Dragon Ball NG Chapter 55: Hojiro's Power

It was now time for the real Tournament to get started. The arena was packed this year. Chitsu and the others still managed to get in the front row, however, thanks to a less than friendly Android 18. Master Kama seated himself next to them. There were at least twice as many people as there were 3 years ago. Finally, the announcer came out to pump up the crowd.

"Are you all ready? Welcome to the 101st World Martial Arts Tournament! Last time, we gave you some of the most explosive and spectacular fights anybody's ever seen, and we promise, with this year's group of fighters, we won't fall short of your expectations! The rules are the same as always, and of course, the winner will be rewarded 1 million Zeni and the title of strongest fighter in the world! So let's get this show started!"

The fans erupted in cheers. Panko now had big headphones to block them all out when they got too loud. The 8 fighters were ready to begin. Retasu sat to himself in a corner while Hojiro stretched for a bit. Then, he walked up to Retasu.

"Ah, Retasu, still keeping up the brooding loner schtick, I see." Hojiro taunted.

Retasu scowled at him. He had nothing important to say.

"You can't act like you don't have anything to say to me forever. I mean, pretty soon you'll be begging me for mercy!" Hojiro said. He walked up to Gosu and Junsei. "And you two better get a good look at this fight."

Kansho walked up to them as Hojiro walked off. "Don't worry, I'll shut this guy up pretty quickly, just you watch."

"Good luck, Kansho!" Gosu encouraged. Kansho flashed the peace sign and walked off. "…you'll need it."

"That guy has a lot of talk but I get the feeling that he's actually able to back it up and then some." Trunk said.

"Yeah, same here. It's really eerie." Gosu replied.

"And now, fans, it's time for the first match of the World Martial Arts Tournament! We have the returning Kansho against newcomer Hojiro!"

As the two walked forward, Hojiro of course had to get some more words in. "I hope you realize this is as far as you go."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll knock you off your perch." Kansho replied.

"Kansho previously competed in the last tournament but was taken out in the first round after a hard fought battle." The announcer explained. "He looks to redeem himself against the newcomer Hojiro, the star pupil of Master Kama's school."

The two stepped in the ring and stared each other down. They were too ready to finally fight after all of that bravado. The drums started to sound, eventually getting faster, and the announcer finally declared for the match to begin! Kansho immediately went on the offensive, as he ran at Hojiro and went for a kick. Hojiro was already a step ahead of him and blocked, and then tried to punch Kansho, although he dodged it. He immediately started delivering a flurry of strikes to Kansho, although he managed to dodge and block them all. Kansho came back with punches of his own and they were already throwing constant attacks at each other. Hojiro tried to catch Kansho off guard with a kick, but he flew up in the air and came flying back down, going for a hefty kick. Hojiro didn't even bother to attempt to move out of the way, though, as he opted to block it head on instead. And successfully he did, as he raised both his arms up and didn't even budge. Kansho jumped back, but Hojiro came flying at him but then surprised him by flipping and appearing behind Kansho instead. Kansho went for an elbow, but Hojiro blocked it. Kansho went for a spinning kick, but Hojiro moved out of the way and swung at him. However, Kansho blocked it and managed to strike him several times in the chest! He went for another punch, but Hojiro moved out of the way and landed a punch of his own! Kasho was persistent, though, and he came back with a knee to the stomach and then elbowed Hojiro in the face! Then, Kansho threw more attacks at Hojiro as he frantically tried to dodge them. Kansho managed to kick him in the stomach! However, all this did was piss Hojiro off, as he jumped up and kneed Kansho in the face! Kansho flew back and fell to the floor!

"These two have been displaying some pretty impressive moves so far!" The announcer said.

"Ah, so now Kansho knows how to fly…" Gosu said.

