Yamcha Gets Serious! The Truth of Tenshinhan!
There was a short break between the quarter and semifinal rounds. During that time, Goku went to the hospital where Krillin was being treated to visit him. A nurse took her to Krillin's room where he was lying in a bed with his leg in a cast and up in a sling.
"He's still recovering," the nurse had told Goku when she asked why Krillin was still sleeping, "But he should be awake by the time the tournament is over." Goku had thanked the nurse before they left and put her Dragon Ball at Krillin's bedside.
"I hope Grandpa's spirit keeps you safe," she said to her unconscious friend as she looked down at him in his bed. "I'm gonna beat that Tenshinhan jerk up. I promise." She stood there for a few seconds and just watched Krillin sleeping. Then she leaned over the railing and gave him a peck on the forehead before running back to the stadium.
While Goku was visiting Krillin, Yamcha had gone over to the crowd to check on Bulma.
"Are you okay?" he asked with clear concern in his voice. He didn't like the color of that bruise on her shoulder. Bulma made a "pfft" sound and waved dismissively to calm him down.
"I'm fiiiine," she assured him as she rotated her arm. It made her wince but she looked like she had full range of motion and nothing was popping so Yamcha guessed it must have just looked worse than it was. "I'm a mad scientist whose father is a mad scientist. This is nothin' special. There was this one time I was messing with my dad's ionic torch and it burned a hole right through my–"
"Aaaatatatatata, don't wanna know!" Yamcha shouted in distress as he waved his hands to cut her off. "I'm just glad you're okay." He smiled and leaned over the barricade to kiss Bulma quickly on the lips and scratch Puar behind the ears before he headed back to the fighter's area.
"So…" Suno asked, "What did you burn a hole through?" Bulma leaned over and whispered in Suno's ear. Suno listened and her eyes grew wide.
Jackie sat with his legs folded and his eyes closed in solemn meditation as he opened his mind to the channels of ki energy. He could feel every ki signature in the arena from the smallest child to Son Goku. She was an inferno of power whose light flickered and danced with barely-controlled energy. It startled him to think that if she could temper that strength then she could grow even more powerful. He sensed darkness as well. He sensed Shen's darkness, a soul corrupted by nearly three hundred years of bitterness and jealousy and rage. In Tenshinhan, he sensed that same darkness as there was in all the Crane students. That was the fall of the Crane School. To teach hate, to teach a desire to kill and a disregard for life corrupted one's very soul. And yet… and yet even in that darkness, Jackie found a single point of light. Jackie stood up slowly and resolutely, knowing what he must now do.
Tenshinhan was also meditating but where Roshi had opened himself, Ten was closed off. He had turned his thoughts inwards to his goals. To victory. To revenge. In that darkness was his tranquility and his power. In this darkness, he was the center of the universe. A voice suddenly cut through that darkness.
'Tenshinhan!' Shen's voice echoed inside his head and Ten's third eye opened while his other two remained closed.
'Yes, Master.'
'I have sensed the ki of this 'Jackie Chun,'' Shen informed him. 'He is nothing more than the old pervert Muten Roshi. I do not know what he attempts to achieve with this little masquerade of his but if the opportunity presents itself, break his brittle, ancient bones.'
'Master,' Ten thought suddenly, 'Forgive my boldness… but are you not the same age?'
'Silence!'
"Ladies and gentlemen," Ken crowed, "We are now ready to begin the semifinal round!" Jackie Chun and Ten made their way into the ring as the crowd cheered for Jackie and booed Ten. Jackie took off his coat as Tenshinhan cracked his knuckles before the pair moved into their guards. "This is sure to be an interesting match, folks!" Ken shouted with barely-restrained excitement. "Fighters ready? Begin!"
Tenshinhan was the first to strike when he charged forward and swung at Jackie Chun with a punch. He was shocked when Jackie blocked the strike and responded with a kick but Tenshinhan was able to block that as well. Jackie threw out a few more strikes to test Ten's speed before Ten retaliated with a high kick that Jackie was able to duck underneath. He grabbed onto Ten's other leg before the young triclops had a chance to react and yanked backwards to send Ten flipping through the air. For a moment, it seemed as if Ten would land in the audience before he suddenly froze in midair, as if he chosen not to obey the laws of gravity. Ten then rotated in the air until he was standing straight up and flew back into the ring with a smirk.
