Although Bulma failed to retrieve the apple from Master Karin's head, she felt that she had learned a lot about her body, particularly its limits, despite lacking the strength and energy she usually gained from arduous training.
Her skin was covered in bruises, her muscles burned and seemed to dissolve, and her breathing became difficult. This was a situation she had not experienced in a long time, and it made her quite excited about the upcoming lessons Karin was going to teach them.
'You won't learn anything from me until you can get the apple,' the Immortal Cat declared the next day, after the young people had recovered from the previous day's training.
Interestingly, Letty had been the only one to touch the fruit, surpassing Goku and Bulma, who had fallen short before even touching it.
She had watched the previous three attempts closely before her turn, using this to her advantage to start far ahead of the rest. After all, she already knew what to do and what to avoid during her turn.
"As planned, Letty will start," said Karin, looking at the young Bio-Warrior. Letty let the Immortal seal her power completely before attempting to snatch the apple from the cat's head.
...
That's how that day, like many others, began: with arduous training. The Immortal didn't teach them complicated techniques, flashy attacks, or secret methods to increase their power. Instead, he taught them things they could integrate into the most basic aspects of their fighting styles and daily lives.
One day, Lazuli asked the cat a crucial question, curious about the lack of more incredible things.
"Master Karin, I understand the purpose of your training. I understood it perfectly after grabbing that apple on the fourth day. But why don't you teach us interesting attacks?" Lazuli asked during lunch, causing Karin to look at her for a moment before lowering his head and continuing his meal.
"If you could have the power to make the earth tremble or the ability to hit a tree with all your strength and make only one fruit fall into your hand, which would you choose?" the cat asked after eating all the tuna on his plate and leaving the white rice almost untouched.
He was a cat! How could he resist high-quality imported fish? At that moment, Karin was grateful for Bulma's father's great kindness, even though he had never met him in person. Just for that fish, he had become one of her favorite people!
"Well, with everything you've taught us these past few weeks, I think I'll choose the latter," Lazuli replied quickly, quite sure of her answer. After all, Karin had drilled into them that control was superior to brute force.
"Then why do you want to learn an incredible attack from me? Do you think knowing that will make you stronger? Do you think you can control it?" the Cat asked, causing Lazuli and the others to sink into their thoughts.
"Well, if it's under your guidance, then yes, I suppose it could make me stronger. Plus, I could control that supposed attack," Lazuli replied, this time taking a couple of minutes to respond due to the pause.
"Of course, I could teach you many things that I have researched over the centuries. I could even help you adapt them perfectly to your needs. But have you ever thought about it? No matter what fancy name a burst of ki has, it will still just be energy.
The secret is never in the techniques you learn or create, but in your understanding of the power you use. You use Ki as your main energy source. Do you really understand what Ki is?" When Karin asked that question, he smiled at the surprised looks on his young apprentices' faces.
"It doesn't matter how you answer; you're probably right. I don't want to debate it. What I want to convey is that when you understand every aspect of your power, the difficulty of creating or imitating techniques disappears."
"You can perform all the flashy attacks you want!" the Immortal Cat exclaimed excitedly before waving his claw and firing a small sphere of Ki that floated above the table they were using to eat.
"There's a bad habit among martial artists on Earth. They only want incredible names for their attacks to destroy more things, blow everything up, and shake the world with a single flash of their aura.
They accumulate power nonstop without stopping to review what they desperately want to gather and without any control. If there's one thing I'm going to teach you, it's to have such meticulous control over your Ki that you'll be able to count it as if it were drops." As if to illustrate his point, Karin's sphere of energy separated into small points of light that moved in fixed patterns under his control.
"By achieving this, you will reach a point where you will no longer consider growing in energy quantity relevant, as if you were a water reservoir. However, I will not prevent you from doing so. If you decide to grow in energy quantity, know that every bit of your new strength will be completely under your control." As he spoke, each point of energy collided with another. Instead of exploding, however, they simply merged back into a sphere of Ki.
"Will we be able to seal Ki like you do?" asked Letty. This was one of the few times she had acted proactively, which pleased Karin. He was pleased that his candidate to inherit his teachings was becoming more expressive.
"Of course! One human who managed to imitate this spell of mine with Ki and improve its effect was Mutaito, Muten Roshi's master. He was one of the few martial artists to explore Ki, and his teachings have reached you. They haven't lost their usefulness," replied the Immortal Cat, his voice hinting at sadness. Muten Roshi was one of the candidates he had in mind, but unfortunately, he died.
