Yamcha rolled his eyes jokingly. "Sure you didn't"
Everyone gritted their teeth as they heard a sudden high pitched screech. They all looked up at a large black speaker suspended above them, wedged in the corner where the ceiling met the walls.
Would both fighters Jackie Chun and Krillin please report to the stage, the match is currently being delayed due to both of your absences.
Gohan saw Roshi and Krillin scurry out of the main hall as fast as their legs could carry them. It amused him to see just how awkward they looked when in a full sprint: One, an old man struggling to keep his fake hair from falling off as he ran. The other, a bald boy with a disproportionately small body, trying to keep the weight from his own head from off-balancing him. Clearly, he wasn't the only one who found it funny because Yamcha and Goku were laughing at them too.
He tried getting up but the headache seemed to intensify with every effort he put into doing so. He didn't want to go through the trouble of asking for the bag of senzu beans from Goku. He thought it was best to minimize the risk of him finding out about them before meeting Korin. He decided there was only one course of action.
"Goku?" He asked.
Goku's laughing subsided and he turned back to see what Gohan needed. Almost instinctively, he knew what he was going to ask. "Yeah? You need help?"
Gohan nodded bashfully.
Goku carefully scooped his arms beneath Gohan and lifted him off the couch, compared to what he'd been carrying back in his training with Master Roshi lifting him took hardly any effort. He could see that Yamcha was eager to get out there considering he hadn't seen a single fight yet. "C'mon Yamcha! Let's go watch!"
Yamcha nodded and began to run ahead. Goku deliberately slowed himself to ask Gohan a question. "Hey, Jack. Who's Mister Piccolo?"
Gohan grew nervous as he tried to come up with an explanation, he fumbled with words and instinctively blurted out, "I don't know".
"Huh, that's funny because you mentioned him going to the look-out, whatever that is, early. You were still waking up from hitting the wall during our match when you talked about him. It sounded like he was a friend of your dad's because you said he trained with you guys."
"Yeah, that all sounds kind of strange..." He could see that his father believed him, but he still cursed himself for being such an awful liar. He could have come up with a million different things to say and yet he chose to go with the basic 'i don't know' spiel, he wondered how he could possibly be so stupid.
Goku eventually made his way outside of the Main Hall still carrying Gohan. He looked around for a good spot to see the match and found a massive hole where he'd usually hop up to watch.
Yamcha laughed. "Well Jack, at least when you smashed into that wall you gave us a pretty good way to watch the fight."
Gohan laughed but winced, he grabbed his head and felt the pain worsen. Goku hadn't thought the quip very funny and continued on like he hadn't heard anything, still feeling a tinge of guilt for the pain he was indirectly causing Gohan now.
The wall was broken down to the first layer of brickwork making it the perfect height to watch the tournament while sitting. Goku laid Gohan down in the grass next to the hole and sat by him, he patted the ground where he thought Yamcha should sit.
He said enthusiastically, "Right here Yamcha, you're much taller than me so you should be able to see great from here!"
"Thanks, Goku, but I think I'll stand. I've been sitting all morning anyway." He jokingly glared at his young friend. "Considering no one told me that you were able to watch the fights."
Goku waved his hand in dismissal, "Yeah but those fights aren't gonna be as fun as the next couple!" He turned to Gohan who seemed to relish the cool grass on his aching head. "Speaking of fights, do you want to sit up and watch Jack?"
Gohan struggled to sit up but the pain magnified as he lifted his head off the ground, prompting him to cease his efforts. "Y-yeah, but I don't think I can get up myself."
"That's okay, I've got you." Goku said assuringly.
Goku lifted him up against his right side, trying to sit him up as straight as possible. He reached around Gohan and propped him against his shoulder, just as added security to stop him from leaning and falling over. Although reluctant at first, Gohan eventually rested his head on Goku because keeping it up straight also worsened the headache. This moment was the happiest he felt since before the Cell Games. Being cuddled by his father and waiting for the fight to begin, it felt reminiscent of what normal fathers did with their sons at baseball games. Of course, he never had the chance to go to one, and his father at this point was twelve years old, but the situations seemed comparable enough.
They both eagerly watched as the announcer took to his stage.
