The Rise of a Protector

by The Legendary Dragon Reaper

Wracked with guilt over Goku's death and blessed with a new power from the god of dragons, read as Gohan struggles with life, love, puberty, fulfilling his destiny, and above all, protecting the people he loves and his world. Please read each chapter until the very end and check for authors notes. Gohan x Kagome, OC x Erasa.

31. Training, Gathering at the Tournament

Sesshomaru brought Gohan to an area of Hell that looked very similar to Earth "This is where we will train."

Gohan looked around "This looks exactly like where I first trained with Piccolo."

"I chose an area of Hell that you were familiar with so your heart would fully be in the moment for this training. Now then, for this training you must come at me with every ounce of strength you have. However, you must not use your Dragon Saiyan forms or your Ryuuga for this training. You rely too much on their protection and power to the point where you rely on them to fight your battles for you, and it has caused you to grow complacent. If you wish to become stronger physically then you must first become stronger mentally, discard those powers and fight with only your own abilities that you earned through years of blood, sweat and tears."

"I understand." Gohan set his sword aside on the ground and got into the combat stance taught to him by Piccolo years before.

"Good, now attack me."

"Right." Gohan flashed into Super Saiyan and charged.

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Things were quiet on Mount Paozu in the early morning.

Goku was out stretching with Goten for training "Alright then, I guess I should start things off by turning Super Saiyan." he flashed into Super Saiyan "Alright Goten, now let's do this thing!"

"Yeah!" Goten pumped a fist.

'He's just like I was with Grandpa Gohan when I was little.' Goku frowned slightly 'Come to think of it it's been a whole year since Vegeta wished me back and I haven't tried training with Goten once. Gohan had to grow up without me for so long, and I might as well not have been there at all. Let's be real, Piccolo was more of a father to him than I was. Things were nice and peaceful before Raditz showed up, but that was because I didn't think there was anyone out there I couldn't beat. God I was wrong. Then I died and Gohan was left with Piccolo for a year, and I left him and Chichi alone for another year while I was on Yardrat after the battle with Frieza on Namek. Then came the fight with Cell and I chose not to let them wish me back, because I thought that I was keeping them safe. I thought that with me gone the Earth would finally be at peace. I was wrong, I was so horribly wrong. Then Vegeta and the Namekians wished me back and I was so happy, I finally had a chance to be with my family again. But at the same time I was terrified that Gohan might resent me for leaving and putting him through all of that pain and suffering on his own. But he barely spared me a glance during our conversation in the wasteland, he was so focused and dead set on destroying Magatsuhi. Well now's your chance Goku, now you've got a chance to redeem yourself. You've got another son you can do things right with, don't mess it up.'

"Daddy, is something wrong?"

Goku snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Goten "It's nothing, nothing at all. Not anymore anyway. So you ready to get started on training?"

"Yeah!"

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Piccolo stood in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber 'Alright, time to get to work.'

A green blur materialized in front of him, taking on the spiritual form of Nail, whom Piccolo had absorbed during the battle with Frieza on Namek "I had my suspicions that you would come to seek my aid eventually."

"We're up against a foe who could wipe the floor with all of us in a second, as I am now I don't stand a chance in Hell of defeating him. I can't be the same useless weakling that I was during the battle with Cell, I even went so far as to fuse with Kami again but he still swatted me aside without batting an eye."

"So you would even go so far as to summon my spirit here."

"I need to learn the secrets of these ancient Namekians of old that you mentioned before, I need to grow stronger so I won't be a burden to Gohan ever again."

"...What you seek is not strength, but technique. What I can teach you is not the key to power but actually the ancient Namekian magics of old."

Piccolo shot him a look of skepticism.

"I am well aware that this sounds rather far fetched, but I assure you that the benefits are worth it." Nail held out his hand and a flower made entirely of green flames bloomed into life "This is the Dragonfire of Porunga, flames so hot they can still burn the flesh of an opponent roughly twice the strength of the user."

Piccolo's eyebrow rose with curiosity "Alright, you've got my attention."

"There is but one other technique that will be of use to you against this foe." black and green lightning surge into life along his wrists "The Lightning of Namek, capable of restraining foes for a good long while, even some stronger than you are, or it could also make an effective offensive lightning technique. I know many things Piccolo, things a warrior like you deserves to know."

"...Well if it means helping Gohan then I guess it couldn't hurt to try."

"Good, then let's get started shall we?"

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Goku stopped throwing punches when he saw Goten sitting a ways away from him and looking downcast 'No Goku, this is about more than just your training. This is about you being a better father. Hey Goten."

"Yeah?" Goten looked up.

"If you want then could you give me a hand with my training?"

"Yeah, that'd be awesome!" Goten bolted up.

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Kai was rather surprised to see Kagome show up at his apartment "So what's up? Not to be rude or anything Kagome, but I do have to train if I wanna be ready for the World Martial Arts Tournament."

"Why are you and everyone else really entering the tournament?" Kagome asked, getting straight down to business.

"Well there's a number of reasons. There's the fact that there's 10 million zeni as a prize for winning, which roped in Krillin and 17 and is the main reason why Goku and Gohan are allowed to enter. Then there's the fact that those four and myself are entering, which is the main reason why Vegeta, Tien, and Piccolo are all entering and why Future Trunks, or Mirai as he'll be called, is coming back to this timeline. I myself am entering mainly so I can beat the shit out of Mr Satan and restore the good name of martial arts. Oh and Koga is entering too so he can get a shot at Gohan-"

"And because Magatsuhi might end up making his move during the tournament so he can get rid of Gohan and all of you guys in one fell swoop so his plans of global and universal domination can go unabated."

That stopped Kai in his tracks "...Who told you?"

"Piccolo told me everything, don't forget that he's teaching me how to harness my spiritual powers in a way I would never have thought possible." a purple bow and arrow made of pure spiritual power appeared in her hand and she fired it through a window, incinerating a large number of trees outside of the city limits.

"I told Gohan that he should tell you but he's so dead set on keeping you as far away from this as possible-"

"I know." Kagome let out a sigh "I know how he feels, he's so desperate to protect me that he'd go insane if he found out that I wanted to help him fight. But you guys don't understand, I'm more than just some weak little girl who needs to be protected. Gohan has been putting himself through hell to protect me, you and everyone else. Now it's time for me to protect him, for all of us to protect him."

"Well said. But seriously though, I've gotta hurry and get to training or they're gonna leave me in the dust."

"Yeah I know about you hating Mr Satan." she pointed to a poster with the words I hate Mr Satan all over it "Alright, I'll leave you to it. Good luck with training, I'll see you at the tournament." and she left.

"I'm not gonna need luck." then he heard a knock on the door and opened it, and wasn't pleased by whom he saw 'Well that's just perfect. Can I help you?"

Videl stared at him for a moment, then suddenly pointed at him "You were the guy that showed up when the mayor was taken hostage by the Red Shark Gang!"

