Papaya Island, 23rd Tenka'ichi Budōkai
Another 3 years had passed since the conclusion of the 22nd Tenka'ichi Budōkai, which was on record one of the most intense ones yet, not just for the fights, but the bitter rivalries that have been present. This was also shortly before the terrible Piccolo Daimao made his presence known and swiftly usurped the king, only to be felled just as quickly by an unknown force. Unlike the past tournaments, the day began with intense rainfall that had shown little sign of letting up. Standing outside the temple grounds was Muten Rōshi, keeping an eye on his wristwatch, waiting for his students and colleagues to appear.
"Seems like they're running late," Rōshi sighed. "I just hope they didn't get lost into training."
Right as he said that, a taxi cab pulled up. As the back door opened, out stepped Bulma, now fully mature, alongside Oolong and Pu'ar, the former holding an umbrella for both of the shapeshifters.
"Long time no see, Muten Rōshi!" Bulma greeted, but then noticed the lack of anyone else in his company. "No one else showed up yet?"
"Not yet," Rōshi shrugged. "You've certainly grown up, and I can see your training's helped your physique."
"Try and use your hands on me and you'll see how much it's helped," Bulma warned, narrowing her eyes at the old hermit. This was enough to cause him to flinch and sweat nervously.
"I was just offering a harmless compliment!" Rōshi countered "I'd like to keep my hands intact, thank you very much! And don't assume the reasons for that!"
"I wasn't going to, but thank you for cursing me with that mental image," Bulma groaned in a deadpan manner, causing the turtle hermit to grumble.
"Excuse me."
Rōshi and Bulma were snapped from their misgivings with one another and were met with the sight of a couple. One was a young man wearing a blue kimono with white trousers, his head wrapped up in a turban. Next to him was a slightly shorter young woman with narrow eyes and nearly identical attire, except the trousers were also blue. Both of them were each carrying a straw umbrella. The man spoke up again.
"Is this where they'll be hosting the Tenka'ichi Budōkai?" The man asked.
"Hm? Oh yes, though I wish the weather was better," Rōshi answered. "Are you two here to see the competition?"
"Yes we are," The woman excitedly nodded. "We're on our honeymoon and we've heard so much about… the Tenka'ichi…" The woman couldn't finish her sentence as she began to snicker and then burst out into uncontrollable laughter. "I can't do this! It's too ridiculous!"
"Uh, am I missing a joke here?" Bulma asked, somewhat weirded out by the odd couple.
"Yeah you are, Bulma!" The woman answered once she calmed down from her laughing fit.
"Wha-How did you know my name?!" Bulma exclaimed.
"For the record, it was her idea," The man answered, gesturing a thumb to the woman. "So you guys don't recognize us?"
"Should we?" Rōshi asked.
"Well, I mean if Kuririn and the others were here, they'd probably guess," The woman answered, now in a tone that exuded a familiar sass.
"Hold up…!" Bulma said as she took a deep breath, the epiphany hitting her like a freight train. "Son Gokū and Caulifla…?"
"Bingo!" Gokū declared with a thumbs up.
"Can't be!" Oolong denied. "There's no way it's you two!"
"Wanna bet?~" Caulifla smirked. Slowly but surely, their tails slithered out from underneath their kimonos and gave a fun little high five with each other, or in this case, a high tail. The two Saiyans also began removing the cloth from their heads, and like a spring under pressure, their respective hairs popped out, Gokū's trademark palm tree haircut and Caulifla's artichoke-shaped hair. "Still think it isn't us?"
"Well I'll be!" Rōshi exclaimed, surprised and happy to see his top students all grown up. "It really is you two!"
"Ah, good. The rain's lightening up," Gokū said as he put away his straw umbrella. "Also, did we get taller, or did you guys shrink?"
"A-Are you kidding?!" Bulma stammered, somewhat shocked to see a more adult Gokū before her, easily a head taller than she was. "You're huge!"
"You would not believe the growth spurt this guy went through," Caulifla added, leaning on Gokū's arm and pointing a finger at him. "One day he was the same height as you last saw him, the next day, WHAMMO! He's a giant! I Had a similar growth spurt a couple weeks after, so I wasn't gonna be pipsqueak-sized forever."
