Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you a new chapter! The 22nd Tenka’ichi Budokai arrives and with it the longtime rival of the Turtle School, the Crane School! Master Shen and Master Roshi have been rivals and almost enemies since their youth, one favoring intensive physical training and applying a body forged like steel to martial arts; while the other focuses mostly on techniques and ki utilization above all else. When these two schools clash, just who will come out on top? Which of the martial artists makes it through the preliminaries and who will end up fighting who?
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Chapter 32 – The 22nd Tenka’ichi Budokai Begins
Within the large competition hall of the temple, every martial artist had gathered and were waiting for the preliminaries to begin. Some were leaning against the wall, others were stretching to limber up for the upcoming matches, and others were practicing a bit as a warm up, shadowboxing or striking the air with techniques they’d honed for years.
“Whoa… It looks like even more people than last time.” Krillin said as he gazed at all the fighters that filled the large hall.
“Hey! It’s those guys! They were awesome in the last tournament!” One fighter said to another, but was easily heard by the group from the Turtle School.
Not too far from the group, the gathered martial artists in the competition hall noticed a VERY familiar face.
“Hey… That old man… That’s Jackie Chun.” One fighter pointed to the old man in the black traditional martial arts uniform.
“Yeah, it is! Last time’s winner!” Another martial artist said in surprise at seeing a winner come back to defend their title. Most that won the title of ‘Strongest Under the Heavens’ tended to start their own schools and spend their time passing on their martial arts to disciples.
Goku had no such thoughts or concerns as he walked right up to the old man. “Old timer!” He said with a smile and a wave.
“Eh?” Jackie Chun turned to face Goku and looked up just slightly. “Oh ho! We meet again whippersnapper! Though I don’t recall you being so tall.”
“I grew a bit over the last three years.” Goku laughed before looking at Jackie Chun with determination. “I hoped you’d come!”
Jackie Chun grinned behind his beard and mustache. “I thought I’d at least try to defend the title once.”
Goku raised both of his fists in front of him with a bright grin. “I’m gonna try my best to beat you this time!”
“Hohoho! It seems you’ve trained even more, eh?” Jackie Chun mentioned with a bit of praise. “All of you, in fact.” He looked at Krillin, then Bulman, then Caulifla and Kale, and finally his eyes settled on Launch. “Though it seems you’ve added another to your group this time around.”
“Yo!” Launch gave him a casual wave. “I was a spectator at the last tournament. But I’ve trained up over the last three years, and now I’m ready to compete.”
Jackie Chun nodded to Launch with a grin. “This will be fun.” It was a lighthearted comment, but said with the tone of a master that had gained confidence over his many decades of training. ‘I’ve been training as well to get back in shape and make myself as strong as possible, but these youngsters are definitely going to make me work for it.’
Their chat was cut short as the speakers within the hall crackled to life. One of the elderly monks of the temple stood atop one of the platforms where fights were held and spoke into a microphone.
“Ahem… Thank you all very much for gathering today from all corners of the world for this, the 22nd Tenka’ichi Budokai. As you are all aware, in recent years, the number of participants has increased so much that we’ve taken to holding the tournament once every three years, rather than the previous once every five years. Even so, the number of contestants entered in the preliminary rounds is an astounding one-hundred-eighty-five!” The old monk proclaimed the ever increasing popularity of the tournament. “But from this large number, only eight will move on to the main tournament…this will be a truly grueling battle. Prepare to give everything you have!”
Everyone in the competition hall lined up to draw their lots and get their place in the huge bracket for the preliminaries. As soon as a contestant got their number, they showed it to the monks and then moved over to the huge board holding the brackets to see where their name would be written and which of the four blocks they’d be in.
“Number seventy-one…” Krillin looked across the expansive bracket and saw where his name had been written. “Second half of block two, huh?”
“I’m block one! Second half!” Goku said with a smile as he found his name on the bracket.
Launch let out a little chuckle. “Looks like you and me don’t get to mix it up right off the bat, Goku.” She pointed out her name on the same block one bracket, but on the opposite side. “I’m in the first half.”
Caulifla grumbled at seeing her place. “Block three…but I don’t see anyone worth fighting.” There wasn’t anyone impressive standing around the third platform that she could see.
“I’m in block four.” Kale found her name. “First half.”
“Block two, but in the first half.” Bulma said while shooting a grin at Krillin. “Looks like we won’t be fighting until the main tournament.”
Krillin gave her a confident grin. “Seems like it.”
Goku looked over at Jackie Chun who wasn’t too far away. “What about you, old timer?”
“Hmm…number one-seventy-eight… So, block four, second half.” Jackie Chun told them with a smile.
“So we’re all split up.” Caulifla had a grin on her face now. “That means the main tournament is going to be fun!”
The crackling of the speakers got everyone’s attention.
