"Eat them all? You must be joking!" Korin was examining the big and small fish Hathaway had brought over, turning them this way and that. When he heard what Taro said, he looked utterly stunned. "Just one Senzu Bean can keep someone full for ten days! How could he possibly eat them all?!"
"I've analyzed it," Hathaway said, brushing a strand of hair aside. "The reason a Senzu Bean keeps you from feeling hungry for ten days is because it provides sustained energy from the stomach, generating a feeling of fullness. In theory… if someone can truly ignore that sense of fullness, they can keep eating Senzu Beans indefinitely without dying."
"That's…" Korin was dumbfounded. He'd lived a long time, but he'd never seen anything like that. He ran to the edge of the tower's sanctuary. "Are you saying that little fatty… even when he's already stuffed, he keeps scarfing down Senzu Beans like his life depends on it?"
"Best not to try it." Taro chuckled, then pulled out a device identical to the one Krillin had given to Tien. "Also, this… Master Korin, if that little fatty manages to climb up here with Goku and the others, please give this to him."
"A Virtual Earth Network connector?" Korin hooked the device with his staff and brought it to eye level, inspecting it for a moment. "This is a special model, isn't it?"
"You know about this too, Master Korin?" Hathaway asked with a smile.
"Heh…" Korin stroked his beard proudly. "That Virtual Earth Network you guys made is pretty interesting, especially the virtual games in it—I quite enjoy them…" He coughed and looked toward Taro. "Aren't you staying to see them?"
If Taro was entrusting something to him, that obviously meant he was about to leave.
"No point. It's finally quiet for once." Taro shook his head, and soon, he and Hathaway vanished from the sanctuary of the Korin Tower.
"Unbelievable!" Korin sensed their ki had already vanished from Earth… not surprising, really. For over a century, Taro had often taken Hathaway off-world. Even earlier than that, he used to take Tam and Ninn to other planets for a break.
---
"Uncle, have you seen this kind of orb before?"
Below the Korin Tower, after finishing a big meal, Goku patted his stomach in satisfaction. Then he pulled out a Dragon Ball and asked Upa's father.
Upa's father took the Four-Star Ball, examined it for a while, then shook his head and returned it to Goku. "I haven't seen it before…" Upa, at his father's feet, marveled at the gem's beauty, while Yajirobe, toothpicking fish bits from between his teeth with a bamboo skewer, glanced sideways at the ball in Goku's hand.
That night… this guy had said something like, "I just happen to be collecting Dragon Balls," right? Yajirobe narrowed his chubby little eyes in thought, pondering what these so-called Dragon Balls actually were… From the look of it, there were quite a few of them.
"Beep beep!"
Krillin grabbed the radar off Goku, pressed a button, and Tien and Chiaotzu also looked over. Krillin pressed a couple more times—beep beep—and the screen zoomed in… The Dragon Ball signal was definitely at the location of Korin Tower, perfectly overlapping.
Chiaotzu floated mid-air, looked up, and said, "Is it at the top of Korin Tower…?"
"We have to climb anyway. Let's go up and check it out!" Goku said with a big grin. Full and recharged, he felt brimming with energy. The others nodded in agreement, though Krillin scratched his head and muttered, "Crap, I just increased my weights the other day…" He looked up at the Korin Tower that pierced the clouds with no visible top and grimaced a little.
Yajirobe, not feeling like part of this group, quietly packed up his twin swords, tightened his belt, and headed toward the tower.
Tien, Krillin, and Chiaotzu followed behind, and Goku brought up the rear, curiously asking Upa's father, "Uncle, Upa said you can't climb the Korin Tower. Is that true? You look really strong to me!"
Upa's father smiled gently, his expression calm. "When I was young, I climbed it once… But after that, I left the big forest and received guidance from Muten Roshi and Mr. Gohan. It's rather shameful—after all these years, I still haven't fully grasped what they taught me. So I never considered climbing the tower again…"
"I see!" Goku laughed cheerfully. "Then I'm off. See you, Uncle!"
