Rolling waves washed over a stretch of beach, leaving behind dark, damp marks.
The sea breeze blew softly, as soothing as a mother's lullaby.
Goku, lying on the beach near the shore, opened his eyes sleepily, rubbed them, and let out a long yawn.
"Krillin, it's time to wake up and train."
He called out habitually.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, he sensed something was wrong. He lowered his hands, looked around, and blinked in complete confusion.
'Huh? Why am I sleeping here?'
'Where's Krillin? And where's Master Roshi?'
After the Dragon Balls had turned into stone and scattered across the world, he had gone to Kame House to study under Master Roshi, where he and Krillin trained hard day after day.
Delivering milk, swimming, running, and plowing the fields—those seemingly ordinary chores had quickly tempered their bodies, making them stronger without them even realizing it.
Their training took place on an island. He remembered that yesterday, exhausted from a full day's work, Master Roshi had forced him to study and read for a while after dinner before he finally collapsed into bed and fell fast asleep.
Under normal circumstances, he should have woken up in his bed and started a new day of training with Krillin.
But why was it so empty around him now? Not only was his home gone, but Master Roshi and Krillin were nowhere to be found.
"Krillin!! Master Roshi!! Where are you!!"
Goku shouted at the top of his lungs.
However, aside from the sound of the waves, the wind, and the rustling leaves, there was no reply.
"That's weird. Where did they go?"
After shouting for a while without getting a response, Goku scratched his head, his chubby face filled with bewilderment.
"Did they go further into the island?"
Looking at the lush forest inland, he made his guess.
"Flying Nimbus!!"
He decided to call the Flying Nimbus to take him across the island to find his friends.
But even after calling for a long time, the Nimbus seemed to have lost its connection to him and never appeared.
"This is really strange. Did the Flying Nimbus disappear too?"
Goku grew more confused, but since he couldn't figure it out, his only choice was to enter the forest on foot.
"Something feels really off."
Once inside the forest, he looked up at the towering trees that stretched dozens of meters into the sky. He tilted his head, feeling that something wasn't right.
'I don't remember the trees on the island being this tall before, were they?'
"Whatever, finding Krillin and the others is more important."
He spread his arms, and his short legs began moving like a whirlwind. He zoomed through the forest in a flash, leaving a trail of rolling dust behind him.
Before long, he cleared the forest and saw the landscape beyond.
Before his eyes was a sea of golden wheat, swaying back and forth in the gentle breeze.
At the far end of the wheat fields was a town with wisps of cooking smoke rising into the air, where many figures could be seen moving about.
"Eh? Was there a place like this on the island?"
Goku stood there with his mouth agape, his small head filled with big questions.
Before his training began, he had flown all over the island on the Flying Nimbus. During his training, he had also explored deep inland. It could be said he was familiar with every inch of the island.
Yet, in his memory, this town simply didn't exist.
Filled with doubt, he quickly made his way into the town.
"Fresh fruit for sale! Three hundred Berries a pound!"
"Hey, did you see the paper? That Pirate Prince, Cavendish, has been making quite a stir in the New World again!"
"Of course I saw it! That guy actually charmed the Queen and the Princess of a kingdom so much they almost ran off to be pirates with him. Damn! If only I had looks like that!"
The lively and chaotic sounds of the town flooded Goku's ears. He looked left and right before approaching the two young men talking about the newspaper and tugged on one of their pant legs.
"Excuse me, have you seen Krillin or Master Roshi?"
Thanks to Master Roshi's teachings, a well-behaved Goku asked very politely.
The young man, currently lost in his envy, glanced down and waved him off impatiently. "Go away, kid. Don't bother me."
With that, he went back to ranting with his companion about the unfairness of the world.
Failing to get an answer, Goku turned to a fruit vendor, asking the middle-aged man who was calling out to customers, "Mister, have you seen Krillin or Master Roshi?"
The middle-aged man stopped his shouting. Instead of being annoyed by the interruption, he gave a gentle smile. "Little guy, are you separated from your family?"
Goku paused for a moment, then nodded. "Uh-huh!"
In his heart, Krillin and Master Roshi were already like family to him.
"You mentioned Krillin and Gui... Gui..."
"Master Roshi!"
"Ah, right. Can you describe what they look like?"
"Um... Krillin is about as tall as me and has a bald head. Master Roshi wears sunglasses and carries a big turtle shell on his back."
Goku gestured with his hands while looking at the man with sparkling eyes.
