Master Korin's Divine!!

From dawn until dusk, Karochi and Tights finally arrived at Korin Tower!

Staring at the tower that soared into the clouds, its height seemingly endless, Tights was stunned!

Never mind Tights; even Karochi, who had read the original story, was deeply shocked.

How on earth did the Earth's deity manage this? Even their Saiyan race couldn't pull off such architecture.

"Who are you people?"

As they marveled at the magnificent Korin Tower, a resonant, powerful voice drew their attention.

A sturdy man stood there, eyeing the floating Karochi and Tights with a look of vigilance.

His frame was towering and robust, his skin somewhat dark. Strange red pigment was smeared across his face, a necklace made of beast teeth hung around his neck, and he held a hand-crafted spear.

This man must be Upa's father; he was killed by Tao Pai Pai in the original story!

Karochi instantly deduced the man's identity and slowly descended, setting down Tights, whom he had been carrying.

"Um, hello! We're here to challenge Korin Tower," Karochi explained.

The man was a good person, so a polite explanation would suffice.

Seeing this, Bora put away his weapon and advised, "You'd best go back. This Korin Tower is over 300,000 miles high! This is no place for children."

He had tried to climb the tower in his youth but failed, and he knew full well the magnitude of the challenge.

"Hmph! Don't look down on us. Little brother Karochi can fly!" Tights didn't see the big deal—couldn't they just fly straight up?

Uh... Karochi really wanted to say that only by climbing it could one truly be considered to have succeeded in the challenge.

But never mind. The rule to climb was meant to train those who came to challenge the tower.

His own strength was already sufficient, so there was no need to waste time.

Karochi shrugged and chimed in, "That's right! We can just fly up."

Bora frowned deeply. "Using dark arts won't earn you the protection of the divine, even if you do reach the top."

The challenge of Korin Tower was meant to be conquered one step at a time. Flying? To him, that was nothing but a dark art.

Karochi didn't intend to explain further; after all, this wasn't something you could easily get across! Wasting time was shameful, so he chuckled and turned to Tights. "Well, Big Sister Tights, let's get going. We can have dinner at the Lookout!"

"???" "Didn't you just finish dinner?" Karochi had been gorging himself on the plane for an hour; why eat again?

"Ah, this! Didn't we fly for a long time? I'm hungry." As he spoke, he scooped Tights up again.

"Hey! You'll get your fill, what's the rush? I haven't even put on my space suit yet!"

Hearing this, Karochi quickly set her down, and Tights pulled out a capsule, tossing it onto the ground.

Bang!

A metal box appeared. She donned her space suit, complete with an oxygen tube. I'm truly moved; she's so dedicated.

"Alright, all set! Let's go. I want to see what the deity looks like too."

"I thought you weren't in a hurry?"

"I'm in a hurry now, okay? Stop with the chatter!"

Speechless, Karochi picked her up again, and as he took flight, he didn't forget to greet Uncle Bora. "We'll be going now, uncle."

Without waiting for a response, Karochi shot straight up along Korin Tower, leaving Bora gaping in astonishment.

The distance to the top was considerable, forcing Karochi to fly at full speed.

On the Lookout, Korin was still there, saying nervously to the Guardian, "Guardian, he's here!"

"Yes. I never expected him to be of that so-called Saiyan race, and such a brutal one at that. It's fortunate this child hasn't displayed any such viciousness."

They had been observing him from the moment Karochi landed on Earth, never relaxing their watch for a second. They had even heard the information Karochi shared with Tights regarding the Saiyans and Frieza.

They waited for another two or three hours.

The Guardian suddenly shouted, "He's here!"

Karochi, carrying Tights, suddenly burst through the clouds, passed the height of the Lookout, and vanished from the vision of the Guardian and Korin.

"Phew! This temple really is high. Huh? Korin is here too? No wonder I didn't see him at his residence earlier!" Karochi let out a long breath, surprised to see the cat hermit.

He hadn't expected Korin to be at the Lookout; he had even stopped at Korin's place earlier! He had designs on the Senzu Beans Korin kept. In the original story, Yajirobe squandered them all, leaving Goku and the others in the Dragon Ball Z era desperate enough to split a single bean into three pieces.

What!!

The Guardian, Korin, and Mr. Popo exclaimed in shock as Karochi's voice came from behind them. Their attention had been fixed on him the whole time; they hadn't expected to still be unable to track his speed.

Witnessing this, Karochi felt Mr. Popo was putting on an act!

"Wow! Are they the gods? A cat, and a strange green-skinned... mmm... mmm!" Before Tights could finish, Karochi quickly covered her mouth. My little lady, please, give me a break!