"Oh, great," Yamcha muttered. "So all the Crane students can fly. How come Roshi never taught us?"
"Turtles can't fly," Goku pointed out as she watched intensely. Yamcha blinked as he thought about that. It… it made sense?
"You'll have to do better than that!" Ten boasted before he got into a runner's stance… and disappeared. Jackie threw out his fist at seemingly nothing before Tenshinhan materialized… inside Jackie's guard! He slammed his elbow up into Jackie's chin to send him high into the air and followed him up. They traded punches high in the sky, each one able to dodge or block the other's assault before they landed with their backs to each other.
"Let's see how you like this!" Jackie declared as Tenshinhan turned to face him. Tenshinhan was suddenly surrounded by a ring of Jackie Chuns that circled him at dizzying speed before closing in and battering him with blows.
"If you expect this trick to fool me," Tenshinhan said in spite of his bruises when the ring of Jackies had widened again, "Then you're sadly mistaken. My third eye sees through all your deceptions!" He emphasized "deceptions" with a kick that smashed into Jackie's jaw and sent him crashing into the wall. Ten charged forward and moved his hands at a furious pace as if he had a dozen arms. "Can you find these?!" he taunted. Jackie's hands flew out and grabbed Tenshinhan's wrists and crossed them across his chest.
"Done!" Jackie said with mock geniality. His muscles had suddenly grown as he had tapped into more of his power even though he wasn't going MAX yet. He drove his knee into Tenshinhan's stomach with his arms still trapped and yanked him by his wrists to bring his face down into Jackie's upraised knee before finally releasing his wrists. Ten staggered away and wiped blood from his nose. He stared at the blood on his hand with a look of surprise on his face that quickly gave way to rage. Ten let out a wordless, guttural roar as he charged Jackie, kneeing him hard in the stomach over and over before driving a spear strike into his sternum. Ten grabbed Jackie's wrist and turned his back to Jackie as he twisted the other man's arm, no doubt intending to snap Jackie's arm over his shoulder. Jackie responded by headbutting Tenshinhan in the back of the head to make Ten release him and stagger away again as he rubbed the back of his head.
Jackie and Ten charged each other again and battered each other with a whirlwind of punches. To most of the spectators, their limbs had completely disappeared and bruises appeared in random places on the fighters' bodies. The battle only got worse when Jackie managed to trap Tenshinhan's hands under his armpits and Ten proceeded to batter Jackie with vicious headbutts. Jackie fired back with one of his own as Ten was getting ready to deliver one and they both staggered away in pain.
'Master Shen's old rival is truly amazing. Even at his age, he's incredibly fast and skilled!' Ten conceded reluctantly. 'Without question, he is the greatest opponent I've ever had!' He looked at the smear of blood on his hand again but didn't feel rage this time. When presented with such a challenge, Ten became… excited. He smiled that almost-smile as he got back into his guard.
'This boy has incredible potential,' Jackie thought as he too returned to his guard. 'He's taken every attack I have and kept coming! I could use all my power to try and win this fistfight… but maybe there's a far more important battle I could win.'
"Come on… old man," Tenshinhan breathed out before he finished catching his breath. "Don't waste my time. Let's finish this!"
"You're wasting your time with Shen," Jackie said. It was so out of nowhere that Ten dropped out of his guard in shock. "I know he's your Master but that only means you've learned wrong. He's twisted and evil, I know. You would be a better martial artist and a better person if you walked in the light." Tenshinhan scowled as he balled his hands into fists.