"Yo!"
The group's attention was once again shifted, and they were met with a quintumvirate of characters that were all easily recognized. Up front was Kuririn and Chaotzu, the former wearing modern travel clothes while the latter was wearing more traditional eastern garb. In the back was Yamcha, with slightly longer hair than last time, as well as two new scars, one across his left cheek, the other over his eye. Next to him was Lunch and Tenshinhan, both wearing the same style garb as Chaotzu, though Lunch deviated and was wearing a kimono instead of a qipao.
"Long time no see, Muten Rōshi," Tenshinhan greeted as he removed his straw hat.
"C'mon guys, it's rude to stare," Lunch playfully jeered, though it was intended more as a warning for the Turtle Hermit.
"Maybe they're too shocked to see us?" Kuririn shrugged, his voice now deeper and a touch bit more nasally.
"I'm glad to see you guys, that's for sure," Gokū spoke up, startling the newcomers, Kuririn especially.
"Looks like you're still a bit shorter, but that could be an advantage, buddy," Caulifla added.
"G-Gokū…? C-C-Caulifla…? Is… Is that really you guys…?" Kuririn stammered, processing what he was seeing right now.
"Who else would it be?~" Gokū chuckled.
Kuririn then tackled the two Saiyans in a clothesline hug and began to cry tears of joy
"You beautiful morons!" Kuririn sobbed as he hugged his best friends. "I've missed you guys so much! I never got to say thank you for what you did!"
"Aw shucks, it was nothing," Caulifla waved off.
"Definitely seems like it's them alright," Tenshinhan commented, finally coming to the realization.
"Yeah," Yamcha sighed. "Honestly, Gokū's lucky. Caulifla looks kinda… hot now."
"Um, hello?!" Bulma shouted with indignation. "I'm standing right here!"
"Oh come on!" Yamcha whined. "I saw you ogling Gokū a second ago!"
"I-I was not!" Bulma stammered in defiance, her face turning beet red.
"Some things never change, am I right?" Caulifla commented, gesturing her hand. A small glint on one of her fingers soon caught Bulma's attention.
"Hang on a second…" Bulma quickly said as she went in to take a closer look at Caulifla's hand. "Is that…?"
"...A ring?!" Kuririn finished, his thought process reaching Mach 3.
"Yep!" Caulifla nodded with a big smile. "And guess who I got it from!"
"Wait!" Kuririn exclaimed. "Does that mean Gokū, as in SON GOKU, proposed to you?!"
"Yep!" Gokū answered with a sheepish grin and a small scratch at the back of his head.
"I'm surprised you were the one to propose, and not Caulifla!" Kuririn congratulated.
"Where did he get you a rock like that?!" Lunch exclaimed, absolutely giddy to see that two of her best friends were now engaged, as well as salivating over such a shiny diamond.
"He took a piece of coal and heated it with a bunch of pressure," Caulifla commented casually, now leaving the lavender-haired genius speechless.
"He literally...crushed coal… into diamonds…?" Bulma muttered in pure disbelief.
"True story. It took a lot of trial and error in my off time, but I eventually got the result you see now," Gokū explained proudly.
"That is the most romantic and scientifically impossible thing I have ever heard!" Bulma squealed. Her girlish excitement then morphed into a suggestive grin. "Tell me! Did you and Gokū get busy yet? I gotta know!"
"Whoa! Back off there!" Caulifla requested as she gently pushed her finger onto Bulma's forehead, pushing the crazy woman away. "First off, no, we haven't yet, and second, stop hanging around Rōshi for crying out loud!"
"You said the key word 'yet!'" Kuririn commented, a sly grin forming on his own face, causing both Gokū and Caulifla to palm their faces in exasperation.
"Can we just head to the gym already?" Caulifla sighed, not enjoying the teasing from her friends.
"Oh yeah, speaking of which," Tenshinhan spoke up, addressing Muten Rōshi. "Are you going to be participating this time around?"
"Nah," Rōshi dismissed casually. "I know for certain I don't hold a candle to you youngsters anymore. Besides, I retired the name Jackie Chun last time."
"Fair enough."