“The preliminary bouts to determine the eight finalists of the Tenka’ichi Budokai will now begin! All contestants, please confirm your placement on the bracket and gather at the appropriate ring!” The monk using the microphone began the preliminaries. “The rules are as follows: you will fight one-on-one, if you fall out of the ring, are knocked unconscious, or plead ‘mercy’, then you lose. The use of weapons is prohibited. There is no time limit from this point, so please fight on until a winner has been determined.”
“Let’s go, guys!” Goku smiled at his girlfriends and best friend.
“Yeah!” Everyone agreed brightly, looking forward to their matches.
The referee at block one tapped his clipboard with his pencil. “Okay… Let’s start the block one preliminaries. Contestants one and two, please enter the ring.”
Launch grinned as she stepped up onto the platform. “Just have to win a few matches…then the real battle starts.”
“Good luck, Launch!” Goku said to his girlfriend with a big smile.
Her opponent was an older guy with a mohawk and a mustache. He looked like he had a bit of experience fighting too, given his attitude.
“A mere stripling of a girl?” The mohawk man almost scoffed at Launch.
Launch just rolled her shoulders a bit, her expression flat as she’d learned to control her anger through her training. She took up her stance and the man took his own.
“Contestants…begin!” The referee started the match as soon as he saw both of them ready.
“Yah!” The mohawk man brought his knee up, chambering for a skipping front kick.
Launch was in his guard before he’d managed to push off the ground, her fist striking his jaw swiftly and with force. The man collapsed onto his back with a thump, eyes half-open and his mouth slightly agape.
“Ooohhh…” The various fighters gathered around the ring gasped at the speed the match had finished.
Goku just smiled with his arms crossed, having known that Launch would win.
The referee moved over to check on the mohawk man for a second. “Knockout! The winner is number two!” He pointed towards Launch who was giving a short bow to her opponent.
“Wow! You trained a lot, huh?” Goku said with a bright grin.
“A little.” Launch shot back with a grin of her own. They both looked over to the second ring as they saw Krillin step up onto it. “Looks like Krillin’s turn.”
Goku looked at the huge man stepping up to face Krillin. “Wow, he got a huge opponent!”
The massive man was wearing black wrestling briefs and matching boots, his face was rather square and his dark hair was thick and wild. A wide grin spread across the man’s face as he looked down at Krillin, who was giving him a polite bow before their match.
“Begin!” The referee for ring two called out.
“Whenever you feel like it,” Krillin stood up straight from his bow. “Make your move!”
“Well, you’ve got a smart mouth…you baby octopus head!” The huge wrestler said with a mocking smile that showed his teeth.
Krillin’s expression went flat, his stare deadpan at the mockery from his opponent. “Octopus head?”
The huge wrestler reached down for Krillin with his large hand. “Shall I mold you into takoyaki?!”
“Hm…” Krillin saw the hand reaching for him and took a half step forward before pivoting. The hand went wide and Krillin grabbed onto the man’s wrist. With their size difference, there was no way for Krillin to get the leverage for a shoulder throw…or at least that’s what all of the watching fighters thought. “Hup!” Krillin, through sheer strength, bodily threw the man over his shoulder and out of the ring, forcing the crowd on that side to scatter as the massive wrestler crashed down onto the floor with the wind immediately knocked out of him.
“W-Winner…number seventy-one!” The referee called out after a second to comprehend what he’d just seen.
“You’re way better than you were three years ago!” Goku complimented his best friend with a smile.
Krillin accepted the praise with a grin. “Oh ho ho… That was nothing, just wait!”
Most of the martial artists around them took a half step away from the three Turtle School students.
“Heh. To strut over such a trivial display.” The three-eyed member of the Crane School mocked as he stood a short distance away.
“Huh?” Goku looked at the other young man he’d never seen before.
Launch wasn’t one to sit back and let her friend’s victory be mocked. “Don’t remember asking your opinion, three-eyes.” She scoffed at him, her green eyes sharp as they practically bored into the two regular eyes of the rival martial artist.
Krillin didn’t even give the other baldheaded man a single word. “Hmph!” He let out a small huff instead.
“Um…who are you?” Goku asked the three-eyed man.
“He’s one of the disciples of Tsuru Sen’nin, a nasty old geezer that’s a rival of our Master Roshi.” Krillin explained before the three-eyed man could speak.
“You’re just lucky that you don’t have to face me in the preliminaries.” The Crane School disciple said with confidence. “Of course, that undeserved luck will run out eventually… That is, if you even make it to the main tournament with such childish tricks.”
Launch shooed the man away with an unimpressed look. “Get lost already, we’ll deal with you IF you make it past the preliminaries.”
The three-eyed man looked amused. “Oh? If only you had the skills to back up that attitude.”
“Block three, contestants ninety-nine and one-hundred, to the ring!” The referee for the third ring called out.
“It’s my turn.” The Crane School disciple turned away from Launch, Goku, and Krillin. “Well…good luck to you all, I suppose.” He walked away with a smirk on his face.
