Review Response:
To Terkoish: I'm glad that you are enjoying the saga. But I can't tell you what happens to certain characters because that would be spoiling. Just keep reading to see what happens to these characters in the saga.
To SuperSaiyanFever: The x1 Kaiōken thing was a typo that I fixed a while ago.
To AbyssShadow32: We'll see as the story continues…
To Crinightnight: Thanks for the compliment. I'm glad that you're enjoying this story. Please be sure to comment some more.
To abyssdoor: I enjoyed how I characterized Upa.
To Ushindi:
1. A fusion of Goten and Trunks will appear in the story. But not in this saga.
2. Which Raditz What-If story are you talking about? MasakoX made a lot of stories.
Shoot, I wish I got some fan art of this. But, I digress.
Last time on Dragon Ball Z: PRIMAl, Videl and Upa had met in the Battle Zone where they were paired to face each other. While Upa proved to be a seasoned opponent, Videl's tenacity and willingness to push beyond her limits eventually overwhelmed the Karinga warrior through the risky but powerful Kaiōken technique. What is in store for our heroes? Their journey to make their way to the top of the tournament continues, now!
Stadium, Battle Island II, Age 774
The audience's horror from Videl's near elimination suddenly turned 360 degrees after taking her stand against her opponent. And all it took was a simple word to turn the tides of the fight in her favor in a matter of seconds. Upon the grounded Upa's defeat and the count up to ten, the match has been decided.
"Upa is unable to continue! Videl advances to the next round!"
The crowd went wild.
Most of the Dragon Team screamed in jubilation. Well, Chi-Chi, Bulma, Erasa, and the children did anyway.
Lazuli and the other warriors, while happy that Gohan's student made it passed this round, was confused as to how Videl learned such a technique that many associated with Goku and its creator, King Kai.
The blonde clapped lightly, saying, "I have to hand it to the kid, she's got heart. And some spunk to boot."
"That's great and all, babe, but most of us are still wrapping as to–"
"–HOW!?" Vegeta screamed, genuinely baffled beyond belief. "HOW COULD THAT MERE BRAT LEARN THAT BLASTED KAI'S TECHNIQUE!?"
"–What he said." Krillin finished, pointing to Vegeta's outburst, which Bulma hushed the man much to her embarrassment.
"Yes, that is quite the mystery." Tien pondered. "I know that none of us were able to learn the Kaiōken technique while we were on his planet."
"Man, I wish." Krillin pouted, which prompted Lazuli to pat her husband on his shoulder.
"My only working theory is that Goku must have taught Gohan how to perform the Kaiōken either during the coming three years before Androids 19 and 20's appearance near South City or when he was training with Gohan in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber when he was preparing for the Cell Games. Either if these theories drew them to the conclusion that Videl may have learned it from Gohan." Master Roshi theorized.
Tien remarked, "That sounds possible, but there are two factors to consider. Regardless of his power at the time, Gohan would have been too young to handle the taxes his body would have suffered by using the Kaiōken, and that's before he transformed."
"And I'm guessing that the kid turning Super Saiyan pretty much puts that trick to shame, right?" Lazuli inquired.
"Yeah, pretty much," Krillin nodded to his wife. "While Goku gave me the details of the risk-reward aspect of the Super Saiyan form, going blond essentially trumps the Kaiōken given that the benefits of Super Saiyan's tremendous power outweigh the crippling risk of stacking too many multipliers of the Kaiōken."
Lazuli narrowed her eyes, questioning, "Wait, what do you mean by crippling risk?"
"If one were to go beyond what their body could normally withstand by using too many Kaiōken amplifiers, it would yield life-threatening consequences to the users' body. Possibly leading to their death." Master Roshi answered grimly, leaving C-18 speechless.
"Regardless of how the girl was able to learn the Kaiōken, it is still impressive for Videl to have the ability to use it with such proficiency. Hopefully, Gohan warned her about the ramifications of overusing that technique. She appears to be quite the reckless fighter." Tenshinhan stated as he and the others watched the girl enter the elevator and head to the Fighter's Box of Battle Island II.
"Only time will tell, Tien. Only time will tell." Said Master Roshi.
Standing on top of the stadium's spectator side, Piccolo grinned, saying, "Not bad, kid. Not bad."
VIP Tower, Battle Island II, Age 774
Hercule's reaction to Videl's display of her indomitable will was nothing short of astounding. Of course, he knew that his little girl was strong. This was his daughter after all. But given the type of beating that she took, he figured that she would stay down. Mr. Satan would have done it if he was in her shoes. But no. As persistent as Videl was, she got up, got covered in some strange hot red light, then pulverized her opponent in a blink of an eye.
The man was utterly speechless, not knowing whether to be proud of Videl or fearful for his life if he was going to have to fight her.
'Kami, please make Videl fight me. I'm not ready to meet you and Mitchell yet!' Hercule begged in his prayer.
Kurozuru stood silently, mentally saying, 'Hmph. It would seem that I have misjudged the buffoon's offspring. No matter, it will be all the sweeter as she watches the world that she had long thrived in crumble in front of her very eyes. That is before I tear those balls of flesh out of her sockets.'
