The crowd was restless. After the handful of exciting and stand out matches they'd gotten at the start they'd seen nothing but quick one hit knock outs since. Mango had fallen to a single punch from Gainin. Yuki had gone down to a kick from Gohan. Akira had surrendered his match against the elder Vegeta. And Sakura had taken out Tangerie with a head butt.
Now Goten was walking out into the Battle Pit with his uncle. The other kids cheering for him as he looked around at the crowd. "Wow, look at all the people." he said, wide eyed. "This is so cool!"
Raditz chuckled as he stopped, they were far enough out now, and turned to face Goten. "Stay focused kid, or you'll lose before we even start."
"Right!" he cried, facing his uncle and taking a fighting stance. Raditz wasn't sure what all to expect. Up until Trunks had fought Tien he'd figured this would be a breeze match. But if his nephew could transform as well he could have a challenge. Depended on how much power the little guy had when transformed.
He doubted he could get the full power of the form, which was good because then the kid would be stronger than him. Still, if he was close to that the fight could be interesting. Though he was hoping to end it before it got too interesting. As soon as the match was called to start he shot in at his nephew at full speed pulling back his fist along the way.
Goten's eyes widened and he shot back quickly. His uncle was a lot faster, though, and reached him only a few seconds later. He shut his eyes as he saw the fist coming and braced himself. The punch landed with a loud crack and a bright flash of gold. Goten slowly opened one eye and looked to see Raditz's fist against his forehead though he'd barely felt it.
Sighing he grinned and crossed his arms. "Hehe! Now you can't hurt me!"
"Oh, think so, do you?" Raditz asked, smirking. "Kaio ken times ten!" His normal blue aura vanished and was replaced by a new bright red one. He pulled back, spun, and slammed the heel of his foot into Goten's head with a loud crack sending the young Super Sai-jin sailing away. There was a flash of red as he shot off after him.
Goten flipped over in the air and his eyes widened again as he saw the Sai-jin charging at him. He quickly dodged to the right just avoiding a hard punch. "Hey, that's not fair!" he cried. "You can't be as strong as me in super! That's cheating!" Raditz just smirked and launched a kick for the kid's head.
Goten shot his arm up and blocked it with a grimace. His uncle wasn't as strong as him, he was stronger. Enough that the boy knew this would be a hard fought match. He was tempted to pull out the stops, go all out, but he discarded that idea. He'd need that to catch Vegeta off guard next round to beat him. That didn't mean he was completely out of options, or tricks, and he grinned.
There was a bright flash of gold as he shot up and back. As he flew he kept his eyes locked on Raditz and thrust his arms down toward him, hands open and fingers spread. Gold energy formed around his hands in a ring. "Doughnut Gun!" he cried firing off thick rings of golden energy.
Raditz dodged to the side as the first one passed him. He turned and watched it slam into the ground below him showering rocks and dirt. Looking back up again he saw five more coming and quickly swerved around them as he flew up toward his opponent. Goten grinned which made Raditz hesitate.
Suddenly the boy spread his arms and legs out forming an X shape as a gold ring traced around his entire body. "Super Doughnut Gun!" he cried happily. A thick ring of energy the size of Goten shot off toward the nearing Sai-jin. Raditz spotted the opening in the middle and realized he could fit through it so he charged up. He grinned. He'd go right through the ring and catch his little nephew by surprise.
He was half way through the attack when suddenly the hole closed and pinned his arms against his body. His ascent stopped as the attack threw him toward the ground at high speeds. He fought to get free but the attack, and him, reached the ground first with a loud crash. "Yahoo!" Goten cheered, thrusting an arm into the air.
A second later the dust broke open as his uncle came charging up at him again, red aura trailing behind him. "Yikes!" Goten cried, a blue energy blast surging passed him as he just barely dodged it. He swerved the other way just in time to dodge a second blast and then kicked a third back at Raditz.
The Sai-jin deflected it away and then looked up for his nephew again and saw him charging down. Raditz slipped to the side and up and jammed his elbow down into Goten's back just as the child was zipping passed him. The blow smashed him down into the ground with a crash. The Sai-jin surged down after him and slammed his foot into the ground missing Goten as the boy rolled out of the way.
