The Announcer walked in front of the roaring crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen! I thank you all for gathering today for this momentous occasion! We will soon begin the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai! The crowd's cheers reached their crescendo, with the announcer basking in their excitement before speaking again. "As I'm sure you've witnessed, we've made many state-of-the-art changes to the tournament ring! Alongside the size of the ring and its material, we've instated powerful defenses for the crowds! 20 cm thick Plexiglass shields, clear as day for your viewing pleasure! Due to the high expectations of the fights we'll be expecting, we have no less than 4 helicopters, equipped with several high definition cameras, running at 1/1000th shutter speed so that we can catch every single bit of battle!"
In the crowds, some familiar faces stood and sat.
"Hmmph, back in my day we didn't need such trivialities." Roshi looked down at the tournament grounds.
"Back in your day, did everyone you know contain the ability to blow up the planet?" Oolong replied dryly. The talking pig was in the middle of finishing off the last of a banana split.
"Hey, don't bicker you two! We're here to support Son Kun and the rest!" Bulma pointed at her chest, "besides if it wasn't for my family and the Tsukimi organization, we might have not even had this tournament! It should prove to be super interesting seeing them compete after the delay from the last tournament."
"Well, some of the fighters were targeted by the Demon King's forces." A human-fox person, Strazza, took a sip from her drink. "It would make sense that they'd want to delay things for a bit while everything slows down and rebuilds. An entire island nation was just about destroyed last time around, and the effects left much of the world in economic trouble. The Grood Kingdom was the largest importer of food after all."
"A real warrior should fight, no matter the risks." A gravely voiced Warrick grumbled in annoyance.
"A real warrior would have entered the competition," Dealla smirked at her brother. "Why aren't you down there?"
He flinched and looked away from the other's scrutinizing gazes. "W-well… as Muten Roshi chose to rest this time around, I thought it would be untoward of me to dishonor the elderly…"
Roshi glared at the werewolf. "Tough talk from a bastard only 50 years younger than me."
"Pft, stupid old men." Dealla laughed.
"Tough talk coming from a woman who just had her one hu-" Warrick paused, flinching in fear as Dealla glared at him.
"Wanna continue?" She whispered.
"No ma'am."
"Good boy."
The group's attention turned to the announcer once more.
"ONE MORE THING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! DUE TO THE HIGH INFLUX OF PARTICIPANTS, WE'LL BE HAVING FIGHTS GO ON CONCURRENTLY, LIVE BROADCAST BOTH TO THE FELLOWS HERE AND TO THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD!"
He bowed as a massive screen appeared behind him, showing 32 slots, representing the winners of the preliminary matchups.
"Interesting." Roshi mused, "they would normally only display the top 8 finalists, and not broadcast this far back in the competition."
"They probably had a great number of fighters this time around." Warrick motioned to the crowd. "People are more aware of the power of martial artists now you know? And more people are martial artists, you hear about it on the news, and on TV." He looked at Hercule, "your student has been making a name for himself with his school. Many of his students entered the tournament as well."
Roshi grumbled. "Too many people learning martial arts isn't a good thing if they lose sight of what is most important for a martial artist."
Bulma quipped, "what's most important for a martial artist, being a pervert like you?"
"I'm not a pervert! I'm a connoisseur of the finer things." Roshi fluffed his jacket in indignation.
Their bickering was overpowered by the cheers of the crowds as the 32 fighters stood, these men and women passed the preliminaries and would fight to prove themselves as the strongest man or woman on the planet.
They proceeded as followed.
Goku
Chi-Chi
Tien
Hercule
Krillin
PaoPao
Agent Argent
Hercule
Jazz,
Yamcha
Launch
Chiaotzu
Panput
Agent Azule
Shen
Tao Pai Pai
Ma-Junior
Chopsticks
Mrs. Morada
King Chappa
Tsururin
Tsun
Jimmy Firecracker
Caroni
Pirozhki
Ms. Pizza
Mei Lin
Talia
King Chappa
Shula
Lazuli
Lapis
"Oof…" Jazz muttered, he was standing between Hercule and Yamcha. "Mei Lin is here?"
Yamcha shook his head, "she must have a death wish."
"I wouldn't say that." Jazz said, "she was surprisingly powerful when we saw her, I'm not saying she could beat any of you in a straight-on fight, I certainly can't feel that level of power, but…" He narrowed his eyes, "she's certainly giving off the feeling of really powerful magic."
"So we'll need to watch out for her." Yamcha chuckled, "and here I thought we'd only have trouble with the Jiang-Shi." Before they could continue, the announcer shouted again, voice reverberating from the strength of his microphone.