"SHE DID IT!" Monty cheered as he stood up and jumped around excitedly.
Cocoa clapped lightly, genuinely smiling at her friend's victory.
'Incredible! I had no idea how powerful Videl is!' The girl thought to herself. 'If she can do that, I wonder what else Son Gohan-kun can do…'
"Oh my! I'll admit, that was a thrilling match!" Lotta sighed, not used to the dynamic action pack moments she was witnessing live.
She fanned her face while Lotta's husband said, "I'll say, dear! Who knew Ms. Videl was this powerful?"
A small smirk formed on Dr. Yanagi's face as he readjusted his glasses.
"As to be expected, my data was proven correct." The scientist whispered. "Let's see how far you can go, Vivi."
King Kai's Planet, Other World, Age 774
"Well, it seems that Videl managed to move to the next round after all." Grandpa Gohan said before drinking the miso soup from a bowl of ramen that he ate.
"Yeah! While I'm kind of bummed out that Upa lost, Videl definitely earned her win. I got to admit, the way she used that strategy to blindside him was impressive." Goku added. "And
boy, that fighting spirit and passion she's got in her has got me thinking about my match with Chi-Chi all over again. Ah, good times… My boy's picked a real go-getter, that's for sure."
Meanwhile, King Kai screeched while pointing to the T.V., "THAT'S MY TECHNIQUE! HOW IN THE OTHER WORLD DOES SHE KNOW MY TECHNIQUE!?"
Goku, Bubbles, and Gohan turned to King Kai as they gazed at the bewildered God.
Goku raised an eyebrow, asking, "What's the matter King Kai?"
"Goku, did you teach your son the Kaiōken without my permission!?" King Kai said, glaring at the Saiyan.
"W-What? Me?" Goku blinked, confused at his former teacher's sudden shift in tone. "No, I haven't. He wouldn't have been able to handle it as a boy, and even if he was, he was already a Super Saiyan. So, I figured he didn't need it."
King Kai stared down at Goku, trying to see if there were any lies within the man. Alas, he knew better and sighed as the Kai crossed his arms.
"King Kai, is there something wrong?" Grandpa Gohan questioned.
"No, Gohan. I'm fine. I'm not the kind of god to simply spread his knowledge toward anybody. The fact that an outsider was able to teach a mortal my technique without my knowledge troubles me." King Kai sighed, shaking his head.
"If that were to be the case, then that would imply that you've taught the Kaiōken technique to somebody else besides Goku." Gohan deduced.
"Wait, what!?" Goku gasped. "But I thought that I was the only one who was taught under you, King Kai."
"You were the only mortal that I taught, Goku. Long before you, two other fellow gods came to me. One of them asked me to study my techniques. I haven't heard from them in nearly twelve thousand years. I can't even detect their presence."
"Really, well that's certainly interesting." Old Man Gohan.
"It sure is, Grandpa," Gohan nodded as he turned to King Kai. "Who are these gods, King Kai? How strong are they?"
"Never mind them, Goku! Look, another match is about to start!" The North Kai barked, pointing at the TV that Bubbles was watching closely.
The other two mortals sat quietly as a new match was about to begin.
While this happened King Kai thought, '...Was it you, Kibito? Did you teach this girl? If it is, then why haven't you and Lord Shin shown yourself to us yet? What business do you both have on Earth?'
Battle Zone II - Forest
Sharpner's hovercar ended up taking him to a dense forest not dissimilar to the one that surrounded Mount Paozu. The blond was thankful for the location, given his imagination running wild.
Sharpner figured with his bad luck, he'd have to trek in a desert location or rough it out in the coldness of a snowy area. Fortunately for him, he had enough experience of training in forests and mountain ranges to deal with them accordingly.
Upon getting out of the vehicle, took the time to stretch his limbs, saying, "Phew! What a ride! I swear if I had to go through another minute of those streaking lights, I probably would have gone blind!"
"Now, I remember correctly, the girl with the green hair was my opponent. If I can find her and take her down quickly, I can move on to the semi-finals."
Sharpner, looking at the forest, closed his eyes to sense the area.
"Hmmm… Oh yeah, she's there alright. At the heart of a forest." Sharpner confirmed. "Okay, then. Time to take a stroll."
With that, Sharpner entered the forest while confidently standing tall. While a camera followed his stroll, the neo-Crane student suddenly found his current traveling speed to be boring.
"You know what? I'm going to pick up the pace."
Looking at the neighboring tree branches, the former jock hopped seventeen feet to one and began to jump between branches for fast travel.
While doing so, an ominous presence started to manifest itself by blowing a dark wind. The omen that flew in front of the blond's face caused him to shiver as he traveled deeper into the forest.
'Okay… What the hell am I picking up? I clearly sense this girl's energy but I don't remember the air being so palpable. And what's this dread that I'm detecting.'
After seven minutes of traveling through tree branch jumping, Sharpner made it to the center of the virtual dense forest, where two of the largest trees stood tall. While one's height was limited, the other only exposed its trunk. The larger tree trunk had a wooden door that had a similar shape to the metallic building of Battle Zone I with the label detailing it bringing the elevator.
