Yamcha walked into the ring with a confident grin on his face which was mirrored by Tien. The Announcer glanced at the two contestants and called out, "This is it ladies and gentlemen: the first fight of the 22 Tenkaichi Budokai! In this fight we have returning contestant Yamcha who in the last tournament fought heroically against Jackie Chun. Since the last tournament, Yamcha has studied under the legendary Master Roshi of the Turtle School. Against him today is newcomer Tien Shinhan who is representing the Crane School. The antagonism between the Crane and the Turtle schools is legendary among martial arts lore even though the two schools are rumored to spring from the same parent school making this battle a showdown between rivals. Which fighter will prove to be the better one is to be determined by this match starting NOW!"
Signal given, Yamcha and Tien leaped into action. The audience watched in amazement as the two martial artists furiously traded blows with each other. At times, Tien and Yamcha's arms would seemingly disappear because of the speed they were traveling at. From time to time Yamcha and then Tien would start to drive the other towards the edge of the ring only for their efforts to be reversed.
Eventually, Yamcha pulled back and smirked at Tien. "Well, it seems that you're tougher than you look."
Tien didn't let Yamcha's taught get to him. "I must say, apparently you're not all bark after all."
Yamcha scowled and then back flipped to put some distance between him and Tien. "You overconfident fool; you'll soon see that I'm all bite! Let me show you my ultimate technique: Kamehameha!" Krillin, Roshi, and the audience all gasped in shock as Yamcha launched a fist sized beam of blue ki energy. Goku wasn't surprised that Yamcha could used the Kamehameha Wave. After all, Yamcha had enough power for a ki attack and he had seen that move several times beforehand.
If Tien was surprised by Yamcha's move, he didn't show it at all. He quickly brought his hands together with his first two fingers on each hand raised. A small bluish-white tint radiated from Tien and he yelled out as the Kamehameha Wave approached him: "KIAI!" Light blue waves emanated from Tien's hands as the Kamehameha Wave reached him.
"What the hell?" Yamcha cried out as he watched his attack stop a hairsbreadth from hitting Tien. Seconds later, the wave stopped forming a blue sphere in front of Tien. The three eyed warrior grinned and yelled again sending the attack back towards Yamcha. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! HE REFLECTED IT?" The former bandit couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him.
Luckily for Yamcha, instincts don't require belief to work. He jumped sixty feet into the air and the reflected attack missed him destroying a nearby statue. However, lady luck was as temperamental as Bulma or Chi-Chi could be. Tien leapt into the air after Yamcha and almost instantly was above the Turtle school student. The Crane student slammed his fists into Yamcha's back sending him crashing into the arena floor.
Tien quickly followed Yamcha to the ground with his knee set up to break Yamcha's leg. Seconds before the blow occurred, Tien straightened out his other leg landing on it with his knee only inches away from Yamcha's leg. The Announcer started counting and when he got to 10 declared Tien the winner of the fight. Tien walked out of the ring and Puar quickly transformed into a magic carpet so that Yamcha could be carried off of the arena.
A hand reached out and grabbed Tien as soon as he entered the fighter's waiting area. To Tien's surprise, he was thrown into the dividing wall by Tao who was snarling. "Have you learned nothing you stupid boy! Never let your opponent go without killing or crippling him! Perhaps you need a little refresher course." Tao grinned and started to pull back his fist.
Quick as lightning, Roshi grabbed Tao's fist and firmly held it in place. "Know three things Tao. First, if you strike Tien now you'll be disqualified for fighting outside the ring. Secondly, I'll personally send you to hell for harming a martial artist who only fought honorably in an honorable competition. Finally, there is the distinct possibility of young Goku sending you to hell before I can." Roshi then gestured with his head to the right where Goku was floating in the air with a prepared Kamehameha ready to fire. The look on Goku's face clearly showed that he'd fire it at Tao if the mercenary so much as blinked.
Tao scowled and let Tien go. "You've earned yourself a temporary reprieve Tien. Do expect your next lesson to be even more painful than it would have been just now." Tao then left to go sit in a shadowy corner where he could fume in silence.
Tien stood up and quickly brushed himself off. He then bowed to Roshi. "Thank you for your assistance Mr. Chun."
Roshi smiled and replied, "Think nothing of it Tien. Talent should be cultivated, not attacked. You've earned a great deal of power through your hard work. I just pray that you learn how to use it wisely." With that, Roshi left to go to his match and Tien started to think long and hard about many things.
