Cherreads

Chapter 52 - "The Next Step: Korin Tower"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Not long after Harry and the others left, Bulma came downstairs from her little room.

The moment she learned they had already gone, her temper nearly exploded again.

Fortunately, Tights was there to soothe the little girl.

If Harry had still been around, he would have been stunned. Five-year-old Bulma already had the idea for what would become the Dragon Radar.

The reason she had been in such a rush was because she wanted to tell him, that cool big brother, that she could build a device that could locate the Dragon Balls.

Then, once she finished it, he would take her along on the search.

Racing through the sky, Harry chatted with Gine and Celari.

There was no doubt now that Gine was having trouble seeing through Harry anymore.

Celari was still fine, mostly because she was only six years old. Even with lots of emotions, she wasn't complicated enough to overthink things.

"Harry, if the Dragon Balls are really that important, are we sure we shouldn't just take that one?" Gine finally asked.

If this had been before, they would have grabbed something like that without hesitation.

"Aunt Gine, even if we take it now, it doesn't really do much. It's better to leave it with that little Bulma. She'll definitely be interested in making a wish too. Maybe she and her dad, Brief, will come up with something like a Dragon Ball detector.

"Besides, we can head to Kami and ask him if he can locate the other six Dragon Balls for us. If he can do it directly, then we won't need to search for them ourselves."

Harry had been expecting this question, so he answered calmly.

This was already part of his plan.

He didn't actually know whether the old Kami could pinpoint the exact locations of the Dragon Balls, but based on some guesses, it might be possible.

In any case, they also needed to inform Kami so he would know they were aware of the Dragon Balls and intended to use them to summon Shenron.

"That old guy looks polite, but he's calculating everything behind the scenes. I even doubt whether he really tried to find Kakarot. Will he actually help us find the Dragon Balls?" Celari blurted out, startling both Gine and Harry.

They had to admit, sometimes Celari said things that made way too much sense.

Even Harry wondered if the old Kami had already found Kakarot long ago and simply chose not to say so.

Even if they couldn't find the boy, they should at least have found the spacepod. If they really wanted to look, there was no way they wouldn't discover the landing site.

Gine took a deep breath, forcing down her emotions.

Choosing to trust Kami had been Harry's decision.

"As Earth's guardian, it's normal for him to be cautious of outsiders like us. Since we haven't torn things apart, if he stays polite, we can't act recklessly.

"We're no longer the kind of Saiyans who can only survive through invasion and conquest. That era ended with the destruction of Planet Vegeta. Whatever the truth was, a civilization built on conquest will never last.

"Whether that Namekian Kami sincerely helps us find Kakarot or helps us locate the Dragon Balls, as long as he doesn't stand in our way, he isn't our enemy. We are on Earth after all, and this is his territory."

Harry spoke steadily.

He couldn't speak for Kami, but he also couldn't let Gine or Celari rough him up.

In truth, he could mostly understand Kami's way of thinking.

If he were in Kami's position, faced with uncontrollable aliens, he would do the same.

It was no different from when Saiyans had to face Frieza.

After Harry's explanation, Gine and Celari stayed quiet.

Over the past half year, Harry had given them many lessons, helping them see how different he was from most Saiyans at his core.

No invasion, no needless cruelty.

Honestly, nobody truly enjoyed senseless destruction. Even if Saiyans loved battle and the rush of adrenaline, not all of them were monsters.

There were always exceptions. It was just that in the old Saiyan society, such exceptions rarely survived.

Times had changed. In the vast universe, a merciful Saiyan was like a sharp blade waiting to be shattered.

They flew west, across a continent and then over a massive ocean.

Eventually, they reached the giant forest beneath the Heavenly Realm.

Since they were flying low this time, the scenery was completely different from when they had left Kami's palace.

The reason was simple. They were looking for Korin Tower.

From a distance, Harry spotted it first: a single pillar rising from the ground straight into the sky, impossibly tall and awe-inspiring.

This kind of miraculous structure could only exist in a world like Dragon Ball.

Gine and Celari weren't particularly curious, though.

Maybe they had seen too many strange things on Earth already. They were starting to get numb to it.

They flew up the massive stone pillar. In less than a minute, they reached the top of Korin Tower.

It was high, yes, but only by Earth standards.

For the three of them, even flying all the way to Kami's palace took less than a minute.

Landing on the top, Harry stopped first. Gine and Celari naturally followed.

"Big brother Harry, there's a huge white cat over there." Celari's surprised voice made Harry and Gine turn toward a stone column near the center.

And there he was: Korin the Cat Hermit.

Right now, Korin was caught between fear and shock.

His face didn't show it, but inside he was panicking.

Of all things… three terrifying extraterrestrial beings had shown up at his doorstep.

"Uh, welcome to Korin Tower, honored guests from another world. I am the master of this place. You may call me Korin, or the Cat Hermit."

Korin tidied his fur with one paw while leaning on his staff with the other, stepping forward to greet them.

"Cat… Hermit?" Celari's eyes sparkled. Clearly she was overwhelmed by how cute and fluffy he was.

That look made Korin extremely uncomfortable, yet he didn't dare complain.

He was a dignified hermit, and now he was being called a kitty…

But he couldn't risk angering these visitors. All he could do was endure.

"Earth is so strange. There's a Kami and also a hermit. But isn't a hermit just a kind of god?" Gine said offhandedly.

Korin's expression froze. He could only force a smile and explain, "I'm… not quite on the same level as Kami."

"Oh? Then what's the difference?" Gine asked.

Korin broke into a cold sweat.

He had no idea how to explain.

"It probably has to do with authority," Harry stepped in, helping Korin escape the awkward moment.

"..."

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

More Chapters