Chapter Sixteen
"Ladies and gentlemen… are you ready for the battle of the century, no… the match of the millennium?" The announcer screamed into his microphone, hyping up the cheerful crowd for the final match of this year's tournament. "This evening, we all will be witnessing history in the making as the legendary martial artist… the mystical Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi, takes on his very own student, the fearless, calm yet brutal, Raditz… who as you all have witnessed, has fought his way through his previous two matches without so much as a simple scratch bestowed upon him. Now according to Krillin, Raditz just so happens to be the stronger of Master Roshi's two students so now, the question can be answered… can Raditz do what Krillin failed to do and finally have the student surpass the teacher?"
"I knew that I would be the one facing off against you in the finals old man," Raditz exclaimed, his aura lightly making itself visible as the young warrior positioned himself into his traditional Saru fighting stance, now with a few hints of Master Roshi's Kame fighting styles mixed into it. "Now, I can finally have an opponent worthy of my full strength." The Saiyan added, his heart pounding desperately.
This was the exact moment he had been waiting for during the entire eight month training period under the Turtle Hermit… a straight battle between the old man himself where they could both go all-out against one another, not worrying about just how much damage they would receive… and better yet, Raditz could fight this one alone without the help of Krillin.
"I knew that it would come down to this as well," Master Roshi plainly stated, forming his body into his own battle stance, ready to take on his Saiyan student. To be honest, the Turtle Hermit had not expected Raditz to have the potential to hold such power within himself, remembering just how hard headed and ignorant the Saiyan had been when the two had first met one another. "I have seen you quickly blossom into an amazing… but still a bit brutal warrior. What you did to your first opponent was quite unnecessary… breaking his wings as if they were chopsticks. I know that you were taught to contain your temper."
"Old man, he'll live..." Raditz shot back, annoyed at being scolded like a child and wanting to get on with the fight. "I know that you felt that he had a dark aura surrounding him! Now, he'll know better than to pick a fight and anger an opponent he can't win against. Plus, now his poor wings won't have to hold up that fat body of his." He called that mercy.
"I did indeed feel that as well… but still, it was too harsh for a tournament fight. But as for our fight, just as I know that you like it, there will be no type of holding back in this match. Come at me with the same intentions to kill or you'll never win." The Turtle Hermit finished, getting into his fighting stance.
"That sounds perfect to me," Raditz smirked, his tone becoming much more excited than before as the blonde tournament commentator signaled the match to begin with his trademark 'BEGIN!'. Not wanting to waste a single second of this battle, the Saiyan immediately closed the distance across the worn stone tiles between himself and his opponent with a single leap. Sending a rocketing fist straight towards Master Roshi's face, hoping to get the first licks upon the board, Raditz was not even surprised when he found that the Turtle Hermit had moved quick enough to throw up a mighty forearm in the path of the blow, managing to block the Saiyan's strike.
"Pretty good old man," Raditz spoke, charging his opponent once again, a new flame being sparked in his heart. With each step closer that the long haired warrior grew to his worthy competitor, the more adrenaline seemed to be flooding his bloodstream, the entire world slowing down around him. Reaching his target, the Saiyan martial artist sent a kick directly towards his foe, longing to strike the man directly and determinedly in his chest area, wanting to deal out as much damage to the old master's body as possible before he did anything else.
"Too slow," Raditz heard the Turtle Hermit let out once he arrived at the spot, seeing that Roshi was no longer than, instead already ascending into the air with a power packed hop. The Saiyan wasted no time at all to chase down his opponent into the sky, speeding towards the now descending Master Roshi with a kick aimed directly at his exposed back. Raditz's boot slammed willingly into the old man's back, a slight yelp of pain soaring out of his mouth as his body stiffened in midair.