Hojir came jumping down and tried to repeatedly stomp on Kansho, but he managed to dodge every attack even while grounded. Then, he surprised Hojiro with a kick straight to the face! He jumped back up, but was met with a kick from Hojiro in return! Kansho jumped back to regain his bearings. Hojiro came flying right at him, but Kansho flew up in the air. Hojiro came flying right after him, showing that he could fly, too. The two now exchanged a burst of punches and kicks in the air to the amazement of the crowd! Kansho came out on top, as he managed to punch Hojiro all the way back down to the ground. Hojiro landed on his feet, however. Kansho flew back down to the ground.

"Man, Kansho sure has improved. He's actually taking it to this guy!" Trunks said.

"Yeah, good job, man!" Gosu yelled out.

"Kansho's doing a good job for himself so far. He just needs to keep my training in mind." Krillin said.

"Oh please! Your training isn't anywhere near as effective as mine!" Master Kama replied.

"Hey, look here, pal, you may have done a good job for all I know, but Kansho's gonna win!" Krillin replied.

"No, Hojiro!"

"No, Kansho!"

"Hojiro!"

"Kansho!

"Hojiro!"

"Kansho!"

"Geez, you guys are acting like a bunch of kids!" Chitsu complained.

"Oh, let them argue." Android 18 responded. "This is the most entertainment those geezers will get."

"These two fighters are both evenly matched! And this is just the first fight!" The announcer yelled. The fans were cheering in excitement.

Man, this guy is relentless. I'm gonna have to figure out a way to take care of him soon. Kansho thought to himself.

Alright, so he's not just all talk. He's quite capable as a fighter. I'll be able to get a little workout. Hojiro said.

"ALRIGHT! VIOLENT HAWK'S CLAW!" Kansho yelled out. He got into a fighting stance, and Hojiro instantly knew something was up. He got into a stance of his won in attempt to counter it. Kansho came charging at him with top speed, ready to destroy. He delivered several strikes at lightning speed, although Hojiro was able to keep up and do his best to block him. This exchange blew the last one completely out of the water in terms of intensity, as the advantage kept shifting between the two. Now Hojiro came back with a staggering amount of punches himself, and the two had to give everything just to be able to block their attacks. Hojiro tried to punch Kansho in the face, but Kansho jumped out of the way and rotated around Hojiro until he managed to hit him in his pressure points! He tried to catch Hojiro in the face, but he managed to tilt his head to the side, only getting a cut on his face as a result. Hojiro recovered from the hits and tried to attack Kansho again, but Kansho jumped out of the way. He jumped back down and the two punched each other right in the face! They both jumped back and this time both landed kicks on each other, causing them to both fall to the floor! Both got back up and looked at each other intensely. The crowd was basically robbed of their ability to speak.

"I can't believe what I just saw! Hojiro is certainly an amazing fighter, and Kansho has come back with a vengeance! This fight could go either man's way!"

Even Retasu, looking on, was impressed. He thought Kansho was the king of incompetence, but he actually managed to improve.

"Kansho's doing a really good job of keeping up with Hojiro's attacks. I honestly don't know who's going to win." Goshen said.

"I'm not so sure…there's always the chance that Hojiro's holding back…" Gosu said.

"Ha! I can't believe that's all you've got!" Hojiro taunted.

"That wasn't even the half of it!" Kansho responded. This time, he jumped high up into the air and then came spiraling down like a torpedo! Hojiro moved out the way and Kansho landed straight to the ground, but he used the impact to bounce off the ground and leap straight back at Hojiro, hitting him straight in the chest with a vicious kick! Hojiro came crashing down to the ground, holding his chest.

"Yeah! Good job, Kansho!" Chitsu cheered on.

"Now what did I tell ya?" Krillin asked Kama.

"Oh please, it'll take a lot more than that to take Hojiro out, just you watch!" Kama replied.

"I hope you like staying on the ground!" Kansho taunted.

Hojiro looked back up and chuckled. "Don't make me laugh! You don't really think your sloppy techniques can finish me off, do you? Your skills are nowhere near my level, understand?"

