Training in Progress

After dinner, Karochi wasn't in any hurry to train. He grabbed Korin and flew straight to Korin's Tower!!

As if! No chance I was letting him welsh on the deal. If someone owed me something, I wanted it right then and there.

Welsh on the deal? Absolutely not!! While he was at it, Karochi brought Tights down with him. He needed her capsules to store the beans.

"Hey, hey! Why are you in such a hurry, my young friend? I, Korin, always keep my word." Korin was speechless. There was still all that delicious food to enjoy, so why was he in such a rush to get some lousy Senzu Beans?

It wasn't as if they were anything special.

"Oh, come on, Lord Korin. No need to call me 'young friend'! Just use my name. It's getting late, isn't it? Let's get the Senzu Beans first, before we forget. And once I start training, I won't have much free time."

Seeing the almost obsequious look on Karochi's face, Tights grew more and more suspicious that he was actually an alien!!

Are you sure this alien isn't a fake? Why does he act just like a person?

Korin was speechless too. Was this really necessary?! He rummaged around, pulled out three large jars, and tossed them to Karochi. "Here, here! Honestly, what's the rush?!"

Karochi gave them a quick glance, and instantly got excited! There had to be at least seventy or eighty thousand beans. Holy crap, what a haul, brothers! At the same time, he couldn't help wondering how many Senzu Beans that fat bastard Yajirobe had wasted in the original story.

"Thank you so much, Lord Korin! From now on, I'll bring you ten kilograms of fish every month!" Korin's my big brother now. I don't care who says otherwise!

He turned and handed the three jars to Tights, gesturing for her to put them away.

Tights glanced at the beans with some disdain. Weren't they basically just soybeans? If he wanted, she could have flown him two plane-loads.

Karochi didn't bother explaining. The key is to make a fortune in silence while Korin hasn't realized how important these are.

"Really?! It's a deal, then. Don't forget the ten kilograms of fresh fish every month!" Korin was practically drooling.

Uh! Buddy, I was just being polite. But, well, eighty thousand Senzu Beans are worth it.

"Of course, of course. I, Karochi, always keep my word!!! So, Lord Korin, are you still going to the Lookout?" Karochi wanted to leave as soon as he had the goods. Training time was precious, after all.

He couldn't let his big brother and a few beans get in the way of his training.

Korin yawned and waved a paw. "I'm not going. Because you suddenly showed up on Earth, I haven't slept a wink in two days and a night!! I need to catch up on sleep."

Mostly, using his [Farsight Technique] nonstop took a lot out of him.

Tsk, that's what you get for spying on us! Karochi grumbled inwardly, but smiled as he said, "Then get some good rest. Tights, let's head back to the Lookout!"

Tights nodded slightly. She didn't mind. A talking cat was a great character concept, and she was claiming it.

Come to think of it, if Korin wasn't joining the training, how was he supposed to do the bell-and-water-bottle exercise? Whatever. I'll figure it out later.

Back at the Lookout, Karochi hurried over to Kami and said somewhat sheepishly, "Um, Kami, we can start the training now!!"

Kami stared at him for a long moment, speechless. He, too, thought this so-called alien was practically identical to an Earthling! From the past couple of days' observations, Karochi seemed a little greedy and was slick in his dealings with people.

"All right, then. Popo, go get the weighted suit! Oh, and those two strings of bells."

Huh? Korin just went to bed! Karochi was about to remind Kami.

"Korin's tired, so Popo will train with you today. Also, miss, I see that your clothes are rather cumbersome. I'll cast a spell so you won't be affected by the environment outside them." After instructing Popo, Kami turned his attention to Tights. Under normal circumstances, outsiders weren't allowed to stay overnight at the Lookout.

But what could you do when the other person had the stronger fists?!

"Really? That's wonderful! Hurry up, then. I'm about to suffocate in this spacesuit." Tights sounded delighted.

Kami nodded slightly, then recited a string of obscure words, finishing with a loud shout!!

A blue glow lit up Tights's body, as if it were covering her from head to toe.

"All done, miss. You can take it off now!"

Huh? Karochi had no idea what had just happened!! Was that one shout all it took? This was totally unscientific, but damn magical!

"Whew!" Tights wasted no time in taking off her spacesuit and drawing a deep breath of fresh air. Sure enough, she didn't feel the slightest discomfort.

"Ha ha ha! Thank you so much. You may look pretty scary, but you're a really nice guy!!" Freed from the spacesuit, Tights felt much more at ease. Well, that made her rather bold.

At Tights's words, Kami's face turned green. Oh, right, he was already green!! But now he was a deep shade of green, with beads of sweat on his face as he forced a smile. "Uh... Thanks."

