Dragon Ball NG Chapter 54: The Preliminary Round
This tournament seemed to be shaping up to be a lot more interesting this year. Retasu and the newcomer Hojiro had a lot of unresolved tension with each other and this was the perfect stage to get it out. Everyone drew numbers to find out which blocks they were in.
"Hmm…I'm in Block 1, #46…so that puts me in tier 2." Gosu said.
"I've got Block 3, #223, so I'm in tier 2 for that." Junsei said.
"I'm in Block 3, #175, so I'm tier 1." Kansho said.
"Block 4 # 256 for me." Trunks said.
"Block 2, #101." Goshen said.
"That's great, we're all in separate blocks!" Gosu said.
Retasu got Block 4, #316. Hojiro got Block 2, #120, and Zakai got Block 1 #29. Everyone important was conveniently separate from each other. And with that, the preliminary rounds began. There were multiple rings so that this thing wouldn't take forever. Gosu decided to watch Zakai, Hojiro's partner, fight first. Zakai was very small, and didn't look formidable at all, but Master Kama hyped him up pretty well and considering how strong Hojiro's dormant Ki was, he wasn't just talking out of his ass, either. And besides, one of the first things Gosu learned when it came to fighting was to not judge a book by its cover. Zakai stepped in the ring, still wearing the dress clothes that he had on earlier. His opponent was huge, about 10 times his size. Yet, Zakai didn't look the least bit intimidated. His opponent had a look of death in his eyes. After all, what was this little guy going to do.
"Aren't you supposed to be in the sandbox or something?" The giant asked.
Zakai just smiled. The big guy walked up to Zakai and attempted to kick him, but then Zakai let his arm out and the big guy appeared to freeze! Then, using some sort of telekinetic power, Zakai shot him all the way up to the roof and then slammed him back down! Everyone who was watching the fight was stunned, including Gosu.
"How in the hell…?" Gosu asked himself.
The giant got back up, and then Zakai pushed him back with his powers, and with much force too. Then, he flew up to him and gave him a brutal kick to the face, causing the big guy to fly out of the ring and into the wall! The whole crowd gasped.
"Your winner, Fighter #29!"
Whoa, this kid is gonna be a problem… Gosu thought.
Gosu decided to get his mind off of what he just saw and worry about that later. He went up to Block 3 to check out Junsei's fight, but on the way to the ring, he was stopped by a familiar fighter. He tapped him on the shoulder and when Gosu turned around, it was none other than Kyushu, the guy who nearly turned him into a woman (allegedly).
"Oh you again?" Gosu asked.
"Mark my words: you won't be pulling the same crap you pulled last time. I'm going to beat you and win the whole shebang." Kyushu said.
"Uh huh, good luck with that." Gosu sarcastically replied.
Kyushu left to his block. Junsei was stepping up to the ring, and was facing someone with a similar build to him. They both stared each other down. His opponent was eager to beat him, as after all, he'd be a threat if he took out the reigning champion in the first round. They both charged at each other and exchanged blows. The second fighter threw several punches at Junsei, although he blocked them all with minimal effort. He went for a kick, but Junsei warped behind him and kicked him across the ring. His opponent got angry and charged at him, but Junsei once again dodged. This time he was having fun with him, as he jumped to the top of his head and was standing on top of it! Junsei looked down and started laughing, and his opponent grabbed him by the foot and tried to slam him down to the ring. However, Junsei landed on his hands and then kicked his opponent back, and then hit him with a devastating blow to the face that caused him to fall face down on the ground. The referee checked on his opponent and he didn't appear to be conscious, thus making Junsei the victor.
"The winner is Contestant #223!"
"Good job, Junsei!" Gosu said.
"Thanks, man. Good luck with your fights, too." Junsei replied.
Just then they turned around and saw the next fight, which was concluding. One of the fighters flew out of the ring and landed hard on the ground. It was Kyushu, and he was unconscious and his head was turned to the side. It appeared that his neck was broken!
"Holy shit…" Gosu observed. He looked up and saw Hojiro, smirking deviously. The referee checked on Kyushu, as after all, if he was dead, then Hojiro would be disqualified. He checked his neck and felt a pulse, confirming the victor.
"Your winner, fighter #120!"
Hojiro laughed while Gosu and Junsei both glared at him.
"There was no need to do that!" Gosu said.
"Please, don't preach at me." Hojiro retorted. "You better stay on your toes or else you'll end up just like him." Hojiro walked off.
"Man, he's strong." Gosu said. Upon the realization of that, Gosu's look of anger turned into excitement.
"Don't tell me you like all of this, Gosu." Junsei said.
"Well, I mean, what he did was bad, but man, I really want to see what he can really do! That'd be a great fight!" Gosu said.
Meanwhile, Kansho was getting ready for his preliminary fight. The man who stepped up was wearing a traditional martial arts uniform.
"You are no match for me. I'll have you know that I'm a 12th degree black belt!" Kansho's opponent said.
"Yeah, I'm supposed to be soooo threatened by that." Kansho sarcastically replied.
"Hey, watch your mouth. You're gonna be eating your words within seconds!" His opponent threatened.
Hojiro walked to the ring to see this fight unfold. He was pretty sure he wouldn't see anything particularly impressive from this fight, but he figured it'd be a good enough joke. Retasu, Gosu, and Junsei were the only people he even viewed as somewhat on his level.
Kansho and his opponent both jumped at each other, and then Kansho leapt behind him and kicked him in the back of the head, causing him to fly out of the ring!