With that, the competitors trotted their way to the registration booth, having idle conversation about the rigorous training they've undergone for the past 3 years, while also being intentionally vague about it. No use spoiling their efforts before they entered the ring, after all.
Tenka'ichi Budōkai, Gymnasium
The hustle and bustle of martial artists was brimming with excitement to either test their abilities or win the prize, but several veterans, especially amongst the now-dubbed 'Dragon Team' noticed that the crowd was now a mere half of what it once was. The team in question were now adorned in their respective outfits. Son Gokū and Caulifla kept their design motif from last time, but in a new size to accommodate their new stature, though Gokū was now wearing a navy blue undershirt and a pair of boots, and Caulifla was wearing similar boots in addition to her past clothing. Kuririn made some amendments to his gi, now a bright red instead of orange, and the kanji on the back now read '栗' instead of the same Turtle kanji as on the front. Tenshinhan and Chaotzu kept their Crane School standards, but omitted the kanji representative of the Tsuru-Sennin, as well as changing their tunics from yellow to black. Lunch, surprisingly, was participating as well and opted for a similar style. Yamcha decided to deviate the most and elected to use his old Bandit garb, but with a Turtle School badge to the side to note his allegiance. The only other difference was the lack of headband.
"Well, looks like everyone's switching up, huh?" Gokū commented, smiling to see his friends in different styles of gi.
"Hey, you guys kinda left an impact last time," Kuririn responded with a shrug. "Besides, Muten Rōshi said we should branch out eventually."
"By the way, anyone know what moon phase it's gonna be tonight?" Caulifla asked calmly, earning a flinch from everyone who knew the Saiyan duo. She could not help but roll her eyes. "Relax, you guys. Gokū and I have perfect control over ourselves now. I'm only asking in case we need to break out sungla-"
Caulifla cut herself off as an ominous sensation washed over her. As if on reflex, she wrapped her tail around her waist. Gokū was not oblivious to this and did the same. When the two turned around, they were greeted by an absolutely shocking sight.
Stood before them was a tall green man adorned in a dark purple gi tied by a red obi. Atop his shoulders was a massive white cloak with protruding shoulders, as well as a turban with a metal cap on top. The Saiyan couple instantly recognized this man as Piccolo Daimao's reincarnation, just by the beige muscle formations on his arms, and the pointed ears. The only differences were that his face was more youthful, lacking the pronounced cheek bones of his progenitor, and a more pointed nose instead of a hooked one. The one who stood next to him was even more striking, and all too familiar. It was a shorter woman, just about Caulifla's stature, with jet-black eyes and hair, though it was far more spiky than would be considered normal. She was dressed in a blue gi with a red long-sleeved undershirt, the kanji '火山' on the front of her gi. She was wearing a similar cloak as Piccolo, turban included, but the most shocking aspect of her transformation since 3 years ago was at the base of her back.
A tail!
Kuririn and Yamcha were puzzled by the odd pair glaring daggers at Gokū and Caulifla, but Tenshinhan and Lunch recognized them both.
'So you did come, Piccolo Daimao,' Gokū thought, smirking at the future challenge. 'I wasn't expecting you to have company…'
'So she did use the Dragon Balls to make herself into a Saiyan,' Caulifla mused, smirking regardless of her misgivings. 'And of course the Mountain Princess sided with the Demon King. This is going to be interesting…'
The effigy of the late Piccolo Daimao smirked as his foes were eyeing him and his colleague up, while they were doing the same. After seeing enough, 'Ma Junior' turned away and walked over to one of the walls to wait. The woman stayed for a few moments longer as if to see if she could stab the two before her with her glare alone before rejoining the green man
"Um… who was that?" Kuririn asked, somewhat confused at the intense staredown. "Do you know those guys from somewhere?"
"The green guy I've not met," Caulifla answered flatly. If arguing technicalities, this was true. "The crazy lady next to him, however, was Chi-Chi."
"Sheesh," Yamcha sighed, scratching his head nervously. "She's grown up a lot also. She also looks a lot scarier too…"
"And, unless I'm crazy, was that a tail?" Kuririn questioned.
"Yep," Gokū answered flatly, not entirely pleased with the turn of events, but excited regardless. "So regarding Caulifla's question, do you guys know if there's a full moon or not?"
