Soon enough, the group had gathered in the contestant's lobby in the main building.
Gohan looked around 'So we've got me, Kai, Videl, dad, Piccolo, Vegeta, Mirai, Tien, Krillin, 17 and Koga. It's kind of weird that Broly and Cooler decided to drop out at the last second, but I guess we can't play all of our heaviest hitters all at once. Piccolo seems kind of disturbed about something, it must be because of those guys Shin and Kibito.'
"So that green guy, does he always get this way before a fight?" asked Videl "The poor guy looks like he's about to puke his guts out."
"No he's alright, this is just how he prepares. I wish that was the case, that guy Shin must really be getting to him.'
"And where did your dad go anyway?"
"I don't know, he kind of took off in a hurry."
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Daizo stood outside of the stands, staring at the arena 'So Kai will be fighting a previous champion in the first match, will he?'
"Excuse me."
Daizo looked and saw Goku appear before him "I have nothing to say to you or any of those in your group." he started walking away.
"Please." Goku held out an arm without looking at him "Look, I don't have a clue what you think of me."
"I think you're selfish and immature and you're just as barbaric as anyone who would take part in this event."
"Well now we know, but the two of us still have one thing in common. You and I are both fathers, and from one dad to another I would never even dream of turning my back on my sons."
"Well why don't you check back with me in about 10 years or so when your youngest has crushed all of the hopes and dreams you've ever had for him."
"But that's just it, those are your hopes and dreams and not Kai's. Look, I haven't known him for very long but I've known him long enough to know that he's a good kid with a good heart and that my son is lucky to have him as a friend, and I know for a fact that for the first time since before Cell appeared he's really truly happy. He loves martial arts and his talent for it is unlike anything I've ever seen."
"You mean poisoning the minds of millions across the world with fighting and crap that they call a form of art?"
"People seem to like it." he pointed to the massive crowd in the stadium "Look, just come with me to see his match from the contestant's lobby, and then you'll see how confident and capable he is in the ring and how happy he is about it, and how passionate he is about it. I don't know about you but I myself think you'll be very impressed by what you see."
"...Fine, but don't expect me to change my opinion."
"You won't be saying that once you see him fight."
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Goku brought Daizo to the lobby with Instant Transmission "It's not long, please just wait until Kai's fight and you'll see." then he looked and sweatdropped at what he saw
"I'm telling you, Roshi is the biggest pervert you'd ever meet!" Kai barked.
"And I'm telling you, Miroku is the worst." Gohan countered.
"Dude, he made Bulma flash him just to get the Dragon Ball!"
"Yeah well Miroku is a monk so he's supposed to be enlightened and wise and stuff, yet I can't begin to count how many times he's groped Sango on the ass!"
"A pervert is a pervert!"
"Why am I hanging out with you two idiots?" Koga muttered.
"You tell me wolf man, you're the-" he froze when he saw Daizo with Goku, and his eyes hardened and narrowed "Dad."
"...Well I know I'm impressed, how about you?" Goku offered, but it really wasn't very much help.
"Goku, what's he doing here?"
"Well I brought him by to see how you were when you're at work."
"And I've seen enough." Daizo turned around but looked back and glared coldly "I know that your mother would be ashamed-"
Kai suddenly forcefully turned him around and punched him in the face, breaking his nose, then roughly slammed him against the wall "Don't you f*cking dare talk about what mom would want, and you don't get to turn your back on me twice! Now I've got some things to say and you're going to keep your biased trap shut and listen!" he took a deep breath and calmed himself down, but only slightly "Do you know what being a dad means? It means showing your kids unconditional love and support no matter what choices they make, and do you know who taught me that? Gohan did."
"I'm not a father." Gohan pointed out.
"You don't need to be, you've had to act as the father figure to your little brother since the day he was born. You showed me how a father should act." then he looked back at Daizo "But it should have been you. All of these guys, Goku, Piccolo, Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, hell even Vegeta, they've all been more of fathers to me in one day than you've been for the entirety of my childhood! So you can go ahead and pretend you don't have a son, disown me or whatever, I don't care anymore. I'm done lying about what I do, lying to you or myself. I'm following my dream and I'm doing what I want with my life. And for the first time in years, for the first since mom died, I'm truly happy. This is who I am and this is the path I've chosen."
This was when the WMAT announcer finally got things started "And we're back folks, thanks for sticking around! Alright then ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to see some spectacular martial arts?!" he was met with cheers "Okay, it's finally time now let's hurry up and get this show started! Who is gonna be King of the Hill? Let's give it up for our first combatants, former champion Tien Shinhan vs newcomer the Crimson Dragon!"
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a match to fight." Kai stepped out, following Tien into the ring.
"You can feel the intensity as both contestants approaching the ring. Tien Shinhan was the previous champion of the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament and I know that he's only grown stronger since then, while the Crimson Dragon is a newcomer eager to claim the title of world champion from Mr Satan's grasp. How far will he go? We'll just have to wait and see. "
Kai stood on the opposite side of the ring from Tien and gave a respectful bow "May the best martial artist win."
Tien returned the gesture "Agreed. Come at me with full strength Kai, I've been waiting to see just how far you've come."
"That's what I plan on testing too." he heard the announcer start the match.
Tien charged forward and swept out Kai's legs from under him.
Kai rebounded before he crashed to the ground and leapt out of the way to avoid a kick to his side, then got back to his feet.
Tien then charged at him and launched a barrage of punches and kicks.
Kai dodged every one of them and aimed a kick of his own at Tien's knees.
Tien leapt over it and aimed a punch, then a kick when his fist was caught.
Kai leaned his head to the side, then fired off a kick to the head.
Tien ducked under it and launched another furious barrage of kicks.
Kai dodged and blocked every one of them and retreated back towards the edge of the arena, then charged forward.
Tien did the same from his end and channeled Ki into his fist, then stuck it forward.
Kai did the same, resulting in a clash that sent them both staggering back.
Tien charged and aimed a kick to Kai's face, only for him to disappear "An afterimage."
"Gotcha!" Kai attempted to attack Tien from behind.
Tien began dodging and blocking attacks before he retreated back a small distance "You attacked from behind, a wise move. I was so focused on the one in front of me I didn't think about the possibility of you using an afterimage. I underestimated you, a mistake I won't make again." he removed his white t shirt, an arm surging up and over his shoulder as he blitzed forward and used the arm to slug Kai in the face, followed by an uppercut to the chest, then a chop to his cheek and finishing it with a left handed palm thrust.
Kai tumbled back and leapt back onto his feet, then wiped the blood from his face 'Those arms, they must be the result of using the Four Witches technique. I should've expected as much from a former champion, your mastery over the technique is incredible."
"You haven't seen anything yet." Tien retracted the two arms from his back, a small light appearing on the end of his fingertip, and he suddenly disappeared.
'Dammit, I can't sense his Ki!' suddenly hearing a pinging noise, Kai's aura suddenly flared into life, taking on a sky blue color "Zen Ryuken!" he burst upwards to avoid the Dodon Ray to his back, then landed back on the ground "So you tried to suppress your Ki signature while attempting an attack to my blind spot, that was a smart move."
"What was that technique you used?"
"A power up technique I've spent the last year creating, I call it the Ryuken. Its effects are 50 times stronger than the Kaioken but it only multiplies one area at a time instead of all of them, though I can change which area it is in a fraction of a second."