"Yeah, I went by Crimson Dragon but just go ahead and call me Kai. Now why are you here?"

"Well Gohan agreed to teach me how to fly but I stopped by his house, yesterday, got in an argument with his mother and found that he wasn't there. What's his deal? He just drops out of school without telling me?"

"He's off on a training trip for the tournament, you'll see him then and there but not a minute before. Anyway, that's really interesting and all but that doesn't explain why you're here."

"Well Gohan told me to come to this address for flying lessons."

"...Did he now?" Kai pulled a notebook titled Death Note out of nowhere 'Gohan, stabbed to death in an attempt to sabotage match in World Martial Arts Tournament, quarterfinals, let's say around 1:45. So he sent you to me thinking I'd teach you how to fly for the World Martial Arts Tournament. Alright follow me, there's a place outside the city I use for training."

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Dark clouds loomed overhead.

Gohan charged and began attacking Sesshomaru relentlessly.

Sesshomaru was dodging and blocking every attack, eventually kicking Gohan in the legs and knocking him off balance.

Gohan recovered and blitzed behind him.

Sesshomaru turned to face him "So that's your current level."

Gohan got into a combat stance "You don't seem surprised."

"I'm not. Your father came to me not long ago and asked me to train you, claiming I knew far more about the Dragon Prophecy than he ever could. I told him what I told you, and I saw how you performed during the battle against Janemba. Be prepared Son Gohan, training will become increasingly more difficult from here."

"I'm ready for it, I'll do whatever it takes in order to become stronger." Gohan didn't notice a blue mark appear on his right shoulder down to his bicep as he charged forward, his Super Saiyan aura flaring brightly.

Sesshomaru clocked back a fist.

Gohan prepared to block his upper body and face.

Sesshomaru instead slugged him in the gut, sending him skidding back "You acted on instinct and guarded your upper body."

Gohan quickly recovered from that blow "More!"

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Kai stepped up to Videl in the same training field as always "Alright, because Gohan apparently volunteered me for this before asking me I'm gonna teach you how to fly. I know you're pretty anxious, or demanding, to get started but this is a delicate process."

Videl waved that off arrogantly "Yeah yeah, let's just get started."

'Strike 1. Anyway the key to learning how to fly is simply just having basic Ki control, which really isn't that hard once you get the hang of it but if you wanna zip around really fast and really high then that's the sort of thing that takes practice."

"Hold up. The key is Ki control? What the hell does that even mean?"

'Oh for- Okay, Ki is basically what this hidden reservoir of power you have hidden within your body and-"

"It's this what hidden in my where? Earth to Kai, you're not making any sense!"

'Strike 2. Maybe you're more of a visual learner, let's try this." Kai turned around and got into a stance "Watch carefully and take not of everything I do." his white aura flared slightly, blue Ki forming in his cupped hands "Ka… Me… Ha… Me… HA!" he fired a severely held back Kamehameha at his base power, leaving a large hole in the side of Mount Fuji 'Note to self, be sure to fix that later with the Dragon Balls. Alright then, what do you call that?"

Videl pondered for a moment, before proceeding to infuriate Kai with her answer "Well it's just light shows and tricks right?"

"Get out of here before I lose control of my rage and end up accidentally throttling you." note how he said this with a straight face and merely pointed to the large hole in Mount Fuji "Does that look like a trick to you? Everything I'm telling you is the truth, and that right there is all the proof you need."

"Well excuse me if I'm not used to seeing a bunch of guys my own age blasting holes through mountains!"

'Strike 3, time to call her out on her crap. Alright, before we begin let me just tell you something." he shot her a death glare "I am taking time out of my busy schedule, time that I could and should be using to train myself, to teach you how to fly. The least you could do is show a little gratitude, stop acting like a spoiled bitch, and just shut up and listen to what I have to say so can do this right. You either do that or I'm doing to you what I did to that mountain, understand?"

Videl let out a growl, but said nothing.

"Good. And remember this, I'm not Gohan. I happen to be much more pragmatic than him, and more importantly I don't take crap from anyone, not him, not my father and god knows not you. Now back to business, before you assume that you don't have the necessary Ki to fly that's where you're wrong. Every living thing has the necessary Ki inside of them, but in order to learn how to fly you have to learn how to control it effectively."

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Another timeline.

Trunks was training with Gohan in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber but stopped after awhile in order to take a breather "Well you sure aren't making it easy on me Gohan, but then again I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Every time we train like this I find flaws that I never even knew that I had."

Gohan nodded "I feel exactly the same Trunks, I'll be honest I feel really stupid for not knowing about this before. I can tell that we've both made a lot of progress since we came in here. You're gonna be more than ready to fight Magatsuhi at this rate."

"Yeah but it looks like I'm gonna take a backseat again, this is your past self's battle and I'm just there to help him."

"Well whatever the case I know that you'll do just fine with this, and me and the others can look over things for a couple days while you're gone."

"I know, but a guy can worry can't he?"

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Kai sat down in the field with Videl "Alright, I'm gonna take this one step at a time so you can follow it alright?"

"Alright." Videl sat down.

"Good. Now then, the first thing you have to do is quiet your mind and relax." he cupped his hands "When you're ready you start slowly drawing out your Ki from within." he slowly formed a ball of Ki within his hands.

"Woah…"

"There, you see?" Kai dissipated the Ki sphere "So then, are you ready to give it a shot for yourself?"

"Alright." Videl slowly cupped her hands.

"Remember, you've gotta relax or it's not gonna work."

"Right." Videl tried to summon her Ki out, but began quickly growing frustrated, causing her entire body to tense.

"No no no, you've gotta calm down. Don't stress yourself out too much, it's not gonna happen if you spend all your time beating yourself up to the point where you won't let it come out."

Videl looked up at him, tears brimming slightly in her eyes "I need to make this work."

"...I think that we've done enough for now, why don't we head back into the city and get some lunch."

"Okay."

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Goku finished gathering a big pile of small rocks "There, I think that should be enough."

"So how come you wanted me to bring all these rocks over here anyway?" asked Goten.

"We're gonna use them to see how my intuition has been doing."

"I don't even know what intinition means."

"Neither did I until Gohan told me." Goku drew a line in the dirt "Alright listen up Goten, I want you to stand behind this line and throw these rocks at me as hard as you can. You think you can do that for me?"

"Oh yeah, piece of cake." Goten picked up a few rocks.

"Alright son, give it your best shot. Let me have it!"

"But you're standing so close to me."

"Actually you should be standing even closer to me in order to do it, but this should be a good place for you to start."

"I don't know daddy, won't you get hurt?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine now throw those rocks at me as hard as you can."

"Well okay but I don't think you're going to like it."

"Yeah well bring it."

"Read, set, GO!" Goten chucked one of the rocks.

Goku narrowly dodged it, causing it to go all the way through the mountain and out the other side "Woah."

