~Chapter 10: "Demon Junior"~
Goku paused from his struggles with Chichi to warn me about my next opponent. He seemed really serious. I started wondering just what it was about this guy. I was really nervous as I stepped into the ring. Everyone had been acting weird around this Demon Junior guy, and I didn't know what to expect. He floated into the ring in typical badass villain form. What a showoff. He called me a weakling and a worm, which made me bristle a bit. I made up my mind to put everything into that fight. All of the training I'd done for the past three years couldn't have been for nothing. As it turns out, it wasn't for nothing - my training probably saved my life that day.
Since Demon Junior was being so disrespectful, I went ahead and pulled out my desperation move right after the word go. I pulled my arms to my sides and focused my ki, then let loose with a Double Tsuihikidan. He laughed at my attack and dodged it easily, which was just what I'd planned on. I directed the blasts to follow him and hit him from behind. He destroyed them with blasts from his eyes, but while he was busy with that, I leapt up and punched him in the face hard. Damn, that felt good. He started to fall out of the ring, but he stopped in midair. That was a bit upsetting, but I hadn't really expected him to go out that easily. I rushed at him again, and he dodged to the side, but I turned on a dime and was on him again immediately. I was determined to follow him wherever he went. I even leapt after him when he took to the sky, which was a bit of a mistake as it let him kick me aside easily. I heard shouts of "ring out", but I wasn't going to go down that easily either. I stopped myself in midair with Chaozu's technique and landed to face my opponent again. The audience went nuts.
"Demon Junior" smiled at me and said that he was very impressed by my technique and endurance. What, respect? Pinch me.
He had a really intense smirk about him. "To apologize for calling you a weakling," he said, "I'll show you some of my true strength." He looked like he meant business. My heart was going 100 miles per hour, but I tried to remain calm. He faced me confidently for a moment before pressing his attack, and I think that it was then that I first started to realize just who I was really fighting. The green skin, the elfin features, it couldn't be just a coincidence. The guy looked way too much like a younger version of Piccolo. Yeah, I knew what Piccolo looked like. I'd seen tons of pictures. I swallowed my anxiety and tried to prepare for whatever he planned to throw at me next. I really hoped that I wouldn't die.
I'd expected something powerful, but I really wasn't prepared for what Piccolo(for it was he) did to me next. From where he was standing, he reached out and stretched his arm across the ring to grab me. Yeeeeeek. That was just disgusting and scary. He grabbed my leg and pulled me screaming across the ring into a punch, and that was no normal punch, it was powered up. That was the first time I was really hit by a powered up attack, and it hurt like hell. He sent me hurtling toward the wall, but I managed to right myself and come back at him. It was hopeless, though: he just ducked and kicked me high into the air. I was high above the stadium before I was even self-aware again. My brain felt like it was rattling around inside my head, and I knew that I couldn't take much more, so I prepared a Kamehameha and hoped for a miracle. They say that once you start hoping for miracles, it's all over. In that case, it was. I blasted a huge Kamehameha straight into Piccolo's after-image, and he went behind me and just pounded me. He sent me down toward the ground with such force that I made a dent in the ring. I thought that I would black out as I fell, and I barely managed to clench my muscles and raise my ki to protect myself before I hit. Still, I felt a sickening crunch as I hit the ground so hard that I actually bounced and hit again.
You could've heard a pin drop in the stands. They wouldn't even start the count. I heard my friends cry out, and Piccolo said something about being disqualified for killing me. I guess I must've hit the ground harder than I'd even realized. Everyone seemed so convinced that I was dead that, for a moment, I worried that I might actually be dead. I was made of a bit tougher stuff than everyone took me for, though. I strained my muscles to bring myself, wavering, back to my feet. I opened my eyes, but it was no good; the world was a blur. A cheer went up through the crowd as the announcer declared that I was back up, but there's no way that I could've fought any more, so I surrendered. Even though I lost, that match was kind of a victory for me. I strode confidently away from the ring, or at least as confidently as I could with Goku half-carrying me, and waved to the crowd. That's the only standing ovation I've ever gotten at the Tenka'ichi Budôkai. I was so proud that I waited until I was out of the crowd's sight to cough up blood and marvel at how close I'd come to being killed. Getting beat up really isn't fun. Luckily, I still had a senzu, and that helped me recover quite a bit.