Hoping to keep up the good work, Raditz instantly decided to go on the offensive, forcing Roshi to keep ahead of his numerous strikes, each one intended to unleash a new world of pain upon the Turtle Hermit. The battle-hardened warrior that was Master Roshi immediately bobbed his head left and right, as well as back and forth, to evade the majority of the Saiyan's punches. The boy was fast… Roshi had to admit that but still, he was trying much too hard to connect a single blow onto his master, each of his punches losing their usually perfectly coordinated ways. Taking advantage of this, Roshi quickly flipped away from the Saiyan… before hesitantly pouncing back at the Saiyan Saiyan, this time crushing through the alien's nice display of defense using a ki enhanced kick, his foot connecting firmly onto the Saiyan's chest. Roshi then followed this strike up with a jab, which dug deep into the tailed fighter's cheekbone. By that time, both fighters had finished their lengthened descent to the stone floor of the tournament ring, instantly shooting back from one another to regain the small amount of breath they had given up just then.
"Not too shabby young one," Roshi smirked, still glaring daggers at the Saiyan. He knew that Raditz could hold off for this long at the least... knowing that the boy would not allow himself to be defeated with much ease.
"You're not too bad yourself old man," Raditz exclaimed, placing his flexing arms to his side. "Come at me again and I'll show you just how powerful I really am."
'We'll see about that,' Roshi mentally smirked, dashing enthusiastically towards the spiky haired being before him, throwing a fist to the boy's side in a hooked fashion.
Luckily for the warrior's wellbeing, he had managed to swat the strike away with an open palm, not allowing himself to be struck by the elder's never-ending barrage of blows. Raditz hurled his own jab straight at the Turtle Hermit, this one being fortunate enough to gain direct contact strictly between the old man's eyes. The elderly warrior hissed in a bit of pain as he flinched for a second, hoping to regain his concentration. Within seconds, the two martial artists were already exchanging their own arrays and flurries of punches and kicks, now appearing as nothing but blurs in the calm, clear skies to anyone other than Krillin or Yamcha, who seemed to be witnessing the fight just as it happened to appear, their trained senses allowing them to do so.
"Come on old man," Raditz smirked, falling back from the ancient martial artist after another minute or two of exchanging in close combat. While they had easily managed to send out dozens of blows, either Raditz or Master Roshi seemed to be neither heavily damaged nor fatigued just yet. "Let's give these people a show… they did pay for one now, didn't they?" The Saiyan added, his body beginning to spark out the raging purple and white vibrant flames that made up his aura.
"I take that as meaning that our little warmup is now over," Master Roshi replied, his own, slightly clearer aura engulfing his body.
"Both fighters have just stated that they were using just a mere fraction of their strength! What kind of surprises does our match have in store now that both Raditz and Master Roshi have decided to kick it up a notch?" The tournament announcer screamed out to the astonished crowd.
'Simply amazing…' Yamcha thought to himself, watching as the two specially trained titans of martial arts brawled in one large match.
'I knew that both of them were much stronger than me,' Krillin said to himself, amazed by both Roshi's and Raditz's display of strength. Although he could not sense the energy they contained and certainly noted their strength… Krillin could've sworn that he could feel the power radiating from each of their bodies ferociously, waiting… craving to be released. 'But I would have never expected this kind of power from even Raditz! Plus, it seems they're only warming up for now.'
"Alright, let's get serious." Master Roshi nodded, instantly speeding towards the Saiyan warrior that was his student. Expecting the man to attempt to attack him, Raditz kept his guard up, wanting to wait for the precise moment to counter and catch Roshi off-guard. However, a split second before any contact could be made with him, the Turtle Hermit stealthily vanished from view, leaving behind one of his trademark afterimages.
"Come on Roshi," Raditz smirked, looking about for the Turtle Hermit. After another second, the boy had to search no longer as Master Roshi revealed himself to the public, thrusting his fist towards the completely clueless Saiyan's back. Much to the hermit's surprise, his clenched hand passed through nothing more than a cleverly placed silhouette afterimage of the Saiyan warrior that was Raditz. "Didn't think I'd fall for that did you?" The voice of the Saiyan calmly spoke through Roshi's ears.