"Wow you dodged it, that's amazing! I thought the rock was gonna hit you for sure that time!"

'So did I, if I didn't dodge he would've taken my head off.'

"Here comes the rest of them!"

"Hold it hold it, time out." Goku drew another line, this one being much further back "I was thinking maybe you should try throwing them from back here instead, you know so you don't get too bored or anything."

"Oh yeah, good thinking." Goten went back and started chucking rocks.

Goku began narrowly dodging them, still in his Super Saiyan form "Alright now I think I'm getting a grip on where you're at right now, you know if you want then you can move a little bit closer. Come on Goten, don't be shy."

Then Goten suddenly stopped.

"Hey what's wrong Goten, is something bugging you?"

"So is it okay if I become all super strong like you are now?"

"Well sure I guess but what do you mean all strong like me how?"

"I wanna do that Super Saiyan thing that makes your hair all shiny."

Goku blinked, then chuckled "You can go Super Saiyan if you want to Goten but I think you're gonna have to wait until you're a little bit older. Going Super Saiyan takes a lot of intensive training and it took Gohan and I years before we could, sorry but it's not like it's the sort of thing you can just wake up one day and decide you're gonna do out of thin air like that." his jaw dropped at what he saw next.

Goten just went Super Saiyan like it was nothing.

"Wha- How- When- What?! How did you learn to go Super Saiyan at such a young age like that? When was the first time you were able to do that?"

"...I don't remember!" note the huge innocent grin he had when he said this.

"That's just unbelievable, Vegeta and I and everyone else had to work really hard to become Super Saiyans and here you just figured it out all on your own. So anyway, if you can go blonde already then why don't we just skip ahead and go on to trying out some sparring. You know what that is don't you?"

"Oh yeah, it's like a fight but you're just practicing instead of doing it for real. Mom showed me how to do it while Gohan was off with Kagome and their friends in Japan."

"Wait, your mom trained you?"

"Cool isn't it?"

"Yeah, I just never expected that. Man I never stopped to think about just how much Chichi may have changed in the years since I died fighting Cell, but then again I guess letting Gohan skip school to train and letting me train Goten should've been some kind of clue. Tell me something Goten, going Super Saiyan is great and all but how did your mom react when she found out you could do it?"

"Well mom got really sad the first time it happened, she said I looked like a delinquent or something, whatever that is."

"...Yeah that sounds about right knowing your mom, she loses her mind every time any of us go blonde."

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After lunch, Kai sat back down in the field "Now remember, you have to keep calm or it's not gonna work."

"Alright." Videl relaxed slightly as a light began pulsing slightly in her hands.

"Yeah there you go, you're almost there."

Slowly, a small Ki sphere flickered into life in her hands.

"Yeah there you go, you're a natural at this. Erasa took almost 2 hours to summon her Ki and I took almost a full day, you're even more naturally talented at this than I was. I'm impressed, good job."

Then her Ki sphere disappeared and she fell forward slightly, stopping herself from hitting the ground with her hands. Then she grinned and bolted to her feet "So am I ready for take off now or what?"

"Not even close. You've still gotta learn how to control it effectively, your body is a lot of mass to try and move around for a rookie you know." he received a pissed off glare "Get as pissy as you want, I didn't get as strong as I am right now by giving a rat's ass what people thought of me."

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Vegeta was training with Trunks in the Gravity Chamber "What are you even doing in here right now Trunks? The gravity level in this room is too much for you, it's 150 times stronger than what you're used to so why don't you just go play somewhere else."

Trunks was struggling to even walk "I got a call from Goten last night and he said he's gonna enter the World Martial Arts Tournament, so I'm gonna get in shape and I'll do it too."

"Looks like just about everyone is getting in on the action."

"Maybe this is a little bit too tough for me. Alright, Super Saiyan. Here goes."

"Wait, what?"

Then Trunks suddenly flashed into Super Saiyan and started bouncing around.

'How in the hell-?'

"Take that stupid gravity!"

'How is that possible?'

"Who needs walking when I can jump!"

'You've gotta be kidding me, he changed into the legendary warrior of the Saiyan race with the ease of a seasoned warrior and reduced it to a child's plaything? Trunks, freeze."

Trunks stopped.

"Gohan's younger brother, can he become a Super Saiyan as well?"

"Yeah."

"What the hell is this, some kind of Super Saiyan bargain sale?"

"What?"

"Nothing, just lamenting crushed and mocked dreams I had. Anyway, I want you to come at me and hit me."

"Dad you know I'm not good enough, you're way too strong for me."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, now obey your father and attack. How about we sweeten the deal, if you can land even a single punch then I'll take you to that amusement park you're always going on about."

"Really dad, you'll take me there? It is so on then!"

"I want you to be sure to come at me with everything I've got."

"Here I go!" he charged forward with a furious barrage of punches.

Vegeta dodged most of them, though he received a small blow to the cheek and aimed his fist at Trunks' face, but stopped before it connected "Let me just point out that I never said I wouldn't hit back, me stopping there was an act of mercy you won't get on the battlefield. Remember, never lower your guard."

"R-Right."

"Okay a deal's a deal, I'll take you to the stupid park."

"Really?"

"But first tell me this, which of you is the stronger one between you and Gohan's younger brother."

"Well I'm stronger than Goten is but only by a little bit, he's a year younger than me and he can't fly so I'd bet you that that's part of the reason."

'So Goten can almost attack at that level too? What the hell is going on here?'

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Piccolo finally emerged from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, his turban and cape completely gone and his gi almost entirely shredded 'The Dragonfire of Porunga and the Lightning of Namek, I should get some good use out of these.'

Krillin was waiting with Tien in order to enter "So how'd it go? Did you get done whatever you had to do in there?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Piccolo walked past them without batting an eye.

Tien felt himself sweating 'Piccolo's power level has increased to heights I could only imagine, what kind of training did he do in there?'

"Hey Tien, you ready?" Krillin snapped him out of his thoughts "Don't forget that we've got a full 2 days in there before the tournament."

"Oh yeah right, sorry. Let's go."

"Okay." and they entered the chamber, the door shutting behind them.

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Kai stood in front of Videl in the wasteland, rubbing his temple "Okay, now it's finally time for you to take your first flight. You ready about this?"

Videl nodded rapidly "Let's do it."

"Okay, now for this to work you've gotta relax your body but be sure to focus your Ki at the same time even if they do sound contradictory."

Videl began focusing her Ki, the ground pulsating slightly beneath her feet.

"Alright, very good. You're definitely getting the hang of it so now all you have to do is push."

Videl slowly lifted herself a few inches off the ground.

"Alright, way to go. And we've got a lift off."

"Will you quit babbling, I'm trying to concentrate!" then she fell back to the ground.

"Hey you don't have anything to complain about, you got done in just a single day what took me almost a full week to get."

"...I'll be back tomorrow."

"Excuse me? I held up my end of the deal and taught you how to fly, you don't need me for anything else."