"All right ladies and gentlemen this is the last match before the Grand Finals! In one corner we have the incredibly gifted student of the world-renowned martial artist Master Roshi, Krillin!" He waved happily to the crowd which gave a rowdy cheer for him "And in the other corner we have the amazing Jackie Chun, a man who's shown more skill today than I think I have ever seen in any contestant prior. Let's give them both a hand!" The crowd's cheers grew louder and louder in restless anticipation for what would surely be an amazing match.
Krillin stood in his corner, unnerved by his opponent's previous shows of strength and skill. He tried to think back to the preliminaries, what was it Goku had said to him then?
Show him just how tough you really are! Show him the kind of stuff you're really made of!
Those were it, the words of encouragement he needed right now. He felt his heart slow and his spirit calm, he would try his best to win this fight.
Roshi took notice and was impressed by his ki, he was sure it would feel nervous, perhaps even excited, but he only felt its peaceful calmness. "Good job Krillin. Such intense focus isn't easily attained. Let's see what the great turtle hermit taught you!"
The announcer raised the microphone to his mouth and energetically said "You may begin!"
"Ready or not, here I come!" Krillin yelled as he ran wildly towards Roshi. He opened with just a couple of punches that Roshi easily dodged and continued with fast powerful kicks. Krillin's speed had surprised the old man, who seemed so sure that his student's abilities were far below the fighter he faced now. He flipped backward to avoid Krillins lightning-fast strikes but Krillin didn't let up, he continued with more speedy punches, one of which would have hit Roshi if he didn't grab it first.
Goku watched the fight progress and midway through something urged him to stand, he felt like something was about to happen, he felt like some pivotal point in the match was about to transpire and it required his presence. He lowered Gohan down gently on the grass being careful to lay his head last.
"Hold on Jack. I'll be back in just a second."
Gohan was confused at what his father was planning as he saw him run to his right and lay on top of the wall. He focused back in on the fight just as the 'mysterious' Jackie Chun spoke to Krillin.
"Not bad kid there's some real power behind those punches. But, let's check your speed."
The old man arched his back and raised his arms, dropping his hands at the wrist. He struck so fast Krillin hadn't had time to react, he was smacked backward into the perimeter wall that still contained part of the stage's floor. He slid down it landing on his rear, he rested there completely flabbergasted. "T-that hit... I didn't even see it"
Goku could see just how disoriented Krillin was, he decided a little friendly advice was necessary. "Hey, Krillin get up! Look he's fast-"
He looked over to see Goku leaning over the perimeter wall, he promptly interrupted. "Uh, yeah!"
"So what? You are too. Besides, I could see his attack and you can too, you've had the same training as me. You just missed that one."
Krillin let out a contemplative 'huh' and ran back over to face his opponent.
Goku hopped off the wall and sat back down with Gohan, propping him up again so he could see. Gohan was astounded, at his age he knew Goku couldn't sense much of anything.
"Goku?" he asked.
Goku took his eyes off the match to face Gohan. "Yeah?"
"How did you know that would happen?" Gohan asked confusedly.
Goku scratched his head "I dunno'...I guess I just saw it coming."
Gohan hid his confusion in an attempt to deter any more interest Goku might have in his question; he looked back at the stage just as Goku did. They saw both Roshi and Krillin charge at each other with incredible speed, both landing on opposite ends of the stage. Krillin was crouched with his hands stretched far out to his sides but his pose broke as he collapsed onto the floor.
Roshi looked over at the announcer who was still processing the impossible speed shown by both during their unseeable face-off. He confidently stated "This is where you begin counting"
The announcer looked back in agreement. "Oh, o-of course"
"1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9-"
Krillin slowly got back up, rolling his head around an audible crack and crunch could be heard.
Roshi was wide-eyed and in disbelief, it was beyond incredible that Krillin was able to move let alone stand after such a devastating attack. He readied himself for another round, frustrated that Krillin seemed to catch a second wind after what should have been a finishing blow. But, before they could continue the announcer stepped in and requested a halt to the match.
"I'm sorry for intervening gentlemen but I think we would all like to know what happened in the split second where you two ran at each other. I uh, don't think anyone caught it."
