Submerged in the cold waters of the river, Kakarot closed his eyes. In the darkness, there was no space or time. He felt weightless; at the same time smaller than a grain of sand and bigger than a mountain. The gentle current caressed him as it passed, bending around the shape of his body.
Six years separated him from his arrival to Earth, and he had not wasted the time. Kakarot had learned a lot from the elderly Son Gohan. The fundamentals of Earth's martial arts were familiar to him by the time he learned to speak, and since then he had added all sorts of skills to his arsenal. At that time he was putting the last two to the test: swimming and fishing.
The flow of water stopped for a moment, and Kakarot opened his eyes to examine his approaching prey. The fish was several times his size, perfect for lunch. He let his body sink to the river bed and rested his feet firmly on the rock, while the fish came nearer.
Jaws full of sharp teeth snapped shut, but Kakarot was no longer there. As he burst from the surface of the water, he smiled, seeing the fish still in pursuit. He grabbed a tree branch growing from the rock wall and spun on it to launch himself to the side as the fish continued rising into the air. Kakarot bounced off the cliff and delivered a kick that cracked the animal's bones and sent its body tumbling to the riverbank.
Kakarot fell back into the river and swam to shore.
"A fantastic catch, Goku," said Son Gohan.
Kakarot preferred his Saiyan name, but the old man had been calling him Son Goku for years, and by the time he had learned to speak and was able to correct him, he preferred not to. "Thank you, Grandpa," he said. It was very easy to keep the Earthling happy. If he called him Grandpa and said please and thank you, he could get whatever he wanted from the old man.
They skewered the fish with the trunk of a bamboo tree and set it over the fire. While Kakarot put on his gi's pants and a sleeveless t-shirt, Son Gohan took off his shirt and left it neatly folded on a stone.
"Ready for today's lesson?" the Earthling asked, reaching for his Power Pole. The short red staff lengthened until it was equal in height to the old man.
Kakarot picked up his ordinary wooden staff. "But you can't extend or shrink it anymore."
"Agreed," the old man conceded. "Let's get started."
Kakarot smiled and threw a low kick, which the old man avoided with a jump. Kakarot pursued him, harassing him with a flurry of blows from all directions, but Son Gohan blocked them all effortlessly. The training session continued as the fish browned over the flames. When the old man stopped the fight to turn the food to the other side, Kakarot was already short of breath.
"Your attacks get better every day, but they're still too predictable," Son Gohan said. "You must find and attack your opponent's weak points if you want to win. Now let's work on your defense too."
The Earthling attacked with a mid-height thrust, which Kakarot narrowly dodged. He took advantage of his low position and attempted to sweep the old man's leg, but he somersaulted backward, dodging the attack in one fluid motion, and renewed his attack.
Kakarot knew that Son Gohan could move faster, hit harder, but he always held back when they sparred. Despite this, Kakarot could barely keep up with him. The air burned in his lungs, his legs felt heavy, and his attacks became slower, weaker, and more inaccurate as the minutes passed.
"I got you, boy," Son Gohan said, and in an instant, he vanished.
Not again. Kakarot turned around, but he was too slow. A bolt of pain paralyzed him the instant the Earthling got hold of his tail, and he fell to the ground. The old man looked at him with disapproving eyes, and pursed his lips, making his thick white mustache tilt. "You haven't trained your tail like I told you. You're very strong for your age, Goku, but a good martial artist must work just as hard to eliminate their weaknesses as to increase their strengths."
"It hurts too much," Kakarot protested. "And no one else even knows that I lose my strength when I get my tail squeezed."
"No excuses," Son Gohan said, raising a finger to emphasize his point. "If you really want to become a great martial artist, you will have to learn to live with pain."
The old man was right. If he was going to depopulate Earth, he couldn't let a single mistake cost him his life for not wanting to put in some effort now.
They sat before the fire and filled their plates with the fish's juicy, tender meat. Son Gohan claimed to have a normal appetite, but Kakarot had always thought that the man ate too little. When he had finished, there was still more than half a whole fish left, which Kakarot gladly ate.
Son Gohan drank water from a gourd and wiped his mustache with his sleeve. "Now, where were we?"
Kakarot swallowed a fish ball the size of his fist, since for some reason, talking with your mouth full was impolite. "The final match of the World Martial Arts Tournament."
