Chapter 19 - Back to Mount Taidou

After the brutal beating that the monks of the Orin Temple received from Tsuru, along with the display of his flight and combat skills, no one dared disrespect Taro again. However, upon hearing that Taro wanted to meet the temple's abbot, the monks hesitated.

"This man is clearly as strong as the other one who flew off... We cannot allow people like this to enter the temple. Although we trust our abbot, we can't take such risks," they thought.

Taro, noticing their apprehension, smiled gently and said:

"Don't think I don't know where the temple is. You can guide me. I have no ill intentions, I simply wish to visit the abbot."

The monks exchanged silent glances.

Finally, the leader spoke:

"We will bury the bodies of the poor villagers first, and then we will accompany you."

The monks began gathering the mutilated bodies, throwing them into the large crater as silence fell over the scene. Taro observed quietly, aware of the growing tension.

When the monks finished their task, they all silently ascended the mountain, with Taro calmly following behind them. Even though the monks knew the path well and tried to shake him off, he was always there, just behind them, as if he were watching them. No matter how hard they tried to rid themselves of him, he always appeared, like a shadow.

Eventually, tired and with no more options, the monks arrived at the entrance of the Orin Temple, and Taro smiled as he entered behind them.

Inside the temple, the grand main hall awaited them. Instead of the traditional "Great Hall of Buddha," a large inscription with the character "佛"(Buda) was hanging. The figure of Buddha, dimly lit, seemed to smile enigmatically.

"Wait a moment, I will inform the abbot." The monk leader said hurriedly before disappearing with the other monks into the room.

Taro, with his hands behind his back, waited in the courtyard. The temple was impeccably clean, with only a few leaves gently falling to the ground. Taro then realized that autumn had truly arrived, although he, due to his training, was almost immune to seasonal changes.

While lost in his thoughts, a line of monks with staffs appeared, surrounding Taro with serious and rigid expressions.

Taro raised an eyebrow and let his hands fall from behind his back, watching as the monks positioned themselves around him. Among them, some began to show signs of unease. Clearly, they remembered Tsuru's ferocity and became unsettled at the thought of Taro showing any hostile intent.

"Abbot, this is not a good way to welcome visitors, is it?" Taro smiled, looking at the older monk emerging from the Buddha's room.

The abbot, his hands joined in prayer, looked at Taro and responded softly:

"If I acted thoughtlessly, I apologize, noble visitor. We do not know your identity, and with the world in chaos and the temple being modest, we must be cautious."

Taro paid little mind and replied:

"Do not worry, I simply passed through today and heard from my master about the great monks of Orin. That's why I decided to visit you unexpectedly."

The abbot, curious, asked:

"May I know which master you are a disciple of?"

Taro smiled but did not answer directly. Instead, he clasped his hands together and struck them forcefully:

Bam!

Zzzt, zzzt...

Lightning and sparks danced around his hands.

"This... Bankoku-Bukkiru-Shou? You are a disciple of Mutaito?" The abbot, surprised and suspicious, asked upon witnessing the display of power.

Taro closed his hands, cutting off the electrical surge, and answered calmly:

"Yes, my master was Mutaito."

"Ah..."The abbot murmured, taken aback by the revelation.

He then gestured to the monks, signaling them to step back, before turning to Taro and saying:

"You may proceed. I will guide you."

Taro followed the abbot through the grand hall, and after a while, they arrived at a small area of the temple.

The abbot pushed open the door of a small room, and upon entering, Taro saw an elderly monk with a white beard and wrinkled face lying on a bed. The monk seemed frail, which struck Taro as odd. The old monk slowly lifted his eyes and, in a hoarse voice, asked:

"Who have you brought here...?"

"He claims to be a disciple of Mutaito. I brought him here so he could meet the master." The abbot explained, turning to Taro and murmuring softly. "When Mutaito had not yet reached perfection in his path, it was my master who guided him."

Now understanding, Taro bowed respectfully:

"Greetings, master."

