Goku covered his slightly reddened cheek and stared at Popo in disbelief.
That shouldn't be possible…
I didn't even see him throw that punch…
He steadied his breathing and charged at Popo once more.
Yet just like before—
before Goku could even land a hit, Popo casually swung backhanded and punched him in the face again.
Goku rubbed his cheek, utterly stunned.
As expected… Popo's strength was unfathomable—far beyond the level of the Guardian.
Popo spoke calmly,
"It seems you're not as strong as you claimed. You should go back."
"Wait!" Goku immediately protested.
"Let me try again!"
As he spoke, Goku removed his outer jacket, then his weighted training clothes, and finally his weighted boots.
When the equipment hit the ground, it let out heavy thuds—
clearly not ordinary clothing.
For the first time, Popo's expression changed slightly.
"You've been wearing those the entire time?"
Goku rolled his shoulders, adjusting to his suddenly lighter body.
"Yes. That's my training."
Popo nodded thoughtfully.
"With no clear training direction, you increase your burden instead. That's not a bad method."
Goku nodded.
"Yeah. Without direction, I can only train raw strength."
"I increased the weight little by little and adapted step by step."
"Now that I've removed them, my speed will increase drastically. You should be careful."
Popo nodded again.
"Finished warming up?"
"Can we continue?"
His tone was still utterly calm, as if removing the weights meant nothing at all.
Goku's confidence took a sharp hit.
He stared at Popo, trying to find even the slightest opening—
But there was none.
Or rather… none he could perceive.
Goku thought silently:
Pure battle power-wise, he shouldn't be that high.
But he's dodging my speed and counterattacking perfectly.
Unless it's overwhelming strength… there's only one explanation.
Perfect prediction.
When Goku looked into Popo's eyes, a strange feeling washed over him.
Those innocent, empty pupils seemed to have already seen through every move he would make.
Still—
The arrow was already on the bowstring.
If there was no opening, then he would create one.
Goku suddenly rushed forward.
His attack looked ferocious—but he deliberately held back about thirty percent of his power.
That reserve was for withdrawing his move… and guarding against counters.
Sure enough—
At the instant Goku's fist was about to connect, Popo's punch came flying toward his face at an even faster speed.
Goku's own fist stirred violent air currents—
but Popo's strike seemed to move without disturbing the air at all.
No wonder he'd taken two clean hits earlier.
Goku forcefully withdrew his strike and twisted his body sideways, barely dodging Popo's punch.
But in the next instant—
Popo followed with a reverse kick.
Goku's pupils shrank.
With no time to adjust his posture, he stacked both arms together and blocked in front of the incoming foot.
借着反震之力,Goku was blasted backward.
Popo let out a faint sound.
"Hm?"
Seeing a slight change in Popo's previously still gaze, Goku felt a flicker of joy.
It worked.
He immediately launched another fierce assault.
His fists rained down like a machine gun, pouring toward Popo nonstop.
Popo's expression remained calm.
His hands moved neither fast nor slow—
yet every single strike was blocked perfectly, airtight and flawless.
Just as Goku felt Popo beginning to adapt to his rhythm—
He suddenly spun and unleashed a sweeping roundhouse kick.
Popo lightly tapped the ground and leapt straight into the air, effortlessly dodging the long-prepared strike.
Goku was breathing slightly heavier now.
Looking up at Popo—whose clothes weren't even dirty—his heart was filled with disbelief.
Popo felt… strange.
To Goku, it was like fighting someone late at night who never seemed dangerous—
yet no matter what he did, he couldn't win.
Little by little, his stamina was being drained.
At that moment, Popo clasped his hands behind his back.
"I've seen your strength," he said calmly.
"You truly are capable of defeating Demon King Piccolo."
"But relying solely on brute force, you cannot defeat me."
"You should go back."
Goku immediately assumed his stance again.
"No. I'm not leaving."
"If I don't defeat you with my own strength, I won't go!"
Popo spoke evenly,
"Your power is great. You also know how to think during battle."
"But your mindset is still lacking."
"To defeat me, you still have a very long road ahead."
Goku froze.
"Mindset?"
Popo nodded.
"Yes. Mindset."
"At the beginning, you were full of confidence."
"When you realized you weren't my opponent, you calmly analyzed how to hit me."
"But after several failed attempts, you gave up."
"You began to feel frustrated… wasting strength unnecessarily."
"Your extra movements increased."
Goku frowned.
"What are you trying to say?"
Popo continued,
"Human strength has limits."
"Relying on power alone is a lesser path."
"One day, you will encounter enemies stronger than you—faster than you."
"To defeat them, besides strength and willpower, the most important thing is mindset."
"Only by maintaining calm in adversity…"
"Only by continuously searching for an opponent's weakness…"
"And by restraining unnecessary movements…"
"Can you truly continue to grow."
He paused.
"Stand still—like the sky, serene and unmoving."
"Move—like lightning, swift and decisive."
Goku silently absorbed every word.
At the same time, a different calculation began forming in his mind.
I've been training alone all this time…
Training with Popo would be far more effective.
So he asked directly,
"Can I train with you?"
Popo nodded.
"Of course."
Goku's face lit up.
"Then let's keep fighting!"
Popo immediately shook his head.
"You're too weak."
"I don't have time to spar with you."
"I'll make you an opponent instead."
As he spoke, Popo stepped forward, plucked a single strand of hair from Goku's head—
and with a casual motion, transformed it.
A puppet identical to Goku appeared.
Popo said,
"His strength is equal to yours."
"Train with him."
"I still have work to do."
Goku didn't hesitate at all.
"Alright!"
He immediately charged at his own puppet.
Bang!
Before Goku could land a hit, the puppet slapped him away with a single strike.
Goku sucked in a sharp breath.
"Damn—
you're just a puppet, and you're hitting the real body this hard?!"
The puppet stared back with dull, empty eyes—silent.
Goku shook his head.
"Fine. I don't believe that with the same strength…"
"I can't beat my own puppet!"
He charged again.
Smack!
This time, he was sent flying by an elbow strike.
The puppet's speed and power made Goku grit his teeth in pain.
This hurt far more than Popo's punches.
It was as if—
the boomerang had finally come back and smashed straight into his own face.
Goku's temper instantly flared.
"Damn it!" he shouted.
"All the points I worked so hard to stack up—
you dumped every single one into this puppet, didn't you?!"
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/NightShard525