The Oozaru Strikes Back! Reveal the Strongest Under the Heavens!
Yamcha staggered out of the medical ward while rubbing at the back of his head. The medics were insisting he lay down and that he might have a concussion after the blow he received from Namu but there was no way he was going to sleep through the entire tournament. That would be ridiculous!
"Yamcha! Yamcha!" Goku called out when she saw him and ran to him with Krillin tailing behind. "Yamcha! I made it to the finals!" Yamcha smiled and reached down to ruffle the girl's hair. Somehow he knew she'd be in there at the end.
"That's great, Goku! I…" he couldn't remember what he was going to say because all Yamcha could notice was the fuzzy, brown tail bobbing up and down excitedly in the air behind Goku. It was back. "I'll… be rooting for you!" he told her with a slightly forced smile. Goku grinned and hugged his leg before running off again. "Rooting for you to finish this fight before sundown," Yamcha muttered to himself when they were gone.
OoOoO
Namu left the tournament grounds with a grimace in every step. Small burns still covered his body from the Kamehameha. Despite this, he had refused medical treatment. The physical pain he was experiencing was fleeting, nothing compared to the shame and despair weighing down on his soul. He had failed his village. His weakness had condemned them. Namu's head spun around when he heard someone clearing their throat. Jackie Chun was leaning against a tree in the garden. Namu scowled at him.
"Do you not have a fight to prepare for?" Namu asked bluntly. "Have you just come to gloat?" Jackie shook his head and held up his hands.
"No, no. Nothing of the kind. You did very well. I don't even need the money. But I need to win." Namu scowled with one eyebrow cocked. "I need to test my students. Need to make them understand that there might always be someone stronger out there. If they keep pushing themselves, they could be the greatest martial artists in the world." Namu blinked a few times and opened his eyes wide.
"So you… are the invincible old master?" he asked in dawning realization. Jackie nodded and tapped on the side of his nose. "Why the need for the disguise? What could you need to hide your identity for?" Jackie shrugged with a smirk.
"If they knew it was me, they'd hold back. I need to be a mystery man. Someone they've never met before and might never meet again. Just someone to challenge, a mountain to climb." He sighed and fished into his pockets. "But I owe you somethin'," he tossed a capsule at Namu who caught it out of the air. Namu looked down at the capsule in his hand with one raised eyebrow. "That should hold, I dunno, a hundred gallons of water?" Jackie said as he jerked his thumb back at a well next to the tree. Namu sighed and frowned.
"I thank you but I have no money to pay for the water with." Jackie chuckled.
"Then it's a good thing there's no charge for the water," Jackie turned and headed back to the arena as Namu's eyes popped open wide and his jaw dropped. It was free?! "Stick around when you're done. You've got enormous potential. You might learn somethin'," Jackie looked over a shoulder and gave Namu a sly wink, "Oh, and I might need a favor."
OoOoOoO
Goku walked into the ring to meet Jackie Chun. He seemed really strong so she'd have to do her very best to win this one! It was so exciting!
"Come on, Goku!" Bulma, Puar, and Launch cheered excitedly from the stands as they pumped their fists in the air to give their friend their support.
"Keep your guard up, kid!" Yamcha called from the fighter's area. If this Jackie Chun guy could beat up Namu then he was definitely nobody to play games with. He just hoped Goku didn't get hungry during the fight. Krillin didn't say anything. He just kept his eyes intensely on the fight.
'Don't make me look bad for losing to you by not winning!' he thought as Goku did some stretches.
"Hey!" she called to Jackie, "I have a question. Are you Master Roshi?" It was a credit to Jackie's mental control that the sum total of his reaction is a single raised eyebrow. On one hand, you'd have to be stupid not to come to that assumption. On the other hand… well, that would be Goku for you. Jackie just gave Goku a slight turn of his head towards the audience. Holy cow, Master Roshi was out there! 'I guess it was just a funny coinci-' and then Jackie hit her in the chin with an uppercut. The impact sent her hurtling into the sky and over the crowd.
'I'm honestly disappointed,' Jackie thought as he watched Goku fly away. 'Thought I trained her better than that.' Yamcha groaned and put his face in his hands.
"So, the whole 'keep your guard up' thing…" he muttered to himself, "Did she just… not hear me or what?" Jackie waited patiently for the sound of a "thud" when Goku hit the ground but that wasn't the sound he heard. Instead, to the shock of Jackie and everyone else in the arena, the sound was more of a "Thwap thwap thwap thwap" as Goku used her tail as a propeller to fly back into the ring! Well, a surprise to everyone but Bulma. She'd seen Goku do something like that when their boat broke down.
