Goku marveled at the depths of his new strength and could only look confusedly at his own finger as he walked off of the stage. Gohan approached him smiling, wanting to give words of encouragement.
"Great job Goku, you hardly touched him and he collapsed outside of the ring, really incredible!"
Krillin, standing right beside Gohan, felt obligated to correct him. "It was luck, Jack. It's obvious the big oaf lost his balance and fell out. Anyone could do that."
Gohan was genuinely hurt that Krillin thought Goku had won through dumb luck. He assumed he had always respected his father as a fighter, even in childhood.
"It was a bit more than that Krillin." Goku said, "I don't think we should use our full strength yet, it could be bad."
From behind the three, a nasally sounding voice broke from the crowd. "Well look who actually showed up. I didn't believe him when he said he was going to train with the 'great Master Roshi' but I guess the little twerp managed it after all."
Goku and Gohan looked up to see two Buddhist monks standing over Krillin. The one on Krillin's left was a tall and thin man. He didn't carry very much muscle on him but his height gave him some false confidence he used to intimidate those smaller than him. "Looks like you'll be fighting me Krillin. I do hope you manage to last at least 30 seconds in the ring, but, look at you, still as small as when you first ran crying from the temple. You better leave before we start our match, cause if we do fight each other I may 'accidentally' end up putting you in the hospital."
The lanky man slapped Krillin's head before saying, "C'mon let's go find something to eat. I'm tired of hanging around these losers." His fatter and smaller companion smiled and slapped Krillin's head as well before following the other monk to the tournament's commissary. Goku frowned and looked worriedly over at Krillin who was simultaneously rubbing his head and shaking like a leaf. He rested his hands on Krillin's shoulders and put on a serious face.
"Krillin, I take back what I said about us not using our full strength. That guy was really mean to you and you shouldn't have to take that from him. In your match I want you to try as hard as you can because when you do, he won't stand a chance!" Goku paused, he could see he was getting through to Krillin but that he needed further encouragement. "You know you're stronger than him right?"
"Yeah, but-"
"Then you have nothing to be scared of! I want you to get up there and show him just how tough you really are! Show him the kind of stuff you're really made of!"
Krillin saw just how much Goku believed in him and found some new determination through his encouraging words. "Right Goku, I will!"
"Will numbers ninety-three and ninety-four please approach the arena!" The young man said excitedly into the microphone.
Gohan watched Krillin walk up to the stage; he looked far more confident than he did just moments ago. Gohan smiled, seeing his father comfort Krillin reminded him of a time he did the same for him just before the Cell Games.
They were relaxing in the grass near their favorite spring. It was a little valley wedged between two mountains not far from Mount Pouzu and was completely isolated from the outside world; a place for just the two to share. The spring was created by a small stream that came down from one of the mountains, it continued until it trickled from a fifteen-foot ledge, into a small and still lake. The grass there was the greenest grass could be, and the water was so clear it was almost invisible. As Gohan laid there underneath the only apple tree in the valley, he turned towards his father.
"Dad, I'm worried. I-I don't know if we can beat Cell and laying here not doing anything is killing me." He frowned, staring at his father for a response.
"Gohan, don't worry we can handle him. You and I trained for a whole year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber remember? If one entire year in that intense heat and gravity can't prepare us for an oversized bug then I don't know what will!" He laughed as he said it, but Gohan didn't find the joke very funny.
"Daddy, I'm serious, I-I'm just so scared, I don't want to lose you again." He moved over to his father and wrapped his arms around him, placing his head into his chest to hide his tears.
"Oh, Gohan" Goku closed his eyes and rubbed his son's back. "It's alright to be scared." He pulled Gohan closer to his chest and held him tightly, almost cradling him. "I'm scared too...but I know that together, you and me and all of our friends, we'll win. We always have."
Gohan's memories faded away as he focused on his father who was staring eagerly, waiting for the match to begin. He could see how much Goku believed in Krillin just by looking into his eyes, which were focused solely on his bald friend as he climbed onto the stage.
Wow, daddy... I thought you only needed to do that for me, but I guess you've been helping people believe in themselves for years, huh?
Krillin and the monk stood in front of each other glaring one another down, although Krillin still felt some self-doubt he didn't let that show, all he let that monk see was his fierce determination.
"You may begin!"
The tall, lean monk started his attack. He jumped and formed a kick towards Krillins abdomen but before it could connect, Krillin swooped beneath it, easily dodging it because of his small size. He then elbowed his opponent's back sending him flying out of the ring. Luckily, the indoor arena's wall was there to catch him.
