Chapter Fourteen

Krillin rubbed his shaven head as he walked from the podium to the layered stone platform. As expected, a pool of sweat drenched his hand when he looked down at them afterwards. Why were they so wet… and shaking? He couldn't be nervous could he? C-Could he?

The small martial artist felt something rumbling in his stomach as he walked alongside his first opponent, the barbaric Bacterian. They weren't butterflies though, they were more like maggots coming from the dumpster that was Bacterian. The barbarian stood nearly twice as tall as Krillin and double that in width. His body was covered in unkempt black hair and his teeth were the color of cheese. As the foe walked onto the stage and towards the crowd, everyone in attendance pinched their noses as the foul odor he gave off entered their nostrils.

"In the left corner of the arena we have Krillin, one of the two students of the legendary Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi, preparing to face off against his opponent for the first match of the day," The blonde announcer began, introducing the short orange boy to the crowd in excitement. "At only 13 enough, yes you heard me right, thirteen, Krillin just so happens to be the youngest contestant we've ever had to make it to the finals! Though he may seem like the underdog, I'm willing to bet money our boy Krillin may be just as strong as some of his elder participants."

The crowd roared in excitement towards Krillin, praising him and some 'Wow, he's so small' comments were made. Internally, Krillin cheered at this and his nerves eased but on the exterior, the Turtle student merely ignored the crowd's jeers and cheers. Slowfully taking a chestful of air, he quickly dropped into the Kame fighting stance that the Turtle Hermit taught him months earlier.

"In the not far enough corner, we have the six feet, eleven inches tall… four hundred and thirty three pound behemoth, Bacterian!" The announcer added, gagging as wiping his wilting eyes through his lenses. "Rumors have it that he has never showered or even worse, brushed his teeth! Now, I don't think I speak for just myself when I say that it's safe to say that those rumors must be true!" He commentated, giggling at himself through the microphone at his joke.

"I'd rather Krillin face this guy than me," Yamcha retorted, still pinching his nose. If this was how Bacterian smelt from a distance, the bandit felt terrible for what Krillin had to be going through. "You think your guy can beat that chump?"

"The second Krillin touches him, this thing's going to be over," Raditz replied to the scarred bandit, taking note of each of the finalists' power levels at the start of this. Bacterian was by far the weakest, with a power rating of just 31. "Let's just hope he remembers this isn't me and doesn't knock him through a couple of walls."

"Ready… fight!" The tournament announcer cried through the speaker. Bickering between which fighter would come out on top in the fight settled as the match came to a start and the crowd watched on in anticipation.

The fierce and filthy giant that was Bacterian instantly lunged forward in pursuit, charging his foe as their battle came to a start. Reaching the student of Roshi, the beastly man heaved an enormous fist directly at the small boy before him in hopes of starting off the fight on a good note. Unfortunately for the foul behemoth, Krillin effortlessly dodged the blow with his newfound swiftness. The small monk had moved with such speed that he had almost misstepped off the ring in a single bound. Marveling at the speed he looked forward and regained his composure, he could do this!

"Krillin has managed to dodge that first blow with almost unreal speed," The tournament announcer exclaimed. "This may be our first fight, but can it be the fight of the night?"

Back in the arena, Krillin easily blocked another of his opponent's strikes without much effort. Blocking yet another wild cross to the chest,the monk felt his opponent's fingers jam as a shocked expression rang through the man's face. Taking advantage of the shock on Bacterian's face, he followed up his defensive performance with a swift and well placed counterattack, launching a booted foot at an opening at the base of the barbarian's jaw. Packed with so much strength that Krillin hadn't yet gotten used to dispersing, the giant's head shot upwards and his neck nearly snapped as a shot of saliva shot from his mouth.

Bacterian panted as he grimaced in full realization of the power the little boy was packing. Intending on pressing forward with his assault, Krillin was stopped midair as he inhaled a breath of rancid air. Coughing in agony, the boy was unable to see or move out of the way of one of Bacterian's punches, this one a jab that shot right into the monk's gut. As the large fist penetrated his abs, Krillin's eyes widened in shock as his whole intestinal tract flared at the force. His face then dropped as the rancid smell of Bacterian's belch entered his face, using the foul stench his body gave off perfectly to his advantage.