Roshi happily responded, "Sure, after all, you should know what you're paying to see." He and Krillin then explained all the little details that took place in that half of a second they were fighting. With pinpoint accuracy, they described their brutal confrontation. The story grew so intricate with the many details that the announcer had to take notes on his clipboard just to get an accurate timeline.
Krillin, attempting to conclude the ever-lengthening presentation, pointed to where his disguised master had hit him. "I landed right there but I couldn't keep it together, so I passed out."
The man shifted his glasses "Umm, yes...we did see that part. And all of this happened in that short of a time span?"
Both Roshi and Krillin nodded.
He lowered his clipboard and shifted the microphone back towards his face. "How absolutely incredible! These fighters really are something special, aren't they!? All that in just a split second? I can hardly believe it, but I'm sure these fighters are telling the truth! And I am absolutely certain that this is a match for the ages!" He then lowered the microphone to apologize. "Sorry for interrupting your fight gentlemen, please continue."
They both got into their fighting stances and Krillin prepared his secret weapon, he felt bad really, knowing that what he was about to do was completely underhanded and would destroy his opponent entirely. He smirked and quickly threw a pair of woman's underwear out onto the field. Instinctively the turtle hermit lunged for them only to be met with a furious kick that sent him flying from the ring and outside of the tournament grounds.
As he flew through the air and over the city he exclaimed, "I've been had!"
He saw that he was quickly falling to the streets beneath him and decided he had to use his signature move to propel him back to the stage.
"Ka-me-ha-me-ha!" He said and the beam pushed him in the opposite direction right back into the tournament grounds. As he flew over the stage he stopped the beam and landed gently in front of now the scared-stiff Krillin.
Yamcha was amazed as he saw the old man's blast dissipate and quickly, his suspicions surrounding Chun's identity rose to the surface again
See I knew something wasn't right. There's no way any old man appears at the World Martial Arts Tournament, looks and behaves so similarly to Master Roshi, and knows the kamehameha! Not to mention that I haven't seen that old man all day, he wasn't with Bulma, Puar, and Oolong in the audience which means Chun must be Roshi!
The tired master stroked his beard. "Clever and very resourceful Krillin. You took advantage of your opponent's weakness and used it against him. Good job."
Krillin looked over at Goku and Gohan. "Well, what am I gonna do now!?"
Goku replied from the sideline, "Beat him!"
Krillin shook his head. "Gee thanks..."
Roshi took this distraction as an opportunity to end the fight in style. He disappeared from Krillin's vision and reappeared behind him, swooping both arms down he chopped at the sides of the boy's neck knocking him out instantly. He held up a peace sign as the audience cheered wildly for their new elderly finalist.
"Thank you! I'll leave my phone number posted on the board outside of the tournament grounds, ladies only please!" He waved as he picked the boy up and carried him offstage and back into the main hall.
The announcer took this time to address the audience. "All right everyone! Are you having a great time? I think this has been the most exciting tournament in years! We will continue with the final match in just thirty minutes, please take this time to refill your confectionaries at the many tournament vendors or use the restroom. You won't want to miss any of this exciting battle between the amazing Jackie Chun and the incredible Goku!"
Gohan shifted his gaze away from the stage to see his father's excited face.
"You excited Goku?"
"Yeah ever since I got here I've been eager to fight mister Chun, I know he says he's a lot weaker than Master Roshi but that kamehameha says otherwise. I think he's been holding back and I'm excited to see just how I measure up." His glance shifted towards the Main Hall. "But before then I think we should check on Krillin."
Gohan was surprised at the complexity of his answer. Up until that point, he'd heard compassion and care from his twelve-year-old father but never any kind of critical analysis. He felt confident in his belief that his father really was a genius, it just had to be in something he loved like fighting... or eating.
Goku laid Gohan back down to stand up and stretch, then carefully picked him back up and carried him inside where Roshi had brought Krillin. As he entered the temple Yamcha was already in there questioning 'Jackie Chun'.
"So" he motioned his fingers " 'Jackie Chun'. How do you explain the kamehameha wave you just pulled off back there. I've only seen two people pull that move off: Master Roshi, and Goku and you definitely don't look like a kid with a tail."