Krillin slowly turned around to see everyone crowding around the injured man, unconscious and out of arena bounds.
The announcer's voice quivered "Uhm, hehe...I suppose Number 93 wins!"
Astounded, Krillin proclaimed, "I did it! Guys, I beat him! Did you see how far he went flying? that was incredible!"
"Great job Krillin, I knew you could do it!" Goku said, clapping enthusiastically.
The announcer then squinted at his clipboard. "All right, that's it for block three, at least for right now..." He ran his finger down the list of contestants. "Ah, there we are. Would numbers one-twelve and one-thirteen please approach the arena."
Gohan was surprised, was it his turn already?
"I guess it's my turn now. Wish me luck." he said.
Goku put his hand on Gohan's shoulder. "You can do it, Jack, you're some tough stuff. I doubt anyone here could beat you." The look on Goku's face told Gohan that he meant it.
"Thanks, Goku." Gohan said while smiling. He was warmed by the fact that even when they didn't know each other, his father still believed in him wholeheartedly.
Gohan climbed up onto his stage and was met by a scrawny, two-foot-tall wolf cub. The announcer approached the two cautiously.
"Alright, I want a good clean fight. Remember no killing" He looked down accusingly at the wolf cub causing it to twiddle its foot along the ground innocently. The announcer then scurried off of the stage. To Gohan, it looked like he was not only eager to get away from the cub but also scared of it. He cupped his hands and yelled, "YOU MAY BEGIN!"
Gohan jumped back away and stood in a defensive position, it was similar to the one his father had always taught him to use however it was hardened by Piccolo's harsh training. Gohan knew his overprotective stance was overkill but he wanted to ensure that the cub thought he was taking this seriously.
Gohan got a chill as he heard the cub's giggles turn into a deep and distorted laugh. It sounded like a well-blended mixture of mania and lunacy, and it echoed among the contestants that observed silently.
"You are the first to treat me as an actual opponent. For that, I will make your death swift and painless."
Gohan saw as the cub began to lengthen. Its muscles quadrupled in size and continued to grow as he did. He heard every gruesome bone pop and lengthen as the small two-foot cub grew to a twelve-foot hulking mass of a monster. The grotesque thing continued to grow until some of its bones stuck out of its flesh. Gohan nearly collapsed out of disgust for this new creature. If he wasn't sure about ending this quickly before, he was now. He charged at the beast as fast as he could without arousing suspicion. The massive creature swung a claw in his direction. Gohan barely attempted to dodge it, he stayed low and swept its legs causing it to fall to the ground. From there, he quickly kicked it out of the arena landing it a few feet from its previous battleground.
"I-I don't believe it, absolutely incredible! Number one-hundred twelve is the winner!" the announcer said while staff came in to usher out the creature.
As they took the thing away, Gohan walked off the stage with an innocent grin on his face to meet the adoration of Goku and Krillin.
"Wow Jack, you're almost as fast as me! You weren't trying too hard though right?" Goku waited expectantly for an answer.
Gohan was happy his plan had worked.
Good, now he knows I'm fast but he still thinks I'm not as fast as him.
"Well I was trying pretty hard, he sure was a scary guy wasn't he?"
Goku's smile disappeared. "Yeah, he got really big. I was worried that he was gonna keep growing until you attacked him. Even then, you could have been hurt by those big claws he had."
Gohan was touched by Goku's concern for him. "It's alright, I showed him, huh!"
"Yeah!" Goku answered energetically.
The matches continued for the rest of the day, the crowd thinning minute by minute. By seven pm there was no one left aside from those in the final match. Yamcha had finished his matches hours ago and stood with the boys as they watched this final showdown. On their side of the arena, an old man with silver hair in a black robe stood firmly, and on the opposite side stood a well-defined man that was no older than twenty. As soon as the match began the old man darted across the stage and touched each one of the younger man's pressure points paralyzing him instantly.
"That is the end of this match." the old man stated proudly. "Please take this young man to the infirmary, he's not harmed but he won't be moving for a while."
The mysterious old man leaped from the stage and walked slowly towards the exit.
The announcer ran over to stand in front of the doorway. "Wait, sir! We still have to discuss who'll you'll be fighting tomorrow, it's the main event!"
The old man nearly fell down. "Oh silly me! How could I forget..."
Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Yamcha, and this mysterious old fighter then followed the announcer into the planning room. They saw the giant board detailing the structure of the tournament for the following day.
Gohan saw three other fighters in the room, the first being a dragon-like beast standing in the corner eyeing Goku down, the second was a young but thin Indian man meditating in front of the board and lastly, he saw an eight-foot-tall fat man who wreaked of a mix between burning garbage and his fathers cooking.
"Jeez, what stinks..." Goku said while covering his nose. "I think I'm gonna pass out."
The announcer seemed eager to leave, "Okay everybody, let's get this done quickly. I know no one wants to be here for too long or that stench WILL stick to your clothes."
Traditionally the fighters would draw numbers from a bucket to determine their matches, just as insurance that there was no bias when they were arranged, but the stench was so unbearable the announcer was willing to throw the rules out the window. He had one hand over his nose and held his clipboard tightly with the other.
"The first match will be the fighter known as Krillin against Bacterian" Krillin was mortified, he know he said he didn't want to fight Goku at the tournament but he'd give anything to fight against him instead of the eight-foot-tall trash pile.
"The second match is Gock-u against Giran. The third is Jack versus Na-am. and the last match is the legendary Jackie Chun, his words, not mine... versus Yamcha."
"Thank goodness we got that out of the way. All right, I am going home, I recommend you all do before you have to make a trip to the washers... a-and make sure you get plenty of rest, the day tomorrow will be long and full of excitement." The announcer then sprinted out the door almost heaving up his lunch.
The group was quick to follow him outside and Jackie seemed to tag along as well. Gohan was the only one present who could really sense ki at that time and he noticed Jackie's ki signature was the same as Master Roshi's.
"Uhm, Master Roshi what's with the disguise?"
Roshi glared down at Gohan, his eyes almost begging him to shut up. "I don't know what you're talking about my name is Jackie Chun..."
Suddenly it clicked for Gohan, he now knew that Roshi wanted to keep his identity hidden. "Oh, I'm sorry...you just look a lot like him." Gohan said trying to sound embarrassed.
Yamcha suspiciously said "Yeah, you look almost identical to that old hermit, that beard especially." reaching for Roshi's hair to check if it was a wig.
"Hey! Hands off the merchandise, it took me nearly an hour today to make sure my hair was right for these preliminaries."
"Admit it you're Master Roshi! Who else looks and sounds like that, not to mention how easily you defeated that guy earlier."
Yamcha quickly tugged on Roshi's hair surprised when it didn't give, his theory crumbled and he blushed.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Mister Chun I could have sworn you were this martial arts master named Master Roshi in disguise."
"I know who he is! And what the hell is wrong with you, pulling on an old man's hair like that! I don't even know if this stuff will grow back." The old man rubbed his hair and composed himself. "Ehem, sorry. Sometime's I lose my temper a little. I can understand your confusion but I assure you I am not Master Roshi". They all fell silent for a moment until they heard Goku's stomach rumble.
"Guys, IM STARVING. Can we please go get something to eat?" The perfect timing on Goku's insatiable hunger served as the perfect joke, and everyone there shared a laugh.
Yamcha was the first to catch his breath. "Yeah Goku, let's just go find Bulma and the others, then we'll go find a buffet or something." As everyone turned to go back towards the outside entrance of the Preliminary Grounds Goku looked over his shoulder and saw Jackie Chun heading in a different direction.
"Hey, Mister Chun you seem pretty nice why don't you come join us for dinner."
Roshi turned around to face the boy, happy that Goku would offer a complete stranger a meal. He bent down and put his hand on Goku's shoulder. "Thanks, son, but I've got somewhere else to be. You go enjoy yourself a hot meal, it's well deserved. And be ready for tomorrow, I have a feeling you and I will be going up against each other very, very soon." With that Roshi turned and walked out of sight.
Gohan noticed Goku was trailing behind, he could sense Goku was confused and couldn't stand seeing his father look so conflicted, he fell behind the group to match Goku's walking speed. "What's the matter Goku, are you all right?" he asked.
"Yeah I'm fine, just weirded out because that Jackie Chun guy reminds me a lot of Master Roshi, I mean he even smells like him."
Gohan patted Goku's back, worried that he would discover Chun's true identity, he tried to distract him. "C'mon Goku, I don't think it's too important. What's really important right now is that we go get some dinner. I think tonight I could even out-eat you."
Goku grinned excitedly at Gohans challenge. "I'd like to see you try"