Chapter Thirty-Six

Shen placed a hand onto his top student's back, raising to the tip of his toes to speak into the triclops' ear. Tien had been focusing his breathing and shadowboxing one of his clones from the second he'd entered into the fighters' chamber. The Crane hermit tried to tell himself this was good. Chiaotzu and Ranfan had both failed him already. If his top student failed to defeat the brittle Roshi, then he had failed as a teacher. Roshi couldn't be a better teacher than him? Could he?

"What do you think, Master?" Tien asked his mentor, his eyes still closed as he exhaled through his mouth. The three students he had seen fight had far exceeded his expectations and his next opponent was the man who had trained each of them. "Do you think your old rival still has some prep to his step? I don't want to be caught off guard like the last turtle did me. Losing here would only bring further shame to our school."

"His days of fighting are far behind him," Master Shen retorted instantly, venom in his voice. They had once been friends but now, only feelings of disdain flooded him. "He trained the boy who killed my brother. Show him the same amount of mercy you think they showed him. We're not fighting for the title anymore, any other Turtles that stand in the way will be squashed with their shells."

Tien stood in silence at his master's words, the scene he'd watched Ranfan and Raditz portray for him the night before playing through his head. He had thought the boy a killer like him but the young man had spared his female partner's life and stripped her honor despite thwarting an attempt on his own life. The triclops groaned. Raditz had, in his opinion at least, every right to retaliate and kill the woman.

"Okay, master," He said to his master as he was called to the arena for the commencement of his second match. He pushed aside all of his thoughts as he saw the turtle hermit walk to the stage ahead of himself. He exhaled one final time and he prepared himself mentally to fight.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," The tournament announcer began through the roars and cheers of the crowd. "Our next match will feature Tien, who dominated Yamcha in his last fight. As the last fighter in his school left in this tournament, we'll see if he can pull through against the great Master Roshi. We've seen just how skilled fighters these two are so without further distractions, let's see who moves on." He added before looking at the two men one after another before bringing the microphone back to his lips. "Begin!"

Waiting for the man to speak, Tien shot forward without batting an eye. Reeling his arms and cocking his leg back, the triclops lunged at his opponent and began throwing a flurry of punches and kicks at Roshi. Though they had come far faster than any untrained eye in the audience could keep up with, the old martial arts master had used the practiced patience and ease that over a century of training had brought him to block or evade every attack.

"Not bad," Roshi said with a smirk, dropping into his fighting posture. Shaking his index finger at the triclops, the hermit taunted, saying, "I wouldn't really recommend trying that again. The signature 32-crane peck combo won't be able to touch me, I memorized that move before you were even walking, child."

"Try this one for size, old man. 64-crane peck combination," Tien growled, charging towards his foe with renewed passion. Moving twice as fast as before, he was able to hit the old man with a right hand and then a couple of blows afterwards before he felt a wrinkly hand grasp ahold of his foot.

Using the triclops momentum against him, Roshi flung his opponent out of the ring with an impressive move that would have secured his victory by ring out back in his day.

'Everybody can fly nowadays,' The old man thought to himself, rolling his eyes as he panted and dusted his fighting uniform off at the sight of the triclops hovering above the grassy ground. "You are indeed strong, though your martial arts could use some refining. Your hatred interferes in your focus, no matter how hard you try to mask it with that breathing caricature of yours. Very much the Shen way I assume though, wasting so much potential with vengeful and tainted teachings."

"Shut up, you old turtle," Tien grumbled, closing his ears and trying his best to hit Roshi. Connecting with a powerful uppercut to the gut, the triclops grinned but it turned to a grimace when his fist drove through a mere afterimage of his opponent. "My master isn't the only one who trains killers! You're more alike than you would care to admit. Your top student killed my master's best, don't try to throw the blame. You trained him."

"I never said I was much of an angel myself," Roshi countered, using the Afterimage strike to move himself around the ring fast enough to cause a dozen copies of himself to run around Tien in hopes of distracting the three eyed martial artist. "Just as I've slayed demons, I've battled several of my own. Your master was a terror and Kami knows, when you stay in a profession like his with the earnings he's racked up over the years, eventually you're going to be getting yours!" He said, the true Roshi using the illusion to sneak a hit in on the opening that his Afterimage Strike had before disappearing into the sea of clones.

"I'll show you than to speak on a dead man," Tien spat, focusing on the clones as they closed in on him. Using his three eyes he focused on the tangibility of each of the Roshis and when his eyes met with the real Turtle Hermit, a smirk shot to the triclops face. "I choose you!" He screamed, rushing Roshi and lunging his body at the man.