As tough as my fight was, I really don't envy Yamucha for having gone through the one that came after it. At first, it seemed like he was lucky to end up with Shen. He looked like a harmless old guy, and we certainly hadn't seen him do anything in the qualifiers to give us the idea that he might be any stronger than he looked. Yamucha smiled at Goku and I as he walked into the ring and gave us a helpless shrug; I imagine that his mind was really more on what he'd do against Demon Junior than on the coming fight. He said, "I'll end this quickly." Poor Yamucha.
If my fight was something of a self-esteem boost, Yamucha's was the complete opposite, at least at the start. Shen came at him with one of the most ridiculous stances I've ever seen, rivaled only by those clowns called the Ginyu force. The audience probably thought that the match had been staged for comedic purposes. Laughter roared through the stadium, and it only got louder when Shen tried to strike Yamucha, but appeared to trip and accidentally kick him in the stomach, causing him to wince in pain. Goku and I didn't laugh. Goku seemed to sense something strange in the old man, and I thought that it was odd that a blow like that would damage someone as formidable as Yamucha that much. The match just got more embarrassing, as Yamucha tried to kick Shen and he ducked. His head ended up hitting Yamucha below the belt, if you catch my drift. I felt sorry for my friend, but I have to admit that it was funny. Even I was laughing as Yamucha struggled to gather himself after that.
"I think Yamucha deserves some applause for getting up after that!" said the announcer, and there was more laughter mixed with light applause. Man, Yamucha went ballistic. He took martial arts pretty seriously, and it really must have steamed him to be laughed at like that. He seemed determined to fight seriously after that, and he got ready for a serious offensive. That's when Shen came at him like a bolt of lightning and hit him so fast that we could barely see it, knocking him over.
The laughter stopped. Something serious was happening here.
All eyes were on the mysterious Shen, especially Yamucha's as he climbed back to his feet. Yamucha attacked Shen again, but it was no good - he was blocked and countered at every turn. Yamucha was powerless against him. It was pretty bizarre. I could have sworn I even heard Shen giving Yamucha tips on his fighting technique as they fought. I just couldn't believe how strong Yamucha's opponent was. I guess that I, of all people, should've known that you can't really judge someone's strength by their appearance - I've been on the recieving end of that mistake often enough. Goku seemed to be struggling to figure out who this guy was. Shen told Yamucha a lot of stuff, but I didn't hear it. What I remember is Yamucha's last attempt. He suddenly appeared confident again, and he said that he'd had a move prepared in case he found himself in danger, but he didn't think he'd have to use it so early. He brought one hand upward, palm up, and gripped its wrist with his other hand. I saw him concentrating his ki, and I was startled to see a small, concentrated ball of ki slide out of his hand and into his cupped palm. I'd never seen such a move before. I don't know if Yamucha invented it, but the Sokidan is a very clever move. It isn't all that powerful, but it's amazingly fast and manuverable. He threw it at Shen, who dodged, and then Yamucha made a series of precise finger movements that made the ball change direction and head for him again. It was awesome. The Sokidan went straight through the ring. Shen congratulated him on an excellent technique, but Yamucha wasn't done. The Sokidan then actually came up from under the ring and hit Shen in the chin. That move really shocked us all. Yamucha didn't have long to celebrate, though, because Shen changed his direction and came back at Yamucha, hitting him with a chop that knocked him out of the ring. It took the announcer a moment to realize what was going on and declare the winner. I was just in a state of shock over the strength of Shen. I felt sorry for Yamucha, he was never in that match.
Immediately after that, it was time for Tenshinhan versus Goku again. I was excited and maybe a bit scared to see that match. Both Goku and Tenshinhan seemed to have improved drastically from the last tournament. It was an action-filled match; the two engaged quickly and didn't disappoint. They exchanged countless blows in the space of seconds. Tenshinhan fired a ki blast at Goku, but he hit it back at him; Tenshinhan deflected it. I folded my arms, smiled, and felt very, very outclassed as I watched them zip around. At one point they started moving so quickly that only a few of us could follow them. I did, and they looked about even. When they stopped for a break, though, I saw that they weren't so even after all. After all of that hectic movement, Tenshinhan was understandably drained, but Goku hadn't broken a sweat. It looked like Goku had the definite advantage. Tenshinhan had something up his sleeve, though: more speed. As fast as they'd been going, after that he moved even faster. I could barely follow them, but I saw Tenshinhan land several powerful blows on Goku. He was moving much more quickly than Goku. When they stopped, Tenshinhan confidently declared that he'd been moving slower to observe Goku, and that he was much faster than him. It looked like he was right. I was kind of disappointed to see Goku outclassed; I'd expected a lot out of him. I was right to do so.
