"He... beat Mijima?" Videl said in quiet shock. "No way..."
"Geez, this tournament just gets harder and harder." Yamcha said frowning and crossing his arms. "I'm half tempted to just drop out."
Krillin chuckled. "Yeah, if I was fighting me in the third round I'd drop out too."
"What was that?"
"You heard me." he replied, grinning.
"Alright, that's it baldy. You're going down in two rounds." Yamcha said grinning as he made his way out to the battle pit. His opponent, Aiko, had already gone out. No one really expected the match to last long, though. Aiko had improved since her appearance in the first Tanarian Budokai several years ago but not nearly to the degree that Yamcha had. A few seconds later their thoughts were proven true as Aiko collapsed to the ground unconscious from a single blow to the back of her head.
"Our turn at last." Trunks said as he watched Yamcha making his way back in. "Now, listen up Akemi, Krillin is strong. He's almost as strong as Goten and I so you can't hold back too much if you want to beat him."
"Trunks is right." Sakura said with a nod.
"Don't worry, I know what to do!" she said with a smile.
"Alright, show those grown-ups what we can do." Cheri said grinning. Akemi gave them a nod and then followed Krillin out into the battle pit.
"I can't believe all of you kids made it through to the main tournament." Krillin said looking over to Akemi. "I mean, this is a gathering of the strongest fighters in the galaxy... and you're only five."
"I'm five and half!" she said smiling.
Krillin chuckled. "Right. Five and a half. Well then, this looks like far enough." he said turning to face her. She followed suit and the two stood there waiting for the match to start. Krillin watched curiously as the kid, almost as tall as him, braced her body as though she were going to power-up any second. And then the call for the match to start came and Akemi started straining, wind blowing up around her and clothes flapping.
"Come on Akemi..." Sakura said softly. She knew her sister had trouble sometimes. It was expected, really. She herself not gotten the hang of transforming until she was eight.
Suddenly a flash of orange came from the young fighter and then a column of energy surged up into the air. It swirled for a second and then shattered. As it did Akemi surged out at Krillin and caught him completely off guard with a hard right to his jaw that sent him flying.
In the competitors area Hotaru and the others stared open mouthed at the sudden revelation. "I guess it's not too surprising..." Yamcha said after a moment. "Sakura can transform too..."
Hotaru nodded. "Yeah, but she didn't start doing that until she was six. I guess she's been teaching her sister how to do it..."
Out in the battle pit Akemi's solid purple eyes locked onto Krillin and she shot after him in a burst of orange. By the time she reached him he'd recovered and managed to just dodge around her fist. He countered with a hard left of his own but she managed to block that and then knee him in the stomach. He drifted back holding it and grimacing.
"This should be considered cheating!" he cried. "Well, alright then. If that's how you want to play kiddo. Nibai Kinryoku!" There was a flash as the silver aura of the attack surged up around him. With a crack he shot in at his opponent and landed a hard kick to her stomach knocking her backward and down to the ground.
"Well, that's that." Videl said. "She gave it a nice try but Krillin out matches her now."
Akemi, however, didn't see it quite like that. As she climbed to her feet she was debating which tactic she should take next. By the time she was on her feet again and facing Krillin she decided to go with the easiest option. "Monkey see... monkey do!" she said smiling. "Nibai Kinryoku!" Her orange aura vanished in a burst of silver and she charged in at Krillin again.
"No way!" Yamcha cried in disbelief. "She can... but..." he was suddenly at a loss for words. So instead he glanced back to where the other kids were and saw that they were all smirking. Apparently they'd known about this already.
"I guess this is what Goten was talking about..." Videl said, blinking.
The short Human Akemi was fighting was so shocked he almost forgot to block but his arms came up at the last second and deflected her attack. The two began exchanging blows where they floated and his mind tried to comprehend that he was having more trouble now than he had been earlier. The exchange ended with a loud crack as she managed to land a fist to his face and knock him back again.
Pulling himself to a stop only a few feet from the wall he looked up and his eyes widened. A large ball of silver energy was surging right toward him. With a cry he thrust out his left arm and countered with an attack of his own, the energy blasts exploding only a few yards from his location. Lowering his arm he watched Akemi floating just beyond the dust cloud.