"I want to learn more about controlling this Ki of mine, my being here isn't a problem for you is it?"

"Yes! I thought I made that abundantly clear with my little outburst before!"

"Think of it like this, training me is training you too." she pulled out an airship "Alright then, see ya."

"Fine, but you want a word of advice before you go?"

"What is it?"

"About your hair, you might wanna go short for something like this."

"Wait…" Videl tugged one of her pigtails and blushed slightly "Are you saying that you like short hair on girls?"

"I couldn't give less of a rat's ass, I'm just telling you something to increase your odds of doing well in the tournament as a favor from one martial artist to another. Alright then, I'll see ya later." and he flew off.

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As for how 17, Cooler and Broly were training…

"I'll see your three egg rolls and raise you seven." Cooler placed down his deck of cards "Alright 17, it's all to you."

"I'm all in." 17 placed down his cards.

"I'm calling, read them and weep. Full house, kings over queens. This game goes to me."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Broly placed down his cards "Four of a kind."

"Again? Oh come on, you have to be cheating!"

"That's offensive!" a card fell out of one of his wristbands "...I have no idea how that got there."

"He is cheating, get him!"

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Sesshomaru fended off Gohan's onslaught during a fierce dark rainstorm, and promptly sent him crashing to the ground "I see."

Gohan rose from the ground covered in dirt and wounds, and promptly spat out a mouthful of blood "More… I need to… protect Kagome… protect my family, protect all of them…"

Sesshomaru studied Gohan for a moment "I see nothing but the same overeagerness that I've always seen in you."

Gohan exited his fighting stance and looked at his hands.

"You will be unable to accomplish anything in your current state. Training as you are now is pointless, much less getting stronger. If you're unable to invoke your true strength in both body and mind then you'll never be able to protect your family or Kagome, or any of the others, and you can forget about destroying Magatsuhi."

Gohan froze.

"I will not deny the truth that the wish to protect is capable of giving one great strength. However, wishing too strongly for something can result in dire consequences. If you are unable to control it properly then it will impede more than benefit. If you obsess over victory in battle then you will be unable to calmly assess a situation, causing you to misjudge the true strength of your enemy."

Gohan gripped his fist until it bled 'Dammit, how could I have been so blind that I never realized that I had been doing that this whole time! How could I let myself make such a stupid mistake so many times?' he let out a roar and flashed into Super Saiyan 2, his aura crackling with electricity.

"No fight is an assured victory, if you lose then not only will you lose your life but your family, Kagome and everyone you care about, as well as everyone on Earth, will end up losing theirs as well. You must first come to accept this fact, and then you must win."

"Right." Gohan's aura subsided, but he remained in his Super Saiyan 2 form.

"Fear not Son Gohan, I have faith in you. Allow me to be the one to tell you this, you must have faith in your own capabilities."

"Sesshomaru… thank you."

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Kai was in the middle of training, firing a Masenko at the trees in front of him, leaving a large crater in its place, his different blue aura subsiding 'To think that this technique would be capable of multiplying my power to such a scale, it's already better than the Kaioken. The question is, how capable would it be against a Super Saiyan.' then he noticed an airship descend and land in front of him 'Well it was nice while it lasted I guess.'

The door opened and out stepped Videl, now sporting short hair "Alright, let's pick up where we left off yesterday."

"You actually took my advice and cut your hair. Huh. Alright then, once you master flying there's just two techniques I think I can teach you but from then on you'll be on your own."

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Powered up to Super Saiyan 3, Gohan got into a combat stance "No more holding back or going easy on me Sesshomaru, I need you to come at me with everything you've got. All out, hitting me with the intent to kill, pushing me as far as I can possibly go. I need to take it, and if I can't then we'll know that I was never meant to be good enough to protect Kagome, my family or anyone else, and that I was never meant to be given the power of the Dragon Saiyan."

"If that's what you desire then the warmup is over." Sesshomaru promptly drew his Bakusaiga from his side "If you wished to be pushed to your limit then you must first come at me with your full strength."

"Understood." Gohan flared his aura, crackling with electricity.

"It's true that you're undeniably powerful and have the potential to surpass all of your predecessors, but you have one clear weakness. Unless you are able to overcome this weakness, you will be forever stuck behind even the likes of Inuyasha. I will have to personally show you that weakness." a poison green demonic aura began flaring wildly around his body "Come Son Gohan."

"Right!" Gohan charged, his gold aura clashing against Sesshomaru's green as he launched a furious barrage of attacks, eventually managing to kick Sesshomaru towards a mountain.

Sesshomaru blitzed behind Gohan and attempted to knee him in the back of the head.

Gohan blocked it with his forearm and attempted to land a kick to the abdomen.

Sesshomaru dodged and unleashed a demonic blast of energy infused with his own brand of poison, carving a deep trench through the ground "As I had told you before, this is a serious battle." he created a poison whip and wrapped it around Gohan's neck, attempting to choke him to death "What is the matter Son Gohan? Is this all of the power you're capable of?"

Gohan struggled to free himself from Sesshomaru's grip, trying not to cry out in pain as he felt the poison burning against his throat "When… did you get… so powerful?"

"Did you think I would still be at the same level as when we last met 500 years ago?"

Gohan's aura died down, his Super Saiyan 3 form disappeared, and he blacked out.

Sesshomaru unleashed a small electrical current, restarting Gohan's heart "It's over Son Gohan, you lose."

Gohan coughed up blood several times as he tried to catch his breath "Dammit…"

"You're truly strong in character as well as a formidable warrior, however your heart has lost its edge and is no longer that of a warrior. Your heart holds hesitation, anger, confusion and fear, none of which are becoming of a warrior who's destined to succeed on the battlefield. You let your guard down at vital moments, and this has caused your inner darkness to take control of your body and actions. I've noticed this for quite some time, but your superior power and your unyielding strength of will have allowed you to prevail, though this never truly did negate the problem. When you used the Shikon Jewel shard to amplify the purification power of your Dragon Flash, your inner demon took control and Kagome had to purify it, albeit temporarily, seeing how the problem has never truly been fixed. No matter how strong you become, as long as you hold that darkness within yourself, your ability to protect the people you care about will be constantly hindered. But that must not hinder your confidence or your determination, you must become a true warrior. Whoever you face, you must fight with all of your strength."

"I understand Sesshomaru, I'll fight you with every ounce of strength I have!" Gohan burst into Super Saiyan 3 once more, the mark on his shoulder turning deep crimson.

"Super Saiyan 3 isn't truly all of your power is it? The power that you awakened when you fought Bankotsu of the Band of Seven in Mount Hakurei."

Gohan's aura suddenly gained a very slight orange tint to it.

"The power you used to destroy the giant ogre, the power you will use to fulfill the Dragon Prophecy, the power you used to purify Broly and defeat Janemba."

Gohan's aura then began flickering from gold to a cyan blue shade and then back to its initial golden shade.

