Trip to the past
Chapter 10: Goten versus Jackie Chun
I stared intently in Jackie Chun's eyes, waiting for the announcer to finally say we were allowed to begin. I could tell that I wasn't the only one getting impatient. He hid it well but I could see Jackie himself was also getting impatient. He clearly wanted to get this over with. He thought he could beat me fairly easily. He didn't underestimate me as bad as Giran had done, but he still didn't believe I could actually beat him. I would soon prove him wrong. As soon as that announcer finally said we could start this fight!
It wouldn't do any good to get overconfident myself though. I knew that if I paid attention there was no way I could lose this fight. But even I could lose if I allowed my arrogance to blind me. I let it happen once, but not again. Even if this wasn't a fight to the death. I had promised myself I wouldn't use any energy blasts, so the fight wouldn't be that easy. Should I get into a tight spot I just had to slightly raise my power level. But I'd have to be careful, wouldn't want to create lightning again.
"Let the first semifinal match begin!"
Finally, it was about time. I didn't react to the start of the match at all outwardly. I just continued staring at Jackie Chun, carefully keeping my face emotionless. Master Roshi stared straight back at me, standing in his usual Jackie Chun stance. Hands raised in the air, fingers hanging downwards.
"So Goten," he said mockingly "How much time did you spend this morning getting your hair to stand up like that? It looks like you missed a few strands though."
With that last sentence he pointed out the lock of hair that was hanging in front of my face. I knew he was trying to make me angry but he would have to come up with better insults than that.
"You're just jealous because your hair isn't as awesome as mine," I said in an attempt to imitate Vegeta's voice "And for your information, it naturally looks like this."
Jackie Chun just grunted in response. Apparently the first round was won by me. If I had known that messing with Master Roshi was this fun I would have stated doing it way earlier. Jackie Chun then charged at me, aiming a kick straight for my head. This would have caused most people to jump up to evade it, but I wasn't most people. I simply tilted my head slightly to the side, allowing his kick to pass by harmlessly.
Jackie looked at me in shock. I took advantage of his temporary lapse in attention to deliver a swift punch to his chest, knocking him backwards to the edge of the ring.
"Once again Goten proves that despite his age he is a very skilled fighter! He expertly dodged Jackie Chun's attack and then managed to counter with a punch of his own! Amazing!"
Jackie Chun quickly got up again and looked at me angrily.
"It looks like I underestimated you," he said.
"Yeah, you sure did!" I said, laughing.
He charged at me again, this time throwing punches. I noticed he was watching my moves more closely now. I quickly caught the punch he aimed at my chest with my right hand, making sure to not let go of it. Then I evaded the punch approaching my head once again by just bending my neck slightly to the side. Then I took hold of his first arm with my second hand too and swung him straight into the wall. The wall crumbled on impact and Jackie Chun was temporary buried.
"Jackie Chun is down! Let's see how long it lasts!"
I wanted to tell the announcer that he would get up before the count of ten, but that would just complicate matters, so I remained silent. Before the count of three was even reached Jackie Chun was back on his feet, dusting off his clothes.
"I don't understand, you're wearing a cape, that should somehow restrict your movements. But yet somehow you're still able to fight," Jackie Chun said in a questioning voice.
"Well, I like the cape, I only take it off when I have no other choice. But you aren't tough enough for that to be necessary," I said, knowing it would make him angry.
"That's it I've had it with you!" he shouted in anger.
I never knew Master Roshi could get this mad, in the future he was always so laid back. Watching TV or lying on the beach 'reading' magazines. I had to concentrate on the present however. Once again Jackie Chun charged at me. This time however he stopped right before he reached me. I could see his body blur slightly. An afterimage. I quickly looked around and saw a second image to my left. He left to afterimages! I quickly attacked the second, making him believe I had fallen for his trick. But when he appeared behind me I didn't punch the afterimage in front of me like he expected. Instead I raised my right foot behind my back, kicking him straight in the stomach. He doubled over in pain.
"Jackie Chun proves that he knows an impressive amount of techniques, but no matter what he tries, Goten always seems to be a step ahead!"
Jackie growled, it was clear he was getting very frustrated by now. I smiled innocently his way, just like I would do with Piccolo or dad during training after I hit them. I never knew it was this fun to get Master Roshi angry. If I had known before I would have started doing it earlier. Jackie looked conflicted for a second but then seemed to make a decision.
"If you think you're so great, then take this!" he said loudly.
He cupped his hands by his side. That was all I needed to figure it out. He was going to use the Kamehameha wave. I hadn't expected him to use it. Wasn't he trying to hide his true identity? It had to be some sort of miracle that nobody figured out he was actually Master Roshi.
"KA… ME… HA… ME…" he started to chant.
Normally I would just fire my own Kamehameha in defence. But I had promised myself I wouldn't use any energy attacks. So my only option left was to evade it, I couldn't block it either because that would betray my greater power level.
"HA!" Jackie Chun screamed, launching the wave straight at me.
