With the registration period over, all the contestants gathered at the preliminary venue. Without the large crowd of spectators mixed in, Tien Shinhan and the others also spotted the newly born Piccolo.
"Is that him?"
Because the newborn Piccolo looked different from the old King Piccolo, and because he had wrapped his head in a turban to cover his two antennae, he looked like someone with an unusual complexion. If they had not known his identity beforehand, they might only have found him strange instead of connecting him to King Piccolo.
"That's him."
"I wonder how much stronger he is than the original Piccolo."
"No matter what, he shouldn't be a match for us, right?"
While lining up for the lottery draw, they discussed Piccolo. Meanwhile, Piccolo, who had taken the name Ma Junior, was also secretly observing Goku and his group.
"I don't see Ethan. Did he not enter?"
Unlike in the original story, Piccolo's main reason for participating in this World Martial Arts Tournament was to find Ethan.
This time, it was not Goku who killed King Piccolo, but Ethan. Not only did he kill him, he also humiliated Piccolo so thoroughly that Piccolo swore he would wash away that shame, kill Ethan in front of countless spectators, and announce the return of King Piccolo.
However, if Ethan did not participate, then what was he supposed to do with the plan he had prepared so carefully?
"Damn it!"
Turning his head away, Piccolo immediately made a new decision.
"In that case, I'll cripple your friends one by one right in front of you, and then kill them all together at the end!"
With a new plan in mind, Piccolo withdrew his gaze and quietly waited for the draw.
"What should we do? Should we take care of this guy first?"
"Let's just put him in a different group."
Chiaotzu nodded. They had already agreed that everyone should be separated and not placed in the same group. With Chiaotzu's help, Yoruichi finally did not run into any strong opponents in the preliminaries this time.
With the strongest contestants fully spread out, the preliminaries naturally lacked any especially exciting moments, and everyone advanced smoothly.
Aside from the changes in strength and Yoruichi's participation, Ethan's arrival in this world also had another effect on this tournament. Mercenary Tao had died at Korin Tower, so he never got the chance to turn himself into a cyborg, enter the tournament, eliminate Chiaotzu, and then be defeated by Tien in the main tournament.
Without Mercenary Tao, Chiaotzu also passed the preliminaries successfully. In addition, because these people were already strong enough, Kami was not worried that the newborn Piccolo could threaten the world's safety, so he did not possess an ordinary person to enter the tournament.
Some things remained unchanged, however. For example, Chi-Chi still came to participate in this World Martial Arts Tournament and greeted Goku before the preliminary draw.
Although Goku was more "normal" than in the original story, he still could not remember who Chi-Chi was. After all, they had not seen each other for many years, and both of them had grown up. Chi-Chi had changed quite a lot compared to before.
When she realized that Goku did not recognize her at all, Chi-Chi became angry and wanted to teach him a lesson. Very fortunately, Chi-Chi and Goku were matched against each other in the first round of the main tournament.
When the tournament staff presented the match schedule, Ethan and Bulma, who had secured good seats, immediately looked over.
"Oh dear, Yamcha and Tien Shinhan are up against each other in the first round. And Krillin is facing Chiaotzu too."
"This Yamcha guy is just unbelievably unlucky."
There were only eight contestants in the main tournament: Yoruichi, Goku, Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, and Krillin, making six people. Adding Chi-Chi and Piccolo filled all eight spots. Ordinary martial artists had no chance in this tournament. Chi-Chi was also a student of the Turtle School, and her strength far surpassed that of normal fighters.
Among these eight contestants, Chi-Chi was already the weakest, and she had drawn Goku.
"It seems these two really are meant to end up together."
Ethan glanced at Bulma beside him. In his previous life, he had also felt it was a pity that Bulma did not end up with Goku. He had thought that, with his influence, Bulma might end up with Goku. Bulma had shown interest in him before, but unfortunately she had not continued to pursue him, and Goku completely lacked any understanding in that area. Expecting him to actively pursue Bulma? Ethan felt it would be easier to train Goku into a Super Saiyan ahead of time.
Since they did not get together, and Chi-Chi appeared at just the right time, it seemed the two of them never really had a chance.
"After all, I didn't interfere with Goku and Chi-Chi's meeting."
As long as that event had not been changed, Chi-Chi would eventually come looking for him anyway. And compared to the hesitant Bulma, Chi-Chi was much more proactive. Once she decided that Goku was her fiancé, her initiative was off the charts. She came looking for him, they got married right away, and soon after, Gohan was born.
