Karin Tower

Time passed, and it had been eleven months since Kast left Planet Vegeta. As expected, he would reach Earth in a few more days.

"Beep. Hibernation system disengaged. Initiating wake-up mode."

"Are we there yet?" As the hibernation ended, Kast slowly regained consciousness.

Opening his eyes and looking through the monitor in front of him, he immediately saw a red star floating in the distance.

"This must be the sun." He reached out to zoom in on the planetary map, locking onto a blue planet.

"This must be Earth. I hope it doesn't disappoint me!"

Earth.

This was a strange structure floating high in the air, with a curved base, a martial arts arena on top, and a complex of buildings toward the rear.

This was the place where the Guardian of Earth resided: the Lookout.

At this moment, an elderly man with a wrinkled face, green skin, and two antennae on his head walked out of the Lookout, leaning on a cane.

The old man wore white robes with a blue cape draped behind him. One could tell from the character for "God" inscribed on his clothes that this was the master of the Lookout, the Guardian of Earth!

Following behind the Guardian was a man with pitch-black skin; he was the Guardian's servant, Mr. Popo.

"Hmm..."

The Guardian of Earth looked toward the sky with a heavy, pensive expression.

"Is something the matter, Guardian?"

Seeing the Guardian's heavy expression, Mr. Popo asked with concern.

"I sense a heavy presence heading toward Earth," the Guardian explained.

"Although this presence is being suppressed, that power is definitely not something the current people of Earth can contend with!"

"A powerful ki? Could it be even stronger than you, Guardian!?" Mr. Popo asked, finding it hard to believe.

"Heh, Mr. Popo, you must know that there is always someone better. I have simply lived a long time; compared to this power, I am far from sufficient." The Guardian smiled.

"However," the Guardian said, seeing Mr. Popo's bewildered expression, "I do not sense any evil intent from this power, so you need not worry too much."

After speaking, the Guardian turned and walked back into the Lookout, though he thought to himself:

If this person truly intends to destroy Earth, I will stop him even if it costs me my life.

The next day.

In a desolate stretch of land, a dazzling red streak of light cut across the sky and slammed into the ground with a "Boom!"

Dust billowed, and a massive crater formed.

Through the deep pit, one could see a spherical spaceship at the bottom.

Then, with a "Hiss!" and the sound of the ship venting gas, the hatch opened.

"So this is Earth."

The moment the hatch opened, a youthful voice emerged.

Soon, as the hatch opened fully, the figure inside was revealed.

Judging by his appearance, he was a child of about five or six years old. His long black hair stood up partially, with bangs naturally parted on both sides of his forehead. He had a delicate, handsome face that was immediately likable.

Looking down, one could clearly see he was wearing white armor over a blue bodysuit, and most remarkably, a tail like a monkey's grew from his waist.

Indeed, he was the Saiyan who had traveled all the way from Planet Vegeta: Kast.

"Finally arrived on Earth."

Thinking back on the nearly year-long journey, Kast felt a surge of excitement now that he had finally reached his destination.

Floating slowly into the air, Kast looked around. The surroundings were vast, desolate lands and mountains—a landing site he had specifically chosen. It was quiet enough to avoid causing a stir and would save him some trouble.

"Now, first things first: Senzu Beans!" Thinking this, Kast tapped the energy detector on his ear and initiated a scan.

I need to learn how to sense ki... Kast thought silently, glancing at the detector at the corner of his eye.

"Beep, beep." The detector soon picked up targets.

"Oh, five targets. Three are together. Let's check this lone one first. Hmm, this battle power is 120. If I remember correctly, this should be Master Roshi. Then the other one with 110 battle power must be Master Shen."

However, the targets weren't Master Roshi and the others. Kast shifted his gaze to the three targets grouped together above.

"170, 290, 300. There's no mistake; they must be the Guardian of Earth, Mr. Popo, and Korin. On Earth, only the Guardian, being a Namekian, could possibly reach this level of power."

"The current distance is 13,700 kilometers to the southeast. Not too far. Alright, let's go!"

Determining the direction, a white aura erupted from Kast's body. With a sonic boom, he vanished into the horizon in an instant.

"Hmm, heading this way, are they..."

This was a mountain range stretching for hundreds of kilometers. After crossing the towering peaks perpetually covered in ice and snow, a vast, sunken basin appeared ahead.

The basin spanned over a hundred kilometers, entirely blanketed in dense forest. From a distance, it looked like a green wave, swaying incessantly under the caress of the wind.

This place was the sacred martial arts ground of Karin. In the center, a straight, towering spire could be clearly seen piercing the clouds.

It was Karin Tower.

This was a straight tower, a divine spire connecting to the Heavenly Realm.

At this moment, on the structure atop Karin Tower, a figure could be seen in the shadows, speaking to himself.

"Meow, this doesn't look good, meow."

As he stepped out from the shadows, the speaker finally revealed his appearance. He was a bipedal cat covered in white fur, leaning on a staff with one hand while keeping the other behind his back. He was squinting, gazing into the distance.

He was the master of this tower, Korin.

Yes, Korin was not a human; he was a cat.

Although Korin was a cat, his true age exceeded 800 years, making him older than the current Guardian of Earth. Unlike the responsibilities of the Guardian of Earth, Korin's primary role was to guide and train the martial artists of the lower realm.

In the distance, a figure was approaching the location of Karin Tower at high speed.

Passing over the dense forest, Kast arrived above the Karin Sacred Land forest. Within his line of sight, he could clearly see the long tower reaching toward the sky.

The long tower was rooted in the horizon, its top piercing the clouds and obscured by white, drifting mist.

"So that is Karin Tower!"

Kast looked on in astonishment. He had no idea how tall Karin Tower truly was, but just looking at the pillar-like structure that seemed to connect heaven and earth as it vanished into the clouds, he couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

However, admiration was one thing; Kast didn't waste any time at the base of Karin Tower. As he neared the tower, he shifted his direction ninety degrees upward and shot into the sky, flying rapidly toward the summit.