"Are you talking about Mafuba?" asked Bulma, interested, because although she already knew this technique, it always seemed to her more like a spell than a means of using Ki.
It really had been based on a spell! From Master Karin, no less, a person who had ventured into not only Ki but also the power of magic and psychic power. Unlike Bulma, who had decided to learn only one spell and use the most basic mental power while devoting herself entirely to Ki.
"Exactly! The Ki attack that works like magic, even using talismans, which are magical elements. I was surprised by the result, but Mutaito, who was old, had low energy consumption." Karin shook his head, lamenting the death of that legendary warrior.
"I think I understand what you mean. You could say that ki projections are useful but could be improved, right?" Goku asked, causing Karin's eyes to shine with excitement.
"That's a really interesting concept. Every new result in the study of Ki, no matter how small, silly, or insignificant, is a big step. This one, for example, has given me some interesting ideas," Karin replied, unleashing his aura and causing a giant lucky cat to appear behind him.
"Now, why don't we get back to training?" After calming his energy, the cat asked that question, though it was more of a statement than a question.
...
After that conversation, the group stopped focusing on the possible techniques they could learn and concentrated fully on Master Karin's training.
Letty saw the most improvement in her condition because she had practically started from scratch. She easily absorbed and integrated the Immortal's teachings, and her strength improved with each passing moment. Although this was a secondary result, it was significant.
One of the things Karin devoted himself to teaching them was how to have a deeper connection with the surrounding nature, which fit quite well with the Sora School, to which Bulma and Goku belonged.
Karin taught them that they should dig within themselves and understand the world in which they lived. Only by doing so could they unleash effects they normally could not.
He guided them in meditation to reach the deepest part of themselves, where they could reflect on and understand themselves. Goku and Bulma discovered that they could easily connect with their hidden powers.
Accessing this metaphysical place within themselves was usually more complicated. Although both could channel this hidden power, their methods were contrary due to the difference in their essences and had certain disadvantages.
Integrating Karin's knowledge enabled them to develop and refine their unique methods. Goku unwittingly felt that he could now transform completely into Ozaru without losing his sanity.
He had never expected completing that small step to be so easy! Before, due to the inertia of thought, he had always suppressed his inherent savagery, which affected his mentality slightly.
After all, except for his usual attitude, which could be seen as a personality trait, he couldn't just be a battle maniac or someone who acted irrationally.
Now? Although he remained polite, he had reached a state of mind that could be called 'Free Spirit.' It was then that he discovered his control of his Ozaru form had improved greatly.
As for Bulma, understanding her body's capabilities without physical enhancement or energy opened a door that gradually expanded. Her ability to modify her body improved more and more.
Due to the difference in power and nature, she could not replicate Goku's abilities with his Ozaru form. However, the power she could now harness from her Plant form had grown to higher levels than before. Still, there was much to explore in this area.
Lazuli had no hidden powers. She was neither a mutant nor an alien. She was just a normal human being. It was this 'simplicity' that made her improvement much more direct than that of the others, especially because, during the final ascent of Karin's Tower, she discovered something interesting.
Her journey into her heart to face her 'Heart Demon' was more difficult than that of her companions, but this experience, combined with the Immortal's training, strengthened her resolve, a quality essential for every martial artist to reach new heights.
She didn't know how to describe what she had gained, but she planned to demonstrate it when necessary because she still had a lot to digest.
In short, they may not have had an abrupt increase in power that made them masters of the Earth or beings who could shake the universe with a single breath. However, what they learned here would serve them throughout their lives as long as they wanted to improve.
Would drinking from that water improve their power? Perhaps before, when they felt the desire to try it. After all, no one could refuse the benefit of obtaining superior power, even if it meant risking death.
But currently? None of the four had any intention of using such a method to gain strength, while they could strengthen themselves using their own means.
That doesn't mean they won't use external means to increase their strength, but there's no need to resort to measures that are clearly a last resort, such as Ultra Divine Water.
Speaking of the divine, during their stay, they learned how close they were to Kami-Sama's Lookout. When Karin told them everything they needed to know, their eyes turned toward the sky.
They wanted to visit the house of god and chat with Him for a while! For that reason, Bulma asked Karin to contact Kami-Sama and ask for permission. Instead, however, the Immortal Cat invited the deity to his house.
It's not like he hadn't done it before. They were practically neighbors, and Karin had known Kami-Sama since before he became a god. They had an excellent relationship.
Thus, the god appeared at Karin's home, accompanied by a small, green-skinned boy who resembled him. If you didn't know any better, you would instinctively think they were father and son, and in a way, they were.
Piccolo Jr. had also arrived.