An airplane was flying across the blue sky as it headed towards its destination. It was a peaceful and quiet flight without any trouble until one of the passengers inside the plane started to cause a ruckus. A certain girl with a ribbon tied on her blonde hair began to yell and slowly started to cause trouble, but somehow her friends managed to calm her down. As the girl calmed down, the others were finally able to relax and spend the rest of the flight in peace. Ten minutes later the pretty lady stewardess announced that they were about to land on which the passengers fasten their seatbelts and waited to land...
"Ahh, so it's finally time for the tournament? I can't wait" Spoke the teenager in his seat wearing a nice suit. He was rather calm from the outside, but the truth was that he couldn't wait to step into the ring and show what he learned in the past three years. Next to him was sitting his closest friend who always supported him, no matter what
"This time, you will definitely win Yamcha!" Exclaimed the talking cat with his high pitched voice on which Yamcha just nodded and smirked. This time, he will be the one who will win the tournament, he was confident in that, but there was someone who wasn't so sure in that
"That's not going to happen because I'm here" The young bald boy wearing the same suit interrupted Yamcha's and Puar's conversation and with a cocky smirk glanced at Yamcha who only released a small laugh
"That's fine, but during the matches you will see the progress I made in these three years" The young boys stared at each others with cocky smirk's up until they heard a voice from behind their seats
"Hah, listen to yourself, it's almost as if you two forgot about Goku" Said Bulma from behind as she held a book in her right hand while she glared at the two with a smile on her face. Next to her was the talking pig who laughed at the two and remembered about another fighter
"Yeah, and don't forget about that Jacky Chun" Oolong words didn't diminish the smirks from their faces, but inside their heads, the two were already thinking if they would be able to beat Goku, let alone Chun. There was a moment of silence as the stewardess passed by and checked the passengers when suddenly the old master shouted at the girl almost scaring her
"Hey stewardess lady, I must go... you know, to the bathroom!" Yelled Master Roshi who didn't care that all the people in the plane heard him. While Krillin who sitting next to him lowered his head down embarrassed, the stewardess just forced a smile and tried to be polite
"I'm sorry sir, but we will be landing shortly, so could you please hold it in? Just a little more"
"A-Alright! Just please land this plane quickly!" The old man once again yelled at the woman who backed away from Roshi as he tried to suppress his urge to visit the bathroom. While he was fighting an intense battle, Bulma and the others were red because of embarrassment
"Master Roshi, please contain yourself..." Whispered Krillin who couldn't believe the old man behavior sometimes. While he was stuck with him, Bulma and Yamcha turned their heads away and pretended to not knowing the old man
After only fifteen minutes, the airplane with Yamcha and the others in it landed safely on the ground. The group immediately left the plane and with their bags walked outside the airport. They just needed to stop a taxi and sing in the tournament, but there was something or rather someone stopping them in doing so. Master Roshi as soon the plane landed ran in search of a bathroom while the others walked outside and waited in front of the airport. After waiting for almost fifteen minutes the old master finally walked out, but only to once again embarrass the others with his behavior. Without wasting any more time and being once again embarrassed, Yamcha stopped the next two cabs in which they headed towards the tournament area. It didn't take too long and the two cabs arrived in front of the main gates. Krillin and the others got out from the cars and with the bags in their hands stared at the tournament gates
"This is so nostalgic! Finally, the day of the tournament has come!" Said Krillin as he stood near Yamcha who agreed with his little friend and clenched his left fist, ready to fight and prove himself in the tournament. The two were so lost in their thoughts that they almost forgot to sing in, but the old master fixed that
"Hey, aren't you going to register!?" The old master called the two who snapped from their thoughts and immediately walked towards the registration table. While the two fighters signed for the tournament, the old master decided to check if a certain someone with a tail already registered in the tournament "Ahm, has a guy called Goku registered yet?" Asked Roshi the one in charge of the registration. The man flipped through the pages but didn't find the requested name
"Oh, that's the runner-up from the previous tournament... No, it looks like he hasn't come yet" Declared the man who checked the list twice on which Krillin began to worry while the old master grunted
"That little fool. Did he forgot about the tournament?" Wondered Master Roshi out loud as he glanced right and left, in hope that he will see Goku anywhere in the crowd. The whole group was at the entrance and waited for their friend and while they were distracted by that, the old master quietly walked away from them
"There's only three minutes left!" Exclaimed Bulma as she checked her watch and started to get worried about Goku. Just as she exclaimed that, Master Roshi walked back to the group but was noticed by Krillin
"Huh? Did you go somewhere Master Roshi?" Asked Krillin his master who faked a smile and tried to come out with something. The old master quickly made up something, but only to be irritated by his talking turtle. His squabble with the turtle lasted only for a few seconds until he heard a voice from behind his back, a very familiar voice
"Hey! Well, if it isn't the turtle hermit!" Spoke the man with black glasses and a crane hat on his head. The old man stood all high and mighty in front of Roshi, who was a little bit surprised to see him here, it was quite some time since he saw him
