The preliminaries of the 23 Tenkaichi Budokai was over in the shortest time ever recorded in the tournament's history. Not that this was any real surprise with Goku and everyone else being in a league of their own compared to the other great fighters of Earth. Goku, Ox King, Roshi, Yamcha, Krillin, Tien, and Korin all made it to the finals. Unfortunately for Chaotsu, he stuck himself in the same bracket as Piccolo. But, what can you expect when you mess around with lady luck?
Once all eight competitors were confirmed, the announcer brought out the drawing box and had everyone draw for their spot in the main tournament. Goku went first as the defending champion and drew number 1. Piccolo, under the alias of Majunior, went next and drew number 8. After that, Yamcha got number 6, Krillin got number 7, Ox King number 4, Tien number 3, Roshi number 2, and Korin number 5. There was then a five minute break so that the monks could inform the crowd about the drawing.
Oolong muttered in shock when he heard the drawing. "Goku and Roshi are going at it in the first match? I thought you were supposed to save the best match for last!"
Puar nodded her head. "Yes, this is going to be quite a matchup. I just hope that Yamcha can give the crowd a fight worthy of following such a match."
Bulma pulled out a laptop and set it on the divider ledge. While opening the laptop, she flipped a small camera so that it was facing the arena. The blue haired genius clicked on a desktop icon that looked like Goku's scouter and grin. "Perfect, everything's checking out as it should."
Launch looked at Bulma blinking her eyes. "Um, should you be working on your computer when the tournament is about to begin?"
The young genius grinned and replied, "Don't worry Launch. This laptop is equipped with my own version of a scouter. With it, I'll be able to see just how strong everyone is, record their techniques, and be able to see the action when they move too fast for the eye to see!" Bulma grinned as the rest of the gang applauded her accomplishment. Personally, Bulma had done it because her friends had proven that stuff like ki existed and she wanted to become the leading scientific expert on ki and other previously believed to be mystical 'nonsense'.
A gong rang as the tournament announcer walked onto the arena. The announcer fiddled with his sunglasses and then began to speak. "It is my proud honor to welcome all of you to the finals of the 23 Tenkaichi Budokai. The winner of this tournament shall be crowned the 'Strongest under the Heavens' and will receive a grand prize of 10,000,000 zeni. We started this tournament earlier today with 93 competators from across the globe. However, only eight proved to have the strength, speed, skill, and experience to make them worthy of fighting before you."
"The first match of the tournament is sure to get your blood pumping as we have the current defending champion and the pervious champion facing off against each other. I am speaking of none other than Goku, the youngest champion in the Tenkaichi Budokai's history and the man who ended King Piccolo. Facing off against Goku is his legendary sensei Roshi, known throughout the martial arts world as the Invincible Old Master. Both master and student have fought against each other twice before; both have won one victory after a close battle. Now they meet as equals, both as masters of the Turtle School and as winners of this tournament. Only one can advance, let's see who it shall be!"
Goku and Roshi walked into the arena, bowed to each other, and then promptly started to attack each other. The two masters were throwing a fury of punches, kicks, and blocks that to most of the viewers the duo's arms and legs were nothing but blurs. Occasionally, one or both of the fighters were slow down just enough for the viewers to see. An example of this was when Roshi tried to sweep Goku's legs. However, Goku jumped over the attack, wrapped his tail around Roshi's leg, and sent Roshi flying towards the edge with a kick in the back for good luck.
About halfway to the edge, Roshi flipped around, put a hand on arena ground, and threw himself back at Goku. Seconds before reaching Goku, Roshi let out a mind numbing screech. The painful sound broke Goku's guard just enough for Roshi to do a double roundhouse kick sending Goku into the air. Roshi flew up after Goku and was able to land a few more furious blows before the saiyan recovered.
It quickly became apparent that taking things into the air was a serious mistake on Roshi's part. The old master had obviously put a lot of effort into aerial combat training since he added flight to his impressive list of techniques. However, Goku was far more used to fighting in three dimensions and was able to exploit holes in Roshi's defenses that didn't exist on the ground. As each moment of the fight continued onward Roshi got less and less strikes in and Goku gained more and more direct hits on Roshi.
