Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Authors: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

Chapter 156: The 25th World Martial Arts Tournament

Papaya Island, The Papaya Rittz…

The various doors to the top floor executive suite swung open and the various families of the Z-Fighters emerged, some dressed for a nice day of spectator sport, the others dressed for the fights that were to come. Goku and Goten were roughhousing while Gohan adjusted the turban on his Saiyaman costume. Chi-Chi sighed. "It's... probably not too late to have Bulma make you a helmet or something, Gohan..."

Gohan shrugged, putting on a cheap pair of sunglasses that he bought at a beach cabana the previous evening. "It doesn't really matter."

Chika beamed. "I think Gohan looks nice~"

Gohan smiled down at his little sister. "Thanks, Chika."

Piccolo sighed. "... You just look so ridiculous."

Ox-King chortled, slapping Piccolo on the back. "Hohohohoh! Lighten up, Piccolo! At least you're lookin' sharp~!"

Krillin and 18 were both doting over Marron, making sure that she knew how to behave while they were busy. 18 stroked her daughter's hair. "And remember, if you get lost, just look for Uncle Gebo, okay?"

Marron nodded. "Yes, Mommy!"

Android 16 marched up, dressed in a flowery Hawaiian shirt, and gave Marron a warm smile. "Would you like some popcorn when we get to the arena, Little Chestnut?"

Marron hopped up into 16's arms. "Yeah~"

Muffin and Socks ran up, both of them hungry for their robotic uncle's attention. Muffin cried out. "What about us, Uncle G?!"

Socks whimpered. "We get popcorn too, right?"

16 chuckled. "Popcorn for everyone who spends time with me today~"

Both the kids seemed happy. "Hooray!"

Android 17 rolled his eyes. "Hey! Hey! Quit fleecing your uncle!"

With the addition of Chika, 16 had four kids swarming all over him and chanting for popcorn. Trixie turned her husband's head. "Don't get so wound up, Lap~ Focus on ya matches! You have some people to thrash!"

17 turned to his wife and smiled, pulling her close and kissing her with passion. Roshi was all too eager to spoil the moment. "Heh heh! Enjoying some of life's finer fruit, eh?"

17 glared. "Old man."

Trixie scowled. "Lecher."

Roshi withered back. "Young people are such prudes these days..."

Oolong chuckled and snorted. "Ya better watch your mouth, bud!"

Tien cracked his neck and started to knead his shoulder. "I'm not used to such plush beds."

Chiaotzu nodded, stretching his back. "Same. I think I've gotten used to a firmer mattress."

Yamcha grinned. "Lookit you two, talkin' like a couple of old fogies."

Tien cocked an eyebrow, reaching out and tugging Yamcha's long, shaggy beard. "At least we don't look homeless, bud.

Yamcha frowned. "H-Hey! Screw you! I worked hard to grow this! And it looks awesome! Right, Suno?!"

Suno sighed, looking out a nearby window as she brushed a still dozing Koriocha's hair. "... I could take it or leave it."

Yamcha flinched. "HUH?! B-But..."

Vegeta growled. "Quit whining! Who cares if your wife hates it?! Take pride in having permission to grow it in the first place."

Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu all went silent. Tien seemed confused. "What's that supposed to mean...?"

Bulma quickly cut in. "Nothing. It means nothing. We just agree that facial hair is a bad idea! Right, Vegeta?"

Vegeta slumped. "Yeah..."

A bead of sweat ran down Yamcha and Tien's faces. Chiaotzu looked genuinely sorry for Vegeta. "Poor bastard..."

The awkward moment was quickly shattered by a fight spilling out of Bulma and Vegeta's room. "RARGH!"

Trunks and Bulla came tumbling out, fighting and clawing at each other. Trunks pulled Bulla's hair. Bulla punched him in the mouth. Vegeta quickly sprang into action. "H-Hey! What the hell do you two think you're doing?!"

Holding his kids far apart, Vegeta looked between the two of them. Trunks shouted. "She keeps trying to jump me to take your permission to enter the tournament that I won fair and square!"

Bulla grinded her teeth. "You didn't win any damn thing fair and square! We should have done best two-out-of-three! I'd steamroll you any time!"

Trunks spat back. "You didn't the first time!"

Bulla went Super Saiyan and tried to lunge at him. "Why you-"

Quickly, Gine stepped in and grabbed Bulla into a hug. "Now, now. Calm down. There will be other tournaments, darling. Other fights too. Why don't you just spend the day with me? I'll buy you a waffle ice cream."

Bulla pouted. Then she sulked. Then she blushed. Then she looked over at the Saiyan grandmother Gine. "Promise, Grandma Gine?"

Gine smiled, raising her little finger. "Pinky swear~"

Bulla accepted the pinky swear and nodded. Bulma smiled. "Okay! With that crisis out of the way, I've been meaning to ask... why didn't Eighter come, Suno? There's plenty of room."

Suno put down the brush and started to adjust Koriocha's overalls. "He doesn't do well with crowds. He said he'd just stay in Jingle Village for this trip."

Bulma nodded. "Same reason my parents didn't come."

Overhearing that, Goku frowned. "Aw! That sucks! It woulda been fun to have Eighter here, cheerin' and such."

Blue Launch was cheerful as she joined the conversation. "I'm sure they're cheering from home, Goku! You just have to imagine it."

Goku looked over to Blue Launch. Behind her, Raditz and Ranch both stood solemn and sullen. Raditz had a cup of black coffee in his hand and was reading something on his phone. Ranch was glaring at the floor. With everyone gathered up and prepared, Goku stood and gave his back one final stretch. "All right, guys! Let's go! Tournament time!"

Everyone filed out the door, headed for the elevators. As Gohan left, he could be heard mumbling something about his relationship with Videl under his breath. Goku sighed, his son sounded nervous. But he'd give Gohan a pep talk later. Right now, he had something more important to deal with. As Raditz and Blue Launch passed, Goku suddenly knelt and stopped Ranch.

Blue Launch turned and cocked her head. "Problem?"

Goku smiled. "Nah! Just wanna give my favorite niece a little bit of advice~"

Blue Launch smiled and, to her credit, so did Ranch. There were lots of things that made the young girl's life more challenging, but her Uncle Goku was genuinely the furthest a person could be from that. She loved him and she could tell he loved her. Once everyone else was gone, Ranch looked up to her uncle. "Hey."

