Night had fallen, and the city lights had begun to glow. Everything was quiet.
Chi-Chi lived in a small house on the outskirts of East City. The Ox-King had poured most of the money he'd earned in the southern town into this home—housing prices in East City were exorbitant. It had already been like this back when it was just one of the five major cities in the world, but ever since it became one of the five main regions of the World Martial Arts Tournament, prices had only soared.
Now, in all five regional cities, property prices revolved around two centers: one was the pure business and trade district—when the Ox-King first arrived with Chi-Chi, he had nearly passed out from the shock—and the other centered around the martial arts tournament venue, with prices decreasing the further one got from it.
From this, it was easy to see how absurdly wealthy the Brief family must be to own such an enormous estate in West City.
By comparison, Chi-Chi's home was clearly modest.
But even so, the girl named Chi-Chi wanted to change all that through her own efforts! Martial artists were in high demand now. All sectors welcomed elite martial artists as protectors. At the very least, with some achievements under her belt, one could open a dojo and live comfortably.
With her current credentials as the runner-up of the East City Division of the World Martial Arts Tournament, Chi-Chi already qualified to open her own school.
To achieve that in just four years of martial arts training—Chi-Chi's talent and dedication were beyond impressive.
But… it still wasn't enough.
That thought lingered in Chi-Chi's mind as she returned to her room. It wasn't decorated like a typical girl's—no floral curtains or cozy, pastel comforts. Her room was simple: a bed, a desk with a chair, an iron dummy post, a heavy sandbag, and a stack of books piled on the desk. Under the desk lamp, a thick book lay open, covered in neat, delicate handwriting…
Before she started training in martial arts, Chi-Chi had actually dreamed of studying her way into a big city, hoping to change her family's fate. She wanted to let her father live more comfortably, instead of running a tiny diner in the southern town, waking up before dawn and working into the night. It was just too hard.
So, even ten years ago, when Chi-Chi first saw Goku on television, her ambitions never wavered.
After all, idols on TV felt like distant stars—Chi-Chi never imagined her life would ever intersect with the dazzling Son Goku.
But everything changed the moment she actually met "Goku."
That night, he saved her from despair, just when she was silently praying for a hero to appear.
He was nothing like she imagined—but that only made Chi-Chi feel like she had truly seen the real him. That was the true Son Goku! So, when he left without a word that night, not even stopping to say goodbye, Chi-Chi felt a surge of determination like never before:
I want to train!
I want to become strong!
I want… to get closer to him!
Then one day, I'll stand before him… and then… and then…
Chi-Chi took a deep breath, her cheeks slightly warm. She walked to her desk and picked up the wrist-mounted login device—Babata. Technology had evolved since the early days when the Virtual Earth Network used pods and helmets. Now, all login functions had been integrated into devices like Babata.
She strapped it on her wrist and quietly flipped open her book.
Babata had features to improve focus and learning efficiency, but they required martial arts points to activate.
Chi-Chi never hesitated to invest in her self-improvement. Just like in the original story, she was never stingy about spending on her child's education—or even on her husband's lavish meals. No matter how tough life got, she always gave them the best.
After studying with full concentration for an hour, Chi-Chi lay down on her bed, tapped the Babata twice, and her consciousness instantly sank inward…
When she logged into the Martial City of the Virtual Earth Network, she immediately headed toward the Muten Tower.
Along the way, many people greeted her.
As one of the rare female fighters to make it to the global finals of the World Martial Arts Tournament and compete in Sayua City, Chi-Chi had gained significant popularity. Among female fans, she was just as adored as Goku, Krillin, and Tien. Thanks to her good looks, her popularity among male fans wasn't lacking either.
When her background was dug into more deeply, the buzz only grew.
She had no famous master, yet after four years of training on her own, she'd broken into the global finals of the most prestigious tournament in the world. And she was just a girl. It was remarkable.
Of course, some argued it was only because the East City Division lacked star competitors that year.