"This again? Don't you get it I'm not Master Roshi! I'm Jackie Chun. Look I've got hair see" He tugged with as little effort as possible hoping that the glue holding his hair in place wouldn't give.
"So what? I bet you are Master Roshi and have had hair the whole time, you were just covering it up with a bald cap."
Roshi screamed, "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
Goku ignored the rest of the conversation as he laid Gohan onto a couch next to Krillin's.
Goku caringly asked, "You comfy?"
"Yeah, thanks a lot Goku. I'm sorry you've had to carry me around so much, it's just really hard to move without my head hurting."
"Well, it is my fault your head hurts to begin with... Oh! Hey, I've got an idea." He reached around his waist and untied the pouch that had been sitting there since Gohans fight with Nam. "It's the stuff you gave me that helps when your hurt. I didn't open it because I was worried if I did it would all spill out. The number of times I dropped the fishing bag on trips with grampa taught me I'm no good with bags." He carefully placed the pouch in Gohan's left hand. "Hey, Jack if this stuff works you will come watch my match with mister Chun right?"
Gohan responded "Of course I will. You don't think I'd rather be here on this old couch do ya?"
Goku smiled as he tried to be witty. "Well, they are really nice" Their conversation was interrupted by the stirrings of their bald mutual friend.
"Man, my neck is stiff." Krillin turned his head towards the two hearing many small crunches as he did so. "Oh hey Goku, thanks for the advice by the way 'just beat him', really helpful."
Goku turned to look at Krillin, he chuckled "Yeah I guess I didn't know what to say."
The screech made an unwelcome return, causing everyone to cup their ears.
The final match is set to begin in five minutes, would Goku and Jackie Chun please make their way to the stage.
"Okay guys I guess I better go. Hope you two feel better. Wish me luck!" He walked over to Roshi and Yamcha who were verbally running in circles. He could feel his adrenaline begin pumping as the fight drew nearer. "Mister Chun the announcer said that we should head onto the stage". Goku could tell he wasn't listening, he listened as 'Chun' and Yamcha screamed at each other
"My kamehameha is far different than Roshi's it requires an aerobic warmup and it's far more elegant, although sadly not as powerful."
"Then how did you learn it? It doesn't make any sense how you would know such a technique unless you trained with or are Master Roshi."
Goku raised his voice to try and get their attention "MISTER CHUN WE HAVE TO GO! THE MATCH STARTS SOON!"
The old man turned from his conversation, thankful to have Goku as an escape. "Oh yes of course." He nodded with a sly smirk at the furious ex-bandit, "Yamcha." The two walked slowly out of the temple.
"You've made it quite far for being just a twelve-year-old boy, but I beat your friend quite easily and you said he had the same training as you right?" Roshi asked Goku.
"Right." he responded.
"So what make's you so confident walking into this fight"
"I think Krillin may have not been feeling well."
"Why's that?" Roshi asked.
"Well, he couldn't see your punches. I mean they were fast but I could still see them just fine."
Roshi sweat a little, knowing that ever since he met Goku he always managed to defy expectations. He knew the boy had no concept of bluffing so he took every word at its face value.
"Well then, this match will be a test of both our skills. Let's see how much you have really learned."
The two walked out in front of the roaring crowd, the sun had begun to set and the hot day began to cool. The tired fans seemed to rejuvenate in both the colder temperature and the golden glow that occurs near a day's end. Bulma, Puar, and Oolong cheered for their strange, messy-haired friend who walked to his corner.
Gohan could feel the excitement in the air and heard the cheers and the hollers of the crowd. Krillin had already waddled his way out of the building over to Yamcha, right by the crumbled wall that now served as a front-row seat to the fight. Since he was alone he quickly popped half a senzu in his mouth, which was more than enough to kill any headache, and walked out to sit down with Krillin and Yamcha. He could see Goku's look of complete focus, the same look he wore whenever anything was serious.
