Second-Stage Training

"Huh?"

Watching Popo walk over, Kasso and Ausbie were both dumbfounded. Were they really starting the second stage already?

Popo paid no attention to their reaction. He handed Kasso and Ausbie a piece of black cloth and told them to blindfold themselves and try to take the bells from him.

At this request, Kasso broke out in a cold sweat.

After spending a week with Popo, he already knew that the man was far more than he appeared to be. Could he really play hide-and-seek with such a mysterious being?

Kasso shook his head helplessly.

"Big Brother Kasso, what's wrong?"

After taking the black cloth from Popo, Ausbie noticed how grave Kasso looked.

She hadn't seen him wear that expression in a long time.

"N-nothing." Kasso took the cloth and tied it over his eyes.

"Then let's begin."

At Popo's shout, Ausbie quickly got into position. Kasso pushed his doubts aside and began listening for the slightest movement around him.

He calmed his body and mind and listened closely for the bells.

Suddenly, the bells rang behind him.

Kasso spun around and lunged toward the sound. Ausbie had the same idea.

They both leaped at once.

Thud!

"Ah, that hurts!" Ausbie clutched her little head and ran off to one side, crying out in pain.

"Hiss..."

Kasso held his head and sucked in a sharp breath.

He'd been so focused on the bells that he hadn't realized he was about to collide with Little Biel.

He'd been too careless!

Compared to the sound of the bells, Little Biel's movements were incredibly quiet. He hadn't sensed her at all.

The second stage really wasn't going to be easy. Kasso began to think. He knew blindly chasing after the bells was useless. It would only waste a lot of energy and do nothing to help him sense or understand "ki."

In the first stage, he'd learned to control his body's strength well enough to keep the bells from ringing. So what was the second stage meant to teach?

To move faster than lightning?

That had to be it.

Kasso thought he understood why they'd had to complete the first stage before starting the second.

The first stage was about centering himself and keeping his mind as calm as the sky, allowing him to move as he pleased without making any unnecessary movements. That was the key to keeping the bells silent.

The second stage, then, was about centering himself on the outside world. Only with a calm mind could he sense the movement around him. Put simply, he had to sense the "ki" around him. Then, when he struck, he didn't actually have to be as fast as lightning. His movements simply had to be clean and precise, just as he'd had to avoid unnecessary movements in the first stage.

Kasso was beginning to understand. He'd already reached the stage of sensing "ki"!

Kasso stood motionless, while Ausbie frantically chased the sound of the bells on the other side. But every time she almost caught them, she came up just short.

Ausbie charged at Popo again. He dodged her little hands, then glanced at Kasso.

"He's figured it out already? Impressive comprehension!"

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Popo's mouth.

Just then, Kasso suddenly moved.

A dark blur streaked across the Lookout's courtyard, racing toward the sound of the bells.

As he neared Popo, Kasso moved with sharp precision.

But just as he was about to grab the bells, their sound drifted off to the other side.

Just as I thought. This isn't that simple, Kasso mused.

Only then did Ausbie hurriedly move to where Kasso was.

Blindfolded, Kasso seemed to sense Little Biel's movements too. He immediately sidestepped.

Hearing the bells move again, Ausbie started to chase after them, but Kasso caught her and held her back.

"Little Biel, don't rush. Think carefully about what this stage is training you to do," Kasso said.

"Huh?"

Kasso had caught her so suddenly that Ausbie was a little confused. But when she heard what he said, she realized there was more to it.

That's right. Our Little Biel was clever too. She was just a little slow, not stupid!

Popo looked over and saw the two children crouched on the ground, seemingly puzzling over something.

Popo: "..."

After mulling it over for a while, the two little kids finally stood up.

"Mr. Popo, let's begin," Kasso said.

"Mr. Popo, let's begin!" Ausbie echoed Kasso in her childish voice.

Soon, two little dark blurs streaked across the Lookout again.

Another two weeks passed.

Four figures stood on the Lookout: Kami and Popo on one side, Kasso and Ausbie on the other.

Kasso and Ausbie pulled off their blindfolds.

"Big Brother Kasso, we did it!" Ausbie jumped up happily.

"Yeah!" Kasso watched Little Biel jump high into the air, just as excited as she was.

During those two weeks, Kasso had taught Ausbie, and they'd both made rapid progress. They no longer chased the bells like headless flies. Little by little, they'd learned to sense their surroundings.

Just now, Kasso and Ausbie had completed the second-stage training.

But Kasso was a little puzzled. Even after two weeks of training, he and Little Biel could sense the presence of "ki," but there was no way they could use it to take the bells from Popo.

That could only mean Popo had gone easy on them!

Kasso glanced at Popo.

Popo happened to look over at the same time. The two of them exchanged a strange, inexplicable glance.

"Congratulations, you two!" Kami said with a smile.

Kami had been so stunned by the two little kids that he didn't know what to say.

He'd lived for several hundred years and had never seen anyone with talent to match these two children. Kasso in particular had comprehension so astounding it made his scalp tingle.

Most geniuses needed at least half a year to grasp how to use "ki." Kasso had mastered it in less than a month.

Then Popo suddenly spoke. "There's actually a third stage too: the State of Nothingness!"

He paused, then added, "But at your current level, there's no chance you'll understand it."

After saying that, Popo fell silent again, standing quietly beside Kami.

At those words, Kami froze, as if he'd thought of something. Then he said nothing.

Kasso pondered this. He remembered from the anime that there was another stage. Goku seemed to have undergone this training, but Kasso didn't know what happened afterward!

"You can take off your Weighted Clothing now," Kami said, giving the two of them a strange look.

Kami knew exactly how effective this training method was. Kasso and Ausbie had been suppressing their strength with Weighted Clothing for a full month, training each day using only their physical power. Now they'd also learned to control "ki." He could hardly imagine what would happen when they took off their Weighted Clothing.

Kami was looking forward to seeing what happened next.

"I almost forgot!"

Kasso slapped his forehead. He'd completely forgotten that he was still wearing his Weighted Clothing.

At first, Kasso hadn't understood "ki" at all. After Kami explained the theory, he'd gradually begun to grasp it. Then, after a month of training with Popo, he'd learned to control the power within him, and his ability to sense and understand "ki" had improved by leaps and bounds.

Only now did Kasso understand why using Instant Transmission had been so difficult for him. It really had been because his ability to sense "ki" was so poor.

Kasso also remembered that when Raditz invaded Earth in the anime, Goku and Piccolo had both been wearing Weighted Clothing. When they took it off, their battle power jumped to a whole new level.

But he and Goku weren't the same. The Weighted Clothing those two had worn only suppressed their inner strength a little.

Goku had first experienced ten times gravity on Planet of North Kai, and he'd been pressed straight to the ground.

Goku couldn't even handle ten times gravity, while the Weighted Clothing Kasso was wearing now brought the weight to a full twenty-five times normal. The effect was bound to be extraordinary!

At the thought of this,

Kasso was also eager to see what would happen when he took off his Weighted Clothing.

Kasso and Ausbie exchanged a glance.

In the end, they decided Kasso would go first.