Journey to Kame House

The next day, at dawn.

Sun Wuxiu changed into a clean martial arts uniform and slung a small pack over his back.

Son Gohan and Son Goku stood at the door of their new home to see him off.

"Big Brother! You have to come back early!"

Son Goku waved with all his might.

"Grandpa, Goku, I'm leaving."

Sun Wuxiu took one final look at the home he had lived in for six years. No longer hesitating, he turned around.

"[Rabbit Talisman: Divine Speed]!"

"Whoosh—!!"

He stomped down hard, and his figure instantly became a streak of white wind.

Then, using the Rooster Talisman's levitation, he flew swiftly into the distance, leaving a long afterimage in the morning light before vanishing beyond the forest in an instant.

Son Goku's mouth fell open.

"Wow... Big Brother is so fast..."

Then, a fire ignited in Goku's heart.

I have to become that strong too.

Son Gohan stroked his beard and remained silent for a long time.

"That child... is no ordinary person."

The world beyond Mount Paozu was vast and boundless.

Like a high-speed bullet, Sun Wuxiu's figure shot across the skies above the primordial jungle.

The godspeed and levitation granted by [Rabbit Talisman] + [Rooster Talisman] allowed him to ignore every terrain obstacle.

Cliffs, rivers, ravines—he passed over them all in a single leap.

His mind was racing just as fast.

"Grandpa's martial arts weren't wrong, either."

"But what he taught Goku and me was martial arts for cultivating the mind and character, not martial arts for battle."

Sun Wuxiu understood this as clearly as a mirror.

Son Gohan had been Master Roshi's senior disciple, so naturally, he understood the Turtle Hermit Style's martial arts.

But after retreating into the mountains, he had long since lost any desire to fight.

What he usually taught his two grandsons was merely meant to strengthen their bodies and teach them to control their power, not turn them into battle-crazed maniacs.

"When Goku met Bulma in the original story, his battle power had only just exceeded 10."

"That simply doesn't fit either his Saiyan physique or his status as Son Gohan's disciple."

"The only explanation is that Grandpa never seriously taught him how to fight. Goku relied entirely on his own exploration and Saiyan instincts."

"Only after becoming Master Roshi's disciple did Goku truly step through the gates of the Martial Dao."

Sun Wuxiu's eyes became incomparably sharp.

"Working backward from the plot of Dragon Ball Super, this world's power system places increasing emphasis on 'realm' as it progresses."

"Ultra Instinct is the purest Martial Dao Realm—a bodily instinct that surpasses consciousness."

"Why was Goku always one step ahead of Vegeta? In talent, effort, and bloodline, what did Vegeta lack?"

"What he lacked was his foundation!"

"Goku's foundation was Master Roshi, Korin of Korin Tower, Mr. Popo and Kami at the Lookout... Step by step, he progressed from techniques to the Dao."

"And what was Vegeta's foundation? Bloodline, the Gravity Chamber, and his obsession with 'I must surpass Kakarot'! He focused on power, not realm!"

"That was why Goku could comprehend Ultra Instinct, while Vegeta walked the domineering path of Ultra Ego."

Sun Wuxiu took a deep breath. The Tiger Talisman's power instantly brought him into a calm state of "absolute balance."

"My cheat is the Twelve Talismans."

"The Dog Talisman's immortality, combined with the Horse Talisman's healing, is practically a perfect perpetual motion machine for Near-Death Revival."

"If I wanted to, I could repeatedly mutilate myself, approach death, and revive within a month, grinding my battle power up to a terrifying number."

"But... that would absolutely be a trap!"

Sun Wuxiu knew very well that this Saiyan passive ability had practically been discarded by the author after the Frieza Saga, aside from Goku Black.

Why?

"Because it's 'overdrafting,' not 'growth.'"

"It merely forcibly squeezes out the potential hidden inside the body. It can fill the water in your cup, but it can't increase the cup's capacity."

"Once that potential is drained dry, this path reaches its end. It would severely damage future possibilities!"

"The path of a true powerhouse is to constantly train the body, temper the spirit, and raise one's Martial Dao Realm, making the 'cup' itself as vast as the sea!"

"Only then would Near-Death Revival have any meaning. It would become an aid in filling that sea, rather than poison that drains a cup dry."

"So—"

"I absolutely cannot become addicted to the convenience brought by the Talismans. They are merely my tools and trump cards."

"My early path will be like Goku's, but with some ideas from my previous life incorporated into it. I'll build a foundation even more solid than his!"

"I'll become Master Roshi's disciple, learn the Turtle Hermit Style, and lay the strongest possible foundation!"

As his thoughts churned, a salty, damp sea breeze washed over him.

"Boom—crash—"

The deafening sound of waves entered his ears.

Sun Wuxiu stopped.

Passing through the final grove of coconut trees, an endless expanse of azure sea appeared before him.

"I'm finally here."

The journey from Mount Paozu had spanned thousands of kilometers, yet it had taken him less than half a day.

"Grrr..."

The intense journey had made his stomach protest.

He looked at the map. Kame House was somewhere out in the vast ocean, so it seemed he could only search slowly.

"Roar—!!!"

At that moment, a savage roar came from the nearby forest.

A blue dinosaur, twenty meters tall and resembling a Tyrannosaurus rex, stared greedily at Sun Wuxiu—the little snack—with its lantern-sized vertical pupils.

"Hm?"

Sun Wuxiu raised his head and met its gaze.

"Perfect timing."

The dinosaur opened its bloody maw and charged at him on a foul-smelling wind.

Sun Wuxiu shook his head.

"I'm only here to borrow some food."

He did not even move.

[Snake Talisman: Invisibility].

His figure instantly vanished into thin air.

The dinosaur skidded to a halt. Its enormous head looked around in confusion. Where had that little snack gone?

The next second.

[Rabbit Talisman: Divine Speed].

An afterimage invisible to the naked eye circled around to the dinosaur's back.

Sun Wuxiu reappeared, extending the fingers of his right hand toward the base of the dinosaur's thick, pillar-like tail.

[Pig Talisman: Heat Beam]!

"Zzz—!!!"

An extremely condensed crimson beam flashed past!

"Splurt!"

There was no explosion, only a clean cut.

The air filled with the scent of scorched meat.

"Roar...?"

The dinosaur froze for a second. Then, agonizing pain surged from behind it!

"Arghhhh—!!"

Its massive tail separated from its body at the root and crashed heavily onto the beach!

The wound had been instantly cauterized by the intense heat, stopping the bleeding instead.

The dinosaur rolled about in agony, completely unable to understand what had happened. When it looked fearfully at Sun Wuxiu, that little snack had instantly become a devil in its eyes.

With a mournful cry, it dragged its mutilated body and fled into the forest without looking back.

"I told you, I was only borrowing your tail."

Sun Wuxiu shrugged and walked over to the dinosaur tail, which was taller than he was.

The Rooster Talisman activated, telekinesis lifting the enormous tail.

The Pig Talisman activated again, its beam precisely cutting the tail into several chunks.

Finally, he used [Dragon Talisman: Blast] to blow a large pit into the beach, then used Heat Beam to ignite some wood and start a bonfire.

Before long, the fragrance of golden, sizzling roasted meat drifted along the shore.

Sun Wuxiu tore off a piece of dinosaur tail meat, crisp on the outside and tender within, and began eating in huge bites.

"Mmm, plenty of energy!"

After eating and drinking his fill, he clapped his hands and wrapped the remaining meat in large leaves as rations.

He stood on the beach, gazing out at the endless azure sea.

"Master Mutaito, Kame House..."

"I'm here!"