Ethan could see it clearly. Yamcha's flaw was hard to change, just like the Saiyans' battle instinct and their tendency to go all out once they gained the upper hand.
On top of his talent not being truly top-tier, he was already starting to feel the limits of his bottleneck. Since he did not get a good result in this tournament, unless he came back to compete when everyone else was no longer participating, it would be difficult for him to achieve a good ranking in the future.
Then again, after already seeing higher levels of martial arts, Yamcha was probably not interested in playing boring games with a bunch of "weaklings and fodder."
Next was Krillin's match against Chiaotzu. Although Chiaotzu had also trained, his progress was slow and his potential was not high. He could only barely keep himself from holding back Tien Shinhan's training speed.
But that was all. If Yamcha was gradually beginning to feel his limits, then Chiaotzu could be said to have already reached his. Although he could still improve through harsher training in the future, the speed of that improvement would be very slow. Without some lucky opportunity, Chiaotzu would quickly be left behind by everyone else.
The current gap in strength was not that large, and the two of them still put on a wonderful match.
Piccolo, watching from the sidelines, felt even worse.
"Not just those two guys, even these two little runts have become so strong. What the hell is going on? What happened over the past few years?"
Piccolo remembered that his opponent was also one of this group. If that woman had this level of strength, then even if she was the weakest among them, he probably would not have any advantage at all.
"Damn it..."
Gritting his teeth, Piccolo racked his brain trying to come up with a plan, but even if his head felt like it was about to explode from thinking, he still could not come up with anything.
Just then, the match in the arena also came to an end. Chiaotzu ultimately lost. Ethan could tell that Krillin had not used his full strength yet.
Krillin had spent so long researching powerful techniques, yet in this match, he barely used any energy blasts and won without even using the Kamehameha. It seemed Krillin was gradually starting to realize his own potential.
At this point, three matches of the first round had been completed, with only the last match between Piccolo and Yoruichi remaining.
"Yoruichi's luck has finally turned around."
Among the eight contestants in the main tournament, the weakest was Chi-Chi, followed by Piccolo. The previous two times, Yoruichi had always run into the reigning champion in the preliminaries, but this time she had finally met an easy opponent she could handle without difficulty.
With Piccolo's current power level at less than four hundred, facing Yoruichi meant he had absolutely no room to resist. So this match... was truly brutal.
Piccolo was beaten so badly that he seriously began to doubt his demonic existence. For a moment, he shifted his attention toward the audience seating to the side, seeming to hesitate over whether he should simply go all out against Ethan.
Piccolo quickly realized that going all out was useless. After fighting Yoruichi, he was certain that even if he wanted to do something, this woman would stop him. Her speed was simply too fast, and he could not keep up with her at all.
In the end, Piccolo honestly finished the match without revealing his true identity as "Piccolo" from beginning to end.
He had already made up his mind that after this tournament, he would train hard and wait until his strength surpassed these people before doing anything else.
Watching Piccolo retreat in dejection, Ethan wondered whether he should go talk to him, maybe give him a bit of encouragement or something. Perhaps that would motivate Piccolo to train even harder?
After thinking about it for a while, his attention was quickly drawn back to the arena.
The semifinals began, and the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament had completely turned into an internal showdown within their little group.
Tien Shinhan versus Son Goku, Krillin versus Yoruichi.
Bulma looked at the matchups. Even though she did not understand martial arts, she could still tell that the champion of this tournament would most likely be either Son Goku or Yoruichi.
"Who do you think will win?"
"Uh... Goku!"
"Hm? You're not supporting Yoruichi?"
Bulma had thought Ethan would favor Yoruichi, since the two of them were very close. She had seen them come out of the bathroom together more than once.
"I know Yoruichi's strength very well, but Goku... I can't really tell what his current power level is, and his potential is naturally enormous."
Saiyans, after all, have astonishing potential. Goku was only showing a small part of it now.
The match between Tien Shinhan and Son Goku was even more exciting than any match in the first round. As Goku gradually revealed the terrifying potential of a Saiyan, he was no longer someone Tien Shinhan could contend with.
Even when Tien Shinhan used the new techniques he had developed, he still could not pose a real threat to Goku.
The only thing he did not use was the Tri-Beam, a desperate move that could be fatal to the user, which was not suitable for use in this kind of tournament.
Besides, Tien Shinhan realized that even if he used it, he still might not win, so why make himself suffer?
"You've become stronger."
