The Forest Guard Squad

Early that morning, before the first rays of sunlight fell, Kakarot slowly awoke.

Thanks to his Saiyan gifts, he needed little sleep to feel full of energy.

"Good morning, Aunt Lina! Is Lilith up yet?" Kakarot greeted her warmly, a smile lighting his face.

"Lilith is up too. She's getting ready for her 'treasure hunt' by the door. Go take a look." Lina glanced back with a smile and called out her reply.

"Okay."

Kakarot turned and immediately spotted the adorable girl bathed in gentle sunlight.

He walked over and followed her gaze toward the indistinct dark shape on the horizon.

"That's Zunesha's trunk. Zunesha's 'Benevolence Rain' will come soon. I found you in the rain yesterday," Lilith said, pointing toward the horizon.

Kakarot threw his arms around Lilith, his face beaming with gratitude. "It's all thanks to you spotting me. I'll definitely be a good big brother from now on!"

"Hmph! I'm the big sister." Lilith wriggled free with a petulant protest, her eyes fixed on the things falling from the sky, intent on finding treasure.

"Lilith, do you like treasure hunting that much?" Kakarot asked casually.

Still watching the sky intently, Lilith said animatedly, "Yes! Those glittering gold coins and beautiful jewels are so tempting!"

As she spoke, she looked as though she was about to drool.

With his astonishing eyesight, Kakarot quickly scanned most of it, but found nothing unusual.

Lilith searched for quite some time and came up empty-handed too.

"Looks like there's no treasure to find today," Lilith said dejectedly.

"That's okay. When we head out to sea someday, we can get lots of treasure!" Kakarot said confidently.

"You're going out to sea someday? I want to go too!" Lilith instantly perked up.

The two chatted as they returned inside for breakfast.

"Ah! Oh no, oh no!" Lilith suddenly cried out.

"I forgot to go to training yesterday! Kakarot, come with me, quick!" Lilith tugged anxiously at Kakarot's arm.

Kakarot glanced at Lina, who nodded with a warm smile, signaling for him to hurry along.

"Lilith, wait for me!" Before he had finished speaking, Kakarot shot out like an arrow from a bow.

As they ran, Kakarot discovered that Lilith was astonishingly fast, several times faster than the normal adults he had seen in his previous life.

He was no slow runner either, though, and with Lilith deliberately slowing down to wait, he soon caught up.

The two then raced together toward the Elephant Leg Rock Area behind the town.

Along the way, Lilith explained as she ran, and Kakarot finally learned the whole story.

Among the Mink Tribe, there was a highly regarded Forest Guard Squad, made up entirely of the tribe's elite warriors.

There were also reserve squads, intended to train promising Mink Tribe warriors. Anyone who passed the test before turning thirty could become a full-fledged guard.

Lilith belonged to a newly established reserve squad whose members were all children around ten years old, and she even served as its captain.

With a miserable little face, Lilith said worriedly, "We have to gather for training every day. I didn't go yesterday. I really don't know how Sister Yingyue will punish me."

After running about ten kilometers for more than an hour, they finally reached the training ground.

By then, even Kakarot and Lilith were a little out of breath. After all, however gifted they were, they were still only ten-year-old children.

"Lilith, why do we have to train so far from town? Couldn't we train in the forests around it?" Kakarot asked, looking puzzled.

"Sister Yingyue said running this far every day also helps build our bodies and improve our stamina," Lilith explained.

Understanding dawned on Kakarot. He thought Yingyue's method made sense: it not only built stamina, but also let them warm up before their proper training.

The rocky area was covered in hard, gray-black rocks, large and small, in all sorts of strange shapes.

A figure stood on an open stretch of rocky ground nearby.

Yingyue, the Seventh Squad's instructor, was a black panther mink.

Over a hundred and ninety centimeters tall, she had a slender figure and smooth black hair that fell to her waist, like a sprite in the night.

Her eyes were like deep violet pools, profound and mysterious, with a white crescent-shaped marking at the corner of her eye.

She wore a lightweight purple stealth outfit and carried a pitch-black long blade on her back.

Lilith walked sheepishly up to Yingyue and mumbled, "Sister Yingyue, I forgot to come to training yesterday because I was saving Kakarot."

She then explained everything that had happened in detail.

Upon hearing this, Yingyue turned her gaze toward Kakarot. A flash of excitement instantly crossed her violet eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.