"I'll uh, I'll have to check," Yamcha muttered as he and Kuririn walked off to find the source of information, leaving Tenshinhan, Chaotzu, and Lunch with the Saiyan couple.
"I have to ask, Gokū," Tenshinhan spoke up, a mild trepidation in his voice. "Was that man… one of Piccolo's children?"
"In a sense," Gokū answered vaguely. "His son, his reincarnation, take your pick. Either way, this isn't a carbon copy..."
"I see," Tenshinhan nodded. "I can't believe Chi-Chi sided with him of all people."
"No kidding," Caulifla sighed. "Keep this on the down low, by the way. The last thing we want is to start a panic by announcing that 'Ma Jr.' is actually Piccolo Daimao reborn."
"Can't believe that mountain princess grew a tail!" Lunch exclaimed in a hushed tone. She then gave a quick glance at her backside. "Now I gotta check to see if I grow one or not…"
"Won't happen," Gokū clarified, his tone serious. "She used the Dragon Balls to make herself like us."
"That's… odd," Tenshinhan hummed. "That explains why the sky turned dark a year after Piccolo's defeat, but other than a 5th limb, I don't see what the advantage is."
"I think it depends on the type of advantage, Tien," Caulifla responded, sparing fleeting glances at the Frypan Princess. 'The fact that you actually turned yourself into a Saiyan over this…'
Everyone was snapped from their musings as a loud, high-pitched feedback whine of the gymnasium's loudspeakers echoed across the room, forcing Gokū, Caulifla, and Chi-Chi to wince, given their sensitive hearing, but Piccolo was most bothered and outright covered his pointed ears.
"My apologies, everyone," The monk nervously chuckled before clearing his throat. "Thank you all very much for coming to participate in the tri-annual Tenka'ichi Budōkai. This year, the are only 74 participants, significantly fewer than last time, but we suspect that is because the quality of competition was so grand that only warriors and martial artists with absolute surety in their strength and skills have stood up to the challenge! Follow the rules, and battle with all of your might, and make this Tenka'ichi Budōkai one for the books! Good luck!"
With that, everyone began to draw lots to be assigned to their designated blocks. Unbeknownst to the Dragon Team, their assignments had been… altered by a member of the Crane School, but more in an effort to space everyone apart for the finals, though given how many were entering this year, some fighters had to be weeded out.
"Alright, block 1, number 2," Gokū read aloud, not bothering to compare his drawn number with the board since he knew what it meant. "Looks like I'm going first."
"This ought to be good," Kuririn hummed as he went over to watch Gokū's preliminary match, Caulifla doing the same. "Time to see the fruits of your training."
"Depending on the opponents, you'll only see the tip of the iceberg," Caulifla commented, her hands on her hips as she watched her fiance take his place in the ring. Gokū's opponent soon caught her attention. "Wuh-oh.~"
"What wuh-oh?" Kuririn echoed, somewhat confused by Caulifla's choice of words. The monk then saw Gokū's opponent and recognized him from the last tournament. "Oh. That wuh-oh."
"Hmph," King Chappa harrumphed, adorned in the same toga as before. "So we meet again? At last I can have revenge for that humiliating defeat 3 years ago. Luck certainly isn't on your side, friend."
King Chappa offered a curt bow, which Gokū returned in kind.
"Begin!"
Immediately, King Chappa settled into a fortified stance, while Gokū's was static. His expression was also calm and blank. He had not even bothered to wrap his tail around his waist.
"You're not assuming a stance?!" King Chappa growled. "What manner of disrespect is this?!"
"It ain't disrespect," Caulifla muttered in a hushed tone, smirking the entire time. "He doesn't need to use a stance against someone like you."
"No kidding," Kuririn sighed, observing with his mind's eye. "I can barely sense Gokū's ki. He's definitely got this on lockdown."
Fed up with Gokū's stance, or lack thereof, King Chappa charged forward with a flying kick, only for his target to vanish from sight, his foot missing its mark. The warrior was stupefied as he failed to notice Gokū reappear right behind him.
