A/N Man, my updating schedule really is shit. Meh, whatever, I'll get there when I get there. Just so you guys know, I have no set ending or storyline in my mind. I've got some floating ideas, but I'm really just winging it, so if you guys catch something that contradicts something else I said, I apologize and please let me know so I can fix it! Also, sorry this chapter might be a little boring… It's really only filler information for Kakarot's training with Master Roshi leading up to the tournament.
"Speaking English"
"Speaking Saiyan"
'Thinking'
/
It was noon by the time Krillin and Master Roshi woke back up, so they really had to hurry to get their training going. "Let me just turn the house back into its capsule form so we can take it with us, then we'll get going," Roshi explained, pressing a button right next to the porch. Kakarot watched as the Turtle Hermit picked the house capsule up from the ground and put it into a case.
After searching for a few seconds, the old man pulled out a yellow capsule and chucked it towards the sea. A small engine boat appeared and everyone climbed in, letting Roshi take the wheel since he was the only one who knew where they were headed. In seconds, they were jetting across the open ocean, no land for as far as the eye can see.
Luckily, they reached their large island destination before sun down, so Kakarot decided to scope out the island. In a desire to not lose any energy before training, Kakarot hopped on Nimbus and took a slow flight around the island. As he flew, he took everything in and committed it to memory. "Villages, plateaus, a volcano, lakes..." Kakarot mumbled to himself, eyeing the distant ground.
After rounding the island, Kakarot ordered Nimbus to go back to the newly reformed Kame House. Hopping off Nimbus, Kakarot heard Master Roshi say, "There are 300 other residents on this island, so do not be too obnoxious. Also don't- hey Kakarot! How kind of you to join us! Get over here, we're starting training!"
Falling in line with Master Roshi's other pupil, Kakarot listened to what the Old-timer had to say. Launch smiled before cutting in, "I'm going to go make dinner, good luck!" She darted inside, leaving only an ecstatic Kakarot, a smug Krillin, and a bored Master Roshi behind. "Krillin," Roshi began, "Have you any experience with martial arts?" Krillin smirked. "Yes, I studied at Orin Temple for eight years prior to this," Krillin answered with pride.
Roshi nodded lightly. "I see," he announced, "So both of you should have the fundamentals down at the very least. Now then, I think I'll have you show me what you're capable of. Ready?" Roshi moved so he was near a tree about 325 feet (A/N: About 100 meters) away from the two boys. "From that rock, to this tree is about 325 feet . I want you to run as fast as you can, and I'll time how many seconds it takes for you to run it." Krillin chuckled smugly. "I will run first," He announced.
Roshi raised his eyebrows. "Oh? You're quite confident, aren't you?" He questioned. "Yes, I will show you the kind of feet that could even make it to the Olympics," Krillin responded with ease. Roshi let out a breathy chuckle and raised his right arm. "Okay, then let's go! Ready?!" Roshi called as Krillin leaned into a runner's starting position. With a shout, Roshi lowered his arm, signaling Krillin to go. And go he did! As fast as he could, Krillin dashed past Master Roshi.
Once the bald boy passed him, Roshi stopped the timer. "Incredible!" He called out, "10.4 Seconds! This is great!" Krillin made his way back to the old man. "10.4, eh? Well, my personal best is 10.1. But, under the circumstances, I suppose that's about right," Krillin feigned nonchalance. Kakarot, who could hear their conversation as clear as day, shook his head. "Hey! Old-Timer! Can I run now?" Kakarot called, putting an end to Krillin's bragging.
'I get having pride, but don't have so much pride you become arrogant. Such arrogance made King Vegeta the first one to die...' Kakarot thought before shaking his head. "Alright, here goes! Ready?!" Master Roshi complied, repeating the steps he had for Krillin. As he began running, however, Kakarot felt something happen to his shoe. 'Did my shoe just come off? No, it's still on, but why can I feel the ground? Did the bottom come off?' Kakarot pondered and, in his distraction, slowed down.