He saw it as his father laid beaten and bloody screaming for him to run as Raditz approached him. He saw it as his father snapped Nappa's spine after he charged at him and Krillin. He saw it as his father nodded for Piccolo, Krillin, and himself to leave as he charged at Frieza. He even saw it in his father's final moments, as he cleared his mind to focus on the instant transmission. Seeing it now was otherworldly, his father had always told him stories of his fight with the 'great Jackie Chun' but he hadn't realized just what this fight meant. This fight solidified his father's need to train hard and his love of bettering himself. This fight was where his father learned that there is always someone stronger than him.
Try your best dad. I want to see just how incredible you were before you became the most powerful warrior this world's ever seen.
He looked in as the announcer stepped onto the edge of the stage, keeping the microphone close with his left, he raised his right arm and swiftly dropped it in a chopping motion.
"Gentlemen! Let the match begin!"
Roshi quickly ran across the stage closing the large gap between the two. Goku quickly leaped at least fifty feet into the air quickly followed by Chun who jumped at an angle in an attempt to intersect Goku. As he was falling he heard the whistle of the wind as Chun swiftly kicked his back, the pain wasn't too bad but he noticed he was being kicked far out of the arena bounds.
Master Roshi was already back on the ground and stood confident in his victory "Foolish boy if I've told him once I've told him a thousand times, never let your guard down. If he'd just remembered that he might not have lost so quickly."
The announcer seemed to believe the fight was over as well "It would seem Jackie Chun has done it again". Just as he said that the crowd grew silent as they could see a little boy flying closer and closer to the arena. "Hold on folks, someone is... floating in the air!" he lowered his voice "quick somebody get the binoculars." He raised them to his face and couldn't believe what he saw. "This...this is amazing! Goku is flying above the stage by the use of his tail! He's spinning it around like a helicopter! Is there no end to this youngster's resourcefulness!"
Gohan looked in amazedly along with Krillin and Yamcha
I didn't know our tails could do that!
He landed gently in front of his jaw-dropped master. "Hello again!"
Roshi stuttered "Wha-why-You were out! That tail's all that saved you!"
"Not really I could have flown back using a kamehameha wave like you did, but I thought I'd save that for later. Doing one of those always makes me tired...and hungry."
He cleared his throat "You arrogant boy. Would you be so sure of your kamehameha wave that you would try one against me? The man who invented them."
"But you didn't, Master Roshi did."
Roshi nearly collapsed then and there "Oh of course, how silly of me. I just admire the man a lot." He stood straight and grew eerily serious. "Now, you wager you can handle a real kamehameha."
"I betcha' I can, except for the 'wager' part I don't know what that means."
They both charged their kamehamehas simultaneously.
Roshi released first "HA!"
Goku responded just as fast "HA!"
The resulting blast was so bright it blinded even the announcer who always wore his shades during the tournament.
They both were thrown back an equal distance from each other but Roshi seemed significantly more tired than Goku.
"Why I never..."
Goku laughed and gave a cheeky grin over to Chun. "See I told you I could do it."
The announcer interrupted "Ladies and gentlemen take note of this day. You have seen two legendary masters of the kamehameha wave technique. A technique, that up until today, I believed only Master Roshi could perform. And these two just did it in the same match! How incredible is that!?"
Roshi gathered his nerve.
Goku is truly amazing but no matter this move will be sure to end this fight.
Master Roshi disappeared leaving an afterimage in his wake punching Goku into the nearby arena wall crumbling it and encasing Goku in concrete. The arena died down for just a moment until they saw the rubble lift as Goku stood back up. Master Roshi was in awe.
"How do you do it!?"
Goku was powdered from head to toe in brick dust but seemed extremely energetic despite just being thrown into a wall. "All right now it's my turn!"
Goku then disappeared using an afterimage as well, except he used two; one in front, and one to the left of his elderly opponent. It was enough to trick the old man into punching the second image allowing Goku to slam his fist onto the top of his head. Roshi did fall but quickly got back up now brandishing a new bump on his head.
Goku stood in his traditional fighting form, prepared for what he assumed to be another brawling match except he saw Chun begin to stagger all around him. The old man seemed to dance across the stage disorientedly, letting out burps and motioning that he was drinking a beer with his thumb and pinky extended as he poured the imaginary drink into his mouth.
"Mister Chun are you okay?" He thought back to how injured Gohan had been after he hit him. He actually reached to touch Jackies arm until he felt a punch break his worry.
