Numerous gasps and whispers circulated in the shocked and scared crowd as everybody gathered stared at the man in weird clothing. The people who were near him immediately moved away in fear after seeing what the black haired man did to the crane hermit. However, the saiyan didn't care for their mindless chatter, he crossed his strong arms and focused on the two fighters in the ring. Now that there were no obstacles to hinder the fight, Bardock could finally see the true extent of the earthling's strength and how will his son handle or finish it.
Meanwhile, on the ring, Tienshinhan was still staring with eyes wide open at the man who easily dealt with his master. A drop of sweat fell from his forehead as he continued staring at the man in the crowd. He could feel and even see the hidden powerful aura behind that man who did him a favor. Tienshinhan took a glance from the man to Goku and saw the strong and unmistakable resemblance between the two. Only a fool wouldn't be able to put two and two together, but Tienshinhan knew it wasn't the time for that. He was now on his own and he was sure to win the tournament.
"I've betrayed my master..." spoke Tienshinhan as he slowly turned to face Goku who curiously raised an eyebrow. The taller fighter closed both hands into fists and continued his speech. "but yet somehow I feel free. It's no longer a matter of taking revenge or our school's rivalry! I'll devote everything on fighting you to win this match, rather than fighting to... kill you!" concluded the three-eyed man as he closed his eyes and for the first time in a very long time felt relaxed.
A genuine smile appeared on Goku's soft face as he watched his opponent. "Heh, you've become a nice guy." commented the small boy with a monkey tail which swayed behind its back.
Tienshinhan didn't say a word back and for a moment just shifted his eyes toward the ground. In the crowd, Master Roshi smiled and released a small laugh. The old man was glad that the young man finally realized and chosen the right path to take. A path that would open many doors for Tienshinhan and his inner potential as a fighter and a person as well.
He raised his head and loudly yelled at his opponent. "Now that this happened, I absolutely cannot lose this match!" declared Tienshinhan who was determined to win this tournament. "Prepare yourself! This next attack will settle things for sure!" the moment those words left his mouth, the bald fighter spread his arms wide while Goku instantly shifted into a fighting stance.
His whole body started to shake. A lot of veins surfaced on Tienshinhan's muscular body while he gritted hard with his teeth. His face which was covered with sweat was slowly turning red and everyone just stared at the fighter wondering what he was up to. He moved his arms closer when suddenly he unleashed a yell. From the moment he yelled, something strange was going on with his back. Everybody in the crowd, even master Roshi were shocked when Tienshinhan grew extra hands on his back.
"H-Hands!?" muttered Krillin shockingly as he with eyes wide open stared at Tienshinhan.
Not even Goku was prepared for this. "W-Wow! Y-You grew hands!" exclaimed the messy haired saiyan with a shaking voice caused by Tienshinhan's surprising ability.
"T-This is incredible! Contestant Tienshinhan somehow increased his arms to four! Unbelievable!" spoke the announcer with a high voice into his microphone while the crowd behind his back could only watch in amazement and disbelief.
Tienshinhan only smirked and suddenly lunged toward Goku who snapped from his surprised state and shifted back into a fighting stance. The now former student of the crane school tried to chop Goku with two hands, but the saiyan blocked it easily. However, Goku forgot for a moment that Tienshinhan now had an extra pair and was remained of it when he received a strong hit on top of the head. The hit was powerful enough to smash him on the floor, but Goku refused that and took the chance to headbutt Tienshinhan in the gut. It forced the taller fighter to take a step back, but just like Goku a second before, Tienshinhan refused to back away.
"Ahaaa!" Tienshinhan released a shout and charged at the turtle hermit student. Fast and invisible blows were exchanged between the two fighters which no one besides Roshi and Bardock could see. The fighters moved with high speed across the whole ring with their blows causing a strong noise which was able to be heard all the way to the last row. Tienshinhan was pushing Goku back for the moment with his four arms, but the young saiyan blocked every single punch while smirking. Seeing the smirk on Goku's face, angered Tienshinhan who decided to finish it. After Goku blocked his left fist, the three-eyed man surprised the boy by catching his legs. "I got you!" yelled Tienshinhan with a laugh as he was about to grab Goku's arms as well. However, that never happened because Tienshinhan was smacked several times in the face.