Goku nodded. "Hey."

They both were still for a moment, just looking at each other. Somehow, despite Ranch's cheerless attitude and Goku's limited social intelligence, the two of them were able to communicate a lot with just a look. Goku sighed and squeezed her shoulder. "The best way to win, Ranch, is to take it one match at a time. You haven't won until you've fought, ya know?"

Ranch nodded. "... kay."

They shared another small pause, and then Ranch gave Goku a quick, but tight hug. Goku chuckled and gave her a fist bump in return. "You're gonna do great, Ranch~"

At the Tournament Arena…

As the Z-Fighters approached the tournament gates, Krillin's jaw dropped. "Holy cow!"

The formerly reserved tournament arena of the Tenkaichi Budokai was no more. Now, it was replaced by a thoroughly modern stadium with rustic touches acting as a nostalgic, trim finish. Everything was so much bigger than any of the Z-Fighters had recalled prior. Instead of one entrance in the gate, there were now three and with several monks around each one directing traffic. Gohan whistled. "It looks like the entrance to a theme park..."

Tien shook his head. "Shameful."

Yamcha rolled his eyes. "Old fogie."

As they approached, the Z-Fighters heard one of the monks calling out. "Attention! Attention! The leftmost entrance is for spectators! Please have your ticket ready to be scanned! The rightmost entrance is for competitors looking to enter the Adult Division of the 25th Tournament! Please have your information ready to provide to the staff! The middle entrance is for the Junior Division! This is for all fighters age 15 and under! Please be on your best behavior! Please, good children, do NOT shove!"

Trunks, Goten, Ranch, and Koriocha all skidded to a stop. "JUNIOR DIVISION?!"

Goku crossed his arms, his head cocked to the right. "Huh? That's new..."

Gohan nodded. "Oh yeah, Videl was talking about that. Apparently, she won it at the 24th Tournament. Martial arts was just a hobby back then."

Krillin smirked. "Man, Piccolo, imagine if that was a thing in the 23rd Tournament? Would you have grown into a giant to fight a 10-year-old?"

Piccolo nodded. "Definitely. Anyway, let's get going."

As the adult Z-Fighters began to crowd toward the right entrance, Trunks called after them. "HEY! WAIT A MINUTE!"

The adults all turned to look at Trunks. He was fuming. "WH-WHAT ABOUT US?!"

The adult fighters seemed to consider that for a moment, and then they all adopted soft, sly smiles and waved. "Have fun in the baby tournament~"

Trunks roared as they began to walk away again. "YOU OLD BASTARDS! GET BACK HERE!"

"Hey, Trunks~"

Trunks turned and saw the other non-combatants as they entered the leftmost gate. Bulla was staring right at him, an innocent smile on her face. The siblings looked at one another for a moment... and then Bulla raised two middle fingers and disappeared into the gate. Bulma looked from her daughter and then to her son and sighed. "God, my kids are brats..."

Trunks, Goten, Ranch, and Koriocha looked at one another, then Trunks slumped. "This sucks."

Ranch nodded. "This sucks big time."

Goten was cheery. "Aw, it won't be so bad! At least we get to fight each other~"

Koriocha smiled wide. "Yeah!"

A flash of red appeared in the corner of Ranch's eye and she turned to see Gohan running up to them, his dumbass red cape billowing behind him. He knelt and whispered. "I forgot! One important thing!"

The four kids looked up to him. "No Super Saiyan!"

Trunks and Goten cocked their heads. Ranch flinched. Gohan continued. "I'd prefer it if you guys tried to avoid too much Ki stuff too, but definitely no Super Saiyan. Okay? Okay, Trunks?"

Trunks sighed. "Yessir."

Gohan turned to his brother. "Goten?"

Goten shot a thumbs-up. He turned to his little cousin. "Ranch?"

Ranch looked away, unable to meet Gohan in the eye. She crossed her arms over her chest and mumbled. "Y-Yeah... okay..."

Gohan nodded, a smile on his face. "Good! Thanks, guys! Best of luck!"

And then, Gohan sprinted off once again. Once he was out of sight, the four kids walked over to the line and crowded up behind a sobbing 11-year-old wearing a pair of boxing gloves, his overeager parents trying their best to calm him down. Trunks and Ranch looked at each other, their faces already weary. "This sucks."

In the Tournament Courtyard…

As the Z-Fighters crowded into the tournament grounds, Yamcha looked around in appreciation at the spacious interior. The side courtyard they had been led to was easily five times the size of the old tournament ring. And, for good reason. Yamcha scanned the crowd. "Holy crap! Look at all the people!"

And look the Z-Fighters did, taking in the sight of all the folks gathered to take part in the tournament. Everyone from martial artists, to professional athletes, to random thugs, to actual gangsters had shown up to take part. There were several social media stars standing around here and there, shouting into their phones about their plans to win the big one and take on Mr. Satan himself!

Piccolo's face made it look like he had just bitten into a raw onion. "This is ridiculous..."

Krillin shrugged. "What're you gonna do? As things get more popular, more and more people are bound to show up. At least the tournament is prospering. I was afraid it was gonna be gone forever after you and Goku blew it up."

Tien smiled. "It's nice to know that an institution like this will exist long after we're all gone."

Chiaotzu chuckled. "It makes us trying to rebuild the Crane School seem more worthwhile."

Tien sighed. "Speaking of, we should go around and spread the word a bit while we're waiting. Hopefully, there are some novices here that might want to grow and learn."

Chiaotzu nodded. "Right! Time to go networking!"

17 snickered. "Turning the tournament into a job fair, eh? I can dig it. Need some help passing out fliers or anything?"

Tien turned to 17. "If a warrior and a friend of your caliber wishes to join us in spreading the message of the New Crane School, I should count myself honored and privileged."

17 grinned as he followed the two Cranes. "Aw, stop, you're gonna make me blush~"

After they left, Vegeta rolled his eyes. "As if they're going to find any raw talent out there. This crowd is pathetic."

18 sighed. "Yet more wise words from the most humble man in the universe."

