In the Milky Way Galaxy was a water-covered planet orbiting a yellow dwarf star called Earth. The planet was ruled by a primate species that called themselves human. The watery world was split up into hundreds of land nations. One of which was an ancient Island nation called Japan. Here stood a great city in a nondescript part of the country named Tengoku City.

The city was known for its lively music scene and many popular programs such as the quiz show, "Push the Buttons," and the news show "On the Scene with Rika Sakurai." It even had an old palace that once belonged to a family of lords, which was supposedly guarded by ninjas back in the Edo period. Now it's just another tourist attraction.

But the most noteworthy thing about Tengoku was that it was the birthplace and home of famous martial artist, Karate Fred. Back in the day, he rose to prominence in the World Karate Championships and became world champion six years in a row. Fred became so popular that he starred in martial arts flicks such as Karate Man, Karate Man Returns, Karate Man Saves Hanukkah, Karate Man Out West, and Karate Man in Space, to name a few. He could be easily recognized by his black beehive hair, big nose, and hairy mustache. And don't forget his iconic aviator sunglasses.

It was on the set of Karate Man: Punch-Kick in the Heart that he fell in love with his co-star Karate Barb, a beautiful woman with white afro hair and skin so white, she looked monochromatic. She was also a long-running karate champion in the women's league. Karate Fred and Karate Barb disappeared from the public eye for a bit of time before announcing they were retiring from acting and getting married soon after. The two martial artists settled down and opened a dojo in Fred's home city of Tengoku; it was called the Karate Man dojo. It quickly became one of the most prestigious dojos in Japan.

And on the third of August, about twenty-five years ago, Karate Barb gave birth to a baby boy named Karate Joe.

"He's perfect, Barb," Fred smiled as he held his newborn son in the hospital room, "He has your beautiful monochromatic skin."

"And your handsome nose," Barb added. She was still lying in the hospital bed.

"I can see it in his eyes," Fred continued, "He's got the look of a warrior. Just like his old man."

"He might become a karate master just like you," the newly appointed mother chimed.

"Oh, he will be," Fred grinned, "No doubt they'll be calling him Karate Man Junior in no time."

Karate Fred was already breaking wooden boards with his fist when he was only eight months old. But Karate Joe took three years to even start walking.

"He's just holding back," Fred assured his wife, "By the time Joe's five, he'll already be a yellow belt."

And on the day of Karate Joe's fifth birthday, Fred decided it was time Joe tried to earn his yellow belt. He and his family were currently situated in their empty dojo.

"Alright, son. In order to earn your yellow belt, you must pass a simple test. The same one your grandfather had me do at your age, and his father and so on," the Karate master explained, "I'll be throwing these flower pots in your direction. If you can hit most of the ones I throw at you, you pass." He had a dozen flower pots next to him and was spinning one on his finger like a basketball.

"I don't know if I can do it, Dad," young Joe frowned in his little white karate outfit.

"Remember, Joe. You're a naturally born Karate master," Fred assured, "After all, every member of the Karate clan passed this test at your age."

"Just focus on the pots and strike at the right moment, sweetie," Barb patted her boy on the back.

"Alright," Joe took a deep breath, "I'm ready."

"Right on! Here comes the first pot," Fred got pumped up as he threw the pot he was spinning in Joe's direction.

The young karate student readied his stance and kept his eye on the pot. Just as the object flew in front of him, he swung his fist… and missed the pot completely. The little boy couldn't help but frown.

"It's okay, Joe," Fred quickly said, "Learn from your mistakes. Here comes pot number two." The man threw another pot to his son, and this time the boy swung too early.

"Maybe you're throwing them too slow, dear," Barb suggested to her husband.

"That must be it," the karate master agreed as he grabbed more pots. "Listen, my boy. I'm going to throw these pots at a consistent rate. Just find the pattern and knock them down."

"Um… okay," Joe answered nervously. Fred began to throw the pots every second. The little Karate student tried all his might to hit even one pot, but they all flew past. His parents couldn't help but notice that his punches were all over the place. Joe's fist only managed to graze the last pot as it lost its momentum and fell to the ground.

Joe wouldn't avert his eyes from the pot. Barb was cringing as she observed the expressions of her husband and son. Fred just stood there silently, showing no emotion on his face.

