"It's finally here!" Goku cheered as they entered the tournament grounds early in the morning. "We are finally going to compete in the 21st World's Martial Arts Tournament."
"Finally!" Venom shouted. "Time to wipe away the competition."
"You said it Venom." Launch agreed.
"Now don't go too crazy out there." Bulma warned. Although she did say this specifically for Venom, some of it was directed toward Launch as well. The blonde thief grit her teeth not to bite back. It would be too obvious.
"Don't worry, Yamcha and I will make sure these two don't get into too much trouble." Krillin volunteered. "Anyway, has anyone seen Master Roshi this morning?"
"No, not really." Bulma confirmed. "In fact, I haven't seen him since dinner."
"Can't say I blame him." Oolong said. "Probably still sick of what Venom did to the table."
"Even I have to say that was a bit gross." Launch said with a bit of disgust.
"It was glorious." Venom smirked taking pride over what he did last night.
"Alright, about time we go in." Yamcha said. "Hope you all enjoy the view from the stands."
"Go get them Yamcha!" Puar cheered. "You can do it!"
"Will do." Yamcha said as he along with Goku, Krillin, and Launch entered the building. The place was filled with all kinds of individuals. Some were scrawny, others had eight packs. Most were men, some were women. Half were humans, others were werewolves or other kinds of beastmen. There was even a dragon amongst the crowd.
"Wow, there are all sorts of people here!" Goku said. "There is even a gorilla over there."
"Uhh Goku. You do realize that is a very large and hairy man." Krillin correct.
"Oh, looks like he is." Goku admitted. "Well I did get confused with the smell."
"How could you? The gorilla man smells worse than a regular gorilla!" Venom commented. "You can easily tell the difference."
"Leave it to you to add more insults when it's not needed." Krillin said towards the symbiote.
"With the rock hopper here, it's taking a lot not to beat up someone." Venom warned. Do not tempt me to stray from my good behavior. Do not let it be you hobbit."
Krillin raised his hand to back talk, but Yamcha placed his hand on his shoulder to get his attention. Krillin turned to see that Yamcha was shaking his head, clearly telling him to keep the symbiote happy. Krillin nodded and didn't verbally retaliate against Venom.
"Say Goku, didn't Krillin and the grandpa stealer discuss not being able to see Master Roshi this morning?" Venom asked, just to Goku.
"Yes, why do you ask Venom?" Goku thought.
"Then who is that over there?" Venom asked gesturing over to an elderly man with big hair.
"It looks like Master Roshi." Goku agreed. "Just without his glasses. Plus this guy has a wig."
"But Master Roshi nevertheless." Venom said. "They even smell the same. Like a sad lonely old man who has too much time on his hands."
"But this old man has hair." Goku commented.
"The nose never lies Goku." Venom said.
"We are going to see if it's true." Goku said as he walked over.
"Of course, but let's be coy about it." Venom advised. "If he is using this lame disguise, we might as well have some fun with it."
"Excuse me sir, but aren't you a little too old to be fighting in a tournament?" Goku asked as he slightly tugged on the old man's pants leg.
"Hello young fella." The old man greeted as he turned to face Goku. "And maybe we are, but doesn't that mean your too young to be participating in this tournament as well?"
"He's Master Roshi." Venom internally grinned.
"Yep, he certainly is Master Roshi." Goku admitted.
"We told you." Venom chuckled.
"Yes we did." Goku once again admitted. "So do we call him out on it?"
"No, let's see how far the old master geezer is going to pull this charade." Venom said treating it as a game. "Once the tournament is over, then we can call him out on it."
"Okay, sounds like fun." Goku thought before speaking out loud to Master Roshi. "What is your name sir?"
"Jackie Chun son, what's your name?" Jackie Chun said, smiling like a proud grandfather.
"How original."
"Goku sir, but some people call us Venom." Goku greeted.
"Could have chose Chuck Walrus, but fine."
"Us? My boy, I don't see anyone else around you." Jackie commented, despite knowing full well that Venom was concealing himself.
"We can hear your heartbeat old master liar geezer, you know that we exist."
"You will see soon during the tournament." Goku said. "Anyway we better get back to our group before the fighting starts. It was nice to see you."
"It was nice to see you too young Goku." Jackie said as Goku walked away from him. "Boy that was a close one. Good thing Venom couldn't tell that I was his own martial arts master."
"Can't wait to say that we knew that it was Master Roshi the entire time." Said a hyped up Venom. "The expression on his face will be priceless."