With a wave, he jogged to catch up with Krillin and the others. Yajirobe was in the lead, followed by Tien, Chiaotzu, and Krillin—all of them were already hanging from the side of Korin Tower in a line. Goku leaped up and grabbed onto the bottom.
"What a strange person, Papa…" Upa said in awe.
Upa's father was gazing upward too. In just a short while, those young men had already climbed very high. He smiled. "Such vibrant, energetic young souls… Goku, huh? He truly is Gohan's grandson."
---
"Huff… huff…" After climbing for a full two hours, Yajirobe was utterly exhausted, gasping heavily, his sweat pouring down like rain. Clinging to the tower with hands and feet, he tried to take a quick break.
Right behind him, Tien sighed helplessly; this was already the third time this guy had stopped.
Looking down, surrounded by white clouds, the towering column they were climbing appeared curved like an arc from here. Below, the forest was a lush green patchwork, already quite small from this height.
"Chiaotzu," he called out. The two of them immediately left the tower and used their Flight Technique, soaring upward along the tower's side, bypassing the resting Yajirobe halfway up, then landing on the tower section above him to continue climbing.
Yajirobe, panting, stared at Tien and Chiaotzu's feet and muttered with a snort, "They can fly… hahaha… huff… they can fly, why not just fly up?! …huff… so why the heck climb? …huff…"
"Hey, are you even going to keep climbing or not?" Krillin shouted from below, urging him.
Damn it! Gritting his teeth, Yajirobe kept climbing.
Krillin sighed, but Yajirobe's pauses gave him a chance to rest as well. After all, he had only recently increased his load and was still adapting. After climbing such a tall tower for so long, he was quite tired.
Goku was the most relaxed among them, especially now hanging at the very bottom of the group. His climbing speed was well within his capability, so he was leisurely and unhurried, casually following behind, occasionally gazing at the distant scenery.
Looking far from a height, the earth around curved in arcs, vast and expansive, breathtakingly beautiful, captivating Goku's attention.
---
After Yajirobe was caught by Goku the third time and thus prevented from falling off the tower to his death, everyone finally entered the tower chamber at the top of Korin Tower.
Goku and Yajirobe were the last to arrive, close to noon the next day. Tien and Chiaotzu had already entered the night before, and Krillin had come in during the early morning. Looking down below, besides the vast sea of clouds, only a faint patch of forest was visible.
Yajirobe was thrown inside by Goku like a rolling meatball, gasping wildly as he lay on the floor drenched in sweat, his limbs swollen and trembling slightly, unconscious.
If not for Goku, he would have fallen off long ago and shattered to pieces. This was due to his near exhaustion from a wild chase after the Red Ribbon Army helicopter over two weeks earlier. The difficult journey to Korin Tower had taken a heavy toll on his physical state.
Right behind him, Goku flipped effortlessly and jumped in.
"If it weren't for that little fatty, Goku, you would have been the first to climb up!" Krillin joked.
Goku just chuckled softly, not bothered.
The Cat Hermit, leaning on his staff, just like when Tien, Chiaotzu, and Krillin arrived, tossed Goku a Senzu Bean. Goku took it, recognizing it immediately, and bit down with a crisp snap.
His stamina restored, Goku swung his arms and said, "Whew... much better, feeling a lot lighter!"
"You're carrying way too much weight! Already at 1,000 kilograms — one ton! That's way too heavy!" Krillin muttered in disbelief. They had only been traveling for about half a year, and Goku had crazily pushed his load capacity to 1,000 kilograms — terrifying, only possible because of his Saiyan physique.
The Cat Hermit examined Goku closely — this grandson of Gohan, Taro's highly regarded disciple — while Goku looked back at him, calm and innocent. The Cat Hermit smiled and said, "As expected, truly an outstanding martial arts prodigy..."
Not only physically, but more importantly, spiritually. This child's heart was like a flawless, pure crystal.