Ahhh! What an adorable little boy! I want to hug him so badly! Yingyue remained outwardly composed while inwardly screaming.

Kakarot keenly caught that detail, and a sense of foreboding immediately rose within him.

"Lilith, I'll come to your house tonight to punish you," Yingyue said in a cool, utterly unruffled voice.

At those words, Lilith wilted like a frostbitten plant. Her already drooping ears sank even lower, and her dejection was written all over her face.

Suddenly, Lilith's eyes lit up as a thought struck her:

Wahaha! Sister Yingyue must like Kakarot too. He's so good-looking! Finally, I won't be the only one getting squeezed and squished!

"As for you, you can join the reserve squad if you want. Once everyone arrives, you can join if you pass the test," Yingyue told Kakarot without a trace of emotion.

A little while later, the reserve squad's members began arriving one after another.

Among them was Vian, a ten-year-old white cat mink girl. She looked like a girl with white fur and cat ears, and was very cute.

She looked a little like Lilith, only less wild and restless, but her lively eyes, one blue and one red, gave her a mischievous air.

Simba, a ten-year-old lion mink boy, was a fully furred mink who looked like a little humanoid lion. He was straightforward and proud.

Ailik, a bison mink boy, was also fully furred.

When he arrived, however, even Kakarot was a little surprised. At just ten years old, he already stood a towering hundred and seventy centimeters tall and was extremely sturdily built.

Noticing Kakarot's confusion, Lilith said, "Ailik was born incredibly strong, and his bloodline shows some ancestral traits. He's eaten a lot and grown fast since he was little, but he's very honest and good-natured."

Kakarot nodded. Even ordinary humans in the world of One Piece could reach six or seven meters tall, so it was hardly strange for minks to do so.

Yet Kakarot's doubts grew stronger. Since yesterday, numerous characters who had never appeared in the original story had shown up.

With their strength, they should have appeared when Luffy and the others reached Zou in the original story, but they had not. Could some major upheaval happen after Zou?

Kakarot inwardly grew wary and silently resolved to work hard to become stronger, guarding against unknown dangers.

Just then, a voice from the sky interrupted his thoughts.

"Sorry I'm late." The speaker was an Eagle Mink Tribe girl who looked extremely similar to Iris.

"She's Emily, Sister Iris's younger sister. She's ten this year," Lilith introduced her to Kakarot.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Lilith instantly became spirited. Planting her hands on her hips, she called out with an air of importance:

"Hmph! Hurry over and pay your respects to Boss Lilith, you lot!" Her manner was full of childish innocence.

Vian and Emily immediately snuggled up to her affectionately, saying in bright voices, "Karuchu! Good morning, Sister Lilith!"

Ailik strode over with a good-natured smile on his face. "Good morning, Boss!"

Not to be outdone, Simba also called loudly, "Boss!"

"All right, since everyone's here, come over. I have something to tell you," Yingyue ordered, her expression serious.

"We may have a new member today, Saiya Kakarot. Lilith missed training yesterday because she was saving him." Yingyue informed everyone of the situation.

"Are you the person my sister mentioned yesterday?" Emily asked curiously.

"Yes!" Kakarot answered with a friendly smile.

Then Kakarot stood beside Yingyue, faced everyone, and said clearly, "Hello, everyone. My name is Kakarot. I look forward to getting along with you all."

As soon as he finished, everyone cheered happily, warmly welcoming their new companion.

Yingyue clapped her hands to signal for quiet and said, "Quiet down, everyone. Since we're testing a new member today,

our squad has also been established for a month now, so once Kakarot finishes his test, we'll hold a sparring competition.

Whoever is strongest can replace Lilith as the new captain, and the next competition won't be until a year from now."

Hearing this, everyone grew excited, fighting spirit flaring in their eyes.

"I'm definitely still the strongest. I've beaten every one of you," Lilith said confidently, holding her head high.

"Not necessarily! I've been training hard this month. I'm definitely going to beat you!" Simba retorted defiantly.

Vian and Emily cheered from the side too. "Lilith, show Simba what you're made of!"

Ailik simply wore a good-natured grin, seemingly unconcerned about the competition.

Kakarot joined in the fun. "Don't get too smug, Lilith. Once I beat you, you'll have to call me big brother!"

"Hmph! Just you wait. I'm really strong," Lilith replied, refusing to back down.

"All right, take a break first. We might as well test everyone in a little while!" Yingyue instructed at the appropriate moment.