"Very… impressive," Jackie said in a measured tone that tried to mask his surprise. 'Where on Earth did you find this little one, Son Gohan?' he thought to himself as she grinned. "But I won't let you use that trick again!" He threw out a kick to the girl's head as she stuck out her tongue but his leg went right through her! How did she do that?! How did she learn the Afterimage Technique by watching? Well, she could copy his moves all she wanted but he knew she was right behind him! He threw back his elbow into the stomach of… another afterimage? The real Goku came at him from the left with a flying kick, driving her foot into his jaw. He staggered back and held his face as he stared at the girl in shock.
"How do you like my double afterimage?" Goku asked playfully as she hopped from foot to foot. Jackie said nothing as he slid into a fighting stance. Maybe he'd taught her better than he thought.
Jackie sprinted forward and threw an elbow strike that Goku leaped over. She spun around and lashed out with her tail at him like a whip and Jackie hopped back to avoid it. Goku landed on her feet and tried to press her attack with a forward charge but Jackie saw it coming and flipped over her as she passed and threw a backwards kick to hit her in the back of the head. She rolled forward with the impact and spun around to face Jackie as he came head-on. Jackie threw out a series of lightning-fast jabs that Goku ducked and weaved under before driving her shoulder into Jackie's gut. He flew backwards as Goku followed up with a high kick that caught Jackie under the chin and sent him up into the air. She followed him up, astonishing the audience with an astonishing fifteen-foot vertical leap before she locked both fingers together and brought them down on Jackie's back. Before Jackie could slam into the stones with something approaching terminal velocity, he threw out his hands and pushed himself back up into the air with a kiai and flipped backwards to land safely on his feet. Goku whizzed by his head a few seconds later with the intent of smashing her feet into him. Before she could even recognize the fact Jackie wasn't where she'd expected him to be, however, he drove a dropkick into her face that sent her staggering back. The two paused for a moment in a stalemate as the crowd roared.
"Incredible!" Ken declared enthusiastically, "We have never seen a tournament final of this caliber! Absolutely incredible!"
"Wow," Yamcha muttered as he rubbed his chin in thought, "Goku really has gotten a lot stronger since last year." Maybe he should see if the Old Master was still taking on new students.
"While we have a moment here," Jackie said as the two fighters circled each other, "that little trick of yours with your tail was very impressive!" Goku grinned and rubbed at her nose.
"Thanks!" she replied cheerfully. "I was thinking of using my Kamehameha to push myself back into the ring but I didn't want to hurt anyone." Jackie chuckled and shook his head.
"I wouldn't worry about that," he assured her in a somewhat boastful tone. "I doubt your Kamehameha would be strong enough to really hurt anyone or even give you the proper push back!" Goku bristled at that, the hair on her tail visibly puffing up like a cat.
"Would so!" she insisted, "My Kamehameha is as strong as yours!" Where did this old guy even learn it, anyway? Jackie raised a single eyebrow. She couldn't actually believe that, could she?
"All right," Jackie began as he put his hands at his side, "Let's see what ya got!" Goku copied his stance and the crowd watched in awe as ethereal blue light filled their hands.
"Kaaaa…. meeee…."
"Haaaa…. meeee…."
The air tingled with energy and anticipation in those last few moments as the two fighters charged their attacks. They thrust their hands out in unison and blasts of blue-white energy shot from their palms.
"Haaaa!" The blasts hit each other with tremendous force before bursting apart in a blinding explosion of light that knocked everyone in the stands onto their backs. Goku and Roshi were the only ones standing as the light dimmed, both sweating slightly from the heat of their blasts and panting.
'Impossible!' Jackie thought as Goku grinned. 'Her Kamehameha was the equal of my own! And she doesn't even seem tired!' Jackie unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it away as Goku bounced on the souls of her feet. Darn thing was too hot, anyway. He stretched his muscles as a light breeze hit him and dropped back into his stance. He took a deep breath and… seemed to fall asleep on his feet.
Goku blinked in confusion. What… what kinda technique was this?
