Dragon Ball Roshi-Chapter 298: So the Tail Can Be Trained Too

Goku lost.

It was an expected outcome—after all, once a martial artist masters ki, their transformation is massive. As a practitioner of the Muten School, Ilip experienced a dramatic awakening once he unlocked the ki within him. Thanks to the Muten School's advantages, he was granted access to many advanced martial techniques on the virtual Earth network. Flight and the Kamehameha were just the basics. The true essence of the Muken, held within the Muten Tower, embodied the pinnacle of martial truth.

As a disciple of the Muten School, Ilip could not allow anyone to surpass him in the Muken. To him, that would be a disgrace to all the ancestors of the Muten School—and especially to the founding master, the Muten Roshi. The Muten Roshi had made the Muken available to all members of the martial arts association across the world, a testament to his magnanimity and transcendence. Even if Ilip couldn't fully comprehend that wisdom, he, as a disciple, absolutely could not allow anyone else to outshine him in the Muken.

Ilip's progress with the Muken was truly a result of both talent and hard work. Goku losing to such an opponent was only natural.

At eight years old, Goku had not yet learned any ki-based techniques. He had reached the quarterfinals purely through his natural physique and the foundational skills he'd been drilled in by Gohan over the past few years. But against Ilip, who unleashed triple-strength stats using the Triple Muken technique, Goku—already running on fumes—couldn't even react before being taken down.

"Sigh..." Little Bulma pouted, scrunching up her face in frustration.

"Alright, let's go, Bulma." Dr. Briefs rose from his seat, cigarette in mouth. The two stern-looking bodyguards at his side stood up as well.

"'Bulma' sounds dumb! But... fine." She reflexively protested her name, then hesitated. She glanced at the ring, where Goku lay on the ground for a while before finally mustering the strength to bow to his opponent and leave the stage.

That confused look on the little monkey's face—ugh, so heartbreaking! Did he not even realize he lost? That jerk across from him—how can a grown man be so serious against a kid this small?! So shameless! Bleh!

Dr. Briefs could tell exactly what his daughter was thinking just from her expression. He sighed. "Little Pants..."

Bulma snapped out of it, scowling. "Don't call me Little Bell! That sounds even worse!"

Dr. Briefs: "..."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the stadium, after witnessing Goku's defeat, Taro, Gohan, and Hathaway quietly left their seats. Everyone else around them instinctively ignored their presence, as if they didn't exist. It couldn't be helped—ever since Goku's identity had been revealed, people were desperate to spot resemblances to Taro or Gohan. At that very moment, who knew how many disguised reporters were hidden among the audience, eager to snap the first photos of Taro and Gohan.

To avoid trouble, Taro had cast a trigger-based psychic spell on the three of them. Anyone who looked their way would be hypnotized into unconsciously ignoring them.

Goku jumped down from the stage and let out a long breath. He felt a little down. So this was the end, huh... There were still so many opponents he hadn't faced. It stung, just a bit! He looked back—and blinked in surprise when he saw his opponent soaring away.

He can fly? Just like Grandpa and Great-Grandpa!

"Hehe! That was fun! I'll come back next time!"

Standing there blinking, Goku eventually grinned, eyes glimmering with excitement and hope. Scratching the back of his head, he looked around, twisting his neck this way and that to spot where his grandpa and the others were.

"Goku, over here."

Taro's voice echoed in his mind. Goku flinched, then turned his head around. But his body seemed to instinctively understand where "here" was. He quickly left the tournament venue, headed outside, and found Taro and the other two waiting for him.

"Grandpa! Great-Grandpa! Great-Grandma!"

Goku ran over with a smile. Gohan looked at his grandson's dirtied and slightly torn outfit and chuckled. "So, how do you feel, kiddo?"

"It was great! Really fun!" Goku laughed, arms folded behind his head and legs crisscrossed in a carefree stance. His tail wagged side to side, still full of energy. "But... I couldn't even beat him before he went all out... He's really amazing! What a shame!"

Taro scolded him. "Full of weak points."

Goku blinked with wide eyes. "?"

Gohan assumed the remark was aimed at him and said, "Master..."

Taro replied, "Why didn't you remove his tail? You know it's a weakness. If you weren't going to get rid of it, why not at least train him to overcome it?"

Gohan was stunned. "You can train that too?"

Taro: "..."

Hathaway chuckled beside him and tried to smooth things over. "Alright now, Gohan never had a tail himself—how would he know that Goku's tail could be trained too? Humans have plenty of weak points, like the brain, the eyes, the heart, but who actually tries to train their brain or eyes? That's impossible. So Gohan just fell into a bit of a mental trap, that's all..."

Taro snorted. "I don't have a tail either."

Gohan smiled and said, "Master, your abilities are something I can never hope to match."

Taro raised an eyebrow. "You brat, are you asking for a beating?"

Hathaway was amused again by the banter between master and disciple. She covered her mouth, smiling silently, then looked over at little Goku, who was standing still, holding his tail in front of him, gripping it gently and looking at it thoughtfully. Hathaway bent down, gently stroked his hair, and asked softly, "What is it, Goku?"

Goku thought for a moment, then finally lit up with a bright smile. "Great-Granny, turns out... even tails can be trained!"

He had always known that his tail was a weakness, but it had never occurred to him that he could overcome it. Even in the original story, that never crossed his mind. It might've made sense back on Mount Paozu, when he was still naïve and inexperienced, but even after traveling the world with Bulma and spending half a year training under Master Roshi, he never once thought to address his tail as a weak point. It really was a blind spot in his way of thinking.

Protect the weakness so no one can exploit it.

Or train the weakness so it's no longer a weakness.

Hathaway gently patted Goku's head and said with a smile, "If your Great-Grandpa says it can be trained, then it certainly can."

"Mm!" Goku nodded hard. Though he was young, that only made his heart more open and pure. He could feel it—compared to his Grandpa, his Great-Grandpa was far more powerful. Goku's mind was simple and clear: over the years, his Grandpa hadn't really taught him much martial arts anymore. He mostly let him train his body on his own, only sparring with him now and then.

So Goku looked up at Taro and said, "Great-Grandpa, I want to learn martial arts from you!"

Gohan stood by, smiling without saying a word. In truth, over the past few years, he had focused far more on helping Goku improve his physical condition than actually teaching him martial arts. Because it had become clear to him very quickly—this child, Goku, was a martial arts prodigy by nature. His potential was beyond what Gohan could nurture alone. Only someone like his master, Taro, could truly guide this child's growth.

Taro said, "Learning from me isn't going to be easy. Think you can handle the hardship?"