After Krillin finished speaking, he put on a face that clearly said, "Aren't I clever? Come on, praise me already!"
"Exhausting Piccolo Daimaō to death, huh? Well… that's not impossible," Master Roshi mused, stroking his beard thoughtfully.
Although what Krillin said made some sense, such a "turtle-it-out-until-he-dies" plan definitely wasn't Naruto's style.
If they already had to fight this hard just to take down Piccolo Daimaō, what about later—against someone like Frieza? Even Raditz would be impossible to beat like this.
"No," Naruto said, shaking his head. "Hiding the Dragon Balls is only the first step."
"I once saw an ancient book."
When in doubt—look it up in an old text. Even Bulma had found the legend of the Dragon Balls in her family's ancient books, which had kicked off her adventure in the first place. So it wasn't strange at all for Uzumaki Naruto to have read one or two ancient secrets himself, right?
"It's said that in this world, there's a place called Karin Sanctuary. Long ago, it was the holy land of martial artists. And at the center of this sanctuary stands a tower that pierces the clouds—the Korin Tower. It's said that atop this tower lives an immortal being known as Korin, who's lived for nearly a thousand years."
"This immortal's duty is to train any warrior who can climb the tower and to introduce those with true potential to a great being."
"That great being," Naruto continued, "is none other than the God of Earth—the only one who can defeat Piccolo Daimaō."
Master Roshi put on a wise, mysterious look and nodded. "That's right."
But in his heart, he was thinking, "That darn Korin can introduce people to God? Unbelievable! He never told me that!"
Naruto turned to Roshi again. "As for the location of the Korin Tower, luckily, we happen to have someone here who's already climbed it before. Surely he knows where it is, right, Master Roshi?"
Roshi nodded. "That's right. But actually, I'm not the only one here who's reached the top of Korin Tower."
As he said this, he looked toward Goku.
"There's another one?" Naruto said, feigning surprise. "Then it seems things will be much easier."
"So shall we leave right away?" Krillin suggested.
Naruto shook his head, glancing at Goku, whose eyes were turning green from hunger. "Let's fill Goku's stomach first."
After a hearty meal, they regrouped with Bulma, Launch, and the others who were waiting outside. Naruto solemnly handed the Four-Star Ball to Bulma, asking her to create a container that could shield the Dragon Ball's signal. Then, with everyone ready, they set off toward the Korin Tower.
With two people who knew the location of the tower and a team full of skilled fighters, they reached the legendary Karin Sanctuary in no time.
At the center of the sanctuary stood a massive stone pillar as thick as several men's arms wrapped together, carved with intricate patterns. Looking up from the base, the top couldn't even be seen—it was as if the tower pierced straight through the heavens.
"Who's there?!" a young voice shouted.
From the nearby woods emerged a small boy with feathers in his hair and an axe in his hand.
"Goku!" the boy cried in delight when he saw him.
It was Upa, one of the guardians of Korin Sanctuary, who had once adventured alongside Goku.
Then a tall, muscular man with a beast-tooth necklace stepped out from behind a tree.
"It really is you, Goku," the man said, smiling broadly.
This was Bora, Upa's father—a warrior of the guardian tribe, one of the few survivors still living. According to Dragon Ball lore, he was quite strong himself, with a battle power of several dozen.
It's worth noting that the guardians' clothing resembled that of Native Americans almost exactly.
"Are you all Goku's friends?"
After receiving confirmation, Naruto's group was warmly welcomed by Bora's tribe.
"Everyone, it's time to climb the tower," Naruto said, patting the stone pillar. "Don't try to take shortcuts. Only those who climb the tower themselves can receive Korin's guidance."
"I'll be the first to lead the way," he declared.
With that, Naruto leapt up, his feet landing firmly high above the ground. Step after step, he climbed rapidly toward the sky.
"Let's go too," said Tien.
Tien, Krillin, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Master Roshi followed in their own climbing styles, swiftly ascending after him.
"Impressive… as expected of Goku's friends," Bora said, watching them vanish into the distance with admiration.
In his youth, Bora himself had once tried to climb the tower but had failed. If he had succeeded, he might have become a great martial artist too.
"Father, do you think they'll reach the top?" Upa asked.
"They definitely will," Bora said firmly. Though he wasn't strong enough himself, his instincts told him so.
Hearing that, Upa looked up at the towering pillar with envy.
Bora knelt and patted his son's shoulder. "Someday, Upa—you'll be able to do it too."
"Yeah!" Upa nodded vigorously.
Half an hour passed, and still there was no sign of the top. They had already climbed to such a height that the ground below looked no bigger than a sheet of paper—buildings appeared as tiny as ants.
Naruto, leading the first group, slowed his pace intentionally, waiting for the others to catch up.
The first time Goku had climbed Korin Tower, it had taken him a full day and night—twenty-four hours in total. The second time, he had done it in only three.
Climbing the tower was itself a form of training.
For Goku, Tien, and Master Roshi, it wasn't too difficult. But for Krillin and Yamcha, it was a serious challenge. Their current strength was actually weaker than young Goku's had been during his first climb.
As for Chiaotzu—well, he had both the Crane School's Flight Technique and psychic powers. Even though Naruto had said they must climb with their own strength, that didn't stop Chiaotzu from cheating a little.
That lazy cleverness was exactly why, even though Chiaotzu's strength had once been on par with Krillin's, he had fallen so far behind later on.
At the forty-minute mark, Naruto finally saw a round, flat platform above. With a light leap, he landed smoothly upon it.
This was the top of the Korin Tower—Korin's Sanctum.
The sanctum had several floors. The first was cluttered with all kinds of miscellaneous items—most of them related to cats. After all, even an immortal like Korin was still a living being who had to eat.
The second floor was the familiar platform often seen in the original story.
As Naruto stepped onto it, what came into view was a plump white cat standing at the center, wiggling its round backside as it grilled a fish.
Sensing Naruto's presence, the white cat turned around, squinting its eyes—still holding a fish in its mouth.
"Who's there? Hmm?"
Author's Note:
Here's a useless piece of trivia—Beerus was based on a cat Akira Toriyama himself owned. But not many people know that Korin, too, was modeled after one of Toriyama's
cats! The two cats aren't from the same time, nor are they the same breed. In a way, Korin is actually Beerus's senior!
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