It is time.
time to find out who will be the last man standing:
the elderly former champion Jackie chun
or the wild, innocent boy son goku.
the sell-out crowd at the budokai stadium anxiously awaits as the announcer made his way to the center of the ring to introduce the fighters.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S TIME FOR THE GRAND FINALS OF THE 20TH TENKAICHI BUDOKAI!"
the crowd roared in response, oolong and puar waving a self-made flag carrying goku's name.
" AND WHAT A FINAL WE HAVE FOR YOU TODAY!" The announcer proudly exclaimed. "OUR TWO FINALISTS OVERCAME ALL SORTS OF ADVERSITY AND CHALLENGES TO GET THERE, AND THEY HAVE ONLY ONE THING IN THEIR MIND:THE FABULOUS PRIZE OF 500,000 ZENIES IN CASH MONEY!"
the crowd roars again.
" NOW, LET'S INTR0DUCE OUR FIGHTERS! FIRST UP, HE IS OUT OLDEST CONTESTANT, AND HE'S A FORMER 2-TIME CHAMPION. HE MAY BE ELDERLY, BUT, AS HE'S SHOWN THROUGHOUT THIS TOURNAMENT, HE STILL GOT IT! GIVE IT UP FOR JACKIE CHUN!"
the crowd applauded as the old man stepped inside the ring, giving peace signs to everybody.
" AND HIS OOPONENT! HE WON THE HEARTS OF THE FANS IN ATTENDANCE WITH HIS EXCEPTIONAL SKILLS AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE, AND HIS DETERMINATION IS SECOND TO NONE! GIVE IT UP FOR SON GOKU!"
goku waved at the crowd as they cheered for him, with oolong, puar and bulma's parents cheering the loudest.
"Let's go, goku!" bulma shouted.
"Beat this old man senseless!" krillin shouted.
goku and Jackie chun stared at each other, both fighters looking pretty determined.
" NOW, before we begin, I'd like to ask goku a question..." the announcer said, walking towards goku. "...you have such amazing skills for such a young age. how old are you?"
"uh..." GOKU then started counting on his fingers. he opened both of his hands, then lifted two more fingers. "...im twelve!"
the crowd were stunned at how young goku was. including bulma.
"12?" bulma said. "Didn't you told me you were 14?" she asked him.
"yeah, but krillin taught me how to count my age. turns out I was really 12!" goku answered.
"huh...thought you looked pretty young for a 14-year-old." bulma said. to think goku didn't even know his own age...
"INCREDIBLE! THIS IS THE FUTURE OF MARTIAL ARTS RIGHT THERE!" the announcer exclaimed. "NOW, IT'S TIME! FIGHTERS, ON YOUR MARK!"
both goku and Jackie chun took their stances. both the fighters, the crowd and the gang behind the wall were tensing UP, the tone and atmosphere heavy with anticipation, as the time keeper lifted his stick, ready to hit the gong at Any moment.
"Ready...FIGHT!"
at the sound of the gong, chun immediately pounced at great speed towards goku, but the monkey boy saw it coming, and jumped high in the air to avoid it. Chun then jumped and delivered a rising kick straight to goku's ribs, sending him flying outside the stadium.
"Uh...thats it?" krillin said.
"wow, goku got beat in one blow!" yamcha said.
"well...looks like it's over, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer said, to the boos of the crowd. Jackie chun turned around and went towards backstage.
"LOOK, THERE'S GOKU!" bulma shouted, Ponting towards the sky.
as everybody turned around, they saw goku crashing down the ring, keeping himself in bounds!
"W-what the Hell? how did you get back there?"jackie chun asked the monkey boy.
"Ha! I did the same thing as you, gramps! I did the kamehameha to send me back in the ring!" goku said.
" WHAT?" everybody shouted, they couldn't believe it!
"hmm, so you are able to perfectly copy everything that you see, eh?" chun said. "alright then, how about you try and copy THIS!" he said, as he cupped his hands together.
"Pff, that's the kamehameha! no need to copy it, I know exactly what it is!"goku said, as he did the same.
"ho ho, but you haven't seen it in its full power!" the old man said as a big, glowing light of energy appeared in both his and goku's palms.
the huge amount of power created winds that blew away the onlookers, ruining their hairdos, sending their hats flying and litteraly blowing away some of the smaller people among the crowd.
"HAAAAAA!"
two huge blasts came out of their hands, the collision, inevitable. everybody ran and hid as the two beams collided violently, creating a huge shockwave that sent both fighters and those unfortunate souls who didn't hide in time flying.
once the smoke was clear and the dust settled, bulma, krillin and yamcha were piled up on top of each other, yamcha's weight pressing krillin's face into bulma's ample chest. when bulma opened he eyes, she pushed both men aside and went back towards the ring, finding both goku and Jackie chun down!