"Your winner, contestant #175!"
Kansho saw Hojiro as he was leaving the ring and smirked at him.
"Now what do you think of that?" He asked.
"Oh please, do you really think I'm supposed to be impressed by that? You didn't even injure him. You'd be easily defeated if you took me in a fight." Hojiro taunted.
"Really? I'd like to see you try." Kansho replied. "You better wish in the main tournament we don't meet or else I'll embarrass you." Kansho replied.
"Heh, it's always the weak who go around making the most threats." Hojiro replied.
"Hey, watch who you're calling weak!" Kansho snapped back.
"I call them like I see them." Hojiro said.
Kansho clenched his fist, but then Junsei came in to calm things down.
"Guys, guys, chill." Wait until the actual tournament to get your aggression out.
"You're lucky you had your friend to break this up or else I'd have no hesitation of killing you." Hojiro said before leaving.
"Man, what's up with that guy?" Junsei asked.
Now it was time for Gosu's fight. Kansho and Junsei decided to check it out.
Gosu stepped in the ring, as well as his opponent. He had long blonde hair and spiked wristbands. Kansho recognized this guy.
"I've heard of this guy before. He's made a name for himself in the MMA circuit. He's known as the 'Smash King.'" Kansho explained.
'I guess he must be pretty good…" Junsei replied.
"You may have made a good showing in the last tournament, but I'm afraid you won't make it past this round." Smash King replied.
"Well, we'll see."
The Smash King ran at him and went for some kicks, but Gosu dodged them with no effort. Gosu went for a punch of his own, but Smash King blocked it and managed to actually trip Gosu and punch him in the face! Pretty much everyone watching was shocked, especially Kansho and Junsei. Gosu held his nose, and then charged at Smash King. They both exchanged blows, although none of them landed. Smash King went for another kick, but Gosu jumped out of the way and kicked him in the side. He went for a punch, but Smash King managed to avoid it and go for one of his own. However, Gosu grabbed his arm and tossed him in the air. Then he jumped up and gave Smash King a spinning kick to the chin! King fell to the ground, but managed to get back up. Gosu smirked at him, as he had one old faithful attack planned to take this guy out of the fight once and for all.
"JANKEN!"
Gosu ran at him and yelled "ROCK!" but of course poked him in the face.
"PAPER!" Gosu slapped him.
"SCISSORS!" Gosu gave him a violent punch to the face that knocked him out of the ring!
"Your winner, Contestant #46!"
"Gosu's as good as ever!" Kansho said.
Gosu left the ring, but was damn near clipped by a huge guy flying straight at him! Gosu jumped out of the way and the guy flew through a wall. When Gosu looked over at the origin of the blow, he saw Retasu standing in the ring.
"Your winner, Contestant #316!"
"Heh, typical Retasu!" Gosu joked.
Retasu left the ring, but not before being stopped by Hojiro.
"Don't get cocky now. You don't think I'm actually intimidated by that, do you?" He asked.
Retasu just shrugged and walked off. Hojiro looked back at him as he walked away.
"That fool…"
Trunks and Goshen also won their fights. The preliminary round continued from there, as Gosu and the others swept through the fighters and all, predictably, came out on top as the competitors in the main tournament.
Gosu and Hojiro stared each other down as they walked to the hall to draw their numbers. Kansho also looked at him angrily. Retasu remained aloof. He knew that he would deal with Hojiro later. They all met the announcer, who was the same from the previous tournament.
"Oh, hey guys! I should've figured you'd all sweep through the preliminary rounds!" The Announcer said.
"It's great to see you again!" Gosu said.
"I hope you guys tear the house down again." The Announcer said.
"Don't worry, we got that covered." Trunks said.
"Well, the rules are the same as always. You win if you knock your opponent out of the ring, knock him down for a 10 count, or if your opponent surrenders. However, you will be disqualified if you hit your opponent below the belt or kill him."
"Ridiculous." Hojiro said.
"You will all draw numbers to determine your opponent. Son Goshen, you're up first!"
Goshen walked up and got the number 6, putting him in fight 3.
"Next up, Son Gosu!" Gosu picked up the number 8, putting him in the last fight.
"Next, Hojiro!" Hojiro picked the number 2, putting him fight 1.
"Next, Junsei!" Junsei picked the number 5, putting him against Goshen!
"Oh boy, that'll be an interesting fight!" Gosu said.
Junsei and Goshen both smirked at each other.
"Next up, Kansho!" Kansho drew number 1, putting him against Hojiro.
"Perfect!" Kansho said. Hojiro just laughed.
"You don't really think you can beat me, do you?" Hojiro asked.
"We'll see who's so tough at the end of the fight!" Kansho replied.
"Next is Retasu!" Retasu drew number 3, putting him in fight 2.
"Next, Trunks!" Trunks drew number 4, putting him against his brother, Retasu!
"Oh boy, the two brothers face off." Junsei said.
"I can't wait to see this one!" Gosu said.
Zakai went to pick his number.
"Uh, obviously you'll be automatically given #7, Zakai." The announcer said.
"Oh, really?" Zakai asked.
Hojiro facepalmed. He was used to Zakai being quirky like that.
Well, the matches were set. In Fight 1, it'd be Kansho vs. Hojiro. Match 2 will be Retasu vs. Trunks. Match 3 will be Junsei vs. Goshen. And Match 4 will be Zakai vs. Gosu. Who will come out on top? You don't want to miss the next Dragon Ball NG!