Before I had the chance to jump out of the way the blast was already upon me, leaving me no choice but to block it. So, I quickly raised both of my hands, using my palms to block the incoming attack. I could feel the blast slowly starting to overpower me, this left me with no choice but to raise my power level. I was cautious as to raise it just high enough without generating lightning all around me.
After about ten seconds Jackie Chun stopped his attack, anxious to see my unconscious body most likely. The result wasn't what he expected though. I still stood there, hands raised, seemingly unaffected. His attack hadn't even caused a single wrinkle to appear in my clothes. Jackie just gaped at the sight before him.
"Would you look at that! It seems as if somebody else also mastered the Turtle Destruction Wave! But despite Jackie Chun's best efforts Goten still managed to block the attack as if it was nothing! Who is this incredible young man?"
I could hear Goku and Krillin whispering to each other, they sounded excited. Jackie Chun was now breathing heavily as he was looking at me incredulously. I just stared back at him, as if I hadn't just brushed of an incredibly powerful attack. I wasn't going to let my guard down. I didn't have to wait long before Jackie Chun released his next attack. After he regained his composure he took a few seconds to think of a good technique and then he started to stumble around the ring. What was he doing? He looked just like Yamcha that one time he got drunk. I cautiously approached him, his moves were erratic and didn't make any sense. While I was thinking he had somehow wobbled my way. Then, without me even realising what he was doing, he hit me in my face. I didn't know how he did it, but somehow he managed to punch me without me even noticing. I didn't understand, that was supposed to be impossible. I was much faster, I should be able to easily see every single one of his hits coming.
Somehow he had managed to slip past my guard, the question was how? How did he do it? Then it hit me, he was acting drunk. That meant his movements were unpredictable and didn't really make any sense. I couldn't defend from a punch if didn't even know it was a punch. I quickly put a little distance between the both of us so I could think of a plan. I had already figured out what he was doing, All I needed now was a way to counter it successfully. It had to be something I could do from a distance, because if I got too close he could hit me.
That's it! Drunk people may be unpredictable, but they also had poor balance. So all I had to do was somehow knock him off balance and I should get the advantage. I just had to create a small shockwave or something similar. I couldn't use an energy wave however, so I had to create it in a different way. All I could think of was if I punched the air hard enough to create a shockwave that would knock Jackie's socks off. I had to raise my power level slightly for it to work, but that couldn't be too much of a problem. My plan ready, I immediately put it to the test.
I walked a little closer to him, to increase the effectiveness, but I still made sure to stay out of his reach. Then I gave a quick, hard punch to the air. Just as predicted a shockwave was created, and also according to the expectations Jackie Chun fell to the ground, a slightly dazed look on his face. It always gave me a sense of victory if I managed to come up with a smart move to gain the advantage in a fight. It reminded me of Piccolo, since he relied heavily on tactics during a fight.
"You're too clever for your own good boy. Now I have no choice but to use this technique. I wanted to avoid it but it seems I have no choice," Jackie Chun said in a grave voice while slowly tucking up his sleeves.
"This is only the second time I've had to perform this technique, the first time was against Gohan Son," Jackie Chun continued, pausing slightly before he said the last two words.
I heard Goku gasp in the background. It was quite funny actually. He said he had only used it against Gohan Son, but that was my name. Of course he meant my great-grandfather, but it was just so funny because he didn't even realise it himself.
"I'm sorry it had to come to this," Jackie said, then he raised his hands.
What was he talking about? What technique did he know that was apparently so bad he was hesitant to use it? For the first time I had no idea at all what to expect next in this fight. Jackie Chun then placed his hands against each other and he started to charge up energy. I could feel the energy he was starting to gather, and it was a lot. I didn't know Master Roshi knew such a powerful attack. Then he suddenly pointed his palms in my direction and screamed something.
"Lightning Surprise Attack!"
The energy beam that shot from his hands next was unavoidable. It was so fast I doubt I could've avoided it at my full power. It was as fast as lightning. I didn't see it hit, but I could definitely feel it. I felt pain like I had never felt pain before. It was worse than that time on Namek when Frieza had beaten me. I had no idea that Master Roshi knew such a technique, no wonder he was hesitant to use it. I couldn't help the scream of pain that escaped my lips.
"Give up boy! If you don't, you'll die!" Jackie Chun shouted.
It was hard to think through the pain, but I definitely wasn't giving up. I had no other choice, I started to raise my energy once again. This time though, I raised it more. I didn't have to worry about lightning, I was being struck by a huge flash of lightning anyway. With one last scream my power level shot up high enough to easily shake of Jackie Chun's attack. But it did more than that. My sudden increase in power had blown Jackie Chun out of the ring completely. He landed in the crowd, I had won the match. The next ten seconds were made up of a deadly silence. I gratefully took that time to suppress my power level again. Then the people started to cheer loudly.
"In an astounding turn of events Goten somehow blasted Jackie Chun out of the ring. This means Goten is our first finalist!"
I shyly waved at the crowd for a minute, but then I turned my back on them and quickly walked off of the stage.
Alright another chapter finished. I really like this one, it was also easy to write. It's slightly longer than most chapters but the next one is probably gonna be a little shorter.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and please also review this chapter.