"Looks like I made it to the place." Sharpner inspected. "Now where is that girl hid–"
Sharpner's voice was cut short by an ominous yet hauntingly beautiful melody that was being played on a wind instrument such as a flute.
The haunting notes echoed throughout the forest, mimicking the serenades of an ocarina. This paired with the creaking of the smaller branches that moved with the ominous wind.
Stadium, Battle Island II
While many of the spectators kept quiet to see where Sharpner's opponent was, others were captivated by the sound of music being played.
All except Tien himself.
Gazing at his friend's disturbed face, Krillin asked, "Is something wrong, Tien?"
While Tien never said a word, the melody rant into his ears, constantly getting his attention like chiming bells.
Raising an eyebrow, the former monk then asked, "Is it the music? Trust me, man, I get it. It's sending me shivers down my spine too. Kind of reminds me of a horror movie too."
"Yes, it's quite an eerie melody." Master Roshi agreed.
"...I've heard this before. The music," Tien admitted, taking the two retired martial artists by surprise.
"You have?" Both the former master and student inquired together.
"Yes," Tien nodded grimly. "It was a long time ago. Back when I was still under Master Shen's and Master Tao's tutelage in the Crane School."
Master Roshi responded with a similar nod, saying, "Ah, I see."
Narrowing his eyes, Tien thought, 'I can't remember where it came from or who played it, but the manner in which it is being used only increases this sense of foreboding dread.'
VIP Tower, Battle Island II
The Cash couple found themselves anticipating the next match with a bit more caution given the eerie nature of the build-up of Sharpner's journey to find his opponent.
Monty found himself seeking support from Cocoa, who held the boy's hand as he felt a tinge of fear creeping into his small heart. Cocoa couldn't help but emphasize due to the nature of the musical tone.
Mr. Satan, being ever so vocal, stated, "Ugh, what's with the music? It's giving us the creeps!"
"That is a subjective manner, Mr. Satan." Dr. Yanagi retorted nonchalantly. "Finding music to fancy is like seeking beauty in art. It lies in the eyes of the beholder, or in this case, the ears of the listener. In my opinion, it's soothing to the soul."
Mr. Satan paid no mind to the scientist as he turned back to the screen, worried about the blond-haired teen that he had viewed as the son he never had.
If he had his mask off, one could have seen the biggest grin that "Kurozuru", or the disguised Tao Pai Pai formed on his half-mechanical face.
'You have no idea what your student is up against, boy. And soon, he'll be wishing for the sweet embrace of death.'
Battle Zone II - Forest
Sharpner's mind had been shifting directions, turning his head as he looked up to look for the source of the flute playing.
"...Alright, getting some bad vibes right now. And the creepy ass music isn't helping either!" Sharpner stated as the music had been playing for thirty seconds.
Suddenly, a few large wooden tendrils darted forward to skewer the blond. Thankfully, Sharpner had learned Rapid Movement early on in his training and effectively dodged it.
The tendrils then shot smaller bits of razor-sharp splinters, aiming to pierce Sharpner's body. Reacting fast, he sprang up in the air and shot a ki blast that was swift enough to not only burn through the splinters but get rid of the seemingly sentient vibes.
"That was too close!" Sharpner hissed.
"It looks like you have brain cells left after all." A feminine monotone voice echoed throughout the area.
Jerking his head upward, the Sharpner shouted, "Hey! If you're going to be talking crap to me then come and say it to my face, lady! If there's one I can stand, it's girls who run their mouths!"
The voice responded "Oh, I plan to. But fair warning…"
A green vine littered with thorns came down to lash Sharpner across his body, only for Sharpner to roll out of the away in time. The vine, however, managed to take a good chunk of the trunk of a tree Sharpner was staking in front of, reducing it to splinters.
After gazing at the damage, Sharpner turned around to see the vine glow purple as it morphed back into a red rose. That rose was currently held by a young woman that stood in front of Sharpner.
The pale-skinned woman had on a short green one-shoulder dress with a white undershirt, long black wristguards, a yellow belt, a red student miniskirt, and a pair of red shoes. Around her neck was a wooden ocarina.
This was Yurin.
"...Every rose has its thorns." The young woman said in a cool yet elegant tone.
Sharpner, not taking any chance to relax, kept his guard up as he began sensing her power.
'...Okay. Her power's weaker than my own. That's reassuring. But there's something off about her. Like the way that little rose turned into that vine-whip thingy. I still can't shake this dreadful presence.' Sharpner thought to himself.
"So, we meet at last." The woman stated even. "I'm surprised that you've made it this far. To be honest, I'd expected you to have dropped into the water during the preliminaries."
"I'm not like most people. So you can keep your assumptions to yourself." Sharpner shot back. "And don't think that I didn't notice a considerably large portion of the tree trunk you destroyed. You know that death blows are prohibited, right?"
"That shouldn't matter if you're either strong enough to take the hit or smart enough to evade it. Besides, anything goes in a life or death situation. A true warrior is always ready for anything." The woman shrugged before sneering at Sharpner. "Not that third-rate amateur child like you would understand."
