New Life

On the third day after King Piccolo was sealed away, Turtle Hermit House was unusually quiet that morning. There was no whistle for morning training, no urging to deliver milk—only the rhythm of waves striking the beach and palm leaves rustling in the morning breeze. Master Roshi leaned against the pillow at the head of his bed, his chest wrapped in bandages, while Krillin had carefully placed the shattered turtle shell on the bedside table. The old man's complexion was still pale, but his spirits had recovered considerably.

"Master Mutaito, the porridge is ready." Krillin entered carrying a steaming bowl of seafood porridge. This time, there was no turtle shell in it.

Master Roshi accepted the bowl and took a sip. Then he looked at the three disciples standing in a row before his bed. After a long silence, he finally said, "The aftereffects of the Evil Containment Wave are an exhaustion of life force. Ordinarily, I should have perished together with King Piccolo in the Dark Forest. That night, I really did go there intending to do just that—I even wrote my will and left it in a drawer at Turtle Hermit House. When you go back, remember to tear it up for me."

Talos took over in a tone as steady as if he were stating a fact. "You said you still hadn't taught me the third multiplier of the Kaioken, and you hadn't demonstrated the final three forms of the Turtle Hermit School Palm Technique either. You owe me."

"We'll talk about the third multiplier once you can use the second without coughing up blood." Master Roshi laughed and scolded him, then his smile faded. "Where is that egg now?"

"In the Sealing Hall of the Martial Arts Temple. Champions from past martial arts tournaments are guarding it together," Talos said. "The seal is very stable, and the cocoon wall grows thicker every day. King Piccolo's power has been completely locked inside the cocoon and will not leak out again."

Master Roshi nodded and fell silent for a moment. "Three hundred years ago, after Master Mutaito sealed King Piccolo, it was the same—a single egg. Later, the seal loosened, and that was how he escaped. Keep a close watch on that seal. Reinforce it every so often."

"It has already been arranged. Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu will remain at the Martial Arts Temple as the first shift of guards. On the night of every full moon, the seal automatically enters its strongest state. At that time, any one of us can reinforce it once."

"That child, Tien Shinhan..." Master Roshi removed his sunglasses, one lens cracked, and wiped them with the corner of his clothes. "How is he doing now?"

"He's staying in the rear courtyard of the Martial Arts Temple. Every day, he trains, sweeps the grounds, and helps Chiaotzu cook. The last time I saw him, he said something that left a deep impression on me—'I used to train to win. Now I train so that I can be worthy of that notebook.'"

Master Roshi did not reply. He merely lowered his head and took another sip of porridge. The steam obscured his expression, but the corners of his mouth curved upward slightly behind it.

That afternoon, Goku and Krillin sparred on the beach. Goku had personally witnessed Talos's Kaioken and Evil Containment Wave during the battle against King Piccolo, and his fighting spirit had been completely ignited. He had dragged Krillin into sparring from after lunch until now. Two orange figures crossed at high speed across the sand, the dense sounds of fists and kicks colliding like a barrage of war drums.

Talos sat cross-legged atop a reef, watching the two spar while organizing the system's data in his mind.

"Ding—King Piccolo Arc settlement complete. Host has obtained the achievements 'Demon King's End,' 'All Turtle Hermit School Members Survived,' and 'First Disciple (Tien Shinhan).'"

"Current base battle power: 7200. Kaioken ×1: 14400. Kaioken ×2: 21600. Out-of-Control State bonus: +30% (equivalent to 9360)."

"Hidden mission 'All Turtle Hermit School Members Survived' completed. Rewards issued: battle power +2000, skill 'Evil Containment Wave: No-Injury Version,' special item 'Mutaito's Notes: Complete.'"

His battle power was 7200. With Kaioken ×2, it exceeded twenty thousand—already surpassing Vegeta's eighteen thousand when he first appeared. Next, he needed to prepare for the Saiyan Arc—Raditz, Nappa, Vegeta. Every one of them was more than a whole level stronger than King Piccolo. He closed the panel and leaped down from the reef.

"Goku, Krillin, stop for a moment. Goku, can you release the Kamehameha steadily now?"