"Ok, this is embarrassing." he muttered. "Right then. No more fun and games kiddo! Time to go all out. Yottsu Kinryoku!" The aura flared up brighter and thicker and his power skyrocketed.
"Oh, wow, Krillin's really improved." Roshi said as he felt the power spike. A moment later the Human's power reading leveled off at 1,205,768 Akemi's was still holding at 715,392
Silver light trailed along behind him as Krillin shot in at his young opponent. He wasn't sure if she had any more surprises up her sleeve and he didn't particularly want to find out. He reached her before she could react and landed a solid right hook across her jaw followed by a kick to the side that smashed her into the ground.
Letting out a long breath he relaxed a little as the count started. By seven he was turning around to head back and was about to power down. But eight never came. He stopped and looked back to see Akemi crawling slowly back to her feet, already on her knees. A second later she was up again and facing him. "You wanna fight at full power already?" she asked, frowning. "Trunks and the others always let me get a good warm up in first!"
Krillin chuckled. "But they're not competing for five hundred million Zennie when they do that."
"Well, ok. I guess full power it is then."
Krillin blinked. That... didn't sound particularly like defeat. Suddenly she hunched over and let out a cry, the ground cracking beneath her feet as a silver whirlwind formed around her. A second later there was a bright flash from inside followed by a loud crack as Akemi smacked her fist into Krillin's face.
The short Human sailed backwards about a hundred yards before crashing to the ground, bouncing three times, and then sliding another fifty yards and stopping. Akemi landed a short distance away and listened to the count. When it reached ten her body flashed orange and she reverted back to normal.
Hotaru's eyes were still locked on the final power reading her youngest daughter had put out. Five million. Almost six. There's only one thing that could have just happened. Akemi had transformed up to the second level. But... that was just... She was still just a kid...
Those down in the competitors area weren't the only ones shocked by Akemi's display of power. The entire arena had gone into a shocked silence that lasted several long moments before bursting into cheers. Though, while the cheers sounded around the arena, the silence persisted in the V.I.P. box for several more minutes before Bulma finally broke it. "Wow, and I'd thought Trunks was a handful. I've got no envy for Hotaru and Yamcha."
"Tell me about it." Chi-Chi said. "But at least Hotaru's still stronger than her daughter."
"I guess it makes sense though." said Bulma a moment later. "The Sakura from the future did warn Hotaru about Tanarian hybrids being able to control their Ki from birth, and about her having been born with the ability to transform. We always just assumed that it had been because Hotaru had transformed while pregnant, that her unlocking of the form had done it for Sakura as well. Apparently that doesn't matter and it just gets passed along."
Nova couldn't believe the power the child had just put out. It was incredible. Beyond even her own power. And the two women hardly seem surprised by it, based on their conversation. It was a bit much to take in and she was still absorbing it a few moments later when the sixth match started and ended in only a couple of seconds. Piccolo had landed a single solid kick to the side of Pug's head and knocked the alien unconscious.
"Ouch..." Bulma said, cringing a bit, as she watched the Namek leave the battle pit. "Piccolo's never been one to play around in a fight."
Roshi watched as the next two fighters made their way out. "I'm not sure who to feel sorry for here. Tien or Trunks." he said. "I don't know how strong either of them are but I doubt that Tien's just been sitting around doing nothing the last seven years."
"He hasn't." Bulma informed him. "He and Raditz have been training to the bone from what I've seen and heard. I just hope Trunks doesn't sulk all week after this."
In the competitors area Goten and Cheri glanced at each other grinning. "Alright, go Trunks!" Goten cried, pumping a fist into the air. A second later the match started and the young Prince shot across the space between him and Tien and started his assault. However, the Tri-clops was stronger and faster than the boy had expected and he soon realized he was out matched.
"Hmm, not too shabby." Vegeta said as he watched. "He's picked up a lot without having any formal training yet. Though his power could use some work."
His father chuckled. "If I remember correctly, Vegeta, you hadn't even broken fifty thousand yet at his age." The younger Vegeta scowled a little but said nothing.