"Yes. As you already know, after several years of hard work under the tutelage of the Turtle Hermit, we traveled to Papaya Island for the World Martial Arts Tournament, which is held every five years and brings together the best martial artists from all around the world—"
"Yes, yes, I already know that. And you ranked in the top eight after winning your preliminary matches. Then, you defeated the master of the Chicken Claw Style and the Mystical Mad Monk, who could read his opponents' minds and anticipate their moves, but you were too fast for him and threw him out of the ring, securing a place in the finals."
"You're not going to let me beat around the bush today, eh?" Son Gohan said. "Anyway, my opponent, a gentleman named Jackie Chun, turned out to be an incredibly tough opponent to crack. Despite me being at the peak of youth, and him being well into old age, his strength and speed rivaled mine, if they didn't surpass them. His knowledge of martial arts was deep; even though it was the first time we fought, he seemed to have an answer to counter my every attack.
"The fight went on until sunset, and we were both panting from accumulated fatigue. Every fiber in my body was asking me to stop, and a voice in my head whispered that it was no big thing if I gave up, that I could always win the next tournament. But I hadn't come this far to cry uncle now, so I charged at Jackie Chun with all the strength I had left. Slowly, I managed to get him to the edge of the ring and break his guard, ready to deliver the final blow.
"Then, Jackie Chun used a powerful technique, trapping me in a bolt of lightning that burst from his hands. The man asked me to surrender, or else his technique would prove fatal. Finally, and not without shame, I cried uncle, and Jackie Chun's attack stopped."
"What?" Kakarot yelled. "What kind of story is this? You train for years with the Turtle Hermit, the strongest man in the world, you beat all your opponents until you reach the finals, and then an old guy nobody knows beats you?"
"The story is not over yet," Son Gohan said, raising his hands to quell his complaints. "After the tournament, I tried to find Jackie Chun to pay my respects, but he had already left. Frustrated and embarrassed, I went to find my master, ready for a big lecture. Instead, the Turtle Hermit just patted me on the shoulder and said, "You can't win them all, kid, but you fought well," and invited me to dinner. That day, I learned a valuable lesson."
"I don't like this story," Kakarot said. "Losing is not a good thing, it's a sign of weakness."
Son Gohan looked at him with pity. "The moral of this story is that no matter how strong you think you are, there is always someone stronger. And that is why we must keep training, so that when we face that someone we can give our best effort."
"And lose?"
"Sometimes, yes. But if we are to lose, it is better to do so after having done everything we could, leaving no room for regret."
"I still don't get it."
Son Gohan smiled and ruffled his hair."Maybe you'll understand when you're older. For now, continue strengthening your body and mind. And train your tail."
While Son Gohan took a nap, Kakarot brought his tail before him and, with trembling hands, grasped the tip with both hands as gently as he could. Lightning crawled up to the base of his tail and spread throughout his body. He closed his eyes and felt them wet. He tried to quiet his mind, but the pain made him lose concentration with every pulsating sting.
He released his grip, and a bead of sweat ran down his cheek. He took a deep breath, and soon his heartbeat began to calm down. "Again," he said, and grabbed his tail once more, this time a little harder. The pain took hold of him, draining his strength, but he would not relent. He held on for what seemed like an eternity, enduring the burn in every fiber of his body. When he couldn't stand it anymore, he fell to the ground on his knees.
Several attempts later, almost numbed by the pain, Kakarot undressed and plunged into the river. The water stimulated his muscles and soothed the burning in his tail. He swam to shore and reached for his clothes.
Son Gohan still slept in the shade of a tree, completely unprotected. Kakarot could just get close and break his neck with a fast chop. But he didn't. He simply took the gourd and drank until he quenched his thirst, and lay down next to the old man.
In his dreams, Kakarot saw his Saiyan family. Their faces were blurry and strange, but he never seemed to notice it in the moment. This time, they fought in the mountains against some Earthlings and made them flee before them. With the full moon rising, the ancestral strength of their people overwhelmed them. Blood burned in their veins, and their hearts seemed ready to burst in their chests.
Kakarot woke up, shaken by Son Gohan. "Wake up, Goku, we must go home, it's late. And tonight's a full moon's night."
"The monster..." said Kakarot, still half asleep.
The old man must have thought the night he transformed years ago had been an accident. He had made up a ridiculous story about a terrible monster that came out on full moon nights, but for some reason, couldn't enter the house. Kakarot accepted it as one of those things that made the Earthling happy, so he could keep learning from him.