"You are Son Gohan, the Dragon Saiyan of legend, the warrior of the Dragon Prophecy, the great protector of your world! That is the true you that you must awaken!"

Gohan's eyes flashed for a moment, and in a blinding light and a burst of power that literally broke the whether, he transformed. This form was overall the same in appearance as the usual Super Saiyan form, only now his hair, eyes and aura were a sky blue color, the same for the dragon mark on his arm.

Sesshomaru marvelled at the form, then regained his composure "Astounding, you've at last awakened your true power."

Gohan said nothing, he just powered down almost immediately and passed out, falling to the ground.

Sesshomaru flew down and caught him "You did well. Rest for now Son Gohan, you've earned it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Videl floated into the air "Hey check me out Kai, I've gotten to the point where I can hover like a pro!"

Kai nodded in approval "Nice work Videl, you really are a natural at this. Keep practicing like this and soon I'm not gonna have anything left to teach you."

"Cool." Videl floated back down to the ground "Alright, let's call it a break for a few minutes alright?"

"Fine by me, you're the one who's getting any training in."

"Hey while I'm thinking about it here's the deal, all of this has to stay secret. I want my dad to stay out of the loop until the day of the tournament, so are you cool with that?"

"Hey it's cool I get it, to be honest it's probably best that way."

"Besides if he found out that I've been hanging out with some boy after school then he'd totally lose his shit, the man is like seriously overprotective. He refuses to let any guys even see me unless they're as strong as him, and there aren't a lot of guys out there who can stand up to that kind of pressure. After all, he is the world champion right? I mean no offense to you or Gohan, you guys are both really strong but my dad can still bend you into a pretzel."

'Please, that muscle bound shitstain of a martial artist? So anyway, how often do you spar with your dad?"

"Oh get real, he'd totally turn me into paste. I can't even remember the last time he bothered to put me through drills. I've been doing my own thing for a good long while."

"That's kind of what I expected. So she really has no idea, she outshined Mr Satan god knows how long ago. So just out of curiosity, how exactly would you feel if someone in the tournament beat your dad?"

"Are you kidding, I almost wish he would lose! All this fame has totally gone to his head, I know that my mom has been gone for a long time but that still doesn't give him the right to go screwing around with every woman that comes to his doorstep looking for an autograph! They'd all disappear if he lost his title, if you ask me it'd be doing him some good."

"Oh good, now I can tell you the real reason I'm entering the tournament. I'm gonna beat the living shit out of your dad and restore the good name of martial arts instead of the gigantic commercialized shitstain the tournament has become. I mean come on, the replaced the traditional preliminary rounds with a punching machine of all things! It's a load!"

"...You really do hate my dad don't you?"

"With a burning passion yes. But aside from that I wanna see how my training has been progressing against the likes of more experienced warriors, plus there's a new technique I've been developing that I'm dying to try out on one of them."

"Cool. Anyway, break time's over." Videl stood back up and began stretching "Hey you mind if I taught you to be such a boss in the martial arts arena?"

"Well I learned the basics of Ki from Gohan when I was about 13 or so, then I spent about 2 years training with Gohan's original teacher Piccolo, and since I finished that training I've been testing myself against the likes of Gohan's dad's friends. You know, former tournament contenders like Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha and the like."

"Oh cool, that makes sense I guess."

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Within a few days, a certain time machine appeared in the backyard of Capsule Corp, and out stepped Mirai "Father."

"Are you stronger now?" asked Vegeta.

"Much."

"Are you ready?"

"We're about to find out."

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Soon enough, the day of the tournament arrived and almost everyone was heading there via Bulma's airship.

Bulma was rather concerned "Are you guys sure? I mean Gohan still hasn't come back from training."

"He'll be there." Vegeta told her bluntly "He wouldn't miss this for the world." then he felt a certain Ki signature approaching "And neither would he."

"Hey!" then Kai came floating up beside the ship, Kagome firmly holding onto his back, prompting them to open a window so they could come in "Sorry we're late, I had to pick this one up."

"Gohan still isn't here."

"I figured, I didn't sense his Ki anywhere on the planet so I guess he's getting some last minute training in Hell before it goes down. Anyway, let's go over who's entering. We've got you, me, Goku, Piccolo, Mirai, 17, Krillin, Tien, and Gohan. That's 12 of us in total, and aside from Mr Satan and Videl that will leave 4 potential other spots in this tournament." then he looked at Krillin "Let's just hope he'll recognize you after your time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"I haven't changed that much." Krillin protested.

"Seriously? Dude, you're like a foot taller now. You know what, we'll save that debate for when we have time for crap like that. Anyway guys, I was thinking that all of you should try not to turn Super Saiyan during the matches."

"Why not?" asked Goku.

"Well for starters, the last thing any of you guys need is to attract any unnecessary attention if people recognize you from the Cell Games. It's not like any of you bothered to disguise yourselves back then. Besides, we can't alert Magatsuhi to our presence too soon or he'll know that we're on to him and without Gohan we don't stand a chance in Hell of taking him down."

Vegeta nodded "That makes sense, but we still have to figure out what his first move is going to be before it happens. Besides, I doubt I'll need to rely on Super Saiyan to take on the likes of you all in the tournament."

"So it's agreed, nobody transforms unless Magatsuhi makes his move. Still though, Kaioken is fair play and so is the new technique that I've been developing."

"Hey guys, check it out." Bulma pointed to the island in the distance "We're almost there, time to look alive. The grounds for the World Martial Arts Tournament are straight ahead."

Krillin cracked his knuckles "Oh man this is gonna be good."

"You said it." Kai stretched his wristbands and tightened his obi "I don't know about you guys, but I've got a good feeling about this."

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Soon enough, they reached the grounds and noticed how busy and bustling it looked.

"Man look at this place." Krillin muttered "I don't think I've ever seen so many people here before."

"Yeah, hey anybody get any sign of Gohan yet?" asked Goku.

"Nothing on my end yet." then they heard cheering "What's that all about?"

Kai sighed and rubbed his temples "I'll give you one guess."

"It's him, it's really him!" fans started losing their shit and running towards the center of attention.

"I'd say it's him, the bastard lying to the entire planet and claiming to have saved the entire world from Cell single handedly."

"Don't forget that none of them know what really happened back then." Goku pointed out.

"Yeah I know but it's like the bastard believes his own lies."

"Let the man have his moments." Tien told him "It's not like we do it because we expect fame or fortune out of it, I don't life that kind of lifestyle. Not anymore."

Kagome looked around "So does anyone see Gohan around here?"

"Nope, and I can't sense his Ki anywhere either." then Kai looked over and noticed Piccolo standing alone amongst the trees "But it looks like someone else is." he went over to him "You know Piccolo, you could've flown with the rest of us."

"I could've, but it's really not my style." Piccolo told him.

"Fair enough, so any sign of Gohan or Koga?"

"No, not yet at least." he studied the red gi Kai was wearing "So that's the outfit you plan on wearing when you compete?"