Vegeta looked at his friend, ready to make a jab back at her, then he stopped himself. "W-Wait a minute...what the hell are you wearing?!"

18 was dressed in a pair of low-hanging, black jeans. A sports bra with the number "18" printed across the chest, and a spiky black leather jacket. On her feet were a pair of knee-high boots with chunky heels and around her neck was a choker covered in three-inch long spikes. Her face was done up in a punk-style, black lipstick and purple eyeshadow. And her hair was pulled back by a hair band with a skull decal on either side.

18 half-lidded her eyes, holding out her arms for Vegeta to get a better look. "I'm a lawyer by trade. I don't want potential clients or opposing lawyers seeing 'Lazuli Lazarus' beating the hell out of people, so I'm trying to disguise myself. I'm Number 18: punk, street fighter, and ass-kicker. Plus, there's no denying how hot I look in this~"

Vegeta was taken aback. Krillin looked confused. "Did you just notice that?"

Vegeta sneered. "I don't make a point of staring at your wife!"

18 smirked. "Also, 17 is just calling himself 'Lapis' to avoid anyone making a connection between us."

Goku looked over at 18 and smiled. "I think ya look cool~"

18 nodded, smiling back. "Thank you, Goku."

"Did I just correctly hear the name 'Goku'?!"

Everyone turned, bounding up to them with a skip in his stride was a vaguely familiar-looking man wearing an orange and maroon robe. Yamcha cocked his head. "That turban..."

Krillin cocked his head. "That bindi..."

Goku cocked his head with a smile. "That voice~"

Nam smiled and clapped his hands, giving a respectful bow. "It is a pleasure to see that the Turtle School boys are all alive and well."

The three warriors cried out in happy surprise. "NAM!"

All at once, the three of them crowded over to Nam and started to talk. 18, Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolo all looked at one another and shrugged, walking over to join in on the chat. Nam was laughing. "My word, Goku! You certainly have become quite tall!"

Goku chuckled. "Aw, ya think? That's what everyone says when they see me again."

Yamcha crossed his arms. "So, how's the village man? Jackie Chun helped you gather all that water. Are things good there now?"

Nam nodded. "Thriving, actually. We have become an agricultural post for the area."

Krillin smiled. "Excellent!"

18 cleared her throat. "So, do we get an introduction? Or..."

Krillin stammered. "R-Right! Here, Nam, I wanna introduce you to my wife!"

Nam bowed and 18 respectfully returned the bow. "It is an honor to meet you."

Goku chuckled. "And this is my oldest kid, Gohan! And my friends, Piccolo and Vegeta!"

Gohan waved. "Nice to meet you, sir."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. Piccolo held out a hand. "You've competed in past tournaments?"

Nam nodded. "Indeed."

Piccolo sighed. "Right. Sorry if... my sibling killed you in the past."

Nam cocked his head. "The monster named Tambourine?"

Piccolo nodded. Nam chuckled. "It is water under the bridge, my friend. Though, I do thank you for such a respectful apology."

"YEAH?! WELL, WHERE'S MINE?!"

Everyone turned to see another familiar sight stomping up. It was Monster Beast Giran. The hulking brute stopped and planted his onto his hips. "I got killed by that bastard too, green guy!"

Goku smiled. "Giran?! Hey!"

Giran snorted. "Well, lookit the pipsqueak! He's all grown now. Are you ready to have a match again, boy?!"

Goku gave a cheeky smile. "You have your lil' white flag ready?"

Very quickly, more and more joined the conversation. A feminine voice called out. "I think the big lunkhead is always carrying that. Just in case!"

Giran turned to see Ranfan marching up, arms crossed over her chest. Giran sneered. "At least I ain't strippin' naked to get my wins!"

Ranfan rolled her eyes. "That gimmick is dead. I just beat the crap out of people outright now."

King Chappa marched up as well. "Yes. It would appear as if the woman has deigned to learn decent morals."

The older fighter turned to Goku. "Well met, Son Goku. I thank you again for saving my life during the unpleasantness of Gyosan Mane."

Goku looked confused. "What're you talkin' about? I was savin' Santa from a ghost when that mess was goin' on."

Pamput, a patchy beard sprouting on his face, marched up to the group and spat. "I see you haven't grown up much in the head. You were saving Santa?! You serious?!"

Gohan cocked his head. "Wait... were you guys really serious when you told us that...?"

Before Goku could answer, a finger tapped Gohan on the shoulder. He turned and found himself staring into a somewhat familiar face. Gohan flinched. "Oh! Hey, it's Spike!"

Spike the Devilman smiled a razor-sharp grin. "Hello, my young friend~! How goes the study of my Devilmite Beam?"

Gohan scratched the back of his turban. "Aw, you know! Not much use for an evil-killing beam in peacetime. But I did develop a fighting style off of it that I still try to practice with some frequency."

Spike nodded. "You call it Devilmite Kenpo, correct?"

Gohan nodded. Finally, as he and Spike started to get into a conversation, a final person joined the now steady group conversation. "Goku! Yamcha! Krillin!"

The three warriors turned and caught sight of someone they didn't immediately place. Even more so than the now bearded Nam, this young man was quite unfamiliar to their eyes. He was a tall, strapping young lad with a masterfully well-sculpted body. He smiled a confident grin. "I haven't seen you guys since the soothsayer's tournament! How have you been?"

Yamcha crossed his arms. "Uh... not that it's not nice to see you, big guy. But... who...?"

He chuckled. "Of course you wouldn't recognize me! I'm all grown up now. I've even managed to climb Korin Tower just as my father informed me you, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu did! I'm finally able to stand at eye level with you guys, so please allow me a reintroduction..."

The young man clenched his fists, pulling them confidently to his sides. "My name is Upa! The strongest warrior of the Sacred Land of Korin!"

Goku's eyes went wide and he smiled. "UPA?!"

Immediately, the Saiyan was upon his old friend. "Is it really you?! Man, you sure did sprout up, huh?! You were quite the squirt back then, and now you're even taller than me!"

Upa's smile was modest, but he vainly flexed his left arm in a faux case of showing off. 18 cocked her head. "So many people you guys seem to know. And here I thought our little tight knit group were the only people you hermits knew like that."