Krillin, Tien, and Piccolo had tactfully chosen to compete in different divisions—something strong contenders often did. But this year, East City had surprisingly few top-tier fighters. Take Yajirobe, the champion of South City—many believed he far outclassed all three finalists from East City.
If Chi-Chi hadn't burst onto the scene and won over public support, then Mr. Satan, the champion of East City, would've faced even greater scrutiny.
—So now, whenever Chi-Chi walked through the Martial City in the Virtual Earth Network, people constantly approached her. On her way to the Muten Tower, she received countless looks of admiration, warmth, and respect.
She felt a bit nervous as she entered the Muten Tower.
But the moment she stepped onto the second floor, Chi-Chi sensed something was off… In front of the Martial Monument, a crowd had gathered, murmuring excitedly about something. Chi-Chi's brows furrowed. Amid the vague murmurs, she caught keywords like "Son Goku" and "Krillin."
Goku!
Chi-Chi's heart skipped a beat. Before her mind could even catch up, her fingers were already moving swiftly, pulling up her interface and navigating to the Muten Tower section. A schematic of the fifty-floor tower appeared, filled with glittering lights on the first few floors.
Her eyes darted upward. She scanned the sixth floor—no sign of Goku.
She kept going.
On the seventh floor, at the very top—the tenth sublevel of that floor, right on the edge of breaking through to the eighth—there it was: a shining dot. Someone was attempting the trial of the Eightfold Muken on the seventh floor's final level.
"It's Goku!" Chi-Chi instinctively covered her mouth, barely stopping herself from bursting into tears.
How many years had it been since she last heard anything about Goku?
Even after entering the Virtual Earth Network, she'd heard that Goku and Krillin had been completely absent for two whole years. And now, they were finally back!
"The tenth level of the seventh floor… Can he break through?"
"That's going to take an eightfold Muken to break through—it's not that easy, is it?"
"Son Goku hasn't shown himself in two years, and now that he's back, he went straight from the sixth floor to the seventh like a hot knife through butter, tearing his way to the end of the seventh floor… But to say he can go beyond that, to the eighth floor? That's really pushing it, isn't it?"
Inside the second floor, people were buzzing with discussion.
Of course, it wasn't just those on the second floor—people on the first floor, and even a few veterans from the third floor and above were watching Son Goku's progress closely.
Most agreed: Son Goku might be the only person who could catch up to Son Gohan's record in the Muten Tower.
And just as Chi-Chi stood there, dazed, Son Goku's glowing marker suddenly flashed!
The next moment, it was already on the eighth floor!
Everyone watching instantly erupted—
"Holy crap, the eighth floor? For real?!"
"Incredible!"
"I'm speechless. This guy Son Goku—he's not even human!"
It wasn't just the members of the martial arts associations in the Muten capital—like mentioned earlier, even ordinary citizens across the nine main cities on the surface could track publicly available data on the tower challengers… mostly so fans of famous martial artists could follow their idols, which also helped to promote martial arts and build hype. The Virtual Earth Network Company was more than happy to encourage this.
"He's still not giving up? Oh my god, he's going for more?"
"He cleared it! First level of the eighth floor! Damn, that's 8.1x! Who the hell can even fight him anymore?!"
"Too bad we don't know Son Goku's base power level—he never made it public… 8.1x, it's hard to even imagine. If he goes all out, just how powerful will he be?"
"Most of the older generation experts nowadays are in the 200 to 300 range. So Son Goku might be over 300? 300 times 8.1… sheesh… that's around 2400!!"
"****, I wasn't ready for that math. That's terrifying!!"
"Did y'all forget? That freak Son Goku only gets stronger the more he fights!"
"Yeah, in the last World Martial Arts Tournament, this guy kept getting stronger as the match went on—scared the hell out of everyone!"
"Stronger than this? Isn't 2400 enough? Man, this year's tournament contestants should be thanking their lucky stars he's not competing anymore..."
"Right? If he did, how would anyone else even stand a chance?"
"But… don't forget—the first 'Muten Tournament' is coming soon in the Virtual Earth Network, right? He's definitely going to be in that!"