That night, they ate dinner at home and soon went to bed. Like every full moon, especially in that last year, Kakarot took a while to fall asleep. It wasn't because of the moon, as it could only affect him if he looked at it. It was a question that kept him awake, but the wrong one, he knew. The right question would be: "Would I be strong enough to defeat the old man if I went out and looked at the moon?" But what Kakarot asked himself was: "Will I be able to do it when the time comes?"
A few weeks later, like every several months, Son Gohan had to leave to buy supplies from the nearest town, several hundred kilometers to the west. Since they didn't have something called "money", they bought what they needed with furs and other valuable materials that were abundant on Mount Paozu.
"I'll be sure to bring you a new coat," Son Gohan said. "You haven't grown much since last winter, but better to be safe than sorry. You have food for a week, and if it runs out, there are plenty of fish in the river."
"Have a good trip, Grandpa."
Son Gohan set off, and Kakarot waved him goodbye until he was out of sight behind a grove of trees. Kakarot stretched in the morning sun, "Like a cat with a monkey's tail," as the old man used to say. It had been almost a year since he had been left alone, and all this time he had hoped to continue his search. Somewhere in that place, just a few hours away, was the space pod in which he had arrived to Earth.
Kakarot took supplies for the journey and climbed a high rock formation to survey his surroundings. On previous occasions, he had explored the east, and each of the thousand streams that flowed into the river from small groves and rocky peaks, and the south, until the mountains ended and the sea could be seen in the distance. "North or west?" he said. If he went west now he would have to do it slower since he might encounter Son Gohan, and he only had a few days to explore a huge expanse of land. "To the north, then."
Kakarot climbed down from the large rock and entered the lush forests of Mount Paozu. He made sure to check out every nook and cranny. Among the wilderness and the steep precipices and gorges, there were many hidden places where his ship could be, and it would be very easy to miss it.
After hours of searching, he stopped to rest and regain his strength. He rubbed his arms, tired from climbing trees and rock walls to reach high points from which to observe the land. The night found him without any success, so he broke wood from a fallen tree, lit a small fire, and ate some of the rice balls Son Gohan had left him.
Two days later, already exhausted and dirty, he entered a bamboo forest, and a smell awoke a distant memory. He wandered among the tall green trunks and finally found what he was looking for. It was at the bottom of a deep crater in the middle of the forest, covered with moss, weeds, dirt, and bird droppings.
He climbed down to the spherical ship and wiped the red, dirt-covered window with his hand to take a look inside. The door opened with a mechanical hiss he recognized, but believed had only existed in his dreams.
Kakarot removed the round transparent capsule from the seat of the space pod, where he had spent the first months of his life, feeding and learning about his mission. He yanked the cables connecting it to the ship and tossed it all behind his back since he wouldn't need it anymore. He climbed inside and settled into the seat, that occupied most of the available space.
His hands found a hidden compartment next to a control panel. Inside was a contraption that he had never seen before, but whose name, scouter, he knew. The device was simple: a transparent green lens connected to a round white body with a red button on it. Kakarot placed the scouter on his left ear, and the lens colored half his field of vision in a green deeper than spring grass. He pressed the button.
The machine activated, emitting strange artificial sounds that he told himself he would soon get used to. Kakarot pressed the button twice quickly, as he knew he should do to know his own power level. A strange symbol appeared on the lens, which he somehow knew to associate with one of the numbers Son Gohan had taught him: 8.
Eight... Was that a lot or a little? How much would the average Earthling have? And Son Gohan? When he transformed into a Great Ape, a Saiyan's strength grew tenfold, but Kakarot still didn't know how to calculate such a high number. Would the result then be different?
He pressed the button again, and the device began to scan. A few seconds later, a beeping sound informed him of the nearest, strongest reading, several hundred kilometers to the west, and slowly moving towards him. It had to be Son Gohan, whose power level was 115. Kakarot didn't quite understand that number, but he assumed the fact that it had three digits while his only one meant a big gap between the two of them.
For the rest of that day and the next two, Kakarot hauled the heavy ship from the crater in the bamboo forest to a cave hidden behind a waterfall near his house. When he finished, soaked and exhausted, he used the scouter again, which informed him that Son Gohan would soon arrive home. He took off the scouter and put it where he had found it.
He went down to the river and washed off the dirt and sweat from a week of traveling through the wilderness and dragging his space pod all the way back. Once dry, he returned home and wolfed down all the remaining food the old man had left him. With a full belly and the satisfaction of fulfilled duty, Kakarot fell exhausted onto the soft bed, ready to dream of his family, and the day when he would finally join them.