Yamcha chuckled. "Oh yeah, 18. And this one is pretty special to Krillin, too~"

18 looked confused. "In what regard?"

Yamcha teased. "First crush!"

18 flinched. "Wh-What?!"

Krillin cried out. "H-Hey! Don't spread rumors like that! I thought he was a girl! Nothing more!"

Upa laughed out loud, a light blush on his face. Soon enough, all the other warriors, except for Vegeta and Piccolo who merely smirked, were sharing in a laugh and talking amongst one another. There was a lot of catching up to do with old friends, it seemed. As everyone else talked, Piccolo scanned the competition in front of him and thought to himself. 'Well, a surprisingly good crop amidst the crap. I wonder if there are others...'

The Namekian slowly turned his head, scanning the crowd for potential. The first persons of note that he landed on were a towering, pink-skinned man with white hair, and a shorter lilac-shaded man with a large mohawk. Piccolo flinched. 'Something...is off with those two...'

Continuing his scan, Piccolo took note of several more relatively impressive power levels. A beautiful woman in a bovine-themed luchador getup, massive phony horns jutting from the sides of her mask. Another fighter in a superhero get-up like Gohan's ridiculous costume. A gangster of some kind with a fiery Ki simmering beneath the surface. A mountain of a man with a flowing black ponytail. A pretty boy with long, blonde hair. A dark-skinned, bulky boxer. A foul-smelling, balding thug. And a fresh-faced young man listening to Tien's pitch for the Turtle School. All superhuman in their own right, but no real challenge for the Z-Fighters. All of them were martial artists still under that Mr. Satan fool's caliber.

And then, Piccolo set his Ki sense on those two and he felt his skin begin to crawl. The two of them were powerfully muscled with grotesque veins protruding about their form, and skin the pallor of chalk-dust. Their eyes were heavily bagged as if sleep were no more than a memory. And they both bore an unnerving sigil burned into the flesh of their forehead. Piccolo sneered. "Disgusting."

"Piccolo?"

Piccolo turned, looking down at Gohan. He could see concern on the boy's face. "Is something wrong, Piccolo?"

Piccolo took a moment. He opened his mouth to speak, but was then cut off by the squeal of a microphone. On the platform toward the back of the courtyard, Piiza was setting up to address the crowd. Piccolo shook his head. "We'll talk about it later."

Gohan was hesitant, but shrugged. "Okay."

Up on stage, Piiza tapped her microphone and then spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for coming today! We have a lot of y'all here today, so we're going to forego the opening ceremony in favor of getting right down to the action! Now, to explain our qualifier today, it is my pleasure to introduce the World Champion of Martial Arts! The Savior of Earth! Mr. Satan!"

Several colored smoke bombs went off and Mr. Satan came leaping through the haze onto the stage, hitting his signature pose and happily absorbing the cheers of the crowd. Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Ridiculous."

Piccolo crossed his arms. "Somehow, we've allowed this buffoon to become known as the strongest?"

Goku chuckled. "Give him a break, guys. He ain't at the level he can take Frieza or anything, but he's easily the strongest normal human, I think. If he had any idea how Ki worked, he'd be one heck of a contender."

Behind Mr. Satan, four more people stepped onto stage. To Mr. Satan's right was Hiki Komori, carrying an attache case and smiling as she waved at the crowd. To his left were Caroni, Pirozhki, and Videl. Mr. Satan cackled and roared into the mic. "How are you guys doin' today?! ARE WE READY FOR A TOURNAMENT?!"

The crowd roared in approval again. Piiza politely applauded and then held up her mic. "Okay everyone! Here's how this is going to work. Because of the unexpectedly massive turnout, we are going to have to cut down the field a bit before we can get to the actual preliminaries. We're going to cut down the record 3,832 turnout into a simpler and cleaner 32. Then, those lucky 32 fighters will compete for a place in the tournament proper!"

Another cheer from the crowd. Piiza was feeding off the energy. This was a good presentation thus far. She motioned with her free hand as three tournament monks wheeled three hulking machines onto the stage. "In order to figure out who the best of the best are, we have prepared three punching machines! One-by-one, will we have groups of three walk up here to show off their strength to the crowd! Highest 32 scores get to move on!"

Piiza pumped her fist into the air, anticipating another rowdy cheer. But, this time, she was met mostly with silence. For a moment, the hostess looked utterly confused. Then, to her shock, Videl cried out. "WAIT! WHAT?! THAT'S THE PLAN?!"

The adults surrounding Videl all looked confused. Hiki turned to the girl. "Is something wrong, Videl?"

Down with the Z-Fighters…

Goku flinched in shock. "H-HOW LONG?!"

Gohan looked ill, groaning and kneading his fingers against the side of his head as he spoke. "Even if every fighter takes only 30 seconds to go up there, punch that machine, and get their score... and I feel like 30 seconds is a pretty big strain as is... it would take nearly 11 hours for everyone here to get their turn."

Yamcha stammered. "B... BUT THAT WOULD MEAN WE'D MISS THE JUNIOR DIVISION!"

Back up with Videl…

Videl finished her rant. "... BONE-HEADED STUPIDITY!"

Mr. Satan and Piiza were both shivering in the face of Videl's wrath. The girl looked genuinely frustrated that such a timing error as this was allowed to happen. She half-sighed, half-growled. "My boyfriend and all his friends are down there! And some of them have kids competing in the Junior Division! Are they just expected to miss that?!"

Piiza hung her head in shame. "Oh, this is a disaster..."

Hiki sighed. "I told everyone we should have done pre-registration rather than allow walk-ups."

Mr. Satan crossed his arms. "Can't we just get another machine delivered?"

Hiki shook her head. "When Videl started screaming, that was the first thing I checked. It would take almost as long as the situation we're stuck with now to have any more machines delivered."

Mr. Satan sighed, looking from his students to his personal assistant to his daughter. He frowned. "I'm sorry, sugar beet. Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow..."

Back with the Z-Fighters…

Vegeta was obstinate. "No! I will not miss my son's competition. Nor will I stand for my time being wasted!"

Android 18's voice drained of sarcasm. "Do you have a plan, then, Vegeta?"

Vegeta tapped his foot, glaring off into the sky for a moment. Then, he gave a curt nod. "I think so. Help me locate the triclops and his ventriloquist dummy life-partner."