"Hmph, crane hermit! So, you're still alive? That's very unpleasant" Murmured Roshi as he turned towards the crane hermit who just chuckled at Roshi's words. The others watched the two verbally fighting each others with confused looks on their faces while the two boys behind the crane hermit remained quiet. The two stopped fighting as they glared at each other when the crane hermit laughed
"This tournament must have gotten pathetic if one of your students almost won it. I figured to show everyone what real martial arts is, so I'm having my disciples enter" The crane hermit spoke with confidence as he turned around, prepared to leave "Let's go, I won't waste my time with these idiots! I'm looking forward seeing my disciples crush yours" Laughed crane hermit as he walked away with one of his disciples in front of him while the taller one remained behind and smirked at the others. Yamcha immediately caught the glimpse of that cocky smirk and already had his eyes on him
"Who's that guy anyway?" Asked Yamcha who didn't like the old man nor his two disciples, especially the taller one
"Hmph, that crane hermit was once my rival!" Answered Master Roshi who remained irritated because of his former rival, of all people to encounter in this tournament why had it to be him. Roshi and the others completely forgot about someone until Oolong glanced at Bulma's watch and yelled
"Forget about that! There is only one minute left and there is no sight of Goku!" Shouted the talking pig which caused the others to snap from their conversation and look over for Goku. As the seconds passed by there was still no sight of Goku and everyone feared for the worst, but then Yamcha came with an idea
"There is no choice! Puar, change into Goku so that he'll at least be registered!" Said Yamcha to his blue friend who was floating near him. Puar agreed and was about to transform when out of nowhere a strong wind passed by and almost caused Oolong and Bulma to fall on the ground. Yamcha and the others lowered their hands which they used to cover their heads when they saw a familiar boy with a tail in front of their eyes
"Heya!" Exclaimed Goku with a smile as he waved with his right hand. The others stared at the young saiyan for a moment until they finally realized that it was indeed their friend who was in front of them
"It's Goku!" Everyone except Roshi yelled as they walked near the saiyan who just laughed. He was happy to finally see his friends after such a long time and so did they. All of them talked to Goku while Roshi went to the registration table and signed Goku in
"Wow, what's with that torn out get-up?" Asked Bulma as she glanced down at Goku's torn gi. The gi that was given to him was all dirty, filled with holes and an entire left side of the gi was missing
"Nevermind that, I'm sure Master Roshi has one for you Goku, but hey, you've really grown since the last time we saw you" Said Yamcha who wasn't the only one to notice the change in Goku. The old master also noticed that Goku had grown not just in height, but also in stature, his muscles were bigger than before
"Goku, you were almost too late! What happened to the Nimbus cloud and where is Bardock?" Asked Roshi as he walked towards Goku and the others who glanced at the old man. The old master wondered why was Goku so late, he had the cloud with which he should have been faster than them, and where was his father anyway? Would the older saiyan be absent from the tournament?
"Ohh, I don't need Nimbus anymore. Dad told me to depend on myself and not on a cloud, so I ran here, to warm up for the tournament" Explained Goku with a smile on his young face while the others remained shocked. As none of them said a word Goku continued "And dad should be here somewhere, he arrived here way before me" The moment he said that, Bardock just emerged from the crowd. The older saiyan was wearing his usual armor as he walked to the group
"I see all of you are here" Spoke Bardock who glanced at Roshi and the others who snapped from their previous shock and greeted the saiyan. Bardock did the same and greeted the others who wondered how long was Bardock here
"Bardock, aren't you going to participate in the tournament?" Asked Master Roshi who was curious to know if the saiyan would fight in this year's tournament. He wanted to know how strong the saiyan really is, the curiosity was eating him up ever since the man landed on the planet three years ago
"No thanks, it wouldn't be fun crushing weaklings like flies. This is a good opportunity for Kakarot to test what he learned in the past three years" Answered Bardock who was serious as he glanced at the old man. The master sweated a bit which caused the scar-faced saiyan to chuckle a bit, it just felt so good to be on top of the food chain. While Roshi sweated along with Krillin and Yamcha who heard him, Goku just smiled, but their little reunion was soon interrupted by a loud voice
"A message for those participating in the tournament! The preliminaries will begin immediately!" Declared the voice through the speaker on which Goku and others nodded and quickly entered the tournament area. Goku, Yamcha, and Krillin quickly changed into their fighting gi which Master Roshi gave to them and were ready to begin with the tournament. While Goku was happy to once again have a proper gi, Yamcha and Krillin stood few meters away from Goku and talked about the young saiyan
"Do you suppose that Goku is even stronger than from three years ago?" Asked Yamcha as he adjusted the belt on his gi. He observed Goku's cheerful behavior and wondered how strong he is
"W-Well, it does look like he physically changed, but who knows..." Added Krillin who was sitting on the ground as he put on his shoes. Both fighters remained quiet and sweated a bit as they wondered about how strong Goku is, but they snapped from that when they heard multiple voices from behind
"I'm sure all of you will pass the preliminaries!" Shouted Bulma as she strongly held on to the wall while she cheered for her friends. Alongside her was Oolong, Launch, and Puar who did the same "Good luck, guys!"
