Sage of the Karin Tower

The Hermit Is a Cat

Goku hauls himself up through an opening in the floor and finds a strange platform crowned by a pillared pavilion. Looking around for the fabled power-up, he hears a voice calling from above and climbs into an open ringed chamber. Waiting for him is a small white feline leaning on a staff, who compliments the speed with which this chibi reached the top. When Goku asks where the sage is, the cat explains that the sage is standing right in front of him, though he prefers the title cat hermit.

A Mind Reading Welcome

Goku asks straight away about the legendary water that grants strength. Karin gestures to the Super Holy Water sitting in a jar on a pedestal at the center of the room and asks why he wants it. Before Goku can speak, the hermit silences him and reads his intentions directly, noting that the boy is gathering the Dragon Balls to revive Upa's father and will need to surpass Mercenary Tao to do it. Goku is stunned, and Karin smiles, judging his heart to be pure.

The Game Begins

Goku climbs the pedestal to grab the jar, but Karin knocks him off, insisting he must earn the water by seizing it. What follows is a frustrating dance as Karin dodges every lunge, bonks Goku with his staff, and eventually balances the jar on the staff itself while darting around the chamber. Exhausted and starving, Goku collapses. Karin tosses him a senzu bean, explaining that a single seed sustains a warrior for ten days. Fed and restored, Goku still cannot catch the hermit. Karin finally reveals that only one other climber has ever made it to the top, three hundred years earlier, and that student was Master Roshi himself. When Goku asks how long it took his mentor to claim the water, Karin holds up three fingers, not minutes but years.