"Begin!" Baba croaked out. The very moment that the fight between Devil Man and Chayote started, the blue devil took it to the air by flapping his wings. His expression was such that it was enough to sell the belief that Devil Man believed himself invincible because of this ability.
The devil blitzed past Chayote, his long and deadly nails pointed at Chayote as if threatening to scoop her eyes out but the blue demon failed to find his mark. He was fast by any standards of Earth, he the strongest Earthling that Chayote had met by a notable margin but he was still far too slow and weak. Then again, Baba seemed to think highly of this man's mystical abilities and Dracula Man turned out to be a gold mine despite being a weakling.
"What's the matter? Watch your step!" Baba shifted her butt cheeks around the crystal ball while waving her hands about like a cheerleader without the puffy arm accessories.
Goku chuckled. Baba looked at the boy in confusion. "I understand that this girl is your superior but do you wish her dead this badly?"
"Chayote can fly too." Goku turned at Baba with an expression that matched that of a deviant who had busted an old lady's window with a rock. "If your guys don't step up, I won't even get to fight…" the boy complained.
"Oh… Don't you worry…" Baba looked back at Devil Man ominously. "I can assure you with complete certainty that Chayote will not win this match, monstrous as she is."
"You annoying gnat!" Devil Man dived at Chayote again. "I'll show you my homeland, Hell!"
Chayote fell backward, throwing her foot up and kicking Devil Man straight in his jaw. The blue demon darted upward and smashed through the ceiling completely. The Saiyan wasn't even trying and she'd already knocked out her opponent, it seemed. Regardless of how disappointing these folks get, that Dracula Man is all the motivation Chayote needs.
"He's out of the stage. Does that mean I win?" Chayote looked at Baba.
"Only if Devil Man is out. Let me check on him." Fortuneteller Baba floated outside the spectator arena and ascended through the hole left by her treasured fighter. One boisterous racket later, Baba appeared through the hole and floated back to the spectator arena while Devil Man appeared through the hole covered with soy sauce, soup and noodles still sticking to his bodysuit and his spiky tail and horns.
"That was amazing!" Chayote whistled with moderate surprise. "I don't think I would survive a kick in the head by someone that much stronger than me."
"Indeed…" Devil Man wiped the tracks of blood off of his face and grinned at Chayote. "It's beyond even the point of a believable bluff that I am stronger than you. To assume so would be foolish, outlandish even. Had it not been for my demonic body, I'd have never recovered from such a blow."
"Okay, so call on the next fighter then?" Chayote bent her head to the side like a puppy. "Even with half my blood drained from my body, after fighting multiple fighters already, you don't pose any threat to me."
"Arrogant? Good… It will blow up right in your face!" Devil Man took an off-putting pose by spreading his arms out to the side and bending them to have his forearms and his hands point to his forehead, right at the roots of his two horns.
"Devil Man! I forbid you to use that move!" Baba screamed out. "If I see even a pink gleam from you, it's back to Hell with you!"
"Tsk… Damn you…" Devil Man straightened his body out and charged at Chayote normally. The man attacked with a wild flurry of claw strikes, his fingers bent inward so that his sharp and lengthy nails inflicted the maximum possible damage. Chayote weaved around the strikes, a tad confused.
"What's wrong? Why didn't you use that move?" she asked the blue devil directly while evading his strikes.
"Because it would kill you, without fail!" Devil Man declared. The most intriguing thing was that the confidence in his voice was without even a hint of bluffing – he truly believed what he was saying. Chayote jumped up and flipped over her opponent like a cannonball, only to land at the other side of the stage, on Devil Man's side of the connecting statue tongues.
"Heh, you're an amazing martial artist, even with our difference in strength, I nearly missed that…" Chayote turned back at her opponent, commending him for the stealthy attempt to trip her up with his tail that she had avoided with her last jump but just as she turned back, Devil Man was right up in her face with a trident in hand.