Finally Roshi had enough and decided to get the fight back where it belonged: on the ground. He instantly used a solar flare and in the split second Goku was distracted Roshi punched Goku to the ground with both his fists held together. Goku already was recovering from the blow before he touched the arena floor. Roshi quickly decided it was time to unveil a new technique he had been working on. A familiar blue light emanated from the old master's cupped hands as he called out, "Shotgun Kamehameha!"
Goku had seen the familiar glow of a Kamehameha being charged up and felt the corresponding concentration of Roshi's ki. Naturally, his battle instincts immediately had Goku do the typical non energy-intensive method of dealing with such an attack: avoid it. Goku immediately swerved to the left hoping to make Roshi waste the attack. To the young saiyan's surprise, Roshi didn't send out a beam, but a barrage of bowling ball sized blue ki blasts that covered the entire stadium.
Smoke quickly blocked Goku and the rest of the stadium from everyone's sight. Up in the air, Roshi was breathing hard from all the energy he had put into the Shotgun Kamehameha. It was his newest technique, a Kamehameha that you couldn't escape from and had enough power to take down over a dozen of King Piccolo's minions in a single blow. Of course, Roshi knew that such an attack wouldn't off his favorite student; Goku was just too tough. The only question on Roshi's mind was just how much damage had Goku taken?
As soon as the smoke cleared Roshi gasped out in shock, "What the hell?" Goku was calmly floated a foot above the ruined arena without a scratch on him. He had his arms crossed across his chest and a faint bluish white glow surrounded his body. The teen Saiyan flipped around so he was standing on the stadium. Roshi started stammering, "But that was half of my ki reserves!"
Goku dusted himself off and grinned up at Roshi. "That was a very impressive attack Master Roshi. I'll defiantly have to remember that one for the future. It's a good thing that Kami taught me that energy shield or I'd be in serious trouble right now with the level of power I'm currently using."
To everyone in the audience's amazement, Roshi started laughing. "Splendid Goku, I'm thrilled to see how far you've come with your training these past three years. You've equaled me in skill, far surpassed me in power, and I couldn't be happier. There are a few more techniques I've created since we went our separate ways I am looking forward to showing them to you. However, I feel that this is not the appropriate place and that it is time I stop delaying the inevitable. Good luck to you Goku in your next match." With that, Roshi lowered himself until his feet touched the grass. The old master then walked back to the fighter's waiting room as the audience slowly began a thunderous applause.
Once the audience's enthusiasm from the last match calmed down, the announcer began again. "It seems impossible that anything could match the clash between titans that we just witnessed here today. However, I know for a fact that we have six more fighters eager to show that they are better than our two competing champions here today. Our next match features Tien verses the Ox King. Tien is a returning semi-finalist who was only defeated last time after a heated battle with Roshi who was then fighting under the alias of Jackie Chun. Opposing him is Ox King, the oldest living disciple of Master Roshi who trained with Gohan Son, the winner of the 17th Tenkaichi Budokai. Let us see now who will emerge triumphant on this scarred battleground."
The two competitors circled around each other looking for openings. Ox King made the first move and went in to put Tien into a grapple hold. The three eyed warrior barely managed to escape the hold, but got a back handed fist in his gut for the trouble. Everyone heard a sickening crunch as the bovine king's attack broke one of Tien's ribs.
Tien backed away from Ox King clutching his side with one hand and his face wincing from the pain. Fighting back the pain, Tien spoke to Ox King. "That's quiet a punch you pack. I didn't expect you to have that much strength."
Ox King gave Tien a compassionate glance and replied, "I never was very fast for martial artists of our caliber. So, I trained my strength to such a point that I would only need one or two hits to win. Surrender the match Tien so that you can have the rib treated."