The result had already been decided. Tien Shinhan shook his head helplessly. Goku's talent was just too great. He had originally thought his own talent was quite good, but compared to Goku, the two were simply not on the same level.
"I learned some good things at the Lookout. After the tournament, you can also go there and train with Kami."
"I will."
Although he lost this time, Tien Shinhan's mindset had become more and more like that of a true martial artist. Winning or losing was not the key, the key was to keep surpassing oneself. Losing to Goku meant nothing. The biggest failure would be if he stopped training because of it.
Goku advanced to the finals. The following match between Krillin and Yoruichi was just as exciting.
Surprisingly, Krillin still did not use the Destructo Disc. Even when he ultimately lost, he still did not use that technique.
"Hasn't he developed it yet?"
After watching for a while, Ethan noticed that Krillin showed no sign of frustration. From the look on his face, it was clear he still had a lot of energy left, so he had probably not used his full strength either.
"It looks like he thought the Destructo Disc was too dangerous and didn't use it in a match like this."
Just like Yoruichi barely used her hand-blade attacks, these techniques were meant for killing enemies and were not suitable for use in this kind of setting, especially when fighting seriously. If they lost control for even a moment, it would be easy for an accident to happen.
"It seems everyone is holding back!"
No wonder they had all decided that this would be the last tournament. A match like this was no different from their usual sparring. In fact, with the arena, the audience, and all the other factors, it was not even as satisfying as just finding an empty wilderness somewhere and sparring there.
In this situation, although the final match was still very exciting, for Ethan and the others, it was just another event.
"Yoruichi's speed is so fast!"
"Yes, Yoruichi still has the advantage in speed. However, without using her hand-blade, it is difficult for her attacks to pose any real threat to Goku."
Goku's punches were heavier than Yoruichi's, and his agility was not much worse than hers. Yoruichi's slight speed advantage came purely from her natural talent in that area.
Unfortunately, no matter how fast your speed is, it is useless if you cannot injure the enemy. This was the so-called case of "all style and no damage."
Of course, Yoruichi's attacks were not actually that weak, but Goku's endurance was astonishing. If he traded blows with Yoruichi in exchange for chances to attack, Yoruichi would be the one to go down within a few rounds.
Frequent high-speed movement was also very exhausting, so dragging the fight out was also unfavorable for Yoruichi. In the end, she could only return to the most direct head-on combat.
"Goku wins!"
What Goku feared least was direct frontal combat. He could defeat, or even overwhelm, enemies much stronger than himself while being weaker, and when facing enemies of similar strength, he always seemed completely at ease.
The final result was almost exactly what Ethan had expected. Without using their killing techniques, Goku ultimately won the tournament and finally claimed a championship title.
Together with his engagement to Chi-Chi, it was double happiness for Son Goku.
After the match ended and the champion's prize money was collected, everyone gathered again to discuss their plans for the future.
"Next comes preparing for Goku's wedding, right?"
For Goku and their little group, Goku getting married was a very important matter. Although Bulma had been a little down for a while, she still offered her blessings.
"How are you planning to hold it?"
"I have no idea what I'm supposed to do..."
"Then you don't need to worry about it."
Bulma took over everything. According to her plan, she even intended to buy the land next to their house in West City and build a new home for Goku as his marital home.
"Ah, about that... I originally wanted to go back to Mount Paozu."
"Hm, I think you should reconsider. After getting married, it's not just about one person anymore. You need to think about the whole family."
Mount Paozu was not bad. It had good scenery, a nice climate, and enough seclusion. If Goku were living there alone, it really would be a good place. But it was too remote, which would make many things inconvenient for a family.
"Leaving everything else aside, when you have children, you'll have to think about their schooling, right? And Chi-Chi will be living with you. Are you going to make her travel a long way just to buy daily necessities?"
"Ah... about that..."
Goku was completely bewildered. Ethan and Bulma directly made the decision for him. After returning, Bulma would buy the surrounding area and renovate it.
Besides Goku, Ethan also planned to become neighbors with Bulma's family.
Rather than just being neighbors, it was more like Bulma's family was carrying out a large-scale expansion. According to Bulma's design, these families would still live within one "area," with no walls separating them. The yards would be connected, allowing them to visit each other freely.
Even Tien Shinhan was persuaded to stay instead of going off alone into the deep mountains and forests for seclusion. In any case, according to Bulma's plan, the new residence would be very large, and living there would also be quiet, so there would be no need to worry about being disturbed.
The key point was that this way, everyone could continue using the gravity room for training.
(To be continued.)