Because of his connection to Goku, Upa and his father warmly welcomed Raditz and Yajirobe.
Raditz also took the opportunity to ask them about Korin Tower.
What he heard was more or less what he already knew: only those who climbed the tower through their own strength could meet the Cat Hermit.
Anyone who reached the top had to pass the Cat Hermit's test.
Those who succeeded would receive a miraculous medicine that increased their strength: the Ultra Sacred Water.
It sounded incredible, but Raditz knew the Ultra Sacred Water was just water. It had no power to increase anyone's strength.
What actually improved one's strength was the training and sparring with the hermit.
The next day.
Raditz went alone to Korin Tower.
Yajirobe had gone off to find food by himself. After hearing that Raditz might have to stay up there for several months, and seeing how rich the area was in food, he had decided to settle down nearby for a while.
Before leaving, he repeatedly reminded Raditz that he wasn't getting out of treating him to that big meal.
Raditz had no answer to that. After all, he did owe him one.
Looking up at the height of Korin Tower, Raditz pondered for a moment.
"Goku's first climb to the top took about a day and a night, if I remember right..."
"This is my first try. I won't worry about speed. My main goal is to make sure I don't fall before I get there."
Once he was ready, he didn't hesitate any longer. Using all four limbs, he began the long climb.
Ten thousand meters above the ground, a round palace stood alone above the clouds.
Inside, a cat leaning on a staff was dozing.
Suddenly sensing something, it woke with a start.
"Well, well. Is someone challenging Korin Tower again already?" The Cat Hermit was a little surprised.
It had been less than two years since the last challenger had successfully climbed to the top.
The Cat Hermit went over to a vat full of water and stirred the clear water with its staff.
At once, the water revealed a boy in a martial arts uniform climbing upward.
"Another child so young?"
The Cat Hermit remembered that the tailed boy had climbed the tower step by step, just like the person in the water mirror.
That boy named Sun Wukong was the most promising person it had seen in the past few centuries.
"I wonder if you'll be the next one."
The person in the mirror climbed slowly, but steadily. He made sure each step was firm before continuing upward.
One step at a time, putting in the work.
The Cat Hermit watched and nodded slightly. At this rate, he would definitely make it to the top, though it would take him a little longer than his predecessor.
Climbing Korin Tower tested both body and will. Raditz had to overcome not only physical exhaustion and hunger, but also the biting cold of the night wind.
He had been climbing for two days and two nights. The ordeal had left his limbs stiff, and his movements had grown slower and slower.
His body was nearing its limit. He had managed to hold on this long only by clinging to the last shred of his will to survive.
After all, if he fell, he was as good as dead.
"When... will this... end?"
Raditz was like a taut string, not daring to let his guard down for even a moment.
He had only taken a brief rest just now, but while half-asleep, he had found himself thinking that if he let go, he could finally be free.
"Should I just give up? Even if I die, Bulma and the others can use the Dragon Balls to bring me back..."
The thought came unbidden, but he quickly pushed it away.
"Damn it..."
Raditz was furious with himself for faltering, even for an instant.
He had worked so hard to get this far. Was he really going to fall here?
If he couldn't endure even this much hardship, how could he hope to get stronger?
He absolutely wouldn't allow it!
He looked up at the tower, shrouded in thick clouds, took a deep breath of the thin air, and lowered his head to keep climbing.
Meter by meter, he pushed upward in fits and starts.
Just as he was about to run out of strength, things finally took a turn.
"I... can see it..."
In a daze, Raditz spotted a round building above him, and his spirits lifted.
The Cat Hermit slowly descended from the main hall of Korin Palace to the floor below, where it found a boy collapsed on the floor.
One side of the boy's body was still hanging outside the tower, and he clung desperately to the floor with all four limbs.
"Looks like he's reached his limit."
It carried the unconscious Raditz to the main hall, took out a bean, and fed it to him.
"Hm?!"
An indescribably warm current spread through his body. Raditz felt his fatigue and soreness vanish, strength flooding back into him.
"Phew! That's incredible!"
Raditz got to his feet and saw a white cat standing upright, leaning on a staff.
He immediately realized that the Cat Hermit had given him a Senzu Bean.
"Master Korin! Thank you for saving me!" Raditz clasped his hands together and bowed slightly.
"I didn't do anything for you. You did it all yourself." The Cat Hermit's tone was calm as its catlike eyes studied the boy. "You know who I am?"
"Yes. Master Mutten and Goku have told me about you."
"I see. What a coincidence. Only two people have climbed up here in the past three hundred years, and you know them both."
"Goku and I both studied martial arts under Master Mutten," Raditz said honestly.
"..."
"You're quite unusual," the Cat Hermit said suddenly after a moment of silence.
"Your temperament isn't what I'd expect from a boy your age."
"And besides..."
"I can't read your thoughts."
The Cat Hermit's words startled Raditz. He remembered that the Cat Hermit really did seem to have the ability to read people's minds.
Still, since it couldn't see through him, Raditz guessed the system was probably responsible.
"Master Korin, I've come to increase my strength." No longer dwelling on that, Raditz explained why he had come.
The Cat Hermit moved closer, trying once more to see through the boy's thoughts, but it still had no effect.
It could only ask, "Why do you want to become stronger?"
Raditz thought for a while, and the powerful enemies he would face in the future suddenly flashed through his mind.
"So I can live better."
So he could take control of his own fate when future crises came.
"Hmm... I can't read your thoughts, but that doesn't sound like a bad motive."
"The Ultra Sacred Water is right over there. Take it, and you'll become stronger."
The Cat Hermit pointed to the stone platform in the middle of the palace. A water jug filled with liquid sat on top of it.
"..."
Raditz knew the truth about the Ultra Sacred Water, but he still walked over and prepared to pick it up.
Just as his hand was about to touch the jug, a wooden staff hooked it away, out of his reach.
"Take it, and you'll become stronger. But you'll have to get it while I try to stop you."
"That's exactly what I want."
In a flash, Raditz sprang forward, driving off with both legs as he charged at the Cat Hermit.
The Cat Hermit dodged to the side.
Raditz turned to pursue, but the Cat Hermit leaped away again.
After more than a dozen exchanges, the Cat Hermit still managed to dodge just as Raditz was about to touch the jug.
"Why am I always just short?"
Even after using the Afterimage Technique, Raditz still hadn't managed to touch a single hair on the Cat Hermit's body, while he was left panting heavily.
The Cat Hermit, by contrast, leisurely groomed its fur, as though the exercise hadn't affected it at all.
"The air is thin at this height of ten thousand meters. With exercise this intense, you won't last long before you run out of energy."
The Cat Hermit offered this bit of advice.
"Looks like you won't be able to snatch the Ultra Sacred Water from me anytime soon."
Three days later.
Raditz had to face reality.
The gap was still too great. He couldn't even keep up with the Cat Hermit's speed.
"If this keeps up, am I going to have to spend three years at it, like Master Mutten did back in the day?"
Raditz didn't have that much time. In his plan, he had given himself no more than six months to pass the Cat Hermit's test.
After a long silence, Raditz headed down to the lower level of the palace.