Tien shook his head. "I don't think so. Goku told me that we were about equal in power at the last tournament. I fully intend to show him that we are still equal and that means I have to get past you." Tien stretched out his left arm with his hand positioned so that his fingers were making half of a triangle. A yellow sphere of energy somewhere between a basketball and a beach ball in size formed around Tien's hand. "I'll beat you with whatever it takes Ox King. Prepare yourself to face my ultimate technique Tri-Beam!"
A massive orange yellow beam shot out from Tien's hand and flew strait at Ox King. Most fighters would have been a little nervous at such a powerful attack barreling strait towards them. However, Ox King simply slammed his feet into the ground and held his hands out in front of himself. The massive king caught the attack with his hands and began to push back.
Tien and Ox King soon found themselves locked in an odd game of reverse tug of war. Tien was trying his best to plow Ox King out of the stadium. At the same time, Ox King was trying his best to stand his ground and ride out Tien's attack. Seconds seemed to stretch into eternity as the two warriors tried to prove their resolve. But, less than ten seconds after Ox King started to block Tien's Tri-beam his feet started to buckle. Once that happened the mountain like warrior lost his footing and was carried out of the arena and crashed into a nearby wall.
The triclops quickly ended his attack and fell to his knees panting. "Unbelievable, how could he be so strong? I had to put more energy into that attack than Roshi did when he tried to kill King Piccolo. It's a good thing that the semi-finals aren't until tomorrow or I'd have to forfeit."
An hour break was called so that the audience could have some lunch and the monks could do some hasty repairs on the ring. When the hour was over the ring still looked like a war was fought on it, but that wasn't a big deal to the monks. They figured that the ring was going to be toast by the end of the tournament given whom the contestants were and that everything was okay as long as the ring was semi level.
Yamcha and Korin walked into the ring as the Announcer introduced them. "Yamcha is a tried and true veteran of the Tenkaichi Budokai. While he has never made it to the semi-finals, no one can doubt his abilities as a fighter and this tournament could be the charm for him. Facing off against him is Korin, a near legendary hermit from the Great Southern Peninsula where he is known for his knowledge of martial arts and mystical lore. Will youth beat wisdom? Lets find out!"
The former bandit was have a hard time stopping himself from busting out laughing. Come on, his opponent was a freaking cat! Yamcha figured that he could just pick Korin up by the tail and drop him out of the ring. Unfortunately for Yamcha, he never saw Korin in action since he was dead at the time and hadn't bothered to climb Korin's Tower since he was stronger than Goku was after training under Korin.
Korin gave Yamcha a very sour glare. "You're a very slow learner aren't you Yamcha? Any decent fighter knows that you are not to judge your opponent by their looks. Besides, it's quite impossible for you to pick me up by the tail and drop me out of the ring. However, I don't mind teaching you to be my new scratching post."
Yamcha blinked his eyes for a few seconds and then screamed, "Hey! Stop making fun of me. I'll show you whose boss." With that, Yamcha lashed out with a lighting fast punch strait to Korin's face.
Even though Yamcha's punch was faster than anyone in the audience could see, it simply went through an afterimage. Korin now was standing a foot away from Yamcha's fist with a grin on his face and waving a paw. "You missed me." Yamcha tried again only to hit another afterimage and Korin ended up a foot in front of the former bandit's fist. "You stopped too short on that last punch there. Might I recommend that you get some glasses?" Yamcha continued to try and hit Korin with punches and then added in a few kicks. But, each time Korin calmly evaded Yamcha's strike and gave a witty come back. "Are you trying to do an interpretative dance? Just because an afterimage looks like me doesn't mean it is me. Why do I get the impression that you're the dobe of the Turtle School? Are you even trying to hit me Yamcha?"
Finally Yamcha got so fed up that he backed away from Korin. "I'm getting sick and tired of you making fun of me just because I happened to be dead when all of you took out King Piccolo. Let me show you my new ultimate technique that I invented myself: Spirit Ball Attack!" A baseball sized ki orb formed above Yamcha's hand and then he threw it at Korin.