The Saiyan Prince stomped off in his search and 18 followed. Yamcha called after. "Their names are Tien and Chiaotzu, Vegeta!"

The message didn't reach its intended recipient as the microphone gave a small buzz of feedback.

Back on stage…

Piiza had recovered some of her previous vivacity as she cheerfully spoke into the microphone. "Okay, ladies and gents! Lots to do today, so let's hurry as fast as possible! To kick our qualifier off, Mr. Satan and his three most powerful disciples will be throwing the first punches!"

In spite of themselves, the crowd couldn't help but break into cheers for Mr. Satan. Piiza nodded. "To set a baseline, we will have one of the tournament staff throw the first punch!"

One of the tournament monks obeyed the implied order, lining up in front of the middle punching machine and throwing his most solid jab. The punch connected and a digital display at top began to calculate. The resulting score: 45!

Everyone gave the humble monk a polite round of applause. He nervously bowed and then quickly exited the stage. Next, Mr. Satan took center stage and continued to play up the crowd. As he turned to throw his punch, however, another fighter suddenly took the stage. Piiza gasped. "H-Hey! Wait a minute! Mr. Satan is still-"

The hulking man-beast stuck out his tongue and let loose a screeching howl. "TO HELL WITH MR. SATAN! HIS TIME IN THE LIGHT IS DONE! WILD HOG IS HERE AND I'M GOING TO THROW THE FIRST PUNCH TODAY!"

Before anyone could stop him, Wild Hog drew his massive fist back and punched the machine as hard as he could, watching with snide delight in his eyes as a score of 87 flashed for all to see. He turned to the crowd and snarled. "YEEEEEEEEEAHHHHH!"

The crowd didn't cheer, still stunned at this showy brute's sudden interruption. Mr. Satan and Videl both looked very unimpressed. Caroni and Pirozhki looked really annoyed. The two disciples started to move to remove the loudmouth, but then Mr. Satan stepped into their path. The World Champion cracked his neck not once, but twice, and then smirked. "Nice pee-wee punch, junior! You might win the Junior Division with that one!"

The crowd laughed. Wild Hog's face turned crimson. "HOW DARE-"

Without properly positioning himself at the machine, or even looking at it, Mr. Satan threw a glancing blow against the bag and the machine began to calculate. Eventually, it flashed another score: 158!

Wild Hog shuddered back, falling onto his ass in shock. Mr. Satan glared down at him, but then put on a beatific smile. "Don't worry, bud! I ain't participating in the tournament proper. I'm going to have a championship showdown with the tournament winner, so you still got plenty of time to work on that punch~!"

The thug was shaking in place. Mr. Satan smiled. "Just, be warned..."

Caroni, Pirozhki, and Videl all lined up and threw their punches. Caroni's score was calculated to be a 137! Pirozhki's came out to be 145! And then, to the shock of the crowd and the genuine surprise of Mr. Satan, Videl's score ticked onto the screen: 176!

Videl marched up next to her father, glowering down at Wild Hog. She bent over and got right in the thug's face as she finished her father's sentence. "...the competition is pretty stiff this year, piggy."

She stood up straight and rolled her eyes. "See you in the ring..."

Then, for a moment, Videl looked out into the crowd and smiled at Gohan, standing among his crowd of friends and family. "... maybe~"

And then, Videl turned and marched off the stage. Following closely behind, Caroni and Pirozhki were doting and complementing like the pair of dorky uncles they were. Hiki also gave chase, a small smile on her face at Videl's grand showing. For a moment, Mr. Satan just stood there with a dumbfounded expression. "... 176? My... baby girl?"

Totally forgetting the crowd, Mr. Satan held up his fist. "I mean, I didn't hit the dang thing with full strength. But..."

Shaking his head, Mr. Satan turned and flashed the crowd a victory sign. "NOW GET UP HERE AND DO YOUR BEST! WE ALL WANT THIS TO BE A TOURNAMENT TO REMEMBER!"

The crowd cheered as Mr. Satan departed the stage. Once he was out of sight, Piiza and the rest of the tournament staff started to rally the crowd as the qualifiers were getting underway! "Now then, let's get this party started by drawing lots! When you hear your name, step on up!"

Back with the Z-Fighters…

Chiaotzu looked annoyed. "Tell me what my name is. Hell, tell me a syllable of my name and I'll hear you out."

Vegeta spoke through clenched teeth. "DO. YOU. WANT TO WASTE. 11 WHOLE HOURS?! DWARF?!"

Chiaotzu spat back. "We've known each other for over a decade! You're a reason I once died! WHAT LETTER DOES MY NAME START WITH?!"

On the sidelines, Tien, 17, and 18 watched that horrific scene play out before them with a hearty mixture of embarrassment and shame. Soon enough, the other Z-Fighters joined up with them. Gohan cocked his head. "Problem?"

17 sighed. "Vegeta being Vegeta."

Gohan nodded. "Ah."

Vegeta sneered. "Have we ever actually had a conversation?!"

Chiaotzu snapped back. "No! But that's not the point, you miserable, five-head jerk!"

Shaking his head, Piccolo stepped up. "Chiaotzu."

Vegeta snapped his fingers. "'C'! It starts with 'C'!"

Chiaotzu snarled. "Fuck you."

Piccolo held his hands up. "I agree. Trust me, Chiaotzu, I agree. But, we're going to be standing here for 11 hours if we don't do something."

Chiaotzu looked at Vegeta with visible disdain. Then he looked past Vegeta to all the rest of his friends. Chiaotzu sighed. "Fine. I'll help. What do you need me to do?"

Goku nodded. "Yeah, Vegeta, what's the plan?"

Vegeta crossed his arms. "Chiaotzu here is a psychic, so he can manipulate the lot drawing, right?"

Tien nodded. "Yeah. We've sort of cheated the system like that in the past. But, what good will it do in this? Even if we make it to the front of the line, we still have to wait."

Piccolo concurred. "These are the only three machines they have. No spares. I heard Videl talking about it earlier."

Vegeta adopted a wicked little smirk. "Perfect, actually."

Everyone looked at him. He cackled. "I know just what to do. If we work together, this will take less than an hour."

