Korin Tower

The victory banquet was held at the busiest restaurant in South City.

"Cheers!"

"To Goku, the champion!"

"To the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament!"

Amid the crisp clinking of glasses, Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, Puar, Master Roshi, and Krillin sat around a table piled high with roast lamb, sukiyaki, tempura, and barrels of sake.

Son Goku sat at the head of the table, with empty plates stacked into three little mountains in front of him. He had just swallowed his thirty-second bowl of rice and casually tore off another chicken leg, crunching even the bones.

"G-Goku..." Bulma's chopsticks hovered in midair, the corner of her eye twitching. "Does your stomach connect to another dimension?"

"Heh heh!" Son Goku grinned, his mouth gleaming with grease as his tail happily slapped the back of his chair. "A martial artist has to eat a lot to have the strength to fight!"

Master Roshi gulped down some sake, his old face flushed as he roared with laughter. "Hahahaha! Well said! You have to eat well to fight well!"

After several rounds of drinks and a feast of dishes, Bulma suddenly remembered something. She pulled a check from her bag and slapped it on the table. "By the way, Goku, what are you going to do with your championship prize money—five hundred thousand Zeni?"

Son Goku looked up blankly, a grain of rice still stuck to the corner of his mouth. "Prize money?"

"This!" Bulma pushed the check in front of him. "The organizers gave it to you! It's your prize for winning the tournament!"

Son Goku picked up the flimsy piece of paper and looked at all the zeros printed on it. Then—

"Boss!" He shot his hand up, his voice loud enough to carry through the entire floor. "Bring me twenty more bowls of rice! Five roast lambs, and every meat dish on the menu! I want it all!"

"Hey! You—" Bulma reached for the check.

But Son Goku had already darted out of her reach and slapped the check down on the counter, grinning brightly. "This, and everything everyone just ate, is on me!"

"Coming right up! You're a generous man!" The owner beamed.

An hour later.

A soft evening breeze stirred outside the restaurant.

Standing on the steps, Son Goku patted his belly and let out a satisfied burp. "Mmm... I'm about eighty percent full."

Bulma clutched the doorframe, pointing at him with a trembling finger. "You... You spent all five hundred thousand Zeni?! That was five hundred thousand! You could buy a small yacht! A hundred of the latest Capsule houses! You could—"

"It's fine." Son Goku tilted his head, his smile brighter than the streetlights. "I'm not interested in money."

The whole group fell silent.

Yamcha's jaw nearly dropped off. "Y-You said what?"

"Money..." Son Goku rolled his shoulders, his tail swaying contentedly behind him. "As long as I have enough to eat, that's all I need. What would I do with a lot of money? It can't make me stronger."

He gazed toward the dark horizon. In his eyes, usually full of laughter, a flame suddenly kindled—one that left everyone staring in awe.

"What I want... is to become stronger! Stronger without limits!"

Bulma opened her mouth, but in the end she swallowed all the words she wanted to say and sighed helplessly. "...You're a monster. A complete and utter monster."

Watching them, Master Roshi's eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses, and a pleased smile spread across his face. He stood and patted Son Goku and Krillin on the shoulders. "All right. We've eaten and had our drinks. Now... it's time to get down to business."

"Business?" Krillin's bald head gleamed under the lights as he looked puzzled.

"Korin Tower." Master Roshi's gaze turned deep and distant, as if it pierced the night and saw a towering structure reaching into the clouds. "You two are going to climb Korin Tower."

Son Goku's eyes lit up in an instant.

Korin Tower... Master Korin! Super Holy Water! And... Ultra Divine Water!

His heart pounded. In the original story, Korin Tower was a crucial turning point in Goku's growth—the Super Holy Water training method improved his physical abilities, and more importantly, Master Korin possessed unfathomable martial arts wisdom and a bottle of "Ultra Divine Water" that could bring out hidden potential!

"Korin Tower?" Krillin scratched his bald head. "What's that? Sounds like some kind of tourist attraction..."

"It's a tower that reaches high into the clouds," Master Roshi said slowly, his voice tinged with reverence. "An immortal named Korin lives at the top. Everyone calls him Master Korin. He knows martial arts secrets beyond the reach of ordinary people, and he has a divine treasure that can bring out a person's hidden potential. If you train with him, you can become stronger."

Son Goku clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "I'm going!"

"I'm going too!" Krillin leaped up, unwilling to be outdone. "If Goku's going, then I'm going too!"

Master Roshi nodded, though his expression grew serious. "Remember, Korin Tower isn't easy to climb. Its surface is smooth as glass, without a single handhold. Many martial artists have run out of strength halfway up and fallen. Be prepared."

A surge of anticipation welled up inside Son Goku.

In the original story, Goku took three days and three nights to climb it... He was still little then, and had to adapt as he climbed. Now... I'm stronger, my body is tougher, and I have a transmigrator's knowledge of what's ahead... How much faster will I be?

He licked his lips, his tail stiffening with excitement.

More importantly... the Ultra Divine Water. In the original story, Goku drank it and unlocked his potential, allowing him to defeat King Piccolo. But the story has already changed, and the timeline is in disarray. I have to get the Ultra Divine Water as soon as possible and raise my battle power another level so I can deal with whatever changes may come!

Three days later, at the foot of Korin Tower.

In the boundless primeval forest, a towering structure pierced the sky, its summit swallowed by churning seas of clouds and lost from sight. Sunlight streamed through the clouds and refracted into a rainbow-colored halo at the tip of the tower, lending it a sacred, ancient aura.

"It's so high..." Krillin craned his neck, his mouth forming an O. "I-Is it tens of thousands of meters tall?"

Son Goku tossed a Capsule onto the ground. With a puff of white smoke, two huge glass tanks and more than a dozen fish baskets appeared before them. Tens of thousands of live fish swam through the clear water in the tanks, their scales flashing silver. The baskets were filled with wild mushrooms, mountain bamboo shoots, fresh fruit, and even several jars of fine honey.

"W-What's all this?" Krillin's eyes widened. "When did you prepare it?!"

"I caught it all while I was training," Son Goku said with a wide grin, flashing his white teeth. "I knew Master Korin liked fish, so I figured it couldn't hurt to be prepared. We'll split it in half."

In the original story, Goku went empty-handed and Master Korin played all kinds of tricks on him. This time, I've brought plenty of gifts. At least I can start off on the right foot... That old cat will probably still put us through the wringer, but any trouble I can avoid is a win.

"You've gone way overboard..." Krillin said with an exasperated laugh. "We're going to train, not visit relatives!"

"Let's go!"

They put away the Capsules and began their climb.