"I failed," Joe began to weep, "I barely even touched one."

"Oh, baby. It's okay," Barb quickly hugged her crying child, "You'll get it next time."

Fred marched toward his boy, "It's my fault. Clearly, I wasn't training you hard enough." Joe looked up to his father, whose face was still hard to read, "Starting tomorrow, you'll be joining my karate lessons with the other students."

"But, Fred. The other students are much bigger than Joe," Barb added with concern.

"I'm not holding back anymore, Barb. Joe's supposed to be the next Karate man," the martial arts expert proclaimed, "And I'm not going to stop until he's an even greater Karate master than me!"

Little Joe was no longer crying, not wanting to disappoint his father any further. "I will, Dad," Joe gripped his fist, "I'll get my black belt and be the greatest Karate master who ever lived!"

Fred nodded firmly and walked outside.

"Joe, if the training ever becomes too tough, let us know," Barb rubbed her son's back.

The five-year-old shook his head, "It's like dad said. I just need to be pushed harder." Barb saw the determined look in the young boy's eyes, but also noticed his arms and legs shaking. She held her tongue but hoped for the best.

As promised, Joe joined his father's Karate classes. Most of the other students were twice as tall as him and were already orange belts. The boy very much tried with all his might to catch up and do his father proud, yet as the years passed, he showed little to know improvement.

Joe couldn't break a single wooden board without breaking a finger. Students who had only joined days prior easily beat him in karate matches. And Joe, for the life of him, couldn't hit more than two or three pots midair at a time.

When Barb finally convinced Fred to send Joe to public school, the boy thought that while he struggled to master Karate, perhaps he could find other things to master. Tengoku Elementary was excited to have the son of the legendary Karate man attend their school, but on the first day, Joe fell flat on his face trying to put his shoes in his locker.

Word quickly spread in school that Karate Joe was a complete klutz. His pencil would only hit his paper half the time, he always ran into poles during gym, and he would constantly bang his head on open lockers. Joe was eventually banned from science class for causing too much destruction in the lab.

The monochromatic boy wasn't just unpopular at school, he was a laughing stock. No kids wanted to play with him because he couldn't catch a ball, complete a whole hopscotch, or even see-saw consistently.

Even the other parents saw Joe as a safety hazard to their own children. Fred grew more and more frustrated with his son, yet he never gave up on him. Even when Joe became a moody teenager, Fred made sure he got proper karate training every day.

Karate Joe was a complete loser throughout elementary and middle school, but he was determined to make a good impression on his first day of high school. Joe grew out his white hair and properly ironed his school uniform to look nice. From the moment he passed the gate to Tengoku High, Joe watched every step he made, took his time writing so he didn't make a complete mess on his desk, and steered clear of the science classroom. While he wasn't making much of an impression, that was better than being a noticeable disaster.

Joe was almost done with his first day of high school, the last class was only… "Gym!" the monochrome teen whined to himself, "Come on, Joe. You can do this."

The class was being held out in the soccer field. "I hope you all had a good first day of high school," the gym teacher introduced himself, "Because this is where the good times end. You can call me Mr. Tenno." He was a fat middle-aged man with a thin mustache, slight maschera, and wore his hair in a bun. To Joe, the man sort of looked like a sumo wrestler.

"In most schools, gym class is treated like a joke, "It's the easy class," kids say. Mr. Tenno continued, "Well, not my class! If you lose a game in my class, you fail the lesson." The students gasped and began to murmur to each other.

"Oh no, I'm screwed," Joe thought to himself. He had never won a game of any sport in his life.

Mr. Tenno blew his whistle to shut everyone up, "I better not hear any back talk. Today, we're playing a game of soccer. Not only will the losing team get a bad grade if they lose, but the worst player of all will get detention."

"It was a good run while it lasted," Joe groaned. He had never played soccer before; he avoided the sport because it was all about using your feet, which wasn't Joe's strong suit. After the class was split up into two teams, Joe had already submitted himself in defeat moments before Mr. Tenno placed the soccer ball down. As he tried to calm his nerves, Joe heard music coming from the music room. He decided to focus his mind on that instead.

"On your mark, get set…"Mr. Tenno blew his whistle, and the students began to fight over the ball.

Meanwhile, Joe just stood back. "Maybe if I keep my distance, no one will notice how bad I am," the boy thought to himself.

