Dragon Ball Xenoverse - Chapter 5

“Thirty thousand miles of river flows into the sea, and five thousand mountains reach the sky.” — Lu You

The vastness of the sea is boundless; the sea’s magnanimity embraces all rivers; the sea’s terror is in its raging waves (what the heck did I mix in here??).

At this moment, our protagonist is swimming in the ocean, having just left Kame House, splashing around in the water.

“Why did I have to swim? I should’ve learned how to fly first before leaving the island. That would’ve been much better,” Pica thought while swimming.

“I remember in the anime, Gohan taught Videl how to fly by gathering her ki. Let’s give it a try.”

Pica concentrated his ki within his body, causing ripples to spread out in circles around him. The ripples grew faster, and soon the water around Pica was pushed away by a visible white aura emanating from his body.

“Ah…” Pica roared, his body lifting into the air, “Ha!”

Exhaling, Pica said, “Flying is so simple. No wonder even Videl learned it in less than a day. I can control ki outside my body now, but I can’t use it as freely as the Dragon Ball warriors.”

Whoosh!
A long white aura streaked across the sky toward Korin Tower.

In the distance, a towering structure reached into the clouds, with an oval palace at the top and a long, thick pillar for the tower’s body (okay, I admit my mind went there).

“This is Korin Tower?” Pica floated in front of the tower, looking at the stone pillar, “It’s quite tall!”

With a burst of white aura, he flew straight up to the top of the tower.

“Ah, this is the top. What material is this pillar made of? It’s so thin yet supports such a large palace (I’ve wanted to complain about this for a long time).”

“The decorations here are pretty simple,” Pica said as he entered the palace, looking at the pure white cat leaning on a cane, “Hello, you must be Korin. I…”

“Kid, you should know the rules here. If you didn’t climb the tower from the bottom, I won’t acknowledge you. So, you, now, go down and climb up properly,” Korin said coldly, squinting at Pica.

“Uh…” Pica was taken aback by Korin’s sternness. He remembered a scene from a movie where young Gohan climbed the tower to get Senzu beans to heal his father but was scolded by this very cat for not starting from the bottom.

“Alright, I’ll climb it again,” Pica sighed and jumped down from the tower.

“Phew…” Korin exhaled, wiping sweat from his forehead, “I didn’t expect such a strong person to be so compliant.”

In the sky above Korin Tower, a green-skinned deity watched Pica from the Heavenly Realm and said to Mr. Popo, “Who is this person? His ki is incredibly strong.”

“Yes, Kami-sama. Let’s hope he doesn’t pose a threat to Earth.”

“Phew… that cat didn’t even let me talk before sending me back down. Really,” Pica grumbled as he landed on the ground.

Tap, tap, tap.

Footsteps came from the grass, and an Indian father and son appeared in front of Pica, holding spears.

“Who are you? Why are you here in Korin’s sacred land?” the father asked.

“Uh, well, I was sent down by the cat up there. He told me to climb the tower again, so here I am. Please forgive my intrusion,” Pica explained with a smile.

“You climbed to the top? Impossible! My father is the strongest warrior of our tribe and he couldn’t climb it. How could someone as thin as you have climbed down?” the child, Upa, exclaimed incredulously.

“Upa,” the father, Bora, glared at Upa, who then fell silent, staring at Pica.

Upa and Bora, it’s them. Pica scratched his head and said, “Hello, I’m Pica. I’m here to climb Korin Tower. I have no other intentions, so please don’t worry. I won’t disturb you.”

“Hello, I am Bora, chief of the Indian tribe and guardian of Korin’s sacred land,” Bora introduced himself.

Pica smiled, “Nice to meet you, but I must climb the tower now. See you.”

With that, Pica leaped hundreds of meters into the air. Bora and Upa watched in astonishment. “Father, did he really come down from the tower?” Upa asked.

“Gulp… probably,” Bora replied.

Pica grabbed the pillar, using the carved patterns to push himself up quickly. Soon, he reached Korin again.

“Hello, Korin, I’m Pica. Master Roshi sent me here. I hope…”

“I know, you’re here for the Sacred Water, right? I’ll tell you the truth: the Sacred Water is just plain water. It can’t increase your power,” Korin interrupted coldly.

“Uh, no, I’m not here for the Sacred Water. I hope you can help me learn to control my ki.”

“What…” Korin looked embarrassed, “Ahem, your power is already very strong. Why do you need someone to teach you? Actually, there’s a place above the tower where someone can guide you.”

“Above?” Pica looked up, “Got it, thanks, Korin. And…”

Pica grinned mischievously, approaching Korin, “Hehe, I don’t really like animals, except for one… cats. I love cats.”

Pica grabbed Korin and rubbed his face against the cat’s, then squeezed Korin’s cheeks, showering the cat with affection.

“Meow…” Korin purred contentedly as Pica scratched his belly. “Korin, I’ve heard there are two kinds of water here: one is the Sacred Water given after passing your trial, and the other is the Ultra Divine Water, which can unlock one’s potential but has killed many martial arts masters who couldn’t handle it. Is that true?”

“Meow… yes,” Korin said, escaping Pica’s grasp, “I don’t have Ultra Divine Water here. You’re just hearing rumors.”

“Oh, really? But you’re a deity. You can’t lie to a regular person like me,” Pica teased.

“Sigh… yes, I have Ultra Divine Water. As you said, many martial arts masters died from it, ending their lineage. So I don’t let anyone drink it anymore,” Korin admitted, looking somber.

“Korin, I want to try the Ultra Divine Water.”

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