Gohan's Hidden Depths of Power - Chapter 7.

Chi Chi was no doubt in shock at her son and husband appearing from out of nowhere in the dining room, but within moments she was bawling her eyes out in Goku's arms at his return. Chianni soon entered the dining room with all the commotion going on, seeing her father for the first time in over a year she leapt into his awaiting arms. Gohan stood back and watched the scene before him, happy to have his family back together again.

Gohan remembered how it had all began, with his space pirate uncle landing on Earth, it all happened so fast that he could barely process it all at once. As he watched his little sisters happy giggles at their fathers antics, he visibly shivered as he pictured Radditz picking her up instead of him on that fateful day he was kidnapped-He couldn't let that happen. Through all that happened afterwards, he realised he had to be prepared for anything, if what power the others saw in him was true, he had to use it to protect everyone.

"By the way... I'm starving!" Goku chuckled as he scratched his head.

Chi Chi glared at him with an unamused expression, causing the Saiyan to stand back a little. She then smiled "I'll make the biggest meal you've ever had!" She said cheerfully as she began to make dinner.

'Well... Dad's back to his usual self.' Gohan mused. The Son family finally had a dinner together for once in a year and a half since the journey to Namek.

A couple of weeks had passed and his father had mentioned joining the upcoming Budokai. He had been around Earth asking his friends to join the tournament and catching up with them, some of which decided to join while others would simply watch. The only thing left was to convince Chi Chi to let Gohan and Chianni go with him to the tournament.

Goku gulped as he proceeded carefully into the lounge where his wife was seated watching TV. Gohan and Chianni stood just behind him and waited on their father who was obviously trying to be as careful as he could about asking.

"Goku..." She looked up at him with narrowed eyes "You want something and know I'm not going to like it." Chi Chi accused, knowing her husband full well with his antics.

Goku chuckled nervously "It's n-nothing that big, Chi Chi." He he tried putting on a straight face to hide his worry. Chi Chi continued to stare at him, waiting for him to get to the point "Y-You see... There's a Budokai on tomorrow..." He began, but that was all Chi Chi needed.

Getting up from the sofa, Chi Chi stood in front of Goku with a stern look "You're planning on getting my little babies involved, aren't you?! Well, absolutely not!" She said angrily.

Goku put his hands up defensively "Oh, c'mon Chi Chi..." He pleaded weakly.

"No! I'm not having my kids get involved in such... Brutality!" Chi Chi argued back.

"Well, I was only planning on entering Gohan, and he'll be fine!" Goku replied, trying to reason with her.

"Mum, please..." Gohan begged "I really want to join dad in the tournament!"

"Grrrrr..." Chi Chi growled getting more angry.

"Think about the prize money!" Goku reasoned again "We could get these two through college!" Goku laughed exasperatedly.

Chi Chi breathed out "How much money are we talking about?" She scrutinised.

Goku scratched his head "Um..."

"Five Million Zeni for first place. One Million Zeni for second." Gohan finished for his father, who chuckled in response.

"... Alright, fine. You and Gohan can fight in this tournament, but Chianni is going nowhere near that place!" Chi Chi stressed.

Chianni began to sulk as she grabbed onto her older brothers arm "B-But... I want to watch brother fight..." She said as a tear slid down her cheek, her hopes being dashed.

Chi Chi frowned and grit her teeth, glaring at Goku again "See? Look at what you've done now!" She accused.

Goku was taken aback a bit "It's alright. She just really wants to watch Gohan. Can we give her that, at least?" He pleaded "She won't be fighting even if she wanted to, she hasn't had a day of training." Gohan visibly sweat-dropped in response, hoping his mother didn't catch him. Chianni had been training somewhat with him, although nothing that would warrant her power being even near the human fighters at this point. Gohan would have to train her sorta like Piccolo for anything significant and he couldn't bring himself to do that with his sister, she wasn't really interested in fighting at all.

"Hm!" Chi Chi swing her head to the side "Whatever, just don't have her fight or I'm going to put all of you on a grounding for three months!" She hammered home to them "Half meals for three months, got it?!" She threatened. All three of them nodded their heads obediently before making themselves scarce as to not have Chi Chi change her mind any time soon on them.

Gohan went to his room to study, Chianni following in behind to study with him. Goku simply left the house, being that he was more helpful while out of Chi Chi's hair-He could eat all the food, but he couldn't cook any of it anywhere near as good as Chi Chi.