"Karate Joe! Am I catching you slacking?!" the gym teacher yelled.

"No, sir! Just waiting for the right moment to strike," Joe lied.

"You better get in there in five seconds or I'm giving you detention," Mr. Tenno grabbed his whistle and looked like he was ready to blow.

Joe jeered. "If I'm going down, I'll do so in style," he reserved himself. Right before the teacher could blow the whistle, Joe ran towards the other students. Two muscular ones were fighting over the ball. Joe closed his eyes as he ran for the ball. He took a kick of faith and… the ball went flying! It went so far and fast that it landed right into the other team's goal.

Joe was left dumbfounded as everyone cheered. "Yeah, go Joe!" one of his teammates cheered.

"That was amazing, Joe," said the buff teammate on his side.

"Keep it up, Mr. Karate!" Mr. Tenno shook his fist proudly. Joe couldn't believe it, he just scored his first point ever.

Everyone returned to the center of the field to start another round. When the whistle was blown, Joe quickly kicked the ball to his teammates. After some well-timed passes, Joe ran over near the opposite goal.

"You got this, Joe!" his teammates said as they passed the ball to him. And in no time flat, he scored another goal. The white-headed teen was given cheers once again. At this point, the opposing team decided they needed to up their game, lest they fail the lesson. Each side fought hard as they each scored more goals. However, everyone had a hard time keeping up with Joe.

"This, kid," Mr. Tenno observed Joe closely, "He's a natural at this."

Gym class was almost over, with each team tied 5-5. "This better not end in a tie, or I'll fail all of you!" Mr. Tenno exclaimed. The pressure was on. The whistle was blown again, and the opposing team stole the ball. Joe and his teammates quickly ran to protect their goal. The opposing buff player was coming in hot with the ball. Joe stood in front of the goalie, who was shaking in fear. The buff player kicked the soccer ball so hard that it came hurling like a meteor.

It looked like the ball was about to fly past Joe, he honed in (and his face looked weirdly handsome for a moment) and side kicked it back. The ball flew by the buff player's face and right into the other goal.

Mr. Tenno blew the whistle, "Game set! Joe and company win!"

The big-nose boy lit up, "I won? I WON!" Joe cheered. His teammates picked him up to celebrate.

"Karate Joe! Karate Joe!" they chanted. Joe looked around and saw that other students were watching and were cheering him on as well. After his teammates put him down, they surrounded him.

"Hey, Joe. Let's hang out after school," one of them asked.

"Yeah, you're the greatest soccer player I've ever seen!" another one said.

"You certainly have talent, Karate." Mr. Tenno approached the winner, "How long have you been playing soccer?

"Believe it or not, Mr. Tenno, but this was my first time," Joe admitted, "I had no idea I could do that?"

"What, are you serious?!" his classmate said.

"Either way, you have the makings of an amazing soccer player," Mr. Tenno claimed, "That's why I'm inviting you to be on the Tengoku High soccer team. We could use a champ like you." The teacher then handed Joe a permission slip for the school soccer team.

"Really? Don't I need to go through tryouts?" Joe asked in disbelief.

"You already proven to me you have what it takes, kid," Mr. Tenno complimented, "Just get me your parents' signature ASAP and you're on the team."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Tenno! I'll head home right now!" Joe beamed. The boy ran out of the school yard as the students cheered his name.

Joe ran home so fast that he knocked himself through a fruit stand, a flock of pecking birds, and was nearly hit by a car. But it didn't faze him (that was an average walk from school anyway), and he made it back to his family's dojo.

When Joe entered, his parents were having lunch at the dinner table. Fred himself was flicking rice in the air and caught them with his chopsticks.

"Mom, Dad! I'm home!" Joe yelled excitedly.

"Welcome back, dear. How was your first day of high school?" Barb asked.

"I hope you didn't knock your principal downstairs like you did on your first day of middle school," Fred joked.

"Not only did I not knock anyone or myself downstairs, but I made quite the impression," Joe bragged, "Take a look at this." He handed his parents the permission slip.

"What's this?" Fred read the piece of paper.

"You've been invited to the school soccer team?!" Barb said in disbelief, "It's not a restraining order, Fred. Our boy made the cut."