"n...no way!" chun exclaimed.
"Heh heh heh, we're even, now!" said a laughing goku.
"is everyone alright?" the tournament announcer asked everybody.
"W-we're alright!" oolong exclaimed as he, puar and bulma's parents got up.
"OH MY, my hair is all messed up!" bulma's mother exclaimed as she tried putting her hair back in place.
"hey, krillin, ya alright?" goku asked his bald friend upon seeing him. however, he saw that he looked rather dizzy, had a big smile on his face and seemed to have hearts in place of his eyes...
"UNBELIEVABLE! WHAT WE JUST WITNESSED WAS SOMETHING NEVER SEEN BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF THE COMPETITION!" the announcer shouted, still visibly shook. "TWO KAMEHAMEHAS AT ONCE! IT'S DESTRUCTIVE POWER IS SECOND TO NONE! IS THERE ANYTHING THAT IS NOT SURPRISING ABOUT SON GOKU?"
the crowd roared as both fighters went back to their fighting stances.
bulma couldn't believe what she was seeing. how can son goku produce such a massive amount of energy from his body, and then get up like it was nothing? and he seemed to enjoy it like a child playing ball with his friends. thats what struck her about the monkey boy. at first, she wondered why he loved martial arts and fighting so much. however, when she did that training with him, she finally began to understand him. how he trains, how he fights and especially why he fights.
he doesn't fight to win or to prove his superiority to others. he fights because that's where he is at his happiest. testing his limits, surpassing them, trying to search the truth about who he is, what he is. not only becoming a stronger fighter, but a better person through surpassing his limits.
he fights for his own happiness, and the happiness of his friends, as shown when he pep talked krillin into facing his bullies.
"goku..." bulma said, as she watches him continue his fight against Jackie chun. meanwhile, yamcha saw that his girlfriend looked mesmerized.
"hey, babe, you alright?" he asked
"huh? oh, yeah, I'm alright. it's just that I can't believe what just happened!"
"Yeah, that was awesome!" yamcha said. "normally, a full power kamehameha can vaporize mountains, like back in fire mountain!"
"wait, you were at fire mountain?" bulma asked, surprised.
"oh, yeah, right, you never knew that... we followed you there." yamcha said, scratching his head. "anyways, to see goku producing a full power kamehameha and still come out without a sweat...incredible!"
while goku's friends were amazed at this exploit, Jackie chun was sweating hard! goku was much stronger than he realised! now, not only must he use his full strength, he needed to think of a plan...
"what's wrong, gramps? too scared to continue?" goku taunted.
"you'll be too scared to continue after...THIS!" chun shouted as he disappeared.
"The afterimage thingy!" bulma said.
"pff, ya already did this to krillin!" goku said, trying to see where the old man went. "it won't work on...ME!" goku said, as he punched chun who was coming to his right...however, his punch goes right through him! it was a second afterimage!
chun then appears behind him and punts him hard, sending the monkey boy crashing on a pillar.
after this spectacular display, chun then looked at the announcer. "Start the count!" he ordered.
however, the announcer only counted to three when goku got up from the rubbles, surprising everybody, including chun, who looked like he just pooped his pants.
"ow, ya got me right there!" goku said, cleaning the dust on his gi. "Now, it's my turn!" he said, as he produced an afterimage of his own, surprising everybody.
"h-how is he able to learn new moves just by watching?" bulma asked, dumbfounded.
meanwhile, Jackie chun started being irritated with goku imitating his every move. the afterimage he left was obvious to an experienced fighter like him,and he struck the monkey boy on his left...only for his arm to go through him like butter! he couldn't believe it, he did three afterimage! something even he never did before!
"GOTCHA!" goku screamed as he struck chun with a powerful double axe handle, knocking the old man down.
"Amazing!" shouted all of goku's friends.
"this boy is something special..." Dr briefs whispered.
"all these afterimages made me dizzy!" says oolong.
then, Jackie chun got up, having trouble regaining his balance.
"so, how'd you like my triple afterimage?" goku asked the old man.
however, the old man threw a sloppy-looking punch at goku, who avoids it,but then eats a scorpion kick to the face, stunning him, allowing the seemingly drunk Jackie chun to strike him with a wavy double fist in the solar plexus, pushing goku back by several yards.
"wh-whats going on?" bulma asks upon seeing chun seemingly inebriated.
"oh man, that's the drunken fist!" krillin said.
"the what?"
