Korin felt like his fur was about to stand on end!!
He was just about to wave a paw and call a halt, but when he looked back at where Karochi had been, there was no sign of him.
"Korin, you have to take this seriously!! It's the final round, so we have to decide the winner." The voice came from behind Korin, but when he turned around, he still couldn't see Karochi.
He looked at Kami in confusion!! Your Lookout's haunted. Are you going to do something about it or not?
"Ahem... Korin, since Karochi wants to see this through, why not help him out? It's not a big deal." Kami looked up at the sky. What a lovely day!!
Korin was speechless. Why don't you do it, then? With no other choice, he stepped forward and scratched his head. "How about a deal, kid? We call it off, and I'll give you all the Senzu Beans I just grew. What do you say, meow?"
Tch! Who wanted your measly eight beans? Hilarious. This guy was a man with eighty thousand Senzu Beans in hand!! Karochi figured they'd last him until his next life.
"Oh, Korin, what are you saying!! Shouldn't we see things through to the end!?" If a bribe worked, what was the point of having principles? Karochi was a man with dignity.
Korin stared at him speechlessly. How the hell did you move like a ghost?? You weren't acting like this when you were taking my Senzu Beans earlier. Where'd that respectful attitude go?? That humble manner of yours!!?
"Then let's do this~ meow!"
As soon as Korin finished speaking, Karochi vanished from right in front of him.
Korin was startled and instinctively dodged.
"Well, well~! You can still put up a fight?? Interesting!" Korin heard the voice but couldn't see its owner, so he looked at Kami again.
Your Lookout's haunted, you know that???
"Hey, Korin, don't get distracted. Look, I caught you!" As the voice rang out, Karochi appeared in front of him, holding the water gourd Korin had been carrying.
"Meow~~ When did you—meow!!"?? The gourd had been snatched away in the time it took him to turn his head? Without a sound. He couldn't even sense Karochi's ki.
Clap!! Kami stepped forward and said, "I never imagined Karochi would have perfect control over his ki in just three months! It's incredible. You've also gained a deep understanding of ki!!"
Yeah! He hadn't sensed Karochi's ki at all just now, and it had sent a chill down his spine.
"Oh, that's all thanks to Korin's excellent teaching. I've learned a lot!!" Karochi said, bowing to Korin. The cat leaped back three meters in fright.
Then Korin flew toward the Lookout with Flight, calling back, "No, no!! I won't be able to live in peace after this. Just don't come down and scare me, okay~ meow!"
Huh!? I was being sincere, and you thought I'd scare you! That's judging a gentleman by a scoundrel's standards.
Karochi silently grumbled to himself.
"Ahem... Then let's move on to the next stage of training! For this stage, I'll need some of your hair," Kami said with a cough.
Huh!!? Karochi was secretly startled. His power level had to be around 1,300 or 1,400 now! Could Mr. Popo create a clone with the same power level as him?? That was too amazing.
Karochi immediately pulled out a few hairs and handed them to Mr. Popo!!
Mr. Popo took them impassively, then got some clay from who knew where. In no time, he had molded a clay figure exactly Karochi's size and buried two of his hairs in it! After Mr. Popo poured water over it, the figure came to life. Moments later, an exact duplicate of Karochi stood before them. (From here on, he'll be referred to as "Shadow.")
Holy crap!! He molded that figure only a little slower than the great Nuwa herself. What kind of deity was he?? Karochi looked at Mr. Popo differently now.
This had to be fake, brother. If you had this ability, couldn't I pluck a few hairs from Beerus and you'd be able to rule the Macrocosm??
With a slight effort, Karochi could sense that Shadow's ki was almost identical to his own!! Holy crap, what kind of monstrously overpowered ability was this?
Seeing how stunned Karochi was, Kami smiled with satisfaction. "The previous stage trained your control over ki. Next comes actual combat training!! Once you can defeat yourself, you'll have truly graduated. Oh, and remember to stay away from the Lookout while you're fighting."
That last bit really drove home the point! Great.
Karochi nodded blankly, while secretly deciding that Mr. Popo was his big brother now!! With Big Brother Popo around, what kind of wife couldn't he find?? He'd have to be extra nice to him from now on. Maybe he could get him to mold a "Tifa" for him!!
Karochi and his Shadow left the Lookout and stood facing each other. Right, the right-hand position gave him the advantage.
Karochi was brimming with confidence. He used High-Speed Movement and vanished on the spot! But as soon as he appeared behind Shadow, he froze. Holy crap, where was he?? A sudden chill ran down his spine. He turned and raised his guard, but Shadow kicked him flying.
Holy crap!! Weren't people on the left supposed to lose in beam clashes?? Hm? Oh, I hadn't fired a beam, so never mind.