'Think you can use my own trick on me you little copycat?' Roshi said to himself, placing his guard up as he scanned the environment for any signs of the very much experienced and reliable Saiyan that was Raditz. 'That's the second time he's done that… I'm pretty impressed.' The hermit continued, remembering exactly how Raditz had perfectly performed the Kamehameha Wave within ten seconds of witnessing him do it… not even caring that it took the old master a good fifty years to learn it.
Not even a second later, Raditz suddenly reappeared directly in front of his mentor, suddenly driving his fist straight into the hermit's gut. Master Roshi's eyes shot open as he glanced down, seeing the Saiyan's heavy hand planted firmly into his stomach. The man quickly recovered, managing to throw up a defensive stance to easily block most of the next flurry of strikes that Raditz insisted on launching his way, now recovered from the intense sting of Raditz's gut blow. The Turtle Hermit then exited his defensive stance, insisting on going on the offensive as he shot back at Raditz, sending blow after blow at his student's face. Each of the master's punches were met with one of Raditz's own, large echoes cackling through the arena as the Earth shattering forces collided with one another repeatedly. The two beings continued, managing to face off against one another neck-to-neck before, after a few more seconds of brawling it out, Master Roshi finally gave in, utilizing another of his backflips to scoot back a couple of yards.
'This should be able to work to my advantage,' Roshi stated to himself, his face beginning to redden as his body became a bit flimsy, and his hands repeatedly twirling to his side. The elderly warrior continued to stumble about on the ring, his movements becoming somewhat weird to the Saiyan's eyes as the master martial artist began staggering wildly towards him.
'What the hell is he up to?' Raditz said to himself, watching as his mentor performed such irregular movements, his guard still up just in case a surprise attack came his way. "Old man… are you okay?"
"It appears that Master Roshi has either been hit way too hard or he's been sipping slightly too much from the old flask… if you know what I mean," The tournament announcer chuckled, commentating over the fight.
Master Roshi advanced towards his Saiyan student, still staggering left and right as he walked. The man emitted a single laugh, acting as if he was completely intoxicated as he wildly swung at his Saiyan foe. Unknowingly to Raditz, the old master was utilizing his Drunken Fist technique, a move where he would mimic the movements of a drunk while also attacking his opponent, confusing even the most skilled martial artists.
'Now I see,' Raditz said to himself, memorizing the movements that Master Roshi was performing as the very ones that Gohan had previously utilized in his Drunken Boxing technique, still dodging the multiple strikes. "Give it up Roshi… I know your trickery. That won't work on me!" The Saiyan finished, charging towards the drunken martial artist, only to be slapped aside by only the man's irregular and fierce movements. The Saiyan continued stupidly charging his master for a number of times before he decided that he had to come up with another form of facing off against the mentor.
'Let's see if this new technique of mines proves any good… I've been saving it for him all this time…' Raditz thought to himself, placing his right hand to his side, charging up a large sphere of blue-violet colored energy in his palm, the orb of ki expanding with with passing second. "KA… ME… HA… ME…"
"Use my attack will you?" Roshi said to the boy, placing both of his arms cupped to his own side, charging up his self-made, trademark sphere of charged together energy, his signature attack growing larger with each second that Raditz took the time to place more energy into the ki blast. "KA… ME… HA… ME…"
"Oh my kami, ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer screamed, watching as both of the Kamehameha wielders began charging their energy in the palm of their hands. "You are all fortunate enough to be able to witness not one, but two masters of the legendary Kamehameha Wave prepare to face their waves off against one another!"
"HA!" The Turtle Hermit screamed, unleashing his fully charged blast of blue energy at his opponent, in the form of the incredibly powerful Kamehameha Wave.