Goku rather politely asked Tenshinhan if he could stop to remove some articles of clothing. No big surprise there - it was pretty hot at the Tenka'ichi Budôkai that day. However, when Goku removed his undershirt, it fell to the ground with a loud thud and cracked the ground. He took off his boots and armbands too, with similar result. Yamucha and I entered the ring to pick up Goku's stuff for him, and we couldn't believe our senses. The boots, shirt, and armbands must have weighed 250 pounds in total. I was strong, so lifting them was no problem, but moving in them? Forget it. It took a moment for the facts to sink in - Goku had been fighting in these clothes for the entire tournament. And if he'd been moving that quickly with 250 extra pounds... Yamucha, Tenshinhan and I all looked at Goku in horror and awe. He was jumping around and saying that he felt really light. "So that's what godly training does," I thought. I thought that if I had one more surprise in that tournament I'd be in danger of dying from shock. Of course, things were barely getting started.
It was time to feel sorry for Tenshinhan after that. Goku was insanely fast without the weighted clothes, and he demonstrated by removing Tenshinhan's belt without his even noticing. Yikes. Tenshinhan shouted that he had a super powerful attack to try, and that Goku'd better watch out, but it was hard to take him seriously while he was trying to pull his pants up. He he. I have to admit, though, Tenshinhan's attack was surprising. He split into four bodies. Yes, you read that correctly. At first, I thought that they were just after-images, but they were all real. It wasn't like he made clones of himself, either: the four acted under one consciousness, they were all Tenshinhan. I still have no idea how Tenshinhan did stuff like that. Tenshinhan - it feels so weird saying this - Tenshinhan stood at the four corners of the ring and faced Goku. Then Tenshinhan's bodies each shot a ki blast at Goku. The only way he had to escape was up, so he took it. Then Tenshinhan - all of him - looked up and blasted Goku with four beams from his third eyes.. er, well, I guess it wouldn't really be his third... Oh, screw it. You know what I mean. The attack hit Goku and it looked as if another one would finish him, but Goku still seemed confident. He flashed that famous smile of his and said that he'd found two flaws.
"Ha! Two flaws? Stop lying! I'll be victorious!" A bit of Tenshinhan's old persona shining through his polite reformedness there.
Goku grinned at him, or at least the quarter of him that was doing the talking. "Wanna try me?"
Tenshinhan did. The whole scene repeated itself - Tenshinhan at the corners, the ki blasts, Goku jumped, but this time Goku did something different. He used the Taiyoken, blinding Tenshinhan along with most of the crowd. According to Goku, that was Tenshinhan's first flaw - his eyes were too good. Since Tenshinhan had good eyes, he relied on them to locate his opponent. That seemed like pretty bizarre logic to me - didn't everyone? - but Goku seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He knew what Tenshinhan was doing without even looking at him. Goku proceeded to knock all four Tenshinhan out of the ring quickly. The second flaw was that Tenshinhan had to split his strength among his bodies. I couldn't believe that Goku had figured out such a complicated technique so quickly. Even more alarming, Goku didn't look tired at all after that fight. I thought back for a moment to my ambition to give Goku a good fight, and I laughed at it. I felt like I was less than nothing. Tenshinhan visited with Yamucha and I for a second, and he said that he was sure that that hadn't even been Goku's real strength. I began to wonder if I was dreaming.
The second semi-final was Demon Junior versus Shen. Shen almost didn't come out in time because he was talking to Goku. I thought that that was weird - what could he and Goku possibly have to talk about? I didn't have to wait long to find out...
To say that Shen versus Demon Junior was not your typical fight is a tremendous understatement. Piccolo looked confident at first, and Shen had shed the goofy act he'd put on for most of the tournament. Right at the start, Shen did something - I'm really not sure what - and generated a blast almost like the Kikouhou. Everyone in the stadium was thrown back by the force of the blast. I looked at Yamucha. No wonder he'd lost. Piccolo was thrown high into the sky and stopped himself in midair. Shen came after him, and he barely dodged a giant Kamehameha-like blast from Piccolo. It landed in the ocean with a tremendous splash that created waves that traveled all the way to the mainland. Yamucha looked back at me. No wonder I'd lost. We were way out of our league at that tournament.