"Uhhh… mister?" He started snoring. Maybe it wasn't a technique at all. Maybe the Kamehameha had taken more out of him than she'd thought. She took a few steps forwards and tried to poke him out of the ring. Jackie stumbled forwards and flopped down under her arm. She blinked as he rolled away like a log and stumbled to his feet. She charged at him and threw a flying kick but Jackie just lurched sleepily to the side. When she landed, he stretched his arm as if to yawn and struck her in the face with an incredibly quick backfist. Now Goku knew he was awake! It had to be some kind of technique!
She threw wild kicks and punches at Jackie and he stumbled and flopped and lurched and drooped under every one, always responding with a kick or a punch of his own that came so completely out of nowhere that Goku had no defense.
'Incredible!' Krillin thought as he watched in open-mouthed astonishment. He'd heard tales of the unstoppable Sleepwalker Fist style before but he'd assumed they were only legend, mostly because it sounded completely ridiculous. But seeing it in person made it clear that the technique was shockingly effective! Jackie chuckled to himself behind his sleeping eyes.
'I knew that she wouldn't be able to get around this style,' he bragged inwardly. 'She's still too wild, too headstrong, too- Wait, what?' And Jackie was thinking this because the last strike he'd thrown, a mule kick disguised by his stumbling forward, was being directed away, shifting his momentum. Before he had time to react he had spun through the air and slammed onto his face. Goku grinned as he sat up, rubbing the side of his head. "H-how in the?"
"That's the Orin Temple technique!" Krillin gasped as Goku turned at him and gave him a thumbs-up. Jackie bristled as he got back to his feet. Goku grinned at him again.
"Are you awake now?" she teased. Before he could say anything, she changed her stance again before jumping into the air with a knee that nearly caught him under the chin. He blocked it but then had to block an elbow that nearly cracked down on his skull with his other hand. He pushed her away but she bounced right back with a forward kick that caught him in the breadbasket and caused Jackie to double over. She hit Jackie with an elbow so hard it made the old master spin 180 degrees to face away from her. Goku gripped Jackie around the middle and threw him backwards, dropping the disguised hermit on the back of his head with a perfect Suplex. On top of copying Krillin's Orin School, she had also combined Ranfan's Taijutsu and the giant's wrestling despite the fact that she'd barely fought him!
"All right then," Jackie muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. His eyes went wide when his fingers came back bloody. "No more playing around!" This girl might actually be able to beat him. Jackie charged forward again and even Goku couldn't keep up this time. He battered her with a series of rapid-fire jabs and hooks that kept her off-balance before he finished with a spinning kick that knocked Goku across the ring to slam against the wall that separated the ring from the fighters' area. She slumped down to the ground and Jackie figured the referee would start counting any second now.
Then Goku stood up. Even more distressing was when she wiped away the trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth and smiled.
"This is fun!" Goku declared as she hopped back into a fighting stance. This was the best fight Goku had ever been in! It wasn't easy but that was what made it so much fun! "My turn!" Goku sprinted at Jackie and fired back with rapid-fire strikes of her own. For every ten he managed to block, three more got through and the girl's blows were like getting hit by a car! Jackie pushed himself into the air with a kiai but then Goku just jumped straight up to meet him! They traded strikes as they descended back to the ground, bobbing and weaving and blocking. Jackie leaped back as soon as they landed to create more distance and threw out a kiai that knocked Goku back. Finally, Jackie realized, he had an opening. She might be strong, fast, tough, and a fighting prodigy but she had no idea how to control ki.
Goku charged forward again but was hit by another kiai. And another and another. Every time she tried to move, the old man would hit her with another one of those invisible waves. And it hurt! After four or five of them, though, Goku began to see something. A little shimmer in the air or a flicker of light. She could see them coming now! Goku grinned and rolled out of the way of one and then the other. She leaped at the old man and grabbed his wrists.
"Gotcha!" she said triumphantly before headbutting him. Jackie staggered back then fired a kiai without moving a muscle, forcing Goku to break her grip. The setting sun created a dramatic red backdrop as Goku got to her feet again. Goku seemed to charge blindly at Jackie again but his Kiai hit an afterimage. He kicked behind him and hit another afterimage. He let out a soft "tut, tut" as he threw out his elbow to his side in what was surely… another afterimage. Three. Three?! Roshi looked around frantically with his eyes darting in every direction. Where the heck was she hiding?
He stopped himself and took a deep breath. He was smarter than this. He was the Invincible Turtle Hermit! He wasn't going to let some little girl shake him up! He closed his eyes and sensed her ki. She was… right… above him. Roshi looked up just in time to see Goku's feet smashing into his face from above to drive him painfully into the ground. She hopped off his face and landed back in the ring with a giggle as he struggled to his feet.