He pointed to Piccolo and Tien. "Namekian! Triclops! You scout around for the highest power levels here. Specifically, search out people who could score above an 87. I don't want to have to deal with the embarrassment that stormed the stage earlier."

Piccolo and Tien both nodded and began to scan, following orders as given.

He pointed to Chiaotzu. "You! Take reports from those two and manipulate the lots to summon one person they've selected for each three-man grouping!"

Chiaotzu sighed and crossed his arms. "Fine."

He pointed to 17 and 18. "You two! You'll be hanging back with me! The three of us will not approach the stage until I give the cue for the dwarf to send us up!"

17 cocked his head. "Do we have some sort of special role here?"

Vegeta nodded. "Indeed. I'll tell you both what we're to do in a moment."

He pointed to everyone else. "As for the rest of you, whenever you're sent up, just make sure that your scores don't exceed that Satan nitwit. Given the intelligence of the woman running this, she might assume the machines are messing up and in need of repair if we do such a thing and that would only waste time. Keep your scores above 100, but below 158."

Everyone nodded at Vegeta's order. He nodded back. On stage, Piiza called out. "Okay, folks! We're going to do our first three-man drawing!"

Vegeta turned to Tien and Piccolo. "Well?"

Piccolo turned to Chiaotzu. "Do Spike the Devilman. We know he's strong."

Chiaotzu's eyes glowed and he subtly pointed at the lot box Piiza was digging in. Soon after that, Spike and two other fighters were gathered on-stage. The three of them threw their punches and three scores chimed out in unison.

Tofu: 76

Diamond Jackson: 84

Spike the Devilman: 106

The crowd cheered. The three fighters on stage played to the cheering, only to be ushered off stage by Piiza. She spoke into her microphone. "Impressive showing from former World Champion, Spike the Devilman! Let's do another drawing!"

Everyone turned to Vegeta, who was rapidly whispering something to Android 17 and Android 18. The prince glared at them. "What?! Do you all need me to wipe your noses?! I explained the plan, execute it!"

Tien pointed. "Try that yakuza over there, Chiaotzu. He feels strong."

Chiaotzu sighed. "Fine."

A montage…

Vegeta's plan was going off without a hitch. Tien and Piccolo fed names to Chiaotzu and Chiaotzu made sure those fighters ended up on the stage. Piiza commentated on the action as the best and brightest martial artists were weeded out from the average.

"KAZUMA KIRYU, SCORE OF 92!"

"YAMCHA, SCORE OF 115!"

"KILLA, SCORE OF 110!"

"GYUHIME THE COW PRINCESS, SCORE OF 89!"

"UPA, SCORE OF 104!"

"KIBITO, SCORE OF 104!"

"PAMPUT, SCORE OF 108!"

"GIRAN, SCORE OF 90!"

"CHIAOTZU, SCORE OF 154!"

As Chiaotzu stepped down from the stage and rejoined his friends, Krillin shot him a side-eye. "Really, Chiaotzu? 154?"

Chiaotzu shot him back a sour look. "I'm annoyed, okay?! Cut me some slack!"

"SILAS, SCORE OF 93!"

"KING CHAPPA, SCORE OF 100!"

"NAM, SCORE OF 88!"

"PINTAR, SCORE OF 92!"

"KRILLIN, SCORE OF 140!"

"MR. SHIN, SCORE OF 135!"

"THE GREAT SAIYAMAN, SCORE OF 107!"

"BACTERIAN, SCORE OF 101!"

"MIGHTY MASK, SCORE OF 89!"

"FORMER CHAMPION SON GOKU, SCORE OF 111!"

"RANFAN, SCORE OF 96!"

"JEWEL, SCORE OF 93!"

As Jewel hopped off stage, Tien squinted through the crowd. "Less people."

Piccolo nodded. "Yeah. With so many high number contenders showing up on stage in sequence, the meeker sort have cleared out. I hate to credit him, but Vegeta came up with a brilliant plan."

Tien sighed. "Problem though. We're running out of people. It might be time for us to take the stage soon, Piccolo."

Tien's eyes fell onto the two hulking, chalk-white thugs and his Ki sense felt as if it was about to vomit. "Eugh. What the hell...?"

Piccolo nodded. "I felt the same way. Something about them is...off."

Chiaotzu signaled. "Guys! I need someone! Hurry!"

The two warriors looked at each other and then scanned the crowd one more time. There was no one else among the rabble that fit Vegeta's parameters. Piccolo sighed and shook his head. "That one, Chiaotzu."

Chiaotzu got back to work and Piccolo bared his fangs. "I'm already having second thoughts about this."

Tien shrugged. "It'll be fine. We're all stronger than those two. We'll have them out of the tournament in no time."

"SPOPOVICH, SCORE OF 137!"

"YAMU, SCORE OF 126!"

"JUNIOR, SCORE OF 156!"

"FORMER CHAMPION TIEN SHINHAN, SCORE OF 108!"

Krillin shook his head. "Damn, Piccolo, you and Chiaotzu both?! Ever heard of subtly?!"

Yamcha rolled his eyes. "Cuz 140 is subtle, Krillin?"

Krillin stammered. "I-I mean...comparatively!"

Vegeta stepped up, cracking his neck. "That's 29 people altogether, right? Those buffoons from the Cell Games, Gohan's woman, and then 26 additional spots filled?"

Tien nodded. "Yes."

Gohan looked concerned. "O-Okay. So, how about you explain the rest of this plan, Vegeta? I'm... nervous."

Vegeta smirked. "What could I possibly do that makes you so nervous?"

Gohan waved his hand in front of his face. "You've got this whole... Vegeta... thing...going on with your face and it makes me uneasy."

Vegeta shrugged, seeming glib. "My wife seems to enjoy the whole 'Vegeta thing' going on with my face. But, I guess that's why I'm not married to you. Androids, come!"

Vegeta started to walk toward the stage. 17 grumbled. "This dickhead is your best friend, sis?"

18 sighed. "Sometimes..."

The rest of the Z-Fighters grouped together as Piiza spoke again. "Okay! Vegeta, Lapis, and Android 18! Please join us on the stage!"

