TURTLE VS. CRANE
Before they know it, it's been three years since the 21st Budokai and the fall of the Red Ribbon Army.
Which means it's time for the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai.
Yamcha, now 20, boards the capsule plane with Krillin, Roshi, Lunch and Ranchi, where Bulma and the Gems are waiting for him. He had immediately gone back to Kame House to complete his training after turning 18, and now felt ready for anything. Of course, his new appearance had startled nearly everyone he knew, even making Bulma blush when they reunited.
After returning to Kung Pao Rock over two years ago, Yamcha was able to talk with the other Gems. Since then, they've reminded each other of the promise they made all those years ago. This isn't about Holly anymore; from now on, everything has to be about Yamcha. For the first time in years, Yamcha finally feels like they see him as his own person, instead of just a part of Holly. And he couldn't be happier about it.
Once they land on Papaya Island, Yamcha and Krillin sign up for the tournament. They ask if Goku has registered yet, but it looks like he hasn't. The others start to head to the carnival games nearby, but not before Jasper registers for the tournament as well. The orange Gem gives Yamcha a playful smirk, saying that she's been planning this since the last Budokai, and that he better be ready if they get matched.
The group continues to the carnival section (with Roshi lagging behind to secretly register as Jackie Chun again), but are suddenly confronted by three people: an old man with a crane-shaped hat on, a three-eyed young man, and a short boy with white skin and red cheeks.
Roshi immediately recognizes the old man as Shen, his rival and the leader of the Crane School. Shen mocks Roshi and his students, saying that the Crane School will easily overpower the Turtle School during the tournament.
A few minutes after Shen and his students leave, Goku finally shows up, clad in a tiger skin outfit and with his tail grown back. He happily reunites with the others and registers for the tournament. They notice that Goku's gotten a bit taller (not as drastically as Yamcha's growth, of course, but still noticeable).
The announcement for the contestants to head to the competition hall is soon made, and Goku, Yamcha, Jasper and Krillin head off. Roshi gives his three students brand-new versions of the Turtle School gi; they all don it, though Yamcha continues to wear his mother's jacket and go barefoot. And once again, the others lose track of Roshi afterwards.
Once inside the competition hall, the group reunites with Jackie Chun. Later on, Goku spots a familiar raven-haired girl wearing a purple gi. Goku lights up and rushes over to Chi-Chi, who is just as happy to see him. Chi-Chi's also grown quite a bit, now a few inches taller than Goku, but still shorter than Bulma.
The announcers give everyone the rules for the qualifying rounds, they all draw their numbers (thankfully ending up in different sections), and the elimination process begins. Just like last time, Yamcha, Goku, Krillin, and Jackie/Roshi all breeze through their opponents and end up qualifying for the Budokai. Jasper and Chi-Chi don't have any difficulties either, and also make the cut.
During the rounds, the group is confronted by the same three-eyed man and doll-like boy from before, whom they learn are named Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu. Just like his teacher, Tien mocks the Turtle School students, saying he'll beat them all with ease. But unlike previous fighters, he's got skills to match his attitude, moving too fast for most humans to see and overpowering his opponents with eased.
Once all is said and done, the eight contestants head to the main hall: Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, Jackie/Roshi, Tien, Chiaotzu, Jasper and Chi-Chi. Numbers are drawn and (with a bit of manipulation from Chiaotzu), the matches are decided.
Round 1 – Yamcha vs. Tien Shinhan
Round 2 – Chiaotzu vs. Jasper
Round 3 – Krillin vs. Jackie Chun
Round 4 – Goku vs. Chi-Chi
OoOoOoO
Let the tournament begin!
With Bulma, the other Crystal Gems, and their friends watching excitedly, Yamcha and Tien enter the ring. The round begins, and Yamcha and Tien wow the audience with their skills. It's clear that neither are backing down anytime soon. Yamcha even shows off something he learned over the past three years: the Kamehameha!
But that's not enough to take down Tien, who effortlessly deflects the Kamehameha back at Yamcha, who jumps into the air before it can hit him. Tien takes the opportunity to appear next to Yamcha in midair and kick him in the gut, sending him crashing back to the ring. It would've knocked anyone else out cold, but thankfully Yamcha's able to stand up and jump away before Tien can strike him again.