"Where did you go?!" King Chappa shouted as he surveyed the ring for his opponent, but then remembered something. "Aha! You went skyward like last time, but that ploy won't work twice! Ahahaha-"
King Chappa's boastful laugh was cut off by a swift chop to the neck, hitting him right at a vital pressure point and clocking him out. Unceremoniously, King Chappa fell over in an unconscious heap.
"Um, V-Victory for Number 2!" The official declared, somewhat baffled by Gokū's speed.
"Tip of the iceberg was right," Kuririn nodded. "Gokū didn't look like he exerted any effort there."
"Yep," Caulifla nodded, proud of her fiance's handiwork. "Alright, I gotta get to my matchup. Later guys."
With that, Caulifla walked off to Block 3, wondering what sort of competition she might face. As she approached the ring, watching as a clumsy man adorned in a pink gi managed to throw himself out of the ring before his opponent could so much as lay a finger on him. The Saiyan woman was pulled away from watching the matches when she picked up an odd scent. It was familiar, yet she could not place its origin. She turned around to see an elderly lady, adorned in a conservative qipao that was primarily black with an orange trim, snow-white hair that rippled from her scalp, but her face was obscured by a traditional okami mask. The most odd aspect was the halo casually floating above the woman's head.
"Oh, hello there," The masked woman spoke in a sagely voice.
"Uh, hi," Caulifla responded with a simple wave, unsure of how to respond.
"You must be Caulifla, champion of the 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai, and a finalist of the 22nd, yes?" The woman asked, only serving to puzzle the Saiyan woman even more.
"Yeah?" Caulifla answered with mild hesitation. "Are you participating?"
"For the spirit of competition, yes," The masked woman nodded. "I've also come to see if I can find an old friend. We've kind of… fell out of touch a long time ago."
"Well, good luck with that," Caulifla responded with a shrug.
"Thank you, dear child from Heaven," The woman bowed politely. Immediately, Caulifla's eyes widened at what the mystery woman had called her. When she turned to speak again, the woman off somewhere else.
'Was that really…?' Caulifla mused in her head, old memories rushing back to her. She then gave a warm smile as she turned her attention back to the Block 3 ring. 'This tournament really will be one to remember.'
"Everything alright?" Gokū asked the Saiyan woman as he approached.
"Yeah," Caulifla nodded. "I just had a blast from the past is all."
"You sure you're ready to-"
"Not a bad one. A very good one, actually," Caulifla interrupted, clarifying what she had meant, leaving Gokū somewhat confused, but shrugged and went on his way, assuming he'd find out later.
The preliminary rounds proceeded swiftly as the members of the Dragon Team easily dispatched the far weaker and less experienced competition, almost with the same ease Gokū had with king Chappa, or even moreso, depending on the opponent. This routine was suddenly upset by a scream from the Block 4 ring. The scream belonged to Chaotzu.
"What the-?!" Tenshinhan shouted as he rushed over to the Block 4 ring. In the ring itself, Chaotzu was out cold, and much worse for wear. The three-eyed warrior then looked up to see who did the deed. He, Gokū, and Caulifla were most shocked as a man in a pink gi stood before them, his face altered by the addition of several cybernetic replacements.
"Long time no see, Tenshinhan," The cyborg chortled. "Don't worry, the boy is still alive, just barely. If I killed him, I would be… removed from the competition."
"T-Tao Pai pai?!" Gokū and Caulifla chorused in unison.
"I thought you died!" Tenshinhan exclaimed, holding Chaotzu's unconscious body. "How-"
"Gravely injured, yes, but not dead," The reanimated assassin interrupted. "Fortunately my line of work was quite lucrative, so I was able to finance my rebirth as the cyborg assassin you see now."
"Um, excuse me sir, could you please move off the ring?" The official politely requested. "We cannot proceed with the next match otherwise."
"Could you please cease your yapping?!" Tao Pai Pai countered in annoyance. "You'll end up dead otherwise."
"Don't tell me: That Tsuru-Sennin guy is here also?" Gokū asked.
"Precisely."
As if on command, the Tsuru-Sennin approached the ring, sneering with malice. His appearance had not changed since last time.
"You and your friends had better get past the preliminaries," The Tsuru-Sennin demanded. "Not so Tao Pai Pai can win, but so he can take your life in glorious fashion."
"Well get in line."