The next morning the Saiyan and his offspring downed their breakfast then prepared to head off for the tournament. It looked like a good clear day for what they needed to do. Gohan wore his usual gear that he used to fight the Saiyans and Chianni wore a purple dress that her mother had chosen for her, keeping her tail hidden away underneath it. Goku, obviously, in the orange Gi he always wore. Goku called his trusty Nimbus for Chianni and then they were off, flying in the direction of Papaya Island. Gohan was lost in his own thoughts of the tournament, he had never been to such an event, he was kind of anxious with how many people were going to be there. It had taken some convincing on his fathers part to get him to go in the first place, saying it would be a good test of his powers he had gained.

Chianni must have been getting bored of flying on Nimbus or something because she dived off the side of it so she play and fly with her big brother. Her father was completely stunned, thinking she couldn't fly and only just noticing her leaving the floating cloud he might not have seen her go over but when she started flying as well he was relieved, if a bit confused until they explained that Gohan had taught her how to fly.

Goku was a bit sketched out if Chi Chi ever found out about it but was proud of his only daughter nonetheless. He could sense that her power had increased now that she was expending some energy, at least now she could defend herself from people if she were ever in the city, so Goku was happy for that.

Gohan and Chianni began bobbing a weaving over the several lakes they passed with Gohan in the lead as he blazed a trail across the lakes surface creating waves with his speed. Chianni was still not quite fast enough for that but she did try. When they came to the ocean, Gohan went overboard a bit with making waves that he ended up getting Chianni soaked. Goku almost began to laugh lightheartedly but when she started crying and Gohan went to check up on her he stopped. Gohan's heart plummeted and he immediately began to fret over her, apologising saying he didn't do it on purpose, then used his aura to dry her off she finally stopped sulking and thanked him with a big hug. Goku ended up laughing anyway at his sons attitude with Chianni.

Afterwards, they continued to fly onward until they began to see landmass once again, Goku notifying them that they had arrived. Gohan suggested they land somewhere out of sight to keep a low profile, at least until they began the fights, the two others agreeing. Gohan and Chianni were taken in by all the sights and sounds of the city, having rarely been to one before. It was still relatively early as they proceeded onward to the main gate of the tournament, early enough to sign up.

They met up with Bulma, Yamcha and Puar who were standing, Puar rather floating, outside waiting.

"Hey, you three!" Goku hollered.

The two turned toward them and greeted them with smiles as they came to meet them "Man, is it good to see you, Goku!" Yamcha waved.

Bulma greeted Goku and then knelt down to greet his kids with a hug "Hey, you two, how've you been?" She asked.

"Good." They replied in unison.

"That's a cute dress, Chianni!" Bulma complimented. "And you look as handsome as ever, Gohan!" The two went shy on her and she chuckled at their antics.

Goku gave Yamcha a competitive look "Yamcha! You changed your mind on joining the tournament?" He asked.

Yamcha chuckled exasperatedly "I'd love to join but I'm just here to watch this year. Between you and Gohan, I doubt I'll even make it to second place." He admitted.

Goku looked disappointed "I suppose so... Anyway, Gohan and I should sign up." Goku concluded and proceeded on to the place where they can sign up just beside the gate and greeted a Monk taking down names of fighters.

The Monk looked at Goku and instantly recognised him as the former champion, he then got increasingly nervous as he remembered how the last tournament went "S-Son Goku! You're competing again this year?" He questioned.

"Yup!" Goku said simply and registered his name.

"Excuse me, Sir, I'd like to compete as well." Gohan spoke up and the man was taken aback.

"Y-yeah, sure? But how old are you?" He asked skeptically.

"Seven years old, Sir." Gohan replied as he took the pen and wrote his own name down, as well.

"S-Seven?" The Monk was taken aback even further then looked at the name on the paper 'Son Gohan' "Well, if you're Son Goku's son then I suppose you'll be fine."

They returned back to where Bulma and Yamcha were waiting and waited with them for the others. A taxi pulled up and the backdoor opened to Master Roshi stepping out, then Oolong and finally, Krillin. The front door opened as well to Launch exiting. Krillin signed up as well then went to meet up with them. "Hey, everyone!" Goku exclaimed excitedly.

"And hellooo~ Bulma!" Master Roshi greeted, eyeing her up.

"Oh no you don't, you old creep! Besides, there are kids around!" Bulma said with anger. Master Roshi looked all disappointed.

"Goku!" Krillin came over to meet his best friend "It's good to see you! It's just like old times, huh?" He questioned in reminiscing.