"Yeah!" The three fighters yelled at the same time and were about to leave when Roshi suddenly appeared on the wall, almost falling down, but managed to somehow regain his balance
"Use everything you learned in these past three years!" Shouted the old martial artist as he stood on the turtle head which had trouble with holding Roshi. The young fighters nodded and walked inside the competition hall. As their friends were gone, Bulma and the others decided to grab something to drink, but as they walked Puar noticed that one of them was missing. They looked around for the old master while Bardock who was walking behind them just smirked when he sensed where the old man was
Inside the competition hall, a lot of fighters were gathered together and each of them picked a paper with a number on it. The number on the paper decided in which part of the tournament board they were. When Goku and his friends and Jacky Chun who suddenly showed picked their papers they realized that none of them would fight each other while they were in the preliminaries. The first to fight from the little group was Yamcha, who with a single punch in the head easily defeated his opponent. After Yamcha was Krillin, who was very confident in himself, but received a huge opponent. The small Krillin never lost his confidence and threw the giant outside the ring. Goku was happy for his friend progress and couldn't wait to fight next, but as they waited for the next match a person paid them a visit. It was one of Crane hermit disciples who mocked Yamcha and the others. Yamcha immediately started arguing with the taller man while Goku wondered who that was. The tall three-eyed man walked away as he was the next to fight, but with his word to be the last. While Krillin was fuming with anger Goku just smirked and observed the man battle his opponent. The three-eyed man easily defeated his opponent which caused Goku to barely wait for his fight against him. The next battle was Goku's and his opponent was King Chapa, a man who once won the tournament. Yamcha, Krillin and Jacky Chun, observed the match fearing that Goku might be in trouble, but the young saiyan proved them wrong and with ease won the fight. Chun and the other two stared at the saiyan with their eyes wide open, but as the tournament went on only eight fighters managed to enter the finals
While their friends were inside the competition hall and fighting their way to the finals, Bulma, Launch, and the others were just standing in front of the small stand which was selling food. Bulma bought some for herself and her friends and for Bardock as well, who was quiet all the time. As a saiyan, he just couldn't say no to food and gladly accepted it from Bulma who finally took the chance to speak with Bardock. As they talked about the scouter and the special armor that he was wearing, Goku and Krillin walked towards them along with Yamcha who was right behind them. They revealed everything that happened which made Bulma and the others happy for them
"So all three of you managed to enter, I knew it!" Said Bulma with a smile on her face as she congratulated to them. Puar and Oolong did the same thing while Launch and Bardock remained quiet. Bardock remained with a serious expression, this was still nothing and the real test for his son was at the end. While Goku grinned, Krillin wondered where Roshi disappeared, but only for the old man to appear behind him
"Geez, I just leave for a moment and you start talking behind my back! I was secretly watching your fights" Revealed the old master Roshi who surprised all of them, except Bardock who knew all along what the man was doing inside, but decided to keep that information for himself. The old man praised his students and encouraged them to aim for the title. As the group continued their conversation, they were once again interrupted by the speaker
"The finals are about to begin! Will the eight participants please gather at the martial arts temple's main hall!" Requested the voice behind the speaker on which Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha nodded and headed towards their needed destination while Bulma and the rest of the group walked towards the front, so they would be able to clearly watch the fights. As they walked forward Launch had enough of the crowd and with two shots from her gun caused the crowd to move away in fear which cleared their path. As the blonde haired woman laughed and fired another shot in the air, Bulma, Oolong, and Puar just walked behind her while Bardock chuckled