"Krillin, how about you hurry and finish him off?" Raditz demanded his partner, irritated at how his training partner was handling the match. He had seen him fare better than this against opponents twice as strong in him and Roshi. Why was the boy letting his nerves get the better of him? "You know you're stronger than him, get this over with so I can stretch my legs!"

"Bacterian has finally cornered young Krillin. Things aren't looking all too well for our young competitor," The announcer stated, watching in both admiration and anticipation as the putrid giant closed his smaller opponent in the corner of the ring. "Will he finish this fight or will Krillin find a way to triumph over his foul-smelling opponent against all odds?"

"How the hell am I supposed to fight this guy with that reeking odor of his?" Krillin harshly questioned the Saiyan, still stepping another few inches back with each of Bacterian's towering feet that seemed to slam down a bit closer to the corner of the arena, hoping to trap the young warrior in the farthest corner of the ring. "If you haven't really noticed… he REALLY does stink!" The boy added, easily managing to dodge another attempted jab.

'Dammit Krillin…' Raditz thought to himself, watching as Krillin naturally forgot his most distinguished and recognized feature… the lack of a nose, unlike anyone else the Saiyan knew. "Krillin… if you haven't really noticed yet, you don't even have a nose in the first place! I honestly have no idea how you're managing to smell that disgustingly filthy bastard in the first place." The Saiyan harshly growled, wanting Krillin to finish off his match already. "Just hit him with everything you've got."

At that precise moment, Raditz's words sunk deep into Krillin's mind… causing the realization to finally hit him. Mentally slapping himself for his own ignorance, Krillin raced towards his opponent, charging through the smokescreen of nose writhing odor seemingly unaffected. The martial artist dodged a desperately launched punch fired by the giant that was Bacterian before he suddenly hopped into the air, his foot aimed directly at Bacterian's large nose. Within the next few seconds Krillin had violently smashed his foot into the filthy Earthling's face, mercilessly bloodying his face as well as knocking him down tremendously hard on the tiled battle arena.

As the struggling martial artist slowly pulled himself up, Krillin aimed his open palm exactly where the man stood, a small, expanding ball of thundering ki rapidly charging in his hands. Once Bacterian had managed to push himself off of the ground, his eyes immediately caught sight of Krillin's growing blast of energy for just a split second before it was fired at his large body, striking him head on. As soon as the ball of ki managed to connect with Bacterian's plump body, a light explosion knocked him unconscious, down for the count.

"One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… ten!" The sunglasses wearing tournament announcer suddenly began to count out, leaving Bacterian the allowed time to stand back up. After the countdown had been completed, the disgusting giant of a man still lie completely knocked out on the cold marbled tournament ring, signifying that he had just lost the first match of the day. "It appears that Krillin is our winner!"

"How ya like me now?" Krillin smirked, hopping off of the arena to meet the impressed looks bestowed upon Yamcha's and Master Roshi's faces, as well as the emotionless, stoic look generally bestowed upon the Saiyan that was Raditz's face.

"You did well Krillin," Master Roshi applauded his student, only doing as much as nodding his head.

"But it did take you long enough," Raditz smugly smirked, a slight grin appearing on his face as he spoke. He liked teasing his friend… his brother in training. "Krillin… I know you could do better than that."

"I had no idea you were that strong Krillin!" Yamcha shot out, congratulating the former Orin Temple monk. "You might even stand a chance against me."

"You're easily impressed, Yam," Raditz snobbishly responded, a bit of pride engulfing his voice.

"I'll show you impressed once I beat you in the finals," Yamcha mumbled, his own pride surfacing. "I'd love to see how astonished you're going to look once that happens!"

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself," Raditz instructed the short haired Desert Bandit. "If you're planning on facing me anytime in this tournament… you're going to have to beat both the very man who trained me and also someone who's been shown to be able to hold his own against me on an everyday basis. I suggest that you go all-out in both of those battles because it's not going to be easy… and I know for a fact that both the old man and Globehead aren't going to go down without a decent fight."

"You know me… I love a good challenge or two!" Yamcha grinned, turning his attention back to the tournament announcer. He had the chance to single-handedly knock out the entire Turtle school from the tournament. Wouldn't that be quite the story?

"The second match of our tournament will begin momentarily," The announcer continued to commentate, turning to face the remaining seven combatants awaited in comfort. "We will have the legendary Turtle Hermit himself, Master Roshi, facing off against our newcomer in the orange and green uniform, the young, the fearless, Yamcha!"