A quick duck allowed the Saiyan to avoid getting impaled on it and then a grab onto its end held the weapon in place until Devil Man dashed back, surrendering his weapon to the opponent of superior physical strength. He was truly peerless. He was outmatched in every way and yet even while knowing it, every movement Devil Man did was perfect. It was like he had been fighting for hundreds or even thousands of years and has experienced every battle scenario possible. His martial arts skill dwarfed that of any Earthling. There were no wasted movements, nothing unnecessary in Devil Man's moves, it let him somewhat cover the drastic difference in speed.
"You're just amazing." Chayote shrieked out in surprise while tossing the trident down into the pool of acid.
"But of course, I've spent hundreds of years fighting demons in Hell, eventually the rivers of fire and mountains of iron rods began boring me so I've ascended into the mortal realm and won your World Martial Arts Tournament twice." Devil Man bragged, locking his arms over his chest. Even if the blue demon taunted Chayote for being arrogant before, he himself appeared to like other people proportionately to how much they were praising or fearing him.
"I see. It would be an honor training with you!" Chayote placed her fist against her palm and bowed. "I'd like to teach all the martial arts you can teach me in three years."
"Well… It will be a daunting task to be certain but… For such as myself, even turning you into a demon of martial arts will not be outside the realm of possibility. It might take more than a mere three years, however…" Devil Man straightened his back out and scratched his itchy nose with a healthy blush to his pale, demonic cheeks.
"I see… I am thankful, in that case, as for this fight. I surrender." Chayote bowed once more.
"Huh?" Goku leaned in closer on the barrier between the Devil's Toilet and the bystander area.
Fortuneteller Baba chuckled.
"Why? I was under the impression that there was no way for me to win. Initially, I've fostered hopes of throwing you into the pool of acid and winning through ring out, given the difference between our skill, I might have done it even with the different worlds of strength and speed in mind. However, didn't the little shrimp say you can fly?" Devil Man wondered with a satisfied smirk on his face.
"Fortuneteller Baba said you can't use a certain technique, a technique that would kill me, I'm sure of that. Seeing someone as experienced and amazing as you believe it makes me certain as well. It sucks fighting someone who's fighting handicapped so I'm not going to partake in this any further. I'll just assume you'd have killed me if the battle was fair and move on." Chayote explained, looking quite bitter about being unable to experience Devil Man's awesome technique after so much build-up to it. Maybe she'd still get a chance during the three years of training? That would be excellent! Maybe she'd even pick some of it up like she'd picked up bits and pieces of the Kamehameha?
"Ah… I see… That's… I've never heard of a human so pure yet so sinful at the same time. Very well, I'll do my best giving you the training you deserve in these three years." Devil Man smiled, bowing his head a tad in respect to Chayote's sportsmanship.
"'Scuse me, could you fly off back to your side? I'm here to fight!" Goku's voice distracted and frightened the demon who just shriveled back and then jumped to the corner of the ceiling, covering the distance with a single leap and a few flaps of his wings.
"H-How did you get behind me like that, you little imp!?" Devil Man exclaimed. "My instincts are meant to be second to none!"
"Heh, I'd be careful if I was you, Devil Man. This boy here is of the same race as Chayote, he's still a bit fresh so he's weaker than her but his inhuman physiology is not to be underestimated." Baba got a chuckle out of the whole situation. Devil Man landed in front of Goku while Chayote removed herself from the fighting stage. She'd have liked her skirt to have pockets to put her hands in when she retreated in shame and self-reflection but Dr. Brief was probably worried about his staff stealing stuff from him because it had none.
"Hmph… Is this kid also protected by the Otherworld?" Devil Man looked at Baba with a scornful look.
"Well… He is a Saiyan and he's very talented… Oh well… We have one Saiyan anyway, I say I'm leaving it to the boy. Do you want Devil Man to use his ace hidden technique or do you want to live some longer?" Baba looked at Goku.
"Stop messing around!" Goku raised his clenched fist. "I wanna see that technique right now!"