"How… how did you do that?!" he asked exasperatedly. "How did you get so high in the air I couldn't see you?!" Goku grinned as she rocked back and forth on her feet. Clearly, she was impressed with herself.
"Well, I made all those afterimages 'cause I knew what you were gonna do and then I just jumped as high as I could. And I did one of those invisible thingies so I went even faster! Then I did the same thing to come down fast, too!" she said proudly. Jackie balked.
"You… you couldn't do a kiai!" he said indignantly. Goku grinned.
"Can too!" she said as she threw out a peace sign. And the swing of her arm when she did that sent out a kiai that caught him square in the chest. "You keep saying I can't do things and then I do them," Goku pointed out as Jackie caught his breath. "Do you think I can't do this? Janken!" Jackie smirked. Now she'd played her hand. Of course he'd be prepared for Son Gohan's signature- then Goku hit him in the stomach with Rock when she had called out Paper. That wasn't supposed to happen. Then she hit him in the eyes with Scissors when she called out Rock! That wasn't supposed to happen either! She smacked him across the face with Paper and Jackie staggered back. He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and glared at her, half-impressed and half-annoyed. She'd put up a good fight, however this had gone far enough.
"I'm ending this!" Jackie declared before he thrust out his hands. Goku steeled herself for whatever technique was coming next. She couldn't have anticipated what it was. Lightning crackled up and down his bare arms as he scowled at her. "I used this technique only once, against Son Gohan himself!" Before Goku could ask Jackie how he knew her grandpa, a blast of electricity shot from Jackie's hands and ran up and down Goku's body. Jackie lifted his arms and raised Goku into the air as she shrieked with pain. Her muscles spasmed and her body was on fire.
"Wh-what's he doing?" Krillin asked, his voice trembling with fear. If this technique could hurt Goku like this then it would kill a normal person! Yamcha stared open-mouthed in awe.
"I-it's the Bankoku Bikkuri Shou! I-I've heard about this! He's changed his ki into electrical energy! It's like getting hit by a lightning bolt, over and over!" There was no way Goku could survive this, Yamcha thought. She'd have to give up!
"Surrender!" Jackie called to her over the buzz of the lightning. "You can't escape this!"
"Never!" Goku shouted through defiantly clenched teeth. It hurt so bad, though! But she couldn't give up! She'd come so far! She could get out of this, she had to!
"Goku, just give up!" Bulma pleaded. She didn't want to see Goku get hurt! She didn't think Goku could get hurt! Why couldn't she be okay with coming in second? Why did she have to be so stupid?
"Please!" Krillin begged her, on the verge of tears. She was his best friend! What if she got really hurt by this?
Launch and Puar were already crying.
"I… I'll never… I… I…" Maybe she would have given up. But then Goku opened her eyes and looked at the moon and nothing hurt anymore. She felt that strength flooding through her again. She didn't need to give up. The lightning attack burst apart like a bubble and she landed on her feet as she looked down at Jackie Chun. He was so small. She was stronger than him! She was stronger than everyone.
"We… we forgot about the moon," Yamcha muttered belatedly. The crowd shrieked in terror as Goku threw back her head and roared with rage.
"Amazing!" Ken cried out obliviously. After all the insane things he'd seen today, why should this be too weird? "What sort of technique is this?!" Bulma rolled her eyes despite her terror.
"It's not a technique, you moron!" she called out before grabbing Puar's tail and tickling Launch under the nose. She sneezed, turned blonde, and immediately knew what to do.
"Alright, everyone clear out!" she shouted abrasively as she lifted two uzis high above her head and fired them into the air. Unsurprisingly, this made the crowd listen to her and they bolted for the exit. Where did she even get those guns? Jackie was… surprised.
'Certainly not the worst fight I've ever been in,' Jackie thought to himself as he looked up at the monstrous monkey girl. 'But probably the strangest.' He ran up her leg and delivered a series of punches to Goku's stomach that warranted him nothing more than a snarl of derision. He dropped down and jumped onto her tail, running along that and up her back to punch her in the ear. Goku's red eyes shone with murder as she lifted up a hand and swatted him to the ground. A burst of kiai was the only thing that kept his bones from making a terrible crunch. Goku roared and drew back a fist to punch the old man. "Oh no you don't!" Jackie declared before forcing himself to MAX POWER and meeting her punch with one of his own. Even in his muscular form, she was pushing him back with just one enormous fist! Jackie jumped onto her fist and launched himself off of it to fly at her face with both fists out. As she opened her mouth, he could see a bright light coming from deep inside. Could she breathe fire?! Jackie decided there was no reason to find out and punched her right in the snout, disorienting her before he followed up with a kick under the chin that snapped her jaw shut.