The mood inside the martial arts main temple hall was heavy. Yamcha and the disciple of the crane hermit were at each other's throats, verbally fighting. While the two tall fighters were glaring and arguing, the shorter one and Krillin were also starting to fight while Goku just walked on his hands and paid no attention to them, but all of that ended when the announcer appeared in his usual black suit and black sunglasses. The good announcer greeted all of them and commenced the drawing. Jacky Chun was the first to draw his number, but just as he was about to do that, the three-eyed man noticed that one of the competitors had some kind of grudge against the old man. It was at that moment when he thought of something which could make this tournament a bit interesting. After Chun drew his number the next was Yamcha who was scheduled to fight in the first match. The man after Yamcha was Panput who was in the last match. The announcer called for Tienshinhan who was next and he was placed in the first match, against Yamcha who was a bit nervous but tried to hide it. Krillin was next and he was in the third fight while Man-wolf was in the second match against Jacky Chun. Chiaotzu, the second disciple of the crane hermit was next and he was in the third fight against Krillin. The last one was Goku who even tho it was already obvious in which fight he was, he still drew the number. The announcer declared all the fights in proper order and explained the rules while the fighters listened to the man
"Well then, when I announce your names please come to the arena up front" Explained the announcer who was about to leave the fighters but as he glanced at Goku, he remembered that maybe the boy would eat something "Come to think of it, would you like to have something to eat before the match?" Asked the man in black suit on which Goku happily smiled
"Yea, I wanna eat!" Exclaimed the young saiyan who followed the announcer and went to eat while Yamcha and Krillin remained behind, but only for Tienshinhan to laugh at them as they moved away
"What a bunch of savages, but you did a good job, Chiaotzu" Spoke Tienshinhan quietly so the others wouldn't hear that it was because of Chiaotzu that the fights were scheduled like that. While the two of them were in the middle of the hall, Yamcha and Krillin were hanging out with Chun near the exit
Meanwhile outside the hall, the crowd started to yell as the announcer walked into the ring and smirked at all the people gathered. The man raised his microphone with style and announced the first match
"Everyone, the 22nd world martial arts tournament will now begin!" Announced the man in a black suit on which the crowd exploded with excitement. The man smiled and continued "Without stalling let's begin with today's first match, fighters Yamcha and Tienshinhan! Come on up, please!" As soon the announcer revealed Yamcha's name, Bulma grinned and with the others near her waited for him to appear. Both Yamcha and Tienshinhan walked in the ring at the same time, but not without talking back to each other. The two stared at each other as they stood on the opposite sides as the announcer continued speaking "You folks might not know this, but Yamcha is one of turtle hermit's disciples aka the famous Master Roshi! As it happens, three of eight fighters are turtle hermit's disciples! But on the other side, Tienshinhan is a disciple of the crane hermit, turtle hermit rival!" As the announcer revealed the information a lot of people in the crowd were surprised by the news, which only excited them even more
"Now, fighters Yamcha and Tienshinhan, begin the match!" Yelled the announcer who immediately jumped from the ring to the ground from which he will observe the match. As soon the announcer declared the start of the fight, Yamcha shifted into his fighting stance while Tienshinhan just raised his left hand up. Yamcha stared at his opponent for two seconds after which he dashed towards Tienshinhan. Yamcha went for a kick to the head, but that was blocked and his opponent went for a quick punch. The short haired fighter barely managed to block it, but the kick which came shortly after that landed right on his upper body. Yamcha grunted in pain as he quickly tried to back away from his opponent, but the three-eyed man followed in pursuit. Tienshinhan's right fist was few inches from Yamcha's face, but the ex-bandit avoided it by jumping high in the sky. His bald opponent didn't waste any second and was already in front of him, both exchanging blows up until Yamcha managed to find a hole in his opponent guard and smack him in the head. Tienshinhan landed on the ground without any damage, but so did Yamcha. The crowd was quiet and without any words
"I-Incredible..." Spoke Krillin who couldn't believe that Tienshinhan was indeed that strong. While he was shocked, Goku just smiled
"I told you before, he's strong" Said Goku who knew from the start of the tournament who was his real opponent. The young saiyan was excited, he couldn't wait to fight him. While the two of them observed the match, Yamcha was having trouble. He was sweating a lot and he needed to catch a breath before Tienshinhan was on the attack
"Darn this guy! He's far better than I thought!" Thought Yamcha as he cleared the drop of sweat from his forehead while he glared at his opponent, on the other side. Tienshinhan was smirking at his opponent, but he was a little bit surprised by Yamcha's performance so far, but only a little