"CRUSH!" Raditz suddenly let out, causing his martial arts teacher to arch an eyebrow. A blue-violet beam of collected energy was suddenly released from Raditz's palm in the form of a combination of both his Saturday Crush and Kamehameha Wave.
The two destruction beams met one another in the middle of the ring, colliding with one another there as they emitted a devastatingly bright flash of light to cloak the entire area in a blue colored blanket of light. Each beam struggled for supremacy over the other, roaring loudly as more energy was added into the both of them by their incredibly powerful wielders.
"I see that you have somehow learned and managed to combine elements from both of your energy techniques… though it still seems unperfected." Master Roshi exclaimed, holding his arms steadily outward, releasing more of his energy into his Kamehameha Wave.
"Considering I just created this attack a few days back, I think that's fair." Raditz explained, seeing his attack being slowly pushed back towards him, along with Roshi's own Kamehameha. "Also I've been saving it just for you," he finished with a savage grin enjoying fighting a true equal for once.
"I see, so you have not had the chance to fully master it just yet." Master Roshi smirked, harnessing a tad bit more of his energy into his ki attack, causing the beam to rapidly begin to devour Raditz's Kamehameha Crush.
Raditz's eyes widened, the young man instantly creating a decent plan that would work to his advantage as he saw that his own attack was now being pushed back towards him. The Saiyan warrior overcharged his own beam causing it to become unstable, and an instant before both exploded Raditz shielded his body with his arms. A massive cloud of dust had formed where Raditz was and the crowd and Roshi watched with great anticipation.
"It seems that the old master still has it," Roshi smirked, watching as the cloud of dust died down to reveal his battle worn student to the public once again. The boy's gi had been nearly torn completely off, the bottoms that he wore littered in large slashes and scorch marks as blood flowed from the warrior's bruised arms. "And why exactly are you smiling? I'm quite surprised that you've managed to hold yourself up after the damage you've taken already."
"Nothing much really… just over the fact that I forced you to unleash most of your energy in that Kamehameha Wave of yours." Raditz answered, reaching over to rip the remaining piece of his shirt from his body, tossing it to the ground just so that it would not interfere with his movements in battle. The slight cat whistles and amazing calls of women in the audience, gawking over the Saiyan's muscular, well-built body, were heard over the cheering and boos of the remainder of the crowd… mostly men who appeared jealous of the appearance the Saiyan possessed. Raditz could have sworn that he had caught an eyeful of Bulma's jaw dropping to her lap, her eyes widening as she caught the amazing sight of her muscular lover. "Seeing as I had not managed to master that blast… I knew that I would lose our little duel there, allowing me to place only a small amount of ki into my Kamehameha Crush while you unknowingly ran your supply low. I then overloaded the blast causing me to take much less damage then I would have otherwise had our attacks been fully pushed back to me."
"I must admit… that plan of yours was very smart Raditz," Master Roshi started, praising the Saiyan for his Saiyan smarts. "You have certainly become much stronger… both physically and mentally. But most of all I am proud of how skilled you have become."
"You know that you're at a huge disadvantage now… right?" Raditz remarked, picking up his speed as he charged his opponent.
"Though it seems that my energy is now depleting," Roshi began, blocking the Saiyan's first blow. "I am positive that I will not go down as easily as you may think."
Raditz sent a muscular fist to the man's ribcage as soon as his previous strike, a light punch, had been blocked by the man, connecting with the fragile bones supporting the Turtle Hermit's chest. A slight slither of pain flowed through the area upon impact, causing the ribcage's owner to go on the offensive all of a sudden. The powerful, bearded Human began unleashing his own combination of lightning quick strikes upon Raditz, many of which were simply punches and kicks that the Saiyan was left hardly able to keep up with due to their extreme speed. However, the long haired warrior somehow managed to evade nearly all of the blows, launching his own ki powered fist diving into the martial arts teacher's cheek, the bone bruising as Raditz's fist practically scraped against it.