"Again with the personal insults. What did I even do to you? We haven't even met before!" Sharpner asked back, getting annoyed by the woman's big mouth.
Shaking her head, she said, "It's not about who you are. That, I can care less about. No, it's what and who you represent. And I can't stand for it!"
"What I represent?" Sharpner echoed as he blinked in confusion. "...Lady, this isn't some melodramatic television show. This is a competition. I'm just here for the zeni. You can take your half-assed Hata Bros. acting somewhere else. Otherwise, put those hands up and get on with the match already."
Scoffing, Yurin dashed forward on the offensive. She used open palms to thrusts at his vital points along with deadly finger jabs with her perfectly manicured sharp fingernail. At first, Sharpner attempted to weave through Yurin's jabs with his standard boxing defensive stance. While it worked for most of the encounter, he found himself on the receiving end of a few bruises and scrapes. He was eventually knocked back by a combined two-palmed strike.
Sliding back, Sharpner dashed forward and proceeded to throw a right hook and a left jab at Yurin. Yurin blocked both punches, ducked Sharpner roundhouse kick, then slapped a palm coated in a purple aura on the ground.
Out of nowhere, a root shot out of the ground and smacked Sharpner into the air. He then quickly took a hold of a branch in mid-air, swinging one hundred and eight degrees vertically one time before landing on the branch.
Stadium, Battle Island II
"Did you see that!?"
"She touched the floor and plants sprung up out of nowhere!"
"Was that energy?"
"Energy my foot! That's got to be a magic trick!"
Talks amongst the crowd grew prevalent as the masses questioned Yurin's strange abilities. The Dragon Team wasn't an exception.
Chi-Chi said, "Hold on! What kind of attack is that!? I don't remember Earthlings being capable of moving plants!"
"Me neither, and I've seen a lot of stuff over the years," Bulma stated, tapping her chin. "Do you think it's some sort of new form of ki manipulation?"
"Beats me, Bulma."
"Ooo!~ Mommy! Look! The plants are so pretty!" Marron gushed while she sat in Lazuli's lap.
"Goten, are you seeing this?" Trunks whispered, prompting the younger Saiyan hybrid to nod.
Goten whined, "Mhm. I don't like how those roots are moving… It's giving me the creeps."
Both of the boys shivered, thinking at the same time, 'Freaky.'
Erasa, meanwhile, remained silent. However, a feeling of dread grasped her stomach similarly to when Sharpner died. She couldn't explain the feeling to anybody else, but her soul screamed to her mind that something was wrong. That the long-haired blond was in danger once.
Erasa shook her head, trying to push those darker thoughts away, rationalizing that he had made his choice and he could take care of himself. Sure, the two weren't exactly on the best terms, but she knew how resourceful and capable Sharpner was. Making it to the quarterfinals was proof enough. He can take care of this opponent, right?
…Or, at least she hoped he could.
Back to Tien, Krillin, and Roshi, they too were perplexed at the phenomenon that they were observing. Yurin's abilities weren't meager in any circumstance. They were something…supernatural.
"...Guys, I'm just gonna go out on a limb here. I've seen a bunch of crazy crap ever since I've been sticking around you guys, and that's saying something. But in all my years of going on crazy life-threatening adventures, I don't think I've seen a person being able to do…that!" Krillin expressed, pointing at Yurin's plant manipulating abilities.
"It's quite a peculiar technique." Tien nodded.
'...That face. There's something about it. Like I've seen it from somewhere. Where have I seen this woman?'
Roshi remained silent while he thought, 'Hm… This little lady's quite gifted in all of the right places. Hehehe! …On a serious note, her strange technique is not anything to scoff at either. Though, the mysterious ability to control mother nature does boggle the mind. Could it be that this technique is not related to ki?'
Battle Zone II - Forest
Hopping off of the branch, Sharpner thought to himself, 'I'm never seeing plants the same after this.'
Rushing forward, Yurin continued her offensive pursuit with her fingers pointed to hit Sharpner's vital points on his body. Thankfully, Tien's training kicked in and allowed Sharpner to react by shifting his arms to block using his closed-fingered open hands (knife formation), closed fingered closed hands (beak formation), and forearms.
When they eventually caught each other's hands, they were caught in a struggle for nearly a minute. Yurin took this opportunity to try and land some blows to the boy's shin with swift and strong kicks. Much to her surprise, Sharpner guarded and clashed with her leg using his own as he maintained perfect balance.
Using both of his beak hands, Sharpner retaliated against Yurin with a flurry of beak jabs that were aimed at her face and mid sections before she was sent back to the tree by a sidekick to the chest.
As Yurin slammed against a tree, Sharpner jumped overhead to land a knee on Yurin's face. However, Yurin was quick on her feet and covered herself in wooden roots, forming a dome.
"Aw, come on!" Sharpner whined as he jumped back to prepare a Dōdonpa.
'
In a near instant, Yurin dropped the root dome. She then manipulated the roots from the ground to grow a small but dense oak tree.
With a flick of her rose whip, the vibe grabbed a hold of one of Sharpner's ankles with the thorns sinking into it. Pulling Sharpner to her, Yurin thrusted her palms forward while pushing her ki flow to them, allowing the attack to connect to Sharpner's chest and send him to the tree she sprouted.