Krillin let out an annoyed little growl. “What a jerk! If that’s how all the Crane School is, I can see why Master Roshi doesn’t get along with their master!”
They watched as the three-eyed man took off his hat and the green uniform, leaving him in just his traditional martial arts pants and shoes as he stepped into the ring.
“Let’s see if he even makes it past his first match.” Launch said with a little annoyance in her voice. “If he loses, I might just laugh in his face.”
“Nah.” Goku put his hands behind his head with a relaxed smile. “He’s gonna be real good.”
Krillin looked at Goku with a raised eyebrow. “Really?”
“Begin!” The referee called out.
The huge sumo wrestler that was the opponent of the Crane School disciple charged forward immediately, looking to hit the three-eyed man with all of his weight and muscle in a powerful double palm shove that would send most men flying. “HOI!!!”
The three-eyed man raised his right leg and spread his arms slightly. A nearly unseen blur struck the charging sumo wrestler, stopping his charge cold. The watching martial artists all blinked at the sudden halt. They were even more confused when the Crane School disciple simply turned around and started walking away.
Thump
Until the sumo wrestler fell to the mat unconscious.
The referee rushed over, clearly confused. “K-Knockout! The winner is number ninety-nine!” He pointed at the three-eyed man that was hopping off the edge of the ring. “Hey! We need a stretcher over here!” He called out to the various monks waiting along the side of the hall for just such an occasion.
“Wh-What’s going on?” One of the watching martial artists asked.
“What just happened?” Another large fighter questioned, his eyes wide in surprise.
Launch wasn’t impressed as she crossed her arms. “Four arm chops…”
Krillin held up his left hand with two fingers raised “…and two kicks.”
“He’s good, all right!” Goku looked excited at what they’d just watched.
‘It’s a fool who shows all his tricks so early on.’ The three-eyed man thought with a small smirk on his face.
“Too bad he’s in the other block.” Caulifla said to herself from where she was watching on the other side of the ring. “I want to fight him now.” The smirk on her lips matched the intense look of challenge in her eyes.
Not too long later and the referee called Caulifla’s number for her first match.
With a short hop, Caulifla landed on the ring and walked towards the center. Across from her was a young man that couldn’t have been much older than her, dressed in a light teal traditional martial arts gi. His long blond hair was tied into a low ponytail and he had green-eyes.
“I did not expect to meet a cute girl here.” The blond man said with an easy smile. “Would you like to go out after the tournament, perhaps?”
Caulifla almost laughed at the guy, but instead she took her stance. “No.”
“Begin!” The referee called out.
The blond man dropped into his stance. “Could I convince you by winning this match?” He shot forward, aiming a lateral chop towards Caulifla’s neck.
His amorous pursuit was ended when Caulifla slammed a punch into his stomach faster than he could see her move. With a hacking cough, his eyes rolled up in his head and Caulifla stepped backwards, letting him fall face first to the mat.
“Winner!” The referee announced quickly while motioning for a stretcher to be brought over.
“That was boring.” Caulifla sighed as she hopped off the ring and crossed her arms over her chest. “Still a few more rounds to go before the main tournament though.” She glanced at the brackets again to see how many more times she had to fight.
In the fourth block, Kale was up against a stocky and solidly built gorilla man in a traditional judo gi.
“You may begin!” The referee called out.
“Hup!” The gorilla man lunged forward, looking to grapple Kale and use his superior weight and technique to make her tap out. He blinked and jerked backwards as he saw Kale throw a jab at him.
But that jab had been a feint, the instant the charge stopped and the gorilla man jerked back, Kale made her attack. “Hyah!” She spun on the ball of her right foot, swinging her left leg around in a full circle so fast that everyone watching only saw the moment of impact. Kale’s heel slammed into the side of the gorilla man’s head with a reverse spinning hook kick and dropped him like a sack of rocks.
“Winner!” The referee called out swiftly.
“Thank you for the match.” Kale said as she gave the unconscious gorilla man a short bow.
As Kale hopped off the ring, Jackie Chun glanced over at her. ‘Incredible speed and control. Had she struck with her true strength that man would’ve undoubtedly died. As her Master, I’m proud…but as her competitor I’m only realizing more and more just how hard the upcoming matches are going to be!’
Over in block two, Bulma was stepping up for her first match. Her opponent was a man a bit older than her with his hands wrapped in white bandages, wearing a ragged gi, and his face was a bit scruffy from not shaving in a while.
“A girl?” The man looked at Bulma with one eyebrow raised. “Are you sure you want to do this, sweetness?” He asked while his eyes roamed up and down Bulma’s figure in her orange gi. “Pretty little thing like you wouldn’t want to get hurt, right?”
“I’m not the one that’s going to get hurt.” Bulma said confidently as she took a relaxed stance that was barely different than a normal standing position.