"You might actually stand a bit of a chance of winning over me… I'm impressed." Master Roshi exclaimed, using his sleeved forearm to wipe the stream of blood that now leaked from the small puddle in his mouth.
"Bring it on old man," Raditz instructed his mentor, swiping his own blood from his battered mouth.
Raditz immediately raced over to Master Roshi, who was unsurprisingly awaiting the boy with a mighty kick directly to the nose. A river of blood leaked from the warrior's nose before the Saiyan decided to retaliate with another of his power packed punches, sending a fierce fist to the nose of his own mentor, causing the bald Human to stagger backwards a few yards.
"Alright, time to get some damage in." Raditz said, managing to separate himself from Roshi's striking distance. The long haired boy then began charging his own energy blast in his cupped hands, the blast growing bigger as Roshi looked on. "KA… ME... HA… ME…"
"That again?" The elder man said, quickly charging his own beam in his cupped hands. "KAMEHAMEHA!" He screamed, sending the quickly fired, albeit much weaker wave towards Raditz. However, Roshi was surprised to see the beam pass through nothing more than another afterimage of Raditz, instead of the actual Saiyan combatant.
Before the exhausted Earthling could even turn around, his Saiyan student abruptly appeared behind his back, thrusting his cupped palms directly to the old man's back. "HA!" Raditz screamed out, releasing his blast at the Turtle Hermit's back at exactly point-blank range, striking Roshi head-on. Once the large smokescreen managed to die itself down, Master Roshi unveiled himself, having been pushed to nearly the edge of the arena by the sheer force that Raditz had invested within his Kamehameha Wave. The man stood panting for air just as Raditz was, his own clothing now nearly torn to shreds as well with his infamous pair of shades now shattering and falling off of his face.
"So… it seems that I am going to have to muster up all of the energy that I can handle into this next attack." Master Roshi complained, gasping for air in between words. "You never give up do you?"
"Never in my life," Raditz smirked, his arms crossed across his chest as he began panting heavily as well. "I'm going to take home the title of World Champion."
The old master suddenly dug his feet firmly into the stone floor, his hands cupped to his side again as he prepared another Kamehameha Wave… although one seemingly a bit different than his previous ones. The scrawny man's body gradually bulked up, another of his world-famous energy waves coming to life in his hands. "KA… ME… HA… ME… HA!" The master suddenly groaned, sending out his maximum power Kamehameha Wave at the weakened Saiyan.
The Turtle Hermit's attack managed to strike Raditz head-on, an incredibly large amount of damage being applied to the boy. When the large leftover energy finally faded from existence, Raditz stood in the exact same position he had taken a split second before the Kamehameha Wave had hit him, still managing to stay on his feet. Now, even fewer parts of his shredded and scorched pants remained of his gi, even the slight remains of his undershirt being burned into nothingness. The Saiyan's muscular body was now coated in nothing less than what appeared to be a second skin of dust, bruises, bloods, and burns as he continued to heavily pant, albeit much more ferocious than previously.
"It now seems that any of our combatants could fall over and collapse at any given second! This has certainly been one of the most intense matches even fought on this stage. Such a shame that it is going to end quite soon," The announcer screamed, completely amazed at the display of power that both martial artists were showing. "Now we just have to wait and see which of these amazing fighters shall take home the long-awaited title!"
"How about we put an end to this battle?" Raditz suggested, slowly advancing towards his damaged opponent, clenching his bloodied arm with his less-damaged left hand.
"I don't see why not… before we both fall over." The Turtle Hermit agreed, using his speed to dash towards the fatigued Saiyan. The nearly exhausted Earthling sent a slow-paced fist at his student, only for the Saiyan effortlessly block the blow with an open palm. The two continued to go blow for blow for the next couple of minutes, striking one another with what little power each of them still had left within their throbbing bodies.