"You're going to wish you never talked all of that trash!" Kansho yelled. He jumped back in the air and once again attempted to use that torpedo technique. However, this time, Hojiro gathered a large amount of Ki to his hands, which turned red. Kansho came spiraling down again, and this time Hojiro let his arms out and caught Kansho! The force caused Hojiro to slide back a little, but he eventually managed to stop Kansho dead in his tracks! Kansho jumped back and gasped in disbelief, while Hojiro laughed.

"Again, that's it?" Hojiro asked.

"I…I don't believe it!" Kansho said.

"You didn't really think it would work a second time, did you? Isn't the definition of insanity trying the same thing over and over again and thinking it will actually warrant different results?" Hojiro snidely asked.

Kansho could feel the chances of victory slipping. Was Hojiro toying with him the whole time? Regardless of that, he had to go all out and put an end to this fight. He ran at Hojiro, who respond in kind, and they once again through attacks at each other, however, this time Hojiro hit him with a hard elbow to the face. Hojiro punched him several more times in the chest and then kicked him straight to the ground.

"Oh man, I think Kansho's in trouble now…" Junsei said.

"That last kick hurt him pretty badly!" Gosu said.

Hojiro walked up to him with a shit eating grin on his face. "Hey ref, how about counting?"

"Uh, right! 1…2...3…4…5…6…"

Hojiro turned around and was already preparing to walk out of the ring.

"7…8…"

However…

"Ni-"

In what seemed like a déjà vu of the last tournament, Kansho came hopping right back up and tried to surprise Hojiro with a kick. However, Hojiro was way ahead of him, as he immediately turned around and hit him a brutal punch to the nose! Kansho bent down, holding his now bloody appendage. Chitsu couldn't believe how hard the punch was, nor kid anyone else in the audience. It seemed like it was all over. Hojiro walked up to him.

"Y'know, you might as well give up now, because I don't see how you could possibly keep this fight up." He taunted.

Kansho, bloody nose and all, looked up at him. "You fool…you're crazy if you think I'm going to quit so easily!"

Kansho stood back up and got into a crouching stance, and then cuffed his hands together. This meant only one thing.

"…a Kamehameha?" Gosu asked.

"Jeez, now everybody's doing it." Goshen said. I mean, damn, ever since he did it at the last tournament everyone and their mother has mimicked it.

Hojiro was intrigued. Just what does he plan on doing now…? Is this his trump card?

"I'm gonna hit you with everything I've got!" Kansho said.

"Oh, my! Now cornered, it appears that Kansho is going to pull out one last attack!" The announcer said.

"This better work for Kansho." Krillin said. "Because if it doesn't, I'm afraid…"

"..that he'll get pounced?" Master Kama interrupted.

"We'll you shut that yap of yours?" Krillin asked.

Kansho gathered all of the Ki he had and focused it to his hands. "Ka…Me…Ha…Me…"

Hojiro was startled. He knew what this attack was, but he wasn't expecting this guy to know it. However, he knew one way of countering it….

"HA!"

Kansho fired the best Kamehameha he could muster. However, Hojiro let his arm out and then caught it! However, that wasn't all, as the blast started retract and was reduced to a ball in Hojiro's hands. What kind of move is this?

"What the hell did he just do?" Gosu asked.

"Did he...absorb the Kamehameha?" Trunks asked.

"Oh, my…" Krillin said in discouragement.

"What did I tell you?" Kama taunted.

"From the looks of it, Hojiro actually caught the Kamehameha!" The announcer said.

Kansho couldn't even speak. Just what was this guy made of? Even Retasu was startled, yet deep inside, he knew he should've expected this from Hojiro. He knew him better than anyone here. Hojiro laughed at him.

"What's wrong, cat got your tongue?" Hojiro asked. "Now take this!" He threw the Kamehameha at Kansho like a dodgeball. Kansho used what strength he had left to jump out of the way, but the force of the blast hitting the ring and causing an explosion caused Kansho to get knocked back. With all of the chaos and smoke working to Hojiro's advantage, he leapt at Kansho as he was falling back to the surface and hit him with an unbelievably hard kick to the arm, causing it to twist back! Hojiro broke Kansho's arm! Gosu could immediately tell that Kansho was injured badly from the kick, as well as Krillin.