The referee looked between the two fighters before chopping his hand through the air. “Begin!”
The man charged in, right fist cocked back and chambered at his side while his left arm stayed up to guard his head. Bulma’s leading leg was unseen as she targeted the exact instant that her opponent only had one foot on the ground in his charge towards her. Her foot glided forward, her body sinking low, and kicked out the man’s supporting foot. The man dropped to the mat fast, but even faster still was Bulma’s recovery as she brought her extended foot and leg back in, chambered it, and then rose to her feet to meet her opponent’s falling chin with her knee.
“He fell?” One of the other fighters watching blinked, having only seen the fall.
“I think she kicked his leg?” A middle-aged man in a light blue gi said, his eyes having barely caught the movement as a blur.
The referee moved in to check on the scruffy martial artist and after only a couple seconds confirmed the knockout. “Unconscious! Winner!” He pointed at Bulma as she nodded and walked off the ring to stand with Krillin.
“That was an interesting move.” Krillin said with a grin as she fist bumped with Bulma.
“It’s useful when the opponent charges in like that.” Bulma shrugged with a grin of her own.
In the first ring, Goku stretched a little once his number was called. “Alright, my turn!”
Launch smiled and patted his back once. “Go get ‘em, Goku!”
The man that stepped into the ring across from Goku had dark skin and wore a dark yellow robe that went over one shoulder and left the other bare, exposing half of his muscular chest. He had matching dark yellow pants beneath the robe and tied both with a blue belt. His hair was dark and curly and he had a sharp eyes filled with decades of experience. His bare feet strode towards the center of the ring with lightness uncharacteristic of a man of his height.
Goku bowed to his opponent respectfully and received a bow in return.
“My, my, what a young opponent.” The man said with a little half smirk as he stood noticeably taller than Goku.
“H-Hey… Isn’t that King Chappa?!” One of the martial artists standing close to Launch asked the guy beside him.
“It is!” The other guy realized just who they were looking at a second later. “That guy is super unlucky to have to face such an opponent right off the bat!”
Launch looked at the two and spoke up. “Who’s this ‘King Chappa’ guy?”
The guy that had recognized King Chappa looked at her in surprise. “You don’t know King Chappa?” When Launch glared at him slightly, he quickly told her what he knew. “He’s said to be an incredible master…almost god-like! They say the last time he entered the Tenka’ichi Budokai, he won the whole thing without being struck by an opponent even once!”
“Well, damn…” Launch looked back at Goku and King Chappa as they both took their stances. “This might actually be a hard match for Goku.”
King Chappa looked at Goku with a confident grin. “Do not fear! I will not kill you, nor harm you beyond what is necessary to win!”
“Hey, thanks!” Goku smiled at the older man as they waited for the referee to start the match.
“King Chappa, eh?” Jackie Chun said as he walked over to stand near Launch. “Son Goku has certainly found himself in a sticky match from the very start.”
Launch looked over at the old man. “Seems like it.” Her green eyes immediately went back to her boyfriend. “But I know he’ll win.”
“Begin!” The referee started the match.
King Chappa’s confident grin hadn’t changed in the slightest. “Open with whatever blow amuses you.” He offered the first strike to Goku, fully assured in his victory.
Goku grinned right back. “Okay…if you say so!”
‘Now we’ll see just how much he’s developed over the last three years…’ Jackie Chun thought, his eyes fixed on the fight to not miss even a fraction of a second.
Goku’s jab slammed into King Chappa’s face and sent the older man staggering backwards.
“He’s fast!” Several of the watching fighters exclaimed at the same time. Most of them hadn’t seen the actual jab, just the moment it landed.
“Ugh…” King Chappa held his face for a second before shaking the blow off and retaking his stance. “It seems I was taking you far too lightly…forgive me.” The air around King Chappa seemed to change as he became serious, his fists clenching tightly for a second.
Jackie Chun watched as King Chappa readied himself. “Here it comes…the Hasshuken!”
Launch looked at the old man but took a second to figure out the name of the technique, part of her training with Master Roshi had been understanding various martial arts terms, after all. “That’s…the ‘Eight-Arm Fist’? Never heard of it.”
“It’s a technique of swift strikes that come at such speed the user appears to have eight arms.” Jackie Chun explained while not looking away from the fight. “It’s King Chappa’s original technique.”
In the ring, King Chappa locked eyes with Goku. “Do not begrudge me, lad! To know defeat is also part of one’s training!” In a blur, a jab was launched at Goku’s face.
Goku parried the high-speed jab, then blocked the palm strike from the other hand. A rain of blows came and King Chappa really did look as though he had eight arms while he attacked Goku fiercely. A chop was redirected, a punch was dodged by the smallest of margins, another palm strike was blocked and knocked aside. It was as if Goku was just a fraction of a second ahead of every single attack, almost like he was predicting what King Chappa would do.