"Hehe, sorry but no!" said Goku as he safely landed a few meters away from his opponent who was with two hands holding the bruised face. "I still have my tail." he waved to Tienshinhan with his brown tail while the taller man angrily grunted.
He was mad at himself for forgetting about that little thing. "S-Shit! T-That's right, you have that tail..." Tienshinhan clenched his fists while with the fourth hand he held his injured face. He never imagined that his small opponent could use the tail in such manner.
"Alright! I'll show you that even with four hands, you can't beat me!" Goku immediately after saying that jumped toward Tienshinhan who was taken by surprise. The taller man was shocked, he wasn't even able to see Goku's fists. Even with four hands, Tienshinhan's guard was broken and penetrated. Goku delivered several strong punches in the gut and one uppercut which disorientated his opponent. While Tienshinhan didn't know where he was, the saiyan in red gi kicked him to the other side of the ring.
Tienshinhan crashed hard on the floor and with his head hanging on the edge of the ring. The strong young man could feel the metal taste in his mouth while the blood leaked out. He tried to raise himself from the floor, but the injuries inflicted by Goku through the fight were taking its toll on his body. The bald man could feel his head spinning and the energy quickly dying out.
"Kh... why do I have such trouble with him!? Those last few punches felt a lot stronger than before, why!? Is he still holding back!? Was he toying with me the whole time!?" wondered Tienshinhan over and over as his breathing speed up and the cold sweat covered his entire face. Suddenly he could see a giant version of Goku above him, glaring down at him with a cocky smirk. "NO! I still have that and this is a perfect opportunity to use it!" he breathed in and out while he closed both eyes. Tienshinhan rose from the floor when to everyone's surprise, the two extra hands returned inside his back.
"Huh, you finished with four arms?" asked Goku who even tho Tienshinhan did that, could feel that his opponent was up to something. He didn't know what it was, but the young saiyan was sure that it would be something exciting.
With a very serious expression, Tienshinhan spoke to Goku. "Let me warn you right now! If you take this technique head on, it will kill even you! Make no mistake!" his words confused Goku who didn't know how to respond to it. "Tch, I don't want to kill you! So dodge it, alright!?" yelled Thienshinhan who was honest about every single word that he said.
Goku was not the only one confused, Krillin was just as much as well as the crowd and the announcer. However, suddenly a childish voice echoed through the arena. "It's the Tri-beam! Tienshinhan stop! shouted Chiaotzu who caught not only the attention of the crowd but Bardock's as well.
"Tri-beam, what kind of move is that? Explain it to me." spoke Bardock who was watching the two fighters in the ring without even glancing at the little boy near his left side. The mature saiyan was quite interested to hear what kind of technique that was and why even the old master was afraid of it. He was able to hear him from the other side yelling to the three-eyed earthling to not use it. Seeing that his question was still not answered, the saiyan with a scar on his face glanced down and glared at the little Chiaotzu. "I asked you a question and I expect an answer." he frowned at the boy who swallowed hard.
The boy sweated and shook in fear, but still answered the stranger's question. " I-It's a technique that hides f-frightening destructive powers..." Chiaotzu stammered a bit as he continued explaining the technique to Bardock. "B-But it's so extreme that it uses up a tremendous amount of energy. It's said that even if you don't die, it will definitely lower your lifespan. Tienshinhan please don't use it!" explained the other student of the crane hermit school who was almost on the verge of shading tears just so his best friend wouldn't use such a dangerous move.
Bardock didn't say a word back and moved his eyes back on the ring. "Hm, I see. It sounds quite interesting." thought the man as a small curious smirk appeared on his face. He was curious to see how would his son deal with it. The saiyan followed with his black eyes the young man who started levitate from the ring, higher and higher while warning his son to dodge the attack.