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Galactic Games Arena, V.I.P. Box
Mijima, Krillin, Vadora, Tien, Sango, and Gainin had joined the others in the V.I.P. box between matches. "This is amazing..." Nova said, watching the battle as Raditz powered up his Kaio ken. "To think children could be this powerful..."
"It's in their blood." Roshi said. "Goku and Bardock were the two strongest Sai-jins alive seven years ago, until Gohan surpassed them. Hotaru's the strongest Tanarian alive currently, leagues beyond the rest of her people."
"Though they are gaining." Bulma said slowly. "Everyone is. The average power of every race in the galaxy is increasing steadily, has been for decades. And exceptional fighters beyond the norm are appearing in every race at increasing frequency. The stronger people get the stronger others become. It's a cycle."
"Do you mean everyone will eventually be this powerful?" Nova asked.
Bulma shook her head. "No. It'll plateau out, find a new balance." she said, watching Raditz blast up out of the dust from his earlier impact. "Even the super high powers like Hotaru, Gohan, and Vegeta will subside some, in time. But the age of 17 million being enough to dominate the galaxy is passed. Now we're in an age where power is measured not in the tens of millions, but the hundreds."
Nova looked over to the other queen. /Powers in the hundreds of millions?/ she thought. /Is that even possible?/
Sango nodded in agreement with Bulma. "She's right. Ten years ago I never would have dreamed that I, or any Tanarian in my lifetime, would have surpassed the hundred thousand mark without transforming. But Hotaru and I are both over that. Akira would be too if he actually bothered to train seriously instead of spending all of his time training the next generation of fighters."
"And transformations only add to it." Vadora said. "Goten, Trunks, Gohan, Videl, and King Vegeta are all Super Sai-jins. Hotaru, Sakura, and Akemi are Super Tanarians. And Tien is a Super Human."
"Did you know?" Bulma asked, looking over toward the Sai-jin woman.
"I've seen it once or twice." she replied with a smile.
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Otherworld, Grand Kai's World, Otherworld Stadium
"I don't know who to cheer for." Appla said as Raditz was slammed into the ground by Goten's Super Doughnut Gun. "My son or my grandson."
"I was going to cheer for Goten." Bardock said. "But that was when I thought he was the underdog. Now I'm not so sure."
Goku nodded. "Yeah, this is amazing. He's a Super Sai-jin too!"
"Makes me even more anxious to see Gohan's fight." Appla said, grinning. "If the kids are this strong just imagine how much he's improved. Though, I doubt any of them compare to you two anymore."
Bardock laughed. "Being dead does have it's advantages." he said. "We can push ourselves so much harder here, and for longer too, before we burn out. A real Sai-jin paradise."
Now Appla laughed. "Unlimited booze, battles, and food?"
"Damn right!"
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Galactic Games Arena, Battle Pit
Goten snapped his short leg out and slammed it into the back of Raditz's calf as the Sai-jin tried to pull his leg out of the ground. The elder warrior let out a shocked gasp of pain and fell forward, his leg breaking free of the ground as he landed. Goten pushed up into the air, flipped, and then dropped down quickly slamming his feet into the small of Raditz's back.
There was a flash of red a second later and the ground around Raditz exploded while the child on his back was flung into the sky by the Ki burst. Raditz rolled over onto his back and glared up at Goten before shooting up at him again. He let loose a flurry of punches and kicks that the small warrior dodged around as fast as he could.
The blows came close to landing, some of them too close for Goten's comfort, but he managed to avoid them. Still, he could tell this was getting him nowhere. His uncle was faster, stronger, and had a longer reach. He couldn't win if he couldn't get in close enough to hit him. Energy attacks only worked when they hit and with his speed the elder Sai-jin would be able to dodge most of them.
/Dang, I guess I don't have any choice./ Goten thought with a pout. /I can't lose here. Not with Cheri watching! Alright then, I guess it's time to show them what I can do! Hehe, this is gonna be fun!/ Goten pulled back from his uncle's swings but Raditz went after him. He smirked when he realized he was being chased.