“He’s blocking every blow.” Launch smiled at Goku’s success against the Hasshuken.
Most of the other fighters could only see the blurs and slight after images that Goku and King Chappa were making as they exchanged blows.
“Hup!” Goku dropped low and swept King Chappa’s feet out from under him, making the older man hit the mat. “You left your feet wide open.”
King Chappa quickly got back to his feet, his composure broken. “Y-You…insolent little…!” he swung a chop straight at Goku fast enough to vanish from the eyes of most watching. But Goku vanished and the blow swung through empty air. “What?! Where is he?!” King Chappa spun to face the other direction, anticipating an attack from behind, only to not see Goku anywhere.
“Up here!” Goku called out and everyone looked up toward the ceiling, finding him high in the air.
“He’s made a critical blunder!” Jackie Chun said with a grimace.
Launch didn’t even look at him as she questioned the old man’s words. “What do you mean?”
“Hahaha! How like the young to take to the sky! But you cannot move freely in the air! You are begging to be hit!” He chambered a punch as Goku began to fall back towards the ground. Goku angled his body to dive towards the ring and King Chappa. The winner of the 20th Tenka’ichi Budokai grinned as he awaited the exact instant that Goku would be in range for him to land a devastating punch. “You are mine!” He threw the powerful blow with precision; his fist would slam into Goku’s descending face at the exact moment that he could exert the full force of his body!
Whap
Everybody’s eyes widened in shock at what they were seeing.
Goku had grabbed onto King Chappa’s forearm while the man threw his punch, forcing it down slightly. He was perfectly balanced horizontally in the air on just his one arm and the grip he had on King Chappa’s outstretched limb. “Got you!” He slammed a straight punch into King Chappa’s face without changing his position and let go the instant the other man reeled backwards. King Chappa went sailing out of the ring and crashing to the floor just as Goku’s feet touched the ring again.
“O-Out of bounds!” The referee finally caught up to what had just happened. “The winner is number twenty-right!” He pointed at Goku, still wide-eyed at what he’d just seen.
“That was simply unbelievable…” Jackie Chun said after a moment. “To think he could perfectly time a grab like that, while falling, and against a martial artist of King Chappa’s caliber.”
Launch was all smiles though. “I knew he’d win!”
King Chappa got back to his feet and slowly shook his head. After a moment of standing still to regain his equilibrium, he stepped up onto the ring again and stood across from Goku. “It seems I was the one to learn a lesson today.” He bowed respectfully to Goku. “I had grown arrogant from my previous victories and accolades. I will train harder and with greater diligence so that, when next this tournament comes around, I will hope to face you again, young man.”
Goku smiled at King Chappa. “Sure thing! I’ll look forward to it!” The two left the mat on good terms and parted ways, Goku heading for Launch immediately. “I did it!”
“Yeah, you did!” Launch smiled at him brightly. “But if you go all out right from the start, you’ll wear yourself out.”
“But I didn’t put nearly everything I’ve got into it.” Goku denied as he put his arms behind his head with a big smile. “If I did, he’d be dead.” He looked between Launch and Jackie Chun. “I can’t wait to fight really strong people like you two!”
‘This is going to be a big problem for me at this rate! I’ll have to hope that they eliminate each other to improve my chances this time around!’ Jackie Chun thought as he compared what he’d just seen to what he’d watched of all his disciples’ matches, so far. ‘The things I do for my students…’
“Number one-seventy-eight, to the block four mat! If you’re not here in the next ten seconds you’ll be disqualified!” The referee from the far ring yelled out over the din of the ongoing preliminaries.
“Gah!” Jackie Chun swiftly rushed over to his assigned ring. “I’m coming! I’m coming!” Once he stepped up onto the ring he was met with his first opponent of the preliminaries.
The young man was somewhat tall, fairly muscular, with a youthful energy about him. He had dark skin, an almost afro-style of thick, curly black hair, and dark eyes. He wore bright green Muay Thai shorts with red lining and white bandages wrapped around his hands and feet.
“Hey, isn’t that Pamput, the movie star?” One of the martial artists standing around the ring said just loud enough for others to hear.
“It is!” Another guy confirmed after a second to look at the famous fighter in the ring.
Jackie Chun had heard the rumors of the young man now that he had a name to put to the face. ‘So, this is the rumored ‘Genius of Martial Arts’, eh? His build is good, clearly he’s put time into his training, but he’s not crossed the ‘wall of humanity’ to truly push his martial arts to the highest levels.’
“I don’t know if Pamput is unlucky to face the winner of the last tournament, or if Jackie Chun is unlucky to face a rising star like him.” A bear man wearing a tank top and light martial arts pants said as he looked between the two in the ring.
“Pamput already won the other two internationally recognized martial arts tournaments. He must be here to go for a ‘triple-crown’ victory in all three.” A female fighter mentioned with a thoughtful look on her face.