The old monk, with his cloudy eyes, observed Taro and, with a faint smile, said:

"A disciple of Mutaito, is it?... Yes, yes... I can certainly see something of Mutaito's style in your hands..." He glanced at Taro and immediately recognized the influences of the master, which surprised Taro since the monk seemed to know the origin of his power right away.

"How is your master now?" The monk asked.

"He has passed away." Taro replied.

"Mutaito, a master of Ki... How could he have died so soon?"

"For your knowledge, he sacrificed his life to seal the Great Demon."

"The Great Demon was truly defeated?" The abbot asked, surprised, as the temple, isolated in the mountains, did not receive much news from the outside world.

"Yes, sir. With the help of the sage of Korin Tower, I hid the artifact that seals the Great Demob." Taro replied, his tone firm with conviction.

"The evil was contained... Mutaito, I always knew his destiny was extraordinary... He did well." The old monk sighed deeply, and then fell silent, as if reflecting.

Time passed, and the monk did not move anymore.

"Master, master?" The abbot approached, but the monk remained in a reclined position, unresponsive. Suddenly, the monk's body slipped from the bed, and the abbot, with trembling hands, murmured:

"Master... he has passed in peace..." The abbot straightened the monk's body, positioning it in the lotus stance. With a deep bow, he said:

"Amida Buddha..."

Taro also bowed silently.

After leaving the Orin Temple, Taro headed towards Mount Mutaito, traveling north.

He crossed mountains and rivers, traversed vast plains, flying swiftly along his path.

After several days, he finally reached the northern coast. Taro discreetly hid aboard a merchant ship. Using his Mangekyou Sharingan, he employed a small suggestion technique, making the crew see him as part of the team. Thus, he remained quietly aboard.

The waves of the sea crashed against the ship.

Taro stood at the edge of the vessel, gazing out at the endless horizon of the sea, his thoughts scattered.

"The Dragon Balls are already in the world, but unfortunately, I don't have the Radar... Now that I think about it, King Piccolo created the seven Dragon Balls, but in the end, it was just an illusion, an unreachable dream. In the original story, Bulma found a Dragon Ball in her own warehouse and learned of its function through records, and she, by chance, was a mechanical genius, able to create the radar. Plus, she was lucky to meet Goku early and convince him to be her bodyguard..."

"Now that I think about it, gathering the seven Dragon Balls requires luck, coincidence, and strength. But who, in this current world, would be capable of gathering all seven Dragon Balls?"

Taro then thought: "Ah, that's right. Bulma, by finding the records about the Dragon Balls and the Dragon, perhaps someone in the story has gathered the balls and made a wish? Or maybe someone just recorded what the God told the people of the lower world?"

After thinking for some time, he reached no conclusion.

"300 years... only 300 years. I can't, at the beginning of the story, be an old, useless man with a fighting power below 200. I already have the wish ready, I just need to gather the Dragon Balls in these 300 years."

"If I make the wish, I can free myself from the weakness of this body and achieve great things. Then, the sky will be the limit. The future will be completely different."

"But if I wait 300 years, I will be old and weakened."

"Dragon Balls... Dragon Balls..."

After a month of sailing, the ship finally reached land.

When the cargo was unloaded, one of the sailors noticed that someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Luffy? Where is he?" He asked.

Others, confused, replied:

"No one is missing, chief. When did we have a brother named Luffy aboard?"

"No? How strange." The sailor scratched his head, trying to remember, but couldn't. He just felt that something was off. "I think someone named Luffy was here... But he never did any work, right?"

Not understanding, he returned to the ship.

Meanwhile, Taro was already on solid ground, heading inland towards Mount Taidou. More than a month later, he finally spotted Mount Mutaito in the distance.

Almost a year had passed since his departure. Upon returning, Taro couldn't help but feel a certain nostalgia and reflection. He gathered his thoughts and, upon reaching the base of the mountain, took a powerful leap and flew to the top.

At the top, Fanfam was in the small garden watering the plants. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice from the sky:

"Fanfan!

She jumped in surprise and spilled water on the ground. She looked up and saw Taro descending slowly from the sky.

"Taro!" Fanfan exclaimed, surprised and happy.

(End of Volume 1)