The feline master dogged Yamcha's attack and then sweat dropped. "Yamcha, did you lose your marital arts skills while in the land of the dead? A small ki blast isn't really an 'ultimate attack'; especially when you know the Kamehameha wave!" Korin yelled out in surprise as the Spirit Ball slammed into his back sending him flying strait into Yamcha's waiting kick.
Korin quickly connected with Yamcha's foot and was sent flying across the ring. Yamcha quickly powered up a Kamehameha Wave and launched it at Korin. The Kamehameha hit Korin strait in the face carrying him out of the ring and straight towards the crowd barrier. Yamcha had a grin on his face and yelled out, "Oh yeah! Save the trash talking for your litter box you old cat!"
Less than a meter from the crowd wall, Korin stopped being carried by the Kamehameha Wave shocking Yamcha and the viewers. Those in the audience right behind Korin saw the white cat floating in the air holding the Kamehameha Wave with his left paw. Korin brought his right paw up while still holding Yamcha's attack. The middle claw on his paw started to glow and then Korin rapidly brought his right paw down in a slashing motion. A violet crescent of ki as long as Korin's slash appeared and cut the Kamehameha wave in two.
Yamcha quickly disengaged his attack and dove to the side as Korin's attack finished cutting through the Kamehameha. The attack would have continued towards the protective wall for the fighters, but Korin snapped his fingers causing his attack to evaporate. Korin grinned and replied, "Neko Slash. It's a prime example of using the smallest amount of effort needed to achieve the greatest effect. Still, I must commend you for a very well thought strategy. Against a weaker opponent such a combo would have undoubtedly given you the match Yamcha."
If there was one thing that irked Yamcha more than being the butt of a joke, it was having his opponent lecture him! Seriously, he was a third time fighter in this tournament possessing strength and skill the likes of which only a handful of people had. Yamcha powered up another Spirit Ball and launched it at Korin planning on driving the cat out of bounds. Korin simply spun around and hit the Spirit Ball with his tail like a batter in a baseball game. The Spirit Ball went careening back to Yamcha hitting him between the legs. Naturally, Yamcha let out a blood curdling scream as he clutched his family jewels and fell t the arena floor twitching in agony.
As Yamcha laid crying and whimpering, a monk ran up to the announcer and whispered in his ear. The announcer nodded his head and then addressed the audience. "Attention folks, I have just received word from the judges' panel. They've ruled that Korin is not disqualified for hitting Yamcha below the belt since he deflected Yamcha's attack back at Yamcha. Therefore, Yamcha has until the count of 10 to return to his feet or he will be disqualified." The Announcer began to count taking just a split second longer with each number than normal out of sympathy. Who couldn't sympathize with a man who had his family jewels attacked by a three hundred mile an hour ki attack? Sadly for Yamcha, he was still whimpering on his back in pain when the count was finished giving Korin the match.
Krillin was meditating in the waiting area preparing himself for his next match. In all honesty, Krillin didn't really expect to win against Majunior since his opponent was King Piccolo's heir. The bald fighter was a long stronger than when he had faced King Piccolo three years ago, but that didn't give him any assurance with his chances. In fact, the completely bored look on Piccolo's face while watching the last three matches had Krillin worried. Just how powerful was Piccolo?
While walking into the ring, Krillin completely drowned out the Announcer's voice and focused on his self-made mission. The former monk had about a snowball's chance in hell of winning this match and he was man enough to admit it. However, that didn't mean he was about to thrown in the towel. It was still possible for Krillin to score a victory even if he lost.
As soon as the match started, Krillin raced towards Piccolo, ducked under the namekian's clawed swipe, and punched Piccolo in the elbow. Krillin wasn't able to put much power behind the punch, but he did get away from Piccolo without getting hit. The bald fighter immediately turned around and came at Piccolo again. This time he slid right under his green opponents legs and hit just under the namek's knees at the side. Attacking below the belt wasn't allowed in the tournament, but there was a provision allowing one to hit an opponent below the knees.