"I've heard enough!" he snapped as he got into a wide–legged stance. "If you're going to insult my master to my face, I'm not going to play games anymore!" The idea that Tenshinhan hadn't been going all-out yet shocked Jackie. Tenshinhan brought his hands up to the sides of his head with the palms facing inward and his fingers splayed out. "Here is the power of the Crane School, old man! Taiyouken!" A flash of light suddenly bathed the arena as everyone cried out in pain. Everyone, that is, that wasn't wearing sunglasses. Tenshinhan charged Jackie and delivered a punishing salvo of spear strikes. Jackie tried to defend himself but between the light blinding his eyes and the pain in his head making him ki-blind, he was completely defenseless. Ten ducked a wild swing and around behind Jackie before delivering a knee to the back of the head that sent him down in a heap.
"And Jackie Chun has been knocked down with a knee to the back of the head!" Ken narrated to the still-blind spectators as their sight was returning. "I must now administer the ten count! One… two… three… four… fi–" Jackie sprang suddenly back to his feet as Ten looked on in shock.
"What?!" he cried. Jackie Chun rubbed the back of his head and smirked.
"Can't you take it easy on an old man? My eyes are bad as it is," he chuckled as Tenshinhan fumed. "You're not a killer, Tenshinhan. Shen has tried your whole life to make you into one but I know that you aren't. You'd be a fool to throw your life away to his teachings."
"Shut up!" Tenshinhan snapped as he charged Jackie. "Your lies won't get to me! I know you're just jealous of my master, Muten Roshi!" He threw a punch at Jackie… who caught it in his palm.
"Jackie Chun is Roshi?!" Yamcha, Launch, Goku, and Bulma all exclaimed at once. Suno rolled her eyes. Tenshinhan grunted and snarled as he tried to pull his hand from Roshi's grip.
"Something wrong?" Roshi asked. "Is your heart not quite as black as you thought? Just because I'm Muten Roshi doesn't mean that my words aren't true. I've known Shen longer than you've been alive." Tenshinhan growled in fury and ripped his hand away before jumping back.
"I am not some insipid Turtle student for you to lecture!" Tenshinhan barked as he pivoted to the side. "But I do know one way to shut you up for good!" He dropped down low as he raised his hands overhead before bringing them down to his side. "Kaaaaameeeeee…" Roshi's eyes went wide.
"Impossible!" He breathed in disbelief. 'There's no chance for me to dodge! If I move, he'll hit the audience!' Yamcha gawked as Goku watched Tenshinhan intensely.
"Haaaameeeeeeee…."
"Oh, this is fucking bullshit!" Launch spat. "How many more fucking people are gonna figure out the Kamehameha before me?!"
"Haaaaaaaaa!" Tenshinhan roared as he threw out his hands. The blue-white beam exploded forth from his palms with all the rage and hate of an erupting volcano. Bulma and Puar shrieked as the blast came roaring towards them and Suno put herself between the blast and her friends. Roshi cried out in pain as he caught the blast in his open palms, the heat was unbearable even through the ki buffer he created to keep the beam from touching him. He had never experienced a Kamehameha so hot with anger before! With a shout of exertion, he forced the beam up into the sky where it dissipated harmlessly. Tenshinhan was breathing heavily from the energy he'd put into the blast and was almost as weary as Roshi was from fighting it off.
"I can… replicate any technique I see," Tenshinhan explained as he wiped sweat off his brow. "It's a power of my third eye. Don't you get it, old man? You can't defeat me!" Roshi nodded as he got out of his stance and put his hands behind his back.
"All that proves to me is that there is still time for you to change. You're young and your life is full of possibility. Walk in the light, Tenshinhan." With that… Master Roshi hopped out of the ring.
"R-ring out!" Ken declared in shock. This was turning out to be a very confusing tournament for him. "Tenshinhan is your winner!" Roshi's wig slid off his head as he bent down to pick up his jacket, the heat having melted the glue. With every step towards the fighter's area, the weariness started to settle in.
'Maybe it's time,' Roshi thought, 'For me to step aside.' Goku was waiting for Roshi with a cup of water when he came back to the fighter's area and he took it gratefully.
"Master Roshi," she asked, "How come you were pretending to be someone else?" Roshi smiled and ruffled her hair.
"That's a story I'll tell you another day," he told her. "For now, focus on the tournament." He took another sip of water.
