The rolling waves gently brushed the beach, leaving dark streaks in the sand.
The sea breeze whispered like a mother's lullaby, comforting the soul.
Lying on the beach close to the water, Goku groggily opened his eyes, rubbed them, and then yawned.
"Krillin, it's time to get up and train," he called out habitually.
But as soon as he spoke, he realized something was off. He lowered his hand from his eyes, looked around, and blinked in confusion.
"Huh? How did I end up sleeping here?"
Where's Krillin? Where's Grandpa Roshi?
After the Dragon Balls turned to stone and scattered across the world, he came to Master Roshi's place. Together with Krillin, he became Master Roshi's student, undergoing rigorous training day after day.
Delivering milk, swimming, running, plowing fields – these incredibly ordinary tasks quickly honed their bodies, making them stronger without them even realizing it.
Their training took place on an island. He remembered being completely exhausted yesterday. After finishing dinner, Master Roshi forced him to read and study for a while before he collapsed into bed and fell fast asleep.
Normally, he should be waking up in his bed right now, ready to start a new day of training with Krillin.
But why was everything around him so empty? Not only was their home gone, but even Grandpa Roshi and Krillin were nowhere to be seen.
"Krillin!! Grandpa Roshi!! Where are you!!"
Goku shouted at the top of his lungs.
But the only sounds that came back were the crashing waves, the wind, and the rustling of leaves.
"That's weird, where did they go?"
After shouting for a while without getting a response, Goku scratched his head, his round little face filled with bewilderment.
"Could they have gone into the island's interior?"
He gazed at the lush forest within the island and made that guess.
"Flying Nimbus!!"
He decided to summon the Flying Nimbus to take him to find them on the island.
But he called for ages, and the Flying Nimbus seemed to be out of contact, failing to appear.
"This is really strange. Why is the Flying Nimbus gone, too?"
Goku became even more puzzled. He couldn't figure it out, so he had no choice but to enter the island on foot.
"Something feels off."
After entering the forest, he looked around at the towering trees, dozens of meters tall, and tilted his head. Something felt wrong.
He remembered the trees on the island not being this tall before, right?
"Never mind, finding Krillin and the others is the priority."
He spread his arms out, and his short legs moved like windmills, flashing through the forest in a blur, leaving a trail of dust behind.
Before long, he passed through the forest and saw the scenery outside.
What greeted him was a golden field of wheat, swaying back and forth in the gentle breeze.
At the end of the wheat field was a town with smoke rising from its chimneys, and many figures could be vaguely seen.
"Huh? Is there a place like this on the island?"
Goku stared blankly, his small head filled with great confusion.
Before his training, he had taken a tour of the island on the Flying Nimbus. During his training, he had also ventured deep into the island's interior. He could say that he was very familiar with everything on the island.
And in his memory, there didn't seem to be a town like this on the island.
Filled with confusion, he quickly made his way into the town.
"Selling fruit! 300 Berries per pound!"
"Hey, did you read the newspaper? Cavendish, the Pirate Prince, is causing quite a stir in the New World!"
"Of course I read it! That guy even charmed a kingdom's queen and princess, and they almost went with him to become pirates. Damn it! If only I had looks like that!"
The lively and chaotic sounds flooded Goku's ears. He looked left and right, then went to the two young men who were discussing the newspaper and tugged on one of their pant legs.
"Um, excuse me, have you seen Krillin and Grandpa Roshi?"
Thanks to Master Roshi's teachings, Goku, looking well-behaved, asked very politely.
The young man, who was filled with envy and jealousy, glanced down and waved his hand impatiently. "Go away, kid. Don't bother me."
After saying that, he continued to criticize the unfairness of the heavens with his companion, spitting as they spoke.
Having failed to get any information, Goku turned to a fruit vendor and asked the middle-aged man who was calling out to customers, "Mister, have you seen Krillin and Grandpa Roshi?"
The middle-aged man stopped calling out, not upset that Goku was interrupting his business, and smiled gently. "Little boy, did you get separated from your family?"
Goku paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, yes!"
In his mind, Krillin and Grandpa Roshi were already like family.
"You said Krillin and Turtle, Turtle..."
"Grandpa Roshi!"
"Ah, right, right. Can you describe what they look like?"
"Um... Krillin is about as tall as me, and he's bald. Grandpa Roshi wears sunglasses and has a big turtle shell on his back."