"Yeah, but there has to be a reason to all this cloak and dagger stuff." Goku reasoned. "Do you think it's some sort of lesson."
"Or it could be one big prank." Venom suggested. "Master Roshi was known for pulling stupid stunts like this. Usually we or Monster Launch paid him back for it, but he still hasn't learned his lesson."
"Could be, or it could be both." Goku thought. "Either way, we shouldn't tell the others. It might not be fair to Master Roshi."
"We agreed." Venom said as Goku finally made it back to his group. "It is nearly time for the Tournament Announcer to come out anyway."
"Hey Goku, who were you were talking to just now?" Krillin asked.
"Just some old man." Goku truthfully said, not wanting to lie at all to his friends. "We wanted to know why someone so old would want to join in a tournament such as this."
"Well why wouldn't he?" Launch commented. "Master Roshi is over three hundred years old and he could wipe the floor with everyone here, including us. It's not out of the question that someone old would do the same."
Venom internally gave a nervous chuckle, since the thought didn't cross his or Goku's mind until now.
"Now that you mention it, that old man kind of looks like Master Roshi." Yamcha commented.
Launch and Krillin looked at Jackie Chin closely, then shook their heads in utter disbelief. Goku followed suit with the gesture, just so his friends would not ask him about it.
"Yeah right." Launch disagreed. "That is definitely not Master Roshi."
"I agreed with Launch, I haven't seen Master Roshi wear or own a wig before." Krillin said.
"Say what you will, but I am going to bet ten zeni that that old man over there is Master Roshi." Yamcha said.
Goku breathed a sigh of relief getting off the hook about not having to reveal or lie about Master Roshi's secret identity. Venom would been relieved as well, if Yamcha wasn't the only one to have a clue about it.
"Are you kidding us!" Venom shouted internally. "The only other one who had any clue about Master Roshi was the Rock Hopper! Come on Goku, let's sneak the grandpa stealer or the swine in here to see what they think. We can't be alone in the same boat as this turd."
"No Venom, it would be rude to reveal Master Roshi like that." Goku thought. "Not to mention, we are not allowed to bring anyone in who isn't registered to fight in the tournament."
"Grrrr FINE!" Venom reluctantly yielded. "But now we are in the mood to punch something. Oh goody, the announcer is coming on."
All eyes took notice of the stage as the Tournament Announcer came up on the podium with a bowl of stripped up paper.
"Welcome all contenders to the exhibition round of the 21st World's Martial Arts Tournament! I am your host and announcer for this exciting extravaganza! Now, in my hand is the names of all the contenders. When I select your name, you will be given a place at one of the eight smaller arenas. In order to win at each arena and move onto the main event, you should have the most amount of knockouts. You can receive a knockout only when, a) your opponent makes contact with outside the ring, b) your opponent can no longer move, or c) your opponent throws in the towel! Not to mention, weapons and protective gear are strictly forbidden. Now, let me start the drawing!"
A drum roll began as the Tournament Announcer dug his hand deep into the bowl drew out the first name.
"And our first contender is....Haha I'm gay?" Said a very complexed Tournament Announcer. The whole crowd erupted into a fit of laughter.
"Grrrr....Curse you Mick." The Announcer said under his breath as he told the attendants to retrieve the right bowl.
"Hahaha! Oh man, I haven't seen anyone this embarrassed since I got hit with the crushed gong out of nowhere six months back." Yamcha laughed.
Venom, being one of the few who didn't get the humor of the prank the Announcer suffered from, starting laughing for everyone to hear. The sudden cackle halted some of the dying laughter of the contenders nearby as they looked around to see where it was going from. Launch and Krillin just looked at each other with an all too knowing smirk.
"Sorry about that folks, but now we can finally get back to business." The Announcer said. "Ababondalo, Nikoli goes to block A. Absol, Drew goes to block B, The Absolute goes to block C..."
Time passed as the Z Fighters got picked to go to their blocks. Launch went to block A, Goku and Venom went to block B, Krillin went to Block D, Yamcha went to Block E, and Jackie Chun went to Block H.
"Finally, let's get this show on the road!" Launch proclaimed as she threw herself into the ring before anyone else had a chance. "Now, who is going to be my first victim?!"
Almost all the male contenders were eager to show that they could beat a woman in a contest of strength. However, there was only one who dared to step up first. Ironically, he was the only one of them who did not plan to make this as a show of gender superiority in any sort, but rather a step towards a humble journey to save his village.
"Hello, my name is Nam, and I would gladly except your invention for this challenge." Nam said, as he straightened his turban and got ready into his fighting stance.