"I see, that's actually an ingenious and very impressive technique. But don't think I'll be going easy on you." his crimson aura flared into life "Kaioken times 5!" and he suddenly disappeared from view.
Kai rolled forward just in time "Masenko!" he fired off a quick one handed Masenko, easily cancelling out an attempted Dodon Ray aimed at his arm.
Tien quickly used his Multi Form technique to create a copy of himself.
Kai backflipped away just in time to avoid the blast, only to stumble back into a third copy.
The third copy thrusted a roundhouse kick to connect to Kai's hastily risen guard "Now get ready! Volleyball Fist!" he spiked Kai into the air like a volleyball, and the second one slammed him back up into the air when he was coming back, and both copies stood together in the center of the ring while the original hammered him back to the ground with both hands, with the copies jumping up and landing kicks to his spine, slamming him straight into the ground.
Kai slowly struggled to get back up as he spat out some blood "Not gonna lie, that one really did hurt."
"Just stay down." all three prepared a Dodon Ray on their fingertips "You'll only get hurt even worse if you continue."
"Thanks for the offer but I can't, to be honest I never really learned how to give up." Kai's Ki spiked up, energy being concentrated into his fingertips as he burst into the air "Bending Special Beam Cannon!" he fired a Special Beam Cannon.
The three Tien copies backpedaled away, avoiding the attack as it spiralled downwards towards the ground.
Kai flexed his fingers, and the Special Beam Cannon suddenly burst out of the ground and pierced all three Tiens, then looked up "Yeah how do you like that one Piccolo, I used that attack and it actually worked!"
"You're not out of the woods yet."
Kai looked up and saw Tien above him 'Dammit!'
"Tri Beam!" Tien fired a Tri Beam at Kai from above, engulfing him and resulting in an explosion.
When the blast subsided and the smoke cleared, Kai was down on the floor of the ring with one hand stretching upwards while he was twitching and panting, and he couldn't help but give a weary smile 'Well I'm still alive, that's gotta count for something.'
Tien lowered himself to the ground in front of him.
"So are you surprised?"
"Very, you manipulated that earlier Special Beam Cannon at the last second it and used it in an attempt to cancel out the brunt of my blast. I've gotta admit, for someone as young as you that's very impressive."
"Th-Thanks." Kai wiped some blood off of his face "I've been getting the feeling that you've been suppressing your true power this whole time, at first I thought that we were close to evenly matched but after I felt an attack like that sending me crashing to the arena like this I'd know hidden power anywhere. Don't forget that I've trained with the likes of Gohan and Piccolo."
"You're very sharp, nice job not letting that get past you."
"Here I am thinking I was holding back about 20% of my full power and you just brush off all of it like it was nothing, you're becoming even more of a monster than the likes of Piccolo. Hell at this rate you could probably keep up with Gohan."
"You want to see my full power? Fine by me, the way you've been fighting up until now you've earned it." he got into a power up stance "Just so you know this will mean the end of the fight if I go full power, this won't take more than a minute."
"By all means." Kai reentered his combat stance "I'll come at you with every ounce of strength I have."
"Spoken like a true warrior." then Tien let out a roar as he powered up, shaking the entire stadium as his aura flared higher than ever before.
'Look at him! This is incredible, I can practically taste it! At this point he's almost as powerful as Vegeta in his base form ! I could try using my Zen Ryuken again but it's still imperfect, and my body might not be able to withstand the strain! And on top of that Tien is crazy strong as f*ck now! How the hell am I supposed to stomp Mr Satan if I can't beat another earthling? Maybe he's right, maybe I'm not good enough.'
"You can do it!"
Kai's eyes shot wide open as he looked back at the stands.
Erasa, seated with Inuyasha and the other Hell guardians, was cheering him on from the stands with astounding encouragement "I have faith in you Kai, show that triclops what you're made of and send him flying!"
'Erasa…'
"Kick his ass!" Gohan cheered from the contestant's lobb "Send him flying and show them what you're made of!"
'Yeah that's easier said than done, I'd be lucky enough to make him stumble back even a few feet.'
"Don't you dare give up!"
Kai's head snapped to the side only to see Daizo barking out at him 'Dad…'
"What are you standing around for?! Are you so content with losing like this?! After everything you've put yourself through, has it been to lose like this?! If you carry the proud blood of the Sato family, if you're my son, if you carry your mother's will with you then don't you dare lose, not to him!"
'Dad…' contemplating his father's words to him, Kai felt an idea strike him 'Wait a minute, that's it! Zen Ryuken!" his blue aura roared into life with noise and size nearly equal to that of Tien.
"Are you ready?" Tien called out over the roar of his own power, easily blocking out the cheers from either side "I can keep this up all day if I have to!"
"Actually we won't have to!" Kai forced himself to step forward, forcing his arms to cup at his sides, a deep blue sphere of Ki generating in them "I've got a way to beat you without having to break a sweat! Ka… Me…"
'A bluff?' Tien felt Kai's Ki multiplying in his palms, only to hear the full clear humming of a traditional Kamehameha 'No, he's really gonna do it!'
"Ha… Me…" he blue sphere grew larger and larger and then condensed in his palms.
'You know that I can deflect that attack if I want, you can't seriously think I'll just let you fire off a Kamehameha as strong as that and not deflect it.' Tien felt a nervous twitch in his muscles as he watched Kai with a serious glint in his eyes 'I'm not going to fall for a trick like this Kai, firing off a Kamehameha isn't going to do anything for-'
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Kai unleashed a massively powerful Kamehameha from his palms at full strength, but instead of streaking towards Tien it fired the other way, being controlled in a way that had propelled Kai's entire body like a rocket.
'What?! So he was trying to propel himself towards me faster than I could stop him or manage to dodge?!'
Kai burst forward and managed to cover the space between them in a mere second, also making sure to power down his Zen Ryuken aura "Now! Masenko!" he fired a Masenko at Tien at point blank range.
Tien was sent flying off his feet and soaring through the air until his back smashed directly into a wall.
Kai fired a Ki blast behind his back, stopping him from soaring in the opposite direction and allowing him to land on the edge of the arena, and he breathed a sigh of relief "Damn, that was close. But I'm safe."
"Barely." Tien pried himself from the wall, landing on the ground as he let out a few shallow coughs and rubbed his tender spot in which his defenseless midsection was hit "I've gotta give you credit, you've got as much guts as you do wits. The only other man I know crazy or brilliant enough to pull a move like that was Goku during his fight with Piccolo the last time he entered a tournament. It's just a good thing you didn't punch a hole through me with your head."
"Oh get real, if we were in a real battle and not a tournament then I wouldn't have had a chance in hell. I know damn well which one of us would be eating dirt if this was for real."
"But you still won this battle." Tien made his way back into the ring and held out a hand "You fought well, congratulations."
Kai accepted with a genuine grin "Thanks, really." then he stumbled forward slightly, the injuries and exhaustion catching up to him.
Tien caught him and kindly slung his arm over his shoulder "I've got you, it's the least I could do."
"Thanks."
This was when the announcer made the call "In a stunning turn of events the Crimson Dragon has knocked Tien Shinhan out of bounds! This means that the Crimson Dragon is the winner of the first match-"
"No." Kai slowly took the mike from him "The Crimson Dragon is just a cover name. My name is Kai Sato, your future 26th champion!"