"I-I… still h-have… one last attack," Master Roshi managed to say between heavy pants, pulling his coat sleeves upwards. "Not even Gohan had the power to withstand this move." The martial arts master added, his hands becoming cloaked in a field of electricity, the electrified fists cackling as Roshi pointed them at the Saiyan.
"I've heard of that attack… It's the Thunder Shock Surprise! Master Roshi is going to turn all of the energy in his body into 20,000 volts of electricity and then unleash that on Raditz!" Yamcha gulped, realizing just how much pain that the move could inflict on a person. "Raditz's just done for… I know it!"
Another second later, the Turtle Hermit fired his attack at Raditz. Although the attack was slightly weakened due to the low amount of energy at Roshi's disposal, the Saiyan was still sharply zapped by the cackling attack, the ocean of pain shooting through his body at a quickened pace. Just as it seemed that the alien was done for once and for all, Raditz began slowly stepping closer towards Master Roshi, somehow managing to withstand the martial artist's most prized, strongest technique. Once the Saiyan had worked his way to striking distance of the man, although he was experiencing a whole new world of pain, Raditz happened to muster up enough energy to launch an uppercut to the elderly warrior's jaw while he was being electrocuted, abruptly disrupting the master's terrifying attack.
"Old man… don't forget that I'm much stronger than anyone that you've ever faced! I'm not going to go down that easily," Raditz painfully snickered, his legs beginning to give way as his heavily damaged body ached in pain.
"That was my ultimate attack… I am incredibly proud of you Raditz. It seems that you have finally surpassed the master." Roshi snickered as well, falling face first to the ring just as Raditz fell back first.
"A double knockout?" The announcer confusingly questioned. "According to our rules, the first person to get up and claim themselves as the World Champion wins the title and Zeni."
Both master and student were in a world of pain and could barely move. 'I have to do this, if I can't win a damn tournament, then how can I avenge my race and free the universe from that tyrant Frieza,' Raditz thought with determination. Master Roshi was completely passed out, his old body not able to take such an intense beating. Raditz slowly stood up even with his body wracked in agony and bellowed, "I AM THE WORLD CHAMPION," before falling on his knees. 'One s-step closer,' he thought in relief.
"There you have it folks! We have our winner!" The announcer screamed into his microphone, causing the audience members to go absolutely crazy. "Raditz is the Earth's new World Champion! He will now take home the 500,000 Zeni prize as well as the World Title!"
"Way to go Raditz!" Bulma smiled, instantly hopping over the fence to race towards her Saiyan and bring the tower of muscle and hair into a hug that quickly converted to a passionate kiss between lovers. Soon, everyone else had surrounded the Saiyan… the World Champion, and were now praising him for a job well done.
"Good job Raditz," Master Roshi congratulated his student, just now managing to pick himself up from the ground, finally waking up. "I am really proud of just how strong you've managed to become in just a few months."
"T-Thank you Master," Raditz laughed, clenching his ribcage in agony as they screamed in pain with each word he spoke.
"You were absolutely awesome!" Krillin laughed, patting his friend on his back, unknowingly causing a bout of agony to course through the Saiyan.
"Sorry to interrupt… but can we head inside?" Raditz suddenly interrupted, asking the question that puzzled all of his friends.
"Yeah, what's the matter?" Bulma questioned the Saiyan Champion.
"Besides the fact that my entire body is literally throbbing in pain… tonight happens to be a full moon." Raditz began, causing Yamcha to become a bit uneasy as his finger pointed at the rising orb of moonlight. "So… unless anyone wants to see me transform once again, I'd better get inside somewhere. Being this injured, I wouldn't want to accidentally kill an entire group of spectators."
"Yep," Yamcha interjected. "Don't want that to happen again!"
"Plus… I'm really going to need some food and a hospital."
Power Levels
Raditz: 235
280 (Using Kamehameha Crush)
25 (After the fight)
Roshi: 232
260 (exhausted Max Power Kamehameha)
140 (Thunder Shock Surprise, nearly drained)
18 (after the fight)