Tien realizes that a full-out assault won't work against Yamcha like his previous opponents; his heavyset build is like armor for his intestines and nerves, allowing him to both inflict and absorb plenty of damage (not to mention his Gem physiology and healing abilities). He's going to have to use a different strategy.
Yamcha and Tien rush into the fight again. This time, Tien continues his mocking of both Yamcha and the Turtle School, which infuriates him. After a few minutes of back-and-forth, Tien manages to hit the right button.
"And what's with that stupid gemstone on your chest?" Tien asked with a smirk, glancing at the upper-half of the gem poking out of Yamcha's gi.
"Shut up!" Yamcha growled, his hands curled into tight fists.
"What, were you born with it or something?" The triclops practically laughed.
"It belonged to my mother!" Yamcha snapped.
"Your mother?" Tien echoed, still smirking. "I wonder if she was as gaudy as that cheap stone."
"I said, SHUT UP!" Yamcha yells, barreling towards his opponent.
This proves to be a mistake on Yamcha's part. Tien uses the half-Gem's rage to his advantage, and ends up using a Solar Flare to temporarily blind him and knocks Yamcha out of the ring. He lost this fight the moment he let his rage control him. Tien is declared the winner of this round.
(Tien briefly considered breaking either Yamcha's leg or arm…but there was something about the way the green-skinned woman was glaring at him. He had a feeling that, if he did so, then something bad would happen…and the green woman would be involved.)
Irritated, Yamcha rubs his eyes and practically storms out of the ring to join Bulma and the others to watch the rest of the tournament. Sure, he's not happy about losing in the first round, but he might as well cheer on his friends while he's here.
OoOoOoO
Back inside the Main Hall, as Chiaotzu and Jasper wait for the announcer to call them out, Tien comments that the Turtle School students were better than he expected, but they shouldn't be too hard to take down. With confidence, Chiaotzu heads out to the ring. But Jasper, who is right behind him, is more than a little mad at the triclops and doll-like boy.
The second round begins. Chiaotzu proves to be a handful, between his speed, levitation and telekinetic abilities, but Jasper's no pushover either. After a few minutes, Chiaotzu suddenly fires a Dodon Ray at Jasper. She's able to dodge it, but she and the rest of the Gems immediately recognize that technique.
It's the same technique Tao Pai-Pai used to crack Yamcha's gem three years ago.
Just the thought that these Crane School kids could be in cahoots with Tao is enough to enrage Jasper, and she doesn't hold back during her fight. She succeeds in landing a few painful blows, but it's brought to an abrupt halt when Chiaotzu uses his telekinesis to freeze her in place. Luckily, Jasper's able to use his one weakness: math.
"Hey, kid," Jasper says with a grin. "What's three plus four?"
Chiaotzu pauses and lowers to hands to count on his fingers, allowing Jasper to break free and knock him out of the ring with a single kick. Jasper is declared the winner, but she doesn't stop there. The orange Gem jumps out of the ring and storms over to Chiaotzu, snatching him up by the collar of his uniform.
"Start talking, pipsqueak," she snarls. "How do you know the Dodon Ray? Did that Tao guy teach you?"
Tien, Chiaotzu and Shen are shocked she knows about Tao. "Hey, how do you know that?" Shen demands.
"Oh, you know him, too, huh?" Jasper asks, giving him a dark glare. "Then maybe you can give him this message." She pauses to let go of Chiaotzu and kick him into the air. "The day he crosses paths with the Crystal Gems will be his last one." She stomps out of the arena without another word.
The others are glad she passed the quarter finals. Of course, based on tournament roster, she'll have to face Tien sooner or later. No problem for her. If anything, Jasper's looking forward to pounding another Crane School scum into the ground.
OoOoOoO
Up next is Krillin vs. Jackie Chun/Roshi. This round proves to be both comical and impressive. Jackie/Roshi is pleasantly surprised how powerful Krillin has grown, as the shorter boy shows his potential throughout the fight. But in the end, despite being backed into a corner, Jackie/Roshi manages to overpower Krillin and knock him out by hitting the right nerve on his neck. Jackie/Roshi is declared the winner of this round.