"Right." the announcer took back the mike "As the winner of the first match, Kai Sato will be moving on to the semi final rounds! We'll see there if he has what it takes to back up those bold claims of his! This is outstanding! I just knew it, this is going to be the tournament to end all tournaments!' this was met with a thunderous roar of cheers and applause, as well as one single bark of outrage, as well as a cry of several bullets.
"What the hell?"
Tien sighed "That would be Launch, a very long story I would really rather not go into right now."
"I'll respect that."
"Thank you." he helped him back into the competitor's lobby and gently sat him down on a bench.
"Thanks." he winced from the pain he felt 'Let's see here… Wounds are minor, mainly exhaustion and muscle tears from using the Zen Ryuken like that.'
"Kai!" Gohan rushed over to him "Congratulations man, that was awesome. You really caught me by surprise, for a second I thought you were desperate enough to try and hit Tien with that Kamehameha."
"Oh geez, thanks for the boat of confidence. Let's be real for a minute, if I really tried firing a Kamehameha at him then it wouldn't have gotten very far with someone as strong as Tien on the arena. His power was so insanely huge that I was afraid he was gonna snuff it out just by punching it like Saitama would."
"Well I guess you've got a knack for using your head for winning a fight."
"I guess so."
"Hey."
Kai looked in Piccolo's direction "Yeah?"
Piccolo gave a small smile "Good job, I mean that."
"Thanks." then he noticed Daizo still standing in the corner "Could I get a minute?"
"Sure, I'm up next anyway." he walked over to the other side of the room.
'Here comes awkward dad reunion part II.'
Daizo slowly walked over to him "Kai."
"Dad."
"That was a great match." this took Kai by surprise "Your speech before was excellent as well. It reminds me of the one that I wish I had given my father when I was your age."
"...What are you saying?"
"What I'm saying is that I made a horrible horrible mistake 7 years ago, and I'm truly sorry that I've been so closed minded. But what I'm really saying is that I can't begin to describe how proud I am to call you my son."
"Dad, I…" Kai just held out his hand.
Daizo denied the hand and instead gently embraced him "Son…"
"Dad…" then he looked at Turles and Slug in the corner "Dad listen to me very carefully, whatever happens you stay as far away from those guys as possible. I'm serious, those guys are seriously bad news."
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On the other side of the room, Piccolo was sweating bullets 'This Shin, what is it about him that makes me so uneasy?'
"On to the next match!" the announcer checked the roster "Oh yes this one is gonna be good! Now we've got got Shin and Majunior! Righto, let's show them some love people!"
'And now I'm up.'
"I believe it is time." Shin stepped up.
Piccolo hesitantly followed him.
"Excellent, I have a strong suspicion that I shall enjoy myself." Shin stepped forward into the ring.
Piccolo slowly stepped forward.
"Excuse me." the announcer stopped him "We'll thank you not to destroy the grounds this time."
"...No promises." he stepped into the ring, just as the announcer gave the okay for the match to begin 'What is wrong with me? It's like something about him is completely paralyzing me! How could I feel nervous? I've never met this guy before in my life, why would I be nervous?' then a horrible thought struck him 'No, that's just not possible! Who are you?!'
Shin just smiled disturbingly "Worry not, you will know very soon. But for now, let me just say this. This tournament does not interest me in any sort of capacity, aside from stopping those two." he looked over in the direction of Turles and Slug "For the sake of keeping with the proceedings, I shall allow you to advance to the next round of the tournament Piccolo. I wish you the best of luck should you see the next round." and he walked out of the ring 'Of course, he is bound to the guardian of this world. That may give him special insight into just who I truly am. I apologize, but I must withdraw from this match." and he walked back into the lobby.
The announcer made the call after a moment "Shin has withdrawn from the match, due to this Majunior wins and advances by default!"
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Piccolo walked back onto the stage "Vegeta, you're up next."
"What's going on?" asked Goku "Do you know who he is?"
"I don't know for sure, but I've got a pretty good idea. Vegeta."
"I know." Vegeta said bluntly "Kakarot, just make sure you mop the floor with Slug when you face him in the semi finals."
"Okay moving on!" the announcer called "Match 3 should make up for the disappointment that was match 2! Next up, we have newcomer Vegeta vs newcomer Turles!"
"It's time. 17, Krillin, you two will be up next. Make sure to quell any suspicions once I'm done with Turles." and Vegeta started making his way towards the ring.
"This is one match to watch out for." Kai noted.
Daizo looked on intensely "That one Turles, he's one of the two you distrust right?"
"That's understating it dad, he's got a seriously dark feel to him along with a serious grudge against Vegeta. The question is, what kind of tricks does he have up his sleeve?"
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Vegeta stood in the ring opposite of Turles 'All I have to do is knock him out of the ring and then get him to lead me to where Magatsuhi is, then I can end this before it begins.'
'Now after all this time, I can finally crush Vegeta!' Turles gripped his fists 'Sorry Slug, but first come first serve.' he listened to the announcer call the match.
'It's time.' Vegeta burst forward faster than the normal eye could see, with Turles following his lead, and both fists colliding together, the resulting blow shaking the entirety of the stadium, cracking the ring beneath their feat. They then vanished once again, sounds of crashing, shaking and a series of electrical sparks echoing throughout the stadium, and they soon reappeared in mid air, exchanging a barrage of fierce blows before splitting apart and descending to the ring once more.
"I think that's enough of a warm up wouldn't you agree?"
"Yes I'd say so." Turles held up a hand and fired his Sudden Storm technique, firing forward a barrage of purple Ki blasts.
Acting on instinct, Vegeta coated his hand with Ki and fired his own blast to deflect the incoming spheres, dispersing them on the spot. Then he vanished.
'Okay stay calm Turles, don't lose your cool. Just sense out his energy. Okay, so he's planning to attack from behind.' Turles turned on his heel and pushed both hands and unleashed a shockwave that knocked Vegeta off balance, then placed both hands behind him and pushed off the ground in order to kick Vegeta, sending him flying upwards.
Vegeta was sent spinning upward like a top, then sent crashing downwards with a crushing axe kick, but sent out a shockwave to stop himself. The two then flickered and clashed in mid air once again, exchanging furious physical blows, resulting in Vegeta slamming his fist into Turles' stomach.
Thanks to his Saiyan durability, Turles didn't feel it as much as he should have and retaliated with a crushing blow to the chest, leaving him slightly winded.
Vegeta recovered as quickly as he could and flared his aura, being mimicked by Turles, and they began clashing again, blow after blow, each crushing attack sending a giant collision through the stadium and actually shaking it. Then he angled upwards to avoid any contact with the arena as he began charging a purple ball of Ki in his hands.
"So you're actually breaking out the Galick Gun are you? Very well then, I'll use my trump card as well." Turles' aura began flaring.
"Super… Galick… GUN!" Vegeta fired his Galick Gun at its strongest, the attack exploding upwards.
'Shit!' Turles was forced to stop charging his Ki and thrusted his hands forward in order to stop the attack "Forget it… I won't… be outdone… by the likes… of this!" but he still couldn't contain the blast entirely and the blast engulfed him before shooting into space, leaving him floating there somewhat scuffed with torn clothing but without suffering any noteworthy injuries.
"I shouldn't be surprised, you always were too stubborn for your own good."
"Don't belittle me!" Turles furiously blindsided Vegeta with a blow to the ribs, then slammed his arm downwards on Vegeta's head, sending him hurtling downwards towards the stands.