The Announcer grinned since this was turning out to be one memorable tournament. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, we are now moving on to the second fight! In this match we have returning champion Jackie Chun facing off against Princess Chi-Chi of the Ox Kingdom. Jackie has gone down in martial arts lore with his epic match against Son Goku in the last tournament while Chi-Chi has demonstrated enough power and skill to rival her feared father the Ox King. Let us now see whether experience and wisdom will get the better of beauty and brawns or not!"
Chi-Chi started off the match with a ferocious attack of kicks and hand chops. Roshi expertly either deflected Chi-Chi's blows or weaved away from them. Silently, the old master was evaluating his old student's daughter. Ox King had definitely done a very thorough job with the girl's training. Her form was excellent; aggressive, but it didn't have any holes in it.
After a few minutes, Roshi decided to kick it up a notch. The old master quickly went on the offensive seeing how Chi-Chi could fight defensively. She may prefer an aggressive style, but it was immediately obvious that she was just as good at defense as she was at offense. Several times Chi-Chi tried to return to the offence. Her tactics were sound and would have worked against most opponents. But, Roshi was simply too experienced to lose control of the fight.
Around the ten minute mark, Roshi decided that enough was enough and put some distance between him and Chi-Chi. "Well Little Princess, I must say that it's been an honor to fight against you and that you are a credit to your teachers. You've apparently mastered everything that your father can teach you. I'd suggest you seek out his master for more training. However, let's finish this match, KIAI!" Roshi shoved his fist out with the palm towards Chi-Chi creating a powerful gust of wind.
Chi-Chi tried to resist the tornado like pull of the wind. She dug her feet into the stadium floor, but then she started to be pushed backwards. Refusing to be blown away, Chi-Chi gritted her teeth and slammed her fingers into the arena floor. The improvised handholds temporarily stopped Chi-Chi's journey to the edge. However, Roshi didn't let up feeding the gust of wind resulting in Chi-Chi and the tile she was death gripping to go flying out of the arena.
The Announcer called the ring out when Chi-Chi's back hit the audience wall. Chi-Chi looked up with a pout on her fact to see her father looking down at her. "Sorry for losing my match Father."
Ox King smiled and replied, "That's alright dear. You did your best and that's all that matters. Besides it's quite an accomplishment for a sixteen year old girl to become one of the eight strongest people in the world and give a good match to the previous champion!"
Goku walked over to Tien who was still meditating and politely coughed. As soon as Tien opened his eyes Goku said, "Hey there. You're friend is about to have his match. Don't you want to watch him fight?"
Tien looked down at the ground. "I do want to watch Chiaotsu. However, I need to sort some things out for myself at the moment. Besides, I have full confidence in Chiaotsu's abilities as a fighter."
Goku nodded his head accepting Tien's reasoning. The young saiyan then sat down next to Tien and rested his back against the wall. Tien gave Goku a puzzled look. "Aren't you going to watch your friend?"
Goku smiled and replied, "It wouldn't be fair to Chiaotsu if Krillin had me watching his match but Chiaotsu didn't have you watching his match. Besides, I also have full confidence in Krillin's abilities!"
Tien shrugged his shoulders and accepted Goku's rather bizarre logic. It was just another item on a long list of things that he needed to sort out. It was all so frustrating for Tien. This whole tournament was supposed to be simple! Master Crane had entered him and Chiaotsu into the tournament in order to humiliate the Turtle Hermit by having them beat the Turtle Hermit's prized students. Things first started to get complicated when Master Tao showed up to compete as a cyborg. It was almost unimaginable that Tao could have been beaten bad enough to undergo that kind of surgery. Then there was the unexpectedly demanding way Tao insisted on facing Goku. Sure Tao had always been demanding during training; but not to that degree. Finally, there was the incidence after his match with Jackie and Goku coming to his defense.
That last bit just didn't make any sense to Tien's worldview. People just don't jump to another's aid without good reason. Sure, Tien would jump to Chiaotsu's aid in an instant and he knew that his friend would do the same. However, that was because he and Chiaotsu were brothers in all but blood after everything they went through together. Jackie hadn't offered any reason why the former champion jumped to his defense. Both Jackie and Goku had everything to lose by coming to his aid since they could be disqualified for fighting outside the ring. In fact, it would have been in their favor if Tao and he got into a fight since that would be two less competitors for them. That was especially true for Jackie who would have been assured a spot in the finals.
The duo's further actions only continued to distort Tien's worldview. Jackie's match with Chi-Chi made it obvious that he was evaluating her as a fighter. He could have ended it at any time and yet he didn't end the match until he had tested every aspect of Chi-Chi's fighting ability. Why had he done so? Goku also was an enigma. What reason could a complete stranger have for making sure that he watched Chiaotsu's match? Furthermore, why had Goku decided not to watch a match that the boy was obviously eager to see simply because it 'wasn't fair to Chiaotsu'? The more Tien pondered these issues, the more confused and uncertain he became.