Trunks eyes widened and he started flying backwards and weaving left and right around Tien's swings. "Man, I didn't know he was this strong." he muttered. He knew that Krillin and Yamcha were weaker than him and Goten and he'd figured Tien wouldn't be much better than them. But the tri-clops was leagues beyond them. "Man, I can't believe I'm gonna have to do this already! Oh well, here goes!"
He stopped going back and clenched his hands into fists. Tien's latest punch was only inches from his face when he let out a loud cry and blinding flash of gold. There was a crack a second later, followed by a bright flash of gold. When the glare died away everyone stared on in shock. Trunks' hair now stood up spiky and golden, his eyes were green, and a golden aura pulsed around him. The crack had been Tien's fist impacting the child's face and being stopped dead.
"He... he's a Super Sai-jin!?" Vegeta cried in shock. "But... how?"
Bulma blinked as she looked at Trunks on the monitor. Sighing she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. "On second thought, I do envy Hotaru..."
"But... how is he a Super Sai-jin already?" Roshi asked.
Nova blinked and looked over to the old master before back at the monitor showing the young prince. This was the first time she'd ever seen a Super Sai-jin and the transformation wasn't quite what she'd expected. But the power was certainly something else. According to the scanners he was now over fifteen million. And yet he was only a child still.
Bulma shook her head. "I had no idea he could even transform... maybe it's like with Sakura and Akemi..."
"But..." Chi-Chi started. "That would mean that Goten..." He shoulders sagged and she slumped back into her chair with a groan.
Back down in the battle pit Tien had floated back from Trunks and landed. Trunks had remained where he was but had crossed his arms and was grinning. "Sorry Tien but I'm winning this round. Why don't you save us a little time and just surrender?"
Tien smiled. "Sorry to disappoint you Trunks, but I've only just started." Suddenly he hunched over and braced himself and Trunks raised an eyebrow. "Here we go! Itsutsu Kinryoku!" he cried. The bright silver aura flared up around him and his power shot up to just short of three million, his muscles expanded some and a few blood vessels started standing out on his body. And then... "Kaio ken... times five!"
His muscles expanded further for a moment before shrinking away down to a size slightly less than before. His red aura pulsed and flared around him, licking across his body like a flame. Trunks eyes widened as he felt the power radiating from the Human before him. "No... way!" he cried in shock.
He wasn't the only one surprised. "Unbelievable!" Roshi cried looking at Tien's power. "He's over fourteen and a half million!"
"Wow." Gohan said as Tien surged in and resumed his fight with Trunks. "I had no idea that Tien had improved so much..."
"He's almost as powerful as me now." Senator Vegeta said, rather surprised. He glanced away from the monitor then and back at Tien's daughter. /I wonder how much of his talent and potential she inherited. If she dodged the power suppression gene from her mother... she could easily become the most powerful Sai-jin to ever live.../
Back in the battle pit the two warriors were going at it fiercely. Trunks had recovered from his shock quickly and was holding his own without difficulty. He still had the power advantage, though at this level the scales weren't tipped so far in his direction to make victory assured. The young prince was, however, using his distinct advantage of being faster and smaller to its full potential.
He avoided blocking whenever possible, instead opting to dodge around the blows thus conserving more of his energy than he would otherwise. His father noticed one other detail about the boy's movements that made him smirk. His style was distinctly that of the royal line. It was imperfect, more emulation than true knowledge, but it was there. He'd put his time watching his father to use and had learned the royal style as best he could on his own.
A few minutes more watching the exchange before him and Vegeta noticed something else that made him smile. The look on his son's face and in his eyes. The look of a true Sai-jin warrior. One facing a challenging fight and reveling the chance to push themselves. /So she's not spoiled him totally./ he thought with a light smirk.
"And to think..." Senator Vegeta said, cutting into his son's thoughts. "Just about ten years ago I was worried about the future of our people. I would not doubt that young Trunks is the strongest Prince the Sai-jin people have ever seen."
Raditz glanced over to the two Royals before looking toward Piccolo, Gohan, and Videl. "I'll bet each of you a thousand Zennie Tien wins this fight." he said, smirking lightly.
"Huh? Do you know something Raditz?" Gohan asked. The Sai-jin merely continued to smirk.