Chi-Chi took a slow step backward.
Her dark eyes locked onto the old Guardian.
"He is still alive."
Goku tilted his head in total confusion.
"Wait. What do you mean? We saw him blow up. There was nothing left."
"He just said the rule out loud. If one of them dies the other dies too. Kami is standing right in front of us."
Kami gave a slow and heavy nod.
"Yes, the original King Piccolo is destroyed. But in his final moments he managed to cast out an egg. He transferred his soul and his memories into a new body. His reincarnation is already hatching down on the earth."
"That is great news. I was upset I did not get to fight him at full strength. Let us go find him right now and finish the job." Goku said.
"You cannot do that. He is hiding his energy completely. And you must understand the terrible cost. If you hunt him down and kill him you will kill me as well. If I die the Dragon Balls will turn to ordinary stone forever. The magic will leave this world permanently."
Chi-Chi clenched her teeth. She hated being backed into a corner.
"So we are completely trapped."
Kami looked out at the vast open sky.
"He will hide and train for three years. He plans to enter the next World Martial Arts Tournament to humiliate and kill you both in front of the entire planet. That is his revenge. My favor is simple. I need you both to stay here. You must train under Mr Popo for the next three years. You must enter that tournament and defeat him in the ring."
Kumokiri walked straight into the center of the group.
"Let me train the girl." Kumokiri announced.
The sudden demand caught everyone completely off guard.
Goku blinked in pure surprise. Chi-Chi stared at her tall sword spirit. She did not expect that at all.
Kami looked down at the silver haired woman.
"You do not take disciples. You have never once offered to teach a mortal."
Kumokiri sank down to one knee right on the white stone.
She lowered her head.
The sudden display of actual respect shocked Chi-Chi even more than the request itself.
"Mr. Popo is a highly competent master. I watched them both closely. Goku is exactly what his methods require."
A brief pause.
"The boy needs to learn how to quiet his mind… and fight on instinct alone. But Chi-Chi is entirely different."
"She's too sharp… too rational. Trying to make her fight like a quiet breeze only dulls what makes her strong. That approach wastes her edge. She needs a different path if she's going to reach the top. I'll show her how to truly wield her power."
Kami stared at the kneeling sword spirit.
He leaned his weight on his wooden cane and let the silence stretch across the bright plaza. He looked over at Mr Popo.
The dark attendant stood perfectly still and gave a slow nod.
"The spirit speaks the truth. The boy requires all of my focus. His mind is incredibly loud. Teaching him true stillness will take the entire three years. Splitting my attention would only hold the girl back."
"Very well. You may take Chi-Chi as your sole student."
Kumokiri stood up. The display of serious respect vanished from her face instantly.
Her arrogant smirk returned in full force. She dusted off her blue knees and walked right up to her wielder.
Chi-Chi crossed her arms. She stared right back into those glowing golden eyes and did not flinch at all.
"That's quite an assessment. You are ignoring everything I sacrificed to get here. My early days on the mountain and the three years I spent training under Master Korin."
"You are the only one ignoring the truth. I respect your hard work perfectly well. Korin built you a very solid base. And your father taught you how to hit things incredibly hard. They gave you great tools. But you are just wearing their clothes."
"So I am just going to wear yours instead by that logic?"
Kumokiri let out a loud laugh. The sound bounced brightly off the clean white tiles.
She stepped closer to the young martial artist and leaned down just a fraction.
"...Not even close."
Kumokiri tapped a single fingernail directly against the center of Chi-Chi's forehead.
"I am not a tailor. I have zero interest in making outfits for little girls."
Chi-Chi kept her arms crossed.
"Let me make this clear: You survived down there because you're stubborn, but that alone won't save you from what's coming; your mortal masters taught you the rules of fighting, but from here on, you'll need to keep up with gods, demons, and anything else that stands in your way. Up until now, you've been walking the exact same path as the others; that ends here—you're going to carve out your own, entirely unique way to fight over the next three years."
Chi-Chi looked down at the smooth white tiles.
"I do not even know where to begin. Building a completely new foundation from nothing is incredibly hard."
"Stop crying before we even start the actual work! How do you think your previous teachers became masters in the first place?"
Chi-Chi frowned. She opened her mouth to answer but Kumokiri kept talking.
"They figured it out by failing. They tried new things and got hit. They lost over and over until they found what actually worked. Every single master reaches the peak through total failure. Even literal gods have to make mistakes to learn."
The logic made perfect sense but the practical application felt like a giant wall.
She spent her entire life following specific instructions.
Now she had to invent the concepts herself.
"I am going to give you a very clear target right now. A goal as simple as eating your morning breakfast. You have exactly three years to defeat me in a fight."
Chi-Chi let her expression turn completely cold.