With a swipe of her left index and middle fingers in the air with an ominous purple glow, Sharpner's arms and wrists were tied down using wooden roots.
Sharpner struggled to break free from them, only to find his flow of ki to be blocked off.
'What the hell!? Why can't I charge up?' Sharpner cursed as he shifted in his wooden bonds.
"Aw~ What's the matter, blondie?" Yurin taunted in a sickly sweet tone. "I thought you had more fight in you?"
"...You did something to me! Tell me what you did right now!" Sharpner growled before being slugged in the face by Yurin.
"That's no way to speak to a lady, you cretin!" Yurin hissed. "If you were half the warrior that I am then you should have noticed that my jabs were aimed at a few of your pressure points."
"My pressure points?" Sharpner echoed, cocking an eyebrow seemingly out of confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?
Rolling her eyes, Yurin explained, "You fool. Your pressure points are what allow your ki to flow freely throughout the body. They also act like switches. By blocking a few of them, I disrupted natural ki flow, cutting off your access to manifest energy-based attacks and abilities. Albeit, temporarily."
With his eyes widening, Sharpner gasped, "Aw shit!"
Yurin chuckled out of hubris, saying, "Ah, now you're getting it. Good, I can see the fear in your eyes. And you should be afraid. Once I'm done with you, and that washed up three eyed baldy won't be able to bring yourselves to show your faces around any tournaments or gatherings. That's what you both deserve."
"Okay! It's one thing to talk about me. But I won't let some stuck-up chick with a mouthpiece of a motor talk crap about my sensei! Why do you hate our guts so much? I don't even know who you are!"
Sharpner was met with a hard knee to the solar plexus, causing him to wheeze hard as he was met with the heated glare of his female opponent.
"Because your master is a filthy traitor, that's why!" Yurin screeched. "He deserted the Crane School and brought dishonor to Master Shen and Master Tao! Thanks to that bastard, Master Shen had lost his way and died because of him! For that baldy to soil Master Shen's legacy after all he's done for him is a crime that will not stand or go unpunished!"
"You mean to tell me that you're acting batshit crazy over two old guys that actively killed people during their spare time?" Sharpner questioned, looking at the woman as if she grew a second head. "What are you, some twisted Crane-style fangirl of theirs?"
"Not a fan. I am Yurin, Nature's Enchantress.
Ane the student of Master Shen, the true master of the Crane School, I'll see to it that you've paid for your precious master sins!" Yurin declared with pride.
Stadium, Battle Island II, Age 774
"YURIN!?" Tien cried out loud, recognizing the woman as she called out her name. "I can't believe it!"
Most of the Dragon Team gazed at the triclops with a hint of confusion on their faces.
"You know this young lady, Tien?" Master Roshi questioned.
Nodding, Tenshinhan answered, "I do. She was one of the youngest students that Master Shen and Tao took in. She also happened to be the adopted granddaughter of Shen."
"Wait, are you serious!?" Krillin shouted. "How could anybody allow that lunatic to adopt a little girl?"
"She didn't come from an orphanage, Krillin," Tien explained. "She was abandoned, left by her lonesome. The Crane School and Master Shen were the only things she knew."
"It was her home," Roshi added. "Poor child must have been heartbroken after Shen's passing. I can imagine that Tien walking his own path must have negatively affected Shen and this Yurin girl by extension.
"...I guess I can understand where She's coming from." Krillin frowned, sympathizing with Yurin's plight.
"But I never would have thought I'd live to see a witch participate in a Būdokai. It takes a lot of skill to be able to learn ki blocking. And with her majutsu being able to grow, shape, and manipulate plant life makes her an extremely deadly foe for Sharpner." Master Roshi stated.
The thought of having his ki disrupted sent shivers down the Prince of All Saiyans' body, yet he did not show this fear outwardly. After all, he wouldn't dare let anybody get that close to him if they possessed this ability.
This did not shake Tien, however. He had faith in his student's abilities. He can overcome his opponent, he knows Sharpner could.
Battle Zone II - Forest
"Nature's Enchantress, huh?" Sharpner spat. "You mean to tell me that you're moving these plants with some sort of magic?"
"Hmph, I suppose you're not as stupid as a thought." Yurin chided with haughtiness in her tone. "I may not have the efficiency to control energy, my ki attracts plant life to the point where I can grow it at an extraordinary rate. I decided to cultivate this technique by studying majutsu, or the mystic arts. That's when I discovered my gift in sorcery."
With a snap of her fingers, the wooden bindings on Sharpner's wrists and ankles tightened, forcing the blond to grit his teeth in pain.
'Just wait it out, Crayon…' Sharpner thought to himself.
"With my majutsu, I can bend all plant life to my will. If there's a seed that can grow, it's in my domain. I can beckon the plant to grow and operate to any size to my heart's content. Leaving any idiot who dares cross my path to be at my mercy." Yurin mirthed before laughing pompously.
"And now, I'm at your mercy. Right?" Sharpner smiled sadly, seemingly defeated.