Pamput seemed to enjoy the praise for his martial arts skills as the small smile on his face grew into a confident smirk.
‘There are leagues of difference between the other two tournaments and the Tenka’ichi Budokai.’ Jackie Chun knew of the other two tournaments that had popped up after the first few Budokai had been held decades and decades ago. ‘If one were to compare the three, the other two tournaments would be the beginner level and the advanced level, while the Tenka’ichi Budokai is the master level. Many of the martial artists eliminated in the preliminaries today are previous victors of the other two tournaments.’
Pamput’s confident smirk was practically etched on his face now as he stood across from Jackie Chun. With a blur, his fist was right before the old man’s face. “I’m surprised you didn’t duck.” He said to Jackie Chun with the bravado that came from never having lost before. “Or did you simply not have time?”
“Disrespectful brat.” One of the older martial artists watching from the side of the ring grumbled at Pamput’s actions.
“Back in our day, acting like that would’ve gotten you punished by the master.” Another martial artist agreed. “Where has the discipline in martial arts gone?”
Jackie Chun looked at Pamput’s fist in front of his face and then reached up to shake it. “Nice to meet you, young man.”
Pamput blinked and pulled his fist back. “What’re you doing?”
“Oh? I thought you wanted to shake hands? Was that actually a punch you threw?” Jackie Chun asked, his tone a blend of serious and joking that got a couple of snickers from the watching fighters.
“What?!” Pamput said sharply before he took a second and regained his composure. “Obviously you know nothing about me. Should I give you a demonstration?”
The referee felt that he’d given the two more than enough time already and brought his arm down in a chopping motion. “Begin!”
Pamput threw a flurry of jabs and punches, his arms blurring from the speed. A few kicks followed at the same intense speed before he performed three backflips and landed in a ready stance. A few seconds later he dropped his stance and grinned at Jackie Chun. “Now do you understand a little of what I’m about?”
“Muay Thai, a very nice demonstration, young man.” Jackie Chun said with a nod. “But we do have a match to get to.” He remained in his relaxed posture, hands behind his back and everything. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“Thirty seconds.” Pamput held up three fingers. “Sorry, but that’s how long it’ll take me to win this.” With that said, he retook his stance and then charged in when Jackie Chun didn’t respond. “Hah!” A blurring jab shot straight towards the old man’s face.
Jackie Chun’s right hand was unseen by everyone, except for Kale. He deflected the jab with his palm, crossing it over Pamput’s torso to prevent a second punch from the Muay Thai fighter’s opposite arm and to throw off his balance. That same right hand formed a fist, the back of which smashed into Pamput’s nose. Before the force of the blow could send Pamput reeling, Jackie Chun’s foot swiped the younger man’s feet out from under him.
“Gah!” Pamput hit the mat with enough force to knock the wind out of him, lying sprawled out on his back with his nose bloody. All anyone had seen was his charge and jab, and then he was on the ground.
‘He’s even faster than at the last tournament.’ Kale thought to herself as she saw the entire exchange. ‘We definitely weren’t the only ones training these last three years.’
One of the martial artists watching finally managed to speak. “Wh-What just happened?” Jackie Chun still had his hands behind his back and was just standing there.
“He got hit…his nose is bloody.” Another fighter pointed out.
“I didn’t even see the old man move…” A young woman in a traditional karate gi blinked.
Pamput was cradling his face with both hands, muffled sounds of pain coming from him. His eyes widened slightly as Jackie Chun stepped over to him and looked down with wizened eyes of a true master.
“When it comes to your martial arts, your skills are fine, young man.” Jackie Chun said calmly as he looked into Pamput’s eyes. “However, in your case, it is your character that is lacking. Martial arts is not just about punching people and winning fights. It is a method of diligent self-improvement over time, where one learns discipline, self-control, and respect for both themselves and others. If you take nothing else away from this defeat, I hope you’ll return to your training with this lesson in mind.”
The older martial artists around the ring were all nodding in agreement with Jackie Chun’s words, many reminded of their own masters that had trained them from young ages.
Pamput, still cradling his face, nodded once and managed to roll over, kneeling before Jackie Chun in an obvious show of defeat. “M-Mercy…” He got out through his hand that was still gingerly hovering over his bloody nose.
“Winner, number one-seventy-eight!” The referee ended the match, even if he hadn’t been able to see the blow that had put Pamput down.
Jackie Chun stepped off the ring and waited for his next match with his calm and relaxed pose completely unruffled.
The various bouts of the preliminaries continued and both the Crane School disciples and the Turtle School disciples easily cleared their way through their brackets. It was only in the last match of Krillin’s bracket that the two rival schools came to blows for the first time in the tournament.
“Chiaotzu, finish this quickly.” The three-eyed disciple told the much shorter Crane School disciple.
“Sure, Tien.” Chiaotzu nodded once as he stepped into the ring.
Krillin stepped into the ring with his eyes focused on the Crane school disciple. “I’ll give it my best!”
