Goku vs Hero: The Semi Finals Begin

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, now that we have narrowed it down to just four competitors, we can begin with the Semi-Finals!" the announcer shouted, making the crowd roar in excitement.

"This should be exciting, I can't wait to see who we're going to fight," Goku said, eagerly awaiting to find out who he would face.

"Don't get too overconfident Goku; who knows, you might be facing me once again, and history has a way of repeating itself," Daisuke said with a small grin.

"Now who is getting overconfident?" Goku asked, causing his fiancée to smile before turning serious and she walked towards him. "Uh…did I say something wrong?"

"No, I need to tell you something Goku." She leaned in and whispered. "Hero isn't who you think he is."

"What do you mean? I know you said he was an alien, but I don't see how that's got anything to do with him if I end up fighting him." Before Daisuke could say anything, the announcer spoke again.

"And now, for the first match of the Semi-Finals, Son Goku versus Hero!" Goku's eyes widened and Daisuke chuckled.

"Careful what you wish for in future Goku, you might just get it."

"Uh, so can you tell me before my match starts?" Goku asked. Hero walked past him and Daisuke, who in turn eyed him cautiously before turning to Goku.

"All you need to know is to take this fight seriously. Be careful, don't let your guard down for any reason, and don't be fooled if Hero pulls any of his antics. Oh, and Hero is Kami. Have fun," Daisuke said, pushing Goku onto the stage before he could react.

"Wait Hero is who!?" he asked.

"Hero is me, who else would I be?" Hero asked, thinking Goku was talking to him and causing the young man to sweatdrop.

"Uh, sorry, wasn't talking to you," he said sheepishly before turning to Daisuke. "Come on Daisuke, seriously? It can't be him can it?" he pleaded desperately.

"Whenever have I lied to you Goku?" his fiancée asked with hands on her hips.

"Uh, when you farted during meditation with Popo and said it was me and not you?" Goku asked back innocently, making Daisuke facepalm.

"That doesn't count! Now pay attention, you're about to get kicked in the face!" she shouted. Goku turned just as Hero's foot was about to kick Goku's block off, but he ducked under the kick before flipping back.

"Close one," he thought.

"I swear he is so naïve at times. I wonder if it's not too late to let Chi-Chi marry him," Daisuke thought before shaking her head. "What the hell did I just think, there is no way in the name of Kami that I would let that floozy marry my man," she thought. A moment later a blush passed over her face once she realised she called Goku her man. It would be true after the tournament though. Suddenly Daisuke noticed Piccolo was still on the roof, watching the fight intensify. Goku ran towards Hero, throwing a punch which was blocked and countered with a leg sweep, causing Goku to jump over it. Unfortunately the move left him open for Hero to send a punch right into his stomach, sending him flipping through the air. A moment later Goku landed on his feet.

"Daisuke was right, I need to keep my guard up if I want to win this match to fight her or Piccolo," he thought, holding his stomach momentarily.

"Well that was a nice warm up, wouldn't you say Goku?" Hero asked, his hands behind his back.

"Yeah, what do you say we get on with the real fight?" Goku replied and his opponent nodded.

"I'd say that's a good idea." Hero vanished and appeared behind Goku in a blur, prepared to deliver a chop to the back of Goku's neck. His attempt was blocked by Goku who then grabbed Hero's arm and pulled him closer before elbowing him in the chest.

"Nice counter Goku," Daisuke said as the fight continued with Goku and hero exchanging punch after punch before Goku jumped, sending a kick to Hero's head, but he caught the foot and pivoted. With a swing of his arm, Hero sent Goku flying away, and he rolled across the stage before skidding to a stop.

"Was that all you had Goku? I'm disappointed, I thought you trained harder than that. Perhaps you were just slacking around and ogling Daisuke's behind?" Hero asked nonchalantly, making Goku blush and cough embarrassed while Daisuke's face flushed red in a mix of embarrassment and anger.

"So that's why I felt eyes staring at me when I was stretching," she thought before feeling entirely difference eyes on her. A glance showed Piccolo looking down at her with a smirk.

"Uh, Daisuke, why do you keep looking at that guy? You can't really be worried about him, can you?" Krillin asked her.

"I'm not worried about losing if that's what you mean; honestly I'm thrilled to face him because I want to see how my training has paid off."

"He defeated Yamcha without much effort," Krillin pointed out.

"No, he didn't. He did defeat Yamcha, but I saw that he actually had to try harder than he expected to have to," Daisuke replied.

"He did seem to be caught off guard at how much skill Yamcha possessed," Tien said as the fight continued. Goku charged Hero, and as he threw a punch, he blurred from sight with incredible speed before appearing behind Hero. Slamming an elbow into his back, Hero was sent skidding across the floor before he stopped and jumped to his feet.

"Looks like they're evenly matched," Yamcha said. However, both Daisuke and Goku knew better.

"Kami's not going all out; either he's holding back….or possibly possessing a human body has limited his power to the point where he's about as strong as Goku," she thought. "Sure he's more skilled, but skill isn't everything."

Meanwhile, on the stage, Goku had come to the same conclusions about Kami's decrease in power. "Maybe I do have a chance."