As he passed Master Roshi, he came to a stop and lifted his foot. The entire top half of the sole of his shoe had come loose! "Hmm, just over 10.7… That's pretty fast, but not fast enough to keep up with Krillin" Master Roshi trailed off. Kakarot slowly made his way back over to the man, but Krillin cut him off. "It's okay man," He reassured, putting his hand on Kakarot's shoulder, "Not everyone gets 10.4 on their first try. You'll get there." Shoving the other boy's hand off, Kakarot turned to Master Roshi.
"Hey, can I change my shoes and then try again?" Kakarot asked honestly. "What's this?" Krillin questioned, moving next to Master Roshi, "Are you going to blame your shoes for the fact that you're slower than me?" Kakarot cast him a glance before lifting up his foot. "Yeah, I am." He deadpanned, "My shoes are all busted up, look." With that, Kakarot peeled back the sole of his shoe, revealing his foot. "Well, I'd hate to get a reading that isn't accurate. Go ahead Kakarot," Roshi conceded.
Rushing inside and grabbing a new pair of sneakers out of his bag, Kakarot flung his old shoes in the trash and ran back outside. Quickly putting on the sneakers and knotting them up tightly, Kakarot shouted, "Alright Old-Timer, I'm ready!" Roshi lifted his head and called back, "Okay, here we go! Ready?!" Like the last two times, the Turtle Hermit swung his hand down with a shout and started the timer. Far faster this time, Kakarot reached him quickly.
Krillin and Master Roshi blinked in disbelief as Kakarot passed them, a gush of wind following not too long after. "Se-7.9!" Master Roshi stuttered. Kakarot raced back over to the other two with a large, goofy grin on his face. "Wh-what kind of training have you been doing!?" Krillin stuttered, looking at Kakarot with wide eyes.
Before Kakarot could answer, though, Master Roshi cut them off. "That was very fast! You two are really something! However, you're still on a human level. For you to become a complete martial artist, you must go beyond the human level. That's where it gets tough. Now, Krillin, measure my time," Roshi instructed, ignoring Kakarot's little snickers.
The old man took off his large turtle shell and moved to the rock that the boys had started at. "I'm ready! Just tell me when to go!" Roshi called. "Okay, ready?!" Krillin called back before swinging his hand in the same motion they'd seen Master Roshi do three times at that point. "How many seconds?" Roshi asked without turning around. Krillin looked down at the stop watch and stuttered, "si-six even."
Kakarot grinned broadly. 'I knew this would be worth it! He says we must surpass the human level, but I'm the only alien here, so it shouldn't be hard to surpass him! I must train harder!' Kakarot thought to himself as he watched Master Roshi put his shell back on. "Kakarot, would you go and fetch a beer for me?" Master Roshi asked, cutting through Kakarot's thoughts. "Sure," Kakarot agreed easily, running inside. He walked through the front door and greeted Launch before making his way to the fridge.
Launch smiled. "What a valiant little helper you a-are-ACHOO!" She got out before a sneeze struck her. Kakarot froze in place, beer in hand, as he watched Launch's hair go from blue to blonde. She blinked twice to regain a sense of familiarity with the environment. "Hey, Kakarot," She greeted, finally seeing the young boy standing in the kitchen. "Hi," Kakarot returned.
Blonde Launch shifted and leaned against the kitchen counter. "You wanna know somethin' I've been wondering? Why'd you tell me about your 'little secret' last time we met? It seems far more personal that what I told you," She reasoned. Kakarot blinked in surprise. "Oh, well I guess I just wanted you to be sure that I was taking you seriously. That and you'd figure out I acted differently when alone with you verses when I'm with others and you. I act human with others, but more Saiyan with you, so I figured you'd want an explanation before something happened in which you were forced to realize it," Kakarot explained.
Launch nodded and turned back to her dish in front of her. "Do you know what the fuck this is?" She asked, staring intently at the pot. "No clue. The other Launch started making it about ten minutes ago," Kakarot answered with a shrug. With a hum, blonde Launch shut off the stove and moved the pan. "I'll deal with it when she gets control again," She explained before tugging open the fridge, grabbing a beer, and chugging it. Kakarot just shook his head and made his way outside.