Cupping his cheek, "...Oh, sweetheart. You've never stood a chance against me. If only you hadn't joined that faker, you'd make a half-decent sparring partner. Tell you what, why don't you forfeit now before I put you out of your misery."
'...She's crazy. This bitch is absolutely crazy. Why, Kami? Why am I fated to deal with crazy women? Why must you turtore me?' Sharpner whined in his thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, Sharpner growled intensely for a few seconds before forcing all of his closed pressure points that were slowly weakened over time to open. Because of this, his white aura manifested around him, allowing his ki to flow and destroy the binds that held him down. The force of his power sent the haughty Yurin through several trees before planting her feet to stop herself from sprawling on the floor.
"W-What in the world!?" Yurin muttered to herself. "I closed off his energy! I held him down! I had him! How did he-!?"
Her thoughts were thrown out the window as she was headbutt by Sharpner, who had used Tien's Hammerhead attack to blitz the woman.
Crossing his forearms together, Sharpner cried out, "Multi-Form!"
Four other Sharpner clones split from the original host, allowing the real Sharpner to disappear using Rapid Movement. The first clone sent an elbow to Yurin's back, sending her to the second clone. The second one then slammed his foot to Dr chin with a front kick. The third and fourth clones took turns passing her around as they punched and kicked her upwards like a game of ping pong.
A ladder combo, if you will.
At the climax of the chain attack, the clones merged back into the real Sharpner as he sent the girl sprawling downward in a spike using Tien's Haikyūken, or Volleyball Fist.
This left Yurin on the ground in a small crater while Sharpner landed gracefully on a random tree branch, much like a crane.
Stadium, Battle Island II
"Talk about a blast from the past! That young man's got to be Tenshinhan's student because that's definitely his Haikyūken, Hammerhead, and Multi-Form techniques!" Akira, the Tenkaichi Būdokai announcer cried out in excitement as a spectator in the audience.
The crowd's excited energy revved up once more, generating cheers and screams that were reminiscent of the tournament from the temple.
Over where Erasa and the mothers were sitting, Chi-Chi voiced her consciousness.
"While I'm all for Gohan's friend winning this, he didn't have to strike that girl too hard." Said Chi-Chi with a bit of sympathy.
"Please, with all the garbage she was spouting? She was in for that thrashing." Bulma scoffed.
"I have to agree there." Lazuli stated. "Taking any opponent lightly, regardless of the appearance or power, could cost you the match. Or your life. Not to mention she's actively trying to remove him from the census."
Chi-Chi nodded, recalling her fight with Goku in the 23rd Būdokai where he took her down with a simple kiai attack.
"I never would have imagined how good Sharpie's gotten…" Erasa whispered to herself, absolutely stunned at the leaps and bounds the teen's made in his progress.
Vegeta scoffed at this saying, "You underestimate the drive of a warrior's will. If a man finds an opportunity and knows he has the tools to reach that goal, nothing will stop him from achieving it. It is not exclusive to us Saiyans and it can be just about anything."
Over to the other warriors, Tien, Roshi, and Krillin were also watching the spectacle unfold with a lot of engagement.
"Yeah! Atta boy, Sharp!" Krillin cried out with an excited grin. "Tien, you really must have been hands-on with this kid's training because he's killing it out there!
"Truly," Roshi agreed. "The techniques that you've passed on are bringing me back to the good ol' days when Krillin and Goku were in the early stages of their journeys. Tell us, how did you do it?"
While never taking his eyes away from the screen, Tien answered, "One of the biggest hurdles that we had to overcome was his ego. His false sense of self-importance."
"Ah, I get it. He does give me high school jock vibes." Krillin nodded knowingly while crossing his arms.
"No, that's not it." Tenshinhan clarified. "Sharpner used to compare his power and ability to Mr. Satan and his daughter. But after experiencing death firsthand and watching the footage of what really happened at Cooler's end, it changed his perception about himself, life, and what he wants out of it. Sharpner's became a better warrior because of it, and a better person."
Krillin and Roshi grinned at this explanation, beaming pride in Tien's growth as a mentor.
"I see. You have set this young man on the path of the warrior." The Turtle Hermit realized.
"Not exactly. He made the choice to walk on this path. I'm merely guiding him. And it just so happens that his selfish need to be admired through a false perception of himself has shifted into the honest dedication for self-improvement." Answered the Neo Crane master. "But ego can be manipulated and used as a great tool if need be. I'm sure that Sharpner figured it out."
"That's it! Krillin called out. "That's how Sharpner got the drop on her! He played with her ego!"
"Exactly," Tien smirked.
"Ah, I see what he did. That was a clever strategy." Roshi complimented.
'...But I wouldn't count the girl out yet. If there's anything to go by from personal experiences with my sister, it's to never let your guard down against witches.'
Battle Zone II - Forest
When the announcer began to count, Yurin slowly picked herself off of the floor after "four" was counted.
A small stream of blood ran from a bruise that was on her forehead. Her clothes had small tears but not enough to seem obscene. That didn't mean it wasn't tattered.
Still, that did not change the look of detest and contempt.
Sharpner stared back at her in a casual manner, not paying the daggers Yurin was glaring at him.