The three warriors climbed onto stage and were quickly moved into position. The crowd cheered, but the rest of the Z-Fighters simply watched. Piccolo narrowed his eyes. "What's he planning?"

Goku chuckled. "Who knows? But, I trust him to have the right idea. Vegeta's smart!"

Piiza spun around on her heel, eventually coming to a stop and thrusting her hand toward the three of them. Vegeta, 17, and 18 all looked at one another and nodded. And then, each of the three of them pulled their fist back and hit the three punching machines with all their strength. The three machines exploded into a shower of sparking wire and warped metal and then the crowd gasped in shock. Piiza, so utterly surprised by the machines suddenly breaking apart, went reeling right onto her butt.

Vegeta's plan was almost done. He reached down and grabbed Piiza's microphone from her hand. Then, he looked to the crowd, shot them his best and most malicious Planet Conqueror grin, and spoke in a voice dripping with malice. "See you all in the preliminaries~"

There was no reaction at first, some mild foot shuffling and a few dry coughs. But then, people began to clear out. The last of the remaining hopefuls all came to the same conclusion that they were outgunned and outmatched and, using their heads and instincts, quickly made their escape from what was most likely a trip to the hospital in the making.

Shakily getting to her feet, Piiza turned and addressed the remaining crowd: the Z-Fighters and those fighters whom Piccolo and Tien had picked out. With a small quiver in her voice, Piiza spoke. "Um... I-I-I guess the qualifier is... over? Y-Yeah! So, why don't we get the pr-preliminaries started right-"

Vegeta cut in. "After the Junior Division. I will not miss my son claiming his victory!"

Piiza turned and her eyes met Vegeta's for less than a second. Woodenly, she turned and nodded at the rest of the tournament-goers. "R-Right! Sure! After the Junior Division!"

Vegeta leapt off the stage, smugly satisfied. On his heels, 17 and 18 came along as well. The Z-Fighters all gathered up and, after exchanging a few nods, began to make their way toward the tournament ring.

In the crowd…

The spectating friends and family of the Z-Fighters all sat down in their seats and eagerly awaited the show to start. Bulma read through a brochure she had managed to snag on their walk to their seats. "It looks like the itinerary is... Junior Division, announcement of the match-ups, and the actual tournament is tomorrow."

Chi-Chi nodded. "I figured it would be somethin' like that. With how many people I saw going into that right gate, they probably need a lot of extra time just to figure out who's gonna participate."

Suno frowned. "I hope it doesn't take too long. Yamcha would be really upset if he missed Koriocha's match..."

Gine held up a camcorder. "Don't you worry! If Yamcha gets held up, I'm going to be recording everything!"

Blonde Launch nodded over. 'Eyyo! Moms! Can I get one o' those tapes later?"

Gine nodded. "Yes, dear."

Meanwhile, Bulla was still grumbling. "I still can't believe I have to sit this out. Stupid Trunks..."

Chika smiled. "Aw, it'll be okay, Bulla! We can-"

Suddenly, Chika gasped and called out as she waved her hand. "Erasa! Sharpner!"

Everyone else looked to see where Chika was waving and found themselves delighted to see Gohan's other two friends, Erasa and Sharpner, looking for a place to sit. Erasa waved back. "Heya, Chika!"

The two teens quickly ascended the stairs. Gine motioned. "Everyone scooch over! We need two more seats!"

By the time Erasa and Sharpner arrived, there was room for them to sit. Sharpner lowered himself into the seat. "Thanks, guys! We've been looking for seats for 10 minutes cuz Erasa had to go to the restroom."

Erasa pouted. "I can't help nature, Sharpner!"

Chika bounded over several laps, eventually squeezing herself between Erasa and Suno. The little girl smiled up at her older peer and Erasa grabbed her into a one-armed hug. "Are you excited to watch your brothers and your daddy fight, Chika?"

Chika nodded. "Yeah! They're so cool!"

Sharpner smirked. "Yeah. They're pretty cool. This is gonna be a pretty hot tournament!"

He leaned forward, speaking to Suno. "Uh, Ms. Suno, did we miss anything?"

Suno rolled her eyes. "Nothing worth mentioning. They showed a clip from a silly movie they're releasing. It wasn't very good."

Across the arena, atop a media balcony…

Videl groaned as she pulled up her phone's camera. "God. This sucks. No idea where Erasa and Sharpner are. Gohan is being held up..."

She crossed her arms and sighed. "Good thing I thought about buying a bigger SD card. Poor Gohan and the others are going to end up missing the Junior Division. Have to make sure I at least record the important parts for them. Maybe make sure they get an advance copy of the tournament DVD when it gets produced..."

Videl almost sighed again, but then a familiar voice called out. "Hey, Videl!"

Videl flinched. She turned to her left and was surprised to see Gohan and Goku walking up to greet her, trailed by the rest of their companions and a couple of new faces. Goku smiled. "Hey, Videl! These are my buddies, Nam and Upa! They're taking part in the tournament too!"

Nam offered his hand. "Lovely to meet you, Ms. Videl!"

Upa waved. "Likewise."

As Videl shook Nam's hand, everyone took their places to get the best view of the ring, Videl turned to Gohan. "So, the qualifier is already over?"

Gohan nodded. "Yup."

Videl cocked her head. "But... But that should have taken hours!Wh-What happened?"

Gohan sighed, pointing with his thumb. "Vegeta."

Videl looked over at the rude, spiky-haired jerk that Gohan's entire family allowed to hang around for some reason. She looked back to Gohan. "Do I... do I wanna know?"

Chiaotzu chimed in. "Nope."

Vegeta smirked. "Bitter dwarf."

Chiaotzu responded with a word so vulgar it made Nam pray, Gohan cringe, and Videl blush. Goku cleared his throat, trying to move on. "So, did we miss anything? No matches have happened, right?"

Videl shook her head. "Surprisingly, no. The Junior Division actually has another 30 minutes before it starts. The only thing you guys missed was the special sneak peek of the new Cell Games movie that's coming out in September."

Yamcha cocked his head. "A Cell Games... movie?"

Videl nodded. "Yeah. It was the first trailer where they showcased the Cell costume and special effects. Personally, I think it's really cheesy. The Cell costume looks... bad."

Immediately, 17 and 18 were both interested. 17 chuckled. "They made Cell look stupid?"