Goku gestured a few times, then looked at the middle-aged man with sparkling eyes.
After hearing this description, the middle-aged man pinched his chin and thought.
"I've seen quite a few kids about your height, but none of them were bald."
"You said the old man has a turtle shell on his back? That's a very noticeable feature. If he had passed by me, I would definitely remember. But I've been here selling fruit all morning, and I haven't seen anyone like that."
The middle-aged man shrugged helplessly.
"Is that so..."
The light of hope in Goku's eyes dimmed.
The middle-aged man felt bad. He thought for a moment, then came out from behind his stand, bent down, and patted Goku on the head, smiling kindly. "How about this? How about I take you to find your family? But you'll have to wait until I pack up my stand."
"No need, mister. I can find them myself."
Goku, who was only dejected for a couple of seconds, smiled brightly again and was about to say goodbye.
But at that moment, a commotion suddenly erupted in the distance.
"Run! Pirates are coming! It's the Rustclaw Pirates!"
A panicked voice grew closer and closer as a young man ran down the street, spreading the news to everyone around.
Wherever he went, everyone's expression changed, and they took off running.
A middle-aged woman who was buying vegetables didn't bother to haggle, quickly threw money at the vendor, grabbed her vegetables, and disappeared without a trace.
An old man who used a cane and had to stop every two steps seemed to regain his vitality instantly. He threw away his cane and ran as fast as he could, even faster than the young people.
In an instant, almost everyone on the street had vanished.
The middle-aged man, who was hurriedly packing up his fruit stand and about to run away, caught sight of Goku standing in the middle of the road, looking dazed. He became anxious and shouted, "Hey! Kid! Run!"
Goku looked at him, confused, and asked blankly, "Run? Why should I run?"
The middle-aged man saw that Goku was still standing there and noticed the pirates appearing at the street corner. He quickly ran to Goku, grabbed him, and pulled him into an alley.
"Shhh! Don't make any noise!"
The middle-aged man, hiding behind the corner of the alley, crouched down and said sternly to Goku.
After seeing Goku cover his mouth and nod obediently, he finally felt relieved. He peeked his head out a little to observe the situation on the street.
Looking at his fruit cart, which he hadn't had time to move, he sighed inwardly. He was afraid he would lose all his savings today.
"These people run fast, hahaha! Like a bunch of rats."
Before long, the arrogant and unrestrained voices of the pirates came from the street.
"This shows that our Rustclaw Pirates are already famous! Our Captain Grimbolt is one step closer to becoming the Pirate King!"
"That's right, hahaha! Captain Grimbolt will definitely become the Pirate King! Anyone who dares to get in our way, we will kill, kill, kill! We'll kill them all!!"
The jeering laughter grew closer and closer, and a thick, murderous aura spread from the street, causing the residents hiding on both sides to shiver.
The Rustclaw Pirates were known for their brutal and bloody killings.
It was said that they had slaughtered three villages and no fewer than a dozen pirate groups along the way, leaving a trail of severed heads and rivers of blood.
"Hahaha! With the help of my brothers, I, Grimbolt, will definitely become the Pirate King! I'll make sure you all eat and drink well!"
Captain Grimbolt, who was two meters tall and had bulging muscles, laughed loudly, as if the Pirate King's throne was already within his grasp.
"Oh? There's fruit? Let's all try some!"
Captain Grimbolt noticed the fruit cart on the side of the street, so he walked over and grabbed one without hesitation.
The pirates behind him followed suit, each grabbing one and biting into it.
In an instant, nearly half of the fruit in the cart was gone.
"Ptooey! What garbage fruit! It's so sour!"
However, after just one bite, Captain Grimbolt threw the fruit on the ground, smashing it into a pulp.
And he didn't stop there. He kicked the fruit cart, smashing it to pieces, and the fruit on the cart scattered all over the ground.
"How dare you put out this kind of fruit for sale? Ptooey!"
He spat a mouthful of phlegm on the scattered fruit. The middle-aged man watched this scene, his heart aching.
He had worked so hard to grow all of that!
He pulled his head back, unable to watch any longer. Unknowingly, he had left five finger marks on the ground.
Suddenly, he felt a shadow flash before his eyes. He quickly turned his head and saw that Goku, who had been hiding behind him, had disappeared!
The next second, an angry, childish voice came from the street: "Hey! Why are you breaking the mister's stuff!"
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