"I can!" Goku wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Yesterday, I fired ten at the sea, and every one hit the reef! Master Mutaito said my accuracy is good enough now, and that I need to train power next. He said the power of the Kamehameha doesn't lie in the amount of ki, but in the density of its concentration—compressing the same amount of ki into a smaller sphere can multiply its power several times over."

"Concentration density—that direction is correct. But a large part of your ki still dissipates during release. What you need to practice next isn't how to compress your ki into something smaller, but how to keep controlling it after you release it."

"Keep controlling it after releasing it?" Goku tilted his head.

Talos raised his right hand, gathering a fist-sized ki blast in his palm. He gently tossed the sphere into the air. Instead of flying away, it hovered there, slowly rotating. He extended his other hand, and the sphere obediently flew between two fingers, shrinking into a marble-sized point of light. Then he flicked his finger. The light shot toward the sea and exploded the instant it touched the water, sending up a ring of waves several meters high.

"The Kamehameha is also fundamentally a ki blast—just larger and more condensed. If you can continue using ki sensing to track and control your Kamehameha after firing it, you can adjust its trajectory and compression before it hits the target. This technique is called Ki Trajectory. It will be your main training focus for the next month."

Goku's tail swayed behind him excitedly like a propeller. "That sounds awesome! I'll practice it right now!"

That evening, someone knocked on the door of Turtle Hermit House. Tien Shinhan stood outside, wearing his green training uniform, his third eye slightly lowered. He held a small bundle in one hand, while Chiaotzu stood at his side with his little round hat neatly in place.

"Master Mutaito, we have come to ask to become your disciples." Tien Shinhan's voice was as cold and hard as ever, but the fingers gripping his bundle were tightening slightly.

Master Roshi leaned against the head of his bed and studied him. After several seconds of silence, he asked, "What about the Crane Hermit?"

"I have already mailed back all the Crane School uniforms and tokens. I included a letter with only one sentence—'The Crane and the Turtle share the same origin. Disciple Tien Shinhan returns the Crane School tokens and hereby leaves the Crane School.'"

"Do you know what that means?"

"I do. From this day on, I am no longer a disciple of the Crane School, nor am I a martial arts tournament champion. I am only a martial artist who wishes to learn martial arts anew." Tien Shinhan dropped to one knee and raised Mutaito's Notes above his head with both hands. "This notebook is the inheritance token of the Turtle Hermit School. The last time Talos passed it to me, it was so I could see the truth. Now I have seen it clearly—please, Master Mutaito, take back this token and accept me as your disciple."

Master Roshi got out of bed and walked barefoot to Tien Shinhan. He did not take the notebook. Instead, he placed a hand on Tien Shinhan's head. "Keep the notebook. It was originally Master Mutaito's shared legacy for both the Crane School and the Turtle Hermit School. From today onward, you are no longer a traitor to the Crane School—you are a thirty-sixth-generation disciple of the Turtle Hermit School. Tien Shinhan, rise."

Tien Shinhan's shoulders trembled slightly. He did not stand immediately, but lowered his head instead. Chiaotzu floated over from the side and gently took his hand.

"Welcome aboard," Talos said from the doorway.

"From now on, we're fellow disciples!" Goku bounced over and circled Tien Shinhan once. "That Solar Flare you used against me at the last tournament—can you use it again? I've recently learned how to cover my eyes with a ki film. I want to see if I can block it!"

Tien Shinhan rose to his feet and looked at Goku's clean smile, entirely free of any shadow. The corners of his mouth lifted despite himself. "You learned a ki film? Who taught you?"

"I figured it out myself!" Goku puffed out his chest proudly. "But Talos said the thickness of my ki film is uneven. It's too thin on the left and too thick on the right, so I still need more practice."

"And you think an uneven ki film can block the Solar Flare?" Tien Shinhan was somewhat surprised.

"It didn't block it! The last time I tried, my eyes hurt for three days after getting flashed! That's why I need to try again!"

Tien Shinhan fell silent for a second, then nodded. "All right. During training tomorrow, I'll use the Solar Flare on you."

Chiaotzu used his psychic powers to float Tien Shinhan's bundle into the house. He muttered softly, "Finally, we won't have to go back to the Crane School." He said it quietly, but everyone heard him.