"Yeah, I figured that if I was gonna make a name for myself."

"You've got the right idea my friend, but don't forget where you came from and who helped you to get here." a new voice told him.

Kai looked back and saw Gohan standing there with Koga "Glad you could make it, but are you alright? You look kind of different."

Sure enough, Gohan now sported a blue dragon mark from his right shoulder down to his bicep, along with several bandages covering up his chest underneath the top of his gi, though the bandages were red "Well my training was way more intense than you could imagine. But never mind about me right now, some of you guys have changed a lot to the point where I could barely recognize you. Krillin, looks to me like you've gotten taller."

"Gohan…" Kagome stepped forward and slowly wrapped her arms around him.

"I missed you too my love." Gohan placed his fingers under her chin and then gently kissed her on the lips "I'm sorry I've been gone so long, but I promise I'll make it up to you. And when this tournament is over and done with, there's something else I'm gonna want to ask you."

"Okay…"

"...I'm here too for the record." Koga pointed out awkwardly "Hey. So anyway, if we're not gonna be spectators then shouldn't we get in line."

Piccolo nodded "Koga's got a point."

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The guy at the registration booth blinked "I'm sorry, what was that name again?"

"Like I said, write down Crimson Dragon." Kai repeated.

"Oh, right."

"Yes, that's actually spelled crimson as in the color."

"Why are you using your superhero name?" asked Gohan.

"Because I plan on making a name for myself in this tournament and I'd rather people find out my real identity after I restore the good name of martial arts."

"Still interested in something so trivial and barbaric are you?"

Kai froze, his skin turning pale 'Don't tell me he of all people actually came.' he slowly turned around and saw a tall man wearing a suit standing behind him "You… Daizo Sato."

Daizo stepped forward and pushed up his glasses "Is that any sort of way to address your father? You haven't changed at all, have you my son?"

"I haven't been your son for a long time."

"No, not since you ran away like a coward."

"I didn't run away, I willingly left when I called you out on your bullshit because you insulted my friend."

"Attention please!" the announcer called "We need all contestants to make their way to the changing area!"

"I don't have time to deal with you, I have a tournament to win." and he promptly walked off.

"Such a disappointment, what would his mother say?" and he promptly walked off.

Goku stared in both directions for a moment 'I never knew he and his father were so distant like that.'

"Alright boys, it's go time." Chichi snapped him out of his thoughts "Be safe, be strong and if you could get us a boatload of cash then that would be great too."

"Yeah right." Goku started stretching slightly "This will be the first time I've let it all hang out in ages."

'Here we go.' Gohan braced himself 'It's now or never. I can sense two sinister Ki signatures amongst the crowd, it's faint but I can definitely sense them. Those must be the two that Vegeta killed. Here goes nothing.' with one final deep breath, he started off towards the changing area, with Goten, Goku, Trunks, Vegeta, Piccolo, 17, Tien, Krillin, Mirai and Koga all right behind him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once inside, Kai observed the ordinary fighters trying to display their levels of skill, and that term is used very very loosely, and others being interviewed by reporters 'Jackasses like that losing themselves in the fame before they even get in the ring, hell I doubt this guy will even make it into the main round.'

"There you are, I was wondering when you'd show up."

Kai looked back to see Videl and Erasa coming up to him "Oh hey, how'd you know I'd be here?"

"Because nobody chooses that shade of red as their gi color."

"I know, this is unique and that's why I chose it. Anyway I'm entering as the Crimson Dragon so I can make a title for myself once I win the tournament."

"Oh I guess that makes sense, but you seem kind of sure you're gonna wipe the floor with my dad."

'More than you know. So how have you and Erasa been progressing, you getting better with your flying practice?"

"Yeah you bet I have, check this out." she took to the air.

Kai followed after her, with both of them landing on a balcony a ways away.

"Looks like one of these Ki warriors have met their match."

"Oh don't even joke about that. So where's Gohan and these other guys that you were telling me about?"

"My best guess would be the changing rooms, I'm pretty sure Gohan, Goku and Piccolo showed up already wearing the outfits they were gonna use to fight."

"Cool. I'm gonna go see how my dad's doing, later and she took off.

He leapt back to the ground in the main quadrant and looked around at the competition "So it looks like we've got a full house."

"I'll say." that was when Goku and the others came out "Hey Kai, what happened back there?"

"You mean with my dad? Sorry, it's not exactly something I like to talk about. Could you try not to bring it up?"

"Well I guess but-"

"No way, I don't believe it! It's really you guys!"

Goku looked and saw the announcer for the tournament coming up to them "Oh hey, long time no see."

"And here I was actually starting to think I'd never see you guys again, I mean how long has it been? You haven't come out to compete in the tournament in ages. But be real with me for a second, it wasn't Mr Satan who beat Cell am I right? Come on, I know it was you."

"Well you're half right, it was actually my son." Goku pointed a thumb in Gohan's direction.

"Well either way it's a relief to have you guys back, I can't begin to tell you how boring the tournaments have been ever since you guys raised the bar and vanished like you did." then he looked around at the crowd "So anyway, please tell me the scary looking ones are friends of yours."

"Again, you're half right."

"Great, so you think you guys can get through your matches without blowing up the ring this time?"

Kai sighed 'Well at least there's one guy who hasn't been brainwashed by the virus that is Mr Satan.'

"I know you guys are gonna fly through the preliminaries in a heartbeat, give the people a good show and I'll see you in a little bit. I'm expecting greatness from you!" and he walked off.

"There are still intelligent people in the world."

"YEAH!" then Mr Satan showed up.

"And then there's that guy."

"Who wants to remember today with an autograph from yours truly?! I'll give it to you for free if you're one of the first people in line!"

"...I've heard people say stupidity is curable by death, but in that idiot's case it would be insulting the people who died just to get away from him. But just so the people know what they're up against, I'm gonna get in line." he went up to the front.

"Excuse me!" the official got everyone's attention "I'd like to thank each and every one of you for coming out today, as I'm sure you're aware we're about to get underway with the preliminary round of the World Martial Arts Tournament. Out of the 200 adults who have entered, only 16 will be allowed to compete in one on one combat. The children have different rules which will be covered later on. One of those 16 spots has been reserved for Mr Satan since he is the reigning champion of the tournament, so without further delay let's get down to choosing the other 15 contes. As usual we will use a punch machine to ensure that everyone's strength is scored fairly, those with the 15 highest scores on the punch machine will move on to the next round." then the punch machine was brought out "Alright, now in order to show you how the machine works and to let you see what you're in for if you reach the arena we're bringing out a familiar face in order to give us a demonstration. Please welcome the champ himself, Mr Satan!"

Then Mr Satan came out and held up the championship belt "YEAH! If you want this then you're gonna have to take it from me! Come on people, don't be shy and show me those cameras already!" he started posing.