He turned his head, scratched it, and chuckled sheepishly. "Um, terribly sorry, Guardian. Big Sister Tights here doesn't mean any harm!" He had to maintain a respectful attitude if he wanted to learn.

"Uh! That's quite alright. May I ask what brings you here, little friend?" The Guardian knew Karochi's intentions, but to avoid exposing his 'peeping,' he had to play dumb.

"Greetings, Guardian. My name is Karochi. I've heard that Korin Sacred Land is the origin of Earth's martial arts, and we've come today to ask for your guidance in cultivation."

And to swipe some of Korin's Senzu Beans, Karochi muttered to himself.

The Lookout looked puzzled: "Though it is difficult to say, young friend, your strength already far exceeds my own. I fear I am unable to offer you much in the way of guidance!"

Karochi's power was several times his own; it seemed there was nothing he could teach him.

"Oh, wow! I didn't expect you to be so amazing, little brother Karochi! Even the Lookout admits it!" Tights stared at Karochi with an excited expression.

Ugh! Karochi was rendered speechless. I'm trying to apprentice here, Big Sister, could you be quiet for a moment?

"Actually, it's like this: my race is born with immense power, but I don't know how to control my own ki. I was hoping the Lookout could teach me how to master it."

Hearing this, the Lookout nodded silently. So that was it! He couldn't help but look enlightened: "In that case, why don't you release all of your ki, young friend...!"

Grumble~ grumble~ grumble!

Before the Lookout could finish his sentence, Karochi's uncooperative stomach let out a roar, and the atmosphere instantly became incredibly awkward. Every gaze was fixed on Karochi.

Tights even covered her face with both hands, acting as if she didn't know him at all.

Karochi felt exceptionally embarrassed, his face turning beet red, but he was truly starving: "Um, Lord Lookout, how about we have a meal first?" he asked with a bitter smile.

"Er! That is fine, though there isn't any particularly delicious food on the Lookout. Karin, you still have some Senzu Beans, don't you?"

??? What the hell? What are you doing? How can you eat those things as a meal? That's a total waste, those are mine!

Before Korin could reply, Karochi hurriedly waved his hands: "No, no, Lord Lookout, we brought our own!! Big Sister Tights."

Seeing Tights still hiding her face, Karochi had to poke her.

"Here, here, here! I don't know if you starved to death in your past life, but how can you eat so much? I prepared enough for a month, and you'll probably finish it in a week!" She tossed out a capsule as she spoke.

In an instant, a pile of food appeared before them, and Karochi ignored everyone's stares, diving straight in to feast.

"That... that really is unexpected!" Korin said, sounding somewhat incredulous.

"Lord Korin, would you like to eat? I have sweet and sour carp here!" Karochi wanted to bribe the cat, as he still needed to trick—ahem, borrow—some Senzu Beans from him later.

Ugh! How could the old man resist such temptation?

Under the Lookout's disbelieving gaze, Karin actually scrambled over and joined in the feast. Tights, feeling a bit hungry herself, had to deactivate her protective barrier and join the ranks of the hungry.

"Say, Lord Korin, what exactly are those Senzu Beans that the Lookout mentioned?" Karochi asked, setting a trap for Karin while eating.

The cat, busy enjoying the fish, didn't think twice: "Those are magical beans grown using Ultra Divine Water. Eating just one can keep you full for ten days! Plus, they can heal injuries."

"Oh! That's amazing! Could you give some to this little one, Lord Korin?" He switched from "Your Excellency" to "Lord" directly—the essence of social savvy.

"Oh, oh! Of course, no problem. Those things are meant for challengers who climb Karin Tower to recover their stamina anyway! But no one has succeeded in hundreds of years, so I've saved up quite a few. If you want them, I'll give them all to you later!" The cat, focused entirely on the sweet and sour fish, agreed without a second thought.

Nice! This is perfect! Karochi was inwardly ecstatic.

"Really!!? Thank you so much, Lord Korin! Here, here, I have some steamed fish, please enjoy." At this moment, Korin was his god.

His slick, worldly-wise demeanor shocked Tights, who was eating; she secretly flipped Karochi off in disdain. It's just beans, isn't it? Can those be better than good food???

What Tights didn't know was that these Senzu Beans were incredibly useful: they restored one to full status with no side effects! Not only did they heal all injuries, they also fully replenished ki and stamina.

They were truly divine medicine for going out to fight!

Just imagine: you're locked in a dead heat with an equally powerful opponent, both of you are severely injured and out of strength, and suddenly you pop a bean—poof—you're back at full power! How infuriating would that be?