'You know, the more I think about it, the more I realize that she might be good with Raditz! If he's still alive that is… But yeah! Bushy hair, seemingly fine and then immediately angry, violent… They'd be great for each other! Man, if I find Raditz, I'm going to make sure they get introduced!' Kakarot decided, hopping down the front steps and making his way back over to Master Roshi and Krillin.
/
After many wasted minutes of reassuring Master Roshi that Blonde Launch wasn't in Kame House, they finally got back into training. However, the sun was setting so they didn't have enough light or time to really train. "Take a good look at this rock… Have you seen it? Good," Master Roshi stated, showing them a rock with the word "turtle" painted on it and then chucking it into a forest. "Is this a test of throwing rocks..?" Krillin asked, turning to face Roshi after watching the rock disappear through the trees.
The Turtle Hermit shook his head. "This is not a test of throwing rocks. This is a test of finding rocks." He revealed. Krillin blinked. "You mean you want us to find the rock you just threw?" He asked incredulously. "Searching for something may not seem like much, however, it requires an awful lot of mental strength and concentration. In this case, physical strength is also necessary.
Got it? Whoever brings the rock back first wins. Whoever loses also goes without dinner! However, if thirty minutes pass and neither of you find it, you both go without dinner!" Master Roshi explained. As soon as the old man finished talking, both Kakarot and Krillin took off running as fast as possible. Coming to a cliff face, the two boys were forced to stop.
"Damn, there's no footholds! We'll have to go around!" Krillin hissed, turning to leave. Kakarot, however, launched off the edge, no fear within him. As he neared the ground, he used his Ki to keep him elevated and flew to the area of the forest in which the rock had fallen. Remembering the Old-Timer's scent, Kakarot sniffed the air. Catching a hint of the old man, Kakarot lowered himself into a small clearing.
Then, it was like a game of hot and cold. 'Is Master Roshi's scent this way? No, it's more faint. How about this way? Oh yes, that's definitely closer!' Kakarot thought as he tracked the rock. Finally, he found it underneath a large fern leaf. "Yes!" He cheered softly, picking up the rock and flying out of the woods. He landed on the cliff side where he and Krillin had split up, only to come face-to-face with Krillin once more.
"You found it? Well, is it a fake? I fell for one earlier, so I should be able to tell," Krillin insisted with reaching hands. Kakarot shoved the boy's hands away and continued to march forward. "No I don't know if it's a fake or not, but I should learn the difference too, no?" Kakarot asked slyly as he marched inside. "Old-Timer! I got your rock!" Kakarot called. Roshi face planted into the ground not far from where Launch was.
"Oh yeah? Let me see it!" Roshi demanded as Kakarot handed over the rock. "Huh, it's unmistakable. This is my handwriting… Well, congratulations Kakarot. You win," Roshi stated as he stroked his beard. Kakarot grinned brightly and moved to sit down at the front table. Launch brought out many containers of food, each smelling better than the last. Kakarot was nearly drooling by the time she was done. "Well, come on now! Eat up!" Launch insisted as she sat down across from Kakarot. He shook his head lightly, focusing wholeheartedly on doing that and that only. "I eat a lot, you guys get your share first..." Kakarot forced out.
Roshi nodded. "Yeah, kiddo ate all the food in my fridge last week!" Roshi exclaimed, filling his plate with food. Kakarot struggled to not growl as Launch and Roshi took their first bites. "Oh what lovely food!" Roshi exclaimed, shoving rice and fish into his mouth, "Launch, my dear, you are a wonderful cook!`` "Oh please, you flatter me too much!" Launch insisted, a pale blush covering her face. A few seconds later, after making it a quarter of the way through his helping, Roshi asked, "By the way, what kind of fish is this? It tastes delightful!"
Launch blinked before tilting her chopsticks towards the air. "Oh the nice man at the market told me it was pufferfish!" Roshi faltered. "Pu-pufferfish?" He asked softly, setting down his plate and utensils. "Oh, I don't feel so good..." Roshi trailed off leaning over on the floor. Kakarot watched as Launch did the same thing before shrugging. 'Ingesting toxic things can't hurt a Saiyan, so more for me!' Kakarot thought before he dug into the remaining food.