"I can hardly believe it either, but we played a game of soccer during gym and I was MVP!" Joe explained, "I finally found something I'm good at!"

"They expect you to stay after school for almost every day of the week," Fred read the contents of the slip. "This would get in the way of your karate training."

"Forget my karate training, Dad," Joe exclaimed, "I mean, let's face it. I suck at it. I'm fifteen years old and still a white belt."

"Hey!" his father suddenly raised his voice, "Is your name 'Soccer Joe?" No, it's Karate Joe! You're supposed to be a karate master."

"But I'm never going to be a karate master, dad," Joe argued, "For the first time in my life, I'm not a complete screw up at something. Don't you think I should hone this talent?"

"When you were younger, you promised me you would be an even greater Karate Man than me. A man, especially a Karate Man, never goes back on his word!" the middle-aged man shot back.

"I was practically a baby when I made that promise," Joe said, "I just didn't want to disappoint you."

"Well, you're certainly doing a good job at that right now," Fred scoffed.

"You two, please stop fighting," Barb interjected. "Joe, you know how important karate is to this family. We've been practicing it for generations. Who knows, maybe you won that soccer game today because of your training."

"If that was even true," Joe began, "I'm just going to be a hundred percent honest with you guys, I don't really care about karate that much."

Joe's parents gasped at what he just said. "Boy, you better watch what you say next," Fred warned.

"What, can you blame me? You made me do it every day without considering what I think," Joe explained, "I felt alive when I played soccer. I felt emotions I never had when doing karate."

Fred got up from the dinner table and looked Joe right in the eye. "So that's why you're not good at Karate," Fred gritted his teeth, "Your heart was never in it."

"I mean, it's just a silly old sport," Joe shrugged. He then bit his tongue once he realized that was the wrong thing to say. Fred began to laugh ominously. Both his wife and son were creeped out.

"Tell you what, I will sign this permission slip," the man in the aviators grinned.

"R-really?" Joe asked, shakingly.

"But on one condition," Fred continued, "You can't leave this house until you've mastered karate."

"What?!" Joe cried, "You expect me to master it overnight?!"

"Of course not," Fred shook his head, "It might take weeks. It might take months, but you're not stepping foot out of this dojo until you've received your black belt."

"But what about high school?!" Joe exclaimed.

"No high school, no soccer team, no nothing until you're a karate master," Fred put his foot down.

"Mom, you can't let him do this!" Joe pleaded with his mother.

"I'm sorry, son, but you besmirched the name of karate." Barb crossed her arms. "Perhaps you can use what you learned in soccer for your training."

"This is ridiculous! You can't trap me here," The teen proclaimed. He made his way to the front door, but Fred ran lightning fast and blocked him.

"You may think karate is a silly old sport, but it's a powerful weapon used to protect those we hold dearest," the karate master spoke diligently, "Our family has practiced the art since its inception six hundred years ago. Until you can grasp our family's legacy, you shall not leave home under any circumstances."

Joe had a stare down with his father for a moment, but he knew he couldn't overpower his old man.

"Fine! But when I get my black belt, you're never making me do karate ever again," the boy spat.

Unfortunately for Karate Joe, he was incompetent in the martial arts as ever. Weeks soon turned into months as Joe never left the house. Everyone at the high school wondered what happened to him but they all moved on with their lives.

Even when a full year passed, Karate Fred refused to let his son leave the house. Whether Joe tried to sneak out, dig under the fence, or leap out of the window, the Karate Man was always there to stop him. It was like he had super hearing. Joe gave up on ever escaping, as well as his dreams of being a soccer player, accepting he would spend the rest of his life as a white belt.

Until we reached the present. When everything changed…

Sorry to end this chapter on such a downer. All that stuff about Joe not being allowed to leave home until he mastered karate is canon, btw. At least in this story, I'm determined to give him a happy ending. Joe being good at soccer is based on some text revealing that Joe has dreams of being a soccer player, so that's where that came from. Mr. Tenno is supposed to be the playable Sumo Brother from Megamix. That name comes from the Japanese Nintendo Badge Arcade. Lastly, while we don't know what Karate Joe's mom looks like, I based her design on Tooney D's drawing of her in his section of Rhythm Heaven Reanimated. That's an amazing video, check it out if you haven't already. I hope you're enjoying the story so far, and I'll see you in the next chapter.