"You must'be joking!" mumbled Goku under his breath as he watched Tienshinhan flying higher in the sky. He would never run away from a battle and especially not now when his father was watching him. The small saiyan clenched both of his fists and glared at Tienshinan who was hovering in the sky.
Seeing that his pupil was considering taking the attack head on, Roshi couldn't but yell. "Don't be so damn stubborn! He's telling the truth, just dodge it!" the master's voice was heard all over the place while the crowd just stared at him.
Neither Goku or Tienshinhan paid attention to anyone and just stared at each other for several seconds until the man in the sky decided it was finally time to get things over. "Here it goes!" he slammed both hands and closed them together with index fingers pointed out. As he continued releasing his voice, veins appeared over the arms and hands while a yellow light around his body slowly started to move to his hands. Tienshinhan breathed out heavily and moved the hands away from each other.
On the ground, Bardock was quite surprised by the energy that started to appear around Tienshinhan's hands. "Hm, the ki is still increasing... past his usual strength. I can see now why it's considered dangerous by the earthlings. " stated Bardock as he observed the three-eyed boy who was still not finished with preparing his attack.
"What an incredible ki... It's exciting!" spoke Goku quietly without anyone hearing what he just said to himself. The black haired boy clenched both fists tightly as he waited for Tienshinhan to unleash the attack.
Up in the sky, Tienshinhan once again gathered his hands together but this time forming a triangle. With great concentration despite his injuries and pain, the bald fighter focused his mind and energy on one spot. "My target... the arena!" a drop of sweat rolled over his left cheek as he stared down. "If I use all of my ki up here, then I'll be out of power. I must preserve enough for later!" noted Tienshinhan to himself as the light and the yellow electricity around his hands appeared more frequently.
On the ring's floor, Goku's eyes were suddenly wide open as he felt that the enemy attack was at its peak. Before the saiyan could even do something, Tienshinhan unleashed his dangerous attack with a shout. "Tri-Beam Haa!" a yellow light engulfed the whole arena while the force shook the entire place.
Everyone in the crowd fell to the ground with a scream for fear of their lives. The dust from the powerful attack surrounded the whole ring which prevented anyone even the announcer to see what exactly happened. That lasted only for a few short seconds when the man in black suit gasped in shock and yelled through his microphone. "Ah! T-The ring is completely gone!" the man wearing black glasses almost fell on the grass from the shock.
As two drops of sweat fell from his old cheeks, master Roshi could only stare in horror at the destroyed arena. "I-It's as astoundingly destructive as I expected..." the old master with a shaking hand stared at the hole in the ground and wondered just how was a young man like Tienshinhan able to learn it already.
"Goku's gone!" cried Krillin from the opposite side of master Roshi. The little boy was in a panic state because he couldn't see his best friend anywhere.
Hearing that, the older saiyan chuckled with both arms resting on his chest. "Nonsense, Kakarot's alive. This match is over!" muttered Bardock as he stared into the blue sky. Chiaotzu who was near him was confused for a bit but resumed watching the sky as he felt that both fighters were up there.
"Above!" told Tienshinhan to himself and immediately flew higher in the sky. Only three seconds later he was face to face with his opponent. Now, Tienshinhan was out of words when he saw that his most powerful technique inflicted only a couple of bruises to Goku, but the bald three-eyed fighter tried to hide his impression. "W-Well done! I'm impressed that you managed to jump away in that instant!"
While his clothes took most of the damage, Goku couldn't but be amazed by such a technique. "That was really an amazing technique! If I didn't dodge it as you said, I would be left with little energy." said Goku as both he and Tienshinhan floated in the sky.
