Chapter Thirteen

Raditz and Krillin were probably the first people on this side of the world awake the morning of the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament. Why wouldn't they though after eight long months of training. The amount of milk they delivered each morning increased. The fields they plowed got longer. The amount of materials they moved around got heavier and heavier. As their workload grew though, so did the young fighters' power. In fact, Raditz and Krillin had trained so hard that even their mentor, the Turtle Hermit, had been forced to continue his training and had become a tad stronger than he was.

It was going to be a long flight to Papaya Island so the entire morning would be spent traveling to where the tournament took place. Krillin had woken up to butterflies in his stomach, this would be his first time fighting in a tournament. This was Raditz's first time too, yet he awoke only to get an extra hour of training in before they departed. Now the three stood outside of Kame House, with Launch bidding them best wishes and parting words for the trip.

"Now you two can take off those shells," Roshi instructed his students as he unstrapped his own. "They're for training purposes only… we won't need them at the tournament."

"Great, thank you Master." Krillin grinned, unstrapping his shell's latches. This caused the 85 lb shell of dead weight to slam to the ground. "I thought we'd just walk into Papaya Island looking silly with those on. I wouldn't wanna be fighting for the title with so much dead weight."

"Lightweight," Raditz interjected, unstrapping his shell, a 105 lb one, and dropping it to the ground as if it were an empty backpack. 'It sucks I can't wear my armor to this thing,' He said to himself, tugging at his white gloves.

"I've got something for you boys," Launch squealed, handing each of the martial artists a gift-wrapped box. "A tailored suit for each of you, Master Roshi ordered them just for today."

"No offense, but I'm a fighter not a businessman." Raditz politely declined. He respected women and the thought behind the gift, but what business would he have fighting in a fresh suit. "I've never even worn something so… pompous before,"

"These suits are just so that we look professional on the way to the tournament," Roshi spat in, handing Raditz his box despite what he was saying. "I want the Turtle School to look appealing if we're going to be on television. These things cost a lot of Zeni, so we're going to wear them and that's final!"

"Fine," The Saiyan grunted, giving in as he followed the others inside to change before departure.

A few minutes later the three men walked out of Kame House, dressed in their fancy clothing. Raditz was the first one to walk out of the home, dressed properly in a darkened platinum colored suit with a white collared dress shirt under the buttoned up jacket. Launch had helped the Saiyan tie a green tie around his neck, adding a bit of color to his look. The Saiyan, not wanting his opponents to have much of an advantage, had also tied his hair up in a rubber band, slightly shortening the hair by placing it in a bit of a spiky, untamed ponytail (Like Future Trunks hair as a Super Saiyan). Raditz felt highly uncomfortable wearing the suit but just insisted on getting it out of the way for the time being. Upon his left eye, the Saiyan wore his lime green scouter, which complimented the tie that he was wearing as well as distinguishing the young warrior as a proud member of the Saiyan race. Master Roshi had insisted that the wild haired student wear a fedora of the same color upon his head but Raditz had nearly rioted, harshly putting an end to that idea as he unleashed a small ki blast onto the hat in a tantrum of irritation, disintegrating it to nothing.

Master Roshi donned a similar suit, albeit his coat and pants was a complete black color coat on top of his own white dress shirt, hoisting a crimson red colored tie. The elderly master retained his sunglasses with the outfit, as well as wearing a black fedora on his bald head. Krillin's outfit was the exact inverse of the older master's suit, being a snow white color as he was the only one of the group to wear a black collared shirt with a white tie. His own fedora was also the same color as his tie and suit, being an icy white color with a single black stripe.

"I look good," Krillin smirked, admiring himself as he flaunted about.

"Never speak of this again or someone dies," Raditz threatened as he walked away from Kame House, with Master Roshi and Krillin quickly following him. "And I mean it."

"Bring home the championship boys," Launch screamed out as the three men began their journey to catch their flight at the airport.