"Is it because you missed having hair?" she asked. Roshi nearly choked.
'Ha!' Shen thought. 'The old fool. I knew he was a coward!' Tenshinhan said nothing and thought nothing. Or at least, nothing verbally. His mind was a mess of conflicting thoughts and his heart was troubled. For the first time in his life, Tenshinhan… was unsure.
OoOoOoO
Goku and Yamcha entered the ring and got into their guards. Despite the dark cloud of Tenshinhan hanging over the proceedings, the two friends couldn't help but smile. This would be the first time they'd fought in four years!
"Go, Yamcha!" Puar shouted as he clapped his forepaws.
"Come on, Goku!" Suno cheered.
"Go Yamcha! Or Goku!" Bulma called out, caught between rooting for her boyfriend or her best friend. "Er… go, guys!"
"Fighters ready?" Ken asked. They both nodded. "Begin!" Goku and Yamcha dashed towards each other and met in the center of the ring with an exchange of punches and kicks. To most of the audience, it would look like they were trying to kill each other but Suno, Roshi, Tenshinhan, Shen, and the recently-fished-out Chaozu would know the difference. This was just warming up.
"Hey Goku," Yamcha said as he and Goku parried each other's blows, "Where'd you pick up that new stance?"
"I learned all kinds of new things while I was travelling the world!" Goku told him with a grin. They hopped away from each other and landed in their guard.
"Good to know," Yamcha told her with a smirk. "I've come up with some surprises of my own!" That made Goku go starry-eyed with excitement and Yamcha chuckled. He held out one hand and gestured for Goku to bring it. "Come on, come on!" Goku charged forward and Yamcha met her with a ki-charged punch. Unlike Launch, however, Goku was fast enough to see it coming and blocked it. She moved inside of Yamcha's guard in a blur of motion and slammed her foot across his jaw with a spinning kick. Yamcha stumbled back and Goku rebounded as soon as her feet touched the ground and drove her shoulder into his gut to drive the air out of his lungs. Yamcha grabbed Goku around the waist suddenly before she could fall and lifted her up to slam her down into the stone. He pressed the attack while she was dazed and slammed a punch down on her that she rolled out of the way to avoid before kipping up to her feet. Yamcha slid on his knees across the ring and uppercut Goku on the jaw to send her up into the air before he flipped backwards and sprang up with his hands, spinning in the air to drill the point of his foot up into Goku's stomach before she dropped to the ground like a dead weight.
Yamcha pressed the attack when they both touched the ground, undeterred even when Goku landed on her feet. He let loose with a maelstrom of strikes that Goku blocked and diverted before blistering Yamcha's chest with a series of pam strikes that turned his chest raw. Yamcha growled as his anger rose and swung down at the top Goku's head with an elbow that she hopped backward to avoid but Yamcha used the momentum and rolled forward to handspring towards Goku and drive a kick into her face. The kick sent Goku flying back before skidding across the ring and Yamcha jumped into the air and came down with a punch. Goku rolled out of the way and wrapped Yamcha's wrist in her tail, punching him several times on the chin before letting him go. Yamcha got uneasily to his feet as his fury continued to grow.
'Damn it,' he thought as he charged her again, 'She's just playing with me! Why can't I find that power?!' He unleashed another flurry of punches and kicks at Goku but she was always just a little bit faster. Yamcha slammed his palm down into the ring, seemingly in anger. "Take this!" he snapped as ki surged through his body and blasted up at Goku through the ground. With no way to dodge it, Goku was forced to absorb the attack before Yamcha jumped up into the air and punched her back down to hit the ring hard.
'Incredible,' Roshi thought. 'Yamcha shows far greater ability for ki manipulation than I would have expected. He didn't even destroy the ring!'
"Wow," Suno muttered as she watched intently, "Yamcha's been training hard." Bulma nodded proudly.