"..."
"…Come on, can we not bring up stuff like that?!"
Some people were genuinely frustrated, feeling totally crushed… Compared to monsters like Son Goku, they just felt powerless. The Muten Tower was supposed to be insanely difficult, and yet guys like him made it look easy. Naturally, many started thinking about the Muten Roshi.
"Man, must be nice—they've got guidance from Muten Roshi!"
"Yeah, Master Son Gohan himself studied under a Muten Master… Aaaahhh, if only I could be taken in by one too, just once! I wouldn't still be stuck on the second floor for five or six years without a breakthrough!"
"Get real. You're lazy as hell—don't even train unless someone drags you. You think the Muten Roshi would take you in? You have no idea, do you? Son Goku and the others had to train under those guys way, way harder than we do!" someone scoffed, waving a finger dismissively.
"Oh yeah? What do you mean?" someone asked curiously.
"You remember how, two years ago, before Son Goku vanished, he used to occasionally accept 'guidance requests'?"
"Yeah, yeah, I remember!" someone nodded, then groaned. "I applied too, but never once got accepted!"
The other guy chuckled. "You offered barely any points or virtual currency, man. His virtual assistant probably flagged you as lowest priority. Son Goku gets hundreds of those requests daily—what makes you think he'd even see yours?"
"Quit with the sarcasm—just tell us the rest!" the man snapped.
"Alright, alright. So, two years ago, I actually got through once. Met Son Goku in person. Got trained by him myself…" the man recalled. "He beat me senseless dozens of times, just casually. Then I asked him what training under a Muten Master was really like. What kind of regimen were they doing? Could I mimic it?"
"And? What did he say?" a bunch of people leaned in eagerly.
"What did he say? Honestly, it sounded simple, but doing it is another story altogether." The man sighed, eyes full of longing. "He said he carried a one-ton weight on his back and spent three years walking around the entire Earth on foot—training in every harsh place imaginable."
"Sounds easy, huh? But could you do it?"
"........."
Everyone who heard him fell silent. They all looked at one another, stunned into speechlessness. For a moment, no one could say a word. The whole scene went quiet.
---
"He's out!"
Chi-Chi's heart skipped a beat. Just like she had done these past two years, she instinctively sent a request for guidance—this one, to Son Goku.
Her request this time had five times the standard amount of points. Because she had never once succeeded in the past two years, her points had always been refunded. Every time, she'd tell herself, Let's just imagine this time it works, and without even realizing it, she kept increasing the offering.
Two years later, it had quietly climbed to five times the norm.
Chi-Chi's heart was pounding wildly—hopeful, yet anxious, full of tension. She was terrified of being let down again—she'd already experienced that too many times these past two years… And just as she was lost in the sadness of old memories, a dreamlike notification sound suddenly chimed!
Her slightly robotic assistant announced, "Son Goku has accepted your guidance request. Would you like to enter the 'Guidance Space' now?"
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!"
Chi-Chi nodded frantically, nearly crying. She forced back the tears, and the next second, her assistant transported her directly—
---
In a highly realistic virtual space, Son Goku was already waiting.
"Let me handle this one, okay? I haven't sparred with anyone new in two years—I want to give it a try! You can take the next one, alright?" Goku muttered to himself, wearing a pleading expression that was so innocent it was almost frightening.
Kakarot remained completely unresponsive. He didn't acknowledge him at all, as if he were too ashamed to speak to someone who had so thoroughly disgraced Saiyan pride.
Soon enough, the person Goku was waiting for arrived.
A girl with black hair tied into a single ponytail appeared before him, wearing a snug, short martial outfit. She materialized from streams of green data, and as soon as she appeared, she stood frozen, staring wide-eyed at Goku, unwilling even to blink.
"I already had Jarvis sync my ki level to yours. Come on, let's spar!" Goku said cheerfully, raising his guard and falling into his opening stance. But when he saw the girl standing still, not moving at all, he grew puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Chi-Chi stared at the person in front of her, took a deep breath, and murmured, "No... you're not Goku..."