Vegeta managed to stop himself right before he collided with the crowd, then looked up and realized that Turles meant business 'So it's like I thought, he's after my head and is just using the tournament as a cover story. I can't fight seriously without risking them getting caught in the crossfire, I'll have to go Super Saiyan and end this quick.' he quickly flashed into Super Saiyan and blitzed towards the center of the ring "Fine, let's end this!" he flashed into Super Saiyan and began charging a yellow Ki blast.
"ENOUGH OF THIS FARCE, YOUR LIFE ENDS NOW!" Turles fired off his most powerful technique, his Kill Driver.
"FINAL FLASH!" Vegeta fired a Super Saiyan powered Final Flash, colliding with the Kill Driver and slowly but surely pushing him back, before going to full power, completely destroying the attack and engulfing Turles in the ensuing explosion that followed.
When the blast subsided, Turles floated in the air for a few moments, before slowly dropping to the ground "Forget it, you can't fight all out here. Getting my revenge would be meaningless in a place like this. I suppose I'll just have to wait until after this thing is over with." and he walked off.
'And I'll be waiting.'
The announcer decided to make the call "It appears that Turles has landed out of bounds, Vegeta is the winner." he was met with applause and cheers.
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Things were quiet on another end, but just as serious.
Shin was making his way out when he found Piccolo in front of him "Is something troubling you?"
Piccolo decided to come clean about his suspicions "Look I'm just throwing this out there, but by any chance are you the Grand Kai?"
"Sorry, but I'm afraid not."
'Not the Grand Kai? Then who is he?'
"What a foolish question." Kibito made himself known from behind Piccolo "No, he is the Supreme Kai."
Piccolo's jaw dropped in shock "S-Supreme Kai?!"
Shin nodded "Indeed. I would appreciate it if you would keep this to yourself, for the moment I would prefer the others not know that I'm here." and he walked away, with Kibito behind him, leaving Piccolo alone.
"So he really does exist. Of course, it's well known that the four Kai answer to the Grand Kai, but I've only ever heard rumors about the one he answers to. This is the stuff of myth. But why is he here?"
"Hey Piccolo, what's the matter?"
Piccolo looked and saw Goku approach him "Goku…"
"What did that Shin guy say to you that's got you so upset?"
"Uh…"
"He didn't try to egg you on or anything did he? You want me to set him straight for you?"
"No no, bad idea, bad idea! I'm begging you Goku, listen to reason for once and steer clear of him!"
"What's your problem? Is he that big of a deal?"
"Much more than you could know."
"Oh. Well anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Gohan went over to see Korin and get some Senzu Beans for Kai and Vegeta after their matches."
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Gohan appeared back in the competitor's lobby "Sorry I took so long guys, I got a little bit sidetracked with Korin." he held out a number of Senzu Beans "Here you go, they're all Korin had."
"Thanks." Kai popped one in and stood up straight "Looks like they're about to start the fourth match."
"Yeah I know." Mirai eyed Kibito for a moment 'This Kibito guy doesn't look like any ordinary warrior, even if any one of us could take him down. After 17 and Krillin have it out I'm fighting him.'
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Krillin removed the weighted shirt underneath his gi "Hey 17, I know you can smoke me and all but what do you say we give the people a good show?"
17 cracked his knuckles "And by people you mean your wife, AKA my sister? Okay why not, it might get you into her good graces." once the announcer gave the call they leapt back a ways, then leapt into the air and clashed with their forearms, and then 17 suddenly blitzed behind Krillin and kicked him in the back of the head, sending him tumbling towards the ground.
Krillin fired a Ki blast into the ground and stopped himself before he hit, then charged towards 17 with a furious barrage of punches and aimed a kick at his shin as the clash descended back into the ring "What's the matter? You think I can't handle you going all out?"
17 picked up Krillin and punched him away.
Krillin's aura flared slightly and turned crimson, stopping himself, and he soared up in order to dodge a kick "These things aren't just about power, they're about technique!" he spread out his hands on both sides of his head "Solar Flare 100x!" he unleashed a more advanced Solar Flare.
17 shut his eyes to avoid being blinded, but found that it was really rather ineffective "What's going on? It's like it's shining directly through my eyelids, I can't block all of it!"
"Now!" Krillin suddenly blitzed above him "Ka… Me… Ha… Me… HA!" he fired a quick Kamehameha, slamming 17 downwards, causing him to hit the ground with a loud thud.
17 finally managed to regain his sight, along with the rest of the audience "I guess I got a ring out. What was that?"
"An enhanced version of the Solar Flare that Tien and I came up with while we were in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, we call it the Solar Flare 100x."
"Not too shabby. I guess you were right, there is more to martial arts than just raw power. You need the skill to back it up."
The announcer then made the call "17 has been sent out of bounds, therefore Krillin wins the fourth match and moves on to the semi finals!" this was met with cheers.
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10 minutes passed.
"Alright, now for the fourth match!" the announcer called.
"Wish me luck." Mirai handed his Brave Sword to Gohan "I've got a bad feeling about this match." and he stepped out of the lobby, with Kibito following.
"Thank you for your patience, now let's see the fourth match, newcomer Mirai vs newcomer Kibito please take the stage!"
Mirai looked around and stood on one side of the ring 'Magatsuhi went out of his way to send guys like Turles and Slug to this tournament, but we still haven't figured out what their objective here is. But now father knocked Turles out of the running so I guess we'll just have to wait and see what Slug does against the likes of Mr Satan.'
"Okay, now let's get this party started!"
Trunks dropped into a battle stance.
At last Kibito spoke "Forgive me young man but it is imperative that I ask you to become what your people refer to as a Super Saiyan."
"Wait a minute, how do you even know I can go Super Saiyan and why would something like that be so important?"
"Everything will become clear soon enough, but at the moment they need to see just how powerful you truly are."
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"What's going on?" asked Kai "I can't make out what they're saying."
"He asked Mirai to go Super Saiyan for him." Gohan told him "The only question is, how does he know?"
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Mirai stared at Kibito hesitantly for a moment "How do you know about that anyway?"
"Mirai." Piccolo called from the lobby, and gave him a simple nod.
"...Alright."
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"What's going on Piccolo?" asked Koga "There's something bigger at work isn't there?"
"I don't know any more than you do." Piccolo told him "But it's not- I can't…"
"I'm sorry." Shin stepped forward "But I'm afraid I must make use of your son, so please forgive me. Also, it is vital that none of you attempts to make a move against what you're about to see if you'd be so kind."
"I don't take orders from random strangers." Vegeta pointed out "Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Vegeta watch it!" Piccolo barked "This man is the Supreme Kai, in case you're wondering this puts him above everyone else in the universe."
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"Now we must hurry, time is wasting." Kibito insisted.
"It doesn't look like I have much of a choice." Mirai noted "So much for secrecy I guess."
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"So what's gonna happen when he goes Super Saiyan?" asked Koga "What exactly is your end game here?"
"Please, you must be patient." Shin told him "First of all, more likely than not, Mirai will be attacked by the ones you refer to as Turles and Slug. Allow me to reiterate, you must be sure to take no action against them when this happens."
"Well it's not like we're gonna need to, when it comes to someone like Mirai chumps like Slug or Turles have nothing on him."
"We shall see."
"Hold on, are you saying that my son could lose to people like them?" Vegeta demanded.
"Do not worry, I am well aware that they lack the means to inflict any sort of irreparable damage. What's more, they will only be interested in draining his energy."
"What does that mean?" asked Goku.
"You will find out in a matter of moments."