'I've seen about all of this I can stand.' with a twinkle of his eyes, Piccolo promptly destroyed the cameras in a flash.

"...Well I guess I must have flexed a little bit too hard for them." Mr Satan got into a stance, and with several constipated groans "MEGATON PUNCH!" his fist slammed into the machine full force, resulting in him scoring a 137.

The official nearly lost his shit "Is this a dream? Could my eyes really be staring at a score of 137 points?!"

"Step up and show the weaklings who's boss, do your best and maybe you'll be the lucky son of a bitch I fight later on!" and he stepped back inside.

"Alright then, everybody come forward and take a number and like up in numerical order in front of the punching machine."

Soon enough, the people had lined up.

Kai was the first noteworthy person up "Stand aside and let me handle this." he landed a solid punch, scoring a 133.

"133, very nice. Next up is number 83."

"That would be me." 17 stepped up and landed a solid punch.

"203 points."

Then Gohan.

"240 points."

Then Krillin.

"192."

Then Goku.

"186 points."

Then Piccolo.

"210 points."

Then Koga.

"174 points."

Then Mirai.

"197 points."

Then Koga.

"183 points."

Then a figure in grey clothing with a red device on his face.

"224 points."

Then a figure in yellow and orange clothing with green skin and a scouter running down one eye.

"236 points. Okay, I think it's safe to say that this machine is busted. What do you say we swap it out for a fresh one?"

Unfortunately, this was when Vegeta went up "Stand back." he then proceeded to destroy the machine with one punch "Maybe I didn't get a number but I think that's worth qualifying don't you?"

"...Yeah sure."

"Good." and he made his way back to the others.

Kai looked around and noticed other guys deciding to drop out, mainly for the reason that they were scared of Vegeta "Well on the bright side at least he got rid of some of the weaker guys so that makes it less of a hassle. Still though, that's just typical of him."

Videl's head snapped towards him "Hey, how come you don't look like you're surprised?"

"Because I've seen him do crap like this all the time, I've seen him take out entire buildings with a single shot."

"But that kind of power, it's just out of this world."

'Well she isn't wrong.'

"All of them probably came here as a group."

'She's still not wrong.'

"How did each of them score around 200 points? Before they stepped up to the machine my dad scored a 137 and you only got a 133."

"I held back, I could've easily scored 200 if I wanted. But I don't plan on attracting any unnecessary attention before I beat your dad." then he looked at the other two 'It's those two I'm worried about, they both have high levels of power but they feel dark and malicious.' then he looked and saw Goku and the others coming towards them.

"Here they come, I can tell that they just think they're so cool."

"That's because they are, I know for a fact that I don't hold a candle to any of them."

"Yeah right, Gohan aside they can't be that tough."

"Hey, how's it going." Goku waved, taking her by surprise "Hey come on Kai, aren't you gonna introduce us to your friend?"

Kai shrugged "Alright. Guys this is Videl, Videl this is Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, Mirai, Koga, 17, Tien and Krillin."

"Anyway, we're about to head out to watch the junior division matches. You wanna come with us?"

"Thanks but I've got something I wanna check on." and he walked off.

"Me too." Gohan followed him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The grey clad figure from the preliminaries leaned against a wall "I don't know, I think we may have overdone it a bit."

The green one let out an annoyed grunt "Whatever."

"I've been looking for the two of you Turles, Slug."

Both figures, now known to be Turles and Slug, looked to see the figure of Magatsuhi appear in front of them "You… Magatsuhi."

"I believe I told the both of you not to act on your own."

Slug let out an annoyed grunt "What I do is none of your damn business and don't think you can order me around Magatsuhi, I don't recall ever becoming your servant. I'm only cooperating with you for now so I can get my revenge on that Saiyan brat Vegeta, nothing more and nothing less."

"Now now, we shouldn't bicker amongst ourselves." Turles called him off "But speaking of cooperation Magatsuhi, do you have what I asked for?"

"As a matter of fact I do, you can take two with you, one for both of you." he handed two strange looking fruits "Your fruit from the Tree of Might with the effects having been amplified by my own demonic power, anyone who eats these fruit will gain power beyond compare."

"Perfect. I'll be able to crush Vegeta with a single blow, that I can promise you."

"Well be sure you don't forget your main objective at this tournament, you do know what to do don't you?"

"I'm well aware of our objective, and eating this will make it that much easier. Just don't forget to live up to your end of our alliance."

"I've never broken my word, while I finish off that cursed Dragon Saiyan Son Gohan you may destroy that other Saiyan Vegeta however you please." and then he disappeared.

Slug grunted "I wonder about that."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kai had been watching the scene with Gohan from behind a wall "So that's their game, looks like these guys Turles and Slug willingly allied themselves with Magatsuhi so they can off Vegeta and get some payback."

Gohan nodded "Looks that way, and that might be what happened to Cell and Bojack too. After all, they were the first two I took down using my Dragon Saiyan powers."

"And what about Janemba?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well think about it, we know that he was created by the evil energy but I doubt that's what caused him to mutate right when you, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were about to him off, and what about that dark jewel? There's no way that just randomly appeared and decided to use Janemba as a host on its own, for all we know he may have been watching that fight and decided to try and take you out using that thing as a pawn."

"That makes sense. Come on, we've gotta let the others know about this."

"Right, damn it's times like this that I wish Inuyasha and the others would show up."

"Didn't you now? They're up in the stands, they've been there since before you and the others arrived."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By this point, the Junior Division had ended with Trunks as the winner and Goten as the runner up, leaving a 30 minute break before the start of the main event.

Now Goku and the rest were pigging out in the waiting area "Man that hits the spot, the food here is always awesome."

That was when Gohan came in with Kai "Hey guys, sorry we took so long. So how did the fight turn out?"

"The younger me beat Mr Satan with one punch." Mirai told them.

"Shocking isn't it?" Vegeta muttered.

"But everyone thinks he threw the match on purpose so he wouldn't have to beat up a little kid."

Krillin grinned "What a guy right? He oughta get an academy award for that one."

Then Videl rounded on him "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Kai smacked a hand over Krillin's mouth "You don't know what Krillin is like, he's always trying to be funny and make jokes like that." then he shot Krillin a glare "Isn't that right, like every funny guy you don't know when to shut the f*ck up."

"Hey Gohan, we went ahead and ordered some grub for you if you want." Goku told him "You gonna eat too?"

Gohan shrugged "Alright why not, I haven't eaten in days since I've been so busy training with Sesshomaru." he started scarfing down food "Man this stuff is amazing."

"See, I told you. Hey, can we get another round."

Videl's jaw nearly dropped 'What is with these people?'

Krillin groaned "Honestly, do Saiyan stomachs not have some kind of cut off bowl or something?"

"Saiya-what?"

"Oops."

"DUDE!" Gohan barked.

"Sorry guys, you know what I'm just gonna keep my mouth shut."

Goku stood and stretched a little bit "Now that was incredible, what a feast!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After they all finished eating, the group was on their way.