Krillin eventually won his match by distracting Chiaotsu with math problems enabling the Turtle midget to knock the Crane midget out of the arena. Finally, the last match of the day was about to begin. Goku and Tao walked onto the stadium side by side with the tension between them so thick that the audience could cut it. Seemingly oblivious, the Announcer happily began his duties. "Young Son Goku is only 15 years old and yet he is a veteran of the Tenkaichi Budokai having come within a hair's breadth of being the winner of the last tournament at the age of 12. Facing off against him is the feared Mercenary Tao who is known throughout the world as best fighter money can buy and whispered to be an elite assassin. Fighters ready? FIGHT!"
Like the previous matches, Tao and Goku leaped into the fight. However, the aura of this fight was different from the others. There was an innate hostility and aggressiveness in both Goku and especially Tao's blows that the previous fighters didn't have. This wasn't a friendly or serious match between marital artists; it was a battle between two warriors that could only end in the defeat of one warrior. What shape that defeat took depended on the fighter. Goku's driving blows clearly showed his intent to force Tao into a ringout. The potentially crippling strikes Tao tried to land on Goku showed that at best he wanted to put Goku into a coma.
"Amazing," Tien muttered as he watched the match. He had reluctantly decided to watch Goku's match hoping to find some key to understand the enigma that was Son Goku. "His form and power is just as good as Tao's. How can he be so good?"
Roshi slid over on the separator wall to get closer to Tien and Chiaotsu. "That boy has always had a tremendous, almost other worldly, aptitude for fighting. What can take others weeks or months to learn, Goku seems to learn in minutes or hours. Yamcha told me once that Goku learned how to do the Kamehameha after seeing his master perform it once before he even received any training. His current ability does not surprise me in the least. However, I would suggest you pay even closer to the match. Look at the blows they are trading."
Tien did as Roshi suggested and was shocked at what he saw. A split second before Tao moved for a strike, Goku's hand moved to block it. Again, and again, and yet still again Goku was moving to block or redirect Tao's blows before Tao even made them. Chiaotsu blurted out, "Unbelievable, Goku is reading Tao's movements and responding to them faster than Tao can carry out his moves."
Tao had reached the same conclusion as the other fighters had. Currently, Goku was firmly holding Tao's mechanical left hand. Suddenly, Tao yelled out, "I've had enough of this!" There was a clicking sound and to Goku's shock Tao's hand disconnected itself. Tao used the momentary shock to thrust out with his handless limb as a sword sprang out of it.
Goku tried to avoid the blade, but he didn't have enough time. The young saiyan unleashed a blood curdling scream of pain as Tao's blade gouged out his right eye and sent some of the bone from his eye socket flying. Goku fell to his knees from the pain and shock. The Announcer called out in rage. "The match is over with Tao disqualified for using a weapon!" Roshi and Krillin started racing out towards the arena to help get Goku to a hospital.
However, Tao screamed out, "This isn't over by a long shot!" Suddenly a loud explosion shook the arena. Everyone turned to stare in horror as one of the many hotels was set ablaze. Tao sneered at Roshi, Krillin, and the Announcer. "I've rigged bombs in every hotel on this island and in many other places. If anyone dares move one inch closer to the ring I'll set them all off. Unless you want thousands of people to die, you will leave Goku and me alone to settle our issues." Tao then broke out into a maniacal fit of laughter.
"You monster," Goku screamed out in rage as he gave Tao a fierce upper cut that sent him flying back several feet. Goku rose to his feet and placed a hand over his bleeding eye socket. The young saiyan hissed slightly as he used his ki to cauterize the wound. When Goku removed his hand everyone could see a jagged and wicked looking scar running from the bridge of his nose, through where his eyelids would have met, and through the chipped off eye socket bone on the edge of his face only tapering off just shy of his ear.
"Even after everything that you did to me before this match I was willing to forgive you so that you could have another chance. However, you've proven yourself to be nothing but a monster in a man's skin by breaking the rules of this tournament and endangering thousands just to get back at me. The time for forgiveness is over Tao because I'm going to send you to hell. Let's see how a monster in a man's body fares against a man in a monster's body."
Krillin gulped and called out to Roshi, "Hey Jackie! What on Earth is Goku talking about?"