"Oh no, this is bad." Master Krillin said.

Kansho fell to the floor, clutching his arm and screaming in pain. Hojiro had a sadistic smile on his face.

"H-how could he…?" Junsei asked.

"That bastard!" Gosu exclaimed.

"Oh my, it looks like Kansho has badly injured his arm!" The announcer said.

"Wow, I don't believe it; he was doing so well…" Chitsu said.

"The poor bastard." Panko said.

All Master Kama could do was smirk. "One down, two more to go!"

The announcer checked on Kansho, and it was clear he was in horrible condition. "Okay, Kansho is unable to fight any longer! The winner by technical knockout, Hojiro!"

Hojiro raised his arm up as the crowd cheered. Gosu and Junsei ran out to check on Kansho.

"We need a medic!" Junsei yelled out.

Gosu looked up at Hojiro with contempt. "You son of a bitch!"

Hojiro laughed once more before leaving the ring.

"Excellent work, Hojiro!" Master Kama yelled out.

"You should be ashamed of yourself for encouraging that!" Master Krillin replied.

"Are you kidding me? Breaking his arm was much more efficient. Shut your pacifistic mouth!" Master Kama replied.

Hojiro walked to the back.

"Great fight, Hojiro!" Zakai said.

"Thanks. That Kansho guy was definitely stronger than expected, but he was easy pickings." Hojiro said.

He looked over at Retasu, who was staring him down once more.

"Oh please, Retasu, don't act like you don't fight the same way. You might be a coward, but I know you're still ruthless." Hojiro said. Retasu just ignored him.

Meanwhile, Kanshow as taken out on a stretcher to one of the emergency rooms in the back while Gosu and Junsei left the ring.

"Is he okay?" Trunks asked.

"Nope, he's hurt pretty badly." Junsei replied.

Gosu glared at Hojiro. "I promise, you'll pay for this."

"Hojiro just laughed. "Ha, fool."

"Well, fans, what a match that was! It's only the first round yet we've already seen flying and explosions! Don't forget to come back tomorrow, as the first round will convene with Retasu taking on Trunks!" The announcer declared. The fans left the arena. Kama went up to Hojiro and Zakai.

"You did perfect out there, Hojiro." Master Kama said.

"Thank you, master." Hojiro replied.

"Retasu coming here just made it all the more interesting. That contemptible coward is intimidated by you, I know it. He isn't worthy of even being considered as a former student." Master Kama said.

"If he even manages to make it to the next round, I'll be sure to give him a good beating." Hojiro said.

"And once this tournament is over, you will kill him, understand?" Master Kama said coldly.

"Of course." Hojiro said.

"For now, we will have a celebratory dinner." Master Kama said.

Chitsu, Krillin, Bulma, and the rest met up with Gosu and crew.

"How's Kansho?" Chitsu asked.

"We haven't gotten any word on him yet." Gosu replied.

"Look, don't worry about. Let's just have dinner and make sure you're all ready for tomorrow." Master Krillin said. They all went to the same restaurant as Master Kama, Hojiro, and Zakai, so you know the tension was high. Gosu decided to just ignore Hojiro and continue eating.

"Y'know, #18, why don't you compete in this tournament? You'd destroy us all!" Junsei asked.

"No particular reason. I just don't find fighting all that exciting anymore." She replied.

They all finished up their meal and left the restaurant, as Gosu had his eyes locked on Hojiro. They left for the hotel while Hojiro stayed at the restaurant. He turned around and saw Retasu standing at the top of the roof, looking down at him.

What an idiot. He's going to meet his fate soon enough. Hojiro thought. He went to the hotel.

What an explosive first day of the tournament, as Hojiro has proved he is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Who will come out on top of Retasu and Trunks' fight? Find out on the next Dragon Ball NG!