"Ow! Whad'ya do that for!"
He saw as the old man continued to stumble around with rose-colored cheeks, punching him. Unsure of how to counter Goku continued to take hits.
Yamcha cupped his mouth and yelled "Goku! He's pretending he's tipsy. He's using the drunken boxer technique" His warning fell on deaf ears as Goku didn't know what tipsy or drunk even meant. After the continuous beatings, Goku ran to the edge of the stage. Gohan looked as his father seemed to tremble a little bit, it actually almost looked like he was crying. This disturbed him because his energy felt joyful, he felt relieved as his father crouched down and made noises like a monkey, running up and down the stage on all fours seeming to easily counter any move Roshi made against him.
Phew, I knew you weren't crying dad, you always have a plan.
"Crazy monkey technique!" He screamed as he used his tail to trip the old man who was not amused by his new strategy.
Roshi drew back as Goku stood in front of him, they had both dropped the charade, becoming still as they watched each otherother. Slowly, Roshi began to move his hands in a circular motion, seemingly coaxing the boy into relaxing from his fighting pose
"Ah, you feel sleepy now? Yes, yes you feel sleepy, so sleepy. You are the most tired you have ever been, so, SLEEP!"
Goku collapsed causing the crowd to gasp at what appeared to be some sort of hypnotism.
Finally, this match is over, thank goodness, he actually had me worried there for a minute. You certainly were the toughest challenge I've had in a long time Goku but now it's over, rest easy.
He yelled over to the young man holding the microphone "I believe you should start counting."
Gohan looked over convinced this wasn't the end of the fight. There was no way Goku could be beaten by something as simple as hypnosis. The way his father always told the story was that their battle ended in one final charge and that Chun had beaten him in it. He cleared his mind hoping to think of something that would break this spell.
"Goku! Your dinners ready!"
Gohan looked over at Bulma in the stands and back to Goku who seemingly rose from the dead. Leave it to her to be the smartest person in the room, coming up with the best ideas in the direst of situations.
"Dinner? Where?"
Bulma cheered him on. "Goku! Beat that old geezer up and we'll buy you the biggest dinner you've ever seen!"
Goku smiled and his tail wagged the fastest it ever has. "Really!? Well, I guess I'll just have to make this quick. I'm super hungry."
Roshi stood silent deep in thought, he had used every technique he had to beat Goku except for one, it was cruel and extremely painful but he had no choice.
"I'm sorry Goku. You've lost this fight, please surrender now or else I will have to use the only technique I haven't. I've used it only once before and it was on your grandfather, Gohan. I had met him while he was training with Master Roshi and he was so skilled he forced me to go to new lengths to beat him."
"Nah, that's okay. I want to see what kind of move you used on him and see if I can beat it."
Roshi shook his head as he clasped his hand together near his chest "Foolish boy, I warned you and you didn't listen, I'm sorry for what's to come." He gathered his energy until electricity circled his hands and rippled around his body. He released the attack lifting Goku into the sky continuously shocking him as he was trapped there.
Goku tried to break free, attempting to shake the invisible shackles loose that held him displaced above the ground.
"Surrender! Now!" Roshi's plea was met by Goku sticking his tongue out despite being in immense pain.
Bulma couldn't bear to watch the little boy she went on the greatest adventure of her life with scream in pain. "Goku, please! Give up!"
Goku, through the pain and shock, managed out "Nuh-uh!"
Gohan could hear his father's shrieks of pain from the sidelines, he could never forget the sound. They sounded higher pitched and much younger but still strikingly similar to how his adult father screamed. Krillin was concerned but he saw the sheer dread on Gohan's face as the tears made their way down it, he could tell Gohan was reaching a breaking point.
"JACKIE! STOP IT! PLEASE!" Gohan sobbed, tightly gripping the bricks beneath his hands which crumbled to dust before his strength. He watched helplessly from the sidelines just as he did anytime he went to sleep, watching Cell break his father as Roshi was doing now.
Suddenly he felt something change, he felt his father's ki shift from resilient to angry. He looked up in the sky noticing that as the sun was setting the full moon was rising, he felt more anxious about the events that were soon to follow.