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Mirai exited his battle stance "I don't know what your story is but if you want Super Saiyan so bad then I guess I'll oblige you. But first tell me, do you just want Super Saiyan or should I take it to the next level?"
Kibito's eyes widened slightly "What's that? There's a level beyond Super Saiyan?"
"There's actually two, but I can only access one of them, but either way it should still be enough for now." he got into a stance, his golden aura flaring into life and crackling with electricity. The ring began shaking, cracks forming in the ground, his hair began standing, his eyes turning teal, and with one final furious roar, he ascended to Super Saiyan 2 with a brilliant golden blast of light "So then, are you satisfied?"
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Videl's jaw dropped "What the-? I don't believe it, this guy can turn into one of these Golden Warriors just like Gohan can?"
"It's not that surprising." Koga told her "Both of their dads can too after all, and they reached the levels first."
"What?!"
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Turles looked at a device he was holding, the scale increasingly exponentially "Slug, take a look at this. The dial is shooting up, that son of Vegeta's power is off the charts. No mistake about it, he must be the one."
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Mirai smirked as his golden electric aura flared "So this is what you had in mind isn't it? This is what you asked for and this is what you got. What's next on the agenda, are we going to fight now or not?"
Kibito was actually left stunned by the power he was sensing 'Unbelievable, his level of power is magnificent. One can hardly believe this boy comes from the lower realms.'
"Well are we doing this or not?"
"YEAH!" Bulma roared from the stands "Hurry up Trunks, show them what you're made of and then we can go on vacation!"
'Timeful as always mother.' his cheeks turned pink "You didn't hear that. Now then, are we going to fight or not?"
"NOW!" Turles and Slug suddenly charged out with a strange device "Hold him steady while I drain his energy!"
"So you finally made your move huh? Well I have no problem in taking the likes of you down for good-" Mirai suddenly found himself frozen 'I can't move!' he managed to move his head enough to look towards the contestant's lobby 'Shin, he's using his powers to paralyze me so they can move in on me without me being able to escape!'
Slug caught Mirai in a full nelson "Now!"
'Dammit.'
"Gotcha!" Turles stabbed Mirai with the device, causing him to cry out in pain as his energy was drained, his skin turning nearly white as he reverted back to his normal form.
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"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Bulma was literally stomping on people's faces in an attempt to come to Mirai's aide "DO SOMETHING!"
"That's enough." Broly firmly grabbed her by the waist.
"LET ME GO! PUT ME DOWN!"
"Mirai is strong enough to handle this. Just watch, you probably can't tell but all they're doing is draining his Ki."
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In a blinding white light, Turles finished draining Mirai's Ki "Alright, we've got everything we need. Let him go."
"Fine." Slug released his grip on Mirai, causing him to collapse to the ground "Perfect, that was a lot easier than I thought he'd be."
"Let's hurry." and Turles took off, with Slug following.
Shin held out a hand to stop the others from assisting him "No, all of you please just stay back. Have patience, I assure you that Kibito will restore him momentarily."
"Please tell us, what exactly is going on right now?" asked Gohan.
"Not yet, right now it is crucial that I follow the two of them undetected."
"What's the plan?" asked Goku.
"If you would all be so kind I need someone to accompany me while I travel, it would be of great help." and he promptly took off.
"I'm going with him, this might lead us to Magatsuhi." Gohan decided "The Supreme Kai said that Mirai is going to be alright so I'm going to take his word for it. Who else is in?"
"I'm going too." said Goku, getting stoic nods of agreement from Piccolo, 17 and Vegeta.
"Good."
"The same goes for me." Koga told him.
"Thanks."
Then Sesshomaru floated down towards them from the stands, with Inuyasha coming down right behind him "I believe my power will be needed for this as well."
"The same goes for me." Broly and Cooler joined them "Miroku, Sango and the rest are trying to calm the crowd."
Gohan nodded "Thank you all, we'll need your help for this. And Kai?"
"I'm going too." Kai told him.
"No you're not."
"What?"
"You said that you it was your dream to succeed Mr Satan and take the title of world champion from him, as your friend I couldn't possibly take that away from you."
"Gohan…"
"Do it. Fight him and win, for me." he quickly made his way over to the stage to check on Mirai's condition "Mirai, can you hear me? Can you speak?"
"Gohan…" Mirai weakly rasped out "I can't move…"
"Try not to speak, you'll be alright so just hang in there." he looked back at the others "Tien, Krillin, I want you guys to stay behind with Mirai and then come catch up with us as soon as he's recovered."
Both nodded "Right."
"In the meantime, I'm gonna go tell Kagome about the situation." and he blitzed away with Instant Transmission.
"Come on, let's hurry." Piccolo took off with 17, Cooler and Broly.
"You got it." Goku took off after him, with Vegeta following.
Inuyasha looked over at Kibito "We're heading out, you're gonna take care of him and catch up with us right?"
Kibito nodded "It's for the best, as soon as I've restored your comrade to health I will follow after you with him and the others."
"Right." and he and Sesshomaru took off as well.
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Gohan explained the situation to Kagome "So yeah, that's about it."
"You think it's him?" asked Kagome.
"I don't know, but considering someone like the Supreme Kai is getting involved in this I wouldn't be surprised. Kai is staying to fight in the tournament though, I couldn't rip away his dream like that."
Kagome just wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest "Just promise me you'll come back in one piece, alright?"
Gohan gently returned the embrace "I will, I promise. I love you." and he blitzed away with Instant Transmission.
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Krillin and Tien knelt down beside Mirai "Just hang in there for a minute, you're going to be alright."
"Where is… everyone going…?" Mirai rasped out.
"You will find out in a moment." Kibito then proceeded to begin healing Mirai and restoring his energy using his abilities 'He's absorbing so much power, his full strength is beyond measure. I never realized that a mere human could contain such a reservoir of pure energy, no wonder they poached it from him the way they did. Rise Mirai, you are restored."
Mirai stood and stretched a little bit "It feels like I've got more power than I ever did before."
"Come, the three of you. Take to the sky with me and I will explain everything on the way." and he promptly took off.
"Guys, let's go." and Mirai took off, with Tien and Krillin following.
The announcer on the other hand had his own problems "H-How am I supposed to have a tournament if almost all of our fighters fly away.
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"Supreme Kai."
Shin looked back to see Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, 17, Koga, Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, Broly and Cooler following him "I'm glad you all decided to lend a hand, you have my thanks. I have my doubts that this is a battle I could possibly win if I were on my own."
"How do you figure?" asked Goku "Guys like Turles and Slug should be a snap."
"Alas, those two are not my concern. What truly has me concerned is the dark wizard controlling them."
"A wizard?" asked Inuyasha 'This guy thinks that Magatsuhi is some kind of dark wizard?'
"Yes indeed, long ago in a time where the human race was still in its infancy here on Earth a powerful wizard from the distant edge of the universe by the name of Bibidi made his first appearance. With him he brought a terrible monster of his own creation that existed only to destroy, a monster by the name of Majin Buu, a creature used as an instrument to bring terror and destruction to all living things. That's exactly what he did, without a shred of conscience to deter him. With Majin Buu under his control, Bibidi sent out to eradicate every planet he was able to find. Hundreds of worlds, empty and inhabited alike, were reduced to mere rubble. Entire galaxies were erased from existence, with nobody being able to withstand the full force of his malevolent power."
Broly frowned 'It sounds like what I was when Magatsuhi was manipulating me.'