"AND NOW! IF THE FIGHTERS CAN RETURN TO THE STANDS, WE WILL BEGIN WITH 2 FIGHTS CONCURRENTLY!"
Jazz and the others looked up on screen to see the two who would be fighting first.
Goku vs. Shula
ChiChi vs. King Chappa
"Looks like we'll be starting things off with a bang! Back to back! Two runner-ups, each facing a previous champion and a newcomer respectively!"
Jazz looked at Shula with interest. It was his first time seeing this man, though he professed to himself that he did not watch enough of the original dragon ball anime to fairly make a judgment on whether or not some character appeared in the anime filler, games, or movies. Shula was a tall humanoid with elf-like ears, bluish eyeshadow, and pinkish-purple skin. He had long black hair that trailed down his shoulders and wore a mesh shirt and half-gi jacket. His pants were dark blue and he had steel-toed leather boots with spike designs. The most unique feature of the man was the w-like tattoo on his forehead. The marking was reminiscent of a stylized depiction of a trident's three-pronged head.
"As the only newcomer here, I'd like to ask you, Mr. Shula, what brings you to the tournament?" The announcer asked.
"Glad you asked!" Shula grabbed the mike, "I wish to prove the superiority of my people. I heard that years ago some bastard claiming to be the demon king destroyed a country. That man is nothing but a fraud and I've come to the tournament to prove it!" He turned to Goku, smirking, "And to settle an old score." He pointed at Goku. "You might not remember me now that you're all grown up, but you fought against me, even after using your golden eyes, it wasn't until you blinded me with your Kamehameha that you were capable of defeating me and fleeing." He smirked, "I can tell you've gotten better, maybe this time around we'll have a real fight, since…" he pointed at the sky, "you won't be able to just blind me this time around."
Goku grinned, "I remember you, Shula!" He shouted back, "I hope you give me a fantastic match!" The two combatants leaped over to the arena floor and got into fighting stances.
Chi-Chi giggled lightly, turning to look at King Chappa. She bowed lightly. "Hello sir, I wish for the two of us to have a fun match."
King Chappa smiled ruefully. "I should be the one saying that, I hope to receive your enlightenment." Surprising Jazz, the man flew up in the air and made his way over to his and Chi-Chi's designated fighting zone.
Yamcha laughed, "the guy went over to Master Roshi, asking to relearn the basics. And he's honestly a pretty scary genius." Yamcha grinned, "I would have loved to have fought him."
Jazz looked on with intrigue. "Well, wow…" He folded his arms. "Well, we'll have some fun fights then."
…
Goku looked at Shula. The demon race combatant strafed around him, eying him evilly and walking with the gait of a predator. Goku was surprised to find that he couldn't feel Shula's ki. This made things difficult, without knowing the strength of Shula, if he went too far he could seriously harm the warrior. In the same vein if he held back it could be disastrous. Goku decided the best choice was to wait for the man to make the first strike. After what seemed like an eternity, the two warriors stopped simply looking at each other as Shula disappeared and reappeared at Goku's left. The air cracked at the speed and force of the attack, with the crowd doing double takes as they saw Shula essentially teleport whilst Goku somehow kept up with the blitz. Shula's impassive gaze changed into a sharp grin mirrored by Goku. It only took 3 more seconds before their fight continued.
Goku started with a sweeping kick. Shula short-hopped over the attack, retaliating with a kick of his own, aiming for Goku's face. The tailed young man leaned back, allowing the kick to sail harmlessly past his nose, while still in this position he leaped to the edge of the arena. Shula chased after, body beginning to radiate ki. As it did, Jazz and the others who could sense ki began to look at the demon with appraising eyes. Shula was definitely both powerful and skilled.
Jazz looked to the other end of the pavilion, observing the fight between Chi-Chi and King Chappa. From what he could observe, it was a much more subdued affair. As strong as King Chappa was already, and as much as he was able to improve in the three years since the last tournament, Chi-Chi was obviously the better of the two. He struck from multiple angles, moved to maneuver to her blind side constantly, and struck in unorthodox ways that took advantage of his 8 arms technique. Chi-Chi seemed to move with relaxed ease as she countered his blows with simple sweeping movements, the same swipe that blocked a punch knocked back a kick for example.
"It looks like our former champion's completely dancing to Chi-Chi's tune! Will he be able to turn it around?" The announcer shouted from the side. The crowd following their fight cheered loudly, matching the fervor of the group watching Goku and Shula's fight.