Both the headband-wearing desert bandit, Yamcha, and the black gi cladded martial arts master, Muten Roshi, climbed onto the chiseled stone arena. As they walked to their corners, both fighters glared at the other the whole time, their eyes never once breaking contact as they analyzed one another down to the way they each breathed. From the sidelines, Mai and Bulma, eagerly watched as the two martial artists sunk into fighting stances.

"You think that my Bandit can win this?" Mai questioned the bluenette, holding her tongue the whole time. She knew how strong Raditz was but something told her that this old man had some strength to him too. Mai had seen how dedicated Yamcha had been to his craft, she just hoped it ended up working out in the end. "I was training with him once my leg healed but I had to give up after two days, all that is far too much for me to be doing." The raven haired woman added, admiring the lean body of her former bandit lover.

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Bulma answered with a shrug. "I haven't kept up with Raditz or Roshi these last couple of months but the last time I did, the old man was leagues ahead of Raditz and that was before Yamcha and Raditz fought for the first time. I don't want to say it'll be ugly, but I hope he dug his foot into training like he said he would last time I saw him."

"He did, this has been a dream of his forever," Mai responded, trying to hide her disappointment at the thought of all of her lover's training going down the drain this early into the experience of his life. "I'm not counting him out just yet, Yamcha's going to give you guys a show, I know it!"

"So… you're the old geezer that trained Raditz and Krillin huh?" Yamcha questioned his opponent back in the ring, stretching his legs as he awaited the announcer to call the fight. So this was the famous Turtle Hermit, was it? He wasn't what he'd expected, that much was sure, but Yamcha had beared witness to the display that Roshi had shown at Fire Mountain. Although like Krillin and Raditz, he had breezed through the preliminaries, the bandit knew that he was playing for keeps now with worthy competition in the three Turtle school fighters. "I haven't had a good fight since me and Raditz parted ways some time back… you'll be the first I test my new skills on!"

"I heard a lot about you while helping Raditz," The Turtle Hermit replied, bowing to his opponent in respect. Removing his sunglasses and putting them in his pocket, the old man stroked a finger through his white beard as he sized the desert bandit up. "You seem like you have the same potential I've seen in a few of my students. The same dedication to learning Krillin has but Raditz's grit, how about I train you after this big tournament. Maybe you can pick up something before you touch the grass?"

"Touch the grass?" Yamcha sarcastically shot, assured that he'd walk out of this fight as the victor. He'd trained so hard and frequently that he'd nearly broken himself just for this moment. The moment he'd showcase his strength to the world and finally be recognized as the fighter he was. "When I wipe your school across this arena, maybe I'll see what the big fuss is all about! It should be great learning from one of the original masters of the sacred schools."

"FIGHT!" The announcer let out suddenly, ceasing the conversation between the two fighters.

He was already fast but Raditz saw Yamcha shot forward with renewed vigor and a speed that he had to have found in training. The wolf of the desert was quick on his feet, the Saiyan could never say he wasn't. To both his and Yamcha's surprise however, Roshi easily met the fist that Yamcha shot at him with an open palm, grasping ahold of it and locking fingers with the man before thrusting his free hand forward. The young fighter braced for a punch but was pushed back by a basic kiai blast instead. He quickly recovered though, charging back towards his elderly foe. When he got in range of the hermit, Yamcha lashed out with a flurry of punches and kicks aimed towards his opponent. Sure as hell that he'd fired them at a speed only he could keep up with, the bandit frowned as he found that the superior martial artist, Roshi, was managing to stay ahead of each strike with minimal effort.

'Dammit, this is who Raditz and Krillin were dealing with? His hands are still at his side, he can't be toying with me, can he?' Yamcha said to himself, using his agility and swiftness to flip out of Roshi's range some distance away from the turtle hermit. Thinking to himself, the bandit flared his ki as he narrowed down the few choices he had. 'Let's see what he can do against my new and improved Wolf Fang Fist.'

"Yamcha, I know you're better than this! Are we dancing or are we fighting?" Master Roshi teased the bandit, mockingly keeping a straight stance where his arms were behind his back. Raditz had told him that the boy was naturally quick on his feet and that was for sure, but how did he expect to hit him if he wasn't taking into account where he'd be when Roshi moved with just as much swiftness to his step. "How about this… you get one free hit on me. I won't even try to block it. Raditz never told me that you'd be this weak." The Turtle Hermit taunted, cleverly knocking the desert bandit off of his game with his trash-talking.