“You’ve got this, Krillin!” Goku cheered his best friend on from beside the ring.
“Don’t fool around and lose your place in the main tournament!” Bulma called out, lightly provoking her friend while encouraging him.
Caulifla had a grin on her face. “If you lose, we get to make fun of you later!”
Kale lightly nudged Caulifla with her elbow. “Caulifla!” She turned to smile at Krillin. “We won’t make fun of you. Do your best!”
“I’ll make fun of you a little!” Launch countered Kale’s words with a smirk.
Krillin deadpanned at the various forms of encouragement from his friends. “I’m just gonna win then!”
As Chiaotzu and Krillin stood across from each other, the shorter Crane School disciple pointed at Krillin. “Octopus.”
“Tch!” Krillin glared at Chiaotzu. “You’re as bald as me…octopus!”
“Nope.” Chiaotzu took off his hat and showed a single strand of hair sticking upwards.
Krillin balked at the single hair atop his opponent’s head. “What a weirdo! I’d rather have no hair than just one strand!”
Chiaotzu’s expression remained the same. “You’re just jealous.”
“That’s enough, Chiaotzu. Don’t get involved in such petty quarrels.” Tien said from the side of the ring, looking slightly embarrassed by the childish argument his fellow disciple was having in front of everyone.
“Begin!” The referee started the match.
Krillin immediately took his stance, but saw Chiaotzu hadn’t moved at all. “Huh? Are you planning to fight or what?”
Chiaotzu’s legs didn’t move, but the shorter fighter seemingly slid across the ring floor right into Krillin’s guard. A swift kick was barely blocked, but the force sent Krillin flying anyway. Chiaotzu slid along the floor again to keep pace and then lifted into the air entirely, demonstrating his ability to fly as he kicked at Krillin again.
“Grr!” Krillin twisted his body, much like the old monk he’d met on his martial arts journey, and easily dodged the roundhouse kick in midair. He touched the ring for only a fraction of a second before launching himself straight at the airborne Chiaotzu. “Hah!” He swung a right hook for the Crane School disciple’s face, but with his flying technique, Chiaotzu just floated out of the way. Krillin landed back on the ground and Chiaotzu followed, still with the same almost blank expression on his face. Krillin blitzed forward and then vanished to the eyes of almost everyone watching.
“H-Huh?! Where’d he go?!” Chiaotzu finally showed some emotion as his surprise broke through his expressionless mask.
“Chiaotzu, your left-” Tien tried to warn his friend, but it was too late.
Krillin’s fist slammed into Chiaotzu’s cheek and sent the shorter fighter bouncing across the ring floor.
‘That speed!’ Tien was surprised that he couldn’t even finish speaking before Krillin had already landed a blow.
Krillin and Chiaotzu exchanged a flurry of punches and kicks, but it was obvious who was stronger and faster between them as more and more of Krillin’s blows landed. He was pushing Chiaotzu further and further back, closer to the edge of the ring.
“Keep pressing him, Krillin!” Goku cheered his best friend on.
Chiaotzu escaped into the air again, causing Krillin’s last kick to miss.
“Floating and flying all over the place! How am I supposed to knock him down?” Krillin grimaced, not wanting to show off his new technique before the main tournament.
‘The trademark Bukujutsu of the Crane School. That levitation technique will make a ring out all but impossible.’ Jackie Chun thought as he watched the match.
“Chiaotzu, get serious!” Tien yelled from the other side of the ring.
Chiaotzu straightened up in the air and nodded. “Right, Tien!” he raised his right hand, index finger extended, and gathered his ki to the tip of his finger.
Krillin focused on Chiaotzu’s hand. “Hey…what’re you…?!” He could easily recognize a ki technique building up.
“Dodonpa!” Chiaotzu pointed his finger down at Krillin and the swift orange beam lanced through the air.
“Whoa!” Krillin jumped backwards and watched the ring floor be blasted, leaving a good-sized hole in it. “Are you crazy?!” He shouted up at Chiaotzu for using what was clearly a lethal attack. He quickly made three After Images as Chiaotzu rained down more Dodonpa beams, blasting apart more of the ring and sending most od the other fighters scrambling away in fear and panic.
Goku and Bulma both recognized the technique that Chiaotzu was using, memories of Taopaipai were still very vivid.
“That’s the technique of that assassin!” Bulma pointed at the floating Chiaotzu as Krillin continued to dodge the fast beams of ki.
“How does he know the move that Taopaipai guy used?!” Goku questioned as he knew the technique only because he’d copied it after seeing it performed twice against him.
Tien heard both of them and was shocked that they knew both of Taopaipai and the Dodonpa. He quickly walked over to them, his expression serious, and spoke over the blasts coming from the fight. “Hey! You two!” He got the attention of all the Saiyans, regardless of who he was actually addressing. “That’s the same move as who?!”