Roshi was trying to figure out what Goku was saying. Suddenly, he remembered the finals from the last tournament and Goku's transformation. Could that be what Goku was talking about? "No," Roshi whispered in a scared voice, "that's impossible. He doesn't know about that and the moon is gone!"
Goku calmly held his hand out in front of him and closed his eyes for a second. Tao was curious about what Goku was planning and let him do it. After all, Goku's last victory was only a fluke and the boy was half blind. Mere seconds later, a baseball sized orb was floating just above the young saiyan's hand. Everyone who knew Goku or and been to the last tournament watched with batted breath as Goku threw the ball into air shouting, "Mix and combine!"
Oolong squealed like a little pig and cried out, "This is a nightmare! Goku's created a full moon. We're all going to die." While Oolong was crying for his sow, Goku looked at the false moon he had created and started transforming. In less than a minute Goku completed his transformation into an Oozaru. Unlike at the last tournament, Goku's clothes hadn't been destroyed as he grew. Using Saiyan technology Goku had been able to create a gi that would stretch with his transformation. Also, the great ape wasn't thrashing wildly about like at the last tournament and was instead calmly standing with his arms across his chest.
A deep, almost beastly voice rumbled out from the Oozaru's mouth. "This is the form of your executioner Tao. I'm ten times stronger in this form and my power is always at its max." Goku turned his head slightly seeing Roshi and Krillin bleached white in fear. "Don't worry friends; I have complete control over myself in this form unlike last time I was in the ring. It took me nearly a year of constantly transforming, but I control the beast within me now. It does not control me."
Tao sneered and called out, "You're just a big useless target Goku! Even if you were a hundred times stronger in that form you're still going to die." The cyborg assassin retracted the blade into his arm and the muzzle of a gun came out. "Take this, Maximum Dodonpa!" A massive orange beam of ki shot out of Tao's arm gun and slammed into Goku.
However, Tao's attack barely singed Goku's fur in his Oozaru form. Goku then decided that enough was enough. He quickly reached out and grabbed Tao with a massive hand. The teenage Oozaru then chucked Tao into the air like a baseball and used the mercenary as a clay pigeon for his mouth blast. Goku turned to the audience and called out, "I'm sorry you all had to witness that since you wanted to see a good clean fight."
With the Goku-Tao death match over, the Announcer called the end of the day's matches. Many of the people who had come to watch the tournament still stuck around though while the police searched for the bombs that Tao claimed to have planted. The monks, being rather understanding fellows, were hastily arraigning for a banquet to hold everyone over till the bomb searches could be complete.
Currently, the dragonball gang along with Tien and Chiaotsu were gathered in the fighter waiting area. Goku was currently seated Indian style on Kinto'un. Launch, Bulma, and Chi-Chi were off a little ways away talking about hair styles. Krillin, Roshi who was no longer in deguise, and Yamcha were circling Goku. Oolong and Puar were half way between the fighters and the girls playing go fish. Ox King had left to get some food for everyone but Goku as the young Saiyan would have to get his own food as not even Ox King could carry enough food to fill that pit. Finally, the Crane students were meditating a little ways away but still near enough that they could hear everything that was said.
Yamcha was the first of the guys to speak. "Man Goku, don't you think that you could have given us some warning that you had learned to control that transformation of yours? You almost gave me a heart attack!"
Goku shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Why should I? I wasn't planning to use it in the tournament. After all, the Tenkaichi Budokai is supposed to be a friendly competition between martial artists. My Oozaru state is pretty much for when I need to destroy something quickly. Besides, it wasn't like any of you told me that I could transform when I did so earlier."
Everyone who had been at the previous tournament suddenly found the floor extremely fascinating to look at. Finally Chi-Chi walked over to the other fighters and shyly asked, "Goku? How did you learn to do that transformation of yours?"
The young saiyan got a faraway look in his eyes. "Early in my training after I revived Upa's father with the dragonballs I went back home. I found my Grandpa's journal and it talked about me transforming one night. Once I discovered that fact, I vowed to control my Oozaru self. I found a technique that some fighters who were dependent on the moon created and used it every day for a year until I could control myself."
Roshi walked closer to Goku and gently placed a hand on the saiyan's shoulder. "Goku, I think it's time I let you in on a little secret. Your grandfather and I had a brief chat before he returned to the other world. He wasn't bothered by the circumstances of his own arrival there, but was worried about how you were doing with that ability of yours. He is undoubtedly proud of your accomplishments. Few have inner demons as strong you do and fewer still have the strength to conquer them."
