With that, Goku charged at the puppet once more.
As expected, before he could land a single hit, he was elbowed away again by his own double.
Just as his anger was about to explode, nothing special happened—
he was simply elbowed again.
Goku climbed back to his feet.
Staring at the puppet that looked exactly like himself, he suddenly calmed down.
Don't get angry. Don't let your mind fall into chaos.
This is training. Why am I getting mad at a puppet?
He recalled Popo's words.
"To win, you must be as calm as the sky… and move like lightning."
Goku's mindset quickly stabilized.
Inside the Heavenly Temple, the Guardian watched as Goku adjusted himself so quickly, a gentle smile appearing on his face.
Just like that, Goku completely forgot about restoring the Dragon Balls and devoted himself fully to figuring out how to defeat his own puppet.
That puppet's stats were absurdly high—
being hit by it hurt far more than being hit by Popo.
Though Goku suffered endlessly, for him, this was the first time he had ever encountered such a powerful opponent—
one that could fight him tirelessly without rest.
The opportunity was incredibly rare.
Instead of rushing to win, Goku began to genuinely enjoy it.
In the blink of an eye, several days passed.
The good news:
Goku could clearly feel that his combat power had improved again through intense tempering.
The bad news:
the puppet was freshly made every day by Popo—by pulling out Goku's hair on the spot.
As Goku grew stronger, the puppet's stats increased as well.
And every hit hurt even more.
But no one improves endlessly while staying stuck in the beginner's bracket forever.
As Goku's battle experience accumulated and his mentality continued to mature, the number of times he got hit dropped noticeably.
Still, completely defeating his puppet remained far off.
Yet Goku thought to himself—
if that puppet were replaced with Popo, Popo definitely wouldn't be his opponent anymore.
When it came to raw numbers, Goku still had absolute confidence.
That day, just as he was elbowed away yet again by his puppet, Popo walked out.
"Congratulations, Son Goku."
Goku blinked in confusion and pointed at himself.
"Congratulations for what? Did I finish training?"
Popo shook his head.
"No. The Guardian has seen your growth. He has decided to meet you."
"The Guardian?!"
Only then did Goku finally remember—
he had originally come here to revive the Dragon Balls.
But his interest in fighting the puppet had far surpassed his interest in meeting the Guardian, so he had completely forgotten about it.
Goku nodded casually.
"Oh. Then where is he?"
"Tell the Guardian to hurry up and see me—I'm still busy training."
Popo: "..."
"Follow me," Popo said after a pause.
"But when you meet the Guardian, do not act rashly."
With that, Popo led Goku toward the main gate of the Heavenly Temple.
Just as they reached the entrance, a figure stepped out from the shadows.
He looked almost identical to the old Demon King Piccolo—
yet his aura was completely different.
There was not a trace of violence within him.
He wore simple white robes resembling curtains, with only a crude 'God' character drawn at the center.
Nothing else.
Goku immediately raised his hand cheerfully.
"Hello, Guardian!"
The Guardian replied calmly,
"Hello, Son Goku.
You see me, yet you do not mistake me for that being… it seems Korin already explained things to you."
Goku quickly said,
"Wait, Guardian. Korin didn't explain much—some details aren't clear to me."
"You and Piccolo were originally one being, right?
So why is he dead… but you're still alive?"
The Guardian answered quietly,
"It's very simple. Before fighting you, he left behind an offspring."
Goku suddenly understood.
"Oh, I see. That makes sense.
Lay an egg and it's done—no pregnancy period, solved in minutes."
The Guardian coughed lightly.
"To thank you for eliminating Demon King Piccolo," he said,
"I will revive Shenron. You may then use him to resurrect those who died."
Goku nodded sincerely.
"Thank you, Guardian."
"But I'm not finished," the Guardian continued.
"You must remain here and train."
Goku responded immediately,
"I'm totally fine with training here."
"But I've got wives waiting for me at home."
"I can't stay locked up here for years like prison—
I need to go back every few days at least."
The Guardian frowned.
"You think training can be this casual?"
"Can't it?" Goku spread his hands.
"Then forget it—I won't train."
"I train to live, not to train until I lose my life."
"As for reviving Shenron, that's fine too. I don't really have any wishes anyway."
Seeing how indifferent Goku was, both the Guardian and Popo fell silent.
This man… was far too free-spirited.
Noticing the silence, Goku quickly offered a compromise.
"Guardian, I'm not trying to make things difficult."
"I'm about to start a family. I can't just disappear from home all the time."
"Or you could remove the barrier around the temple—
let my wife come visit me sometimes."
"Couples need to stay close, you know."
The Guardian's face darkened.
"…Forget it. The temple is not a place that casual."
"You'll go back down every few days instead."
Goku smiled.
"Deal."
The Guardian then turned to Popo.
"Very well. Let us revive Shenron."
"Mr. Popo, bring forth the dragon."
Soon, Popo began gluing Shenron's stone body back together.
The Guardian muttered softly,
"To be honest, I originally intended for the Dragon Balls to remain sealed."
"They were created to bring courage and hope to the people of Earth."
"But too many who sought them did so for evil… driven only by selfish desire…"
Suddenly, Popo spoke.
"Guardian, Shenron is fixed."
The Guardian's words were abruptly cut off.
"..."
"Was I wrong, Guardian?" Popo asked with innocent clarity.
The Guardian shook his head.
"No. Step back."
Goku and Popo immediately distanced themselves from the dragon statue.
"Is this far enough?" Goku asked.
The Guardian didn't answer.
A golden light gathered at his fingertip—
then shot straight into the stone dragon.
In an instant, the stone model transformed into radiant light and scattered toward all directions.
The Guardian spoke solemnly:
"Originally, the Dragon Balls would remain stone for one full year."
"But given the urgency, to revive those killed by Demon King Piccolo, they have been restored immediately."
"Son Goku, you must continue to grow stronger."
"Piccolo's offspring has already begun training."
"In three years, he will become extremely powerful."
"And he will surely participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament—
where, before the eyes of all, he will attempt to kill you."
Goku frowned slightly.
"So that's why you wanted me to stay and train?"
The Guardian nodded.
"Correct. Your power training is excellent, but your mindset is still unstable."
"If you do not temper it properly, you may very well lose to him."
Do old men really love suppressing the younger generation?
Goku couldn't help scoffing inwardly.
You think I'm Raditz or something?
Over a thousand battle power losing to someone with three or four hundred—
what a joke.
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