The fight continued intensely for a short while. They both looked as if they were fighting for something much more important than a tournament match. When they stopped, they spoke to each other in some strange language. It was probably Namekian, but no one knew what that was then. They had an awfully heated discussion that we couldn't understand, and then Shen set down a tiny jar. I didn't realize what he was doing with it until he shouted "Mafuba". I'd heard of the attack - it was what Muten Roshi's master had used to imprison Piccolo, and it usually used up all of the user's energy and killed them. I didn't really have time to wonder why anyone would use a move like that at a tournament or how Shen knew it. I was overwhelmed by the Mafuba.
It's hard to describe Mafuba. The whole fabric of reality seems to distort into a swirl. It's supposed to hit the target and stretch them out into the spiral, imprisoning them in a container, but Piccolo wasn't caught by it. He reversed the Mafuba and started sucking up Shen. It was very frightening. Just before Shen was sucked up, something that looked exactly like the old Piccolo emerged from him and was sucked up in his place. Mister "Shen" dropped to the ground. After the air cleared, the announcer shrugged and started a ten count. Luckily for whoever that Shen guy really was, he didn't get up in time and the match went to Demon Junior. When Shen got up, he seemed very confused and embarrassed to be where he was and ran out of the ring. Meanwhile, Piccolo went up to Goku and swallowed the tiny jar. That made Goku very angry, but I was just confused.
There was a break before the final, and Goku explained everything to us, including Muten Roshi who came back to meet with us, starting with the fact that Demon Junior was Piccolo. I groaned. I'd been suspecting that, but I'd really been hoping that it wasn't true. I was very afraid then for my own life and for the entire world. According to Goku, Piccolo had laid an egg just before dying, and the creature born from it was identical to him - a Piccolo Junior, who was much stronger than the original. Goku let another bomb drop - "Shen" had been Kami-sama fighting in a human's body, and now he was trapped in that jar that Piccolo'd swallowed. The bad news just wouldn't stop coming: Apparently Piccolo and Kami-sama had once been the same person, but had split, which meant that if Piccolo was killed, Kami-sama would also die. I was crushed. If Kami had failed against him - and I was disturbed by the very concept of Kami failing - what hope did we have? No matter which way I looked at it, the answer came up, "None whatsoever." I had a waking nightmare of Piccolo killing us all and turning the world into a hellish demon's land. Before I could despair completely, though, I noticed that something didn't fit in my vision. It was Goku. I thought back to how powerless Tenshinhan had been against Goku, and how ludicrously strong we'd thought he was. I think everyone was following the same line of thought, because pretty soon we were all facing Goku. Goku seemed perfectly fine assuming the role of hero again. I was still shaking like a leaf inwardly. All of the world's hopes were pinned on Goku, there was nothing else. Viewed in that light, everything looks different. Goku was 19 years old then, but I guess that Saiyans age more slowly, because he only looked about 15, and he frankly wasn't all that impressive to look at. I had faith in Goku, but I can't say I had utter faith. He didn't help. I asked him if he was sure he could beat Piccolo, and he dutifully informed me that he wasn't sure at all. Eeeek. Piccolo had apparently been listening to our conversation, and he stopped by to gloat at us. My spirit was shattered. Goku was all that there was between that situation and hell on Earth.
It was torture just watching the fighters step into the ring. The whole scene was an obscene mockery - the announcer hyped up the match, and the audience cheered. I wanted to scream. How could they be so blind? None of them knew just what was at stake.
The match started, and Piccolo and Goku both fought as though they were out for blood. The match was a blur. Goku was strong, but Piccolo was terrifying. They blocked each other's blows for a while, but Piccolo broke through Goku's defense. Every time Piccolo hit him, it felt like someone had jabbed a knife into me. They seperated and Piccolo came behind Goku, but Goku was watching with something other than his eyes again, and he kicked him. Piccolo tried the arm-extension thing that he'd used on me, but Goku used it against him and threw him up into the air. Goku came after him, but Piccolo surprised him and hit him with a large ki blast. After that, Goku was at his mercy. He threw more than a dozen blasts into Goku, and they drilled him into the ground, making a crater. Goku didn't get up. It felt as if all hope was lost. "What fools we've been," I thought. "Goku is an awesome martial artist, but Piccolo is a monster. Now all hope is gone, and it was so easy for Piccolo." I felt the nightmare return as Piccolo landed and the announcer, a bit shaken but still oblivious, started the count. But then Piccolo told him to stop, and Goku got up.