After that is Goku vs. Chi-Chi. The two of them are neck-and-neck for a while, refusing to give each other even an inch. Eventually, Chi-Chi manages to sneak up behind Goku and grab his tail, confident that she's paralyzed him…only for Goku to fake her out at the last second and deliver a surprise attack, revealing that he's spent the last three years training his tail and can now handle it being squeezed.
From there, it's all downhill for Chi-Chi, as Goku's able to deliver another surprise attack that knocks Chi-Chi out of the ring. Goku is declared the winner. Chi-Chi grumbles, but Goku helps her to her feet, saying that she did amazing, which makes Chi-Chi blush and giggle like a schoolgirl.
OoOoOoO
During the fight intermission, the matchups for the semi-finals are announced:
Round Five – Tien Shinhan vs. Jasper
Round Six – Goku vs. Jackie Chun
This is bound to be interesting.
Jackie/Roshi quietly observes Tien during the downtime. He's a very powerful young man, but he's chosen to use his powers for wickedness. Jackie/Roshi can tell that he doesn't have it in his heart to be evil, so why does he follow someone like Shen and the Crane School?
Soon enough, the intermission comes to a close, and the semi-finals begin.
OoOoOoO
Round Five begins. Tien and Jasper duke it out for a while, much to the awe of the crowd. Tien's admittedly impressed at the orange Gem's skills, and she manages to land more than a few painful blows on him. But in the end, it's not enough. Because after several minutes of going back and forth, Tien ends this by using a Solar Flare to temporarily blind Jasper. He vanishes and appears behind her before the light can die down, and slams his fist into her back hard enough for it to go straight through her stomach. Her form disappears in a puff of smoke and her gem falls to the ground, much to the surprise of Tien and the shock of the crowd.
Lapis quickly grabs Jasper's gem and bring it back over to the group. Tien is declared the winner.
During the few minutes between this round and the next, the group tries to process what just happened.
"I can't believe this," Rose says in a quiet voice, unable to tear her gaze away from the orange gem in Lapis' hands. "How can someone take out Jasper just like that?"
It takes a while, but the orange gem finally glows and Jasper reforms, still in shock over what happened. When Goku and Jackie/Roshi head out to the arena, Yamcha takes the opportunity to give them a quick message.
"Hey, Goku! Jackie Chun!" He calls out, gaining their attention. "I don't care which one of you wins this round. When you face Tien, do me a favor and kick his ass!" Fury is practically dripping from his voice. (Though it looks a little juxtaposing, as Apache Tears is clinging to the back of his head.)
Round Six begins. Goku and Jackie/Roshi's rematch is truly a sight to behold. Silently, Jackie/Roshi couldn't be prouder. It seems that a new era of fighters is dawning. He's been waiting a long time for good, talented warriors to come along. And in the end, Jackie/Roshi deliberately lowers his guard, and Goku relies on his speed and trickery one more time to land a sneak attack on Jackie/Roshi, knocking him out of the ring. Goku is declared the winner.
OoOoOoO
A second intermission is held before the final round. The gang decides to get some food in the meantime, mostly so Goku can rest and recharge. Chi-Chi spends a good portion of this time clinging to Goku, saying how proud she is of him and how she knows he'll win.
During this time, Jackie/Roshi approaches Tien and asks for a one-on-one fight. Nothing major, just a quick spar. Tien's confused, but goes along anyways.
The two of them step outside of the tournament grounds and fight, while Chiaotzu watches from around the corner. Jackie/Roshi proves once more that he's not just an old man, dodging even his most elaborate moves and getting back up with ease. Tien's no pushover either, as he's able to easily push through Jackie/Roshi's illusions and fight back. And during this fight, Jackie/Roshi's able to talk with him.
"If you're this great a fighter, why do you still hang around someone like Shen?" he asks.
"That's none of your business!" Tien snaps. "You can't badmouth my mentor like that!"
"Why don't you use your formidable power for good?" Jackie/Roshi continues. "Why have you turned to evil? Your power cries out in shame! You should break your ties with the Crane School!"
"What kind of crap is that?!" Tien snarls. "I'll make you eat those words!"
