Kale Kohlrabi assessed the potential of all the other fighters in the room. That was one of the first things he had learned in his years with the military, assess the situation to determine possible threats. There were some decent fighters at this year's Tenkaichi Budouki Tournament; he could sense their strong ki. He still felt confident that he could win, although it wasn't guaranteed. Kale closed his eyes and leaned against a nearby wall with his arms crossed.
"Well, if it isn't our good friend Kale Kohlrabi." Kale opened one eye, before him stood a large, bald man in a green tank top and black biker shorts.
"Conan, when did they let you out of jail?"
"Right after you ditched out on us. The boss wasn't too happy about that."
"Well, he shouldn't have hired me to do his dirty work in the first place. That's what big, ugly goons like you are for."
"I'm gonna enjoy beating you into the ground, Kohlrabi." said Conan, cracking his knuckles to emphasize his point. Kale closed his eyes again and Conan turned on his heel and stomped away. The announcer began to broadcast the first round match ups and the tournament was underway.
"Ladies and gentlemen let the twenty-seventh Tenkaichi Budouki begin!" There was a thunderous applause as the first two opponents entered the ring. Kohlrabi didn't bat an eye. There were grunts; groans and screams as the combatants duked it out.
"Oh, it looks like he's had it folks! He'll be recovering from that for quite some time. Our next competitors are…" Kale's eyes snapped open. There was a strong ki that he hadn't sensed before and it sent shivers down his spine. It was coming from one of the current competitors. Kale had to find out who possessed energy like that. He strolled over to ringside to watch the match.
The two participants were Conan and a young Asian boy, who appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen. He was shorter than most men, barely past four feet. He appeared especially minute when compared to the hulking form of Conan. If it wasn't for the strange energies emanating from the tiny man, Kale would have said that Conan was bound to win. Conan apparently felt the same way, because he snickered when his opponent entered the ring.
"Ladies and gentlemen, for our second match we have two vertically differentiated combatants. Over here we have the tiny titan, Lei Fe going against the towering leviathan, Conan the destroyer. This match will prove whether or not size actually matters." The telecaster stood aside as the gong signaled the start of the match. Conan was true to style and rushed in with his fists flying. Lei Fe simply took the blows without flinching.
"Ladies and gents, Conan has let loose with a volley of perfectly executed moves so fast that Lei Fe is unable to block any of it. How much more of a beating can this man take?" Conan was enjoying himself; the little runt didn't even bother to fight back. For his finishing move, Conan grabbed his opponent, jumped five feet into the air and slammed the miniature fighter to the ground with enough strength to crack some tiles. Conan then took a breather to admire his handiwork and stared in surprise as the little man stood up and dusted himself off.
"I hope that's not all you've got." he said, unperturbed.
"Oh, a wise guy?" snarled Conan, "Let's see how you like this, you little punk!" Conan charged in like a bull, intending to flatten Lei Fe and shut him up for good. Lei Fe had other plans, dropping on his back he used his feet to catch Conan in the midriff and flip him out of the ring and into the far wall of the arena.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like size doesn't matter. Lei Fe is the winner." Kale watched closely, he knew how strong Conan was and an average person wouldn't have withstood a beating of that caliber. The strange energy he had felt had mysteriously vanished as soon as the fight had ended. He would have to watch himself around this Lei Fe character.