"I'm going to tear you a new one," Yamcha growled, taking the bait Roshi had laid down for him. The old man smirked at his opponent, seeing a small flame spark into an inferno in the martial artist's eyes. Then the fighter shot forward with renewed energy, thoughts of just how hard he'd pushed himself past his limits the past months heavy on his mind. He hadn't trained nonstop for his journey to end here… nor to be called WEAK -that really stung! It brought back memories of each time Raditz bested him in their spars and the nights he tossed and turned in bed. Before he'd met Raditz he was always stronger than everyone he'd come across but now it seemed that no matter how hard he would train, no matter how much sweat he felt built up across his face as he pushed himself -there was always somebody faster than him. Stronger than him.

The green-shirted Earthling launched a knee directly to the hermit's chin, only for his opponent to maneuver out of the way with the swiftness of a leopard. Yamcha unthinkingly moved before he even knew what he was doing, sweeping his leg towards Roshi in hopes of catching him off guard. Though his body moved on its own accord, so had the old master's. Leaping over the attack, Master Roshi was finally caught with a mighty roundhouse kick as Yamcha caught him on the downward motion of his leap.

"See, that wasn't too hard, was it?" Roshi smiled, praising the former bandit as he groped his damaged arm to check for breaks. Swinging it afterwards to ease the numbness he felt in it, the Turtle Hermit turned back to his opponent. "Now… I believe it's my turn."

With that, the elderly martial artist launched his body at Yamcha at a speed that only Krillin, Raditz, and barely Yamcha could fathom. Appearing as a mere blur to the audience, the Turtle Hermit suddenly reappeared mere inches from the desert bandit. Roshi shot his fist into the boy's gut, issuing a large amount of pain as the bandit's eyes widened and spit shot from his mouth. Going on the offensive for the first time in the fight, the Turtle Hermit grabbed a hold of his opponent's free arm, using a combination of his own strength and the boy's momentum to flip Yamcha to his back and down hard on the stone floor of the ring. Pain shot through Yamcha's back but he recovered quickly as he needed to, rolling out of the way of a pouncing Roshi before he picked himself off of the ground.

"Man, this guy's no joke…" Yamcha mumbled to himself, ripping a piece of his gi and tying it around a cut on his forearm. Using the same arm to wipe a trickle of blood from his busted lip, the bandit felt his heart pumping through his chest. It was no wonder that Krillin and Raditz were as powerful as they were if they dealt with a guy like Roshi on a daily basis. Yamcha knew that if the boys were even nearly as strong as their master, he probably wouldn't last much longer in this tournament but he cast the thoughts aside. He still had his ace card, the Neo Wolf Fang Fist!

"WOLF FANG FIST!" The former thief barked, pouncing towards his friends' teacher. Lashing out with his signature barrage of merciless punches and claws, Yamcha's body glowed a crimson color as his aura flared behind each strike. However, just as quickly as he lashed out at his opponent, the battle hardened martial artist that was Master Roshi managed to smoothly evade each limb that shot out at him, prancing about the ring until the commotion stopped. While Yamcha stood in place, slightly panting, the Turtle Hermit remained in the same posture he'd upheld the majority of their fight, not a sign of fatigue evident in his form, face, or energy level.

"Those fighting moves of yours were big and fun to look at," Master Roshi stated from his position. "But I'm afraid that they were also just nothing more than a huge waste of your energy."

"Unbelievable!" The tournament announcer screeched from the sidelines, his eyes peeled on the outstanding match before him. "Yamcha's launched an extremely aggressive offensive powerhouse at Roshi, but somehow the Turtle Hermit managed to escape untouched!"

