continue