"As a matter of fact Broly, that's exactly how it was. And things only got worse from there. There used to be 4 other Supreme Kai's, each one of them being so powerful they could have defeated the likes of Frieza with but a single blow. However, as strong as we were Majin Buu prevailed over the four of us and left me to remain as the sole survivor. And things only got worse from there. As Majin Buu was annihilating the other Supreme Kai's, Bibidi was approached by another pure evil entity of power dwarfing even that of Majin Buu. This creature's name was Magatsuhi, he offered Bibidi an alliance but soon betrayed him and took control of Majin Buu with his dark power, then absorbed Bibidi and made his abilities his own. Buu had grown in might to the point where he would be uncontrollable to anyone other than Magatsuhi, but he used a spell to seal Buu within a sphere of containment when travelling in between planets. However, when they reached their next target, that being this planet Earth, Magatsuhi was prevented from releasing Buu again by a warrior with orange eyes and deep blue hair whose power rivalled his own."
"Who was this warrior?" asked Sesshomaru.
"He gave no name, only his title. He called himself the Dragon Saiyan and said that the next time Magatsuhi prepared to unleash Buu, another Dragon Saiyan, his reincarnation, would appear to stop and destroy him, and bring peace to the universe. That was 5 million years ago, and the dark entity that is Magatsuhi hadn't appeared again since then before today. Magatsuhi has the ability to use his dark power to summon dead souls from Hell and use dark jewels created from his own demonic power to restore them to life, as well as enhancing their abilities."
"So you're here to keep Magatsuhi from freeing this Majin Buu?" Goku guessed.
"Yes, then the level of difficulty in defeating Magatsuhi should be decreased to a considerable extent. However, only the warrior known as the Dragon Saiyan is able to defeat him and restore peace."
"Well you're in luck then, it just so happens that the Dragon Saiyan is among us." Vegeta told him.
"I'm aware." he looked back in Gohan's direction "Son Gohan, I know that you are the only one of us capable of defeating Magatsuhi."
"What other abilities did this Bibidi possess?" asked Piccolo.
"He was able to harness the evil in one's heart and bend them to his will, let us just hope that nobody truly formidable falls under his control."
"There's something I don't get though." Koga commented "Why did Magatsuhi send the likes of Turles and Slug to the World Martial Arts Tournament in the first place, and why did they bother to steal Mirai's energy?"
"It would seem that freeing Majin Buu after leaving him imprisoned for so long will require a staggeringly large amount of pure energy. Magatsuhi sent the likes of Turles and Slug because he knew that a place like that would be the most likely place in which they would be able to collect a very large amount of energy very quickly. Gohan's Dragon Saiyan energy wouldn't have any effect on it, similarly to the divine energy possessed by Kibito and myself. Aside from the three of us, Mirai was the most powerful and when he turned Super Saiyan the amount of energy was a prize they couldn't help but target. Knowing that that was most likely his plan, Kibito and I decided to enter the tournament as well. The ball containing Majin Buu has vanished, we knew of its original location but recently it has disappeared. We believe that is has now come into the possession of Magatsuhi, which is the main reason why we're following after Turles and Slug, in hopes that they will lead us to Magatsuhi, so Gohan will be able to end this war against him once and for all."
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The people at the tournament were growing restless.
Kai was in the middle of stretching 'Well now that Gohan and the others dropped out, I guess that leaves me, Videl and the jackass.'
"Hey."
Kai looked and saw Videl coming towards him "Oh hey, what's up?"
"There's something I've been wondering about ever since I saw your and Gohan's friend go gold or whatever it was. Him and Gohan and their dads, they can all go gold can't they?"
"Yep."
"And 7 years ago during that big fight with Cell it was Gohan's friends and family who challenged him, isn't that the case?"
"Yep."
"Which means that Gohan was the kid who was with them right?"
"Yep."
"So that means that my father wasn't really the one who defeated Cell, it was all of them wasn't it?"
"It was Gohan, but the others did all help too. And he was also the one who defeated those space pirates and that guy Bojack."
"I thought so. Hey it's not like you have to lie about it for my sake or anything, I always thought that it was weird that my dad could've beaten Cell by himself like that you know? This comes as a big relief."
"It's also a big reason why I'm entering this tournament. Gohan isn't upset about your father stealing the credit, I'm pissed about it but I'm respecting Gohan's wishes. I was mildly annoyed about him stealing the credit, I was pissed when he started making a mockery of martial arts by denouncing Ki users as frauds who use tricks to win their match. But what makes me go absolutely insane with rage, what makes my blood boil more than anything, is how he insults the heroic sacrifices Goku made. He gave his life to save us all when Cell attempted to self destruct, and your father has spent the last 7 years spitting on his sacrifice and dragging his name through the mud!" he slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a large hole "I'm doing this to restore the good name of martial arts, but I'm also doing it to make sure he gets a long deserved overdue dose of karma, once that he's had coming for a long time."
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Gohan and the others kept following after Turles and Slug "Perfect, it shouldn't be too long now."
"Guys, we're right behind you!"
Gohan looked back to see Mirai, Krillin, Tien and Kibito join them "Well you look like you're doing pretty well Mirai."
"Thanks to Kibito back there."
"So did you get the lowdown? Magatsuhi has one last pawn he's planning to unleash, and he's apparently an especially nasty one this time around."
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The top of a lone spaceship.
A warrior holding a large halberd over his back stepped out and smirked "Looks like they're finally here."
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The group touched down and hid amongst the rocks on a nearby plateau.
"Everybody, suppress your energy." Gohan told them "We can't let any of them spot us, not yet at least." then he looked down and his eyes shot wide "Inuyasha, take a look."
"What?" then Inuyasha froze "You've gotta be kidding me, of all people Magatsuhi brought him back?"
"Who is it?" asked 17.
"That's Bankotsu of the Band of Seven." Gohan told him "I fought with him in Mount Hakurei about 3 years ago, I guess Magatsuhi recognized his strength and decided to recruit him. Hey by the way, is it just me or does it look like the ground has been recently dug up?"
"But of course!" Kibito felt the realization hit him "There was no sign of the spaceship because Magatsuhi hid the entirety of it underground! He was hiding under our noses this whole time!"
"Which means that Magatsuhi may know that we're on to his plans."
"Why are we waiting?" asked Piccolo "We should attack now, every second we wait brings them one step closer to releasing Majin Buu."
"No, we have to bide our time and wait for Magatsuhi to show himself. Wait hold on, it looks like somebody is coming up from inside."
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"You're late." Bankotsu noted.
Turles held out the energy container "I think this makes up for it."
"Excellent." another voice noted.
Turles motioned for Slug to step back as he did so himself
That was when Magatsuhi himself stepped out "Perhaps you two haven't outlived your usefulness just yet."
"We'll hold up our end of the deal as long as you hold up yours."
"Yes yes." he was suddenly joined by another figure.
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Shin let out a horrified gasp "No, it can't be… Dabura! I knew Magatsuhi himself was incredibly dangerous, but to think he would be able to control Dabura of all people!"
"Who is who exactly, is Dabura the big guy?" asked Goku.
"Indeed he is."
"So is he strong?"
"Much more than you could possibly imagine, one would not be able to become the king of the Demon Realm otherwise."
"What's a Demon Realm exactly?" asked Krillin.
"An accursed realm, the foul underbelly of this world. Just as you all are the physical exemplars of your own sphere, the terrifying specimen before you is the diabolical pride of his."