"Haha. You bet!" Goku exclaimed.

"Hey, Krillin! It's been a while!" Gohan greeted.

"Yep! It's good to see you, Gohan. Hey... Are you and Chianni going to fight as well?" Krillin asked in a bit of worry.

"Only me." Gohan informed him.

"Heh... At least I'll have a chance to make third place then. Unless Piccolo signed up..." He said sheepishly. "I'm surprised you're even here, though, I didn't think your mother would let you come." Krillin stated in confusion.

"Yeah, strange, huh?" Goku was inclined to agree. Even if there was prize money involved, Chi Chi would never let Gohan fight.

Gohan just chuckled sheepishly "I kind of talked with my mother a while back and convinced her to let me continue my training." Gohan informed them. The two looked at him in complete shock. "What?" He questioned.

They waited some time longer until Tien and Chiaotzu made their appearance, Tien signing up as well, then they all greeted him.

"Tien..." Launch smirked at him.

Tien had a slight blush as he turned his head "Launch..." He said simply.

"Yeesh... Those two, huh?" Krillin chuckled. Goku chuckled in kind. Gohan had a look of obliviousness on his face as to what they could be talking about before he decided to head in with the others.

"I wonder where Piccolo is?" Goku asked as they all began to pile in to the tournament grounds.

"Knowing him, he's probably already signed up and waiting inside." Gohan deduced. He had noticed Chianni seemed uneasy with all the unfamiliar faces around them. He had to admit he was anxious himself, but he had to remain strong and observant, he would have to make sure she wouldn't get lost in the crowd. "Uh, stay close, Chianni. You might get lost." Gohan advised her.

"Okay." She agreed with a smile as she grabbed his arm.

"Uh... That's not what I mean-" Gohan began with exasperation but gave up knowing she wouldn't listen, he was too nice to argue with her and make her upset.

The tournament grounds were larger than he thought, with several buildings dotted around close to a magnificent white wall with red designs along the top. "Wow, this place is bigger than I remember!" Goku exclaimed in surprise.

"Well, after Mr Grumpy levelled the place, I decided to chip in with the repairs and made it even bigger." Bulma informed.

"Whoa, really?!" Krillin was the next to be surprised.

Bulma smiled "Of course, there's a lot of memories here. I couldn't just leave it like that." She replied.

As if on cue, Gohan spotted Piccolo leaning against one of the palm trees out of the way of the crowd and then went to meet up with him. The Namekian gave Gohan and Chianni a curt smile as he greeted them "So, your father managed to convince you to fight, huh?" Piccolo asked of Gohan.

Gohan chuckled "Yeah... Though I suppose it would be good to test myself. I haven't fought my father yet, either." Gohan admitted.

"Hm. He's in for a surprise." Piccolo said confidently. Gohan scratched his head with a bashful smile. "By the way... I'm using my alias of Majunior, so remember not to call me Piccolo in the ring." He advised.

"Alright." Gohan nodded his head in agreement.

Gohan finished speaking with Piccolo and met up with the others getting ready for the preliminary rounds. Gohan learned from Krillin that he would be fighting in one of the four "boxes" given to him by the number he drew in order to win a shot at fighting in the quarterfinals. Tien explained that he'd have Chiaotzu rig the numbers so that they won't have to fight each other until the tournament begins, although Gohan didn't really like it because he considered it cheating, he guessed it couldn't be helped.

They were led to a large room where they saw another couple of the Budokai's Monks who were checking the registry. Goku, Gohan, 'Majunior', Krillin and Tien would all make it in but everyone else had to wait outside. Chianni, of course, wasn't very happy having to stay outside while her brother went inside, it took some convincing to get her to stay put but Bulma had told her they could still watch from one of the high windows which made her cheer up, if a little. Gohan could at least sense her energy in case anything went wrong.

As Gohan got inside, he was taken aback at how many people were inside, all wanting their chance at champion. He figured there must be hundreds of them. He saw four fighting rings inside, each representing a pair of brackets that would decide which eight contestants would go on into the tournament. One of the Budokai Monks appeared on one of the rings and began to explain the rules over a microphone. Soon enough they were called up to pick a number from the box and Gohan made his way up as well. Reaching in he pulled out a small slip of paper then opened it to see his number.

"Which number did you get, son?" Gohan's father asked him.

"I got seventy." He replied.