King Chappa gave off a wry smile. "I see you are taking it easy on me." He sighed, "I can understand why. As a martial artist, I was surpassed long ago." He grins, "this is to be my last tournament. And I am honored to have faced a warrior such as yourself, Princess Ox…" He moved his hands into his most iconic pose. "Please, regardless of my weakness, go all out!" His hands became a blur before seeming to morph into dozens upon dozens of hands and arms, all moving independently."
"Could it be?" The announcer began, "King Chappa's legendary 8 arms technique! It… it has evolved somehow?"
King Chappa's musculature became slightly more defined as the ground cracked slightly beneath his feet. He charged forward, radiating a powerful aura. "Thousand arms technique!" Chi-Chi stopped smiling. She turned to her side and pressed her arm against her side and crouched slightly, taking a fencer's stance. Like a fencer, her body was coiled like a spring, and in a sudden movement extended out, the air popping as she thrust forward. The force of her punch popped the air around her as she combined her ki and the air pressure to launch a powerful, focused Kiai thrust. The pressure of the attack proved too much for King Chappa, launching him from the arena as his technique clashed with Chi-Chi's.
"IT'S BEEN DECIDED! WITH KING CHAPPA OUT OF THE RING! CHI-CHI IS THE WINNER!"
…
Shula had not taken his eyes off his combat with Goku. Goku seemed to be on the back foot, fighting defensively most of the time as a strike broke past his guard here and there. Without turning to look at the other fight, the warrior smirked. "That woman is quite skilled, is she not?"
Goku smiled brightly, "yes she is! Chi-Chi is really strong!" He and Shula continued to trade blows. Eventually, Shula's eyes began to gleam as he shouted, launching a Kiai of his own, and sending Goku flying back. Goku used the distance created between the two of them to charge up his ki. A powerful yellow beam appeared in the palm of Goku's hand, bathing the arena in light. Ripples of ki began to form around Shula's arm as he charged forward. "Haaah!" Goku shouted, launching the ball of ki forward.
The ripples shaped into rings of energy around Shula's arm. "Demon Spiral FIst!" He shouted, meeting the ki blast with his ki-empowered punch, shattering the blast and charging through. "I take it you know that woman?" Shula asked Goku, who for his part nodded after he barely avoided a haymaker attack in the air. "Well, that's good then," Shula smirked evilly. "I'm still sore over what you did to me, so… after this is over and I usurp that bastard who claims to be the demon king, I'll take that woman as my bride." Shula's eyes widened as killing intent filled the arena. Before he could trace the source a karate chop to the neck sent him careening to the arena floor.
After ten seconds the announcer shouted. "It looks like Shula is unable to battle! What an amazing upset!" The projectors began to play the last bit of the battle in slow motion. It showed Goku's smiling face turn blank as he caught Shula's first punch, punched the man 15 times as he prepared his second punch, then launched a karate chop on the back of his head, dodging the second punch in its entirety.
"Woah…. These guys are fast!" The crowd roared in excitement.
Yamcha looked to Tien. "The cameras didn't catch the 3 additional kicks to his temple."
"Four kicks actually," Tien replied. "That Shula fellow was powerful, but unfortunately for him…"
"GOKU PROVED TOO GREAT FOR OUR MYSTERIOUS AND STRONG NEWCOMER!"
Jazz chuckled to himself a bit. "It looks like those two will meet each other next round." For what it was worth, he wished Chi-Chi the best of luck in getting Goku's affection. He looked around for PaoPao but saw that she was sitting with Talia. The two of them looked tense. It made sense as he looked at the projection.
Tao Pai Pai vs Tien
Mei Lin vs Talia
As the two pairs of combatants approached their respective stands.
Before the fight could begin, Talia raised her hand. "I surrender."
"ARE YOU CERTAIN?" The announcer looked at Talia with concern. "ARE YOU FEELING UNWELL?"
Mei Lin scowled. "Aww… and I was looking forward to seeing how much you improved." She reached into her pocket, causing the Tsukimi martial artist to flinch and step back. Mei Lin giggled as she took out a pack of gum, chewing one. "Well…" She smirked, "it's not like you could beat me anyway, and besides, with you out of the way." A voice entered Talia's head, "I can kill my little slut sister." Talia bristled. She charged forward with a flying kick. Mei Lin blocked the blow with her left hand. "Hey… cutie announcer." She turned to the blond announcer who blushed at the compliment, "at this point her surrendering is null and void, right? I'm perfectly ready to fight."
"Talia, no!" PaoPao shouted.
"No interfering, bitch." Mei Lin giggled, "I'm sure Talia can make decisions for herself, can't she?"
Talia clenched her jaw, and a golden kanji formed on her forehead.
"Oh ho…" Mei Lin grinned appraisingly, "you can draw out my sister's magic even without any talent? That takes dedication."