Roshi weaved out of the way of the fortress of a man, grabbing his arm and split-kicking Tien into the air. Dropping into his stance and keeping his eyes locked onto his opponent, the old man was caught by surprise when Tien reappeared in front of him and grabbed him by the neck. Quickly following up with two knees to the gut, the triclops reeled his leg back for another one but caught a cartwheel kick to the chin as his hold on Roshi was broken.

The two fighters glared at one another, both panting very heavily as they scaled their opponent up. Roshi had to admit, he was losing a step and that Tien Shinhan was definitely pressing the issue and capitalizing on it. Though he could see ahead of most of the triclops strikes, it used to be harder to be overwhelmed by a flurry of lightning quick punches. Roshi dropped his Turtle shell as he shook his head at his opponent. Maybe this was going to take a different approach than he'd thought.

"Your school is stronger than I was led to believe. I'll give you that old man," Tien Shinhan said, dropping into the Turtle stance much to the inventor's surprise. "But the gruesome tutelage I was forced to endure will only pave the way for my victory in this bout. I can master any technique, recognize this one?" He smirked, cupping his hands to his side as he began to mimic Master Roshi's signature attack. "KA…ME…HAME… HA!" He beckoned as rays of blue light hissed from his hands.

"You wouldn't?" The Turtle Hermit beckoned his opponent as he realized that Tien hadn't aimed at him but the crowd. 'I can't risk calling his bluff and he takes out half of the stadium. He's counting on me jumping in between it.'

At the last second, Roshi threw himself in front of the energy wave with crossed arms in hopes of absorbing most of the force. Screaming as a cloud of smoke covered the area and the Kamehameha burnt into his flesh, Roshi was covered in a second skin of second degree burns and cuts but still standing.

"That was a sick situation you put in me there," The turtle hermit said with a pant, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip with a forearm. "Even for one of Shen's students, that was low."

"I didn't force you to take it," Tien replied with a grin. "Casualties happen. Whether or not I'm behind them. At the end of the day you cut your losses for the mission."

"I'm not sure if Shen told you but you have way more potential than you give yourself credit for." Roshi said, his breathing still accelerated. He shook his head, knowing that he was preaching to plugged ears. "It's a shame that you've spent so long wasting it in darkness. I know a boy that was on the same path as you, I taught him a lot."

"I'm thru talking old man," Tien said, preparing to pounce towards his opponent. "You can't win this match running your mouth."

"That gives," The Turtle Hermit sighed, stepping off the side of the ring and into the grass. "I hope you take some of what I said Mr. Shinhan. I'm really not as up to this fighting scenery as I thought." He added as he walked across the grass and away from the arena. At this point, he needed a smoke over anything. Maybe Raditz could get into the giant's head.

"It appears that Master Roshi has left the ring, shockingly," The announcer commented. "Tien is our first finalist!"

"Why'd he do that?" Tien thought to himself as Bulma asked her boyfriend the same question. The Turtle Hermit had danced around the ring with such elegance that he had to be holding back in some way. He couldn't have just been scared of him right?

"He wasn't talking to distract him," Raditz said loud enough for the triclops to hear as he exited the stage in confusion. "He actually saw the good in him even after what he did to Upa and Yamcha. Tien can't say that Roshi was just talking to make his mind wander during their fight. Hopefully he takes some of it in."

Tien stopped after hearing this, half wanting to turn and say something. Sighing, the triclops instead chose to return to his quarters. He needed some time in isolation to think some things over.

"Hey Raditz," The voice of Krillin said to his friend as they walked alongside one another down the tunnel towards the arena. His blood boiled knowing that his friend was his next opponent. "I really tried my hardest to get stronger after what you told me at the last tournament. I might not be as gifted as you but I'm quick enough on my feet to give anybody a run for their money!"

"To think you'd come from falling face first into the sand to one of my strongest punching bags," The Saiyan joked in response. "You put in the extra effort and your body rewarded you. I can't wait to see just how far along you've come since the last time I saw you fight at Baba's years ago."

"Hey, promise you won't hold back because we're friends?" Krillin made his friend promise as they walked onto the tile floor. Meeting in the middle before they would go their separate ways, Krillin put his hand out for his friend to shake before they began their fight. "I never saw you in the first match but I know you better than most. I know you'll be the perfect gauge of my strength."

"As you wish," Raditz responded, shaking his friend's hand before turning and walking to his corner. The small monk was the most noble of warriors that the Saiyan had ever had the honor to fight alongside. This would be good. He looked at Krillin one last time and then the blonde announcer as he dipped into his stance. "Call the match, this'll be one you guys will talk about for ages."

