The three of them promptly fainted.
After breakfast, Master Roshi brought his three young students back beneath the shade of the trees.
"From now on, it's study time.
"Exercise alone won't make you excellent martial artists. You also need to train your minds."
Chi-Chi: "I love studying!"
Krillin: "I'm not afraid of academic subjects, either."
Son Goku: "Huh? Are we only studying elementary-school stuff?"
Twelve thirty in the afternoon.
Master Roshi brought the three of them to the place where they would take their afternoon break.
They had slung hammocks between several trees, making this a breezy, cool place to rest.
"Right. From now until one thirty, it's nap time.
"Train hard, study hard, play hard,
"eat well, sleep well. That's how the Turtle School trains..."
Master Roshi lay down first.
Chi-Chi and Krillin lay down in their hammocks too.
Son Goku asked, "If we saved time by cutting back on rest,
"could we get stronger by continuing to train?"
Master Roshi chuckled. "If you turned into a heartless training or work machine,
"with no time that truly belonged to you,
"what would be the point of living?"
Son Goku: "That kind of makes sense..."
Master Roshi continued, "Gohan told me you work very hard!"
Son Goku nodded.
"Mm!"
Master Roshi smiled. "Goku, don't narrow your path.
"You have to lay a solid foundation.
"Remember, even the tallest building starts at ground level.
"Overworking yourself will only ruin your body.
"Even if you don't hurt yourself,
"you'll still exhaust your potential and never get very far."
Goku looked thoughtful. He seemed to understand some of it, though not all.
Some things seemed simple, but they weren't so easy to truly understand.
"Master, I understand."
With that, he lay down in his hammock and closed his eyes.
After training hard from dawn through the morning, Goku fell asleep as soon as he lay down.
When he woke, he felt completely refreshed, light and clear-headed.
He was bursting with energy. He could've climbed fifty flights of stairs without a problem.
Sure enough, once they'd gotten their energy back, Master Roshi immediately assigned them even harsher training.
That afternoon, he had the three of them work as laborers, pushing carts of sand by hand.
They even had to outdo an excavator.
He was practically driving them to their deaths.
Even the men at the construction site marveled at how hard the three of them worked.
Soon, the three of them were taken to the river.
"You're all drenched in sweat. Next up is swimming practice."
Krillin was stunned.
"You've got to be kidding. There's more?"
"Of course. We're nowhere near done!
"Hurry up and change into your swimsuits behind those rocks. We're starting right away!"
Master Roshi was mainly being considerate because Chi-Chi was a girl.
If it had just been the two boys, he would've told them to strip and get on with it.
Before long, the three of them had changed into their swimsuits and come to the riverbank.
"Swim to the opposite bank and back. Ten laps!"
Krillin gave a crooked grin. "Ten laps is nothing!"
With that, Krillin jumped into the river.
But the next second, a gigantic shark burst out of the water and lunged at him.
Krillin was startled. He thrashed through the water toward the opposite bank.
The shark pursued him relentlessly.
Chi-Chi cried out, "Oh my gosh, there's a shark! How scary!"
As she spoke, Master Roshi kicked Goku and Chi-Chi into the water, one foot each.
"You two, get moving!"
Chapter 39: Seven Months Flew By
With the shark chasing them, the three of them quickly finished ten laps.
They were all panting heavily.
Before they'd even caught their breath, Master Roshi led them to a tree.
Fear showed on Son Goku's face.
He remembered this terrifying exercise.
Sure enough, Master Roshi tied all three of them up with a rope.
Then Master Roshi said, "This exercise is meant to train your reflexes.
"If your reflexes are fast enough, you can dodge any attack."
The next second, Master Roshi struck a hornet's nest with his cane, then took off running.
With Master Roshi no longer there as a target, the hornets charged at the three of them.
They ran around frantically, but they were tied up,
so they could only dodge within the radius of the rope tied around the tree.
Master Roshi shouted from the sidelines, "Hey, dodge!"
Only then did the three of them understand, and they immediately began dodging the hornets.
If they stood still, they'd get stung all over their heads.
If one of them managed to dodge an extra hornet, someone nearby would get stung one more time.
A short while later, the three of them returned with bumps all over their heads.
Krillin was the MVP, with the most evenly distributed bumps. He looked just like Buddha.
Master Roshi looked at the three of them with satisfaction,
and smiled. "Mm, very good. That's enough training for today!"
Krillin asked, "Do we have to do this kind of training every day from now on?"
"Don't be silly. Today's training was the easiest."
The three of them were shocked.
"What?"
"Today was the easiest?"
Master Roshi nodded.
"Tomorrow, the training will be the same, except
"each of you will have to wear a twenty-kilogram turtle shell.
"Now do you know why we're called the Turtle School?"
"Thump!"
All three fainted at the same time.
And so, Master Roshi's rigorous training finally got underway in earnest.
All three of them were determined to get stronger and didn't slack off.
Perhaps Master Roshi was such a good teacher because he believed in taking things step by step.
Even Chi-Chi managed to keep up with the grueling training.
At first, they were all completely exhausted.
But little by little, the three of them adapted.
Day after day,
the three of them delivered milk, plowed fields, and did odd jobs, earning Master Roshi quite a bit of money.
Goku seemed to understand why Master Roshi didn't charge for his students' lessons.
He put his mind to teaching them, while his students did hard labor to earn him money.
It was a win-win.
Before long, seven months had passed. As the three of them trained,
they didn't just grow stronger; they also formed a deep friendship.
That day, training ended.
Krillin asked, "Master Roshi, there's only one month left until the World Martial Arts Tournament.
"Shouldn't you start teaching us some fighting techniques?"
Chi-Chi looked at Master Roshi expectantly too.
Master Roshi shook his head. "There's nothing left for me to teach you.
"The basic principles of Turtle School martial arts are all contained in these seven months of training.
"Without even realizing it,
"you've already trained your eyes, your fists and feet, your senses, your reflexes, and your minds...
"Fighting techniques are nothing more than applications of the fundamentals."
Krillin asked curiously, "Then, aren't you going to teach us any moves or anything?"
"There are no set moves. Any fixed technique is bound to have a way to counter it.