Talia's reply was to generate a blade of ki and swing at Mei Lin, who swayed to the left and away from the strike. "Sword ki wave!" The warrior shouted, a crescent moon blade of ki launched forward.
Mei Lin raised her arm, dark ki oozed from her palm. "You've gotten very powerful. In fact, if I'm correct, you're way stronger than I was three years ago." The golden crescent of ki smashed into her dark ball of ki, causing a mid-sized explosion of ki and dust to fill the arena floor.
Jazz narrowed his eyes. Mei Lin's power was incredible, and from the last time he saw her, he could determine that she had perfect, or almost perfect ki control. She had a lower power level than Tien, Yamcha, and Krillin, but there was something odd about the way her ki fluctuated. And…
"I'm not using my magic yet!" Mei Lin laughed as she avoided Talia's attacks with ease.
It was strange. Mei Lin was very powerful, yet her power level was lower than the power Talia was generating with the magic from PaoPao's Talisman. Unfortunately for Talia, the increased power and speed did not allow her to land a blow on Mei Lin.
Talia's nose bled from the stress of her technique, but he couldn't stop, she needed to strike at least one blow on Mei Lin, she needed to weaken this evil woman to protect her master.
"You know…" Mei Lin said, interrupting Talia's thoughts. "You used to serve me. You were my favorite sparring partner." She frowned, "so the fact you joined my sister's side… it hurt me."
Talia was undogged as she fought on, "you and the grand master were cruel to my lady, after she proved herself the more capable fighter, I chose to follow her, as per our laws."
"And after she began to do away with our laws, Talia?" Mei Lin shouted angrily, "you still follow that bitch!"
Talia felt her body falter as the talisman magic wore off. Mei Lin struck her in the shoulder, shattering it. Talia screamed in pain, only to nearly bite her own tongue as Mei Lin continued her offensive, striking with vicious punches and kicks. She regarded Talia, who trembled before her. "Fall to your knees. And I'll spare you." Mei Lin said in a sing-song voice.
Talia spat blood in Mei Lin's face before collapsing. Mei Lin's ki spiked, shocking the Z fighters around them. She reached her hand down, preparing to stab Talia in the chest with a ki sword.
To everyone's surprise, a green-skinned man stopped Mei Lin.
"What are you doing?" Mei Lin's lips curled, but her smile never reached her eyes.
Piccolo glared at the woman. "If you are kicked out and it causes trouble, I won't be able to enact my plans. The woman is in critical condition already."
Tao PaiPai grinned wickedly. "Tien… I'm sure you're surprised to see me, aren't you? You bastard…" Tien ignored his former idol as he looked at Talia staring down at Mei Lin. "You can't even look me in the eye, can you? You truly understand the power I've gained, right? That bitch… she pulled me from hell just so I could teach you and your bastard little friends a lesson!" Tien continued to ignore the cyborg, whose growls grew in intensity. "Bastard! Stop ignoring me!" Ki and a strange energy exploded out of Tao, causing the ground around him to shake. He charged forward with speeds not matching his apparent ki amount. He burst through the air slashing against Tien's arm. The crowd gasped as the ground around the three-eyed warrior split apart from the strength of the strike. Tien's body split in half, only to disappear an instant later. "Afterimage!" Tao shouted, angry, "where the hell are you?"
Tien appeared behind Tao. "I am not the assassin you hoped I would be." He closed his eyes. "But I am not exactly the martial artist the venerable Muten Roshi would want me to be either."
Tao gritted his teeth. "Wishy-washy bastard!" He charged forward, arm being replaced with a sword.
Tien shook his head. "I am not an assassin, I am a warrior, and all warriors have their creed. I will not resort to evil or trickery to defeat my opponent." He flicked a finger, a rapid blast of ki trailing after his ki, shattering Tao's blade. Without missing a beat the mercenary leaped over Tien and produced another blade. Just as soon as the mercenary produced the blade, the blade shattered. Tao growled, backing away.
"Trickery…" He spat, "there's no way you're this powerful, it's only been 3 years…I've gotten even stronger than I was when that bitch turned me into a Jiang-Shi, then even after that I got cybernetic improvements, the very best of the best from the Red Ribbon Army!"
The announcer, finally catching up to the sequence of events, shouted: "HOLD ON THERE! WEAPONS ARE FORBIDDEN IN THE TOURNAMENT, TAO PAIPAI! YOU ARE DISQUALIFIED!"
The Mercenary's response was to grin at the announcer and charge toward the man.