"Is what I'm saying really so threatening?" Jackie/Roshi asks. "I'm just pointing out that life would be more fun if you'd learn to laugh and love. Or do you prefer being hated by others, just like Shen? I truly think you and your powers are wasted on evil."
Tien smirks. "In return for all this fine, uplifting advice, let me show you something you'll find interesting."
To Jackie/Roshi's shock, Tien powers up and fires a Kamehameha at him. Jackie/Roshi's able to block it and send it into the sky, which catches the attention of more than a few bystanders and the group. Shocked, they abandon their meals and hurry over to where it came from.
"Such an elementary move," Tien laughs. "If you see it once, you can easily make your own. Show me more moves, why don't you? I'd like to learn."
"You're even better than I thought you were," Jackie/Roshi says calmly, dropping his fighting stance and getting into a more relaxed position. "I'm glad. Please, walk the path of light and become a hero."
"What? You're still harping on about that?" Tien says in confusion.
"I've been waiting for fine young warriors like you to come along," Jackie/Roshi explains with a smile. "Now I can go back to happy retirement again."
Tien stares at him for a few long seconds, then manages to say, "You…You're Roshi of the Turtle School, aren't you? W-What's going on? Why does an august personage as Master Roshi go to the trouble of disguising himself to enter a tournament?"
"Oh, it's simple, really," Jackie/Roshi answers casually. "It's for the sake of my disciples. Let's say one of them wins the Budokai. He'll take on that 'I'm the best in the world' attitude and stop working to improve. It's a dangerous trap for youngsters."
"Of course…" Tien says quietly. "Now I understand." His smirk returns. "Once you learned how powerful I am, you realized that your disciples couldn't possibly win against me. And, secured in that knowledge, you deliberately lost to Goku. This fight wasn't serious. Even if you had beaten Goku and secured your spot in the final round, I know I'd win against you."
"You've got it wrong," Roshi responds, surprising Tien. "I forfeited when I realized that the new generation is turning out fine. I knew none of my disciples would turn into slackers just because they won the tournament. And now I'm confident that I'm not needed anymore." Tien's silent for a moment, then Roshi continues, "And you're no slacker, either. You're just not cut out to be evil."
"W-What?!" Tien gawks.
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone out of your way to ask me these things," Roshi says simply.
"Let me tell you something!" Tien yells. "My goal is to become the world's greatest assassin, just like Tao Pai-Pai!"
Before Roshi can respond to that, the others finally arrive, looking ready to fight Tien. Those with weapons have already drawn them; they're not on tournament grounds, so it's fair game, after all. From their perspective, it looked like Tien was ready to attack Jackie/Roshi for no reason.
"Oh. Well, well…" Roshi says in an amused tone, as if the others had never shown up. "This much of what you said might be true. Had we been fighting seriously, I probably would've lost." He turns and walks away. "I'll be watching from the audience. Good luck to you. I'm expecting a good match."
The others watch in confusion, while Tien narrows all three eyes into a glare. "Does he have no pride at all?" he asks out loud. "To have acknowledge his own probable defeat…"
Though the others aren't happy with Tien, but some of them drop their weapons/fighting stances and walk back to the tournament. After all, they're confident that Goku will take care of this goon.
But Apache's still trying to appear threating to Tien. It's an amusing sight, since he's much bigger than her, but that doesn't stop her from glaring into his soul and pointing her weapon at him. "Why're you even trying, kid?" Tien asks dryly.
"I'm much older than you," Apache snaps. Lapis puts an end to this by picking Apache up like a doll and practically dragging her back to the tournament grounds, much to Tien's confusion.
This entire group is insane.
OoOoOoO
It all comes down to this. Goku and Tien enter the arena, everyone eagerly waiting for the final round to begin (by this point, Roshi's gotten rid of his Jackie Chun disguise and is watching alongside the others). While Goku's eager to test his skills, Tien's letting Roshi's words swim in his mind. He can still feel Shen's pressure to defeat the Turtle School, though…
The final round begins. Tien and Goku's skills are nothing short of impressive. Between the Dodon Ray, the Volleyball Play, the Kamehameha, and the Solar Flare, it's clear that neither one is going down any time soon.