"Not too bad though… maybe a little bit of honing some of those skills and you'll be okay," Roshi stated, returning the glare Yamcha sent his way with his own piercing glance. "Now, allow me to present you with this refreshing winter breeze." The Turtle Hermit added afterwards, surrounding his hand in a collection of ki and then simply clapping them together. As he thrust his palms forward, an enormous amount of kiai formed into a vicious burst of wind towards the man's foe. Although the green gi fighter had tried his best to withstand it, the kiai cannon had been packed with more than enough of the Turtle Hermit's energy to not only sweep Yamcha off of his feet, but also carry the once long haired warrior out of the ring and lightly onto the freshly cut blades of grass below, signifying that the battle had now been concluded and that Yamcha had just lost the match between himself and Master Roshi. "How'd you like that? Wasn't it pretty cool… haha?" The Turtle Hermit mocked, walking over to where Yamcha sat on the grass.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Yamcha has finally landed outside of the ring!" The tournament commentator announced as the crowd roared wildly around him. "That means that Master Roshi is the victor of this amazing match! He will now go on to face his own student, Krillin, in the semifinals!"

"You fought pretty well," The Turtle Hermit applauded Yamcha, helping the former bandit onto his feet. Peeping the sad expression on the defeated fighter's face, he added, "I am looking forward to training you. Once I fix a few things in your fighting style, I'd hate to be in the way of some of those attacks you pulled off."

"H-How was I beat so easily?" Yamcha cried, confused by his shortcomings. "I trained day in and day out for this tournament! Was it all for nothing?"

"Don't sweat it Yamcha, I can tell you've grown much stronger," Raditz pitched in, knowing that the bandit had fared much better than he had against Roshi in their first fight. "That just means you train harder and more diligently. I know the old man's going to make sure you see some more jumps… don't give up yet."

"You know what, you're right!" Yamcha laughed, his mood becoming much more energetic as he ruffled through his hair. Maybe he had lost but even with it, he had gained favorship with Master Roshi and would be his next pupil… so was it really much of a loss? "Maybe then, the two of us could have our spar?" The bandit asked his tailed friend.

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself just yet," The Saiyan Warrior smirked at the challenge. He remembered the gruel training he'd fought through the past couple of months and smiled at just how much better of a fighter his friend would be afterwards.

The two were interrupted as the female of the tournament fighters, the curly, lilac colored hair beauty that was Ranfan, revealed herself, hopping into the conversation of the males. Her voice was quite delicate, her body curve, but the tone of her voice quite cocky and arrogant.

"After I beat this Nam boy… I'm going to have to beat either a long haired guy or a dinosaur and then either an old man or a pathetic kid." Ranfan confidently smiled. "This is going to be nothing more than a walk in the park."

"Shut up woman," Raditz growled, irritated by both the fact that the lilac haired woman thought that she could easily take down three specially trained martial artists as well as that she had interrupted their conversation just to do a bit of trash talking. "You should be hoping that Nam defeats you… because once I get my hands on you," The Saiyan snickered, a teethed smirk appearing on his face. "I'm going to make sure that you don't walk for a while. You think if I punch one of your boobs hard enough, it'll pop?" The Saiyan coldly added, hoping to inspire a bit of fear into the woman's heart.

"Wait what?" The woman cried, clutching her chest as she looked up between her breasts and the Saiyan that was Raditz. She had to admit… although she was a bit terrified now, she was also turned on by the warrior's deep, yet calm voice and his muscular framework. Putting the frisky thoughts aside for the moment Ranfan added, "Is that actually possible?"

"We'll just have to find out," Raditz finished, walking away from the woman along with his three companions, Yamcha, Master Roshi, and Krillin. 'That should do the trick.'

"Wasn't that a bit… harsh?" Yamcha asked his Saiyan friend once enough distance had been created from the lilac haired woman.

"Don't take it too seriously," Raditz plainly said, his smirk still planted upon his face. "Just a bit of threatening and taunting… gets in your opponent's head and then they do stupid things. Just like the old man did to you."

"That last fight was quite entertaining wasn't it?" The announcer exclaimed, speaking from his microphone to the hyped crowd. "Now, for our next match of the day, we have two newcomers to the stage. I have no idea what to expect as Nam faces off against Ranfan!"

The next two fighters emerged, slowly walking towards and onto the arena. Ranfan, the same woman who had butted in on Raditz, was an average sized woman with a body showered in curves that rivaled even Bulma's own body. Her eyes were a fierce purple color and her hair was twisted into curls, lilac colored ones to be exact. Most of the males in the audience, especially Master Roshi, immediately began gawking over her nearly flawless body. Her clothing consisted of a pair of green sweats and a blue, slightly loose fitting tank top, which was nicely tucked into her bottoms. The other competitor, this one an Indian male, walked onto the stage just seconds after Ranfan. He wore a white turban tightly wrapped around the top of his head. His attire consisted of a bright orange one-sleeved robe with a marron colored cape drooping from behind it. The male fighter remained completely quiet, saying nothing as he promptly bowed at his opponent.

