Chapter Thirty-Five

"That was quick," Krillin said, watching from the stands as the old turtle hermit defeated his foe with relative ease. He knew that Roshi had slowed down a bit compared to him, Yamcha, and Raditz in the past few years but even then, he was more than capable of beating average fighters like Pamput.

"Yeah, you weren't doubting the old man were you?" Raditz added with his arm around Bulma as he continued to survey the competition. "I told Bulma that that Pamput looked shaky. Anything can look good on the television screen."

"Next up we will have Krillin going up against Crane student Chiaotzu." The announcer said after the unconscious Pamput had been removed from the ring by the medical staff. "Could both fighters come to the ring?"

Krillin hopped over the fence and walked to the edge of the ring. He stood and patiently waited until his opponent hovered to the ring and looked at him. The two short boys glared at one another as they both dropped into fighting stances, ready to begin their brawl.

"Chiaotzu, you got this," Tien cheered on from the sidelines at his friend. "Just remember your training, my friend! These turtles don't stand a chance."

"Ready, fight," The announcer then said.

"Are you going to come at me or not?" Krillin taunted his small foe, planting his feet and focusing his energy and senses. He hadn't seen any of the pale boy's preliminary fights and didn't want to rush in just yet unless he wanted to end up like Yamcha. 'I'm not sure how he fights or what the Crane Hermit put into his head… maybe I should let him come at me and weigh out a strategy.'

"Careful what you wish for baldie," Chiaotzu retorted, pointing a finger at the small monk. "Dodon Ray!" He said a second later as a thin beam of golden ki shot out at his opponent.

Krillin pushed his energy to his feet and then outwards, hovering out of the way of the incoming attack. Flipping backwards, the small monk glared at his opponent. He recognized the move from Cyborg Tao some years ago and grimaced, he wasn't expecting Chiaotzu to possess such strength.

"That attack," Yamcha said from the sidelines, his leg feeling slightly better as he sat next to Roshi and Bulma. He gulped as he turned to Raditz. "That's the same move Tao used on Bora, isn't it?"

Raditz nodded at this, remembering the graphic scene of the mercenary killing Upa's father with the attack.

"Yeah," Raditz grumbled. "The same move he tried to kill me with."

"Wait, what was that?" Tien commented, overhearing the conversation between the two friends. Tao had been one of the strongest people he had ever faced and somewhat of a teacher to him. "You fought Tao?" He added with a grunt.

"Aren't you nosy?" Yamcha sneered at the man who had defeated him. Patting the Saiyan on the back, the bandit continued. "Your friend was working for the Red Ribbon Army and tried to kill us. You can probably tell that he wasn't successful at that."

"So you killed him?" Tien asked, tensing up. "He wasn't my friend, he was my original master. Did you kill him? Don't lie to me."

"I'm not sure," Raditz butted in, his eyes still on the match going on as he spoke to the triclops. Tao had been a tricky sonuva gun to kill, even before his mechanical upgrades. "I thought he was dead the first time we fought but then he popped back up again. Hopefully he's somewhere in Hell wishing he hadn't threatened me or my friends."

"So you murdered my teacher?" Tien growled in accusation, his energy flaring as he stood in place. Still, the realization stopped him from reacting. Tao had been unbeatable in his eyes as a young crane trainee. 'These guys can't be that strong, could they?'

"I didn't murder him," Raditz corrected, turning to glare at his opponent. IF that was his teacher, he knew just as well as anyone what he did for work. "Tao was on a rampage, I couldn't let him live after he threatened the lives of all of my friends. He was killing people for sport!"

"This isn't over," Tien spat before he floated away, obviously angered and confused by the revelation he'd been told. "My master won't be pleased to hear of his younger brother's fate. To think that the great Turtle School would stoop so low."

Chiaotzu floated a couple of inches off of the ground in the ring, zapping Dodon Ray after Dodon Ray at his opponent. A smirk eased its way onto his face as he watched Krillin barely stay out of the way of the energy beams.

'He's losing a step with each attack he dodges,' The little man sneered as he felt the heat spark at his fingertip with each energy attack he shot at Krillin. Tien had told him to end the fight quickly but he wanted to have fun with his foe after the cockiness the boy carried himself with. 'As long as I win, Master Shen won't be disappointed. Tien told me the Turtle School wasn't an issue."

Krillin hopped out of the way of another Dodon Ray, sighing in boredom. They were more annoying than anything, he couldn't risk getting in too close unless he wanted to risk a vital shot from the rapidly fired rays.

'Maybe this could work,' The monk said to himself, coming up with a sophisticated combination attack that Roshi had taught him some time ago. Reeling his arm back, Krillin flung it forward and shot a bundle of clear ki at Chiaotzu. As expected, the boy raised a hand to block it and when he did, Krillin lunged forward in the split second that Chiaotzu's inattentiveness prevented an expected Dodon Ray that would have shot his way. 'Gotcha!' Krillin smirked, kicking himself from the ground and towards the smaller boy.