"Left with little energy? Haha, if you took it head on you would've died!" yelled Tienshinhan who couldn't ignore the words Goku said. The taller man was completely assured that the technique he learned was deadly for anyone. "No one who challenged the Tri-Beam head on survived! Anyway, even dodging it must've taken all of your strength! It's over for you, I reserved enough ki for me to float up here for several hours!" a cocky smirk returned back on Tienshinhan's face as he observed Goku and waited for the saiyan to admit defeat.
The saiyan glanced down for a second after which he raised his head with a grin. "Sorry, but you're wrong." spoke the boy who caught Tienshinhan's full attention. "I used only a bit of my ki to dodge your technique. As a matter of fact, I can stay up here as long as I want!" declared Goku who shocked the other fighter with this.
"N-No... that can't be! It's impossible, you can't be that much stronger than me!" yelled Tienshinhan out of frustration while swinging with his right hand. He just couldn't accept that, but the look in Goku's eyes told him otherwise.
"Hey, I'm going all out now and I'll win this tournament!" before his opponent could even utter some words, Goku clenched his fists and began releasing a noise from his mouth. His voice became louder by the second followed by a white light which surrounded his small body. The white light flared a lot which only shocked Tienshinhan even more.
He was shaking. "U-Unbelievable... his ki is beyond anything I ever imagined! A-Amazing..." Tienshinhan could just watch in awe as the white aura completely surrounded Goku's body and flared wildly. Before he could even blink, the saiyan disappeared. Tienshinhan looked left and right, but there was no sign of Goku anywhere. Suddenly, he felt devastating pain. Tienshinhan puked a good amount of blood and before he could look down, he was elbowed right in the jaw. "Arghh!" was the only noise coming from the bald fighter as he was blown away by the strike. He slightly opened his left eye when he saw Goku above him with a right palm on his chest.
"Haaa!" shouted Goku who with his invisible ki pushed Tienshinhan towards the ground. The three-eyed fighter couldn't do anything even if he wanted since he was injured and out of energy which resulted in him crashing on the grass close to the announcer.
No one said a single word. The crowd was silent and in too much of a shock to even cheer for the winner. On the other side of the arena, Krillin had watered eyes as he jumped with joy in the air while Chiaotzu on the opposite side looked down a bit sad, but at the same time proud of his best friend's efforts. In the thick crowd, master Roshi was happy for his former pupil, but also for Tienshinhan who even tho he lost, he won something else today.
After finally realizing what happened, the announcer proclaimed the victor of the tournament. "Ladies and gentlemen we have a winner! The new champion is Son Goku!" exclaimed the man with a blonde hair as he turned toward the crowd while rising Goku's hand who happily waved with the other to the people. "Contestant Son Goku is the world's greatest!" at his announcement the whole crowd erupted and cheered for not only the new champion but also for the runner-up who fought an amazing battle.
#
The proclamation of the winner was broadcasted through the radio and a certain someone who was resting in the hospital was able to hear it.
"Yes, he did it! I knew he would win the tournament!" yelled Yamcha as he raised both fists above his head. Near him were Bulma, Puar, Oolong and Launch who were just as happy as him. "Let's go!" he was already up from his bed and with a little bit of enduring the pain from his broken leg, Yamcha and the others walked out from the hospital room so they could reunite with Goku and the others.
##
The sun was almost gone and the huge crowd from before was gone. The whole place was now empty and only several people remained standing near the arena of the martial arts tournament.
"That was amazing Goku! You must show me how to fly!" exclaimed Krillin who was still under the strong influence of the match. The bald boy with six dots over his forehead was extremely happy for his best friend who was now the strongest martial artists in the world. "Here, take my clothes. Yours are all beaten up." as he handed over his red gi, Krillin made sure to himself to train even harder so he could face up with Goku in the next tournament.
"Thank you." Goku removed his torn up clothes and began putting on the gi given from Krillin. While he and Krillin discussed more things, Tienshinhan who was there with them the whole time moved in front and walked towards someone.