"Who do you see taking this one Master Roshi?" Krillin asked his master, who was greatly admiring the curved body of Ranfan.

'That Nam guy isn't playing around… he has to be serious!' Master Roshi thought to himself, using his mind reading ability to read Nam's mind. 'He's all kinds of serious, just like Raditz. Everyone else, besides Raditz, is fighting only for either the money or the title but this guy… he's fighting for something else. I haven't even seen him crack a single smile since I've first laid eyes on him… let me take a gaze and see what he really wants.' The Turtle Hermit continued, closing his eyes to concentrate.

Upon reading Nam's inner thoughts, Roshi saw nothing more than a barren landscape… a village where most of its inhabitants were either too thirsty or too exhausted and were practically falling over and dying. Nam had been commanded to fight in the tournament and win the money, to pay for money for a large supply of money to save his people. 'Poor guy… participating in this tournament just so that his village can have a large supply of money. Too bad he has to get through Raditz for that to happen.'

"Master…" Krillin said once again, speaking to the lost in thought Turtle Hermit. "Did you hear me?"

"Nam's got this one unless the purple haired chick has something up her sleeve." Raditz exclaimed, answering Krillin's question in place of Master Roshi. "He's the biggest threat to us besides ourselves."

"I see," Krillin nodded, turning his focus back to the match that about to begin.

"To my right, fighting in the orange and fuchsia robe, we have the ever silent Nam and to my left, wearing the blue tank top and green pants in Ranfan!" The tournament announcer announced, introducing both of the fighters to the large crowd of people that were ready to watch their fight.

"Normally, I never allow myself to strike a woman," Nam stated, speaking his first words of the day as positioned himself into a fighting stance. "But today is an exception. I must do what has to be done to provide my village with the necessary amount of water. I will not fail my family."

Ranfan was the first to move, instantly charging towards Nam. A second later, the lilac haired beauty had closed the distance between herself and the robed fighter, launching her foot at the martial artist in the form of a roundhouse kick. Nam was caught completely off-guard by the sudden strike, being struck directly in his cheek. Before he could even react, Ranfan was already delivering another strike, having stepped behind him. The female Earthling sent out another vicious blow, this one an ax handle fired directly to Nam's back, inflicting a bit more pain as well as leaving the Indian's back throbbing in a mixture of both shock and pain.

Before another one of Ranfan's hurried kicks could be launched, Nam snapped out of his daze, effortlessly hopping out of the charging woman's blows just mere seconds before another knee could collide with his gut. As soon as his bare feet landed back on the stone, Nam instantly let out a battle cry, pulling his arm back before he would strike his female opponent with a mighty, swift chop. However, a split second before any type of contact could be made, Nam was stopped mid strike as the blue eyed woman let out a terrifying squeal, albeit stunning Nam as he only slightly touched Ranfan, hoping not to do too much damage to the woman.

"Ahh!" Ranfan cried out as the incredibly weak chop struck her arm, pretending to be hurt by the strikes as a stream of fake tears exited her eyes. She knew that she couldn't win against the towering, silent martial artist fairly so she would win by any means necessary… even if it involved using her own sexy tactics and beautiful body to her own advantage. "Ouch it hurts!"

"It appears that Ranfan has collapsed in pain!" The announcer explained to the astonished crowd. "Is Nam really that powerful?"

"She's already done?" Krillin questioned, watching as the beautiful woman continued to tear up and fake cry. "He barely tapped her!"

"She's faking it," Raditz justified, seeing through the woman's plans almost immediately. "She's using the fact that she's a woman to appear defenseless and to her own advantage… hoping that Nam lets down his guard. Coward tactics,"

"You hit too hard," Ranfan continued to cry, criticizing Nam as her plan continued to work her way.

"I am sorry madam," Nam gulped, slowly letting down his guard as his face began desperately sweating out of pure embarrassment. "I did not mean to do that." He finished, beginning to shudder on his words as he approached the crying woman.