"drunken fist is the most difficult martial art to learn!" yamcha explained. "you have to fight like how a drunkard would fight. however, a drunken master's movements aren't random like a real drunkard: they are deliberately sloppy so that the opponent gets caught off guard by a clean blow."
"oh crap..." bulma cursed, as she knew that goku is really simple-minded. this deceptive fighting style directly exploits goku's main weakness!
"H-HEY, KNOCK IT OFF!" goku ordered the old man as kept getting caught by sneaky blows. he is unable to see through the old man's quirky and unusual style.
then, he began to remember: his grandpa gohan did a funny fighting style similar to what Jackie chun was using!
goku suddenly retreated into a corner, seemingly sobbing.
"wh-what's "Hic wrong, kiddo? can't "HIC" handle it anymore?" Jackie chun taunted.
however, the confidence of chun faded away when he saw goku on four legs, looking at him with fire in his eyes, his teeth has turned into fangs, and he was groaning like a mad dog! he then immediately pounced on chun with blistering speed, chun only putting his hands up to cover himself...but, at the last minute, goku jumps over chun and kicks him in the back of the head, sending him crashing at the wall!
"hmfpfmpfff, what the hell was that?" the old man asked goku as he got out of the rubble.
"The mad dog's fury!" goku said, with a peace sign.
"THATS NOT EVEN A MARTIAL ART! YOU'RE JUST MAKING STUFF UP!" chun shouted.
"well, yeah, I did make this up just now." goku responded matter-of-factly.
"WHAT A FIGHT WE'RE HAVING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" the announcer shouted. "THE FORMER CHAMPION JACKIE CHUN IS BEING OVERWHELMED BY THE CHALLENGER SON GOKU!"
"ahh, shaddap!" chun screamed at the announcer.
as chun went back to his feet, he saw goku acting like a monkey! thinking it's a taunt, he attacked goku with speed and ferocity, but the monkey boy jumped and dodged like a chimpanzee, even doing gymnastics on Jackie club's head, prompting the crowd to laugh.
humiliated by the boy, chun then managed to push him back, then starts waving his hands around. he then began singing a mullah to goku...who proceeded to fall asleep!
"MINMIN KEN!" chun shouted, as goku fell asleep on the ground.
"uh, I don't think hypnosis is a martial art, sir." the announcer said.
" hey, it has a fancy Chinese name, so it is! COUNT!" chun ordered.
"yeah, but the crowd will demand refunds if the fight really ends with you literally putting your opponent to sleep!" the announcer tried to reason.
"its not my fault that the kid is such an idiot I could sing him to sleep! COUNT!" chun lifted his tone.
"WAKE UP GOKU!" goku's friends and bulma's mom shouted at the monkey boy. however despite their constant screaming, goku Sony couldn't wake up! chun, or rather master roshi, finally breathed a sigh of relief. with this win, he'll teach goku that there is a long way to go before he becomes a master of the martial arts...
suddenly, bulma had an idea.
"GOKU! DINNER TIME!"
suddenly, goku got up in a flash and looked everywhere looking for food!
chun was dumbfounded! he never realised that goku was that food-obssessed!
" AMAZING!" the announcer shouted "JUST AT THE MERE MENTION OF FOOD, GOKU GOT UP FROM A SEEMINGLY ETERNAL SLEEP!"
"aww, where's dinner?" goku innocently asked bulma.
" YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE IN THE FINALS, REMEMBER?" bulma shouted back at him.
" huh? oh right!" goku said as he looked at Jackie chun.
"grr, damn you, brat!" chun cursed as both he and the monkey boy jumped at each other.
goku then delivered the rock scissors paper combo...which chun blocks with ease!
" What?"
"haha! I already fought your grandpa before, he did the same technique that you did!" chun said.
goku then seemingly went for it again, chun was prepared to block it again...however, he received two fingers in his eyes, then a palm strike right on the solar plexus, and, finally,a big straight on his nose! he was expecting rock,scissors, paper, he got scissors, paper, rock!
"Let's go goku!" the monkey boy's friends shouted.
chun got up at the count of four, and he looked desperate. this time, he had enough! he never thought he would come to this, but now, he has to do a forbidden technique!
" hey,kid..." chun said,looking casual, catching goku off-guard. "I told you I already fought son gohan before, right?"
"yeah, you told me you fought my grandpa, why?" goku asked.
chun then grabbed his vest and ripped it off, revealing the wrinkles and scars his old upper body carries. besides being disgusted, bulma, yamcha and krillin realised that, by the gravity of the old man's scars, it looks like he had some rough fights in his life.
