"What did you say? You want to go look for them on your own?"
Garp, who had been comfortably sunbathing on a deck chair, sat up and looked at Goku in surprise.
"Mm-hmm!"
Goku nodded.
After failing to get the location of the World Martial Arts Tournament from Garp, Goku had come up with this idea.
"Old Man Garp, I want to find Master Roshi and Krillin on my own. I can't keep relying on you."
"Besides, I think searching for them will be great for my training. By the time I find them, I'm sure I'll be much stronger than I am now!"
Goku clenched his fists, full of fighting spirit.
Garp's eyes flashed, and he let out a boisterous laugh. "Using that as a form of training, huh? You've certainly got some interesting ideas! Hahaha!"
He rubbed his chin and pondered for a long moment before asking Goku seriously, "Have you really thought this through, Goku? The sea is full of all sorts of dangers. You could lose your life at any moment."
Goku nodded without hesitation, his gaze firm. "I'm not afraid! Old Man Garp, I believe in my own strength!"
Garp stared into his eyes, sensing the unshakable will behind them. He stood up, patted Goku's head, and laughed at the sky.
"Hahaha! Then go ahead! Goku, I believe in you!"
Seeing the joy on Goku's face, he added, "I'll have a ship prepared for you shortly. You can use it to venture out across the sea!"
"But you must remember one thing."
His expression suddenly turned deathly serious. "You are absolutely forbidden from becoming a pirate, do you hear me?"
"A pirate?"
Goku blinked, thinking back to the group of pirates he had encountered on the island last time. He quickly shook his head. "Why would I ever become a bad person like that?"
Garp finally broke into a smile. "Good. You're a good kid; I can rest easy knowing that."
After he finished, Goku scratched his head and said, "Oh, by the way, Old Man Garp, I don't need a boat. I want to swim to the next island."
"Without a boat?"
Garp raised an eyebrow in surprise, then rejected the idea after a moment's thought.
"It's a good thought, but you still need a ship at sea. It'll let you store your essentials and give you a place to rest when you can't find an island."
"I see..."
Goku tilted his head, thought for two seconds, and then slapped his fist into his palm with a smile. "Then I'll take a boat!"
...
'Old Man Garp really is a good person.'
Goku strolled leisurely along the edge of a cliff near the ocean, his hands behind his head.
Since it was nearly noon, Garp had told him to wait until after lunch to leave. Meanwhile, he was preparing the boat, food, water, and other necessities.
Feeling bored on the battleship, Goku had decided to take a walk and unknowingly ended up here.
'Yeah, Big Sister Gion is also a great person. I've only been away for a few days, but I already miss her cooking.'
He rubbed his stomach as if the sight of Gion's grand feast was appearing right before his eyes.
The image vanished, replaced by the faces of Master Roshi and Krillin.
"I wonder where Master Roshi and Krillin went. I'll have to ask them when I find them," he muttered.
Suddenly, a faint cry for help drifted through the air, carried by the sea breeze.
"He-help! Somebody help me!"
"Huh?"
Goku paused, instinctively pricking up his ears to listen.
Once he heard it clearly, his expression shifted. His short legs moved like a blur as he rushed toward the source of the sound.
"Someone's calling for help. I have to go help them!"
At that moment, five hundred meters ahead at the base of the cliff, a young boy was struggling desperately in the churning waves.
Because the waves were so rough, the boy had swallowed a lot of seawater. He looked as if he would be swallowed by the ocean and drown at any second.
Fortunately, his will to live was strong. He struggled to stay afloat and shouted for help with all his might, seeking a sliver of hope.
Above him, Goku followed the sound to the edge. After looking around, he realized the voice was coming from below and peered down.
There, he immediately spotted the boy about to be consumed by the sea.
"Hey! Hang on! I'm coming to save you!"
Since it was an emergency, he didn't stop to strip off his clothes as usual.
Instead, he gauged the distance and leaped off the cliff, entering the water in a straight dive.
...
In the cold seawater, Goku opened his eyes and prepared to swim back to the surface.
But as he turned, he accidentally caught sight of something glittering deep on the seabed.
The light it emitted looked very familiar.
'Huh? Could that be Grandpa's memento?'
He remembered the Dragon Balls that had scattered across the world after the dragon granted the wish last time. The Four-Star Ball was the item his grandfather had left behind. He treasured it above all else and had always planned to find the time to get it back.
His instinct was to swim toward the object that looked like his grandfather's memento, but before he could move, he remembered why he had jumped in.
He made a mental note of the glowing object's location and quickly swam toward the surface.
...
On the surface, battered by the raging waves, the young boy had reached the limit of his endurance.
He reached out his right hand in desperation as if to grab onto something, but there was nothing there. His body began to sink slowly as the waves mercilessly swallowed his head.
Just as his last remaining hand was about to disappear beneath the surface, a figure burst out of the water, grabbed his arm, and swam toward the distant beach.
A short while later, heavy coughing echoed across the sand.
"Cough! Cough, cough!"
The boy spat out several mouthfuls of seawater that had been choking him and grasped Goku's hands with immense gratitude.
"Thank you for saving me! My name is Lian!"
Goku responded with a bright smile.
"Hee hee, I'm just glad you're okay. I'm Son Goku!"
Waving off Lian's invitation to visit his home, Goku watched him leave before turning back and diving into the sea once again.
He had to see if that really was his grandfather's memento!
...
At the same time, on the other side of the island, Garp had paid for a decent-looking ship from a fisherman and carried it back to the battleship on his shoulder.
Upon returning to the ship, Lansa—who had gone out to help Goku look for his family and had just returned—hurried forward.
"Vice Admiral Garp, I heard that Goku is planning to go out to sea on his own to look for his family."
Garp saw him and patted his shoulder with a laugh. "You've come at the right time, Lansa. Go help prepare some supplies for the little guy. Make sure to pack plenty of food; that kid has quite the appetite."
Lansa gave a bitter smile. "Putting that aside for a moment, Vice Admiral Garp, have you forgotten that no one is allowed to go to sea privately without the permission of the World Government?"
After returning and hearing about the plan, Lansa had immediately realized that Garp had most likely forgotten about this rule, so he had been waiting for him to return.
Sure enough...
Garp froze for a second, then slapped his forehead. "That's right! How could I have forgotten about that!"
Lansa said with a wry smile, "In that case, once Goku comes back, maybe we should just have him stay with us after all?"
Garp rubbed his chin. "Hmm... it looks like that's the only way."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]