"...Yeah just give me a second, let me make sure I've got this straight. Not only is there an actual thing called the Demon Realm, but the place has got a king and he's right down there?"
"Indeed he is."
"And that means that the other one is Magatsuhi." Gohan snarled, his fists tightening until they were dripping with blood.
"I'm afraid so, and his evil power dwarfs that of Dabura thousands of times over. But combine their strength and it's beyond imagination."
Vegeta let out a scoff "Please, even Krillin and the Triclops could take this Dabura out if they just multiply their Kaioken enough."
"...You know Vegeta, I just might take you up on that." Krillin gripped his fists 'If this were me from before the Hyperbolic Time Chamber then I'd be running like hell right now, but I spent all that time training with Tien so I'm not about to let it go to waste. Magatsuhi is supposed to end this world and enslave all of the people to his darkness, I'm not gonna let that happen. I've got a family to protect after all.'
"I mean think about it. Gohan is 5 times stronger than he was at the Cell Games, Kakarot is more than 5 times his, I myself am more than 8 times mine, and Mirai is almost 12 times his. We can take them no problem."
Shin gawked at them in disbelief 'What is it with these people?'
"I honestly expected Magatsuhi was going to off Turles and Slug the minute they gave him the energy."
"Well unlike you I've fought Magatsuhi before." Gohan pointed out "If he sees a pawn that can be of use to him then he'll only dispose of them after using every last ounce of use to him that they can be."
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Magatsuhi looked at the plateau "Dabura."
"Sir." Dabura bowed.
"It seems Turles and Slug here were rather careless and unintentionally brought us more energy here, and the Supreme Kai is with them."
"They must think they're hiding from us my lord. Aside from the Supreme Kai and Kibito there is still a rather large number of them, 13 in total. One of them is artificial and can generate a limitless amount of energy. Their contribution to our cause would be substantial."
"My thoughts exactly. Why don't you lure them into the ship so we can properly extract the energy. However be sure not to drain any energy from the Dragon Saiyan, I plan to finish him off myself. Bankotsu, come with me. I have other business to attend to. And be sure not to harm the Supreme Kai either, it will be quite amusing to see him squirm so desperately as he tries to stop me."
"Far be it for me to argue with you, I am the king of the Demon Realm after all."
"Very well." and he went back inside, with Bankotsu following.
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"I don't get it." said Goku "Why did they leave the big guy outside by himself?"
Gohan felt the realization hit him "They must know that we're here!"
Sure enough, Dabura blitzed in front of them and held up a hand to Kibito's face "Hello and goodbye." and he fired his Evil Impulse blast, obliterating Kibito on the spot.
"You're gonna pay for that!" Tien flared his aura and charged.
Dabura blocked all of his attacks and launched some spit from his mouth, covering Tien, then doing the same to Cooler and Koga.
The three of them suddenly cried out in agony as they slowly and painfully turned to stone.
"Koga! Cooler! Tien!" Mirai rushed over to check on them "What happened, what did he do to them?"
"It's too late for them." Shin told him grimly "This is one of the vile powers Dabura possesses, those upon whom he spits are turned to stone."
"That's horrible!"
"You mustn't touch them, break them and they will never be restored to their true forms. I must implore you to leave them as they are for the time being."
"Dabura…" Gohan snarled.
Dabura let out a maniacal laugh "Now run along you foolish weaklings, none of you have the strength to defy my master, the great demon of darkness!" and he flew back to the ship.
"...Tell me Supreme Kai, if we kill Dabura then will my friends return back to the way they were before?"
Shin nodded gravely I'm afraid so yes."
"Well that works for me, because any of us could take him on and kill him no sweat."
'What?'
"Well come on guys, let's go. We didn't come here to hide like cowards."
"Son Gohan speaks the truth." Sesshomaru noted "Let's go."
"Right."
"No, don't do it!" Shin cried out "You're playing right into Magatsuhi's hands, following Dabura into the ship is exactly what he expects you to do. It would be much more wise to await for further developments and lay low!"
"He dared to hurt my friends, there's going to be hell to pay!" and he took off, with Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, Goku, Mirai and Broly following.
"But…"
"Sorry, but patience has never been a particularly strong virtue of ours." and Vegeta took off with Piccolo, Krillin and 17.
"You impulsive little-" Shin charged after them 'Maybe I should've listened to Kibito when he said asking mortals for help was a bad idea.'
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Gohan peered down the entrance of the ship "Alright, everybody ready?"
Goku shrugged "Ready as we'll ever be I guess, now let's go."
"Right." and he dove down, with Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Krillin, 17, Broly, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha following him.
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Soon enough, they arrived in a strange looking room.
"What's up with this place?" Inuyasha muttered "It looks pretty plain for a spaceship or something."
"And it also looks like there's only one door." Gohan noted "All in favor of busting it down and looking to see what's on the other side?"
"I." Vegeta held out a hand.
"Don't." that was when Shin dropped in.
Goku grinned "Nice of you to join us Supreme Kai, what made you change your mind?"
"I don't dare leave the 10 of you to your own devices, doing so thus far is why we're not very likely to see the light of day again. We'll have to destroy Magatsuhi if we wish to leave the ship."
"...Well at least we know what we've gotta do, that counts as something right?"
"What-"
"No need." Vegeta waved him off "If it comes to it I'll blow this entire building apart myself."
"You will do no such thing, a strong enough blow to the structure of this ship might very well end up awakening Majin Buu. Believe me when I tell you that this threat cannot be taken too lightly, if our foe should rise with only a fraction of his power intact then it will be more than sufficient to reduce us and this entire planet to dust."
"...Do you ever shut up? Still though, for someone like Magatsuhi this places seems rather unassuming." then he noticed the door opening "Well here goes I guess."
Then a warrior by the name of Puipui emerged "Good of you all to come, welcome to stage 1 my friends."
"What do you mean?" asked Piccolo "What exactly is stage 1?"
"There is a number of stages to pass through between here and the bottom floor where you'll reach Babidi, each one more difficult to pass through than the one above. Simply enough this is only the first stage, also known as the access port. You're going to have to get through me if you wish to pass this stage, but I promise you it's not going to be easy. So go ahead and say hello to the guy who's gonna wipe the floor with you."
"...Sorry, but I think you're gonna be in for a little bit of a surprise." Goku pointed out.
"What's that?"
"Alright guys, you know what to do."
"The usual?" Vegeta guessed.
"Yep. Rock Paper Scissors."
"How about no." Piccolo stepped forward "Just stand back, I can take this fool down without breaking a sweat. Besides, there's something I've been hoping to try out."
"Excuse me." Shin cut in "Surely you don't mean to take him one on one do you?"
"Yes I do."
Puipui snickered "Hard to believe, on the way up here I was starting to get worried that the ten of you might just give me a run for my money. This will be so easy I'm likely to get bored."
"We'll see about that. So let's see if I've got this, the more damage I take the more energy is transferred to reviving Majin Buu?"
"Exactly."
"And if I take no damage?"
"Oh you'll take damage, I don't know the kind of trash you're used to fighting but I can guarantee that you've never gone toe to toe with someone like me!"
"The more you talk the less I hear. Now stop yammering and just attack, I'm hoping to test something out. Whenever you're ready."
"Fine, then you can just die already!" Puipui charged in with a spin kick.
Piccolo blocked the kick with ease, then a fist.