Once Nam had reached her, Ranfan instantly launched her speeding fist at the muscular martial artist, revealing that she had been faking her pain the entire time. The fist made direct contact with the man's abdomen, striking Nam incredibly hard. A slight grin eased its way upon Ranfan's pale, smooth face as Nam immediately yelped in pain from the sheer amount of force engulfed into the blow, which he continued to do for a few more seconds. Taking advantage of this, Ranfan attempted to strike her opponent with yet another punch, only for Nam to revert back to his serious phase, using his speed to meet the lilac haired woman's fist with an open palm, catching the blow midair.

"I was warned that people in the city would attempt to cloud my judgment," Nam explained to the both confused and petrified female that was his opponent. The man then positioned himself into a strict, powerful fighting stance, harshly growling, "But I swore that I would not let anything stand in the way of saving the lives of my people."

"His temper is rising… she's really going to get it now!" One of the spectators announced from the crowd, watching as Nam's veins began to pop, his teeth gnawing together as he increased his strength.

Ranfan tried to infatuate Nam once again, only for the tall warrior to strictly ignore her, hammering his slicing fist onto the ground, with his opponent dodging a devastating amount of damage with just milliseconds to spare. Without even blinking, the warrior then used his forearm to block an anger-fueled kick as well as another attempted ax handle strike. After the two would-be attacks had been evaded, Nam looked up to see that his opponent was now frantically gasping for air.

"Just one question," Ranfan immediately smirked, her arms reaching for the bottom of her blue tank top. Nam arched an eyebrow before he realized exactly what the woman was up to, his eyes instantly widening. "You think pink's a good color on me?" The lilac haired woman questioned her opponent as she slipped the shirt over her head before she also efficiently climbed out of her sweatpants, revealing her rosy pink colored undergarments, a laced bra with a matching pair of panties. Most of the males in the crowd, especially Master Roshi hollered and cat whistled at the perfectly curved body that Ranfan had exposed, with the majority of the females booing the woman.

'Whoa… she's actually amazingly hot! Even hotter than Mai!' Yamcha thought to himself, admiring the woman's skinny, yet nicely curved body in amazement. To his side, Master Roshi held his hand to his nose, hoping to contain the geyser of blood that was spewing from his nostrils. Yamcha did not bother to help out the elderly martial artist, his own face reddening with each passing second.

"Slut…" Mai grumbled under her breath from the stands, watching as Yamcha diverted all of his attention to the nearly naked woman that was Ranfan.

'Pathetic excuse for a fighter,' Raditz plainly mumbled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. Although he had to admit that the woman's body was quite an attraction, she had absolutely shattered her honor by using that sick yet sexy tactic of hers. 'If she tried that in front of a group of vicious Saiyan Warriors, they would have already ravished over her and wouldn't give another thought to raping her…'

"You tough boys are all alike," Ranfan giggled, watching as Nam let his guard down once again, his own face pinkening by the second. She continued to advance towards the tower of muscle and silence, hoping to use her exposed body to come out as a victor in not only this match… but also the entire tournament. With each step she took towards Nam, the robed Indian took his own step backwards, closing in on the edge of the tournament arena. "What's the matter Nam? Don't you like what you see?" The delicate, pleasuring voice of Ranfan taunted Nam as she drew him even closer to the edge of the ring.

"What a seductive tactic! Ranfan's undressing has just been used to nearly lure Nam out of the ring!" The tournament announcer spoke, explaining the fight to the spectators of the intensely stunning match.

'This is growing bored,' Ranfan spoke to herself as she quickly began charging towards Nam, hoping to hit him with just a single strike powerful enough to send him out of the ring.

"No… my people need me to purchase our water. I cannot allow them to die." Nam said to himself, instantly closing his eyes to block out the inappropriately attired woman. The next second Nam launched his fist directly at Ranfan, hoping to knock the woman unconscious, however his opponent's confidence fueled her now, allowing the woman to dodge the blow with less than a second to spare, striking Nam directly in the chest with her Converse-wearing foot. The strike was just what was needed to send the unbalanced body of Nam off of the ring and to the ground, signifying that he had just lost out on his chance at the 500,000 Zeni prize.

"Nam had just fallen out of the ring!" The tournament announcer announced, walking over to Ranfan. "Ranfan is our victor of this match and will go on to face the winner of our next match."

