I'll teach you how to run faster later..."
Master Roshi looked at Chi-Chi.
"Second, Chi-Chi!"
Chi-Chi walked over to the starting line.
"Ready!"
"Go!"
Chi-Chi's little legs whirred into action, kicking up a cloud of dust!
Soon, Chi-Chi reached the rock, and Master Roshi pressed the stopwatch.
"Click!"
Master Roshi praised her. "Hmm, only 11.5 seconds. That's better than I expected. Chi-Chi did great too."
Chi-Chi scratched her head happily. "Thank you for the praise, Master Roshi!"
Krillin praised her too. "Running 11.5 seconds is amazing for a girl!"
"Next up, Goku!"
Son Goku walked over to the starting line.
"Ready!"
"Click!"
Son Goku turned into a blur and shot straight to the finish line.
Master Roshi stared blankly at the stopwatch.
"7.5 seconds!"
Chi-Chi ran over to Goku, little hearts appearing in her eyes.
"Wow, Goku, you're so fast! You only took 7.5 seconds!!!"
Son Goku said, "It's nothing, really. It's just the result of training hard ever since I was little.
"Chi-Chi, don't get so worked up over everything."
Chi-Chi said, "Oh, okay."
Krillin was even more shocked. "7.5 seconds? That's incredible!
"Goku, how did you get so fast?"
Son Goku didn't hide anything. "My grandpa taught me. I usually train with weights on."
Chi-Chi and Krillin both gave him a thumbs-up. "Amazing!"
Just then, Master Roshi looked at them.
"Even though you're all fast, you need to understand that there's always someone better, and there's always a higher mountain!"
Master Roshi handed the stopwatch to Krillin and took off his shell.
"Krillin, time me!"
"Master Roshi's running too?"
"Yeah, I haven't run in a long time. I'll get some exercise."
With that, Master Roshi went to the starting line.
"Ready!"
"Go!"
Master Roshi stomped off the ground and became a blur as he shot toward the finish line.
"Click!"
Once Master Roshi crossed the finish line, Krillin pressed the stopwatch.
His face was full of shock.
"Oh my gosh, 5.2 seconds!"
Chi-Chi's eyes gleamed. "Master Roshi is so fast! No wonder he's Master Roshi!"
Goku said, "Krillin, you were a little slow pressing the stopwatch."
Master Roshi calmly put his shell back on.
"Ah, I'm old. I've lost my touch.
"But you're still young. You have a chance to break five seconds."
Chi-Chi asked, "Can I do it too?"
Master Roshi nodded. "Of course. Anything is possible.
"Ahem. That run made me thirsty. Goku, go to the kitchen and get me a drink."
Chi-Chi wanted to help Goku with something, so she immediately stepped in. "I'll go!"
With that, Chi-Chi ran off to get a drink.
Just as Chi-Chi entered the house, a sharp sneeze rang out.
The next second, Chi-Chi came charging back with a bottle of soda, while Launch chased after her with a kitchen knife.
The three of them were dumbfounded as they watched Launch chase Chi-Chi.
She was so fast.
Soon, they sped past the rock and crossed the starting line they'd used earlier.
Master Roshi glanced at the stopwatch.
"Chi-Chi's amazing too!
"She broke the five-second mark for a hundred meters. She's even faster than me!"
Krillin exclaimed, "Really? Looks like I'm the weakest of the three of us!"
Master Roshi said, "Not necessarily.
"Chi-Chi only discovered that much potential because she was in danger.
"If you were backed into a corner, you'd unleash unimaginable strength too.
"Believe me, human potential is limitless!"
Krillin scratched his head. "Really?"
"Of course. You can trust me. Isn't Chi-Chi proof?"
"That's true!"
Watching Chi-Chi run away, Son Goku couldn't help scratching his head. "I didn't expect Launch to be so fierce toward girls after her hair turns blonde."
Master Roshi said, "A woman is only gentle with the man she loves.
"If it isn't him, she doesn't care whether the other person is a man or a woman!"
Krillin said with deep admiration, "As expected of Master Roshi. You really know a lot."
Son Goku said, "Master, you don't even have a wife. How would you know?"
Master Roshi's expression darkened. "Children shouldn't pry into adults' business!"
Chapter 36: Pufferfish
Soon, the test was over, and the sun was nearly setting.
Master Roshi said, "Formal training starts tomorrow.
"Before dinner, I'm going to test your abilities one more time."
He drew a mark on a rock and showed it to the three of them, then threw it over the cliff.
"Tonight, only the one who finds that rock will get to eat."
The three of them immediately ran in the direction the rock had disappeared.
A moment later, Goku came back holding the rock, with Chi-Chi by his side.
Son Goku said, "Chi-Chi, you're still growing.
"You shouldn't go hungry. Why don't you take the rock?"
Chi-Chi said, "No! You eat so much,
"and you're the one who found it. You should have dinner."
Goku said, "You should eat!"
Chi-Chi said, "No. If you give it to me, you won't get to eat."
Goku said, "It's fine. I'm a boy!"
Chi-Chi said stubbornly, "I don't care. If you don't eat, I won't either!"
Little Chi-Chi looked determined to share Goku's hardships.
The innocent, adorable little Chi-Chi was so lovable.
Goku found it hard to reconcile her with the fierce woman she'd become after marriage.
Maybe Goku's failure to take care of the family when they were adults had made their life too difficult, which was what had made Chi-Chi that way.
But couldn't they just talk things through? Was there really any need to hit and scold him?
Thinking of the short-tempered Chi-Chi after marriage, Goku was reminded of his parents in his previous life.
They weren't as extreme as Chi-Chi, but their state of mind seemed quite similar to that of an irritable married woman like her.
All they did was make him do his homework, eat on time, and forbid him from playing with kids who got worse grades than he did...
He understood that his parents did many things because they wanted what was best for him.
But being scolded and lectured every day, from childhood onward, had been an awful experience.
It had made him live in fear whenever he came home from school, and it had turned him into a withdrawn, introverted person.
Still, he was lucky that heaven had given him another life.
In this life, he'd become his favorite hot-blooded protagonist, Son Goku, and he had his kind Grandpa Gohan to raise him.
Not only did Grandpa Gohan never criticize him, he often encouraged him.
Although he'd have to shoulder the responsibility of protecting Earth someday,
and remind himself every day to keep training, never slack off, and never give up,
he felt that he'd been truly happy from childhood until now in this life.