After a five hour long flight and a quiet taxi ride over to the arena, the three martial artists finally arrived at their destination: the site of the 21st Annual World Martial Arts Tournament.

"We're here to sign up for the martial arts tournament tomorrow," Master Roshi explained to the attendant as he walked towards the registration booth.

"How many of you are there?" The attendant replied.

"Just the three," Master Roshi answered, pointing out himself and his students. "Roshi, Krillin, and Raditz over there."

"Hey Raditz!" A familiar, masculine voice rang out through the small crowd. Growing louder as the distance was closed, Raditz turned to see Yamcha, closely followed by Puar and Mai, walking towards him. "I knew you wouldn't miss this!" The bandit greeted his friend in excitement, reaching out for a handshake.

Not much had changed about the bandit over the last eight months but Raditz did see that he had gotten noticeably more chiseled and bigger. The bandit had also cut his mane of hair down to just ear-length. Mai's leg also seemed to be healing quite well, since she was now walking without the aid of her crutches, a bulky boot on her right leg only. Of course, Puar was just plain old Puar.

"What's up Yamcha," Raditz replied with the same energy, shaking the former bandit's hand. "Hello to you two as well, Mai and Puar." The Saiyan politely added, waving towards the shapeshifter and his former antagonizer.

"Hi Raditz!" Puar gleefully greeted the boy.

"Hello Raditz…" The former henchman hesitantly added, scratching her arm in anxiousness. Swallowing, she then added. "You know, I never really got the chance to apologize for what Pilaf had me do."

"No apology needed," The Saiyan cut in with a smile. "We know how all that turned out in the end. I should be apologizing for the foot… I'm glad you're walking again."

"So Raditz, are you ready for Yamcha versus Raditz, Round Three?" The desert bandit asked his spiky haired friend. "You can bet I am!"

"Let's just see if you manage to advance far enough in the tournament before we think about that," Raditz said. "They may have us on opposite sides of the bracket."

"I'm going to make it to the finals regardless of where I'm placed," Yamcha shot back, smirking as he spoke. "I've been training like never before… for this tournament but really just for you." he added, pointing at Raditz.

"That so? Let's see," Raditz said as he powered up his scouter. Scanning the desert bandit, the device flashed golden figures across the screen before beeping as it came to a halt. "146, that's not bad."

"Sounds like you've improved," Another voice added, joining the conversation. "I bet Raditz still wipes the floor with you." The feminine voice teased.

"Bulma," Raditz said with a cheesy grin, recognizing the voice immediately. Turning to meet her, the Saiyan instantly brought her into an embracing hug as he breathed in the sweet fragrance of cherries that she gave off. "I almost thought you'd forgotten. Thanks for being here,"

"I wouldn't have missed this for the world, you know that," Bulma sheepishly replied, her face flushing red as she felt the Saiyan's broad shoulders. "You forgot to visit me, twerp."

"Oh yeah about that… I never had time," Raditz sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he released the woman from the hug. "The old man kept Krillin and I busy with the training… I'll probably never drink milk again."

"It's okay," The bluenette smiled, twirling her finger through her hair. "Just win this thing and I'll forgive you." She finished, pecking the Saiyan's cheek with a delicate kiss.

The rest of the day passed by quickly as old friends caught up and new friendships were made between the Saiyan's past and current acquaintances. Later on that night, Master Roshi rented a room for his two students and himself. The remainder of the night went by rapidly in wait for the next day, all three going to bed moderately early.

"You two, come here," Roshi instructed his students the next morning. "I wanted to give you these before we left but I never had the time so here you go," He said with a smile, handing the two fighters a medium-sized box.

Krillin opened his box first, seeing the new martial arts uniform awaiting him. It was an orange colored one with the turtle symbol on both the top left side of the chest as well as much bigger on the back of the shirt. It came with a black belt and a pair of unweighted blue wristbands.

"Thanks Master," Krillin thanked the hermit, bringing him into a hug.