Suddenly he pulled to a stop and shot in at the other at full speed. He was about five feet away when his voice suddenly called out. "Nibai Kinryoku!" His golden aura flashed, swirled, and turned silver in a blinding burst of light. Raditz eyes widened and he pulled to a quick stop. A thunderous crack sounded half a second later as Goten slammed, head first, into Raditz's chest.
By the time the glare faded Goten's aura was back to gold again and Raditz lay sprawled out on the ground nearly a hundred yards from the point of impact. "Ow, ow, ow, OW!" Goten chanted, shaking his arms. It felt like they'd just been passed through a fire. /Stupid! You did it wrong! It almost didn't work at all!/ he thought frowning.
He took a deep breath and kept working his arms to make them feel better as the count started. He frowned again as Raditz groaned and climbed back to his feet by the seven count. The move had misfired, he knew that, but he'd hoped the small ammount of power he had gotten had been enough to knock him out for the count.
"Looks like I have to do it again. Ok, get it right this time Goten." he said to himself as he shot down at the now standing Raditz. "Nibai Kinryoku!" he cried, his aura flaring silver once again. This time the glare faded before the technique was gone and everyone noticed that Goten's hair had even shifted to silver.
Raditz saw him coming and braced himself. His nephew was only a couple seconds away now and he smirked. "Kaio ken... times twenty!" he cried, the bright red aura flaring up around him. His right arm shot up and he blocked the punch aimed for his head. Goten scowled, his uncle had been holding back too!
With a cry he threw a kick which was deflected. Scowling more he launched into a furious assault of punches and kicks. Raditz dodged, blocked, or deflected most of them, only a few getting through. Those that did didn't do much damage, though. And Goten could tell. Both of them were twice as strong now as they were before and that put his Uncle at an even larger advantage.
/Oh man... I've not really even tried to go higher... but... if I don't I'll lose!/ Goten thought as he just slipped around a punch from the other. The elder Sai-jin had decided the best defense was an offense and had begun to attack when given the chance. /Ok.../ he thought as he took a deep breath. /I hope this works!/ "Sanjuu... Kinryoku!" he cried. There was a blinding flash of silver, a thunderous crack, and then a sudden and sharp scream.
Then it was all gone. The light vanished, the scream faded, and Goten's hair fell back down as it shifted to black once more. The child wavered in the air for a moment and then fell down to the ground landing with a soft thud. Raditz left out a long sigh of his own as he gazed down at his nephew and let the Kaio Ken fade away.
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Galactic Games Arena, Competitors Area
"Come on Goten!" Cheri called as Raditz's elbow smashed him into the ground. "You can beat him!"
Gohan glanced over to where the kids were standing cheering. "This day's been full of surprises."
"Keeps things interesting though." Videl said.
"No way!" Cheri cried as Goten's aura shifted to silver for a split second. "Alright Goten!"
Hotaru and Sakura shared in that first sentiment. "How did... Where did Goten learn the Kinryoku?" Hotaru wondered, looking over to her daughters. "Sakura, did you teach Goten the Kinryoku?"
"No mom." Sakura said, shaking her head, still in shock herself.
"I did." Cheri said with a glance over to the Tanarian Queen. "But I didn't think he could use it while transformed..." she turned back to the screen in time to see Goten power it up again, properly this time, and resume his attack against his uncle. "Hey, why'd his hair turn silver?"
Hotaru looked back at the screen then too and, sure enough, Goten's hair was glowing silver now. That was an effect she'd never seen before. But then, this was the first time she'd seen a Super Sai-jin use the Kinryoku. Suddenly Goten tried to use the next level of the technique but the power backwashed in on him from overload and he fell. "He's going to feel that for a while. Looks like the first level is all a Super Sai-jin can use."
Senator Vegeta shook his head as the count hit ten. "I never expected for my power to be surpassed by a six year old."
Hotaru stretched her arms and cracked her back as she started toward the Battle Pit. As she walked she cast a glance back at Vegeta. "Time to see who's stronger. Sai-jins or Tanarians." she said with a smirk. Vegeta smirked back at her and followed her out.