As Vegeta walked back to the fighters' area, he had one of the biggest smirks on his face that any of the others had ever seen.

"Alright Dad!" said Trunks, still excited. "You're going to the finals!"

"That's right," said his father. "And I'm going to win. Quite easily, at that."

"Gee," said Kakarot, "I didn't expect you to win."

"Please. You of all people should know that power is far from the only factor in a fight, especially one with rules."

Vegeta leaned against the wall. Mirai, on an impulse, ducked outside for a couple of minutes, then returned.

He said, "I thought you might be interested to know that the odds are still running five-to-one against you."

The king's only response was to snicker evilly.

***

In his private quarters, Mr. Satan was pacing nervously. He hadn't anticipated this. He had gambled everything on Buu being his opponent in the final round.

He had apparently lost that gamble.

From what he knew of Vegeta, he was a very serious fighter who expected no quarter and gave none. There would be no bargaining with him.

He paced a few more minutes, until he saw that it was almost time. Then he straightened himself up, put on a confident expression, and started on his way to the ring.

All martial artists knew how to handle losses, and he was no exception; not even his fighting record was perfect. If you lost, you accepted it and moved on.

***

Having finally recovered from their spasmodic bouts of laughter, Gohan and Videl were able to talk again.

"Do we even need to watch this?" said Gohan. "Or can we just watch it on the news later?"

"What, and miss seeing my dad get humiliated on live TV? No way!"

***

Outwardly, the Budokai Announcer kept up his look of professionalism. But inwardly he was cheering.

He looked at his watch. It was time to begin.

"Alright, martial arts fans! This has been one of the best Tenka'ichi Budokai's ever! The best fighters from the world over assembled here today, but now there's just two left! Only the best of the best make it this far, and here they are! Mr. Satan and Vegeta Briefs!"

The two warriors walked into the ring. Time seemed to slow down.

The predominent sound in the arena was the chant from the crowd of "MR. SATAN! MR. SATAN!" However, to his surprise, Vegeta could hear a small minority shouting out his name. And it wasn't just his family, but ordinary spectators. He didn't know if they actually liked him, if they just wanted to see Mr. Satan lose, or if they had simply placed bets on him, but they were cheering for him nevertheless. It felt oddly...good.

He looked at his opponent. Mr. Satan. He was wearing his usual confident expression, but Vegeta knew that inside he was shaking.

"Let the final round of the 26th Tenka'ichi Budokai...BEGIN!"