Back in the fighter's waiting area; the dragonball gang was watching the match with puzzled looks. Yamcha spoke up. "What's up with Krillin? That's not his normal style that he's using." The former bandit paused for second to watch Krillin tap Piccolo's arm like he was trying to hit a pressure point. "Why does it look like Krillin's pulling his punches while he's making it look like he's trying? How does he expect to win his match when he's fooling around like this?"
Korin frowned and then answered Yamcha. "It's because Krillin doesn't expect to win his match. That style he's using is an imitation of my style with just enough twists put in that it doesn't give away my style." Shortly thereafter, Krillin changed his stance and started attacking with a fury of kicks and lightning fast punches. Once again, Piccolo was easily able to soak up the damage because Krillin barely put any effort behind the blows. No longer was the bald fighter running away from Piccolo's attacks, but instead he was dodging them by swerving away from Piccolo's punches and kicks.
Krillin was a little too slow on one doge receiving a very nasty kick to his arm. Had Krillin been a normal human fighter the force of Piccolo's kick would have shattered the bones in his arm. Fortunately, the bald fighter's training allowed him to soak up the kick with only a grunt of annoyance before retaliating with a jab.
In the fighting peanut gallery, Tien's eyes lit up like a light bulb had been turned on in his head. "That's the basic Crane Style. Chaotsu and I have our own variations like Krillin is currently using, but it's undeniable that he's currently fighting with the Crane Style as he base."
Goku's eyes widen in realization. "Krillin's testing Piccolo. All his actions throughout the match haven't been to win the fight or wear Piccolo down, but allow us to observe Piccolo's fighting style. The reason he's using those styles is to let us see how Piccolo reacts to our methods of fighting. He started with Korin since he's the next person that has to fight Piccolo. The Crane style was probably chosen because Tien is the only other possible fighter left in the tournament facing Piccolo that doesn't use the Turtle Style. Krillin's probably going to switch to the basic Turtle style any minute."
Just as Goku predicted, Krillin switched to the Turtle style by blocking an attempt by Piccolo to swipe Krillin's face with the namekian's claws. Krillin landed a token blow to Piccolo's chest and then immediately backed away. Once again, Krillin tested Piccolo by performing an exhibition of the basic Turtle style. Several minutes passed as the audience cheered Krillin and Majunior on. As far as everyone in the audience, minus the non-combat members of the dragonball gang, were concerned this was an epic match that demonstrated a wide breath of martial arts moves.
Finally, fifteen minutes after the match started Krillin called out to the announcer. "Okay, I've had enough. Give the match to Majunior here." With that said, Krillin stated walking towards the edge.
Piccolo stared at Krillin in shock. Just as Krillin reached the steeps he called out, "What the hell gives little man? You never fought me seriously during our match! I know you have a lot more power than you displayed, so why the hell didn't you fight to your fullest?"
Krillin stepped onto the steps and out of the ring officially making him disqualified. He then grinned and answered Piccolo. "It's quite simple really. I already knew that you were too strong from me to win against. You've got to be holding back at least half if not more of your strength at the moment. However, winning can sometimes simply be the next step you take towards defeat."
Since the semi-finals and the finals were being held tomorrow, the dragonball gang had retired to the hotel to relax for the evening. Tien had been given a senzu bean to repair his rib. Currently, the gang was chilling in Goku's champion sweet that the hotel had upgraded him to and talking about their missing member. Oolong popped the top of his beer and said, "Such a shame about Chi-Chi. Hey Goku, do you think you could convince Kami to hand over the dragon radar so we can wish her back to life? Only this time, we could wish that she doesn't remember her time of being dead."
Everyone turned to look at Goku who was lying on the coach with a cold one in his hand and a frown on his face. "Sorry Oolong, but it wouldn't do us any good. Just reviving one person isn't a good enough reason to merit Kami handing out the dragon radar no matter how important that person is to us. Besides, Chi-Chi has already been revived once by Shenlong, the eternal dragon cannot revive her again. It's a restriction on his powers that Kami put on so that Shenlong could revive vast multitudes of people at a time. Remember, it was originally expected that people would take years, more often than not decades, just to collect all the Dragonballs once. Considering that it would take the same amount of time to collect the Dragonballs again, it was a reasonable assumption at the time that the same wish wouldn't be made twice. Not that it comforting to know, but those are the facts."