Raditz followed behind Krillin, opening his box to reveal his own uniform. It was a gi similar to Krillin, albeit much larger to accommodate Raditz's adult stature. His gi was instead a blue color with an orange colored undershirt, belt, and wristbands the same burnt orange. The turtle symbols were on the same positions as they were printed onto Krillin's uniform.

"The inverse in colors shows your individuality and the fact that you were the stronger of the two students," Roshi explained. "The symbol shows that I'm your teacher."

Raditz stood silent for nearly an entire minute, looking at the martial arts uniform. Never before had someone other than done something like what Master Roshi had did for him… training him, providing shelter and food, and now this. The Saiyan exchanged a slight hug with the Turtle Hermit as he grinned largely at the sight of the fighting gi, something that was incredibly unfamiliar for him to do. "I-It's an absolute honor… thank you, master." Raditz told the elderly martial arts master before he walked into the bathroom to change into the newly obtained attire.

Raditz, Krillin, and Master Roshi arrived at the coliseum after changing into their fighting uniforms. After checking in with registration, the trio has been assembled with a group of hundreds of other fighters. In the midst of conversation between the fighters from around the world, an older man with a thick gray mustache walked onto the podum and began to address the group.

"Now I suggest that you all listen up," The man bellowed, the crowds' anxiety and his demeanor quieting the crowd. "I don't want to have to repeat myself because a fighter didn't bother to listen. Before the tournament begins, we'll be thinning the crowd with some single elimination matches. We will divide you all up in a moment and face off until the top two fighters from each bracket, that's right. The ride ends here for all but eight of you, I hope you brought your A-games!" He finished with a cackle.

After explaining the rest of the tournament's rules and then a short intervention, each fighter was brought up to draw a number for a large container. The number written in the folded paper would choose where they'd be placed in the elimination round.

"I got 93… what about you?" Krillin asked his friend as he showed his paper.

"70," Raditz replied, revealing his number to the monk.

"Wait what?" Krillin gulped, freaking out at the realization that he had been placed in the same group as the Saiyan. "T-That puts the both of us in the third block!"

Raditz chuckled slightly at the boy's anticipation of facing him. He didn't care who he fought, he had just come to win and hopefully find some decent competition.

"Don't worry Krillin," The Saiyan smirked, suppressing his laugh. "They placed us on opposite sides of the tier. Rest assured though, you're going to have to fight me eventually if you wanna win this thing. I don't plan on watching from the sidelines at any point."

"I guess that makes you my opponent in the finals then," Yamcha said, joining the fighters' conversation as he approached them with his paper in his hand. "I'm in the second tier and Roshi's in the first. This should be light work, the real tournament begins upstairs after we pick the weeds out."

"Will the first two tier three fighters come up?" A voice shot through a nearby speaker. "I need fighters number 69 and 70 to the ring!" The voice said again.

Raditz slowly ascended the stairs to the arena, seeing his opponent, a young male awaiting him in the small tile ring. The poor contestant was a kid, probably thirteen or fourteen, with a nappy black afro. He wore an overgrown brown top that hung loosely from his scrawny chest and a pair of white bottoms that fit just as baggy. Although he'd given his scouter to Bulma during the tournament for safety, the Saiyan took one look at his opponent and knew that it wouldn't be much of a challenge. Though his fighting stance looked decent for a boy his age, he was leagues behind Raditz and it wasn't even a match.

"Hey, it looks like Raditz's fighting first!" Bulma squealed as she watched the fights through a window with the assistance of a transformed Oolong.

"Ready… fight!" The preliminary announcer shot out with the wave of a flag.

"Hercule Punch!" Raditz's opponent let out fiercely, lunging forward towards the Saiyan in hopes of landing a power packed jab at his foe.

