As the sky dimly lightened, the three of them arrived at the Native Great Forest in the southwest.
"Ugh..."
Sitting on the Flying Nimbus and nodding off, Goku rubbed his eyes. "That's—" He instantly woke up after seeing the shadow of a tall tower standing between heaven and earth.
As for the cold wind that blew all night, with his Saiyan physique, it wasn't a problem at all.
"We're here!"
Tien Shinhan, who was piloting the plane, also perked up.
Beside him, Yamiru, who had been napping in the co-pilot's seat, opened his eyes.
"Wow, such a tall tower!"
Goku stood on the Flying Nimbus, shading his eyes with his hand, leaning back, but even with his Saiyan vision, he couldn't see the top of the tower.
Though Goku had traveled the world in previous years, he had never been to this place. Firstly, the great forest was too remote, and secondly, whenever he passed a dojo, he would often end up sparring with the dojo's martial artist for a few days or even months. He liked to lend a hand when he saw injustice, and had even helped a small king defeat a nest of so-called demons from the demon world... Plus, Earth was large, and Master Roshi and Gohan never specifically mentioned this place. Goku, who was rather casual about traveling and training, had never seen this towering structure.
It seemed that Yamiru had made great progress in martial arts here, which made Goku even more excited.
Tien Shinhan piloted the plane, descending together with the Flying Nimbus toward the Korin Tower.
At the base of the tower, a large tent with an Indian style stood. From it emerged a muscular man like an iron tower and a small boy perched on his shoulder. The boy had his hair Boraided and a colorful feather sticking out of his head, curiously watching the three people descending from the golden clouds and the plane.
"Are you... Yamiru?" The muscular man recognized him. Anyone capable of reaching the Korin Tower and jumping down directly left a strong impression.
Yamiru greeted him. "Hey, Bora. Is this your son?"
Tien Shinhan retracted the plane capsule and was observing the towering Korin Tower along with Goku. Standing nearby, he could truly feel the grandeur of the structure.
"Yes," the muscular man, Bora, placed the little boy on the ground. "Upa, this is the warrior I told you about. His name is Yamiru."
Upa, a bit shy, said, "Hello", and hid behind his father's pant leg.
...
After a brief exchange and catching up, Yamiru and the others prepared to ascend the tower.
After a couple of words with Tien Shinhan and Goku, Yamiru took the lead.
He leaped into the air, covering a distance of one or two hundred meters, just like a rocket taking off.
Once the momentum slowed, he didn't use flight techniques but grabbed hold of the stone steps of the Korin Tower, which were like bamboo joints, using the leverage to fly up like a light bird once again.
At the base, Goku and Tien Shinhan exchanged a glance, nodded, and then jumped simultaneously.
Tien Shinhan jumped over a hundred meters high and landed on the tower. He tried to use the same technique as Yamiru to leap with the leverage, but after a few tries, he felt his stamina draining rapidly. He had no choice but to climb the tower using his hands and feet.
Meanwhile, Goku, like a rocket, was still flying.
He jumped from the ground and nearly caught up with Yamiru, who had already climbed a considerable distance, covering a distance of three or four hundred meters.
"I still can't see the top."
As he began to slow down in mid-air, Goku looked up, seeing that the tower's body curved like an arc, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see the top...
"Hey!" He landed on the tower and thought, "No talking, just climbing!"
Using his hands and feet, Goku quickly shot upward.
Tien Shinhan below had a much tougher time.
Among the three, his martial arts skills were the weakest. His martial arts realm was probably the lowest, and this was his first time climbing the Korin Tower... According to Korin, this tower, built by the first generation of Earth's Kami, had a special barrier that would especially "care for" first-time challengers. When Yamiru first climbed the tower, he nearly lost his life. Tien Shinhan's martial arts were stronger than Yamiru's at that time, but only by a little, so the climb was extremely difficult.
As for the two above...
In the tower's hall, Korin watched the climbers below and couldn't help but feel speechless.
Yamiru had already climbed quickly, but Goku, who was also climbing for the first time, was climbing with such vigor. How was he about to overtake Yamiru?
"Go, Yamiru! Don't let Goku pass you! Otherwise, is this Korin Tower going to lose face?" Korin silently cheered for Yamiru.
...
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two figures jumped up and entered the tower hall.
A certain chubby person, who had been napping in the hall, jumped up in shock. "Who is it? Robbing me? I don't have any money!"
Wait, how could there be a robbery here...
Yajirobe focused his eyes and was surprised to see that it was Yamiru and Goku. He recognized the two, especially Yamiru, who had tricked him into coming to this hellish place.
"Yo, you really came here," Yamiru greeted the little fat guy.
"You still dare to speak!" Yajirobe was full of complaints, "Back then, you made this place sound like a paradise, and what do we get? Just a crazy old cat and some disgusting fried beans..."
Before he could finish, Korin, who had walked over, jumped up and knocked him on the head with a stick. "You little fatso, talking bad about this sage behind my back, huh?"
Yajirobe covered his head, hopping around and cursing, "It hurts! You lazy cat! Old cat!"
"How are you any better?!" Korin retorted.
Yamiru watched the scene with amusement, noticing that this little fat guy seemed to bring out a little more humanity in the old cat.
"So, you're the sage Yamiru spoke of?" Goku asked curiously, eyeing the old white cat. "We..."
Unexpectedly, Korin looked at him for a moment, then nodded, saying, "I see, I see... So you're here to undergo the same training as Yamiru and climb the Korin Tower."
"Eh?" Goku was startled. "I haven't even said anything yet!"
Korin scoffed, "Idiot, I'm an sage! Of course I can see what's in your little head."
"Oh," Goku accepted this explanation.
Tsk, the little fat guy muttered to himself, watching from the side. This old cat was clearly eavesdropping from the water tank below, and now it was pretending to be wise in front of a kid!
Thus, Korin, with a staff in hand, began Goku's training.
As for Tien Shinhan... he was still below, climbing the tower under the starry sky.
Goku and Korin had been sparring both physically and mentally for most of the day. He found that the old cat's moves were even more elusive than Yamiru's during the martial arts tournament, completely unpredictable.
This sparked Goku's competitive spirit. Just as he was about to unleash all his speed to defeat Korin, Yamiru, who was nearby, reminded him to control his strength to match that of Korin, otherwise, he might miss the core of the training. After all, Korin's trial wasn't about getting the water jug but about the process itself.
Crushing Korin with strength alone would only prove that Goku was stronger, but it would have no real meaning.
Goku didn't fully understand, but he was willing to listen to Yamiru.
Both Yamiru and Korin thought: Actually, for Goku, who hadn't yet mastered ki, this attempt to control his own power would help his training in ki.
As night fell, Goku lay on the ground, fast asleep.
Yamiru sat on the railing, quietly gazing at the night sky.
"You've truly come out of the mundane world below," Korin quietly walked up beside him. "This time, your body, your thoughts, there are no unnecessary movements."
Yamiru looked at him.
Korin continued, "Your eyes are much clearer now than they were before."
"It's been nearly eight or nine years since I first came to the Korin Tower. I should have made some progress by now," Yamiru smiled.
"This is no 'small' progress," Korin corrected him. "Most martial artists in this world could never reach your current level, even if they were physically stronger than you. I'm very certain of that."
Yamiru smiled, "You didn't praise me like this back then."
Korin scratched his beard. "Alright, I take that back. You're actually just average."
After chatting for a while, Yamiru suddenly said, "I once asked a fortune-teller to help me, and she pointed out that my path lies at the Mount Five Elements. Do you know anything about it?"