/
After two days of waiting for Master Roshi to recover, the training was finally back on! At 4:30 in the morning, Master Roshi awoke both Krillin and Kakarot. Or, he went to wake Kakarot, only to find that he was already up and about. "Well, well. It's been quite some time since I had a pupil who was already cognizant at such hours." He said, chuckling softly.
Kakarot shrugged. "Grandpa didn't want me straining myself, but in his attempts to stop such things from occurring, he was too lenient. So, I started training early in the morning before he awoke. Thanks to your training, he already woke up at 5-ish, so I just had to get ahead of him. I'm sure I won't be waking up so early as I age," Kakarot explained. With a hum of acknowledgement, Master Roshi returned to Krillin, rousing him further.
A few minutes later, Krillin and Kakarot were both outside, ready to start their training. "Now then," Master Roshi announced, "We're finally going to begin your training, but before we do, I will say a few words about martial arts. The mastery of martial arts is not so that you can win fights, nor is it so that you can be fawned over by girls. Through learning martial arts, you will grow healthier, both in mind and body, and by doing so, you can take what was given to you when you were born and spend your lives more enjoyably and to their fullest extent.
However, if there is an enemy that uses an unwarranted power to threaten yourself or other innocent people, you are going to pop him one in the mouth! In other words, train as hard as you can, and let's live a fun life. So, shall we begin the training already?`` "Yeah!" Krillin and Kakarot shouted in unison. "Alright! First is some light running! Follow me!" Master Roshi called, turning around and beginning running. The boys quickly followed and they jogged at a light speed into the nearby town.
They stopped once they reached a white building with the word "Milk" painted across the side. "Good morning!" Master Roshi called to the man at the front door, "I'm the Turtle Hermit, the one who called yesterday." The humanoid bull man smiled politely. "Really?" He replied, "Oh, well thank you so much for doing this!" Kakarot and Krillin glanced at each other. 'For doing what?' Kakarot pondered, looking back as Roshi. The bull took out a map and pointed at different markings on it. "These are all the places that need to be delivered to." He explained as the Old Man nodded along. "Okay boys," Master Roshi announced, turning around, "each of you take one of these boxes. We're gonna deliver some milk!"
Krillin faltered as he began walking over. "What?!" He shouted, "Deliver milk?!" ``That's right! It'll make for some good exercise. You've got to get each of the bottles delivered before breakfast. Now, come on; grab the boxes!" Master Roshi ordered. Both Krillin and Kakarot scurried over to the boxes and lifted them. 'Hmm, kind of heavy, but not bad. This is fine,' Kakarot thought as he lifted his crate. Once the two boys had their milk firmly in hand, Master Roshi began talking again. "Okay, now… for the first mile (A/N About 2 Kilometers) or so to the first house, we will skip. Then, for the mile after that, we will run in a zig-zag pattern. Then, we will climb a set of stairs. Now, let's go!" With that, he turned around and began skipping away from the milk house.
\
The sun had risen well into the sky by the time the young trainees delivered their last bottle of milk. They ran for what felt like millions of miles and they climbed what felt like millions of steps. They walked across an endless ravine and crossed an arid desert. They swam through the rapids of a waterfall and ran from carnivorous dinosaurs. When they arrived back home at about 8:00 am., Kakarot was thrilled with how tired he was. 'Wow! If I'm this tired at this point in the day, then this training is definitely working! Ugh, this is gonna be so good.' He thought as he got a drink from inside.
"You will continue to do this milk delivery every morning for the next eight months. It will be your early-morning training. Now comes your morning training!" Master Roshi announced to the exhausted boys. Disregarding Krillin's look of fear and Kakarot's look of excitement, Roshi continued. "For your morning training, you shall be plowing this field, with your bare hands. There will be no use of any kind of machinery or tools used in order to toughen your hands. Now, get to work!" Krillin huffed and mumbled under his breath, "Delivering milk and plowing fields? This isn't training, this is free labor." Kakarot rolled his eyes, but said nothing, opting to begin his work right away as to get breakfast sooner.