As Jackie touched the ground, however, he saw that these attacks were more annoying than they were painful. It was like her strength had increased tenfold! And with the strain this maxed-out form put on his body, he only had one shot left. She had to be put down before she hurt anyone else. As Jackie cupped his hands to his side, however, he heard Yamcha's cry over the screams of the crowd.
"Her tail!" Yamcha screamed at him, "Her tail! You don't have to kill her! Just cut off the tail!" Jackie blinked. That didn't make much sense to him but he didn't have a lot of options. Jackie watched Goku raise a foot to crush him and saw his opening.
"Kame…" Jackie dropped down and rolled under the stomp, "Hame…" He popped to his feet and stood directly beneath Goku's tail and thrust up his hands, "Ha!" The brilliant beam of light lanced high into the night sky and vaporized Goku's tail into ash. There was a soft "Pop!" and Goku hit the ground at her normal size again.
"What an astounding turn of events!" Ken declared as the audience returned to their seats with the giant monster gone, "Truly, we have never witnessed anything like this in the history of the Tenkaichi Budoukai! What strength! What skill! What courage! What drama!" Jackie glowered at him as his muscles deflated.
"Shouldn't you be counting?!" Jackie asked in agitation. She had to have been out for ten seconds by now!
"O-oh, right!" Ken admitted bashfully but before he got to seven, Goku was back on her feet. Jackie rolled his eyes. Useless dang ring announcer.
"Wh-what happened? Did I lose?" she asked in a daze before she looked over her shoulder. "Not again!" she cried in dismay at her missing tail. It had just grown back!
"I'll tell you what happened later, Goku!" Bulma shouted from the sidelines, "The fight isn't over, kick his butt!" Goku nodded with a determined look on her face as she got back into her fighting stance and the crowd was reduced to peals of laughter.
"G-Goku, here!" Krillin shouted as he threw his shirt and pants at her without looking. Now Goku was really confused. What happened to her clothes? Krillin's face was bright red and he couldn't open his eyes until Yamcha poked him on the shoulder.
"You can look now, slugger," Yamcha told him teasingly. Krillin frowned at that but looked back at the fight. Jackie was gasping for breath after the fight with the giant monkey and his maxed-out form's exertion but Goku wasn't faring much better between the lightning attack and losing her tail. Whatever was going to happen, it was going to end right here.
"You can't beat this!" Jackie declared as he leaped at her with a flying kick. He only hoped she'd take the bait.
"Watch me!" Goku retorted as she copied his motion exactly. They sailed through the air before their feet crashed into each other's chins. Both fighters dropped to the ground like birds that been shot out of the sky.
"Nine… t-ten!" Ken counted off as neither fighter stirred. This was amazing! There hadn't been a draw in the history of the Tenkaichi Budoukai! "P-please wait while the officials consult the rules!" They gathered around an enormous old book and deliberated amongst themselves before whispering instructions to Ken. "According to the rules, the winner of the tournament is the first person to get to their feet and say 'I am the Champion!'" That was… oddly specific. Eventually, Goku moved. It was slow and painful. Her whole body was sore. All she wanted to do was take a nap! But that would have to wait. First, she had to win.
"I…" she said slowly. It hurt even to talk but she had to press forward, "I am…" she threw back her head and screamed with all her might, "I am the champio-" but her strength failed her and Goku collapsed onto her face. Defeated by a single syllable. Then it was Jackie's turn. He looked down at his student with pride as she tried to push herself up even though she had no strength left to move a single muscle.
"I…" Jackie said before he took a deep breath and broke into a grin. He had to put on a show despite the pain. "I am the champion!" he crowed victoriously. He threw his fists into the air as the crowd cheered, "I am the champion! I am the champion!" Then he collapsed onto his backside in exhaustion. "I'm sorry I doubted you," he told Goku with a smile, "You've done your master proud today." She smiled back at him even if she couldn't really move. Jackie- no, Roshi, knew that she would surpass him. Without a doubt. But for today, he was the champion.