"Very well… The Universe will not get destroyed if this boy dies, plus, Chayote's got the Dragon Balls with her and the idea of my younger brother staying a tiny speck of dust for a little while longer is too priceless. Explode away…" Baba gestured a hand-washing motion with her old and withered hands. This only brought an evil smirk onto Devil Man's face as he took the same curious stance he used against Chayote earlier, just before Baba forbade him to use that technique on her. Chayote felt lucky to have gotten to the observer area just in time to see this technique from the VIP seats.
"Prepare yourself, brat, I will show my true strength against you!" Devil Man smirked and showed off his fangs. Even if this man was nothing to brag about in the physical strength department, there was something freaky in the way he smiled.
"Even the most sweet-faced, do-gooders have just a crumb of evil in their hearts. It is my most revered ability to locate that evil and expand it, expand it, expand it - until it explodes!" Devil Man declared in the stance that terrified Baba earlier when he was about to use this move on Chayote.
"Begone with the might of the Devil Mite Beam!" Devil Man shrieked out as he pointed his fingers forward, a tiny, pink spark flared in between his fingers and conjoined into a singular beam that rotated in a twisted spiral before coming at Goku.
"Just dodge it!" Chayote yelled out. She had no want or need in Son Goku dying. She wanted to think that it was solely because of the fact that he was a Saiyan and therefore both a worthy training partner, unlike any others on Earth. Now, however, when she found those freaks and devils who may have proved to be more beneficial to train against at the moment, Chayote felt a bit confused by the fact she still did not want Goku to die. Saiyans were never ones for native solidarity…
"No use!" Devil Man chuckled, "My beam homes in on all evil!"
Goku took a light jump backward, the beam slammed against the tongue of the statue and then evaporated in a cloud of pink smoke. This taught a hard-hitting lesson that lifeless demon statues had not the tiniest specks of their real-life counterparts' evil in them.
"Wha!?" Devil Man dropped his jaw and popped out his eyes in a very undignified manner.
"Th-The boy must not have a drop of evil in him…" Fortuneteller Baba coughed out.
"N-No! That's impossible! Nobody's completely pure of heart!" Devil Man gestured at Baba with his clenched fist. "This must be… Yes… Something must have gone wrong… I must have messed something up executing the move. Prepare yourself for the Ultimate Move of Absolute Death, brat. Here comes my second Devil Mite Beam!"
Once more the blue devil repeated his Devil Mite Beam, the rotating spiral hit Goku head-on this time, the boy did not even attempt to avoid it this time. He likely has already realized that Baba was right – the reason why the beam did not track him last time was that he was pure of heart. The beam could not find an ounce of evil to home in on.
Emphasizing Baba's theory, the pink glow gleamed and sparked, burst and then poofed away, leaving not a single scratch on Goku's body. The Devil Man stumbled back, judging from the look on his face, his entire world view was shaken at first, now the table was flipped completely.
"M-Monsters…" a literal demon muttered. "These brats are… Complete monsters…"
"What was that all about?" Goku looked at Devil Man half-irritated, half-befuddled. "Your technique just disappeared."
"Perhaps the Devil Mite Beam was not able to defeat you but… You're weaker than that girl from before, against you I must stand a cha…" Devil Man was doing his best in dealing with the bad hand he had before Goku's stray kick hit him right in the gut with the boy standing right next to him. The jaws of the blue demon protruded outward as he struggled to find the strength to breathe right.
"You're leaving yourself way too open and talking too much…" Goku rested his head on his crossed hands while he jumped back to his half of the tongue. "Oh well… I won…"
Goku took his sweet time giving Fortuneteller Baba and Chayote his peace signs while the old lady shook her head and glared at the shadowy embrace in the mouth of the second demon.
"I've acquired a very special fifth fighter," Baba smirked while looking at Goku. "It must be fate since I've expected Chayote to be the one fighting him… This just seems all too poetic."
"Now you're going on and on too…" Goku pouted his lips. "I've only got one more fighter left to beat, bring 'im out!"