"Well, look at that, you got the same number your father got in his first tournament." Krillin stated humorously. Gohan chuckled thinking the odds were way too big to be a coincidence.

Outside, the rest of them had found chairs to stand on so they could sneak a peak at the elimination round. Chianni and Puar had simply opted to float there in front of the window, which shocked the others as they didn't know Chianni could fly. "My brother taught me." She smiled warmly.

"That's Goku's kids for you..." Bulma responded knowingly.

"Hey! My brothers going to fight!" Chianni said excitedly as she stared back through the window "Wait... He's going to fight that big man? He's kinda scary." She questioned in worry as she saw a man who easily toward over Gohan and even the average person, built with solid muscle.

"I wouldn't worry about your brother." Bulma reassured her, getting her attention as she frowned.

Master Roshi coughed as he proceeded to go into monologue mode "Gohan would be one of the strongest fighters in the world right now. Only your father and Piccolo would give him any sort of challenge and he's not too far from them already. Although, I suppose I should count Vegeta as well..." Master Roshi explained.

Chianni's eyes widened in surprise "My brother is that strong?" She questioned in disbelief.

Roshi nodded "I trained your father when he was a boy, only twelve years of age. Already Gohan is far above your father when he was at that age and Gohan's only seven. It won't be long before Gohan catches up and Goku knows that." He explained. Chianni turned back to the fight in awe. 'It's too quick to even comprehend how fast that boy grows in power... We all knew Goku was different growing up with how fast he gained strength, but Gohan is on a whole other level and more. If it wasn't for his gentle nature, it'd frightening with what he is capable of at such a tender age.'

"Huh... I wonder if there can be more than one Super Saiyan..." Bulma pondered with a hand to her chin.

"If that is the case..." Master Roshi continued "It would surely be Gohan. It seems unnatural, even for a Saiyan, to be this strong at his age. But I could be wrong?"

Gohan shuffled nervously in the ring under all the stares and jabs at his age. He was the first to be called up in his group, the others standing there on the side just chuckling at all the overconfident fighters. None of them knew what they were getting themselves into. Gohan's competitor entered the ring and immediately towered over the pint-sized half breed, Saiyan. The man laughed as he looked at Gohan "What? I have to fight this snot-nosed, kid? This is ridiculous." He said in disgust as he he eyed his opponent in disappointment.

'This guys not very nice.' Gohan said nothing as he felt words won't change a thing, he was far above anything this guy could dish out, in fact he was bored if he was quite honest. The referee threw down his hand for the fight to begin and immediately Gohan disappeared and reappeared in front of the man's face, much to the bewilderment of his competitor and merely poked him on the forehead with his index finger. The poke was all that was needed and the man collapsed in a heap.

The referee and fighters surrounding the ring merely looked on at them with their eyes bulging out of their skulls. The referee merely muttered out the winner of the fight. None of them could even see Gohan move, it was as if he never moved from his spot as that was exactly where he landed.

Goku chuckled in pride "That's m'boy!" He exclaimed holding up a peace sign with his fingers at Gohan's next opponents. The men had nothing to say, only to sweat profusely.

"Humph. It was I who trained him, though." 'Majunior' made clear with a smirk.

Turning around to exit the ring Gohan saw Chianni cheering from the window so he scratched the back of his head as he waved to her. Gohan decided to watch the others take their turns at fighting and as expected, the opponents simply dropped with no effort. 'This is all too easy... But I suppose I should be happy that I'm participating in something my father likes'. Gohan thought.

Gohan's next fight came up and he had to fight a Tigerman in a red Gi. The referee began the fight and the Tigerman immediately barrelled down on Gohan and began to unleash combo after combo at him, Gohan dodging every consecutive fist and kick before he simply raised his hand and flung a small burst of wind at him. The Tigerman flew back and outside of the ring, landing unceremoniously on his back, making Gohan the winner.

Gohan jumped out of the ring to see Piccolo waiting there for him "You're bored." Piccolo said simply. Gohan nodded his head. "I'm inclined to agree. The preliminary rounds are always a drag. But we'll get our fight in the real matches. So that should be good." He encouraged.

Gohan nodded in agreement "It wouldn't be much to ask the dragon to make them all stronger, would it?" Gohan asked theoretically.

Piccolo smirked "It would be a grievous misuse of their power." He replied.

"Well darn..." Gohan said simply in jest and they chuckled together.