Before Karochi could steady himself, Shadow appeared above him and kicked him straight back down.
So fast?? Karochi was shocked. He put his thoughts aside and entered a state of total concentration.
He unleashed a Ki Burst and steadied himself!!
"Behind you!" Karochi shouted, firing a Ki Blast with his right hand, but to his surprise, it missed.
Shadow had already dodged out of the way a second before the Ki Blast hit.
Karochi's pupils shrank. He picked up Shadow's ki again and fired another Ki Blast! But the same thing happened.
His attacks couldn't keep up with his reactions.
When he sensed Shadow's ki again, the other had already thrown a punch!! There was no time to defend, so he took the hit head-on and was sent flying once more.
"Yikes~~ That must've hurt, meow!!" Korin watched through his Far-Sight Technique and winced. That punch had landed squarely on Karochi's face.
Holy crap, don't hit someone in the face! This Shadow's nothing like me. I'm much more tactful. Karochi silently grumbled.
The rest of the fight was more or less a foregone conclusion. Karochi was beaten black and blue by his own Shadow and couldn't even brush the other's clothes.
After training ended, Karochi's battered face turned his misery into an appetite, and he devoured the food in front of him. He even thought smugly, Can't get any, can you? I may not be able to beat you, but you can't eat any either, can you? I'll make you drool, you bumpkin.
In truth, he'd already figured out what he was lacking during the fight. The other wasn't as complicated a thinker as he was. After reacting, Karochi still had to judge the right moment to attack, while the other simply found and attacked him, then dodged when attacked! It was just like a line of code, completely free of complicated thoughts.
This training would probably take a long time. If Shadow's power level rose along with his own, he might never be able to beat him.
But he wasn't discouraged. What was the big deal!!! He'd just keep at it.
And so, six months passed!!
The first time Tights saw Shadow, she couldn't tell which was which and thought the Lookout was haunted!! It took a long explanation from Karochi before she could identify the real one.
Tights also brought news that the spaceship was finished, which greatly encouraged Karochi. He charged back in for another fight with Shadow, though the result was obvious: he was beaten black and blue.
He even lost while standing on the right in a beam clash!! I'm seriously crying. It had all been lies.
Six months later, Karochi and Shadow clashed again. A month earlier, Karochi had finally become able to go toe-to-toe with Shadow, though he still took most of the damage!
But Shadow also needed Mr. Popo to repair him every day.
Boom~ Boom~ Boom~!
The thundering sounds of their collisions reached everyone's ears from time to time.
Tights had long since taken out her sketchbook and started doodling. Honestly, watching this kind of battle was a real treat!! Tights also understood why Karochi was always saying the universe was dangerous.
For Karochi, Earth could be destroyed with a wave of his hand. Wiping out all life on it wouldn't take much effort at all!! And yet, despite being this powerful, Karochi kept insisting that he wasn't even worth a speck of dust in the universe.
That showed just how dangerous the universe was. But that was exactly what made her yearn for it so much! If the universe was as peaceful as Earth, and every place was as much the same, what would be the point of exploring it?
Boom~!
Karochi and Shadow's Ki Blasts collided and exploded. The blue orb of light burst with a dazzling glow, making everyone squint.
Shadow used Instant Movement to appear behind Karochi and swung a leg at him without hesitation!!
Karochi didn't move. It wasn't that he hadn't reacted, nor that he couldn't keep up! He wanted to take the hit head-on.
"Haaaaaah!!!"
A fierce Ki Burst erupted with a crackling roar, blasting Shadow dozens of meters away.
Karochi kept his eyes shut, then threw a punch to the left. Shadow took the punch squarely!! He'd only just returned, and now he was sent flying again.
They went back and forth more than a dozen times, until Karochi seemed to get bored! He vanished from where he stood, and Shadow's next attack landed in the spot where he'd been.
It hit nothing but air.
"Your attacks really never change. They're clean and decisive, without a moment's hesitation!!" Karochi's voice rang out from behind him.
Karochi pointed his right hand at Shadow, a huge blue Ki Blast—three or four times the size of a basketball—already gathered in his palm.
The instant Shadow turned around, Karochi fired the Ki Blast! He gave him no time to dodge, and Shadow took the blast head-on.
There was no scream, nor any expression of pain! Shadow's form slowly faded, and his normal skin turned an earthy brown.
Boom~~!
The Ki Blast didn't hit the ground. It exploded in midair after striking its target.
The shock wave reached the Lookout, and the force of the blast made Tights and the others squeeze their eyes shut!!
Tights put on the Scouter she'd gotten from Karochi. The number jumped around for a while before finally settling at 2,700.
That's right. After just one year of training on Earth, Karochi's power level had more than doubled, rising from just over 1,090 the year before to 2,700—a gain of 1,600.
Before you continue