"Eager? Very well, because you have never met a warrior like the fifth champion. Tell you what, little Goku, if you can beat him, I will do something nice for you too, given how you've put in much more impressive work than Chayote, withstanding the Devil Mite Beam and all." Baba threw in the hook. "Now, the time has come! Come out, your peer and superior, a fellow Saiyan – Raditz!"
A teenage Saiyan leaned under the lines of demonic, stone teeth and appeared from the shadows. He was chewing on something meaty and spat the chunk of fish's liver aside before throwing the entire gigantic tuna that he held in his hand aside and letting it land into the acid below.
"Huh? H-Hi… You're a Saiyan too?" Goku pointed at the teenage Saiyan who looked a tad similar to him in terms of his facial features although his face was much flatter and had all-around sharper edges around the chin and his cheekbones, the otherworldly fighter also had a widow's peak and long, dark hair and a nimbus floating over his head.
"H-Hey, Goku, mind if we switch?" Chayote leaned against the edge of the audience area.
"No fair! You gave up already! This fight's all mine!" Goku shook his clenched fists in a childish fit of rage.
"Sh-Shit… This isn't like anything that the Korin's water showed me… The Saiyans were supposed to arrive much later!" Chayote bit her lip in frustration. This was bad! Goku stood no chance against this young man if he truly was a Saiyan trained and raised on Planet Vegeta.
"This place is stupid. I want to fight outside." Raditz mumbled, still chewing some remains of the fish he had tossed aside earlier. "I wanna kick Kakarot's ass thoroughly, in here he'll just escape by plunging into the acid."
"Kakarot? That's a… Saiyan's name…" Chayote mumbled to herself. She then looked at Goku. "Kakarot… That's his REAL name."
Raditz looked at Chayote with a stray glance. "I see… So you're the Saiyan they've actually sent here to eradicate the puny humans. Not like Kakarot whom our parents cast aside to protect him because he was a little weakling."
"Our parents?" Chayote raised an eyebrow. "You're Son Gok… Kakarot's brother?"
"That's right." Raditz nodded with his arms crossed over his chest. "When I found out that my parents sent Kakarot away, worried that he'd get himself killed if Frieza tested him, I tried following him to Earth. Prince Vegeta didn't take kindly to my attempt at running off by myself and blew my shuttle up. I'm dead because of you, Kakarot!"
The Saiyan looked proper pissed at the indifferent and very puzzled boy in front of him. A vein popped out on Raditz's forehead when he took a meaty step forward and shook his fist in front of himself, Chayote could almost feel the dense bending of air around it, this young man had power, there was no question about it.
"When Baba came looking for her fighters, I sent her to piss off, at first. Even when she said I'd be fighting another Saiyan I was only half-interested. Then, she came back and told me that I'd also get a chance to meet you and, if I won, your life would be in my hands. That was all that I needed to hear, Kaka…" Raditz postured and went on before Goku charged at him with a punch. A punch that met its match and superior in Raditz's grasp.
An elbow strike sent Goku packing back into the head of the statue he came out from, blasting the head into smithereens from the sheer force of impact.
"This guy's strong. Leagues stronger than I was when I first came on Earth. Even if we fought now, it would not be a walk in the park for me." Chayote assessed what she saw in thought. She then turned to Goku who still laid in the pile of rubble on the other side. "I've trained him a fair bit. He's stronger than he'd have ever been training by himself with the weaklings on Earth. There's no way he'd be done in by a strike like that…"
Almost like prompted, Goku burst from the pile of rubble and wiped the blood off of his cracked lip with a smirk of excitement.
"I see what you meant. Please, take this outside, you two…" Baba pleaded, waving her hands.
"I can hardly wait, Kakarot…" Raditz smiled, widening his eyes in a smug and threatening expression.
"My name's Son Goku, not some Kaka-whatever…" Goku growled. Showing surprising restraint, the monkey-boy turned around and walked out through the demolished head of the statue and into the clearing that led back to the audience area. From there it would have been a short walk outside.
Despite the simplicity in directions and the brief path to be walked, the tension in the air could not have made it any feel any less like it was sheer light-years away.