The Crane brothers turned to see who dared butt into their conversation, and saw it was none other than Chi-Chi, who gave a steely glare at the two.
"And what, pray tell, are you talking about, little girl?" Tao Pai Pai mockingly questioned.
"Stow it, you over-welded periscope," Chi-Chi spat, causing the assassin to frown with indignation. "If you want to get revenge first, you'll have to go through me, and you will."
"Feh! Such brazen disrespect!" Tsuru-Sennin scoffed before turning to his brother. "Do not be shy of ending her life as well. She abandoned my school shortly before the last Budōkai."
"She'll fall like the rest," Tao Pai Pai nodded in response, grinning the entire time. "I'll make sure she doesn't reach the preliminaries."
"And I'll make sure you eat those words without chewing," Chi-Chi countered. "Now get your shiny metal ass off the ring. I don't want you keeping the block waiting…"
Tao Pai Pai said nothing and disembarked the ring, but gave one last glance at his hated targets, his binocular eyes whirring as if to analyze them.
"That tin can doesn't stand a chance," Caulifla hummed. "If I was a betting girl, I'd put zeni on Chi-Chi leaving him with a few dings."
"Um, who is that guy, anyway?" Kuririn inquired, somewhat lost on the whole situation.
"Tao Pai Pai," Gokū answered. "The assassin we fought 6 years ago, and Tsuru-Sennin's brother. I thought Caulifla and I killed him."
"Guess it was kind of assumed, since I batted his grenade back at him," Caulifla speculated. "Then again, if we could take bullets without flinching, a grenade probably wouldn't've killed him outright."
"Chi-Chi's gonna be in for a long haul before the prelims are up," Tenshinhan sighed.
"Don't count on it," Gokū countered calmly. "From what I've seen so far, you'd be able to beat him with minimal effort, assuming he doesn't pull any fast ones."
"Knowing him, he will," Tenshinhan nodded.
"And knowing who she learned from, Chi-Chi'll have a counter," Caulifla added. "This should be interesting."
The preliminary matches proceeded without much fanfare, as the Dragon Team, along with Piccolo and Chi-Chi cleaned up the competition with little to no effort. The first real show of the preliminaries would begin in Block 2, where two powerful fighters would butt heads.
Kuririn vs Yamcha
"Oooooh boy," Kuririn sighed as he rolled his shoulders. "This was bound to happen, wasn't it?"
"Ah well," Yamcha sighed as he finished up stretching. "Let's try and make this quick."
"You say that, and now it's gonna take forever,~" Kuririn jeered as he settled into a comfortable stance.
"One minute! Begin!"
With a mighty roar, Yamcha rushed forward, the full force of his Rogafufuken barreling down upon the much shorter monk, but Kuririn saw this predictable move coming, and smirked as he splayed his hands out in front of his face. This was exactly what he wanted, and Yamcha fell into his trap.
"TAIYOKEN!"
A white blinding light blasted off Kuririn's being, searing the reninae of the unfortunate spectators who looked directly at the dwarf as he borrowed a Crane School specialty. Yamcha especially was stunned by this maneuver, and dropped out of his attack to hold his eyes as he wailed at the pain. Kuririn did not waste any time as he leapt up and delivered a swift kick to the ex-bandit's sternum, launching him off the mat and out of bounds.
"The... The winner is Number 18!"
Kuririn hopped off the ring with a casual victory gesture as he walked over to Yamcha, who had just recovered from being blinded. The monk offered a hand, and the ex-bandit took it.
"Isn't that technique one of the Crane School's?" Yamcha asked as he got back up.
"Yeah, but it's pretty easy to get down," Kuririn explained with a shrug. "You kinda need to work on spicing up your approaches, buddy."
"Yeah," Yamcha sighed. "Didn't even make it to the final 8 this time around."
"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'll consider myself super lucky if I just make it to the semifinals," Kuririn countered, in good spirits despite the odds. "After all, It's a competition to test our gains and give our all."
After the pep talk, the remaining Dragon Team gathered around the Block 4 mat as the preliminary fight between Tao Pai Pai and Chi-Chi was about to begin.
On one side was the Frypan Princess, still wearing the cloak and turban granted by her ally, and on the other was the infamous assassin, who had recently killed some poor fool who had made fun of his hair.