Goku couldn't see anything, everything went dark. All he could clearly feel was his heartbeat rapidly. He felt the pain in every pump of blood, every ounce of adrenaline seemed like venom coursing through his veins. He felt himself grow restless yet incredibly tired, more so than ever before. He decided not to resist and gave into sleeps tempting proposal.
Everyone watched as the little boy they saw just moments earlier, break free from Chun's attack, now five stories tall and covered with fur.
Roshi was surprised, he never thought the stories his student told him about the child he found were true.
Well, Gohan, it looks like you were right about one thing: Your boy is extraordinary and certainly is out of this world. Looks like I'll have to do something drastic.
As Goku tore the roof off of the Main Hall Roshi tore off his shirt and gained massive amounts of muscle from thin air. He prepared the most powerful attack he could.
Yamcha looked horrified, he began to run out onto the field.
"Wait! You don't have to kill him!"
He was already too late. Roshi had already fired the largest kamehameha anyone had seen up until that point. Gohan sat on the sidelines not particularly worried because he sensed that Roshi wasn't aiming for his father, he was aiming for the moon.
When the dust settled and visions cleared after the blinding blast, everyone looked to see where the little boy Goku was. The crowd, although absolutely terrified of the giant beast, sat in their seats throughout the entire engagement because they assumed it was a part of the show. They looked around to where they had last seen the giant monkey only to see a pile of rubble sitting on the inner bounds of the stage. Yamcha was quickly removed from the field because the staff were still treating this as an actual tournament, he screamed over at Chun.
"You bastard! You dumb, stupid bastard! You killed him didn't you?!"
Krillin grabbed onto Gohan still looking over at the stage "You don't think he-he's...".
"No Krillin, look." He pointed up into the sky at where the moon should have been "see?"
Krillin's mind cleared and hope returned "You mean?"
The whole arena erupted as they saw Goku lift himself up from the rubble
"Oh man...What did I miss guys? Did I lose? I got really tired again."
Roshi looked frustratedly at his now nude student "No Goku, you didn't lose but please get some clothes on!"
Goku looked down surprised that his gi was missing. "Huh, my clothes must have ran away while I was sleeping. How strange."
Krillin smacked his own forehead "I swear I have to do everything myself" He changed quickly back into his monk uniform, which he carried with him for after the tournament, and brought his gi over to Goku, luckily they wore a similar size, though it was a little tight.
"Thanks Krillin!"
The announcer stood by as Goku got himself in order, he walked up on stage concerned that a little boy just got up from being smashed under at least fifty tons of rubble
"Uh kid, you sure you want to continue considering what just happened."
Goku looked confusedly up at the man "Yeah sure. Why not?"
The man shifted his glasses "Oh, no reason." He cleared himself from the arena. "Well, folks I guess the tournament continues. Let the match resume!"
They both were tired, Roshi had exhausted all of his energy in that kamehameha wave and Goku used up all of his energy transforming into the Oozaru. It was a brawl, each hit more brutal than the last. Goku swung with all of his might at Roshi's stomach unable to gather the energy to try and jump to hit his head. Roshi kicked Goku's sides continuously causing massive bruises to form on the boy's sides. Eventually, they stopped and slowly backed away from each other. Knowing that neither of them had any energy left Roshi spoke up.
"How about one final charge Goku?"
Goku's response sounded full of vigor but the boy's exhausted breathing said otherwise. "Fine by me!"
The two ran at each other and both went for a kick. Both landed with incredible force but Goku's didn't reach as deep as Roshi's did due to his short stature. They both laid flat on the pavement prompting a response from the announcer.
"This is unprecedented! According to the rules, whoever can stand up first is the winner!"
He began his count, Goku quickly gained consciousness and began to stand up, he tried with every remaining ounce of strength he had to stand eventually making his way to his feet. He started his proclamation.
"I am th...the champ-" Goku stopped short as he fell back to the floor. Roshi looked relieved, he started his climb back up to his feet managing it by pushing up off of one knee. He stood up feeling his back crack as he straightened it.
"I'm the World Champion!" He switched between many different poses repeating the phrase. "I did it! I am the World Champion"
He stopped his posing as Goku sat up, pushing himself off the concrete using his arms.
