Chapter 1: Beginning of Training

When John flew his plane to the Turtle Hermit's house located deep in the ocean, he happened to arrive just as Master Roshi and the others were having dinner.

The roar of the plane outside startled Master Roshi, Goku, Krillin, and Launch, who were eating inside. The four of them put down their bowls and chopsticks and rushed out.

As soon as Goku saw that it was John, he happily exclaimed, "Haha, John, you're here!"

Krillin shrugged indifferently, unsure of what this person was there for, while the blue-haired Launch looked on with curiosity.

John greeted Goku and then walked up to Master Roshi, bowing as he said, "Master Roshi, I would like to learn martial arts from you starting today."

Master Roshi looked at John and noticed that his physical condition had changed dramatically since the last time he saw him; even Goku, whom he considered exceptionally talented, seemed to pale in comparison.

Of course, a person's innate talent is not the only factor that determines their future achievements in martial arts, but it must be said that physical talent is indeed one of the most important factors.

Since he had already agreed to accept John as a disciple, Master Roshi would naturally keep his word. However, this did not mean he would easily agree to take John on as a student. So he told the others, "You all go back inside and continue eating. I need to talk to John about something."

With that, Master Roshi pulled John aside and asked, "Did you bring any gifts for your apprenticeship?"

"I should say upfront that I won't accept you as a disciple without a gift," he added.

John felt a bit speechless; he had delayed his arrival just to avoid helping find a girl. Unexpectedly, he still couldn't escape.

Fortunately, he had prepared some gifts just in case. So John said, "Master, wait a moment; I'll get it for you."

After saying this, John went to the plane and took out a package. He rummaged through it until he found a capsule box and pulled out a capsule before handing it to Master Roshi.

"Master, this is a special gift I prepared for you. It's something every man would like; you know what I mean!" John said with a wink at Master Roshi.

Upon hearing John's words, Master Roshi took the capsule and said lewdly, "You really understand your master's thoughts. It's true that with age comes wisdom; compared to you, Goku is just too naive."

Master Roshi stuffed the capsule into his pocket and told John, "Let's go; pack up your plane and belongings so we can go inside for dinner."

Seeing that Master Roshi finally agreed to take him on as a disciple made John extremely happy. He turned the plane back into a capsule and placed it in the capsule box before following Master Roshi into the house with his luggage.

The next day after breakfast, Master Roshi tidied up his home into a capsule and took John and the others on an airboat to a nearby large island.

Launch stayed home to prepare dinner for everyone while Master Roshi led John and the others out. He said, "Before we start formal training, I need to give you all a test."

After looking around at their surroundings, he pointed at a rock in front of him and said, "From this rock to that tree is about one hundred meters. Now I'm going to test your speed."

"Running fast is very important; if you can beat an enemy in battle but they try to escape, being fast will allow you to catch up."

"And if you can't defeat your enemy but can run fast enough, you can escape their pursuit. Only by surviving can you become a martial artist."

"Who wants to go first?" With that, Master Roshi looked at John and the others.

At this moment, Krillin confidently said, "I'll go first." He walked over to the base of the tree and got into position.

Master Roshi pulled out a stopwatch and shouted loudly: "Start!"

As soon as Master Roshi's voice fell, Krillin quickly ran the hundred meters. After checking the time, Master Roshi said: "Ten seconds four; very good."

Krillin proudly replied: "Actually my best time is ten seconds one."

The next test was for Goku. Although Goku's starting position was not standard at all, he ran with an impressive speed of eight seconds five—breaking the existing human record for one hundred meters.

Not only Krillin but even Master Roshi was astonished; he never expected such a small child could run so fast over one hundred meters.

Finally came John's turn. He wanted to test how strong he was now with this new body.

So John got into position and when Master Roshi shouted start again, he took off running quickly. With a whoosh sound, he crossed the finish line in eight seconds.

This left both Goku and Krillin astonished; especially Goku who knew that John's strength had not been anywhere near his own before.

Seeing that his new disciples were pleased with their speed results made Master Roshi think they needed some new goals. He then said: "John, help me keep track of time while I show you something."

With that, Master Roshi took off his heavy turtle shell and walked one hundred meters away. At John's signal to start again, Master Roshi dashed across the finish line at an incredible speed.

When John looked at the time again: five seconds six—this was truly impressive! Krillin and Goku looked at Master Roshi with admiration.

Master Roshi smiled and said: "Did you see? This speed is beyond ordinary humans'. In the coming months of training together I will strengthen your willpower and physique until you can surpass me."

Krillin looked expectantly at Master Roshi and asked: "Master, can we really surpass you?"

Master Roshi replied: "Of course! I have confidence in that; you all should have confidence too. Starting tomorrow we will begin formal training."

At this point in time, the sky had slowly begun to darken. Master Roshi said: "It's about time we prepare to head back for dinner. But before we do that we need to do one more small test."

He then picked up a stone on which he wrote a character for 'turtle' before throwing it down into the forest below while saying: "You all need to find that stone with my writing on it within thirty minutes; whoever finds it first gets dinner while those who fail or exceed their time will have to go hungry."

After saying this without paying attention to John or the others anymore, he happily walked back towards Turtle Hermit's house.

Looking down from such a high cliff made Goku and John exchange glances before both jumped down simultaneously.

Only Krillin looked at the height of the cliff before deciding to take another route; for him those two were reckless fools while he was just an ordinary human.