"One minute! Begin!"
Tao Pai Pai settled into an aggressive stance, the highly advanced servo motors that were his knuckles whirred quietly. Chi-Chi, on the other hand, assumed no stance, but just stared down her opponent.
"Your move," The princess-turned-Saiyan dared.
"If you insist!" Tao Pai Pai shouted as he rushed forward, delivering several knife-hand jabs, all of which Chi-Chi deftly dodged with zero effort on her part. With the cyborg's mounting frustration, he threw a haymaker that overextended his movement, and Chi-Chi took advantage, by delivering a swift chop to his back, creating a loud and dull ring like a church bell. The assassin stumbled back and turned to see the Frypan Princess staring down at him, both literally and figuratively. "Feh! What a joke!"
"Obviously," Chi-Chi spat. "And here I thought I was gonna break a sweat."
"You disrespectful little…!" The Assassin snarled as he charged forth, launching both of his fists forward, but Chi-Chi caught both of them by the wrist and then smirked.
"Your forearms are fully prosthetic, yeah?" Chi-Chi speculated, before her smirk grew laden with malice. With one effortless twitch of her hand muscles, she crushed the robotic wrists of Tao Pai Pai with a sickening metallic crunch that rivaled a car compactor. With even less effort, she tore away the destroyed wrists, leaving two sockets behind.
"AUGH!" Tao Pai Pai screamed in pain as his robotic hands were torn off. "HOW DARE YOU?!"
"I don't get why you had pain receptors in those hands," Chi-Chi commented coldly. "Seems like an intentional design flaw."
"It's for dexterity and context, you miserable brat!" Tao Pai Pai shouted, now practically frothing at the mouth. Out of the sockets where his wrists used to be, two very sharp blades shot out, and the assassin held them forward in a cross formation. "Forget the damn rules! I will end you here and no-"
Tao Pai Pai could not finish his sentence as a small and very powerful fist lodged itself into his stomach, forcing all of the air in his body out as he struggled for air. A few seconds passed and then he fell over in an unconscious heap.
"B-By knock-out, and disqualification by use of weaponry, Number 66 is the winner!"
"For the record, that was for Chaotzu, you dick," Chi-Chi spat, kicking the unconscious cyborg off of the mat and right before the feet of Tsuru-Sennin, who was trembling with rage and fear, his emotions favoring the latter. He flinched when Chi-Chi turned her gaze to her former master. "And as for you, I don't care if I'm added to your list of vendettas you shriveled up goose. Now beat it!"
Tenshinhan relaxed, but only slightly as his previous mentors fled the scene like the cowards they were. Chi-Chi seemed to still be on okay terms with him and Chaotzu, and seems to be more focused on Gokū and Caulifla. The three-eyed warrior could only hope that would change.
The remaining preliminaries proceeded without incident, The masked lady did fight an oddly familiar fighter of rotund physique wearing a cheap Luchador mask, but he was quickly defeated. In time, only 8 fighters remained, and the announcer had a good scare seeing Kuririn alive and well, but recovered as the lottery was drawn. The brackets were assigned as such.
Match 1: Son Gokū vs. Tenshinhan
Match 2: Kuririn vs. "Ma Junior"
Match 3: Caulifla vs. Anonymous
Match 4: Lunch vs. Chi-Chi
To say this tournament would be one for the record books would be an understatement, as the very foundations of the Tenka'ichi Budōkai will be shaken to their core.
Especially on the eve of a Full Moon.
A/N: Aaaaaaaalrighty then! The Saiyan Couple has returned after the timeskip, and are now engaged! I honestly didn't know how I wanted to approach it, so I just had it done over the timeskip. Hopefully that won't be too much of an issue. Also, Lunch is gonna be participating in the ring this time around, because she needs more screen time than she got in canon. And yes, I did call upon the great magic maguffin snake to make Chi-Chi a Saiyan, because she's a spiteful little brat, so I'm gonna have fun with that. Now who could the masked lady be I wonder?~ As for how the roster turned out, with how many folks I have, it was clear not everyone was gonna make it in, so sorry Yamcha fans. All and all, I hope this was a good read for you folks. :)