"Is something wrong, my boy? You seem perplexed," Hero said.

"Actually, I was just wondering about you. You seem weaker for some reason, you're not as strong as you were when I last saw you," Goku replied.

"So you noticed already? You're smarter than you were three years ago, Goku."

"Does this guy know Goku?" Bulma asked, watching the fight.

"Evidently so, though I didn't know any of this," Roshi answered.

"Tell me why you came here. It can't be to see how strong Daisuke and I have gotten, you saw us about a week ago before we left to come to the tournament," Goku said to Hero.

"You're right my goal isn't to see how strong you've both gotten under my teachings, but rather to stop Piccolo's reincarnation," he replied. Barely a moment passed before he ran towards Goku and threw a barrage of strikes, each of which was blocked by Goku.

"But why though?" he asked. "Daisuke and I are more than strong enough to defeat him without you having to jump in."

"Be that as it may, I cannot allow her to fight him. She will allow him to live after defeating him, placing the world at risk. I must be the one to kill him.

"But Daisuke wouldn't do that Kami. She knows the risks of letting him live," Goku tried to reason as they continued to fight.

"I trust her a great deal. She has potential, as do you, but this is my duty. If I die, then Piccolo will also die," Hero informed him, shocking him.

"Then we can bring you back with the Dragonballs, can't we?" Goku asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.

"There is so much you don't understand, or not yet know, but you will soon," Hero answered before kicking Goku in the stomach, sending him towards the edge of the arena. He appeared in front of Goku in a sudden burst of speed before attempting a kick, only for the strike to miss due to Goku vanishing and appearing behind Hero.

"Wow, Goku was so close to being thrown out of the ring by Hero, yet somehow was able to escape at the last minute due to sheer speed," the announcer said.

"I'm sorry Kami, but for your own good I can't let you go through with your plan," Goku told him.

"How sad. I had hoped you would see reason, but alas it seems the only way for me to get past you is to defeat you." Hero ran towards Goku again, throwing punches and kicks which Goku blocked before countering with a spin kick to his gut, sending him skidding back.

"Time for me to show off my new move," Goku said, crouching down.

"Then let's see it," Hero told him.

Outside the ring, Daisuke continued to watch the battle, brows furrowed in concern. Sensing eyes on her yet again, Daisuke turned to see Piccolo standing atop the tournament building, looking down. With a scowl, she leapt up to the building's roof and walked towards Piccolo. They stood there in silence for several moments.

"I will kill you," he said abruptly. "You and your friends will die here and today. Then my reign will begin anew."

"Words," Daisuke scoffed. "You had more difficulty than you thought you would with just Yamcha, and both Goku and I are much stronger than that."

"You act as if I actually needed effort to beat that pathetic bandit," Piccolo sneered. "Being surprised that I needed a fraction of my power to beat him doesn't change that I only used a fraction."

"More words," Daisuke spat. "You're just like your father, and just like him I'll stop you."

"We'll see."

Beneath them, Goku prepared to renew the offensive. With a blink of an eye, he rushed forwards and slammed his elbow towards Hero's torso, immediately following up with a barrage of powerful strikes. Despite his ceaseless attack, every single blow was deflected and turned aside by his opponent, an honestly interested expression on his face. The final attack, a strong punch towards Hero's abdomen, was blocked with crossed arms and sent Hero skidding back several feet.

"You're amazing Hero," Goku said, panting from exertion. "To have stopped that so completely..."

"You've become much stronger," Hero commented. "But it's time we finished this." Barely a moment after the words left his mouth, Hero charged forwards. He threw a punch at Goku's face that the black-haired fighter barely managed to block. Immediately Hero followed up with planting a knee in Goku's torso, causing him to double over.

Grabbing Goku's neck with one hand, Hero hurled his stunned opponent out of the ring at high speed. Moments before he would crash into the wall surrounding the arena, Goku caught himself in the air and sped back towards the stage. Even as he landed, Goku placed his hands in the Kamehameha position and started charging an attack. "I'm stopping you here, Hero!"

Hero opened his palms and put his hands above his head, palms facing Goku and fingers in opposite directions. "I won't let even you stand in my way Goku," he told him. Yellow energy began to charge in his hands.

Above, Piccolo gritted his teeth. "That attack…" he thought to himself.

"Ka-me-ha-me… ha!" Goku screamed, and the wave burst from his hands towards Hero.

"Masenko!" Hero countered, a large beam of yellow Ki plunging forth to meet the Kamehameha. The two beams collided with a roar, struggling against each other. Neither attack gained ground, and both fighters began to sweat as they exerted more and more energy against the other.

"You're skilled Hero, but this is it!" Goku shouted. "Hah!" He began to focus even more energy into his Kamehameha and the beams slowly pushed back towards Hero.

"I won't let anyone stop me from fixing my mistake, not even you Goku!" Hero shouted back, raising his voice for the first time. The energy from him swelled as well, matching Goku's attack.

The clash between the beams grew brighter and brighter until a huge explosion ripped through the arena from the combined force, knocking back both fighters. The two were blown to the arena floor where both lay motionless. Neither stirred as the announcer began to count down. The battle… was over.

The end of the chapter

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