Turtle Wave Rule 2 (Patreon)

Turtle Wave Rule 2 - or ‘I am just a rowdy youngster that likes turtles (and can blast the moon with a single shot!)’ (Pre-Dragon Ball, Muten Roshi!SI)

The journey to find Korin’s tower proved to be quite lengthy but far from dangerous.

With most of the world slowly consolidating into a peace-loving nation, most of the scum was usually isolated in the outskirts of society- near to deserts or deep forests that could evade civilization and the police.

The path was devoid of either, thus allowing me to reach the tower at a fashionable time. After all, I was going there a year after Roshi would have- not without reason as I had to train to be ready to cut short the ‘worst’ part of the training.

After all, memory wasn’t betraying me when I remembered the ‘catch’ behind the famed Divine Water Korin was hiding- it was mere tap water with holy effects to purify demonized humans.

It had no effects on normal guys like me, but… that didn’t mean there was no training there. I couldn’t fly- yet. I could hover, I could shift in the air a bit, but I couldn’t exactly soar the skies at the moment. So, I had reached the top of that high tower the old way- climbing it.

And that was just the first of a two-part training.

To make it simple, Korin’s training was the ‘spiritual predecessor’ of King Kai’s training relating to Bubbles. Speed was essential, but without having to worry about a different gravity.

First thing first, climbing the tower. The show made a good summarization of what it was all about: fucking boring. That and quite strainful on those that braved that feat. There weren’t any serious obstacles in my climb beyond the limitations of my body.

I never had to climb this much- not for a full hour, but the end result was somewhat cathartic. As I finished the obelisk’s climb, I had to grasp a ladder that developed through handles that forced me to briefly move upside down. Stressful, but also a learning experience.

Once the climb was done as I managed to get inside the main room of the tower, I took a moment to sit down in front of the central section with the Divine Power on display to… rest.

Meditation was not a good way to put it, as I wasn’t reaching too deeply into my soul to harness Ki in a way that not many knew of. Or rather, not many had the means to use while in battle. Ki was energy drawn by lifeforce, so it can be disassembled to be used in a way that heightened one’s body to recover from damage. It couldn’t be turned back to mere lifeforce, but it can be used to stimulate the body to produce lifeforce at a faster pace.

In this very case, I focused on the muscles and slowly made sure that all that soreness and my tired limbs were ‘healed’ of that sort of stress- in return, I was obtaining strength by duress.

Something that was noticed by the very owner of this tower.

“Curious use of Ki,” A round short feline with white fur remarked, holding a staff as he approached me. “I have a feeling that you are here for the Divine Water, young Martial Artist.”

I tilted my head. “I mean, I was told by Master Mutaito to come here, but I just couldn’t… help but notice that the water is quite under-defended.”

The cat huffed. “Well, I am stronger than I look-”

“I mean, if it was this amazing boost to one’s energy, I would expect a horde of individuals just using ways to assault the tower for it,” I interrupted, trying to be a bit more descriptive of my point. “I don’t want to undermine your might, Master Korin, but I am more concerned on why it has been kept just as a ‘passing legend’ at times.”

The irritation vanished and curiosity returned.

“Oh? And why do you think that's the case?”

“Well, two things really- First, people that have used it know it is not as effective as advertised and… second, I already mentioned Master Mutaito as I am one of his students. If there’s one thing he always stressed is that shortcuts don’t make a good martial artist.”

The short feline grinned at this. “Yes, yes- that’s what I have been missing for so long… a novel student with dedication. Still, that doesn’t mean your journey is over. You said you seek training, and I shall provide it to you.”

“If I may ask-”

“You have to catch me.”

Of course.

And that’s where hell started, but it would be a lie to say that it wasn’t of my own volition.

Sure, the ‘Catch Me’ game was the priority, but Korin pretty much gave me free reign to add more to my usual training in case I wanted to expand on it at the sole request of not breaking anything in the tower.

It was a bit of an odd opportunity, but I decided to maximize it in a way that felt fitting compared to what I had back in Mutaito’s school: Early in the morning, after breakfast, I would go down the tower and climb the obelisk again; this was then followed with some ki control exercises, rushing to catch Korin until I got some more glimpses of his After-image technique, then lunch to fill up my belly and finally getting to the main point of my training- Creating the Kamehameha.

Not an easy task, but one that I was able to test out by going to the top of the tower, right on the spot where the power pole can be used to climb up to Kami’s Lookout. It was ideal as it offered plenty of space without risking to kill or destroying anything or anyone in the process.

I would take on to crystallize the three main elements of using Ki for this early stage:
1) Genki - Vigor;
2) Yuki - Courage;
3) Shoki - Right-mindedness;

By keeping these three factors close to my heart I started to exercise the way of the Turtle Wave. I didn’t expect it to happen too quickly, but the harsher training was giving me a better understanding of my Ki- to the point where I could properly fight within my second day of training under Korin.

The cat helped in that regard as he could fly himself- which made me realize he had purposely held back from telling Goku how to use that move. Very shocking, but perhaps done on the optics of not giving too much to someone as boisterous as Kid Goku.

Around a week into the training, I made several breakthroughs- the Kamehameha was usable but it was too ‘thin’ in its beam and too draining as I had yet to harness enough Ki to be a solid fighter.

I was definitely far more skilled than how Kid Goku was at this stage of his training under Korin, but I was suffering from a lack of Ki reserves. I was eventually going to increase that with more spiritual training, but right now the Kamehameha was a ‘one-time thing’ for each battle at the expense of depleting a considerable amount of what Ki I could use in combat.

Not the best, not the worst- but I got Korin! I finally managed to get down how Afterimages worked, and the end result was that I could now move slightly faster through Ki while also leaving behind some ‘illusion’ of myself to act as distraction.

All in all, I was going smoothly with this, but with Korin’s caught, I was given a new ‘task’ that would act as training.

“You want me to… pink some special tea leaves from a temple nearby?”

That was news to me, but I was not exactly going to value a ‘mere’ fetch quest as something bland. I knew what world this one was, and I had just a feeling this was going to be far more complicated than that.

“Yeah, there seems to have been some issues with bandits in the area troubling the couriers that I usually rely on. So, you are strong enough to take care of that.”

“Bandits?” I asked back. “I mean, I am not surprised there are some random groups, but aren’t those usually set far away from this region?”

“Yes, which is why I expect you to be careful about it as I think it’s more than just that,” Korin affirmed. “Which is why I have a gift to give you.”

I was giddy at this last bit, trying to briefly forget that I was going into something quite serious within all chances. And there were two options available- 1) Nimbus and 2) The Power Pole.

Both were good, but Nimbus was a ‘non-combat’ support element for mobility, while the Power Pole was far more effective in combat as it was somewhat indestructible.

Perhaps provided by knowing I was looking to get some ‘ladies’ along getting strong to protect people, Korin gave me the Power Pole as the Nimbus was… a bit of a complex thing with the purity of heart. In fact, Roshi could use it before he gave it to Goku but then just ‘could not anymore’.

Sounds odd, feels odd, but I was fine with the current circumstance. The Power Pole was going to be a valuable asset in adding more to my training and combat prowess.

With that in mind, I slowly descended Korin’s tower and followed the instructions and map that the cat gave me before letting me leave. I had a few hours to entertain myself on this journey, so that was going to be ‘fun’.

What I didn’t know was that this is where I would get to know the first member for my planned harem. And she was going to be… essential~.

—------d-d-d-d—------

AN

Next time, Roshi’s first ‘wife’. Why am I so keen to talk about her role so early on? Let’s just say that marriage traditions may vary depending on some kemonomimi species. And this one is… a gorgeous catch.