/
It'd taken several hours for the boys to plow the field, especially with the wear and tear on their fingernails, causing them to fall off and bleed. Once they made their way back to Master Roshi, they were tired, hungry, and hurting. "Hmph, that took you boys quite a while hm?" Roshi mocked, "Well, you'd better hurry up next time. By then, you'll be plowing much, much bigger fields, and you don't want to be late to breakfast everyday now do you?"
/
After returning to Kame House and eating breakfast, the aspiring martial artists sat outside in front of a large chalkboard. "From now until lunch time, we shall be studying. After all, martial arts is not only for the body, but also the mind. As you train your body, you must train your mind as well!" Roshi explained, "Then, after lunch, we'll be taking a nap until 1:30. Remember, move well, learn well, eat well, rest well, for that is the teaching of the Eternal Turtle School. Then, for afternoon training, we shall be assisting a construction company. So, sit down and let's learn!"
/
After helping with construction, the boys found themselves in front of a large lake. "Now that you've worked up a sweat," the Old Timer began, "We'll be swimming-" 'No way! Teach us martial arts, not this stupid stuff!" Krillin shouted as he cut the aged master off. "How dare you!" Master Roshi fired back angrily, "There's no way I could teach you martial arts if you don't have the physical strength for it! I'll only train you techniques once you can lift a boulder such as this!" He gestured to a rock that was easily twice his height. "What?!" Krillin shouted in disbelief, "There's no way you could move a boulder as ridiculously large as that one!" Master Roshi raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He challenged.
The old man set his cane on the ground and turned to the rock. He pressed his hands into the sides and began pushing. After a few moments, the boulder slid forward, leaving a short trail in the grass. "See!" The Turtle Master boasted, "It's completely possible, and you shall not be learning a single technique until you have the strength to do as I just did." Kakarot huffed quietly. 'I could crush that rock, let alone move it… but I suppose gaining physical strength prior to a technique will not only make the move easier to master, but also more powerful.' As he stood there observing the rock, Master Roshi and Krillin moved to the bank of the lake. "Kakarot!" Master Roshi called, "Stop loafing around and get over here!" Kakarot turned and saw Krillin stepping out of his clothes in preparation to swim. With a slight grimace, he made his way to the other two men.
"Now, we will be practicing swimming. You'll swim across the length of the lake and back 10 times, understood?" Roshi instructed. With a nod from both of the boys, the Turtle Hermit gave the gesture to go. Once the boys jumped in the water and began swimming, however, Master Roshi called back out to them. "You might want to swim fast!" He shouted, "There are sharks in the water!" Right as he said that, the boys caught sight of something swimming below them. Krillin shrieked and the boys began paddling as hard as they could.
/
After some time, the waterlogged boys finished their 10 laps and finally came back onto land. "Well, that was decent." Master Roshi commented passingly, "Now, time for our next training!" With that, he lead the two boys to a nearby tree with ropes tied to it. "Here," He explained, tying the two into the ropes "We shall be testing your reflexes. You will be fighting an opponent within the lengths of these ropes." Kakarot narrowed his eyes and sensed around him. 'There's no one here other than us… are we fighting each other?' He pondered, glancing around. "Now, go!" Master Roshi shrouded, throwing a rock into the trees. Kakarot looked in the direction of the rock and a buzzing sound quickly filled his ears. "Bees!" He shouted as he began running to the other side of the tree. 'I am most certainly fucked,' Kakarot realized as a swarm of bees surrounded him.
/
"Alright, I think that's enough training for today," Roshi announced once they returned to Kame House. "Uhh, is this awesome training going to be continued everyday?" Krillin mumbled. The old timer scoffed. "What are you talking about? Today we were taking it easy. Starting tomorrow, you'll be doing the same training, but with these 45 pound ( A/N about 20 kilos) shells on your backs." He instructed. Krillin promptly fell over and Kakarot smirked. 'Oh, this is gonna be good.' He told himself.