To him, she had nothing on Videl and Chi-Chi's death glares.
Panting while in pain, she hissed, "H-How?"
"How, what?" Sharpner asked, tilting his head with his usual nonchalant ways. "You mean how did I break free, or how was I able to kick your ass from hell and back? Because I can answer both, you know."
"Both." Yurin gritted.
"Oh, that's simple," Sharpner smirked before glaring at Yurin with total seriousness. "You like to run your jaw, so I punished you for it. Not bad for an amateur, right?"
Out of anger and with the wave of her glowing purple hands, Yurin summoned five giant monstrous man-eating Venus Flytraps from beneath the surface.
"SHUT UP!" The witch screamed. "I'LL BE DAMNED TO ALLOW MYSELF TO BE MOCKED BY THE LIKES OF YOU!"
The plants lunged forward in a frenzy, intending for Sharpner to be their next meal. The blond began to jump and hopped around the area, actively trying to avoid becoming past tense.
Wild vines and thorns that came from each beast ripped through grass and other trees. He could have sworn that each plant had acid oozing from them like it was their saliva.
…And was that a tongue!?
'Yeah, no! They're going down!' The disturbed Sharpner declared courageously in his mind.
Jumping back several feet, Sharpner took a page off of Krillin's book and threw five discs of ki at the heads of each man-eating plant. Each Kienzan connected, slicing the heads and bodies of the plants.
To seal the deal, Sharpner formed a diamond with his hands, aiming at the remains of the plants that were beginning to regrow and combine into a five-headed monstrous amalgamation.
Focusing his ki, sparks surged through both of his hands as he breathed in and out. Sharpner then shouted, "Kikōhō!"
And like that, Sharpner produced a large yellow beam that destroyed the creation of Yurin through incineration.
'I don't care what people say, the Kienzan definitely is a cool technique in my book!' The blond appreciated it in his mind.
Sharpner landed on the floor, only for him to be smacked down to the ground by a large vine.
Getting up from the attack, the bruised and semi-bloodied Sharpner looked up to see a salamander, roughly the size of seven jetcopters tall and ten jetcopters long, completely composed of vines and wood. And standing on top of the beast was Yurin himself.
VIP Tower, Battle Island II
"Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot believe what we're seeing but it's there before ours! The alleged Enchantress has seemed to conjure up some sort of wooden grass lizard out of the very roots of the island. I'm willing the bet zeni that Willow Industries's Solid Light has no involvement in this phenomenon!"
"Giant lizard magic? Cool!" The young Monty Cash swooned.
"Magic?" Lotta muttered in confusion. "But I thought that magic was something put in storybooks for children. Right, dear?"
X.S. Cash nodded in agreement, just as shocked at Yurin's abilities as any other ordinary Earthling.
"There are many anomalies in nature and life that any ordinary person would consider…unnatural." Mercenary Tao, under the alias "Kurozuru", stated sagely. "Of course, one can only be initiated to receive such knowledge if their mind is open to accept something that seems impossible to be in the realm of possibility."
"Couldn't have said it any better myself, Kurozuru." Dr. Yanagi grinned with satisfaction.
Mr. Satan and Cocoa remained quiet as they never took their eyes off the screen. Wondering how this insane match would conclude.
And they hoped that Sharpner would make it out alive.
Battle Zone II - Forest
Sharpner dodged and weaved through vines and the wooden claws of the plant-based salamander.
"JUST MOVING ALREADY, WILL YOU!?" The crazed woman screeched.
"Not a chance, lady!" Sharpner rebelled as he formed a Kienzan.
He chucked the ki disc at one of the salamander's front legs, cutting it clean off. The beast not only grew back, but the monster then grew wooden armor on all of its legs for protection.
'Oh, you've got to be kidding me!' Sharpner groaned as he dodged the salamander's rapid-firing wooden nails.
Hiding behind a random tree by using Rapid Movement to get out of sight, he screamed at Yurin from afar, "IS THIS REALLY NECESSARY!? I THOUGHT THIS WAS A MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT, NOT A BATTLE TO THE DEATH!"
"Please! You've signed your death certificate the moment you decided to become that traitor's student! His sins are now yours to bear! That's more than enough reason to rid the world of garbage like you!" Yurin roared, motioning the salamander to ram itself into Sharpner's location with its teeth ready to tear him limb from limb.
It did, only for him to miss the blond as he stood behind the pair.
"You think that thing scares me!? Well, jokes on you! I was killed, met a giant red Oni in heaven, came back, met a dragon, and found God in less than a day!" Sharpner said, continuing to use Krillin's signature attacks to slowly Yurin and the beast down. "You're nothing special, babe!"
"Don't screw with me, kid!" Yurin shot back as she had the salamander's tail swing at the blond, shooting poisonous thorns to impale Sharpner.
Sharpner cartwheeled and weaved through the life-sized thorns before taking on and promptly used one of them to deflect the rest.
"Trust me, you're not doing yourself any favors. I'm sure no man would even dare himself to look at you after this." Sharpner quipped before returning to his serious nature. "And that's not taking into consideration that you're associated with a murderous mercenary!"