"Yup!" she said emphatically with her hands on her hips. "Just you wait! He hasn't even used all his tricks yet!" Despite Bulma's insistence, Goku was back on her feet when Yamcha came at her, even if she was unable to guard herself from a sudden onslaught of five snapping kicks from Yamcha's left leg and a roundhouse from the right. The blow sent Goku careening into the wall which exploded upon impact. Goku got up as Yamcha charged forwards and swung upwards with two underhand swipes that sent waves of kiai crashing into Yamcha, one after the other, stopping his charge. Then Goku darted forward with her dropkick and crashed it into Yamcha's sternum to knock him onto his back.
"Yamcha is down!" Ken declared as Goku got back into her guard and waited patiently. "One… two… three…"
'Not yet!' Yamcha raged as he got back to his feet. 'I'm not done yet!' He charged at Goku in a dead sprint and she ran to meet him. The pair collided in the center of the ring in a knuckle lock and Yamcha tried to push Goku down. Despite being taller than her, he couldn't move her back an inch. He growled in frustration as he pushed harder but she just pushed right back! They broke away from the knuckle lock and attempted a few jabs at one another before jumping away from each other.
Goku was having a great time! Yamcha had so many cool moves and he'd gotten a lot stronger since the last time they'd fought! She hopped eagerly from foot to foot with her tail swishing from side to side as she wondered what Yamcha would do next.
For half a second, Yamcha watched her tail move. It would be so easy to just… grab it. She'd be powerless! He could just throw her out! He quickly dispelled those thoughts from his mind. It wouldn't be fair. Just a cheap trick. Besides, if he was able to grab her tail but couldn't beat her then it would be one more thing Tenshinhan would know about Goku. He certainly didn't need any help. No, Yamcha decided. If he was going to win this, he'd win it with skill, regardless of whether or not he could tap into that power.
"Hey, Goku," he shouted across the ring as he brought up one arm and squeezed his wrist in his other hand. "Check this out!" Puar clapped his forepaws together with excitement as a yellow orb of ki floated above Yamcha's palm and grew to about the size of a melon.
"Here it comes," Puar declared triumphantly. "Yamcha's secret weapon!" Bulma rubbed her hands together eagerly as she watched.
"Ohhh, I almost feel bad for Goku," she said, although she certainly didn't sound it. "This thing is great!"
"A new technique, huh?" Suno muttered as she folded her arms. Goku stood intently in her guard despite her starry eyes and inside she was practically bouncing with excitement. She loved seeing new techniques!
"Sokidan!" Yamcha called out as he lobbed the ball at Goku. It flew towards her and she jumped over it at the last moment. Suno rolled her eyes as it sailed past Goku.
"Some technique," she muttered sarcastically as she gave Bulma a sidelong glance. Still, she was surprised how… unphased Yamcha was. The reason for Yamcha's cockiness became clear as he suddenly curved the first two fingers of the hand he'd launched the Sokidan with towards himself and the sphere immediately started flying backwards towards Goku! Goku heard the high-pitched whirring sound as the ball came closer and hopped to the side to avoid it and watched it head straight for Yamcha.
"Nice try," Yamcha said with a smirk before moving his fingers again to redirect the ball back at Goku. Everywhere Goku moved to avoid the Sokidan, Yamcha tracked her. It soon became clear that the chase was starting to tire Goku out while Yamcha was quickly getting worn down from the energy it took to fire, maintain, and control the Sokidan. Goku finally came to a stop and tried to punch the ball like she had the Dodonpa but Yamcha redirected to avoid her fist. "Gotcha!" Yamcha declared as he jerked the ball forward to strike Goku in the back, exploding on impact and sending her up into the air. Yamcha pushed one last surge of ki into his fist and smashed it down into the back of Goku's head as she came towards him to make her hit the ring hard enough to smash the stone.
"Son Goku is down!" Ken declared as Yamcha stumbled away from her and tried to catch his breath. "One… two… three…"
"Come on," Yamcha hissed between his teeth. "Come ooooon." He was almost out tricks and he didn't know if he had the energy for the Kamehameha at this point!
"Four… five…" Tenshinhan scowled as he watched. If Son Goku should fail…
'How many people are going to deny me my vengeance?!'
"Six…" Suno pressed her palms together and brought her hands to her lips as her brow furrowed with worry.
