"CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA~"
Kurama hummed a cheerful tune as he sprawled out on a soft cushion, lying on his back with all four legs in the air. From time to time, his paw scratched lazily at the tuft of fur on his chest. With a bottle of soda in one hand, he gazed at the figures sparring on the training ground not far away, his mood as bright as could be.
It was true—when joy comes, even the spirit feels refreshed.
Why was Kurama so happy today?
First, because no one was pestering him to train, so he could finally relax in peace. And second—those two brats who had always gotten on his nerves yet whom he could do nothing about… had finally been beaten up.
"Hahahaha! You two little punks, finally got what was coming to you!"
"The Sage of Six Paths really does have eyes! Serves you right!"
Kurama pointed gleefully at Naruto and Little Goku, who had been dragged out by Kakarot to test their strength. Both were now battered, bruised, and crouching on the ground with swollen faces. Kurama laughed until his sides hurt.
It was truly a delight for this fox's heart and soul.
At first, it had only been Naruto sparring with Kakarot. But once Little Goku saw the chance to fight—especially against someone as strong as Kakarot—he clamored to join in.
So Kakarot simply let them both come at him. And the result?
Two kids with lumps all over their heads, groaning and grimacing in pain.
With their current strength, there was no way Naruto and Little Goku could be Kakarot's match.
Even though Naruto's power had skyrocketed like a rocket in the years since Kakarot left, it still couldn't compare to Kakarot's dimension-leaping pace of growth.
In just six days, his battle power had soared from over 5,000 to 180,000. Then, after recovering from a severe injury, his base combat power had skyrocketed again—to 3,000,000.
Yes, you read that right. Three. Million. That wasn't leveling up anymore—that was straight-up editing the game's code.
And what did three million mean?
Take Frieza's strongest squad—the Ginyu Force. Burter, who called himself the "fastest in the universe," only had a battle power of 43,000. Captain Ginyu himself only hit 120,000.
And then there was Super Saiyan Kakarot, whose power shot up to 150 million.
How was Naruto, who probably only had a few hundred at best, supposed to compare? He didn't even qualify as a rounding error.
In fact, if Naruto could even reach the fraction of a fraction of that, he'd probably die laughing.
"Hold back two more parts of your strength." Kakarot caught Little Goku's punch effortlessly with one hand. "Like this!"
Naruto and Little Goku quickly scrambled back up. After all, when would they ever get another chance to fight someone this far above them? They attacked together again with all their might.
But with just a casual flick, Kakarot sent them crashing into each other, tumbling across the ground like rolling gourds.
"Death Beam!"
Naruto leapt up, pointing his finger and firing a red beam of energy. This was the same move that had once devastated Grass Village, a technique no one there could resist.
"Oh?" Kakarot was only slightly surprised. He raised a single finger and flicked, casually deflecting the beam. "This one's pretty similar to that trick Frieza likes to use."
"But your control of ki is still lacking. You're wasting a lot of energy."
Of course, Naruto had only imitated Frieza's move from memory. It was bound to be inferior to the original.
"But I think something like Tien's or Tao Pai Pai's techniques would suit you better."
"Like this!"
Kakarot extended one finger. At its tip, a thumb-thick beam of orange-yellow light shot out.
"This one's called the Dodon Ray."
Kakarot had once been able to mimic the Kamehameha after seeing it only once, and he had picked up techniques like the Solar Flare with ease. In theory, he could copy any of the Z Fighters' moves—he just preferred sticking with the Kamehameha.
"Teach me!" Naruto's eyes blazed with determination.
Back when Naruto was younger, Kakarot hadn't taught him much beyond the basics, since he was still laying his foundation. But now things were different—now he could pass on deeper knowledge.
During the sparring, Kakarot carefully and patiently analyzed the flaws in both Naruto's and Little Goku's techniques. He demonstrated personally and let them feel the difference firsthand.
Though admittedly, "firsthand" in this case meant painfully firsthand.
Kakarot had truly mastered the art of "teaching by word and example."
Ask him to sit still and work a desk job, and he'd be miserable. But ask him to raise up future sparring partners? His enthusiasm would shoot through the roof.
Just look at Gohan and Uub (Buu's reincarnation)—both taught by Kakarot himself, and both freakishly talented. Yes, they had the raw potential to begin with, but Kakarot's teaching was undeniably effective.
Good thing Naruto had Kakarot as his teacher, and not Gohan. Just remembering how Gohan tried to explain ki to Videl was enough—he fumbled so much that it was a miracle she even understood anything. Without her natural talent, she never would've gotten it.
Naruto and Little Goku soaked up Kakarot's martial arts knowledge like two thirsty sponges, eager to turn it into their own strength.
Having a good teacher really made all the difference. In just this short spar, Naruto felt he'd learned more about ki than he could have figured out on his own in a month. Especially since ki was already where his talent shone brightest.
"You two are impressive. To have reached this level at your age is no small feat."
Naruto and Little Goku lay sprawled on the ground, exhausted like dead dogs. Kakarot, hands on his hips, stood above them as fresh as ever. To him, this hadn't even been a warm-up—it had only been a way to gauge their abilities.
He first praised their current strength.
Then, scratching his head and grinning at Little Goku, he said, "Oh right—you're me, aren't you? I totally forgot, hahaha! But you're a bit stronger than I was back then."
After all, Little Goku hadn't been slacking either—he'd been sparring regularly with Kurama. Though mostly he just got pummeled, it had toughened him up a bit.
Kakarot's smile faded, and he grew serious again. "Still, there are a lot of details you both need to polish. With some training, you can get much stronger."
By the Android Saga, Kakarot might not have reached the ultimate grandmaster level he would later in Z's finale, but even then he already carried the air of a true martial arts master.
Just from this one lesson, Naruto felt his grasp and control of ki had grown leaps and bounds. He couldn't wait to see what else he could learn from Kakarot.
He swore to himself—
I'll squeeze him dry. I'll take every drop of his knowledge.
"For your next training," Kakarot continued, holding up two fingers, "you'll work on filling in those gaps. That way, your strength can rise to the next level."
"And ultimately, you must reach this state—"
"Your heart as calm as the sky… and your fist as swift as lightning."