Chapter 146: Doubts Arise, Master and Disciple Discuss Ki

Another hour passed, and Yamiru finally collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. His tongue lolled out as he gasped for air, his lower back and shoulders aching, unwilling to move a single finger.

Son Gohan, unfazed, stopped sparring and smiled. "Finally had enough, huh? Alright, take a break. Goku, come here."

He had long noticed his grandson watching from the sidelines and waved him over.

Little Goku was already quick to understand gestures like waving and simple phrases like "Goku" and "come here."

As it turned out, the boy was inherently brilliant. In the original story, he also learned everything incredibly fast, often drawing connections and adapting creatively. The reason he left the impression of being a fool or an idiot was entirely due to Son Gohan's untimely death, which resulted in Goku's severe lack of life experience and basic knowledge. However, a lack of education clearly had nothing to do with innate intelligence.

Little Goku stumbled slightly as he walked toward Son Gohan, nearly falling over.

The absence of his tail left him somewhat bewildered, as his sense of balance felt oddly off.

Yamiru lay on the ground, wondering if the boy had even realized his tail was missing. He asked, "Master, are you planning to teach Goku martial arts?"

It was a casual question. To Yamiru, someone like Goku, a natural martial arts prodigy, not training in martial arts would be an absolute waste.

"Hmm..." Son Gohan seemed to hesitate. "I haven't quite decided yet."

"Huh?" Yamiru was surprised.

Son Gohan ruffled Goku's hair. "You saw what happened last night. When this child transforms, his ki increases dramatically — by at least eight or nine times, I'd estimate." He sighed softly. "I can feel it. This boy's natural talent is extraordinary. He was practically born to practice martial arts. It's no wonder that alien fellow said Goku's race is known as a warrior people."

"Master, are you worried that if Goku becomes too strong, he might lose control? That no one on Earth could stop him?" Yamiru asked.

Son Gohan glanced at him. "And you're not worried?"

The old man had long realized that his disciple was essentially an adult in the body of a twelve-year-old boy. While he treated Yamiru like a child in daily life, in conversations, he spoke to him as an equal, respecting his thoughts.

"Of course I'm worried," Yamiru replied, propping himself up with some effort. He joked, "If Goku trained to reach your level, Master, I doubt anyone in the world could handle his transformed state."

"Not even necessary. If Goku were half as skilled as I am, I probably wouldn't be able to deal with him," Son Gohan said. "At that point, I'd likely have to call on my own master for help." He shook his head.

Half of Son Gohan's level and amplified tenfold in great ape form, could Master Roshi even handle that? Yamiru was skeptical. However, if Son Gohan was referring to having Master Roshi intervene to cut off the great ape's tail, that made sense. Still, the conversation made Yamiru curious about his master's true combat strength.

"Master, can you sense ki?" Yamiru asked. "I've heard from the Fourteenth Morth of the Orin temple about something called ki. And our Turtle School's Kamehameha seems to be a martial art that uses ki as well."

Son Gohan smiled and nodded. "That's correct."

"Really?" Yamiru managed to stand up with difficulty. "Then, Master, how do I compare to Goku in terms of ki?"

Son Gohan observed them carefully before replying, "When you're fully recovered, your ki is naturally stronger. But as things stand right now, Goku's ki is slightly higher."

So, when I'm utterly exhausted, my ki is weaker than a combat rookie's? Yamiru glanced at the wide-eyed and innocent Goku, thinking to himself: What was Kakarot's initial combat strength again? I can't remember. Did it change from the original story? I do recall his combat power being 10 when he met Bulma to search for the Dragon Balls. So, this kid's current combat power should be somewhere between 5 and 10, right?

Having sparred with Goku earlier, Yamiru could confirm that the boy's strength already surpassed that of an average adult Earthling.

The old master shook his head and said, "The difference is actually minuscule. I can only distinguish between your ki because I'm standing so close. If I were farther away, I probably wouldn't be able to tell yours apart from Goku's. In this regard, your eyes are much more convenient."

"But I need to actually see with my eyes." Yamiru muttered.

"Perceiving ki is also limited by distance," Son Gohan remarked, intrigued by his disciple's thought process. "The farther away you are, the harder it is to sense."

Yamiru looked puzzled. "Is that so?"

In his mind, the characters in the manga had ki-sensing ranges that covered the entire planet. Goku, that monster, could even sense the Namekians who had migrated to a new homeworld across the vastness of space. Of course, by that time, Goku was a full-powered Super Saiyan — his strength was leagues beyond Son Gohan's current abilities.

Yamiru reconsidered. "That makes sense! If ki sensing weren't limited by distance, how could I have slipped past that old crane, Shen, without him noticing? There's no way I'd believe Tsuru doesn't know how to sense ki. It seems that his ki-sensing range, like Son Gohan's, isn't very far — or perhaps even shorter. Thinking about it, at this stage, the ability to sense ki doesn't really matter.

After all, the strongest character in this "version" is Master Roshi, whose combat power tops out at 100 or 200. At this level, fights are primarily close combat after face-to-face encounters, and the attack speed is still within the limits of what martial artists can follow with the naked eye. So, in this low-level stage of combat, what's the point of ki sensing? It's better to just charge in! Besides, in the manga, the practical use of ki sensing wasn't shown until the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament when Goku descended from Kami's Lookout.

Only in the later stages, when Super Saiyans became as common as houseflies, did ki sensing truly shine as a tool for early warning and prediction."

Seeing his disciple lost in thought, Son Gohan grew curious and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"I was just thinking how a martial artist's abilities seem to align with practical needs," Yamiru replied. "Master, your skills should be considered among the best in the world, right?"

Son Gohan thought for a moment and modestly said, "The best? Probably not. But I'd say I'm confident in being among the elite."

"But even as one of the world's top martial artists, you can't attack someone hundreds of meters away, right? And your attack speed wouldn't be completely untraceable to opponents of the same level." Yamiru casually shared his thoughts. "So, since there's no need to evolve more advanced ki-sensing techniques at this stage... well, that makes sense, doesn't it?"

With that, Yamiru began to connect more dots. When Raditz arrived on Earth, Goku had spent five years leisurely improving his skills, yet his progress was nowhere near what he achieved in just a few months after that event. And the training he did for half a year on King Kai's planet in the afterlife didn't yield as much as a few days in the gravity chamber! Could it be that a martial artist's growth is tied to their perception and awareness?

After defeating Piccolo Jr. and winning the World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku was essentially the strongest on Earth. All he needed to do was keep Piccolo's suppressed. Was that why his progress during those years was relatively slow?

"Such an idealistic concept!" Yamiru silently ridiculed his own theory, feeling like he might be overthinking it.

"What you're saying isn't without merit." Son Gohan mused, then chuckled warmly. "You truly have a unique perspective. Still, these are matters for you to explore on your own after you've graduated. I have a feeling you'll carve out your own path — without a doubt!"

"Master, I think so too!" Yamiru replied with a grin.

He had to carve out his own path.

"If ki training really is tied to one's resolve, then I absolutely cannot waver." Yamiru thought with determination.