"Pathetic," Raditz shrugged to himself as time slowed in his mind. Dodging the fist with minimal effort, the Saiyan reached out at the last second and grabbed ahold of the human's arm. Using pure strength, Raditz then flipped his opponent to the ground in UFC fashion. Before he could touch the ground though, Hercule felt a sharp pain shoot through his stomach as the Saiyan boots Raditz wore shot into his gut with Raditz's kick. Packed with more than enough energy to knock down a building, Raditz's opponent was knocked not only sent flying out of the ring but also through the brick wall.

"Tricks," The martial artist said, trying to find an explanation before his concussion put him to sleep on the grassy field.

"We have a winner!" The tournament attendant excitedly exclaimed, completely stunned by the Saiyan's display of strength.

Raditz, along with Krillin, Master Roshi, and Yamcha all managed to make it out of the incredibly long Elimination Round without any sort of trouble, barely having to use more than one-fourth of their full power. The Saiyan of the group had easily sent his opponents soaring out of the ring and through the building with only the slightest touches. Krillin fared pretty well too… even getting in a bit of sweet revenge upon one of his former, much older, Orin Temple bullies, managing to harshly beat the boy without any type of true effort. He then easily took out the remainder of his opponents, defeating each of them without even breaking a sweat. The boy's martial arts master, Master Roshi, seemed to be incredibly bored by how easily his opponents dropped, having one competitor was blown out of the arena just because the Turtle Hermit slightly sneezed. Yamcha showcased his strength to Raditz and the others, showing off his incredibly improved Wolf Fang Fist technique. He had even managed to defeat his final opponent of a much improved version of the technique he dubbed the Blinding Wolf Fang Fist.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, are you finally ready for the tournament to begin?" The new announcer, this one a much younger blonde screamed out, hoping to hype up the gathered crowd that sat in the stands, ready to enjoy an entertaining martial arts tournament. "It is time for the 21st Annual World Martial Arts Tournament to finally come to a start!"

Bulma, Puar, Mai, and Oolong all sat in the front row of the audience, loudly cheering on the four competitors that were their friends. Along with Raditz, Yamcha, Master Roshi, and Krillin, four other individuals had come out on top of their respective tiers. Bacterian, an incredibly fat, caveman-like Earthling who emitted an incredibly foul stench from his body was one of the fighters to do so. Along with the stinky giant, another martial artist to advance was Ranfan, a medium-heighted, lilac haired skinny yet curvy woman who managed to do so. Master Roshi had attempted to hit on the female many times throughout the morning, hoping to use his charms to when over the curved woman. Giran, a huge, dark blue and green scaled dinosaur-like beast of a creature with a smaller than expected set of wings also just so happened to work his way into the finals along with Nam, an sort of scrawny, incredibly quiet Indian who sat to himself for most of the day, meditating alone in the corner of the room. Judging by their actions and the energy each combatant was radiating off of their bodies, Raditz instantly came to the conclusion that besides his three friends and himself, Nam surely had to be the strongest of the group of Earthlings.

"Okay, our contestants have previously drawn numbers backstage and it appears that our scheduled first round matches will be as follows:

Match 1: Krillin vs. Bacterian

Match 2: Master Roshi vs. Yamcha

Match 3: Ranfan vs. Nam

Match 4: Raditz vs. Giran

Now that our matchups have been directly established and explained to you all, may I please have both Krillin and Bacterian to the ring?"

"Wish me luck you guys," Krillin smiled, arising from his seat as he confidently walked out of the fighter's waiting area and out into the large coliseum, where the thousands, if not millions, of people sat ready to watch him fight… and not to mention the billions of television watchers supervising the former monk as he took a single step onto the giant, tiled arena… ready to show the world just how powerful he had managed to become.

"You shouldn't need any of that," Raditz tonelessly remarked, silently meditating in the corner opposite of that of Nam's. "Just finish that brute of yours quick and efficiently so we can get on with the much worthier matches."

Power Levels

Raditz: 235

Krillin: 171

Yamcha: 129

Master Roshi: 232

Hercule: 9 (13 years old)

Bacterian: 31

Ranfan: 40

Nam: 81

Giran: 70