Chapter 8: The 3-Year Training Concludes, And The 24th World Tournament Begins!

(A/N: The 24th World Tournament bracket set-up was something that I had to sketch out on paper. So I'm going by what I have on my paper for the brackets. I'll also be keeping the prelims the same as the 23rd World Tournament. NO PUNCHING MACHINE FROM THE 25TH WORLD TOURNAMENT. I found that part of the tournament to be rather dumb. Something else I'm doing is keeping the competitors to a maximum of 8; again, just like the 23rd World Tournament. Once again, a repeat of the end of the previous chapter: I have to give my thanks to Marorin5 for inspiring me to do this chapter. With that being said, enjoy the chapter.)

When the day of the World Tournament had finally arrived, the Z-Fighters were prepared more than ever to continue the legacy of amazing tournaments that they had left in dormancy for so long. (A/N: For those that don't know, the 23rd World Tournament happened in Age 756, and the 24th World Tournament happened in Age 767. That's an ELEVEN-YEAR GAP!) Most of the Z-Fighters knew that they were going to win, but some of the weaker Z-Fighters weren't entering to win; just to have a good time. Even so, they knew that it would be exciting. Even those of the group who were going to spectate were excited: Chi-Chi, Ox-King, Master Roshi, Bulma, Oolong, Puar, even Mr. Satan by extension. (Because of Videl being part of the Z-Fighters, that technically makes Mr. Satan a part of them as well.)

Once the Z-Fighters arrived, they were greeted by an old face: the World Tournament Announcer, who was pleased to see them again. Then, he notices Piccolo with them, so he asks Goku if they're allies now. To which Goku replies: "Yep, we are. Ever since 5 years after the previous Tournament. An enemy showed up on Earth, and Piccolo and I were forced to work together, because the enemy was too strong for us to face alone. That alliance continued for the next year, because the enemy had told us that 2 more of his comrades were coming in a year's time. But, somewhere along the way, it became natural for us to fight side-by-side."

The Announcer is amazed to hear what Goku and Piccolo have been up to, and relieved to hear that Piccolo isn't a bad guy anymore. Just then, a tournament official announces the prelims beginning shortly. With that, the Z-Fighters head off to the Martial Arts main temple building, as that's where the prelims are being held. Those of the Z-Fighters participating in the prelims are: Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Videl, Krillin, Tien, Chaiotzu, Yamcha, and Pan.

The rest of the prelim participants are pretty much fodder compared to the Z-Fighters, to be blunt. Out of all of the Z-Fighters, two of them didn't make it through, unfortunately: Chaiotzu and Yamcha. Everyone else made it in, though. The Z-Fighters literally took up the whole bracket set-up; no fodder fighters in the 24th World Tournament. In the announcer's eyes, that is an exciting thing for him, as he will be purely focusing on Goku and all of his friends. With that, that starting matches are announced and are as follows:

Goku vs. Vegeta.

Gohan vs. Piccolo.

Videl vs. Tien.

And last but not least, Pan vs. Krillin.

Everyone is excited about their matches, especially those spectating; more specifically, Chi-Chi and Bulma, who is carrying her newborn son, Trunks. (Yeah, Trunks in the main timeline gets introduced a few days earlier than in canon.) That aside, there's roughly 10 minutes before the Tournament officially begins. So, everyone is using that time to catch up with each other and just chat. Once those 10 minutes were up, everyone got ready for their matches, especially Goku and Vegeta who are the first match in the Tournament.

The Announcer kicks off the Tournament: "Alright, ladies and gentlemen! Your patience is appreciated, it shall be rewarded with an exciting starting match! In the first match, we have our previous Champion, Goku against a newcomer, Vegeta! I spoke with Goku earlier, and from what I have been told, he and Vegeta have some history with one another: A rivalry! So much so, in fact, that they are equals in power as of now! So, this could potentially go either way, but we'll have to see for ourselves, folks! Fighters, take your places! Ready?!" Goku and Vegeta nod at the Announcer, giving him the 'ok' to go.

And the Announcer signals for the match to begin: "Let the match … BEGIN!" With that, Goku and Vegeta charge at one another, in their base forms for their own reasons. Vegeta has finally achieved the Super Saiyan transformation, but he doesn't want to use it too early; he wants to see what 'Kakarot' can do before he reveals his all. And Goku doesn't want to use Super Saiyan, because he didn't want to end up using too much power and accidentally destroying the surrounding area. (Which I can understand, given what happened in the Finals of the 23rd World Tournament: Piccolo leveled the surrounding area AND the city to the ground.)

After a little bit of time has passed, Goku and Vegeta are roughly even in terms of their base forms. They keep going back and forth, endlessly. Eventually, Goku knocks Vegeta to the ground, but he gets back up, flies into the air, and powers one of his signature attacks: the Galick Gun, with Goku doing likewise on the ground, preparing a Kamehameha Wave, no Kaioken multiplier this time. Just their base strength. They give off a little smirk at one another, reminiscing upon their first encounter 5 years ago in the rocky rural location.

With that said, they fire off their attacks and get stuck in a beam struggle, just like before. This struggle goes on for a few minutes; Vegeta is using his base form's full power, and he thinks Goku is doing likewise. But, what he doesn't know is that Goku is STILL holding back some of his base power. As Goku thinks to himself: 'But no more…' And out of nowhere, Goku FINALLY starts using all of his base power, overpowers Vegeta, appears behind with Instant Transmission, and knocks Vegeta down towards the ground with enough force and speed to land outside of the ring.

The Announcer is left speechless by the match, flabbergasted, in fact. "Well folks, that was an incredible first match! An amazing way to start off the Tournament! We will have a 15-minute break to let the next contestants prepare!" Those 15 minutes come and go rather quickly. Within that time, Gohan and Piccolo have a brief talk with one another before their match in the ring.

After the 15 minutes are up, the Announcer requests for Gohan and Piccolo to enter the ring as he heads for the sidelines, not to mention that he knows all too well how strong the Z-Fighters are. As Gohan and Piccolo enter the ring, Videl and Pan are in the waiting area with the rest of the Z-Fighters, hoping for Gohan to win the second match. The Announcer gives the signal to begin, and Gohan and Piccolo begin their fight, which they seem even, so far. But, of course, Gohan is holding back on purpose. He wants to fight Piccolo on even footing.

After a little bit, Piccolo takes off his weighted clothes: his turban and his cape. To match Piccolo's increase, Gohan uses a little bit more of his base power. After nearly 10 minutes of back-and-forth clashes, Gohan ends up taking the win over Piccolo, thus advancing to the Semi-finals. The next two matches are mostly no real contests. And, I'm not kidding when I say that.

In the third match, Videl would go up against the 22nd World Tournament Champion, Tien Shinhan, and secure an easy win over the martial artist. Don't sell Tien short, though. He tried his best, but it wasn't enough. In the fourth match, Pan took on Krillin, and she was looking forward to having the chance to fight him. After hearing all of the stories that she was told about the Z-Fighters in her time, she wanted the opportunity to spar with them, and she finally had the chance.

Krillin put in a valiant amount of effort, but much like Tien, Krillin was simply outmatched by Pan's incredible strength. With the bald Turtle School student saying: "Oh well. That's enough for me." With that, the four Semi-finalists have been decided:

Goku.

Gohan.

Videl.

Pan.

Which of these Z-Fighters will claim victory in the 24th World Tournament, and be called the *World's Strongest*? (Let me know who you think's going to win in the review section. I want to see what your thoughts are, before I write the next chapter. I'll see you in the next one.)