"I… I have failed my people" Nam shuddered, disappointingly walking away from the arena and out of the coliseum, only to be stopped by Master Roshi just as he was about to exit the coliseum.

"That was some swell fighting you put on there," The old master applauded the disappointed Nam.

"Thank you… but it was not enough to win over the prize money… to purchase the water needed to save my dying people." Nam responded, still looking down in a state of disappointment.

"I have something that'll help you out there," Master Roshi said, reaching into his pockets to pull out a capsule he'd gotten from Bulma. "Trust me… you wouldn't have made it past Raditz anyway so now it's just an early leave. But here, because I have read your mind I can see that you had good intentions for the prize money. In this capsule, there is a large amount of freshwater available for your village. Whenever it is empty, just fill it with more water and take it back home."

Nam hesitantly grabbed the small capsule in the Turtle Hermit's hands, looking up at Master Roshi as a grin appeared onto his face. "T-Thank you Master Roshi! Is there any way that I can repay you for such kindness?"

"None at all," The Turtle Hermit spoke. "I just wouldn't want an entire village to die out when I know I was able to prevent it. Just… go save your people and keep safe. I'm also looking forward to seeing you again one day in another of these tournaments."

"I am completely grateful Master Roshi," Nam smiled, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "Thank you once again great Turtle Hermit… may good karma come your way." The martial artist nodded before he was on his way, the skies beginning to darken above him.

"Now, let's get our final match of these quarterfinals started!" The tournament announcer began, speaking into his microphone. "Let me introduce our final two quarterfinalists… one of whom will go on to face Ranfan in the semifinals. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you R-R-Radish and Giran!"

Raditz was the first to walk onto the stage, slowly stepping onto the stone stage. "The name's Raditz," He growled at the commentator. The warrior's hair was still contained in a single, elastic rubber band which looked as if it could pop off at any given second. His tail was neatly wrapped around the waist of his fighting gi and his calm, menacing eyes gave the idea that he knew for a fact that he could easily walk away with a victory in this match.

The Saiyan's opponent, an incredibly large, terrifying appearing blue and pale green colored pterodactyl-like creature with menacing golden eyes and a fanged snout confidently walked onto the stage after Raditz, his large tail and wings following directly behind his body. With each step he took, the ground quaked from the large amount of force his body was emitting due to his own weight. Previously, the beastly dinosaur had been repeatedly taunting the Saiyan throughout the tournament and although Raditz had not bothered to respond to the weakling's comments in words, he had made a note to himself to take out his anger and retaliate by giving Giran the largest beating he had ever received in his life.

"You're going down," Giran roared, snickering as he taunted the Saiyan warrior. "I'm going to crush you like a bug."

"Not even in your dreams," Raditz simply responded, a bit of bitterness on display in his voice. The Saiyan positioned himself into a fighting stance, with Giran following suit. "But I think that I'm going to rip off one of your wings… just for my own entertainment."

"Fighters get ready," The announcer stated, increasing the growing tension between the two tournament fighters.

As the fighters continued to glare daggers at one another, each wanting to beat the other as badly as they possibly could, the darkened clouds began to rain down on both the warriors and the crowd, before lightning began cackling in the distance. Before the tournament announcer could begin the match, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted as his attendant raced up to him, whispering something into his ears.

"I have just been informed that the tournament has been postponed until this hazardous weather dies down. Raditz, Giran… your match has been postponed until further notice. I suggest that we all find shelter until then." The announcer continued.

To his surprise, both of the towering titans did not move a single muscle, the two of them not doing so much as blinking as they continued to glare daggers at one another, the shower of rain thundering down upon each of them. Raditz's blood boiled as his hair began soaking down a bit, much more water splashing into the incredibly long mane with each passing second. Giran stood motionless as well, his fanged snout growling a low-pitched roar.

"I think that the two of them did not hear me over the thunder," The announcer added. "Raditz… Giran, your fight has been postponed for the time being." He finished, much louder than before.

"As soon as this rain dies down, consider yourself clipped." Raditz mumbled before he walked off of the stage and towards where all of his friends were awaiting their long haired Saiyan friend.

Power Levels

Raditz: 235

Krillin: 171

Yamcha: 129

150 (Neo Wolf Fang Fist)

Master Roshi: 232

Bacterian: 31

Ranfan: 40

48 (Confident)

Nam: 81

42 (holding back against Ranfan)

Giran: 70