"Not bad." Master Roshi gave his objective assessment, praising him as he set the magazine aside. "After these past few days of training, your strength has improved noticeably."
"It's still nowhere near enough!" Krillin shook his head and put his hands on his hips.
He then looked Master Roshi up and down, his gaze moving from the sunglasses to the sandals and then back to the sunglasses.
Krillin's eyes lit up. "Master Mutaito, how about we spar? Training by myself feels like it's improving me too slowly!"
Master Roshi's face darkened. His eyes glared at Krillin from behind his sunglasses, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
So this kid thought he was hot stuff now?
Was he getting ready to bully his teacher?
"How about it, Master Mutaito?" Krillin asked with a grin, tilting his head and spreading his hands in front of him.
"Get out of here!" Master Roshi snapped, raising his voice. "If you really want to spar with someone, go find Goku!"
"But I can't beat Goku!" Krillin shook his head and refused at once, waving both hands in front of him.
Master Roshi: "..."
The corner of Master Roshi's mouth twitched again. His lips moved a few times, but he couldn't say anything.
"Hm?" Master Roshi suddenly turned to look at the distant sky, his eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses. "Who's coming?"
His gaze fixed on a tiny speck on the horizon.
"Someone's coming?" Krillin immediately turned to look behind him, pivoting to face the other way.
A figure appeared in the distance, flying rapidly toward them.
It drew closer and closer, becoming clearer by the moment.
"Whoosh!"
Soro came flying in from afar, leaving an afterimage trailing through the air.
He descended from the sky and landed on Master Roshi's island, his toes touching the sand.
"Soro?" Krillin froze, his eyes widening.
Master Roshi watched quietly without a word, tapping the armrest of his lounge chair twice with his finger.
Sea Turtle studied Soro curiously, stretching his neck out even farther.
Before this, Sea Turtle had already heard Krillin tell him about Soro.
"Soro, how did you find me?" Krillin hurriedly asked.
"I sensed your ki." Soro smiled and put his hands in his pockets. "It was easy to find you."
"You... You came all this way just to find me?" The corner of Krillin's mouth twitched, and his eyelid jumped. A bad feeling suddenly crept over him.
"That's right." Soro nodded solemnly, looking Krillin straight in the eye. "I thought I'd come spar with you. We're evenly matched."
After three hours of gravity training, Soro's strength had improved quickly.
He could clearly feel that his own energy had grown much more powerful.
Judging by his energy level, Soro's battle power had now reached at least 2,000.
When Krillin fought Vegeta and Nappa, his battle power had been 1,700.
He'd improved over the past couple of days, too, so it should be around 2,000 now.
They were evenly matched!
Krillin opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing.
He looked at Soro, then Master Roshi, then Soro again.
"Huh? You want to spar with me?" Colin panicked at once, his face paling as he waved both hands wildly in front of him.
You beat Vegeta, who had a battle power of 18,000, into the ground...
And now you want to spar with me!
If you want to kill me, just say so.
You don't have to beat around the bush.
Krillin took a step back, his heel sinking into the sand. His Adam's apple bobbed.
"Krillin." Master Roshi rose calmly to his feet and tapped his cane against the beach. He wore a radiant smile. "This is a great opportunity. Sparring with Soro will do a lot to improve your strength."
Krillin turned his head mechanically and gave Master Roshi a silent look. The corner of his mouth twitched, and for a moment he felt like crying.
Why was karma coming so quickly?
I was just thinking of challenging Master Mutaito!
And now Soro was challenging me!
"Soro..." Krillin panicked, raising his voice and spreading his hands. "Stop joking around. How could I possibly be a match for you? Never mind that I can't counter your Flash Technique—your battle power is way beyond mine!"
"Don't worry." Soro grinned, showing a row of white teeth. "I won't use the Flash Technique, and I'll lower my battle power to 2,000 to fight you."
He paused and put on a stern expression.
"It's fine if you don't agree. In that case, I'll just have to attack you first."
Krillin: "..."
Krillin's lips trembled. His nose stung, and he sniffed, feeling like crying.
He drew a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and finally made up his mind.
He clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his palm.
"Then you have to promise," Krillin said gravely, looking Soro straight in the eye. "You'll lower your battle power to 2,000!"
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm." Soro nodded emphatically, wearing a sincere smile.
He closed his eyes and temporarily deactivated his passive [Battle Power ×50] skill.
The surging power within him instantly fell silent.
The aura around him faded, and he seemed much more ordinary.
With that, Soro's battle power was only about 2,000.
Krillin's battle power, meanwhile, had reached 2,100.
By comparison, Krillin had a slight advantage.
The two took their positions on the beach, about ten meters apart.
The sea breeze blew by, lifting a few grains of sand.
Master Roshi stepped aside, sat in his lounge chair, and crossed his legs.
Sea Turtle also moved to the side and stretched out his neck.
"Begin!" Master Roshi called from the sidelines, eagerly waving an arm down.
"Yaaah!"
Krillin let out a series of roars to work up his courage.
He pushed off the sand, sending it flying behind him, and charged toward Soro.
As he charged, Krillin's body began to flicker.
One, two, three...
Countless Krillins appeared on the beach.
Multi-Form Afterimage Fist!
More than a dozen Krillins appeared all around Soro. Some raised their fists, some kicked, and others dove down from above.
The corner of Soro's mouth lifted into a smile.
He didn't move, simply standing where he was.
"Smack!"
The next moment, Soro casually raised a hand and turned his palm upward, catching a fist coming down from above.
Fist met palm with a sharp crack.
"Darn it!" Krillin cried as all the afterimages vanished. "He saw through it!"
His body hung above Soro's head, his fist firmly caught in Soro's hand.
"Thud!"
Soro stopped holding back. He turned his hand, grabbed Krillin's wrist, and yanked him down from the air.
With his other hand clenched into a fist, he unleashed a fierce barrage of attacks on Krillin.
His fists rained down like drops of water, each one carrying a burst of force.
Krillin gritted his teeth, shielding himself with both arms and desperately blocking the blows.
But his footing was already unsteady. He kept stumbling backward, leaving a trail of deep footprints in the sand.
Ten minutes later.
Soro had beaten Krillin until his face was swollen and bruised. One eye was black, and the corner of his mouth was split.
He grimaced in pain, baring his teeth and drawing in sharp breaths.
"I give up!" Krillin forced a smile, bent over with his hands on his knees, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Krillin." Soro sighed softly and folded his arms. "Actually, there isn't much difference between our battle powers. Yours might even be higher than mine."
Krillin: "..."
The corner of Krillin's mouth twitched, and one side of his face kept spasming.
With a battle power of 50,000, you've got the nerve to say mine is higher than yours?
Krillin raised his head and looked at Soro. His lips moved a few times, but he couldn't say anything.
Before you continue