Goku crossed the white tiles in a few massive strides. He stopped right behind the dark figure.
"Hey. Are you Kami?"
The man did not flinch. He slowly poured the last drops of water from his wooden bucket over a strange purple plant. He set the bucket down on the stone and turned to face the boy. His large eyes were completely blank.
"I am Mr Popo. I am the attendant of this sanctuary." The man answered. His voice was incredibly soft and hollow.
Chi-Chi caught up to them a second later.
"His attendant?"
She narrowed her dark eyes. Something felt entirely wrong about this simple gardener. He stood right in front of them but he gave off absolutely no energy. He felt like a total void. She pushed her sharp suspicions down and offered a respectful bow.
"Kami spoke about you two just a moment ago. You are the fighters who defeated Piccolo."
"How do you know about that?"
"Kami watches everything that happens on the earth."
So calling him a literal God was not just an exaggeration.
Goku bounced on his heels with pure excitement.
"That is awesome. Can we go meet him right now?"
Mr Popo did not change his blank expression. He looked at both of them.
"You must show me proof first. Do you have any evidence that Master Korin allowed your presence here?"
"Show him the bell Goku."
Goku untied the red string from his belt. He held the small golden bell flat in his open hand.
"Master Korin told us to show you this."
Mr Popo stared at the little bell.
"Korin trusts you. That means you have potential. But potential is not enough. You must pass my test before you meet Kami."
"A test? Do we get to fight?"
"Yes. You must defeat me in combat."
Goku put his hands on his hips and laughed out loud.
"That sounds easy. You do not look like a fighter at all."
Chi-Chi completely ignored the idiot standing beside her.
She kept her dark eyes locked on the strange gardener. The man gave off absolutely zero ki. He felt like an empty hole standing right under the bright sun. That total lack of presence set off every single alarm in her head.
She dragged her right boot back against the smooth white tiles. She raised her fists and dropped her weight into a low and focused stance.
"If those are the rules. I accept your challenge."
Goku launched himself forward. He threw a massive right hook aimed directly at the attendant. Chi-Chi pushed off the ground a split second later to cover his blind spot.
Mr Popo simply leaned his head back. Goku hit absolutely nothing. Popo took a single calm step forward. The rapid punches rushed harmlessly past him.
He reached out. His dark fingers clamped down hard on the brown tail swaying behind Goku.
"Hey, let go!" Goku whined.
Popo ignored the complaint. He spun on his heel and threw the boy across the plaza like a heavy sack of potatoes. He aimed the flying Goku directly at Chi-Chi.
Chi-Chi widened her eyes. A screaming boy in an orange gi was flying straight at her face.
"Get out of the way!!"
She dug her boots into the white tiles to kill her momentum. She was going way too fast to stop. Goku crashed head first into her stomach.
They tangled into a chaotic knot of limbs and hit the stone floor. Goku ended up sitting squarely on her face.
Chi-Chi let out a muffled shriek of absolute fury. She shoved her hands up and violently launched the heavy boy off her head.
Goku rolled across the tiles and grabbed his sore tail.
"Will you stay out of my way?!"
"That was not my fault!"
"Try using your head before you charge blindly at a target!"
Mr Popo watched them bicker on the sacred stone. He did not shift from his calm stance.
"Your teamwork is terrible. You must learn to fight together if you want to pass."
"Oh, a two-on-one? That's just bullying, Mr. Sultan. Don't worry—I'll pull you down from those clouds myself."
Mr. Popo blinked his large eyes slowly. He gave a small nod.
"You want a fair fight. Very well. You may attack whenever you are ready."
Chi-Chi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She pushed her ki deep into her legs. She kicked off the stone tiles.
She did not run straight at him. Her body blurred into sudden motion. She used the Afterimage technique.
A dozen perfect copies of Chi-Chi surrounded the dark attendant in a wide circle. They all crouched low and prepared to strike at the exact same time.
Mr. Popo looked around at the ring of angry fighters. He raised his hands to his round cheeks.
"Oh my. There are so many of you now." Popo said. His tone held absolutely no real surprise.
He casually threw a single punch straight forward.
His dark fist slammed directly into the face of the real Chi-Chi.
The loud smack echoed across the quiet plaza. The dozen false images vanished into thin air instantly.
Chi-Chi stumbled backward. She caught her balance after three heavy steps. She clamped a hand over her stinging nose. Her eyes watered from the sudden and sharp pain.
She stared at the blank attendant in total shock.
How did he find her real body so incredibly fast?
"You make far too much noise. I did not need to use my eyes. I heard your boots scuffing the tiles. I heard your heavy breathing. You gave your exact position away."
Chi-Chi dropped her hand. She felt like an absolute fool.
The answer was incredibly obvious.
He already knew Master Korin. Trying to use a basic trick from the lower tower on the attendant of the heavenly realm was completely stupid.
She narrowed her eyes and shifted her weight.
"Let us see how you handle this then."
She kicked off the white stone.
She used her Skywalk technique to step hard on the empty wind.
She pushed herself high above the plaza and hovered in the thin air.
She pulled her fists back and unleashed a furious barrage.
