Life was full of ups and downs.
Hearing Goku's confusion, Master Roshi said:
"You mean Chi-Chi? I'm going to take her on as a student."
Son Goku froze. "Take her on as a student?"
Master Roshi nodded. "That's right. You're Son Gohan's grandson.
"Gohan asked me to take you on as a student, so I agreed.
"Ox-King happened to visit me a couple of days ago, and I saw his daughter.
"She seemed to have good potential and a decent disposition, so I thought about taking her on as a student, too.
"Your grandpa Gohan and her dad, Ox-King, are both my students.
"I can't play favorites by taking you on and not her."
Goku took a moment to process it, then seemed to understand what was going on.
Still, this was a huge departure from the original course of history.
He'd wanted to keep his distance from Chi-Chi,
but now she was going to train here with him.
Wouldn't that bring them even closer?
In his previous life, he'd been a bit of a shut-in,
somewhat insecure, and terrified of being yelled at.
He'd improved quite a bit since being reborn into this world.
But the thought of the grown-up Chi-Chi from the original story yelling at Goku for one thing or another still sent a chill down his spine.
Still, he couldn't exactly refuse to train with her.
Thankfully, little Chi-Chi was still quite likable.
All Goku could do was blame the damn Butterfly Effect!
Master Roshi continued, "Oh, right, I also told the two of them to go find you!
"But you came here on your own.
"You'll be fellow students from now on, so make sure you get along."
Son Goku nodded. "Got it, Master Roshi!"
Just then, Ox-King and Chi-Chi landed safely,
got out of the plane, and walked over to the three of them.
Chi-Chi, in particular, wore a radiant smile as she ran straight toward Goku.
Her smile was so sweet it could melt snow,
making her already adorable cheeks look even more radiant.
Krillin stared at Chi-Chi, nearly losing his soul.
He immediately stepped forward to introduce himself. "Hi, I'm Krillin!"
But Chi-Chi completely ignored him and walked right up to Goku.
"Goku, so you were here! I've been looking for you for days!"
Seeing Chi-Chi pay him no attention at all,
and even walk right past him to find Goku, Krillin awkwardly scratched his head.
But seeing such a pretty girl suddenly act so sweetly toward Goku
made his heart ache, as if he'd taken ten thousand points of damage.
Chi-Chi greeted Goku, and he replied politely:
"Thanks for your effort!"
"It was no trouble. I'm happy I could do something for you!"
Chi-Chi moved even closer to Goku,
her eyes shining as she gazed at him,
her face full of anticipation, as if waiting for him to praise her.
Goku simply smiled back, but Chi-Chi felt a rush of sweetness.
Watching the two of them,
Krillin once again felt just how unfair life could be.
Just then, Master Roshi cleared his throat from nearby.
"Ahem, ahem...
"All right, all right. There are three of you now.
"Let's begin the entrance test.
"You'll all have to complete my test before you can officially become my students."
Chi-Chi looked at Master Roshi curiously and asked, "Master Roshi, what's the entrance test?"
Master Roshi's old face reddened. "Chi-Chi, you're a girl.
"You don't need to take the test. Just go rest over there."
Chi-Chi blinked and murmured, "Is it because I'm cute, so I don't have to take the test?"
She turned to Master Roshi. "Thank you, teacher! Hee-hee!"
Then she looked at Goku and called, "Goku, do your best!"
With that, little Chi-Chi blushed
and trotted off to rest beneath the shade of a tree.
Master Roshi turned to Ox-King.
"All right, you can leave Chi-Chi with me.
"You can go, too. Don't interfere with my teaching!"
Ox-King nodded at once and replied respectfully, "Yes, Master Roshi!"
Master Roshi had once been a very proper man. He could even ride the Flying Nimbus.
But after retiring, he'd watched too many yoga videos and gradually become lecherous.
As far as Gohan and Ox-King were concerned,
Master Roshi was still the same exalted, almost immortal figure he'd always been.
Before long, Ox-King flew away in his plane.
On Kame Island, only Master Roshi, Sea Turtle,
Goku, Krillin, and Chi-Chi remained.
Chi-Chi had been sent off to the side, so Master Roshi finally explained the requirements to Goku.
Krillin raised a question.
"Doesn't Chi-Chi count as a cute girl already,
so she doesn't have to complete the test?"
Master Roshi's expression turned cold.
"She's just a little kid. She's not my type!
"I like the kind of women in those magazines you gave me."
Krillin suddenly understood.
"Oh, I get it! So you like mature, sexy older ladies!"
Master Roshi's old face reddened. "Now you know. Cuteness doesn't hold a candle to sexiness."
Krillin nodded, then looked at Goku. "Makes sense. Let's go!"
"Mm!"
Goku hopped onto the Flying Nimbus, and Krillin climbed on after him.
Unfortunately, Krillin immediately slid off and crashed to the ground.
Master Roshi's expression tightened.
"Hm, you fell off.
"Someone with an impure heart can't ride the Flying Nimbus.
"Looks like your reasons for learning martial arts aren't pure.
"You'd better leave!"
Krillin panicked and hurriedly explained, "No! Master Roshi, don't send me away.
"I just want to learn powerful martial arts so girls will like me."
Master Roshi scratched his head.
It seemed this guy had no idea what girls actually liked.
It wasn't because his martial arts weren't strong enough.
It was because he had no money, wasn't handsome, and wasn't tall...
Seeing that Krillin had all those flaws—and no hair or nose—Master Roshi sighed.
"You came all this way to get here, so I'll take you on.
"Come on, don't waste any more time. Set off with Goku!"
"Thank you, Master Roshi!"
Chapter 33: The Two-Faced Girl, Launch
Since Krillin couldn't ride the Flying Nimbus,
he wanted to find a way to go along and search for sexy beauties.
So he came up with a plan: tie something to Goku and have him carry him along.
And so, with Krillin on his back, Goku rode the Flying Nimbus away from Kame House.
As Goku cruised along on the Flying Nimbus, searching for Launch,
Krillin busily scanned the area for pretty, mature, sexy girls.
Since they were deliberately looking for Launch, they soon found a lead.
A few moments later, the sound of a machine gun's rapid fire reached them.
"Rat-a-tat-tat, bang-bang-bang..."
"Pew-pew-pew..."
Goku's eyes lit up.
Gunfire—this had to be Launch!
He immediately steered the Flying Nimbus toward the sound, carrying the two of them with him.
After just a few breaths,
Launch came into view.
She was sitting on her knees on the ground, looking rather disheveled and utterly innocent.