Hearing the description, the middle-aged man rubbed his chin, falling into deep thought.
"I've seen quite a few kids about your height, but none of them were bald."
"And an old man carrying a turtle shell? That's a very striking feature. If he had passed by me, I would definitely remember. But I've been at my stall all morning, and I haven't seen anyone like that."
The man shrugged helplessly.
"Is that so..."
The light of hope in Goku's eyes dimmed instantly.
The man felt a bit sorry for him. After a moment's thought, he stepped out from behind the stall, leaned down to pat Goku's head, and said with a warm smile, "Tell you what, how about I help you find your family? But you'll have to wait for me to pack up my stall first."
"It's okay, Mister. I can look for them myself."
After only two seconds of disappointment, Goku beamed a bright smile again and prepared to say goodbye.
But at that moment, a sudden commotion erupted in the distance.
"Run! The pirates are coming! It's the Killer Bee Pirates!"
Panic-stricken shouts drew closer as a young man ran down the street, gasping for breath as he spread the news.
Wherever he passed, everyone's expression changed instantly as they turned to flee.
An auntie buying vegetables didn't even bother to finish haggling; she hurriedly tossed some money to the vendor, grabbed her greens, and vanished in an instant.
An old man leaning on a cane, who normally had to stop every two steps, seemed to regain his vitality instantly. He threw his cane aside and ran like the wind, moving even faster than the younger men.
In an eye-blink, the street was almost empty.
The fruit vendor, who had hurriedly packed his stall and was about to push his cart away, saw Goku standing in the middle of the road looking dazed. He grew anxious and shouted, "Hey! Kid! Run! Get out of here!"
Goku looked over curiously and asked blankly, "Run? Why do we have to run?"
Seeing that Goku wasn't moving, and spotting the pirates appearing at the corner of the street, the man rushed to Goku's side, grabbed him, and pulled him into an alley.
"Shh! Don't make a sound!"
Hiding behind the corner of the alley, the man crouched down and spoke to Goku with a serious face.
Only after seeing Goku cover his mouth and nod obediently did he relax slightly, peeking out to observe the street.
Looking at his fruit cart that he didn't have time to push away, he sighed inwardly. He was likely going to lose everything today.
"These people run fast, hahahaha! Just like a bunch of rats."
Before long, the arrogant and reckless voices of pirates drifted in from the street.
"This just shows that our Killer Bee Pirates' reputation has spread far and wide! Our boss, Captain Jack, is one step closer to becoming the Pirate King!"
"You said it, hahaha! Captain Jack will definitely become the Pirate King! Anyone who dares to stand in our way, the brothers will kill, kill, kill! We'll slaughter them all!!"
The laughter drew closer, and a thick, murderous aura wafted through the street, causing the residents hiding in the buildings to tremble.
The Killer Bee Pirates were famous for their brutal and bloody massacres.
It was said that along their journey, they had slaughtered three villages and no fewer than a dozen pirate crews. Their path was paved with heads and rivers of blood.
"Hahahaha! With you brothers helping me, I, Jack, will definitely become the Pirate King and lead you all to a life of luxury!"
Captain Jack, who was two meters tall and bulging with muscles, laughed toward the sky as if the title of Pirate King was already within his grasp.
"Oh? There's fruit? Grab some, boys!"
Captain Jack noticed the fruit cart by the side of the street and walked up to grab one without hesitation.
The pirates behind him followed suit, each grabbing a piece of fruit and biting into it.
In an instant, the fruit cart was nearly half-empty.
"Pah, pah! What kind of trash fruit is this? Sour as hell!"
However, after just one bite, Captain Jack threw the fruit to the ground, smashing it into a pulp.
And he wasn't done yet. He kicked the fruit cart, shattering it into pieces and sending the remaining fruit tumbling all over the ground.
"You have the nerve to sell this kind of fruit? Disgusting!"
He spat a glob of thick phlegm onto the scattered fruit. Watching this, the middle-aged man felt a pain in his chest that nearly stifled his breathing.
This was the harvest he had worked so hard to grow!
He pulled his head back, unable to bear the sight anymore, his fingers unknowingly digging five deep gouges into the ground.
Suddenly, he felt a dark shadow flash past him. He turned his head in a hurry, only to find that Goku, who had been hiding behind him, had disappeared!
In the next second, a furious, youthful voice rang out from the street: "Hey! Why are you breaking the mister's things!"
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