"Um, Kami, please don't take it to heart. My sister's just a little clumsy with words!! She hasn't met many aliens, so please be patient with her." Karochi hurriedly explained on Tights's behalf. She's my cash cow, after all.

"Stupid little brother, who are you calling clumsy with words!!!!"

Watching the two of them bicker, Kami finally relaxed.

"Kami, I brought the things!"

"Good. Karochi, put on this weighted suit and wear these two strings of bells around your ankles. You have to take the water bottle from Popo. If the bells ring at any point, you fail." Kami handed Karochi the weighted suit.

Karochi stopped fooling around and took it, then put it on!! Instantly, he felt an unbelievable pressure. This gravity training really was something else.

It wasn't remotely comparable to strapping on a few blocks of weight. It trained every last cell in his body all at once! The results were obvious: even standing still took several times more effort than usual!!

No wonder Goku's power level had jumped from 8,000 to 90,000 after completing the hundred-times-gravity training! More than a tenfold increase—it made perfect sense!!

"Hey, Karochi, are you okay??" Seeing him like that, Tights was startled too. He had lifted a plane in midair with ease earlier!! How could just putting on a suit leave him like this?

"Miss Tights, this weighted suit subjects the wearer to gravity fifteen times stronger than Earth's. So this reaction is normal," Popo explained from the side.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~!

White flames of ki rose around Karochi, and his body immediately straightened!

The powerful gusts created as his ki compressed the surrounding air made Tights stagger. She stared in shock, never imagining Karochi could wield such strength.

Kami, who was just as astonished, was already sweating profusely. He was truly powerful.

But as Karochi unleashed his Ki Burst, the bells around his ankles rang nonstop. Karochi couldn't help giving a wry smile!! Back when he watched the anime, Korin's training had seemed pretty easy, but now it didn't look easy at all! And the stronger you were, the harder it was to control your power.

"Karochi, rein in your ki, or we can't continue the training!" Kami called out loudly.

The point of this training was to help someone quickly gain control over every last bit of ki in their body. If Karochi relied on a Ki Burst to adjust to the gravity, the training would be meaningless.

"Yes!!"

Karochi answered loudly as he drew his ki back into his body. The white flames clinging to him gradually faded.

But unlike at first, the gravity no longer bent Karochi's body over. After all, he'd grown up on Planet Vegeta, where the gravity was ten times stronger than Earth's!

Fifteen times was only five times stronger!!

Kami's eyes widened in disbelief. How could anyone adapt so quickly?! This was beyond anything he knew.

"Here I come~!!" Karochi shouted, staring at Popo. But the moment he raised a foot, the bells rang again!!

Huh?? What the hell am I supposed to do?

"Pfft! Hahaha!" Tights couldn't help laughing. Wiping away her tears of laughter, she asked Kami, "Um, old man, is there somewhere I can rest? I'm pretty tired after traveling all day!!"

Kami understood. He was rather tired himself. "Please, follow me. Karochi, would you like to get some rest and train again tomorrow?" Popo must be tired too.

"Uh, well! I'll get some rest too, then." He had been flying for nearly six or seven hours, and he really was tired.

··········

The water-bottle-snatching training went on for three whole months!!

At times, Karochi couldn't help cursing. Damn it! Especially during the first week, the bells rang as soon as he so much as moved a foot. It was ridiculous! Only after Karochi gradually calmed his restless mind could he finally hold his own against Korin.

By the second month, Tights had decided the Lookout was too boring. (Actually, she'd forced Popo to show her every nook and cranny, top to bottom. There was nothing left that could serve as new material.) So she had Karochi take her home, claiming she needed to supervise the construction of the spaceship and buy him more food.

Karochi was speechless. He really could eat a lot, he admitted.

Tights kept her promise, at least. She really did come by with food in the third month!! She also brought the fish she'd promised Korin.

One day, Karochi was sitting cross-legged, powerful waves of ki radiating from him!! Kami and Korin sensed it and both came running out.

His ki surged forth, yet the bells on his ankle straps didn't make a sound!!

"Unbelievable. In just three months, Karochi's learned to completely control such an enormous amount of ki!!" Korin's whole face was scrunched up.

The greater the amount of ki, the harder it was to control. That was true even under normal conditions, let alone with Karochi wearing a weighted suit that subjected him to fifteen times Earth's gravity.

Kami was also stunned. He murmured, "That's right. The Saiyans are a truly terrifying people!!"

They had immense strength and extraordinary talent for learning. It was simply absurd.

Karochi opened his eyes, a satisfied smile on his face!! Then he turned toward Korin and gave him a faint smile.

"Come on, Korin! Let's settle this once and for all today."