"My grandfather was a strong man and your blasphemous mentor made him weak!" Yurin spat, pointing at him which took him by surprise.
"Grandfather?" Sharpner repeated, gasped in shock. "Shen was your grandfather?"
"Master Shen gave everything to that three-eyed baldy and his stupid floating puppet! They were nothing but common thieves before the Crane. But when my grandfather came into their lives, he molded them into the best of the Crane School. Prodigies!" Yurin ranted, feeling her face turn red from rage. "So what if his methods were brutal, that was his way of caring for his pupils. And then Tenshinhan allowed that damned Turtle Hermit to poison his mind with mercy and abandoned the way of the Crane! Only to further forsaken Master Shen by dishonoring his brother in the 23rd Būdokai!"
Sharpner paused to listen to Yurin's words, seemingly shaken by her words.
Seeing this, Yurin triumphantly smirked, saying, "What? Has your master not told you about his past? He and that floating midget were con artists back in the day. Tch! Typical buffoon. You're so quick to toss your self-righteousness in my face only to see that you're studying under a traitor with a shady history. I can't say that I'm completely surprised, though. You can't always find value in lowly trash. If you have any sort of respect as a martial artist, do stay there and accept your fate now. This tournament doesn't matter to me. But my master's honor does."
Closing his eyes, Sharpner took a horse stance as he placed his arms to his sides to focus on his body's energy flow. He can hear the voice of Tenshinhan echo in his mind.
Feel the energy circulate in your body. Like the ki flow through you like a river.
Suddenly, the extraordinary flow of energy manifested into a white outer glow that surrounded his body. This in turn, amplified his power twofold.
Looking directly into Yurin's eyes, Sharpner openly declared, "Enchantress, I'm going to win this fight and provide for my folks at home. So, you can take your gramps and your honor, and go to hell! This Crane School drama ends now!"
Yurin, having enough of Sharpner's resistance, screamed, "THEN DIE!"
The witch had the salamander charge at him with the purple mystical aura surrounding it. However, nobody was able to prepare themselves for the speed that Sharpner had acquired from his sudden change.
In a matter of seconds, Sharpner went from being on the ground to reappear in front of Yurin.
Sharpner stood on top of the salamander's head.
"Y-You!" Yurin stuttered, gasping out of awe and…fear?
"It's over," Sharpner said with finality.
With his focused energy covering his body, Sharpner lifted his fist and slammed it to the head with a force so great, that not only did the impact of the attack destroy the wooden salamander, but the reinforced ki obliterated the remains completely in a flash of bright light.
When the bright light left and the smoke cleared, two figures remained, one lying on the ground and one standing.
When the announcer counted to ten, the match was decided.
"Yurin is unable to continue! Sharpner advances to the next round!"
To Be Continued…
Finally, another winner has been decided with Sharpner taking the victory. And it seems that Videl is not the only one with trump card up her sleeve. But is he even aware of the mysterious new power? What would the other fighters think? And who will be up next? Find out next Dragon Ball Z: PRIMAL!
Author's Note: What's going on, everyone! I'm back with another match!
Oh, whenever a person gets defeated are taken to the medical ward and goes back to the stadium to watch the finals as spectators.
I'm sorry that this fight took a little longer than most to write. Lately, I have been stumped on how to start it, given that both characters are fairly obscure. Building them up to be something completely different from their original selves is a unique challenge that I was trying to tackle. Hopefully, the results are to your liking. If not, tell me what I need to improve on.
Yurin isn't that different from the Super anime's canon, except see is more dangerous and willing to kill like the Crane students from the original Dragon Ball series. In terms of fighting style, she fights like Yun from Street Fighter. Or, for reference, she is similar to a Jyuken user from the Naruto series, where Yurin could very well shut down pressure points to disrupt ki flow and kill a person through nerve damage. But her ki's natural affinity to plant life is based on Mokuton (Wood Release) from Naruto and her magic that allows her to manipulate and bend plant life to her will is based on the concept of Demon Energy from Yu Yu Hakusho.
I also decided to give Yurin an emotional reason to hate Tien, therefore, Sharpner, by giving Yurin an emotional connection to the Crane School. And what better way to do so is by having Yurin related to Master Shen. Regardless of its adoption, Yurin loves Shen like how Goku loves Old Man Gohan. But, she learned Shen and Tao's twisted ways because of this.
As for Sharpner, I already explained his fighting styles in a past chapter. Go back to Chapter 20 for reference. What I haven't mentioned but shown was a glimpse of his hidden power. In case you haven't figured it out already, Sharpner had indeed tapped into the Mūga no Ryoiki, or State of Selflessness. Mind you, it's not something he can do on command at this time. This is to balance him and Videl's power scaling since they are relative to one another. What I can also confirm is that he knows the Kikōhō, Hammerhead, the Multi-Form technique, and his own version of the Energy Fist.
Anyways, do be prepared for the next fighter because this one is going to be fun! So please leave your comments about this chapter by reviewing it. Tell me what you like, what you don't like, what was done well, what could be improved on, and how is this tournament going so far. Heck, who do you want to see more of? What are your predictions about the direction this is all going?
I'll see you guys later!
-DarkShadowGames451