Meanwhile, Krillin was upstairs at Turtle Hermit House, organizing martial arts manuals and talking to the sealed cocoon left behind by King Piccolo. He had placed the cocoon beside his desk, and every day while cleaning, he would mutter a few training insights to it. When Talos pushed open the door to the second floor, Krillin was sitting cross-legged before the cocoon, a rice-grain-sized prototype of a Destructo Disc gathered on his fingertip.

"It has been pulsing slightly these past few days, like a heartbeat. Every time I come over and tell it about my training experiences, the pulsing becomes especially obvious. It seems like it can hear us."

Talos walked up to the cocoon and pressed his hand against its wall. It was warmer than he had expected—not the coldness of a sealed object, but a gentle warmth, as though something inside was slowly growing.

"Ding—Stable life signs detected inside the sealed cocoon. The life form is transforming in a benign direction. Estimated cause: the caster held no killing intent during the sealing process, and the sealing formation incorporated the host's Ki Control characteristics, resulting in gentle suppression rather than violent sealing."

Talos withdrew his hand. "Keep talking to it every day. When it comes out, it needs to know—it isn't an extension of its father. It is itself."

Krillin nodded. "I understand."

Master Roshi's shout came from downstairs. "Everyone, come eat! Seafood porridge tonight—no turtle shells!"

Moonlight spilled across the roof of Turtle Hermit House, coating the entire beach in silver-white. Talos flew onto the roof and sat cross-legged. The system prompt sounded in his mind.

"Ding—Saiyan Arc countdown. Estimated arrival time of Raditz: October, Age 761. Current time: May, Age 750. Remaining time: approximately 11 years and 5 months."

Eleven years. Raditz had a battle power of 1500, Nappa 4000, and Vegeta 18000. His normal battle power was now 7200, while Kaioken ×2 brought him above twenty thousand. In terms of raw strength, he could already crush every enemy from the Saiyan invasion arc. But crushing the Saiyans was only the first step. After the Saiyans came Frieza, after Frieza came Cell, after Cell came Majin Buu, and after Majin Buu came Beerus, Hit, Zamasu, and Jiren. The multiplier of the Kaioken could continue rising, but his body's burden was not limitless. He needed more paths to growth.

"Ding—Bloodline Evolution Mission updated. Current bloodline fragments: 2/3. It is recommended that the host collect the third fragment within the next three years to unlock the prerequisite for Mimic Super Saiyan."

Mimic Super Saiyan. A 25-fold boost—weaker than the orthodox Super Saiyan's 50-fold increase, but with a lower threshold. It would let him enter the realm of Super Saiyans before the Frieza arc. He still did not know the conditions for obtaining the third bloodline fragment, but since the system had given him a three-year time frame, the key event had to be around the Saiyan arc.

"Talos—!"

Goku's voice came from the beach. He held up a misshapen ball of light. It was much rounder than the shell he had previously called "I haven't thought of a name for it yet." "Look! I can make it turn in midair now!"

The ball of light flew from Goku's palm, tracing a crooked arc through the air. It barely curved around a reef before finally crashing into a coconut tree and exploding. Several fronds were blown away, and a coconut fell straight onto Krillin's head.

"Goku!" Krillin roared, clutching his head. "Can't you aim a little better?!"

"Sorry, sorry! I'll try again!" Goku gathered another ball of light.

Talos sat on the roof, watching the two of them chase and roughhouse across the beach, a faint smile curling his lips. Eleven years from now, every youth on this beach would become a warrior capable of standing on their own. Before then, he would teach them everything he could and protect everyone he could behind him.

The Turtle Hermit School was not one person's school. It was a home for a group of people.

In the distance, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu stood at the edge of the beach. Tien Shinhan watched Goku and Krillin chasing each other, his third eye opening and closing slightly, as though recording the scene. Chiaotzu floated beside him, his little round cap tilted slightly by the sea breeze. Inside Turtle Hermit House, Master Roshi leaned against the window, holding his half-finished bowl of seafood congee. Looking out at the disciples in orange battle uniforms, he softly spoke words only he could hear.

"Master, did you see that? The Turtle Hermit School has worthy successors now."

And in the study on the second floor, the sealed cocoon gave a gentle pulse, as if in response.