Startled, Puipui leapt back "I have to give you credit, you're stronger than you look. Still though, you're not nearly strong enough!" he charged forward and began launching a furious barrage of attacks.
Piccolo dodged them all with ease before finally catching his foot and kicked Pupui into a wall behind him."
Shin watched in awe 'How is he…'
"Like we said, you've got nothing to worry about." 17 told him "I know from personal experience that aside from the Saiyans and yours truly, Piccolo is the strongest one of all of us and he's clearly doing just fine on his own."
"Y-Yes, I suppose so…"
Puipui struggled back to his feet "Dammit…"
"This is just sad." Piccolo promptly kicked him into a wall again.
This time Puipui rebounded and landed on his feet, but looked and couldn't see Piccolo anywhere.
"Are you looking for something?"
Puipui's head snapped around and he looked to see Piccolo standing behind him.
Piccolo then punched him in the face, sending him to the ground again "Now then, I think it's time we end this." he nonchalantly leapt over a punch attempt and landed a vicious combo to Puipui's front, once more sending him to the ground "Are you ready to give up yet or-" he cut himself off when he realized that the room had suddenly changed "What is this?"
"This is the magic Magatsuhi gained from absorbing Bibidi." Shin told him "He's transported the interior of the room, no doubt to a room that gives his man the advantage."
"Is that so?"
Puipui let out a cackle "Do you like the view? Don't get used to it, you won't be here for very long. This miserable rock is my homeworld Planet Zoon, I don't know about you but I feel right at home with the 10 times gravity! You think you can still keep up?"
"Well it is kind of heavy." Piccolo promptly removed his weighted turban and cape "Alright, that's better. And for the record, almost half of my friends back there come from a planet with a level of gravity that's exactly the same as this one."
"...Oh f*ck. Wait that's it, you're bluffing!"
"Only one way to find out, come at me."
"Gladly!" Puipui charged.
And again, Piccolo easily dodged his furious barrage of fists before finally burying his own fist in Puipui's gut and kicking him into a boulder.
Puipui struggled to get back up "You…"
"So what do you think, am I still bluffing?"
"DAMN YOU!" Puipui charged forward in a rage.
Piccolo blitzed in front of him and held out a single had to Puipui's face, green lighting crackling along his forearm "Thanks, I've been wanting to test this out. Thunder Cannon!" he fired a blast of green Namekian lightning, incinerating Puipui on the spot, causing the room to revert back to normal and the floor to open up "Just my luck, I always get the short end of the stick."
"Looks like we've got the go ahead now." 17 noted "We might as well go down and see what they've got for us in the next stage." and he leapt down.
"It feels like we're on some kind of game show." Gohan leapt down with Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, Piccolo, Tien, Krillin and Goku following.
"Lame show is more like it." Vegeta followed last "Are you coming or not?"
Shin was left in a stupor by Piccolo's earlier display "They're actually enjoying this, they know what's at stake but they're really enjoying this."
"You get used to it!" Krillin's voice called from down below.
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Magatsuhi watched with boredom "That's another one down."
"Perhaps we underestimate them." Dabura noted.
"No I knew that Puipui didn't stand a chance against any of them, I was just hoping it would be at least a little bit entertaining. Besides, they have three more stages to clear before they can reach us. I could take all of them out with a single sweep of my hand, but where's the fun in that?"
"So who are you going to send for stage 2?"
"...Why not, just send Yakon to take care of them."
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17 stepped up and stretched his gloves "I'm going on deck for this one, nobody interfere alright?"
"Do what you've gotta do." Gohan told him.
"So who do you think they're gonna send out?"
"Well Magatsuhi has probably been studying us so maybe someone who can absorb energy since you're the one who's fighting."
"Makes sense I guess."
Then the door opened, and a hideous beast by the name of Yakon emerged "You…"
"...What the f*ck am I looking at right now?"
Shin let out a horrified gasp "No, it can't be!"
"I always get the ugly ones."
Yakon chuckled "Let us begin, who's ready to be eaten?"
"Okay you seem pretty big and all but you look way too slow to be effective in a fight."
"You shouldn't treat this threat so casually." Shin warned "I know of this creature. He is known as Yakon, the legendary space beast and one of the most feared monsters in the entirety of the universe. This will not be an easy fight."
"We'll see about that soon enough."
"Die!" Yakon swept his claw.
17 leapt into the air to avoid it, then easily avoided a barrage of blows, though he did receive a very shallow slash across his chest that failed to pierce his skin "Well that's just perfect, now I'm gonna have to get a new shirt."
"Lucky dodge but your luck won't be able to save you for long."
"Not gonna lie, didn't expect the gigantic claws." then he noticed the room change again to pitch black "And now I can't see, what did Magatsuhi move us to somewhere else again or something?"
Yakon leapt back onto a cave roof and retracted his claws "Planet Ankoku, the world of darkness! You can't see me but I can see you all too well! You're running your hand through your hair aren't you?"
"So what?"
"Enough waiting, it's time to eat!" Yakon charged.
17 leapt up and dropped down on Yakon's head.
Yakon burst out of the ground a short ways away "Where did you go?"
"Right here." 17 blitzed behind him and smashed Yakon down into a lake below them.
Yakon quickly swam to shore and attempted to attack 17 from behind.
17 easily landed a solid kick to the face, sending him to the ground, then landed back with Gohan and the others.
Yakon slowly emerged, his expression showing awe and disbelief "That's impossible, you can see me?"
"No but I don't need to, using the vibrations in the air to detect and predict your movements isn't really that hard. That, and I could smell you from outside the ship. Of course, if I really did want to see you then I'd just do this." he flared his Ki, lighting up the area around him "Sorry but the dark really doesn't scare any of us, we can bring our own light wherever we go."
Yakon chuckled "That's good, I always enjoy a light snack before my meals."
"Not the reaction I was expecting."
"Delicious." then he opened his mouth and somehow began sucking in the energy.
17 powered down after a few moments "Okay that was weird, what the hell just happened exactly?"
"Yummy. Thank you, that was the most brilliant meal I've ever eaten."
"Eaten?"
Shin let out a horrified gasp "If Yakon is a creature that feeds on light energy then that means that he'd find 17's aura a most nourishing meal indeed!"
"But at the same time that means I'm the perfect opponent for him."
Yakon smirked "Oh don't mind me, go ahead and power up again. I could feed on that delicious energy all day long."
"Fine by me." 17 flared his aura.
"Perfect, don't hold back. I want all of it, everything you had!" he began sucking the light in again.
"That's it ugly, keep sucking it in." 17 flared his aura even higher "Go ahead and keep eating, with me the food supply is completely unlimited!" he sent one final burst of light into Yakon's mouth, causing him to explode "Done and done." he powered down as the floor opened up.
"What… What just happened?" Shin stammered.
"That was his plan." Tien told him "17 is an artificially enhanced human who can generate a limitless amount of energy, and when opponents like Yakon show up that's the main reason why 17 is the perfect person to take them on."
"Alright guys, let's go." 17 leapt down the hole towards the third floor, with the others following in anticipation of the next challenge they would face…
A/N:
I took out the Babidi thing because I honestly couldn't see any sort of way to adapt him into this. I thought it was easier to say that Magatsuhi absorbed Bibidi for his magic and be done with it.
I'm not having any of the Saiyans fight in Babidi's ship because I want to showcase just how strong the non Saiyans are. Honestly, at this point in the series it's like only the Saiyans can do anything. And then only Goku can do anything.