Goku laughed. "So you knew I wasn't beaten, huh?"
I could've had a heart attack. Goku'd been pulling his let-the-bad-guy-beat-him-up crap again. I really wish he wouldn't do that, it messes with people's minds. He smiled and seemed to actually be enjoying himself. What was he, insane?
When they engaged again, they displayed even more power than before. They seemed about even. Both of them were very resourceful. Goku kicked Piccolo before he could use his eye-beams, and when Goku tried to confuse Piccolo by moving so fast that he disappeared, Piccolo knew exactly where he was and hit him hard. Goku flew toward us from the blow, but we never saw him land. At that exact moment, he was behind Piccolo again, and he kicked him. That was when things got out of control. Piccolo got very angry and floated above the ring, preparing to destroy the entire stadium.
Goku didn't look like he was having fun anymore. "Run away!" he screamed, and he tried to jump to somewhere where the blast wouldn't hit the crowd. Piccolo launched an enormous Kamehameha-like blast, and Goku barely managed to divert its direction. it crashed into a nearby mountain and made a huge explosion that would have killed us all. I don't know why the audience didn't start fleeing then. Maybe they felt stunned. Goku prepared to use a powered-up version of the Kamehameha in retaliation, but Muten Roshi yelled for him to stop because if Piccolo was killed then Kami would die as well. That was frustrating. We'd almost forgotten about that. Piccolo laughed at our inaction and said that he'd massacre everyone in the stadium. He meant it, and Goku was afraid to do anything. Someone had to do something, and quick. We didn't want Kami-sama to die... but then I remembered the dragon balls. I yelled at Goku that we could just use the dragon balls to resurrect Kami afterward. I didn't know if that was true, but I had to say something before Piccolo blasted us all into the next dimension. That assurance gave Goku his confidence back, and he countered another enormous blast from Piccolo with an even bigger Kamehameha. It was a truely awe-inspiring Kamehameha. It was much thicker around than Goku himself. It tore through Piccolo's blast like nothing and blasted Piccolo. It didn't kill him, though. What it did do was destroy his clothing. When he landed again, the audience slowly started to recognize him... his antannae were visible now. Slowly, murmurs of "he looks like piccolo" spread through the crowd. I guess Piccolo heard them.
"Of course I look like Piccolo," he shouted, "I am Piccolo's replicate!"
The crowd was silent for a moment, then everyone stampeded toward the exits. The stadium was empty within a minute except for the fighters, Yamucha, Tenshinhan, Muten Roshi, Bulma, Oolong, Pu'ar, Lunch, me, and the announcer, who kept on announcing the match. What dedication.
Piccolo's next move was just... well, he groaned a lot, and I thought that he was just focusing his ki, but then he became gigantic. I mean, huge. His foot was the size of Goku. Needless to say, Goku had a hard time against him. Tenshinhan ran to help him, but Goku stopped him because he didn't want to be disqualified. That's right, he was still thinking about the match. If I were the one playing the hero that day, I would probably have even said, "Tenshinhan, get the hell over here and help me!", let alone refuse his help. I guess that's why Goku's the hero. Goku did manage to recover after that and do pretty well against giant Piccolo. Goku said that Piccolo's height didn't bother him at all, but maybe if he were even taller it would. I didn't realize that Goku had something up his sleeve. As if on cue, Piccolo got even bigger, and Goku jumped down his throat. Disgusting, I know, but smart. He came out again with the jar and tossed it to Tenshinhan, who set Kami-sama free.
It was a bit unnerving to have Kami-sama standing next to me, especially since he looked exactly like the original Piccolo. He became a spectator just like the rest of us. Piccolo, angered by Goku's ruse, shrank back to normal size and attacked him again. I think it's worth mentioning that Goku preformed a kamehameha with his feet. That must have been difficult to do. Piccolo blasted Goku and was helpless as Piccolo moved in to punch him, but Kami-sama got in the way and blocked the punch. He told Goku that they'd kill him together, but Goku refused his help too. He still wanted to win the match, which is admirable but stupid. Goku might have gotten us all killed with that act. Piccolo said that our help would do no good anyway, but he was only saying that because he was afraid we'd gang up on him. It's true that we were nowhere near Piccolo in power, but all of us combined with Goku could've defeated him easily. Sometimes pride can be your real worst enemy. Goku told Kami-sama to back off, though, saying that he was sure now that he could win. He reluctantly agreed, and we all decided not to interfere. Goku'd already saved the world once, so he had the right to be stubborn, we supposed.