Tien's muscles became more defined for an instant, but in that instant he seemed to teleport to Tao's side, striking the assassin with enough force to break the sound barrier. The assassin slumped over Tien's arms. He turned to Master Shen. "You were my master, and he was my hero." He turned his gaze to Tao, saddening slightly. "I will give you this warning once. Surrender, and get out of my sight. Never approach me again." A ticking noise filled the air, emanating from Tao's right arm, which also began to glow. Without warning Tien leaped into the air, launching the robotic arm of Mercenary Tai as high into the air as he could. The explosion rocked the arena, causing the crowd to panic. Luckily, the glass had withheld the force of the explosion. Tien landed, arm singed with burns.
"Pft…." Master Shen held back a laugh as he held a remote behind his back. Tien was fast enough to get rid of the bomb, but not fast enough to avoid the shrapnel or the poison the bomb was laced with. He watched expectantly, waiting for Tien to collapse from the deadly toxin.
Tien flexed his arms, then looked at Shen, smiling. "I told you, I am not an assassin anymore, but I am not the martial artist Roshi would want me to be either. At the very least master, I have never forgotten your lessons."
Shen's face twisted in impotent rage as his brother was dropped at his feet.
"WITH THIS! TIEN IS THE WINNER!" Tien's face was hard as he walked past his former master. He looked at Chiaotzu, who had a blank and calm expression on his face.
"You're probably going to fight Shen." Tien said, "it wasn't a question."
Chiaotzu smiled, "yeah. I need to say my goodbyes to my old master, after all…"
…
Afterword:
Jasper(Jazz) Duncan
Age: 21 and 11 months
Hair color: Red
Skin color: white
Race: "Human"
Height: 6 feet 0.5 inches | 184.15 centimeters
Weight: 195 lbs | 88.4505 kilograms, currently weighs 1200 lbs | 544.3108 kilograms
Skills: Advanced Staff Technique, Advanced Kinjutsu (sword technique), Advanced Hand-to-Hand technique, Advanced Ki techniques, Mastered Magic Materialization
Capable of creating: Conventional Weapons, Food, and various tools (limited by his knowledge of the materials, craftsmanship, and scientific knowledge)
Weapons that can be created: Long Ruyi Jingu Bang, Long Bansho Fan, Ryu Kusanagi, Wyvern's Wind-And-Fire Wheels, Dragon's Flame-Tipped Spear, Fafnir's Gungnir, Leviathan's Trident, Jorgumandur's Svalinn, Hydra's Ancilla
Powers: Elemental Magic Materialization, Capable of summoning and freely manipulating fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, ice, smoke, and steam, capable of manipulating and stirring the growth of plant and animal life. Mastered Telekinesis.
Mastery of General Magic Concepts and abilities. mastered understanding of intermediate-level magical techniques, and an advanced understanding of advanced magical techniques.
Shapeshifting: Mastered Skill level (indefinite)
Transformation Power Techniques
Noble Werewolf: True Awakening: 6.25x power
Ultimate Full Power: 6.4x
Talisman Magic: Body Enhancement: 5x Power, drains magical energy over time, lasts 30 minutes at full, before then draining ki,
1.5x level: can be used for 12 hours straight
2x level: can be used for 4 hours straight
3x: can be used for 2 hours
4x: Can be used for 1 hour
Emissive Techniques: Kamehameha, Don Don Pa, Solar Flare, Tri-Beam, Thunder Shock Surprise, Barrage Ki attack, Magic Fire Kamehameha, Thunderfire Kamehameha. Ki-Flame Sword, Marshmallow Meteor, Sovereign Rain
Body Techniques: Four Witches Technique, 12 Eyes Technique, Fusion Dance, Wolf Fang Fist, Mafuba
Blessing from a "Friend": Enhanced strength, speed, stamina, durability, and senses, capable of surviving a 2 fold fusion without extreme backlash.
Powerlevel: 4260 (suppressed)
Power of Noble Werewolf: 26,625
Power of Ultimate Full Power: 27,264
Power of Talisman: 21,300
Noble + Full Power: 170,400
Noble +Full Power + Talisman: 852,000
Fusion Dance (10x)
Double Fusion Dance (100x)
…
I wonder why Mei Lin is so strong, well, whatever it is that caused her strength, it isn't good. Tien is a bit different than in the original, while he is on the path of good, he's not necessarily a pure martial artist. The man he first began to appreciate as a fighter was Jazz, and when Goku finally caught his attention, his attention was again caught by Jazz. Jazz himself is a trickster, fighting in a way that many would find… dishonorable given his prolific use of poison, transformations, and magic. Tien has given up resorting to dishonorable trickery to win fights, but he also makes himself aware of the potential of enemies who will fight dirty.