Over thirty thousand years—with Yamiru's current level of mastery, that was more than enough time to successfully recreate the legendary Senzu Bean, a famously miraculous item from the Dragon Ball world…
Though, in truth, it was merely a… byproduct that took shape due to another unexpected accident.
His gaze drifted to the top of a nearby water pool, where a flask marked with the character for "God" rested.
Inside was the lethally poisonous Ultra Divine Water.
That was the result of Yamiru's experiments with the Kaioken.
This substance could indeed activate a person's latent potential to some degree, but it was also highly toxic.
To put it simply, it condensed both the power-boosting benefits of the Kaioken and the body-destroying drawbacks into a single, concentrated liquid.
It was only after the emergence of the Ultra Divine Water that Yamiru's long-stalled Senzu Bean project unexpectedly succeeded.
The effects of the Senzu Bean—replicating the body, preserving the parts the user needed, achieving healing—these were things Yamiru had already been capable of. He could even make the beans seem "intelligent", allowing them to automatically recognize the user's needs and provide targeted treatment.
But…
He couldn't implant these effects into ordinary beans. In other words, he couldn't mass-produce Senzu Beans through cultivation.
At first, if he wanted Senzu Beans, he had to craft them one by one with his own hands.
He had assumed Senzu Beans were an agricultural product.
Turns out, they were a handicraft!
And required fine manual processing…
But when he used the Ultra Divine Water to nourish and revive experimental beans, the most perfect Senzu Beans he had ever envisioned suddenly came into existence, as if overnight.
The underlying principle behind this phenomenon was something even Yamiru couldn't fully grasp—even the well-informed King Kai was left scratching his head in confusion.
Perhaps this was simply one of nature's coincidental miracles…
By reserving a few finished Senzu Beans as seeds and irrigating them with Ultra Divine Water, more beans with the same effects could be grown.
The annual yield was around a dozen or so.
Of course, for Yamiru at this point, the real enjoyment lay in the process of creating the beans themselves.
As for the Senzu Beans? He had little personal interest in them.
So over all these years, he never bothered stockpiling them year after year.
After all, when it came down to it…
Anything a Senzu Bean could do, he could do himself.
If needed, Yamiru could just craft a Senzu Bean on the spot. And it didn't even have to be a bean—he could make Senzu Apples, Senzu Lychees… even Senzu Roast Duck! The flavor was fully customizable.
Not only did he possess divine magic as Earth Kami, but as the first of the soon-to-emerge God Race, Yamiru's mastery over heaven energy and natural energy had reached a level beyond most people's comprehension. For him now, as long as he willed it, concepts like "stamina" or even health bars had become nearly meaningless—he simply didn't operate on such limitations anymore.
And what Senzu Beans couldn't do? He could do that too.
Once a person died, Senzu Beans were useless—but as Kami, he could abuse his authority to craft a Body for the deceased! The only difference was the addition of a halo above the head; otherwise, it was identical to their living form.
As for whether King Yama would recognize this Heavenly Body as a legitimate resident of the afterlife… well, that wasn't Yamiru's problem.
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"The path of cultivation boils down to three things: Body, Ki, and Will."
The night passed, and by morning, within the halls of Korin Tower, the masked animal-faced sage calmly shared the hard-earned wisdom of his experiences.
By the water pool, Annin and the tiny girl Joey watched while eating from their bowls.
The white cat listened with rapt attention.
"What binds and unifies the body, ki, and will… is the cultivator's heart." Yamiru paced slowly inside Korin Tower. "When the heart is attuned to its optimal state, it strengthens the body, refines and elevates energy, and solidifies one's willpower and conviction."
He spoke at length, but his words had little effect on his audience.
Joey let everything go in one ear and out the other, wholly focused on eating. Annin seemed to ponder his words, but her entire being was already devoted to the Furnace of Eight Divisions, repairing rifts in spacetime—she had little room left for personal growth. As for the white cat that had climbed the tower, expecting it to immediately grasp these foundational principles of cultivation was simply unrealistic.
Seeing the cat's utterly bewildered expression, Yamiru paused and chuckled.
"Little cat—" He hesitated, as if amused by the term. "If all you want is to increase your strength, you should realize something: just by climbing Korin Tower, you've already surpassed your former self."
The cat twitched its ears, then experimentally clenched its paws. Its eyes widened. "I thought it was because of that bean I ate earlier…"
"Korin Tower has been enchanted with a spell. Those who climb it endure trials far beyond normal limits—not just tests of perseverance and conviction, but also physical endurance." Yamiru echoed the words once spoken to him by the former Cat Sage. "By overcoming those trials, you've grown stronger. You were born without ever knowing your parents, wandering alone. Because you look so much like a cat yet can speak like a person, you've never been sure whether you're an animal-person or just… a cat. You heard the legends of Korin Tower and the immortal sage, so you struggled through countless hardships to come here."
The cat's jaw nearly hit the floor. "I… don't remember telling you any of that!"
"I am the Kami of Earth. What did you expect?" Yamiru grinned. "Little cat, you didn't climb Korin Tower just to get stronger, did you?"
The cat sheepishly rubbed its whiskers. "But… a lot of what you said earlier went right over my head."
"You'll understand in time." Yamiru replied. "Your comprehension is probably better than some 'youngsters' I've met."
The cat blinked, not grasping his meaning. Youngsters?
"The first thing you must learn—and perhaps the only thing you'll truly master here—is 'ki.'"
"Ki…" The cat repeated solemnly, as if the word carried immense weight.
Yamiru glanced at the flask of Ultra Divine Water atop the pool but dismissed the thought. He wasn't in the habit of carrying a staff, and lugging around a giant water jug seemed ridiculous.
Instead, with a flick of his wrist, a pair of bells materialized in his palm.
He tied them to his waist and gave one a light tap—it chimed crisply.
"Here's your task: take these bells from me, and your training will be complete." He clasped his hands behind his back and stood perfectly still.
The cat tilted its head. What did snatching bells have to do with learning ki?
Before it could finish thinking, it had already pounced—swift and silent, like a true feline.
Of course, to Yamiru, every movement was riddled with openings.
The cat didn't even see him dodge. It landed on all fours, twisted around, and leaped again.
"Eliminate unnecessary movements." Yamiru sidestepped effortlessly, still facing away.
Does he have eyes on the back of his head?! The cat's fur bristled in shock.
Then it noticed something strange: despite Yamiru's movements, the bells hadn't made a single sound.
How?!
Is… is there a ghost?! The cat's fur puffed up in alarm, and it nervously licked a paw to steady itself.
"Your preparatory movements, even your intent to attack—to me, they're as loud as beating drums." Yamiru smiled, knowing the next few years wouldn't be boring. "Eliminating unnecessary motions isn't just about your body. It's about the noise in your mind as well…"
The day passed swiftly. Under the night sky, the exhausted cat lay by the pool, panting as it lapped up water.
"What's… the point… of this training?" it wheezed.
When no answer came, the cat turned its head—only to see Yamiru's back, his voice quiet.
"Perhaps the greatest use… is that it has no use at all."