And this is where Max is gonna take his amazing heights to the next level!


Chapter 2: Junior Competition News

Later that afternooon, Takami, Ryo, Kiba and Arizona took a little walk around the Valley for some fresh air alongside Max and as the tiger cub was between his two wolf brothers; Arizona and Kiba, Takami explained how he taught Max to beat Tigress when giving the chance and the fact that he was the only one to win every single sparring match between the two of them, it was like Max is setting a couple of records by himself. That definitely surprised Ryo and Kiba the most because Tigress would've instantly took him down hard if she was beaten by her opponent.

"Sounds like his training is improving." Ryo said, a little impressed.

"Dude, you can like take down anyone in the history of the world!" Kiba exclaimed, gleefully.

Ryo lets out an exasperated sigh and said to Kiba, "Cool it, man. I think you've been hanging out with Po for too long."

"Ryo...that's how I am. I can just imagine Max at a ring taking down someone older than him and giving experience kung-fu masters a run for their money." Kiba added.

"Easy, guys...we don't wanna think that highly. Let's just Max enjoy his childhood." Arizona said, calming Kiba's excitement down.

Even Ryo agrees with Arizona by what he said and evidently, Takami asked Max, "Hey, Max? How did you like training with Kiba?"

"I love it. Sometimes I wish that Kiba would be my trainer forever." Max replied.

Just hearing that made Kiba even more happier than ever and he lets out a chuckle and said, "I enjoy training with you too, dude. You bring a lot of fun and energy into our sessions, little man."

"Yeah, we do. But I don't wanna leave Arizona out because I don't want him to feel like I like him any less." Max added.

Arizona rubbed his head and he said, "Max...you know that you're my brother. As I told you, you can always find someone to train with besides me."

"I can?"

"Yeah, of course. Sometimes you just gotta find someone who can do some more training skills and see how well it can do. Whatever you learned from me or Musaki, you can add that to someone else's moves." Arizona answered.

Max never thought about it that way and he definitely thought it would be a good idea, since he looks up to Kiba anyway and Ryo added, "Just as long as Kiba doesn't teach you any bad pranks."

Kiba sputters at this almost kinda like a joke and he said, "My pranks aren't that cruel. I don't teach him that kind. Besides, I do have my limits."

"Limits, schlimits. The only limits you have is chores." Ryo stated.

Kiba groans at that word and he said, "Chores are so boring."

Takami looks at Max and he said to him, "Just don't turn out like these guys."

Just then, they noticed a group full of kids and parents in a line at Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop and wondering what's all the hubbub is about and as they came in, Takami sees Mr. Ping coming by and he said, "Hey, Mr. Ping. What's going on here?"

"The Annual Junior Kung-Fu Tournament is coming to the Valley in 5 days. They picked my shop to be an annual sponsor for it and that means big business!" Mr. Ping answered.

"Does that include free noodles and dumplings?" asked Ryo, excitedly.

Takami rolls his eyes at Ryo's ultimate obsession with eating and he said, "You and your bottomless pit."

Arizona comes to Mr. Ping and he asked, "So, why is there a big line?"

"Everyone is signing up so the kids could come and participate. It starts at ages 10 till 14." Mr. Ping answered.

Soon, Max got himself a huge idea that what if he were to attend the competiting and participate in it and he said, "Hey, Zona...can I sign up?"

That seemed to surprise Arizona for one reason and he looked at Max and said, "Sign up for what?"

"That annual kung-fu tournament." Max answered.

"Max, I don't think they'll let a nine year old enter this competition because you're under 10." Mr. Ping answered.

It really didn't matter to Max regardless of the age and he said, "I'm almost 10. It's after 9, so that means I should be elligible to enter."

"Are you sure, little buddy?" asked Takami.

Max nodded his head and he said, "Totally sure. I've been to plenty 10 and up competitions before...well, most of them."

Arizona lets out a deep sigh and he knows a lot of Max's persistence that he won't give up until he has his chance and immediately said, "Come on, bud. Let's get you signed up."

"Yes!" Max exclaimed.

As Arizona and Max headed to the end of the line, Mr. Ping started to get a little worried for the little white tiger cub and he said, "I don't know if the little boy can handle this. He's going up against some kids older than him."

"Why not, Mr. P? If Max can take down Master Tigress more than once, he can take down anyone outside of his age group." Kiba added.

"And he does seem to wrestle and spar with his older brothers a lot, so it could be a test for him." Ryo answered.

Minutes later, Arizona and Max walked back to Takami, Kiba and Ryo as they made their way back to the Jade Palace and Arizona said, "Well...Max is officially in."

"Awesome! Did anyone stop him?" asked Ryo.

"They did at first because they figured because he's under the age of 10, he's inelligible to compete or participate...but after they saw what he can do, they were willing to give it a second thought and let him enter." Arizona answered.

"This is gonna be so freaking awesome!" Max exclaimed.

Arizona blinked his eyes in surprise after Max said 'freaking' and he said, "Who taught Max to say that?"

Kiba, Ryo and Takami pointed towards each other because they use 'freaking' a lot and Arizona sighed deeply and said to Max, "Don't use that word. Use it when you're older, okay?"

"Okay." Max answered.


So...how will the kung-fu masters respond? Find out next!