18 was more forward. "I wanna see!"

Happily obliging, Videl pulled up the trailer on the Tenkaichi Budokai's website and showed it to the cackling delight of the two Androids. She chuckled to herself. "Wow...you two really hate Cell, huh?

In the fighter's waiting room…

Trunks, Goten, Koriocha, and Ranch were all sitting next to one another on a bench, waiting for the action to begin. Each of the kids was bored to tears as they waited. It was still a whole half an hour before the tournament began.

It had been a long, irritating process even getting to this point. The tournament staff had been persistent to the point of annoyance on chaperoning the children. They explained the rules until Trunks' ears were ready to bleed and insisted upon proper stretching until Ranch's head began to pound. Each of the kids had been bothered to go take a bathroom break at least twice to "avoid accidents in the ring".

Trunks groaned. "This is so friggin' stupid. I wanna fight the adults."

Ranch glumly rested her chin into her cupped palms. "And it's a battle royale too. Somehow, they've managed to make a lame concept even lamer..."

Goten smiled wide. "Aw, come on, guys! Is it really that bad?"

Trunks looked annoyed. "I came here to fight real battles, dummy! Not this snot-nosed, pretend crap!"

Ranch looked annoyed. "Don't be an ass, Trunks. This isn't Goten's fault."

Koriocha sighed. "It stinks that you and Trunks are in the same bracket, though. Takes some fun and suspense out of the whole deal..."

Ranch shook her head and pulled out the bright green lot ball she was handed, showing off a bright red #1. As the rules had been explained to them, the Junior Division was divided into four battle royale style brackets. The winner from each bracket would be allowed to advance to the finals, where a massive four-way match would take place. The winner of that match would be the Junior Division champion.

Goten was in Bracket #3.

Koriocha was in Bracket #4.

Trunks and Ranch were both stuck in Bracket #1.

Suddenly, another feminine voice cut in. "Aw, don't worry sweetheart! At least you're not in the second bracket~!"

Ranch put her lot down and shot a peeved glance at this new intruder. There was a smug looking girl with two hair braids and overly long legs standing there, looking down on her. She placed her hand on her chest. "You don't look like a girl in the know, so allow me to introduce myself! My name is Balsam Dressing III! I'm a pedigree fighter with tournament wins all over the world and a black belt in Judo, Taekwondo, Wing Chun, Kendo, and Jujitsu! So, yeah, easily the best girl in the tournament! But I smell like a field of roses and you look like you crawled out of a dumpster, so..."

Balsam looked Ranch up and down, taking in the girl's weathered jeans, her frumpy, black hoodie, and her wool-knit toque hat. She winked. "... you probably already knew that, huh~?"

Ranch's face was grim. Trunks could feel the gooseflesh rising on his skin. She was rapidly boiling from annoyed to angry. But then, perhaps even worse, a small smile spread on Ranch's face. "I am really looking forward to our eventual match."

Balsam waved her hands. "Ooooh~ Scary~"

Balsam skipped away, her nose high in the air. Ranch tented her fingers in front of her face and began to think. Koriocha frowned. "You okay, Ranch?"

Ranch nodded. "Yeah, just trying to figure something out..."

Goten laughed. "Ranch's thinking face is scary!"

Trunks nodded with a hefty blush. "A lot of things about Ranch are scary..."

And then, to the group's disdain, another irritating voice called out. "Aw! The stupid baby is scared of a girl!"

Trunks' eyes became sharp and he glared across the room at two older, leering teens, one was blonde and the other brunette. Upon meeting Trunks' eyes, the blonde rapidly crossed the room, getting right into the shorter boy's face. "Hey there, shrimp! Name's Idasa! I'm the three-time regional Karate champ at South City Junior High!"

He harshly shoved Trunks on the shoulder, but Trunks didn't flinch. Idasa cackled. "Oh? Tough guy, huh? I think I'm gonna beat your face in! What bracket are you in?"

Idasa held up a green lot with a red #2 on it, and then shoved it in his back into his pocket. He cocked his head. "Well?"

Trunks' eyes were half-lidded. With a massive air of disinterest, he waved Idasa away. The blonde bully snorted. "Fine, stay silent ya little fairy! I'll get you eventually!"

And, with that, Idasa stomped away, grabbing the brunette kid and yanking him along. Koriocha sighed. "Wow, lots of dummies here today, huh?"

Trunks shrugged. "He doesn't matter. He's in Bracket #2, so I doubt I'll see him again anyway."

Goten cocked his head. "You don't think he's gonna make it?"

Trunks snorted. "Not if the rest of the competition is halfway decent."

Ranch chuckled. "Wouldn't you want to make sure of that, though?"

Trunks turned to her. "What do you mean?"

Ranch was rolling her lot in her hand, smiling down at it. But then, to the surprise of the others, she held it up and a difference became immediately apparent. Ranch's lot now read #2, rather than #1. Ranch spoke in a low, singsong voice. "Looks like I'm in Bracket #2~"

Trunks smirked. "Pickpocketed him?"

Ranch shrugged. "Some people make it easy~"

As a tournament official came running through the crowd of kids again, nagging them all once more with talk of stretching and bathroom breaks, the four kids smiled at the thought of the tournament to come.

In the tournament ring...

The sun shined down bright as a familiar man with a large, golden blonde pompadour took to the stage. With a swing and a flourish, he held his microphone aloft and called out. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING! MY NAME IS VALE AND I AM THE ANNOUNCER FOR THIS, THE 25TH TENKAICHI BUDOKAI!"

As the crowd cheered, the various kids within Bracket One stood in awe at all the onlookers. Some of the kids looked pumped, playing to the crowd. Others seemed to recede from the colossal noise. Trunks crossed his arms with a smirk, knowing that this wasn't going to take long. Idasa, meanwhile, looked very confused that he was called up for this round at all.

Vale, the announcer, continued. "Okay folks! We're getting today's events started with Bracket #1 of the second ever Junior Division! Are you all ready?!"

The crowd cheered once more. Vale turned to the kids. "Contestants! Are you ready?!"

For better or for worse, all the kids took their fighting stances. Vale raised his hand into the air. "THEN LET THE JUNIOR DIVISION BEGIN!"