At first, he stared at the ground for a few short seconds, unsure of what or how to do it. He was never in such a situation but he knew better. "I-I'm sorry... I've really treated you terribly. I shouldn't..." before he could even finish his sentence, Tienshinhan was interrupted by Yamcha who was helping himself stand and walk with crutches.
"Hey, don't worry. It's not like you tried to kill me." said Yamcha who was able to see that the man changed since the tournament started. Krillin was fast enough to tell him everything that happened.
While the young people talked, master Roshi was a few meters behind them standing right beside Bardock who like always kept quiet. The old master was quite curious to hear the saiyan's thoughts on the tournament, so he broke the silence. "This year's tournament was quite something. I must say that they really did good, especially Goku... You taught him well." commented Roshi while he glanced at the saiyan.
The saiyan didn't take his eyes away from the group as he opened his mouth. "Hn, of course. It's in our nature to keep evolving further and further, however, Kakarot still has a lot to learn... the others as well." responded Bardock as he carefully leaned on the palm tree behind his back. "That three-eyed boy has a lot of potential for an earthling, the other two as well but... let's just say that their minds easily slip away." the saiyan grunted while the old master snickered.
"Hehe, I completely agree with you. I know, Krillin and Yamcha tend to neglect few things, especially Yamcha but... I'm confident in their abilities." his old voice trailed off as Roshi walked towards the group. Bardock didn't say a word back and just followed the old man who turned around and asked one more question. "Ahm, if I may ask, what do you intend to do with the money?"
This was something he didn't have an answer to. He knew what money was, he wasn't an idiot, but it just wasn't' of any value to him and his son. They had everything they wanted or needed so this piece of paper was worthless to him. "Hn, I could care less about it. I..." his voice was cut off by the old master.
"I knew you would say something like that. Well, how about we go eat? I'm sure half of that money could be spent only on Goku, right?" master Roshi didn't even need to ask since a waterfall of saliva poured out from Goku's mouth.
Bulma laughed at Goku's dumb expression. "I agree. Knowing how much saiyans can eat, I wonder if it will be enough." she barely said it through a laugh as the small saiyan's stomach growled in need for food.
Near Bulma and Yamcha was Tienshinhan who was quite confused with something. "What's a "saiyan"?" asked the three-eyed man who was standing beside Yamcha.
"I'll explain it later." smiled the ex-bandit who with a little bit of help moved a step forward. "Let's go eat guys!" he called everyone as he and Bulma walked forward. The rest of the group nodded and followed the short-haired man.
They were almost at the gates of the martial arts tournament when suddenly Goku stopped. The others didn't seem to notice that the new champion didn't follow them. Goku turned around and stared at the tournament's main building. The young saiyan had a very bad feeling and he was right. He ran towards the main building and the only one who noticed that was his father.
"Kakarot!?" calling his son's name caught the attention of the others who wondered what was going on and stopped. The moment he took only one step forward, he was able to feel something. "This ki, it's too high for a normal earthling and it's bad... dammit!" snarled Bardock who just like his son ran towards the main building, leaving the others confused.
When he arrived at the entrance, Goku clenched his right fist. He was able to see a strange creature torturing the announcer guy who was barely even conscious. The green creature punched the blonde guy with his left fist while in the other hand he held papers. Before the stranger could harm the announcer, even more, Goku stepped in.
"Hey, stop hurting him!" yelled the saiyan who slowly moved forward. His loud voice caught the attention of the strange creature which only smirked at Goku.
The green creature turned in Goku's direction while holding the announcer by his clothes. "What's your problem kid?* his voice irritated the saiyan across the room who didn't like him one bit, but it wasn't like the creature cared. The monster strengthened the hold which made the announcer release a painful moan. Seeing that the kid reacted to that, caused the stranger only to chuckle. "Don't tell me you care about this weakling? Haha, how stupid!"
"Shut up! He's a good guy and he even gave me food!" Goku angrily shouted at the stranger whose response was another chuckle. His tail uncontrollably swayed behind his back as he took several steps forward. "Let him go and fight me instead!" proposed the little saiyan who hoped that the stranger would accept.
