Kakarot? Tien was surprised. This wasn't the first time he had heard this name, but he had never actually seen anyone by that name. Krillin mentioned it, Goku brought it up, and now Master Taro said it too—who exactly was this person?
Soon, a stream of green data began to gather behind Goku.
Tien, Chiaotzu, and Krillin looked over and saw a figure behind Goku who was exactly the same height, build, and appearance as him—even the tail behind him was identical.
"This…" Tien's face showed shock.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Goku scratched his head. In the Virtual Earth Network, although everyone's body was a simulation of the "ki" energy from the outside world, they couldn't perceive each other as in reality, so Goku didn't notice Kakarot appearing behind him.
Krillin tugged at Goku, and when Goku turned his head, he immediately saw Kakarot behind him.
He laughed and said, "Oh, you're here too!"
Slap. Kakarot swatted away Goku's reaching hand, but Goku wasn't bothered and just chuckled, scratching his face with a little frustration: "You're still so hard to get along with…"
Kakarot ignored the idiot and stared straight ahead.
Goku stepped aside.
Taro was also watching Kakarot. This little monkey who looked exactly like Goku had a gloomy, menacing aura—not an act, but his true nature… This made Taro recall the Saiyan he once saw in a parallel world whose personality had drastically changed. Compared to that child, they should have been exactly the same but there were subtle differences.
Then Taro said, "Jarvis, change him into that battle suit."
Jarvis didn't respond with words but immediately changed Kakarot's clothes as Taro ordered. A stream of green data light flowed over him, and in the blink of an eye, he was dressed in a black bodysuit with white gloves, boots, and battle armor similar to Vegeta's outfit from the Android Saga in the original manga.
Kakarot glanced at his outfit. He recognized it—it was a scene from the educational program inside the spaceship on his way from Planet Vegeta to Earth… but the memory was vague and distant.
"Why did you call me here?" Kakarot asked, lowering his head slightly and staring straight at Taro with a stiff tone.
"Is that how you talk to me?" Taro narrowed his eyes, snorted coldly, his voice rippling toward Kakarot like a shockwave.
Kakarot's simulated body trembled. He clenched his fists, curled his lips, didn't answer, but also stopped looking Taro in the eyes.
Tien glanced between Taro and Kakarot, confused by what was happening.
"Goku, you have two personalities in your consciousness. If you use the Virtual Earth Network without restraint, it will put too much strain on your brain and spirit… The brain is fine; Jarvis will help ease fatigue through the necklace. But Kakarot's activity in the Virtual Earth Network will pressure your spirit…" Taro ignored Kakarot and said this directly to Goku.
Goku immediately said, "Really? No wonder I've been feeling a little tired lately…"
Taro looked at Krillin, Tien, and Chiaotzu and asked, "Have you all started training in Muken yet?"
Krillin and Chiaotzu nodded. Tien said, "I'm ashamed—my junior nephew just started practicing in the Muten Tower, progress is slow!" This was a conclusion he guessed by comparing himself to Goku and Krillin.
Goku smiled, "Yeah, Muken is pretty interesting!"
Kakarot scoffed but didn't answer. He glanced secretly at Taro and saw the old man watching him with narrowed eyes and a dangerous aura. Kakarot quickly withdrew his gaze, feeling very uneasy.
"Muken requires great spiritual willpower from its practitioners. The higher you go, the stronger your spirit needs to be, or you won't be able to use it anytime during battle… So, I will teach you a method to nurture and strengthen your spirit. Practice it well, every night before sleep for a little while. Don't slack off," Taro said slowly.
"There's something like that?" Krillin was surprised. Goku and the others looked up at Taro at the same time.
Kakarot couldn't help but look up too, since he was also practicing in the Muten Tower… and since he couldn't use his physical body, he spent even more time there than Goku, so he naturally paid more attention to this.
As they looked up, their minds entered an illusion. They saw multiple images of Taro overlapping like layers of illusions, with waves of energy flowing outward. In front of Tien, Krillin, Goku, Chiaotzu, and Kakarot, it was like they were seeing a series of pictures while Taro's voice echoed in their ears.
"Remember these waves well, and meditate on them daily; this will nurture and strengthen your spirit…"
This wasn't the meditation method originally taught to him by the Holy Master Ivan — that spiritual path directly leading to divinity. Taro himself felt he had no right to casually pass it on to others. With Holy Mage Ivan deceased, there was no way to get his consent.
In other words, Taro now possessed a treasure he himself no longer needed much, but the only way to unlock it was through the method solemnly passed down to him by others... Therefore, unless he could one day create a spiritual "path to divinity" equal to or better than Ivan's meditation technique, he would never teach it to outsiders.
That was Taro's own restraint.
What he passed on to Goku and the others was a spiritual method he created himself, based on years of meditative experience combined with centuries of refining spirit through martial arts — martial artists also had their own ways to cultivate mental willpower, just like Taro had explored before receiving Ivan's teachings. This was the same method he had taught to Gohan back then.
The deep spiritual world activity ended in an instant.
Goku, Krillin, Tien, Chiaotzu, and Kakarot suddenly snapped back to reality. In that illusion, it had felt as if they'd experienced a thousand years, yet the spiritual meditation waves had deeply imprinted in their minds.
Tien was shocked. The various mystical powers of Master Taro truly exceeded his imagination again and again.
But Goku and Krillin were already used to it, and even Kakarot was unfazed. If he hadn't deeply known how terrifying this old man Taro was, he would have long tried to eliminate Goku's consciousness and seize control of the body... But he knew that as long as Taro existed, he couldn't dare do anything to displease him.
Unlike Goku, Krillin, Tien, Chiaotzu, or even Piccolo...
From the moment Kakarot was born, he had already felt the shadow cast by Taro. More than any of these others, he deeply understood how powerful Taro was... powerful to the point of being unstoppable!
While Kakarot bowed his head, pondering something, Krillin and the others began asking Taro questions, seeking solutions to their training problems — this was the real business of the day. Taro patiently answered, not only with words but also by physically guiding them. Especially for Goku, hands-on teaching was far more effective than talking.
"Master, I feel like I'm getting used to the weight of the clothes. Can you make it heavier?" Krillin asked.
"Yeah, mine too!" Goku said, rubbing the back of his head. "I've been training with this weight for a long time now!"
Tien glanced at Goku with a complicated expression — 600 kilograms… and still wanting to add more? He hesitated, feeling he wasn't quite ready to ignore that 600 kg burden yet, so he kept quiet.
Taro nodded and waved his hand, sending out a spiritual wave. Instantly, a set of hand gestures entered Goku and the others' consciousness. He said, "Remember these. With this set of mudras, you can control your wristbands to adjust the weight of your clothes."
"Haha, this makes things much easier!" Goku was very pleased.
Tien silently resolved to catch up with Goku's pace as soon as possible... Kakarot didn't feel much — as long as Goku was practicing, it was fine since they shared the same body.
After about another hour of exchange, Goku and the others disappeared from the virtual Earth network.