Suddenly, Goku's senses started going haywire as a new presence suddenly appeared in the room. The other fighters sensed the new presence too and tried to find the source. Very quickly, every fighter's gaze locked onto Roshi. Krillin was the first to speak. "Alright buddy, who are you and what have you done to Master Roshi?"
A deep, but wise and friendly, chuckle escaped 'Roshi's' mouth. "Very perceptive of you young Krillin, you and my protégé's other friends have progress very far on your own."
Goku's eyes lit up and he blurted out, "Kami? Is that you?"
'Roshi' nodded his head and replied, "Yes it is me Goku. I'm overshadowing Roshi at the moment so that I can talk to all of you without certain individuals noticing. For the rest you let me introduce myself, I am Kami, god of Earth. Do not worry about your friend Roshi. While I am overshadowing him, his consciousness is enjoying a pleasant dream to his sensibilities. I am puzzled why his dream would feature Bulma and Launch wearing coconuts and grass skirts."
Quickly trying to keep the girls' tempers down, Tien asked, "Sir, why have you come here?"
Kami turned to face Tien and gave him a grandfatherly smile. "I am here my child, because the fate of the world could hang in the balance of this tournament. Majunior, or Piccolo as he has taken to calling himself, is a dangerous threat for the safety of everyone on this planet. However, he is also a threat that can be diverted. At the moment, his entire focus is on avenging his father by killing Goku. Should he accomplish his goal, I have no doubts that he will sink to the levels of depravity that his father fell in plunging this planet into darkness."
"At the same time, he will not attack any 'weakling mortals' as he sees humans until Goku is defeated. Therefore, it is imperative that Goku beat him in the finals since his power far outstrips yours Korin. I therefore came to ask you Tien to forfeit your match tomorrow with Goku."
Tien stared at Kami in shock. "But sir, why can't I fight Goku? Don't I deserve the chance to fight against Piccolo?"
Goku quickly jumped in. "It's not fair to Tien to demand he forfeit his match Kami. How can I say I've won a match if it's been rigged?"
Kami sent his protégé a withering glare. "Control your Saiyan battle lust Goku! Now is not the time for you to play around with Tien. You and I both know that you can overpower Tien when using just 15 percent of your power; 15 percent which you didn't even use against Master Roshi thanks to that 200 kilo jacket you wore! If Piccolo was still at the level he was six months ago before he used the Dragonballs I wouldn't have interfered since Tien and Korin both had reasonable chances against Piccolo then. But under current circumstances you are the only one on this planet with the power to take down Piccolo."
"Having Tien throw his match allows you to remain rested while Piccolo will no doubt be worn down by Korin. Tien also has the perfect alibi with the cracked rib he got from the Ox King which was verified by the monks before he received a senzu bean. He can easily state that he cannot fight because of his rib and no one would question it. Once Piccolo is defeated you and Tien can fight Goku. But for now, you must focus on the big picture like young Krillin did. Remember ego and personal desires have no place when it comes to protecting people's lives."
Tien stood shocked as he listened to Kami lecture Goku. The three eyed man glanced to Goku, then to the possessed Roshi, and finally his eyes drifted over to Krillin. Tien's hands balled into fists as he prepared himself to do one of the hardest things he ever had to do. "Alright Kami, I'll forfeit the match."
Power Corner- Thanks to Bulma's custom scouter, all of the fighters were able to have their power levels recorded during their matches.
Goku: (with weights and a 15 % cap) 730
Roshi: (regular) 521, (Shotgun Kamehameha) 1,930 note: power shown is for the attack as a whole each separate blast in the Shotgun Kamehameha is far weaker than his regular power
Tien: (regular) 673, (Spirit Tri-Beam) 1,700
Ox King: 497
Yamcha: (regular) 250, (Kamehameha) 814
Korin: 651
Krillin: 589
Piccolo: (suppressing his power) 800