Cocking his arm backward until he was in striking distance of Chiaotzu, Krillin shot a straight at his opponent's face. As the white-faced clown raised his forearms to block the blow, Krillin lashed his leg at the opening his feint had created. Following his combo, the monk hit the boy with a hookercut that sent him to the ground in pain.

"How's he so fast?" Chiaotzu grumbled as began to pick himself off of the ground. He was a telepath and even he hadn't seen that last kick coming. Only Tien, Master Tao and Master Shen had ever moved faster than he could keep up with. Apparently he too had underestimated Roshi's students.

As he felt the winds kick up around him, the telepath was jolted back to reality at the sight of Krillin charging at him with another punch winded up. Chiaotzu grimaced as he lashed out a weaker than usual Dodon Ray quickly at Krillin. His mouth widened in shock as his attack phased through an Afterimage of his opponent that faded shortly after being hit.

"Kamehameha!" Krillin said from behind the Crane student, suddenly appearing behind his opponent and charging his teacher's signature attack. He shot the beam forward and it crashed into Chiaotzu, pushing his opponent back and sending him into the ground outside of the ring. "Not too shabby now, am I?" He laughed, posing for the camera.

"And in a turn of events, Krillin has found a way to turn a defensive standoff into a ring out victory," The announcer said into the microphone to a crowd that was roaring in excitement. "As the winner he will go on to face the winner of our very first match in the morning. That'll be it for tonight's actions folks."

After the arena had been cleared and Bulma had paid for everyone's dinner, Raditz laid in the bed of the hotel room he and Bulma were sharing. She was in the shower at the time, a long one as she preferred, so he was fast asleep after filling himself with food.

Suddenly, the Saiyan's eyes shot to life and surveyed the room without moving an inch. Tensing up, something felt off to him. In the next instant, a hand shot at his mouth and had he been asleep, would have smothered him in his slumber. Raditz's hand shot up from under his blanket and grabbed his intended murderer's hand. Seeing it was a slender ninja dressed in black, Raditz rolled off of the bed and lunged forward to strike his mysterious assailant. Not letting up, the shot was enough to send the ninja through the window of the room.

Raditz followed his assailant through the shattered glass and struck them with a final ax handle that sent the ninja to the ground in pain. Grunting before she looked up, the last thing the ninja saw before her vision was blurred was Raditz winding back a kick. As his opponent fainted, the Saiyan pulled off the black face covering to reveal Ranfan.

"So, your master sent you to kill me in my sleep instead of settling this in the ring?" Raditz asked, igniting the cloth covering in his hands with his ki. "Was he not man enough to do the dirty work himself?"

"My grandfather won't be bothered with trash like you turtles." Ranfan shot back, her lips turning to a frown. When the Crane Hermit gave you an order you did it, especially after all he'd done for her the past three years. "What did you expect after you announced that you killed his brother in front of him?"

"You've never been in a situation like that until tonight," Raditz warned the violet haired ninja. His energy died down as he sighed. "It was either me or him. You know what the school of yours is about right?"

"So this is where you kill me right?" Ranfan sighed, dropping her head in shame. "Like you told me at the last tournament?"

"As easily as I could, I'm not like you and your school." The Saiyan growled irritably. "I know what comes of your kind and as long as I'm still breathing on this planet, I won't let people like your teacher and his followers keep hurting the weak. Just go, if I ever see you or that master of yours again it'd be hard not to kill you after my first two impressions of you."

Tien watched from the bushes as Raditz easily subdued and berated Ranfan. He had been ordered to trail Ranfan in case her assassinate was thwarted by any of the others. He thought about intervening and turning the fight into a 2-on-1 but he had heard what the young fighter was saying. With a clouded mind, the triclops grumbled in self-loathing as he turned and walked away. He only hoped that Ranfan didn't do anything stupid to get herself killed.

Raditz yawned as he walked back towards his room and prepared himself for his girlfriend's pitchy skrills when she saw the hole he'd thrown Ranfan through in the window.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a day full of thrilling fights for you guys," The announcer said the next morning. "Our next match will show our defending champion, Raditz, up against the final of our Crane school students, returning fighter Ranfan." On suit, the Saiyan stepped to the ring and waited for his match. A part of him had hoped that she had actually been bold enough to show up and fight him honorably.

"Master Shen, will you tell your student to come to the ring?" The announcer said a few minutes later, searching the crowd. After some more time passed, he shrugged as he began to speak again. "Well, since Ranfan seems to have forgotten about her scheduled fight, our World Champion will get a bye round and advance to face off against Krillin in the semifinals."

"Master, where is Ranfan?" Chiaotzu asked. Tien had told them that he'd be late but Ranfan had been missing since the previous night. "Surely she'd strike now if she didn't find an opening in the Saiyan's defenses yet."

"I'm not sure," The Crane Hermit snarled with a flat out lie, turning around to walk away. 'Disappointing brat.' He grumbled to himself as Raditz walked from the stage behind his turnt body.

Power Levels

Raditz: 620

Krillin: 470

Chiaotzu: 310

Ranfan: 290

Tien Shinhan: 500