"Here I come, Wolf-Fang-Fist!" Yelled the short haired fighter who launched himself towards Tienshinhan who remained on the same spot. Yamcha unleashed his signature attack, but everything was blocked by Tienshinhan who with a mighty yell delivered a strong punch in Yamcha's gut. The ex-bandit was sent flying to the other side of the ring and landed on his back. The black haired fighter moaned in pain while he held his gut, but he wasn't about to give up. He stood up and with a smirk on his face changed into a quite familiar pose, a pose Goku, Krillin and Chun immediately recognized
"KAA-MEE-HAA-MEE-HAAA!" Shouted Yamcha as he fired the blue energy wave towards his opponent. Tienshinhan moved his hands so quickly that it seemed like there were four of them. He placed his two hands in front and closed them together. A small amount of electricity gathered around his hands while his muscles tensed. The blue energy wave was just in front of him when the man released a strong yell
"Haaah!" Yelled Tienshinhan the moment the wave made contact with his hands. The wave remained in front of his for a second until it bounced off him, back towards Yamcha
"He knocked it back!" The young saiyan yelled out loud, surprised by Tienshinhan technic while Krillin, as well as Chun, remained shocked by what they saw. Back in the ring, Yamcha snapped out and immediately jumped above the blue wave which was exactly what his bald opponent wanted. The blue wave exploded where was no people and fortunately, no one was killed
"S-Shit! Who is this guy!? How can he so easily deflect the Kamehameha!?" Wondered the ex-bandit out loud as he slowly started to fall back to the ground, but as he was going down he heard someone calling his name
"Yamcha! Watch out!" Shouted Goku who knew where Tienshinhan was and what was about to do. While Krillin blinked in confusion and didn't understand what the saiyan was talking about, Goku hoped that his taller friend heard him. Yamcha wondered what the young saiyan was talking about when suddenly he felt pain in his abdomen. Tienshinhan just smirked and with more added force kicked Yamcha back to the ring. Yamcha couldn't do anything to stop himself and ended crashing into the ring with his back. The ex-bandit groaned in pain, but couldn't move because of it. Bulma called for her boyfriend in worry, but the young man barely managed to move a finger. In the sky, Tienshinhan just chuckled and immediately flew towards Yamcha, with his right knee in front. Upon realizing what Tienshinhan was about to do, Goku clenched his fist and yelled at the falling man
"N-No! Stop it!" Growled the young saiyan who even scared Krillin who was next to him. He never heard his best friend like that which was something new to him, but Goku's plea was ignored by Tienshinhan who landed with his knee on Yamcha's left leg and break it
"Aaaarghaaa!" Yamcha released a painful yell which lasted only a second after which he just fell unconscious. Upon seeing that his opponent was out of the fight, the three-eyed man moved away with a satisfying smirk on his face
"Yamcha!" The young saiyan called his friend as he approached near him, but he received no answer. Quickly the announcer arrived and examined the unconscious fighter. Just like Goku, he also tried to call for Yamcha but nothing, instead the opponent spoke
"Hey, the match is over, can't you see that?" Said Tienshinhan to the announcer who glanced at the bald young man and nodded. The man with black glasses turned towards the crowd and declared Tienshinhan the winner of the first match
"His leg is broken! Please take him to the hospital!" Yelled the announcer to the guy standing near the ring. The man nodded and went for help, but instead the crying Puar approached and transformed into a flying carpet
"I'll take him to the hospital! Goku, please place him on me!" Cried the transformed Puar as he lowered down to the ground on which Goku nodded and with Krillin's help placed Yamcha on the carpet. As Puar hovered above the crowd, Bulma and Launch quickly followed them while Bardock, Oolong, and the turtle remained alone
"Tch, he went down too easily. The boy needs to learn to observe his surroundings instead of gawking around during the fight" Thought Bardock who glanced back at the ring and observed Tienshinhan for a moment "That was an interesting technic, I wonder what else he knows... This should be a good test for Kakarot" The older saiyan smirked as he saw his son expression, he could feel that Kakarot wanted revenge
"You're horrible! Yamcha was already out and you still did that!" Spoke Goku to Tienshinhan with a scowl as he released a low growl. The taller man was a bit shaken to hear that threatening noise, it reminded him of a beast, but the tall fighter just laughed
"Haha, you should be grateful I didn't end his pathetic life!" Laughed Tienshinhan as he passed by Goku who continued glaring at the taller man while Krillin just watched the two exchanging words and looks
"No matter what, I'm gonna avenge Yamcha!" Declared the young saiyan as he clenched his fist while he gritted his teeth. Tienshinhan was almost out of the ring when he turned for the last time towards Goku and smirked
"Hahaha, can you even survive until the final match?" The tall man disappeared as he walked inside the martial arts temple hall while Goku stood at the center of the ring, his mind focused only on fighting Tienshinhan