Judging from what happened later, it was clear that Chi-Chi truly loved Goku. After all, not everyone could tolerate a husband who did not work, had no income, was rarely at home, thought only about training, and occasionally left his wife behind to die.
Moreover, Saiyans' stomachs were like black holes. Just cooking every day was already a huge amount of work. The fact that Chi-Chi did not divorce Goku was definitely true love.
Ethan felt that Bulma and Goku were a better match because Bulma came from a wealthy family, so there would be no financial pressure, and Goku could freely do whatever he wanted.
But after thinking about it, being with Goku was quite unfair to any woman. From a woman's point of view, someone like Goku should just stay single forever.
"What are you looking at me for? You don't have any bad ideas, do you?"
"..."
Ethan looked away and awkwardly scratched his nose.
"I'm just not sure whether you missed out on a destined marriage or escaped a disaster."
"?"
Bulma did not understand what Ethan meant, but the match was about to begin, and like everyone else, her attention quickly shifted to the arena.
Because Goku and the others were participating, this tournament could be considered the peak of the World Martial Arts Tournament, unless everyone was willing to take part in it again in the future.
Piccolo's match had not started yet. Ethan noticed him running up to the roof, standing at a high vantage point, and occasionally glancing in his direction.
Although he hid himself well, he could not escape Ethan's perception.
In the arena, after Chi-Chi said she would tell Goku who she was if he defeated her, Goku simply and cleanly knocked her out of the ring. Chi-Chi also kept her promise and revealed her identity, then demanded that Goku honor his promise and marry her.
Goku, however, turned to Krillin and asked a question that made everyone want to cough up blood. What is marriage?
"..."
Although he did not understand the meaning of marriage, he remembered that he really had made that promise back then, so Goku decided to keep his word and fulfill the promise he had made years ago.
"What?"
Bulma suddenly understood why Ethan had looked at her that way earlier and said those strange words.
"You recognized who she was a long time ago?"
"Although she's changed quite a bit, you can still see traces of how she looked as a child."
Bulma felt very depressed. She had originally been somewhat interested in Goku and had been hesitating over whether she should be more proactive, when Chi-Chi suddenly appeared. All the good men were being snatched away.
Ethan said nothing. There was still Vegeta later, anyway, but he should not say something like that out loud. Bulma could choose for herself.
Tien and Yamcha's match was very exciting and intense, completely on a different level from the previous one.
Although Chi-Chi had been taught by her father, the Ox-King, the gap between her and the current Goku was far too great. She did not cause him any trouble, so the match was naturally not that exciting.
Tien and Yamcha were different. They were among the top martial artists on the planet. Their strength was astonishing, and they knew each other well. They did not need much testing and went all out from the very beginning.
Then the audience was stunned.
They fought from the ring into the sky, then from the sky back down to the ground. Although the commentator did his best, he had no idea how to commentate on a match at this level because he could not even see much of the fight clearly.
"They're too fast!"
Not only were they fast, but anyone with sharp eyesight could also tell that their blows were extremely heavy, otherwise there would not have been such obvious sounds of collision when they exchanged strikes.
Standing high above with an expression of self-satisfaction, Piccolo felt awful. He realized that the gap between his strength and theirs was huge, and his previous plan had been a complete joke.
"Damn it. How can they be this strong!"
He could not understand it at all. How had these people become so powerful?
He had inherited his father's memories, and in those memories these people had all been insignificant trash. But now, he might not even be able to withstand a single attack from either of them.
After a series of brilliant and thrilling exchanges, Yamcha was the first to use his trump card.
"Spirit Ball!"
A large amount of energy gathered in his palm, condensing into a sphere that looked like an ordinary energy blast or something similar.
Tien knew this move could not be that simple, and he soon witnessed its special nature. The Spirit Ball could be controlled remotely by Yamcha at will, and it would not immediately explode upon impact. Instead, it could repeatedly attack its target.
As soon as he realized this, Tien understood that getting entangled with the Spirit Ball would only put him at more and more of a disadvantage. While dealing with its attacks, he also thought about how to counter it.
Just as Yamcha unleashed the special move he had worked so hard to develop and gradually gained the upper hand, he fell back into his old habit, allowing Tien to seize an opening.
"Ah, Yamcha lost again."
"Master Yamcha..."
Puar felt very sorry for him. He knew how much effort Yamcha had put in to break through the first round, but his luck was truly terrible. He always ran into a strong opponent in the first round.
"What a shame."
Yamcha still lost for the same old reason. After gaining the upper hand and seeing Tien suppressed by the Spirit Ball, he became a little too full of himself and neglected his own defense, allowing Tien to seize the opportunity and defeat him.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
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