He blinked few times as he considered that offer, but after two short seconds he burst out laughing. "Me fighting you!? Haha, you must be joking, rat!" The green creature with big wings lifted the announcer while holding an arm around his neck. "Killing weaklings like him feels so wonderful. After I'm done with him, you're next!" he poured more strength into squeezing the announcer's neck which the saiyan was aware of.
Goku didn't have any choice but to charge in and save the poor man. The small saiyan was about to lunge at the monster, but his attempt was stopped. A yellow ki grazed a piece of Goku's hair as it traveled towards the green monster. The stranger slowly started to open his eyes when the blast hit him right in the head, forcing him to release the announcer. As the announcer fell on the floor, the monster was slammed on the wall and remained hanging in the hole.
"Oh god, what happened here!?" gasped Bulma as she and the others walked inside the room. Tienshinhan immediately walked near the announcer to check on the guy and see if he was still breathing while the others wondered what happened here.
As the others wondered what was going on and helped the announcer, Bardock walked inside and looked at his son for a moment. He nodded at Goku who exchanged words with Krillin. Bardock left his son talking to his friends and walked towards the creature pinned on the wall by his blast. He observed the monster for almost a minute when he and the others heard a yelp from the old master.
His hands were shaking. While he held a piece of paper in his old hands, master Roshi could but sweat in fear. "I-It can't be! T-This isn't possible!" his trembling voice and sudden strange behavior scared Yamcha and the others who were standing near him.
"W-What's the matter?" asked the blue-haired genius as she was growing more and more scared of the situation. Beside her was Yamcha who had a bad feeling about it if the turtle hermit master was shaking like that.
"Have you seen that somewhere before?" now it was Yamcha who asked a question while the suspense in the room started to grow. Everybody waited for the old master to say something, but it wasn't easy for the man.
He swallowed hard and his palms were sweaty. The worst possible nightmare was once again back and the horrors of the last time immediately resurfaced back before his eyes. However, the old man closed his eyes and tried to calm down. Without even facing the others, the old master revealed what this piece of paper meant. "T-This is... the crest of Piccolo, the Demon King!"
Responses to the Reviews:
SPeCTeR-ll7: Thank you, I wanted to add something else to the fight, but I decided to still keep it as it was with only little changes.
OMNISENSE95: My own (yes I count it!), Italian and then English. Hope you're pleased with my answer. We'll you're going to need to wait a bit longer, but I might add something for Bardock to do, guess you'll need to find out...
Inperiosus: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. Yeah, it will be only a saiyan thing, I think that's the best to go with. And yes, I get your reference, but it's a long way to that.
nimedhel09: Haha, I think you already said that. Well, I'm glad my little changes and the quiet presence of Bardock is good to you and everyone else. I want to keep it close to the original but soon it should start to divert from the source. Anyway, thank you a lot for another wonderful review!
XD: No he wasn't! C'mon, don't joke like that because you misinform other people... if they even read this...
Animewolf2000: I had something else to do, but I think uploading at least every week... Still not sure but I hope I will manage it.
Guest: Will Goku turn super saiyan earlier? Hmm, no he won't. Also, you asking if Bardock will kill Freeza I cannot answer because it would spoil everything (I think). Yes, I think traveling for years and visiting good planets and interacting with their people changed Bardock to some extent. As for his visions, I'll tell you that he doesn't have them anymore... for now maybe? Now I don't know if you're referring to the episodes of the Baba tournament but if you do, I think it's episode 73 of Dragon Ball when Goku faces the devilmite beam. Yes, Bardock asked him about Goku's saiyan nature. He wanted to confirm if Goku was good all the time or that he was like a normal saiyan when he landed on Earth and changed into a nice boy after the accident. Anyway, thanks a lot for the reviews and I hope I answered your questions correctly.
pie's'lies: Glad you find it interesting and that you like it. Thanks for the great review