Goku did good after that, and we started to feel confident that he'd win. Goku made Piccolo's own homing blast hit him, blowing off his arm. That seemed like a win for Goku, but Piccolo just grew it back. That made him angry. That was when Piccolo used his ultimate attack. He started charging it, and just the waves of power that he emenated while preparing it practically knocked us over. Goku got nervous and told us to run away, and he'd try to resist it. We tried to get him to run away too, but he was still being bull-headed about the tournament final. Piccolo finished charging his attack while we were arguing. Some quick thinking from Tenshinhan then probably saved all of our lives. He blasted a Kikouhou into the ground, making a bunker that we could hide in. Kami-sama didn't want to come, but Kushami pushed him. Only Kushami would have the audacity to push Kami. I think that she even called him a dumbass. Oi.
Piccolo's attack was an enormous blast. It sent up a mushroom cloud that covered the whole island, and it ripped up nearby buildings and sent them flying, not to mention eradicating the ring. We could really feel the blast from where we were, and as soon as it was over, I had to get out of there. I was really worried about Goku. I popped my head up to the surface and looked - Goku had resisted the attack. Phew. That attack was the best that Piccolo had. It was enormous, and to be honest, I thought that I'd never live to see anything to top it. I couldn't have known that our enemies in the future would be so powerful that they could have resisted that blast by exhaling. I didn't dream that we'd meet foes that destroyed planets. You know, it's almost funny to think of that attack now, and how terrifying it was. I could walk outside right now and produce something that would make it look like a firecracker. Actually, it isn't that funny. To tell you the truth, it leaves a sick feeling in my stomach. Every now and then I just get this feeling that nobody deserves to be so powerful, not me and certainly not our foes. It just isn't right, somehow.
Anyway, after that Goku had the utmost confidence that he'd win. Piccolo was terrified. Goku beat him up badly and drove him into the ground with a huge Kamehameha. We finally let ourselves feel relief. There was no way Piccolo was getting up from that. We'd have been convinced that he was dead if Kami-sama hadn't still been with us. For Goku's sake, the announcer started the ten count. We were all really happy. Goku even gave us a thumbs-up. Then, on "9", Piccolo leapt up and blasted a hole straight through Goku's right shoulder. Goku screamed as the blood pooled around him and he started coughing up blood. It was a terrible sight. Piccolo went up to Goku and crushed his arm. Tenshinhan, Yamucha and I ran up to help him, but Piccolo blasted us back and kept attacking the helpless Goku. Goku actually tried to fight back a little bit, but he was losing too much blood. Piccolo systematically broke all of Goku's limbs. It was the cruelest sight I'd ever seen. Piccolo was just a monster. He flew up to deliver the final blow. He was going to kill Goku.
Panicking, Kami-sama told Tenshinhan to kill him, so that Piccolo would die too. Poor Tenshinhan, imagine having Kami ask you to kill him. But Tenshinhan was an assassin at one time, and he would have done it, but Goku weakly called out.
"No, don't do that... I can still win..."
Poor Goku, he'd finally lost it. He couldn't even move, much less win. Piccolo shot one last ki blast at Goku, and it left nothing but a crater where he'd been. We actually thought that Goku was dead. It was terrible. Piccolo turned on us, and said that he'd kill us too. We started to prepare to fight him when we saw something. Up, in the sky... Of course it was Goku. He was flying. He did the only thing that he could still do, which was head-butt Piccolo. I guess Piccolo was pretty weak at that point, because it knocked him out. Goku landed on his front, unable to move. You won't believe what he said next.
"Judge... Piccolo is out of the ring, isn't he?"
The 23rd Tenka'ichi Budôkai was nothing but a memory at this point, but it was still important to Goku. The announcer summoned up his excitement and declared Goku the champion. I think that's the hardest anyone's ever worked for 500,000 stinkin' zenii.
--END OF CHAPTER TEN--