'Come on, Goku….'
"Seven…" Goku's fingers began to curl up into fists and her arms moved under her body as she finally started to push herself up.
"Eight…" Goku gave a sudden shove that whipped up the ground under her in little dust devils and she hopped to her feet. "Son Goku is up!" She grinned even as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Ooouuch," she whined despite her smile, "That hurt! That's an awesome technique, Yamcha!" She got back into her guard as a vein throbbed in Yamcha's forehead. "Come on! We're not done yet!" Yamcha growled as he charged her again and thought that he was keeping his anger in check by not vocalizing it even as Goku was deflecting every kick and punch.
'No good' Roshi thought in disappointment as he watched. 'Yamcha's letting his anger direct his fighting. It's made his strikes wild and unfocused. If he can't get control, he doesn't have a chance!' Roshi's thoughts seemed prophetic as Goku suddenly got inside Yamcha's guard and caught him under the chin with a backflip kick. Everything went white for Yamcha… and then he was on the ground.
'Is this it?' Yamcha thought as he looked up at the sky. 'I tried everything I had. It still wasn't enough. Maybe it was never going to be.'
"Three… four…"
"Come on, ya big lug," Launch muttered in a rare moment of concern, "Get up!"
'I was never in Goku's league. The only time I even came close was when she was hungry. Maybe I should just… lie here and accept it.'
"Yamcha!" Puar called out on the verge of tears. "Don't give up now, master!"
"Five… six…"
"Come on, Yamcha!" Bulma cried out as she leaned over the barricade. "I know you can do it!"
'What am I saying?' Yamcha thought as his eyes widened. 'I can't give up now! I can't let the last three years mean nothing! I'm not done! Not yet!'
"Seven… eight… nine…" Yamcha suddenly jumped to his feet and threw back his head to roar in defiance. A green aura shone around Yamcha's body that made a sound like a howling wolf as his eyes turned red.
"Come on!" Yamcha declared as he charged at Goku. She ran forward to meet his charge and Yamcha could feel his body surging with power. He met Goku strike for strike this time before he pushed himself harder. "Wolf Fang Fist!" His strikes came faster than ever before, precise and powerful as he put Goku on the defensive and pushed her back. He slammed her in the chest with a double palm strike that sent her skidding to the edge. "Let's finish this!" he challenged as he hopped back and brought his hands down to his side. "Kaaaaameeeee…."
"Heh," Launch chuckled with a smirk, "I knew he could do it." Goku brought her hands down to her side as well and quickly began to charge the blast.
"Kame…"
"Haaaaaa..."
"Meeeeee…"
'Strange,' Roshi thought, 'Why is Yamcha's Kamehameha… red?'
"Haaaaaa!" Goku's blue beam flew from her hands, pure and true to meet Yamcha's red beam that roared defiantly like a raging inferno. The beams collided and pushed against each other as purple tendrils of energy sparked and flew away. Yamcha let out a cry of effort as he pushed with the last bit of his energy to push his arms forward and push the beam a little more. Goku pushed back in response and let out a cry of power as her Kamehameha overwhelmed Yamcha's and sent him flying out of the ring to crash against the barricade before he slumped to the ground in defeat.
"Ring out! Son Goku is the winner!" Yamcha looked up to see Goku literally teetering on the edge of the ring, pinwheeling her arms to keep balance. Almost. He'd almost had her.
'But only almost,' he thought glumly, completely burned out. Suddenly, his field of vision was completely filled by Bulma's upside-down face.
"Hey, don't get so down," she told him. "You'll get her next time. I'm sure of it." She gave him a kiss on the lips and Yamcha slowly got back to his feet and staggered back to the fighter's area.
"There you have it!" Ken announced. "The finals will be Son Goku vs. Tenshinhan!" Goku glared at Tenshinhan from the ring while he returned her gaze with his arms folded.
'I'll make him pay for what he did to Krillin!' she thought.
'I'll finally have my revenge for what you took from me, Son Goku!' Even as he thought that, though, Tenshinhan's doubts stirred in the back of his mind. Was it truly revenge he sought?