“What do you care?” Bulma shot right back, not backing down from the taller man in the slightest.
“He was some assassin that tried to kill us, so I took him down.” Goku said with his normal honesty, though his tone was a bit rougher than usual to match Tien’s aggressive tone.
All three of Tien’s eyes widened at that. “T-Took down…! Spare me your lies!”
“Who’s lying?!” Goku retorted with a little annoyance at being called an liar when he was telling the truth.
“Th-The Lord…Taopaipai…” Tien uttered before glaring sharply at Goku and turning away, stalking back to the other side of the ring. ‘I need to inform Master as soon as Chiaotzu wins this match!’ The lack of communication from Taopaipai for the last couple of years would make sense if he’d been slain…even if Tien didn’t want to believe that such a thing was possible, especially not by a Turtle School disciple.
Chiaotzu grimaced as he continued to fire Dodonpa after Dodonpa at the nimble Krillin and his occasional After Images. “Hold still!” He would use his telekinesis, but to maintain levitation and use the Dodonpa took up almost all of his focus.
Krillin, seeing his opponent’s frustration, got an idea. “Alright then!” He stopped and then grinned widely. “Which one’s the real one?!” He made eight After Images spread around the ring as he vanished from where he was standing.
“Why you…!” Chiaotzu fired Dodonpa in rapid succession, wiping out the After Images and kicking up a cloud of dust. “Got him!”
Krillin appeared behind Chiaotzu and brought his leg around, putting as much torque and strength into his kick as possible. “Wrong!” He bellowed out the instant his kick slammed into Chiaotzu and sent him smashing into the torn up ring floor.
“Gah!” Chiaotzu hacked out from the harsh impact. He pushed himself up, but Krillin was already right there.
A rush of jabs slammed into Chiaotzu’s face and body, taking his feet off the ground. Krillin didn’t’ let up for a fraction of a second as he grabbed onto Chiaotzu’s ankle and slammed the shorter fighter into the ring floor to stun him. A kick to the stomach sent Chiaotzu rolling with a hacking cough, but the Crane School disciple managed to get back to his feet before he went out of bounds.
“Jiang Shi!” Krillin yelled at Chiaotzu as he vanished at incredible speed.
“Don’t call me that!” Chiaotzu yelled at where Krillin had been, only to have the wind knocked out of him by Krillin’s fist. He flew out of the ring and bounced across the ground twice before stopping.
The referee—from a safe distance—called the match. “Ring out! Winner, number seventy-one!”
Tien’s expression was one of concern as he nearly appeared next to Chiaotzu faster than most people blinked. “Chiaotzu, are you alright?” He asked his best friend while helping him up.
“I lost…” Chiaotzu said with unshed tears in his eyes.
Tien glared at Krillin and the rest of the Turtle School disciples as they celebrated. “You’re going to regret this.” He promised them, all three of his eyes boring holes into the group.
“We’ll see about that!” Caulifla and Launch shot back, Saiyan hearing able to pick up the threat from across the ring since all of the other fighters had run away in panic.
Tien didn’t give them a response as he practically carried Chiaotzu away and disappeared through the doorway leading outside.
‘Hmm, he clearly cares for his friend. That’s much different than how Tsuru became after our master’s passing.’ Jackie Chun thought as he watched Tien vanish out of sight. ‘Perhaps there is still hope for those two yet.’
“Would all eight tournament finalists please gather in the waiting area in ten minutes to draw lots for the main tournament bracket.” The voice of the monk that was in-charge of the competition hall called out, made much easier by the fact a good number of the eliminated contestants had already fled the hall in panic from the usage of ki techniques.
The real part of the 22nd Tenka’ichi Budokai was about to begin.
-End Chapter-
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The preliminary rounds are complete!
Unlike in canon, however, all the spots are taken by the Turtle School, except for Tien’s spot. Since Roshi never blew up the moon in the 21st Tenka’ichi Budokai (not that he could in this story, but that’ll be explained much later) there’s no Man-Wolf with a grudge. Pamput fought against Jackie Chun in the preliminaries and was eliminated instead of making it to the main tournament. And now Chiaotzu has been knocked out in the preliminaries by Krillin, who is MUCH stronger than he was in canon by this point.
Amazing how small changes early on can make such big ripples later, huh?
But Tien has to tell Tsuru Sen’nin about Taopaipai’s death and has promised revenge for the defeat Chiaotzu took.
The main tournament is certainly going to be one hell of a show this time around! Who will fight who in the upcoming rounds? Will the outcome be different this time around? Or will luck, both good and bad, intervene to ‘keep things on track’ as it were?
Keep reading to find out!
Power Levels
Goku – 259
Bulma – 251
Krillin – 242
Roshi – 213
Launch – 180
Caulifla – 253
Kale – 252
Tenshinhan – 180
Chiaotzu – 155
Tsuru Sen’nin - 130
Until I get your reviews, later!