Nodding, the blonde announcer held back a smile at the World Champion. "On one side of the ring we have the Turtle school's finest! The reigning World Champion and "Strongest Under the Heavens," Son Raditz!" He said into his microphone, his voice drowned in a sea of cheers for the Earth's champion.

Turning to face Krillin, the announcer continued with the same vigor. "Facing him will be his friend and fellow Turtle student, returning fighter Krillin! Both have definitely shown us excellent bouts in both this tournament and past ones but we only can have one of them advance on to face Tien Shinhan for a chance at the title!" He finished as a sea of cheers for the boy roared behind him.

"You ready for this?" The Saiyan said with a smirk, dropping into his fighting stance. His eyes flashed vibrantly at the monk that was his opponent, eager to begin the fight. "These people paid for a show, didn't they?"

"Bring it on then," Krillin smirked, flashing a grin of his own. It had been almost three years since he had last faced the Saiyan and he'd gotten tons stronger.

"Fight!" The announcer then screamed, signaling both fighters to begin. Moving almost immediately, the small monk lunged at his Saiyan friend, throwing kicks and punches fast enough to rip through the air.

"You're going to have to try harder than that," Raditz retorted, throwing up a forearm to block several of Krillin's strikes. Weaving out of the way of a kick and countering with a kiai blast that caused the monk to stagger back, the Saiyan reeled back his leg as he pounced towards Krillin. "Don't you want to take my title from me?" The Saiyan taunted as he threw his leg at his foe.

"You never let up do you?" Krillin groaned, bracing himself to absorb the blunt of the Saiyan's closely fired kick. 'Dammit, he's always just a few steps ahead of me.' The monk said to himself, jumping over a sweep kick intent on knocking him off balance.

Backflipping backwards to create some distance between himself and Raditz, Krillin put his hands together and fired off several small ki blasts to prevent his Saiyan opponent from pursuing him. 'I gotta think of something,' The monk added, surveying Raditz's defenses. 'Nothing's going to make it through that unless he can't see it coming.'

Cupping his hands at his side, Krillin began to focus his energy into the signature Turtle attack. "Kamehameha!" The monk shouted as he shot his arms forward, firing the beam at his Saiyan foe.

"Impressive," Raditz gloated, flaring his aura the same way he had done several times he'd been hit by an energy wave. Focusing his energy to the palms of his hands, the Saiyan fired off two kiai blasts as Krillin's Kamehameha reached him. In a flash of light, the beam was neutralized in a cloud of smoke. "You have to try something else though." He smirked, putting his burned hands back to his side as he scanned the ring for Krillin.

"Gotcha," Krillin said, smirking as he reappeared behind the Saiyan. To Raditz's surprise, the boy was gripping his tail with a tight squeeze reminiscent of the first time he had ever beaten him. "Remember this?" He added, remembering how much he'd trained with the Saiyan several years ago on Roshi's island.

"To think you'd try this," The Saiyan grimaced as Raditz fell to a knee, a buildup of sweat on his forehead. Krillin smirked, seeing his opponent defenseless, though little did he know Raditz was simply playing him. "Shit." He fake cursed himself.

"Say you give up and I'll stop, I'm only going for the win." Krillin laughed, taking a step closer to Raditz. Looking down to see a sinister grin on his friend's face as his Saiyan reflexes felt him close the distance, the Human boy was unable to react quick enough as Raditz shot back to his feet and plunged his elbow into his friend's gut.

Disappearing with an afterimage, Raditz suddenly reappeared behind the hurt monk. Harnessing all of his strength in a single punch, the Saiyan knocked his opponent through the air and into the wall of the arena. Before he could even slide down and ringout, Krillin's head slammed into the brick wall and he was knocked unconscious.

"It appears that Krillin is down," The announcer said. "One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… and ten! Raditz is the winner of this match and will go on to face Tien Shinhan for a shot at defending his title."

Raditz walked over and helped Krillin recover from the hard hit. When the boy was back on his feet, the Saiyan reached out with a handshake. "I actually had to try this time," The Saiyan said. "No hard feelings?"

"Of course," Krillin laughed, returning the handshake. Telling himself that next time he'd beat the Saiyan, the monk fighter brushed some dust off his gi from the fight with Raditz. "I figured you were still the better fighter but we'll see just how much longer that is."

Power Levels

Raditz: 620

Krillin: 470

Tien Shinhan: 500

Master Roshi: 400