Dragon Ball NG (Next Generation)

By: Dragonball Fang Fist

Chapter 10: To feel no pain

Master Han approached his three celebrating students as he entered the room where the finalists waited. The old man smiled at the boys when they saw him approaching. "Well done, Yamcha, I'm glad you've mastered the afterimage to the extent that you have. However, it only gets harder from here. In this next match, we get to see how strong Kramer has become." Yamcha nervously looked towards Kramer who was staring at his opponent with a cocky grin on his face.

"That poor bloke doesn't look like he'll stand too much of a chance," Gohan said eyeing the strange child-faced fellow.

"I wouldn't underestimate a fighter based off of how he looks, whether by size or…ehh facial expression," Master Han said holding up a single index finger in wisdom.

"Umm...right…sure…whatever you say master…" was Yamcha's response as he joined Gohan in staring anxiously at the strange Ryemin. Kramer walked up to his soon-to-be-opponent.

"Hey kiddy, let me give you a piece of advice," Kramer began but he was interrupted by the strange fighter.

"Ohmagosh, you're my opponent aren't you? Isn't it exciting, let's put on the greatest match ever…ehehehe wheeee!" with that, he began to run in circles around the room as fast as he could.

Gohan's eyes widened slightly in reaction to Ryemin's speed; "wow master you were right…" he commented.

"Ehehe get used to it boy, the master's always right," and he winked at his students, but no one saw him wink since he was wearing his traditional sunglasses. No reaction to a wink? Tough crowd… the hermit thought, not realizing his sunglasses were covering his eyes.

"Let the match begin!" As soon as the words had left the announcers mouth, Ryemin rushed at Kramer who was in his usual fighting stance. Ryemin attempted a punch straight to Kramer's jaw, but Kramer smoothly moved his head out of the way and grabbed Ryemin's arm. He then lifted his left knee into Ryemin's abdomen, followed by the right knee. Kramer then jumped as high as he could taking Ryemin with him. When he felt he was high enough in the air, he threw Ryemin straight down. Ryemin landed with a loud CRASH onto the ring.

"Over already? Well, only one way to be sure…1…wha? LADIES AND GENTLEMEN RYEMIN IS BACK ON HIS FEET!" The announcer was shocked as the strange warrior made his way back to his feet. Although battered and bruised, his facial expression hadn't changed since when they first saw him. The fighter still had a goofy grin on his face. Everyone was shocked at this sight, everyone except Master Han whose expression turned to one of wonder and suspicion.

"Hmph…fine I'll make sure you don't get up this time!" Kramer yelled and charged in himself for an attack as soon as his shock had worn off. Kramer attempted to trip Ryemin but the strange warrior hopped up just enough to avoid Kramer's foot. Kramer smiled and jumped above Ryemin and landed behind him, making the two fighters back to back. Kramer then quickly spun around and connected with a spinning kick on the back of Ryemin's head. The peculiar warrior once again fell to the floor, only to snap right back up before the announcer was even able to say a word.

I don't get it…how does he keep doing that?" Goten asked, looking to Master Han for a possible explanation.

However, all Master Han conceded was a thoughtful "hmm…"

Kramer was beginning to get frustrated. Why do I always end up fighting the stupid endurance freaks… he looked over to the three turtle students and remembering their previous encounter. "Very well, I'll just have to hit you harder…and faster," Kramer declared as he began another assault. This time, he rapidly punched Ryemin an astounding amount of times in the gut with amazing speed. He ended it with a three kick combo to the head followed by a knee drop right on top of Ryemin's head. He did all this in seconds.

"Yamcha?" Gohan turned to face his friend.

"Yeah Gohan?" replied Yamcha, still staring in awe at the ring.

"How many punches did you count? I lost track at 29," Gohan stated.

"Yeah, just about the same here, I couldn't keep count after 26." Yamcha agreed.

"68 punches boys, I'm disappointed in you boys for the first time today. You should've both been able to follow all of them. At the very least Yamcha, you should've been able to keep pace as long as Gohan did, but you may be a little tired from your fight so I'll let it go." Master Han criticized his two students.

"What about me Master? I was able to follow 40 of them," Goten chimed in.

"hmhm, just what I'd expect from you. See boys, you should both be a little stronger then Goten, but he kept pace longer than both of you. Focus!" he said to Gohan and Yamcha, raising his voice slightly.

Ryemin collapsed in what seemed like slow-motion, and he stopped smiling for the first time. However, his expression wasn't one of pain; it was just one of anger. "It has to be over this time folks! What a furious combo by Kramer!" Kramer's face told he thought it was over. Everybody watching the fight seemed to think it was over. The announcer began to count. "One…two…thr- I don't believe my eyes ladies and gentlemen! All that and he was only down for a two and a half count!" The announcer excitedly proclaimed as Ryemin got back to his feet and dusted himself off, now with an angry expression on his face.

"Wow, I don't think there's any way I would've got up from that so fast," Gohan imagined.

"YOU? I'm not sure I could've got up this quickly from a beating like that...there's only one explanation for this," Master Han responded to Gohan.

"What's that Master?" Goten asked. Yamcha also began to pay attention now, curious to know what was going on.

"I believe he's about to explain himself," Master Han predicted, but he didn't seem too happy.