"They should be just a few minutes away from the drawing." Tien pointed out "Then we'll get to pick our matches and see who we'll be fighting against."

"Hold up." Piccolo stopped them and looked at the two figures in front of them 'I have a bad feeling about this, and it's not just because one of them is floating.'

The short one floated over to Goku "Good day to you, do I have the pleasure of addressing you as Son Goku?"

"Well yeah but how do you even know who I am?" asked Goku.

"Well I must say that your reputation precedes you, many stories circulate about your prowess both in and out of the ring. I've actually come here to satisfy my curiosity, I've passed the preliminaries like yourself and your friends and I hope the lineup will give us the chance to compete with each other. Don't worry, I'm not foolish enough to think that I could defeat you. I only wish to know if all of the legends about you are true. Please, let us shake hands." he held out his hand.

Goku shook it "Nice to meet you. This feeling…'

"Excellent, clearly you possess a spirit worthy of legend." he dropped back to the ground and bowed "Good day." and he left, with his friend following.

"Weird."

"Goku, who exactly was that guy?" asked Kai.

"I don't have a clue, but to be honest meeting someone like that has a funny way of making me think that maybe this tournament isn't gonna be a sure win after all."

"Well I could've told you that without that guy's input, Gohan and I found out that two guys working with Magatsuhi are here."

"Which ones?" asked Mirai.

"An evil Saiyan and evil Namekian by the names of Turles and Slug." Gohan told them "From what we can tell they agreed to form some kind of alliance with Magatsuhi for the sole purpose of taking you out while he takes me out."

"So then what about those two? Are they with him too?"

"No, I don't think I got any evil vibes from them. One thing is for sure though, they definitely aren't from Earth. The only question is, why bother to travel to an out of the way cosmic outpost like this one for something like a friendly sparring match?"

"Either way we should hurry." 17 pointed out "If those two and those other guys you mentioned are here then we're gonna have some serious competition on our hands. Let's hurry over to the drawing board before we get shuffled to the bottom."

"Yeah, good idea."

"Counting all of us, Videl and her dad, and Turles and Slug, that should make a grand total of 16 fighters."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Soon enough, they arrived at the drawing area.

"Okay, I think that's everyone." the WTA noted "Now let's get on with the drawing shall we? Attention contestants, we're about to begin the drawing. When your name is drawn please come up here and take a number, that will tell us who you're paired with. Now then, the first name on the list is Koga."

"That would be me." Koga stepped up and pulled out a ball "16."

"Very well then, #16 goes to Koga. Next up is Kibito."

Then Kibito stepped up "10."

"Alright, 10 it is. Next up is Crimson Dragon."

"Alright." Kai pulled his "1, I guess I'm in the lead off match."

"Next up is Son Gohan."

"Right." Gohan stepped up "11."

"Alright, 11. Next up, Mirai."

"Right." Mirai stepped up and pulled out a ball "9. That means I'm fighting Kibito.'

"Hey." Kai pulled him aside "I think it would be a good idea for you to keep your guard up around this one."

"Yeah, I think you're right."

"Next up!" the WTA called "Contestant #17 apparently."

Then 17 stepped up "That would be me."

"You don't care to give us another name?"

"Not really no." he pulled one out "7."

"Okay. Do we have a Shin here?"

"Indeed you do." Shin pulled one out "3 is my number."

"Okay, 3 goes to Shin."

'So that guy calls himself Shin.' Gohan noted.

"Next in line is Turles, come on up."

"That would be me." Turles stepped up and drew his number "I'll be 6."

"Contestant Tien!"

Then Tien stepped up "I've got 2. So I'll be fighting Kai in the first round, this is going to be very interesting.'

"Okay, Goku please."

"Right, I guess it's my turn now." Goku stepped up and picked one "Alright, looks like I'm gonna be 15."

"Alright, Goku is at 15. Videl, come on up."

"Right here!" Videl started picking one out "Shouldn't my dad be in charge of this?"

"Oh your father is having a bit of a lie down at the moment."

"Oh. Anyway, I'm at 12. Wait, that means I'm fighting Gohan. F*ck.'

"Okay, Videl is #12. Next up, Krillin!"

"Got it." Krillin pulled one out "I'm at 8."

"Krillin is 8, Vegeta is up next."

Vegeta pulled out his number "5. That means I'm fighting Turles.'

"Looks like Vegeta is #12."

Turles smirked maliciously 'Perfect, me and Vegeta exactly how I wanted it to be. I've been waiting a long time for this one.'

"Okay, Majunior is up next."

Piccolo picked his "4."

"Okay, Majunior is 4."

'Great, I'm gonna be fighting against Shin? Fine, maybe this way I can find out more about who he is.'

"Next we have the reigning world Champion Mr Satan, I will personally be drawing on his behalf while he rests up." he drew "And it looks like 13 is his lucky number, how ironic. Last but not least is Slug."

With an annoyed grunt, Slug pulled up the last number "14."

"Okay, looks like you're fighting the champ."

"Sucks to be that guy." Videl muttered "My dad won't be an easy fight."

Vegeta shot her a look "You actually believe that don't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I could tell you, but where's the fun in that?"

"Alright, here's your official starting lineup!" the announcer pointed to the board "The first match will be between former champion Tien Shinhan and the Crimson Dragon. The second will be Shin and Majunior, the third will be Vegeta and Turles, the fourth will be 17 vs Krillin, the fifth will be Mirai and Kibito, the sixth will be Son Gohan and Videl, the seventh will be Mr Satan and Slug, and the eighth and final match will be Son Goku and Koga. Time to start the show people, if you would kindly follow me to the contestants lobby. I assume everyone knows the rules. Should you quit, be pinned for 10 counts, fall out of the ring or accidentally kill your opponent then you forfeit the match. However, due to the larger number of matches there will be a time limit of 30 minutes and any that go over that time limit will be decided by our panel of judges."

'Seems kind of random.' Gohan noted 'But still, we've gotta keep an eye out and make sure we're ready for when Magatsuhi makes his move.'

A/N:

I added in that little speech for Goku in the beginning to give him some much needed character development, seeing how his death during the Cell Games had that much of an impact on Gohan during the events of this story. Besides, I had a development speech for Vegeta so why not Goku too?

I figured that I'd add in that little bit with Piccolo and Nail so Piccolo would get some character development, seeing how he really hasn't had any since he merged with Kami during the Cell Saga.

Those Namekian mystic abilities were originally used in the fanfic The Fall of Lord Frieza by . If he is reading this fic and is offended by me using his ideas then I apologize.

That whole thing with Videl tearing up because she couldn't access her Ki actually happened, honest to Dende.

I added in Turles and Slug instead of Spopovich and Yamu because these two are much more dangerous, and I never understood the point of why those two were there in the first place.

I took out the whole thing with Trunks and Goten posing as Might Mask because, to be honest, it was just plain stupid.