After several minutes of back-and-forth, Goku is suddenly paralyzed, allowing Tien to kick him around with ease. It's revealed that Chiaotzu is holding him in place with his telekinesis from the sidelines. Shen tells Tien telepathically to kill Goku…but Tien finds himself unable to. He finally yells at Chiaotzu to stop, allowing Goku to move freely again.
Shen is furious. Tien admits that he wants to win a legitimate match. If he kills Goku now, he'll never feel like he actually won this tournament. And he even admits that he doesn't want to become an assassin anymore.
But this doesn't ease Shen's anger at all. The Crane Hermit reminds Tien that he's the one that made him a fighter. He swears to kill both Tien and Goku, and orders Chiaotzu to paralyze them. When the young boy refuses, Shen tries to grab and kill him for disobeying…but is thankfully interrupted by Roshi firing a Kamehameha at him, sending him flying off the island.
Now that Shen is gone, the match can continue. Tien declares that, now that he's betrayed his master, he cannot allow himself to lose. He feels free now—no longer bound to Crane, or Turtle, or vengeance.
The fight continues. Between the Four Witches technique and Goku's trickery, the duo manages to impress even each other. Finally, Tien decides to end this. He gives Goku a simple message: If he tries to take this next move full-force, he will die; he pleads with Goku to dodge it.
Chiaotzu suddenly panics, and Roshi immediately figures it out. He begs Tien not to use that move, saying he'll die if does so. But Tien refuses to listen and soars into the air. Roshi hastily explains to the others that he's about to use the Kikōhō, an enormously destructive chi canon that's several times more powerful than the Kamehameha, but it greatly drains the user's energy; very few have ever survived using it, and those who do survive have their lives shortened. To think that Shen taught someone so young to wield it…
Despite Roshi and Chiaotzu's pleas, Tien focuses his chi into his hands and fires a Kikōhō at the arena; he makes sure to not pour all of his power into it, thankfully. The attack destroys the entire arena and leaves Tien exhausted. Goku's nowhere to be seen at first, but Tien quickly realizes that the monkey-tailed boy jumped up at the last second and is up in the sky with him.
Now it's a game of 'don't touch the ground'. Tien and Goku finish up their battle in the air, and quickly descend to the ground. Chi-Chi summons Kinto'un and the Crystal Gems use their abilities to carry themselves and the others to witness this. For a minute, it looks like Goku's about to win…but he hits a car and crashes into the ground just a second before Tien does.
Tien Shinhan is the winner of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai.
OoOoOoO
Once all the chaos has died down, Tien and Chiaotzu meet up with the rest of the group. Tien admits he now feels ashamed for his actions. He won by pure dumb luck, and now wants to do something right. He offers to buy everyone dinner (to which Krillin jokes what a mistake that'll be).
Goku realizes he forgot his Nyoibō and four-star Dragon Ball back in the Main Hall. Bulma offers to go get them and heads off. During this time, Tien apologizes to Yamcha and the others. The other forgive him, letting him know that, wherever he chooses to go now, the Turtle School will welcome him with open arms. Tien's grateful, but even though he and Chiaotzu have betrayed Shen, they were still his disciples and cannot stroll nonchalantly by their sides. The two of them will find somewhere new to settle.
Before they can continue, they suddenly hear Bulma scream from the Main Hall. Yamcha and the others immediately run in there, finding Bulma laying one the ground and the four-star Dragon Ball missing. The announcer is nearby, shaken up and saying that some strange monster took the Dragon Ball and tournament roster before fleeing.
The Crystal Gems start to ask about the monster, wondering if it was another corrupted Gem…only to be cut off by what Yamcha says next.
"She's…dead…" Yamcha says in a quiet voice, but the others stop talking immediately. He's cradling Bulma's body in his arms. Her neck is twisted at an odd angle, blood is trickling from her mouth, and her blue eyes are glassy and lifeless. "Bulma's…dead…"
…So today's my birthday. I'm officially 21 now
Aside from the very end, this chapter wasn't very exciting. Sorry if it seemed a bit lackluster compared to the previous ones
Gosh, I forgot how cool Roshi was in early Dragon Ball
And oh boy, that ending. Up next: the Piccolo Daimao Arc!
Thank you so much for reading this! Please leave a review letting me know what you think! God bless you and have a wonderful day/night/whenever you read this!