Goku gave his usual grin on hearing Roshi's praise. It was a little unnerving for everyone to watch Goku grin like that with his scarred missing eye practically taunting them to stare. Finally Launch called out after sneezing, "Hey Goku! Are you going to get that eye of yours treated or not? I'm sure that I can get an eye patch for you from those wannabes I saw at the bar last night."
Shaking his head Goku replied, "Why should I go to a doctor? Tao's blade cut my eye out and cut it in two. I've already closed up the wound so what more could a doctor do? The only way I could get my eye back is with the dragonballs and that seems like a pretty selfish wish to me."
Yamcha added his two cents. "I don't know Goku. That doesn't sound nearly as selfish as some of the other wishes I've heard." Yamcha then glanced over at Oolong. Now, that was without a doubt one very selfish wish that Oolong had made even though it did save the world from being ruled by Pilaf. The gang continued chatting about one thing after another barely noting Ox King's arrival or that the Announcer had stated that it was safe to return to the hotels. About the only noteworthy event was Chi-Chi getting Roshi to accept her as his pupil after Roshi assured Ox King that he was going to be serious about Chi-Chi's training.
Sleep did not come easily to Goku. In fact, he couldn't sleep a wink because of his conscience. No matter how much he tried to justify it, Goku had killed Tao today and his conscience wouldn't let him rest because of that act. How could he be better than the saiyans if he was willing to kill like that? Academically, Goku knew that Tao was too dangerous to live and it was a justified death. However, his heart wouldn't accept that reasoning.
Around 1 in the morning Goku gave up trying to get to sleep and got out of bed. He quietly put on some yellow pants and a blue gi top before he left the hotel room. Goku paused for a second to look at himself in the mirror and his missing eye. For a split second, Goku thought about using the dragonballs to regain the sight Tao took from him. However, Goku quickly changed his mind a resolved to keep the scar and missing eye. It would serve as a good reminder about just how serious and final some fights could be. As long as he remembered that his actions had consequences then he shouldn't head down the path of his people.
Goku left his hotel room and headed up to the hotel roof. He walked over to the edge of the roof and sat down. He then looked up at the sky to see the brilliance of the Lunar Ring. The moon's shattered remains were breathtakingly beautiful and a somber reminder to Goku. It had been destroyed to keep him from running rampant three years ago. In many ways, the Lunar Ring was a reminder of the price that must be paid to protect the innocent cut into the heavens.
Scanning the sky, Goku's eyes drifted in dread to an orange star that was faintly shining in between the chunks of the Lunar Ring. That star was none other than Kohlrabi, Planet Vegeta's home sun. That star was another unwanted reminder to Goku that, as much as he thought of himself as a human, he wasn't one. Earth might have raised him, but it Vegeta that gave birth to him.
There was fear in the back of Goku's mind that one day his race would come looking for him. After all, the only reason he was sent to Earth was to prepare it for resale. Why shouldn't he expect the saiyans to come looking for why Earth wasn't on the intergalactic market yet? Still, every day that another saiyan didn't show up was a good day for Goku.
But what if the day came and they did arrive on Earth? What would he do then? While Goku was undoubtedly one of the strongest people on Earth at the moment, the problem was that he was only a low powered 3rd class warrior by Saiyan ranking. There simply weren't any beings on Earth powerful enough to give him the chance to grow to the level that was needed to face off even a single 2nd class warrior. After all, the threat level of Earth was non-existent; it was a perfect planet for a 'teething mission'.
Goku slapped his cheeks with his hands and then shook his head. "Alright, that's enough moping about. I might as well meditate if I can't get to sleep. After all, tomorrow I get to fight Krillin and either Jackie or Tien!"
Author's notes: Kohlrabi is a type of cabbage commonly eaten in the Kashmir. I figured it would be a good name to go along with the Saiyan naming convention.
One of the reviewers mentioned that Goku's power level was rather low. There are several very good reasons for this. First, Goku spent a third of the time he had before the tournament simply trying to control the Oozaru transformation which took so long because he had to figure everything out by himself. Second, Goku may have gotten some techniques from his pod, but not a training manual. Saiyan training seems to rely on throwing someone into battle or harsh conditions, heal them so that their natural abilities boost their powers, and then repeat. Finally, Goku doesn't have access to training gear that he got in DBZ. I.E, he doesn't have crater-causing clothes or access to a Gravity room.
Another reviewer was stating that Goku appeared too smart compared to his canon self. I'd like to disagree, Goku repeatedly shown that he is very smart and perceptive in battle, but in the manga the only formal schooling Goku had was several months with Master Roshi before the 22 Tenkaichi Budokai. Thus, I think that he isn't dense or stupid so much as he is uneducated scholastically.