After what took until midday, they finally got through the hundreds of contestants, not expecting so much of a turnout as it did. They stood at the entrance that led out to the ring with a large board that would soon show the match ups. The Budokai Monks began to read off the names of the quarterfinalists, all of the Z-Fighters that attended had no doubt made it. They began to write up the matches and Gohan saw that he would be fighting Tien in the first round.

"Hey, Gohan, you got such a great line-up!" Goku exclaimed in disappointment as he would be fighting an average opponent in the first round.

Gohan smiled until Tien came over to him "Hey, Tien, looks like we'll be fighting in our first match." Gohan stating the obvious.

Tien had a neutral expression "I know what you're capable of, Gohan and I can't say I'm too excited about that." He began and Gohan looked down ashamed a bit "But I never back down from a fight and I won't be holding back." Tien continued with a smirk as he held out his hand for Gohan to shake.

"I know I've still got a lot to learn from people like you, though." Gohan smiled up at him and shook his hand in respect and admiration.

Tien smiled "I might take you up on that sometime, teach you some techniques of mine. You've got a good head on your shoulders." He complimented and they continued on their way as the rest of the match ups were made.

Just as they were about finished, a man in a suit came into the room. He had blonde hair that was combed back, with a thin moustache and wore large black sunglasses. He announced to them that he was... The announcer. It didn't take long for him to recognise some of the faces from the last tournament, though as he began to get incredibly excited "G-Goku?! Is that you? And Krillin? And Tien?!" He questioned.

The three of them smiled back "Good to see you again." Krillin waved. Gohan figured they must know each other from an earlier tournament, so this announcer must be the regular one.

"It's good to see YOU! I missed you gu-" he then noticed Piccolo standing off to the side and visibly shivered before walking over to Goku and whispering to him "You guys plan on leaving the ring intact this time, right?" He asked.

Goku simply chuckled "Heh... Yeah, we'll try. Don't worry about... Majunior this time." He reassured him.

"Oh, good!" He retreated back to the entranceway "With that out of the way, will the contestants make their way out to the ring so I can introduce all of you?" He asked. Goku and Krillin nodded in agreement with smiles on their faces, the rest of them simply shrugged and followed suit. Gohan had already begun to get nervous as he heard the cheering of the crowds.

Walking out he saw what looked like hundreds of people so he chose to stick by Piccolo's cape that kept him out of sight at least a bit. They made it into the ring which must have been four times the size of the rings inside the elimination chamber. The announcer quickly began to introduce the fighters "... And here we have a former champion, Tien Shinhan, who with his deft and precise attacks, you know he'll put on a good show!"

Launch had pulled out a concealed pistol from her bag and began firing it off "Yeah! Let's go, Tien Shinhan!" She called out over the sound of gunfire. Tien Shinhan looked down at his feet in embarrassment as the audience began to back away from Launch.

The announcer moved on to Krillin "Now here's a real veteran! Being involved in now four tournaments and hopefully more to come! He'll be sure to get you on the edge of your seats! Krillin!" The audience cheered and Krillin smiled back at them.

"We have another special entree today, Son Goku! The champion of the last tournament! With his hard head and endurance, he'll be one tough opponent to beat!" The announcer introduced Goku to the sound of cheers.

"Go, dad!" Chianni called out. Goku simply held up a peace sign with his fingers and grinned.

The announcer having already introduced the infamous Majunior very quickly as to create some distance from him, moved on to Gohan who just stared at him and the audience unsure of himself. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Today, we have a very special newcomer to this tournament! None other than the son of Son Goku himself! Son Gohan!" He announced and Gohan's heart beat overtime as he realised all eyes were now on him and the people were cheering.

"Would you mind telling the great audience how old you are, Gohan?" The announcer asked with a smile and what happened next took Gohan by complete surprise as he put the microphone up to him.

"U-Um..." Gohan stuttered over the microphone. There was a resounding "Awwww" from the audience "S-Seven..." Gohan quickly said as he tried to hide his face as the audience gasped in surprise.

"Aw, he's shy!" The announcer said over the microphone and there was yet another resounding "Awwww!" from the audience "Did you hear that folks?! Seven years of age! Making him the youngest contestant to ever make it passed the elimination round!"

This time the audience made a resounding "Ooooo!"

"And if I heard correctly from the tournament assistants he made short work of all of his opponents, so expect to see some great fighting from our pint-sized warrior!" The announcer finished up, Gohan hoped. Gohan then seemed to relax a bit as he heard Chianni cheering and spotted her at the front row next to Bulma. The fighters then filed out from the ring to prepare for their matches.