"Did...Did I do it mister Jackie? Did I win?"
"No son you didn't." There was a moment of silence while Goku took in his loss.
"Aw darn, I really tried" He sighed and looked off into the distance as the sun's light finally disappeared from the stage.
The announcer lifted the old man's bruised arm into the air "Let's hear it for our World Champion and the winner of the five hundred thousand zeni grand prize!" The cheers of the crowd made the win a little easier on the conscience of the master who still felt rather regretful using that cruel technique on a little boy. His thoughts were disrupted by Goku who seemed much happier than just a moment ago.
"You are really strong Mister Chun. I'm going to train every day until I get as strong as you. Then will you fight me again?"
Roshi sweat a little "Oh, uh, yes of course!"
The small boy grabbed his hand and shook it violently, so much so Roshi thought it would pop out of its socket.
Goku eventually released and happily ran off stage towards Gohan and the others.
"Yay!".
The tournament came to a close and Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, and Gohan finally met up with Bulma, Puar and Oolong. Bulma gazed over at Gohan, surprised by how eerily similar he looked to Goku.
"Goku who's this?" She jokingly asked, using her question as a segway to an introduction. "I've never met him before. Is he your brother or something? You better not have left him at home all alone while we went searching for the dragon balls!"
"No he's my friend Jack but everybody keeps saying we look alike."
Bulma smiled and extended her hand. "It's very nice to meet you." Gohan felt everyone in the group stare as they waited for him to shake her hand. His cheeks grew red as he reluctantly did so.
"It's nice to meet you too, Bulma."
"Leave it to you Goku to always find the weirdest and most handsome friends." She looked over at Yamcha who laughed as she grabbed him. Her reunion with her wounded warrior was interrupted by Goku's rumbling stomach which was louder than most of her motorcycles.
"Guys I've gotta eat something soon or I think I might die! Can we please go find some food, please?"
To everyone's surprise, Roshi appeared from the tournament grounds entrance. "Well of course we can Goku, you all fought well today and deserve a hot meal for your efforts."
Yamcha raised one of his eyebrows and accusingly asked, "And just where have you been all this time Master Roshi?"
The old man's response was as simple as he could make it "Well after buying you some of these lovely mugs from the gift shop I was mainly stuck in line for the bathroom. I did get to see Goku face off against that Jackie Chan, his kamehameha wasn't too good but Gokus was fantastic. Amazing effort you little monkey."
"Thanks Master Roshi but his name was Jackie Chun."
"Meh, whatever. All I really care about is getting some food, most of that tournament stuff really upset my insides. Bleugh"
They all walked to one of the most renowned buffets in town. Master Roshi wasn't worried about costs because he knew all he would buy with the winnings were more cassette tapes of aerobics classes which were dirt cheap.
They were brought in by a friendly waiter to the largest table in the house. Goku eagerly set next to Gohan, who he could see felt much better than earlier.
He smiled as he watched Gohan put his napkin on his lap. "How's your head feeling Jack?"
Gohan smiled back "Feels great Goku." He lifted the side of Goku's shirt to see the deep dark blue bruises that had appeared. "How are your sides?"
"I'll be fine. Even better after we get our food."
After the initial first course, the restaurant had to ramp up production as they noticed Roshi's table needed plenty more. Different dishes of many nationalities greeted the hungry customers. Spaghetti, hamburgers, ramen, rice, fish, crab legs, tons of different sandwiches, steaks, pork, at one point they even brought out a massive cooked squid.
Bulma had stopped after her second plate, she kept count of Gokus and Gohans; noticing the purple-clothed stranger stop after thirty-nine. She heard an audible sigh of content from Goku.
"I sure was hungry!"
Even Gohan was surprised at how high the stack of plates was, it towered over everyone making him worry a little bit as he saw it wobble.
"He just ate fifty-seven full course meals. Jack had trouble putting away forty."
Yamcha turned to Bulma "Really? I lost count way before forty."
Roshi who was deeply worried about his purse at this point tried to stop the boy as he saw him motion for the waiter. "Goku I think you have had enough for one day."
"Yeah, I guess I should save room for dessert huh?" he asked.