"There's no rush," Karnel said, taking the water cup from the table and sipping it slowly. His eyes drifted toward the kitchen occasionally. "I saw Chi-Chi went to make something delicious. Let's talk after we eat."
Goku smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Speaking of food... I remember eating some kind of fruit that tasted incredible before. Do you have any more? Can you share some?"
Damn! I'm the guest here! Karnel thought, but he couldn't help but smile at Goku's straightforward nature. With a casual wave of his hand, he produced a pile of holy fruits on the table. "If you like these things, I'll give them to you. I have plenty anyway."
"By the way, I noticed your Mount Paozu looks quite barren, so I have some seeds for this fruit. I'll plant them for you as well." Without waiting for Goku's response, Karnel drew a dimensional tear in the air and pulled out a large bag of holy tree seeds, tossing it onto the table.
Goku's mouth practically watered as his eyes darted between the pile of fruits on the coffee table and the bag of seeds. His eyes sparkled with delight. "Hahaha! Then I won't be polite about it! Mmm! Delicious!"
Karnel shook his head with amusement. The novelty of these fruits would wear off eventually, he personally preferred Earth's diverse cuisine.
"Karnel, this is a dessert I just made. Please enjoy it slowly," Chi-Chi said, carrying a large plate of various fruit ice creams to the only remaining corner of the coffee table. She glanced at Goku, who was eating heartily, and whispered with mild exasperation, "Goku, you're so thoughtless! You don't know how to properly entertain guests at all!" With that, she retreated to her room.
Goku devoured all the fruits on the table and smacked his lips, as if still unsatisfied. After sitting quietly for a moment, his eyes lit up with renewed excitement. "I'm so full~! Now you can tell me, where is this new place for training?"
"Ahem! Are you really in such a hurry?" Karnel coughed lightly and took a large gulp of water to moisten his throat.
Seeing Goku's anxious expression, Karnel straightened his posture and became serious. "You remember what those two Saiyans said before they left, right? That a more powerful Saiyan would come to Earth within a year?"
"Yes! More than three months have passed now, and I really want to fight that powerful Saiyan right away!" Goku's hands and feet moved animatedly as the desire for battle surged in his heart.
Karnel chuckled and shook his head. "Don't joke around. With your current strength, you have no chance of winning. That Saiyan could kill you with one punch!"
One punch?
Goku stared at Karnel with a puzzled expression. Could it really be that powerful?
"You could literally be knocked down with just one punch," Karnel continued, forming a circle with his hands and throwing a mock punch in the air. "That Saiyan is much stronger than you. Even if you use the Kaio-ken, it would be useless, almost meaningless."
Goku's expression grew serious. "If it's really like you said, then I might not be his opponent right now." His tone suddenly shifted, becoming filled with hot-blooded excitement. "But wouldn't it be a shame not to fight such a powerful opponent? Karnel, take me to that new training place quickly, I can't wait!"
It was truly wishful thinking to expect someone to increase their combat power by more than 200,000 through such inefficient training methods in just half a year.
"Uh! There's no new place for you to train this time," Karnel said with a mischievous smile, producing a universal capsule and tossing it up and down in his hand.
Goku looked disappointed for a moment, then quickly perked up. "It doesn't matter! Even if I'm on Earth, I'll train hard and strive to improve my strength as soon as possible to fight that Saiyan!"
"Karnel, did you come here just to talk about this? Come outside and fight me first! I haven't had a good battle in so long!" Without waiting for Karnel to refuse, Goku ran out the door with fighting spirit blazing.
"Why are you so impatient? You ran out before I could finish what I was saying," Karnel said with an amused smile, still holding the universal capsule. He stood up and followed Goku outside.
Two figures, one in front and one behind, quickly crossed the sky and arrived at the bottom of a mountain stream.
"Come on! I haven't fought with you since last time, so let me show you the results of my training with King Kai!" Goku stood atop a peak and declared solemnly.
Karnel positioned himself on another mountain peak, smiling as he watched Goku's enthusiastic display.
"Kaio-ken times three!"
Goku didn't dare to be careless in battle against Karnel, who appeared to be an ordinary person without any detectable aura, yet whose strength was unfathomable. He immediately condensed his entire body's momentum to peak condition and activated the Kaio-ken technique.
Karnel observed Goku, now emanating a light red aura, and calmly raised his hand in a starting gesture.
"Here I come!"
Goku shouted and rushed forward, surrounded by a faint red light that made him look quite extraordinary.
With one punch, he shattered the mountain beneath Karnel's feet into pieces. Large rocks tumbled and crashed into the stream a hundred meters below, sending up massive splashes of water.
It seemed that as long as the body was strong enough to withstand it, the Kaio-ken technique could theoretically be used dozens or even hundreds of times, making it almost comparable to the Saiyan race's innate transformation abilities.
"The Kaio-ken is indeed an excellent technique, but unfortunately it puts too much strain on the body," Karnel mused, watching Goku's strength triple after using the technique. A trace of genuine surprise flashed across his calm face. "Most people can't bear it—their bodies would collapse easily."
Knowing about something was one thing, but seeing it with his own eyes made it much more real.
Still, it was only a trace of surprise.
Goku's current strength really wasn't that impressive.
Even using the Kaio-ken to triple his power, his combat level was only slightly above 20,000.
Seeing Goku continuously launching fierce attacks, Karnel naturally wasn't willing to be outdone. He suppressed his strength to a similar level, flew into the sky, locked onto the light red figure rushing toward him, and threw a punch of his own!
The clash of their fists created a thunderous boom that echoed through the mountains, and Karnel realized that this sparring session would serve as the perfect warm-up for what was to come. But first, he had something much more important to give his friend—something that would truly awaken the warrior within.