She threw dozens of rapid punches straight down at the ground.
A heavy storm of invisible Kiai blasts rushed toward the dark attendant.
Mr. Popo stood completely still. He took the bombardment head on.
The violent air pressure seemed to wash right through his body without leaving a single scratch on his clothes. He simply looked down at his feet. The smooth white tiles were totally untouched.
"Your attacks did not break the floor."
Mr. Popo noted. He tilted his round head up to look at her.
"Did you push the air into the ground to hit me from below?"
He figured out her entire trap in two seconds.
"Damn right!" She shouted.
The white plaza exploded.
The buried air blasts violently tore out of the stone directly beneath Mr. Popo.
A massive geyser of pressurized force bombarded the dark attendant from the ground up.
The invisible Kiai blasts erupted like a geyser.
A massive pillar of rushing air shot straight up from the tiles. The violent pressure swallowed the dark attendant entirely.
Chi-Chi stayed floating above and watched the heavy wind swirl. She expected to see him knocked clean off his feet.
The rushing wind died down.
The space below her was completely empty.
Chi-Chi felt a sudden chill. A dark finger tapped her right shoulder lightly.
She spun around in midair. Mr. Popo floated right beside her. He did not use any visible ki to fly. He just stood on the thin air as if it was solid ground.
"A very clever trick. Was that all?"
Chi-Chi threw a desperate backhand at his face. Popo simply leaned his head back. He pressed a single finger against her forehead. A tiny push sent her plummeting backward.
She hit the white tiles hard. She rolled to her feet and breathed heavily. Her trap failed completely.
Goku ran up next to her. He stared at the dark attendant with wide eyes.
"Wow. He is incredible. He did not even block. He just moved right through your attack."
"How do you move like that?"
Mr. Popo slowly drifted down to the plaza. His shoes touched the stone without making a single sound.
"You are a disciplined fighter—do not misunderstand me. But you force your energy outward to crush your enemies, and in doing so, you make your intent far too loud. Learn to become as silent as the sky… and strike with the swiftness of lightning."
Popo pointed a finger at both of them.
"You are very strong. But your power is completely wasted. Your bodies move before your minds are truly ready."
Chi-Chi pushed herself off the cold tiles. She brushed the white dust from her knees and stood up straight.
"Master Korin taught me something close to that. He made me read his breathing. He told me to predict his movements before he even stepped forward."
Mr. Popo did not move. He kept his large eyes locked on her face.
"Master Korin has taught you well—to read the physical world. But prediction is nothing more than a refined guess. You still watch the body… while completely ignoring the spirit, and the intent behind it."
Popo raised his dark hand and pointed a single finger right at her chest.
"You have cleansed your soul of hatred and blind anger. Your heart is clear now… far clearer than before. You no longer fight with rage. But the intent to strike still lingers deep within your mind. You think of victory… you fixate on landing the blow. That heavy intent sends ripples through the air around you. I do not predict your movements—I feel them… the very instant your desire to attack takes shape."
Chi-Chi blinked in surprise. The strange dark man saw right through her. He knew exactly what she went through.
"You must empty your mind completely. Abandon the urge to impose your will upon the world.When your spirit is truly still, there will be nothing to predict. Your enemy's movements will simply flow into your awareness… like a drop of water upon a tranquil pond."
Goku tilted his head. He stared at the dark attendant with genuine curiosity.
"Like sensing an enemy's ki…"
"You've felt it too?" Chi-Chi asked.
"Yeah… it's like I could see their intent behind the attacks—especially the evil ones—but only for a moment."
"That's the first step. Once you learn to sense a person's energy, you can tell what kind of intent it carries—good or evil. And in battle… that makes all the difference."
Suddenly, a sharp shhh-nik cut through the air. Chi-Chi froze, her hand flying to her waist. Her sword, Kumokiri, was vibrating violently inside its scabbard.
"Whoa!"
Goku said, pointing. The sheathed blade began to rise, hovering just above Chi-Chi's hip.
The leather-wrapped hilt slowly pulled free of the scabbard, the bare steel gleaming as it floated into the open space between them.
"Kumokiri?"
Chi-Chi stammered, backing away. Goku stood stock-still, eyes wide.
The blade didn't stop. The steel began to stretch and reshape, glowing with a pulsing inner light. The shape warped, twisting and molding into a larger form.
In seconds, the brilliant light dissolved, and a tall woman with cascading, silver-white hair and striking yellow-gold eyes stood before them.
She was clad in a rich blue tunic and skirt, patterned with swirling golden clouds over soft white trousers, and finished with matching blue boots.
Gold adornments clasped her hair and decorated her wrists. She was the personification of the blade.
"Still going on with those cryptic philosophies, huh, attendant? Some things really never change… no matter where we are."
Popo let out a soft, knowing chuckle.
"Kumokiri has always lacked patience, just like the storms she commands."
Chi-Chi was trembling, pointing at the woman who had just replaced her blade.
"C-can... can you actually manifest in the... real world?"
Goku looked from Chi-Chi to the woman, back to Chi-Chi.
"Her sword turned into a woman!"