She took the massive challenge seriously right away.
Mr Popo watched the exchange from a few steps away. He slowly raised a dark hand and covered his face.
"The girl named Chi-Chi is going to have a very miserable time."
Chi-Chi ignored the quiet comment from the attendant. She kept her focus locked entirely on the tall sword spirit.
"Is that really it? I just have to defeat you in a fight? That is the entire training plan?"
Kumokiri let out a sharp laugh.
"I like the attitude—you treat the challenge as simple as it sounds, but do you actually have the skill to back that confidence right now? Popo is a wall you haven't even begun to climb; multiply his skill tenfold and you might approach my level—even standing here with only a fraction of my true power, I'm completely out of your league, far above everyone on this plaza, including the god of Earth and his attendant."
Chi-Chi widened her eyes in pure shock.
She glanced over at Kami but the old green man did not argue the arrogant claim at all.
"There is a catch of course. I can only manifest a physical body up here in the divine realm. The second we leave this sanctuary I turn right back into a piece of cold metal. A legendary weapon is completely useless without a strong hand to actually swing it."
Goku crossed his arms and nodded.
He caught on to the logic immediately.
"So it does not matter how tough you are up here. Against Piccolo down on the earth you would not be any help at all by yourself."
"You're completely right, even if I hate hearing it out loud—I can't fight your battles down there."
She turned her focus away from Goku. She stepped right up to her student and placed a firm hand on Chi-Chi's shoulder.
Her bright golden eyes softened just a fraction.
"But my strength isn't the point of this training—I was in your head the entire time; I watched you fight your own ghost, I heard you scream at your shadow, and I know exactly what you said—you refused to be just another weak shadow standing behind the strongest fighters in the world."
Chi-Chi went completely still. She did not look away but her breathing hitched for a brief second.
"If you actually want to stand on the absolute peak..."
Kumokiri gripped her shoulder a little tighter.
"You won't reach it by copying their moves—you have to build your own identity, develop your own fighting style, and win entirely on your own terms."
Create my own identity.
The phrase echoed loudly inside her head. She searched her mind for a clear answer.
What was her actual goal when she started this long journey?
Was she really just chasing a simple rematch against Son Goku?
She glanced over at the loud boy.
She only lost their very first fight because of her own blind arrogance.
She let her guard down back then and paid the harsh price.
If they fought right now she would win without a single problem.
But she knew that advantage was completely temporary.
If she simply followed the exact same training routine as him she would eventually fall behind.
Playing by his rules would just turn her back into a quiet shadow.
She needed a completely different game plan.
Chi-Chi raised her head and looked right at the tall spirit.
"Fine. I will develop my own fighting style."
Kumokiri let out a loud sigh of relief. She dropped her hands to her sides.
"We are finally getting somewhere. But you are absolutely not training in those ruined rags."
The spirit snapped her fingers.
A wave of cool blue energy washed right over her student.
The torn fabric of her cheongsam knit itself back together instantly.
A brand new golden symbol rested directly on the center of her chest.
Chi-Chi looked down at the fresh clothes. She raised a mocking eyebrow.
"I thought you said you weren't a tailor."
"Ha! Keep pushing your luck. One more bad joke and I will leave you completely naked on this sacred stone."
Chi-Chi ignored the threat and studied the new mark on her chest.
She read the kanji 志 carefully.
It stood for raw ambition, intense focus and sheer willpower.
It described her exact mindset perfectly.
A smile broke across her face.
"Thank you."
"Just get yourself ready."
The sword spirit turned around to face the rest of the group.
She locked her bright golden eyes right on the boy in the orange gi.
"I will give you a free piece of advice Goku. If you do not want to choke on Chi-Chi's dust for the next three years you need a massive head start. Go back down the tower and ask Korin for the Ultra Divine Water."
Goku scratched his messy hair in total confusion.
"What is that?"
"It is a highly lethal magic poison. It kills almost anyone who drinks it. But if your body somehow survives the brutal shock it forces every drop of your hidden potential straight to the surface."
Kumokiri leaned slightly forward and studied the wild-haired boy.
Her bright golden eyes narrowed in brief calculation.
"But looking at you, I have a very strong feeling you will survive the poison just fine."
Goku did not hesitate for a single second.
A massive, eager smile stretched across his face.
"Okay then. I will go get it right now."
He spun on his heel and sprinted straight toward the edge of the divine plaza, fully prepared to slide all the way back down the red staff to the tower below.
Chi-Chi watched him run away.
All it took was one casual vote of confidence and the vague promise of getting stronger.
That was entirely enough for Son Goku to gladly risk his own life.
The absolute idiot was literally rushing off to drink a lethal magic poison just because someone told him he was tough enough to handle the pain.