"Grrr…I probably have several internal injuries as well as possible brain damage right now. I'll get you back for injuring me like this!" Ryemin stated and he prepared to launch an assault at Kramer.

"What are you talking about? You bounced right back up, there's no way you're injured that severely!" Kramer interrupted.

"You idiot, haven't you figured it out yet? I don't feel pain. It's a medical condition, the part of my brain that detects pain is paralyzed, but enough about that it's time for you to lose this match!" With that statement, Ryemin dashed at Kramer and unleashed a fury of strikes upon him.

As Kramer dodged and blocked the blows he thought how am I supposed to defeat an opponent who feels no pain, it makes no sense! It's practically impossible since I'm not allowed to kill him. I have to win the tournament. Wait! What if I kill this guy and get rid of him, will Kaizen be able to win? Can I depend on that with wolf boy and friends still in? Yeah, they can't beat him one-on-one! He grinned and jumped back, creating some distance between himself and Ryemin. He then pointed out his right index finger towards Ryemin. "Sorry, but I have no choice but to kill you!"

"What a shocking turn of events! After learning Ryemin is impervious to pain, Kramer has decided to attempt killing his opponent and risking disqualification instead of trying to toss him out of bounds!" The announcer informed the crowd.

"eeeee!? Of course! Out of bounds! Announcer guy, you're a bloody genius!" Kramer said excitedly, having found a new solution to Ryemin's inability to feel pain. However, Ryemin saw this as an opportunity to attack and he did. He first connected with a left hook to Kramer's face, and then followed up with a punch straight to Kramer's stomach. He then kicked Kramer straight in the chest, causing him to stumble back a few steps. Kramer was about a foot away from the edge of the ring. Ryemin smiled that silly smile once again and charged in for a final blow. He swung his forearm at Kramer's neck, but all he hit was an afterimage. The real Kramer appeared behind him, looking furious.

"I changed my mind, I'm not just going to knock you out of the ring. Consider this payback for hitting me," Kramer said and placed his right index finger on Ryemin's spine. "DODON RAY!" He yelled, and a yellow stream of energy erupted from his finger and sent Ryemin crashing into the barricade that separated the audience from the arena. He then fell down onto his back outside the ring. He was alive, and looked angrier than ever, but did nothing more than move his fingers.

"Ryemin has landed out of bounds! The winner is Kramer!" The announcer made Kramer's victory official.

"What did you do? I can't move!" Ryemin screamed, for the first time there was sorrow in his voice.

"Hahahaha, I just paralyzed your whole body for anywhere between a couple days and the rest of your life. No big deal, right? I mean part of your brain was already paralyzed, I just took care of the rest of your body. Finished the job if you know what I mean." with that Kramer exited the ring and walked back into the room. A stretcher was brought out and Ryemin was carried to the hospital as an astounded audience looked on.

"There was no need to use the Dodon Ray, he overdid it," Master Han said, clenching his fists.

"Don't be so glum old man, I held back on the Ray so as not to kill him," Kramer said before letting out a chuckle.

"You better not hold back in the next round then," Yamcha said, taking a step towards Kramer.

"Don't get ahead of yourself wolf boy, the kid's got to deal with me in the next match first." Kaizen alluded to the upcoming third match of the finals.

"Oh I'll deal with you olrite, you just wait," said Goten beginning an intense staring contest with Kaizen.

"Please join me in welcoming the participants for the third match of this year's finals! Introducing the young thirteen year old Goten! And his opponent, Kaizen who is about the same age as Goten's older brother Gohan who is also a finalist! Here they come, folks." The announcer introduced the fighters.

"What's the big idea, bub? My intro was more about him and his lousy brother than me," Kaizen complained.

Before the announcer could respond, Goten did "Bub? Who says bub? Hehe, ready to lose bub?" Kaizen didn't respond to this, but merely walked to the ring. Goten stretched his neck and followed suit thinking he's hard to throw off his game psychologically, definitely more composed than Kramer. Mind games won't do much good here, going to have to win the old-fashioned way.

"This is going to the most important match yet." Master Han observed.

"We have no idea how strong Kaizen is, or what techniques he can use." Gohan worried aloud.

"Well, I'd say he knows the same techniques as Kramer, probably just to a slightly lesser degree." Yamcha told Gohan from his prior knowledge of the two brothers.

"Right, but who's to say that Kramer showed us everything in his arsenal? I doubt he would do that." Gohan wondered.

"Yeah that's true let's hope Goten can pull it off eh?" one of the Krillins commented from behind them. When Yamcha and Gohan both turned around and gave Krillin a suspicious look, Krillin apologized and backed away again with his head down.

"I hate being rude for the chance that he's the real one, but we can't know." Gohan said, sounding frustrated.

Yamcha was about to say something to offer moral support, but the announcer spoke first. "Let the third match of the 499th world martial arts tournament begin!" This set off a lot of noise from the crowd as the two fighters took their respective fighting stance.

The third match has begun. How strong is Kaizen? How will Goten fare? What new techniques will Kaizen have up his sleeve? The World Martial Arts Tournament continues with Goten vs Kaizen, next time on DBNG!

Power levels for this episode:

Ryemin: 65

Kramer: 94

Kramer(Dodon Ray – not full power): 115

Thanks for reading and please review!