"what I'm about to do...only your grandpa forced meto do it!" chun said, as he started to assemble his hands together in a prayer.
suddenly,the wind started going upward around the old man, as a big battle aura appeared around his silhouette. he was concentrating his entire ki into his hands. GOKU only looked in awe, he never felt such a ki before!
"BANKOKU BIKKURI SHO!" chun shouted, as a ki blast emerged from his hand, striking goku and enveloping him in an electric prison he can't get put of! wave after wave of electric shocks attacked his body, giving him immense pain.
"Give up! or else you'll die!" said chun menacingly.
goku only answered with sticking his tongue out.
"GOKU, please! it's over! you fought well! don't get yourself killed!" bulma and yamcha respectively said.
goku slowly felt his life fade away, as the pain was becoming too much to bear.
he then saw flashes of his short life passing by.
his moments with his grandpa, who took care of him like he was his own child.
his adventures with bulma, searching for the dragon balls and bonding with his first, and best friend.
his training with krillin, and how he motivated him to beat his bullies.
all of these good moments, all for nothing, as he was about to die...
suddenly, pathetically...
...just like his grandpa...
no...
it can't end like this...
IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS!
suddenly, goku felt something he has never felt before.
something more powerful, uncontrollable.
rage.
suddenly, the entire stadium was engulfed by a huge, primal scream coming from the monkey boy, and a huge yellow-tinted light waned from him as huge gusts of wind rocked everybody in and around the ring, roshi breaking his hold on him.
"What the hell ?" roshi said, as he saw a huge, golden aura around his pupil. the ki that emaned from goku was...if there ever was a word to describe it, it would be inhuman. it was even stronger than a certain demon king that roshi knew!
the monkey boy's appearance was also striking: gone were his youthful, innocent eyes, and in their stead were white, iris-less eyes filled with rage, and the wild, scruffy black hair turned into clean, spiky blonde hair.
goku continued screaming for 10 seconds, terrifying even his friends, whonlokked as if they faced god himself.
then, suddenly, he stopped.
his huge yellow aura gone in an instant.
his hair turning back to normal.
and his eyes went back to their original colors.
and finally,he fell down hard on the ground, completely exhausted.
the announcer started the count. everybody tried everything to wake goku back up. little did they know, that goku was litteraly too exhausted to get up.
normally, Jackie chun, AKA muten roshi, would have celebrated this victory, doing his cheesy rap, posing with ring girls and drown himself in champagne and food at the after party.
but what he just saw...the ki that he felt...
it made him stand still like a statue.
he was terrified.
terrified of the "child" that son gohan picked up in the woods.
"...and 10! KNOCK OUT! WINNER AND NOW 3-TIMES TENKAICHI BUDOKAI CHAMPION:JACKIE CHUN!" the announcer exclaimed.
however, it wasn't time for a festive mood. bulma, her parents, yamcha, krillin, oolong and puar went to tend to the unconscious Goku. a few seconds later, the ringside doctors checked on goku's status. he was still breathing, he was just so exhausted that he fell asleep.
everybody breathed a sigh of relief as goku was brought to the hospital for recovery. watched as the doctors carried the stretcher to the ambulance, watching as her daughter and their friends followed it to the nearest hospital. the mustached scientist was wondering what in the world just happened. he has never seen a human being deliver such a primal scream, and the powerful aura he spread was unbelievable! he knows that, in the current situation, it would be morbid curiosity, but he simy couldn't help but wonder how his future research on son goku would go...
thats where he saw Jackie chun, completely frozen in terror.
"that boy...he is not normal." Dr. briefs told chun, who was too afraid to answer.
only one thought crossed roshi's mind:
"Who is goku?...what even is goku?"
...meanwhile, amidst the crowd, two persons watched the entire thing unfold. one was a young woman with puffy orange hair, the other a tall, hulking man with long silver hair under a baseball cap with a scar on his left cheek. both of them were wearing matching grey coats.
"this boy...who knew he would have such power." the woman fully said.
"what should we do?" asked the hulking man.
that's where a shady looking figure clad in black robes moved towards them.
"Its too significant not to ignore...i need him!" the figure sinisterly said in a raspy voice.
"but what about our main objective?" the woman asked the shady man.
" he is friends with briefs's daughter, the inventor of the dragon radar..." the shady man said. "...you should follow them to the capsule corps. building, find the radar, and take the boy with you."
"he is not necessary for our mission. he's not even a secondary objective." the hulking man dully said.
"no...consider this more as a personal favor." said the shady man, who revealed his face: that of an old, mustached, semi-bald man, wearing a Russian-style top hat with a red ribbon-like logo carrying two Rs.
"now, go!" ordered the sinister old man. "...do it, my children..."
"...for the red ribbon...
"...for science!"
END OF CHAPTER 11