"What's this?"
Goku took the note and immediately wanted to unfold it, thinking that Yamiru had written something on it when he went back inside the house.
Yamiru hurriedly stopped him, "Don't! Don't open it."
"Oh!" Goku, who didn't really mind, folded the note back up.
"The content on this note, Goku, you must promise me not to look at it. Can you do that?" Yamiru asked seriously.
"Sure!" Goku replied with a smile.
"Wait a few days. If you feel bored staying in the mountains—well, that probably won't happen. If, by chance, you get tired of practicing and want to go for a walk—well, that probably won't happen either." Yamiru chuckled to himself before quickly becoming serious again, and asked Goku, "In any case, I should be gone for a long time, very long... If one day, you want to go gather the Dragon Balls, take an adventure, and improve your martial arts, then when you summon the Dragon, show it this note."
Goku innocently asked, "Does the Dragon know how to read?"
Yamiru replied, "It probably understands the languages of the entire universe..."
Goku: "That's amazing…"
Even the God of Destruction, Beerus, doesn't know some of the secrets that the Dragon could casually share with Goku and the others. From an intellectual and knowledgeable standpoint, it actually doesn't depend on the Earth gods who created it, but more likely on the entity standing—or rather, floating—behind it... the Super Dragon.
The Dragon God, Zalama, created the Super Dragon Balls, each one as large as a planet. Yet, they don't have the immense gravitational pull that a planet should have. Their mere existence is a miracle and a fantastic dream. Yamiru's "wish note" is a preliminary test of the Earth Dragon's intelligence and human-like qualities. If it works, maybe in the future, he'll make a contract for wishes!
Ahem...
To the Dragon God,
The humble mortal here wishes to make a wish for the One Piece, as defined below:
This and that;
1.1. Additional details, this and that...…
Appendix 1:
Appendix 1.1: …
"Yamiru? Yamiru?" Goku noticed that he seemed distracted. "What's going on?"
Yamiru shuddered, snapping out of his reverie. He gave Goku a playful slap on the head and smiled, "In any case, I want to ask you, Goku, to make sure you have no memory of what's on the note when you make the wish. That way, we can test if the Dragon can really read, right?"
"A test? Ugh~" Goku made a face, remembering the pop quizzes he used to have when learning words and math with Yamiru and Grandpa. "Sounds like a headache."
He smiled as he carefully stored the note. He was really curious to see if the Dragon could pass the test.
"But if Master Gohan wants to see it, that's fine," Yamiru added before he left. 'Goku can't see it because he's going to meet the Dragon in the future to gather the Dragon Balls, so it's more crucial for him not to see it.'
Goku waved and shouted happily, "Got it! Bye-bye! Grandpa's gone up the mountain to gather herbs. You might run into him!"
As the voice faded away, Yamiru lowered his hand from the farewell wave.
"......"
He tightened the Power Pole on his back, lowered his head in brief thought, then raised his head again, his gaze firm as ever, and marched down the mountain.
Yamiru didn't use the capsule plane. This time, he planned to walk to the Western Capital.
With his current strength, traveling on foot around the world would be much easier than it was six years ago.
If it were today, and he went back a year to fight Tao Pai Pai to the death, Yamiru was confident he wouldn't even need to risk transforming. He could defeat Tao Pai Pai easily.
"Eh?"
Yamiru, running at high speed and with ease like a cheetah, suddenly caught sight of an elderly man standing on a nearby hillside. The man wasn't very tall, wore a small hat, and had a bag filled with daily herbs, wild vegetables, and fruits. One hand held a small hoe, while the other waved goodbye to Yamiru. It was his mentor, Gohan.
"..."
A wave of emotion suddenly surged in Yamiru's heart. He didn't stop running but waved at Gohan, shouting loudly, "Master! Goodbye~!"
"Sigh, Yamiru, you're already stronger than I am. There's nothing more I can teach you…"
Gohan muttered to himself, nodding repeatedly, silently bidding farewell to his disciple.
"Master!"
Yamiru's voice grew louder, as he ran forward, then backward, crossing his arms in the air, his face full of tears and a big smile. "Next time I come back, I'll be even stronger! Stronger!!"
His running figure disappeared into the dense forest, and his voice gradually faded.
But Yamiru jumped high into the air, over one hundred meters high. Riding the wind, he clenched his fist and shouted with determination at Gohan below, "I won't give up, Master!"
Gohan looked up, deeply moved and comforted.
After a long while, when Yamiru had truly left Mount Paozu, Gohan wiped the corner of his eye. "Oh my…"
Shaking his head, Gohan quickly made his way to the small house in the mountains.
"Bringing the Power Pole along, and recently asking me about the location of the Korin Tower... Where did Yamiru hear about it? I hope he can make it. What if he falls from the Korin Tower... sigh!" Gohan thought, a hint of worry in his heart. "This child has such a stubborn streak, and it's a stubbornness born from overcoming his past weakness. People like him will double down on their determination once they realize they've become weak again… I hope Yamiru understands that too much is as bad as not enough, and that he knows when to stop and take a break. Take a break…"
Worried about his eldest disciple, Gohan returned to the small house.
That evening, Gohan heard about the note Yamiru had left for Goku, and learned that Yamiru had come up with the idea of making Goku wish without knowing the contents of the note.
While amazed at how unnecessary this idea seemed, Gohan didn't hesitate to avoid Goku and unfolded the note, curious to see what kind of strange wish Yamiru had in mind.
"......"
Gohan quickly skimmed through it, his expression showing surprise. He squinted his eyes and carefully read it again, word by word, then furrowed his brows and sighed in a wry smile.
He folded the note back up and muttered to himself, "This is too risky…"
Meanwhile, Yamiru had run out of Mount Paozu and was heading toward the Western Capital.
Along the way, he passed a regular village.
Yamiru stopped from afar, silently observing for a moment, before running to the roadside and picking several pure white wildflowers, placing them at the entrance of the village.
"..."
He closed his eyes, pressed his palms together, and bowed. After a moment, he continued running toward the Western Capital without looking back.
The breeze blew past, and the dew on the pure white wildflowers at the village entrance glistened, sparkling beautifully.