Gohan and the others only glanced over. None of them had any interest in squeezing into the crowd.
"Gohan, that's Piccolo!" Goten's eyes lit up when he spotted Piccolo not far away.
Gohan perked up at once and hurried over to greet him.
"Gohan, you're not seriously planning to enter dressed like that, are you?" Piccolo stared at Gohan's strange outfit, completely speechless.
Gohan laughed awkwardly.
"Where's your father?" Piccolo asked.
"I don't know…" Gohan shook his head.
Pop!
Just then, Goku suddenly appeared on the scene with Instant Transmission.
"Hehe, hey, everyone!" Goku greeted them all with a smile.
"You finally came back." Piccolo turned toward him with a faint smile.
"Dad!" Gohan rushed over, clearly excited.
"Goku!" Krillin had missed him too.
"Wow… It's been a long time. Everyone's changed a lot." Goku looked around at the group, smiling as he spoke.
"Seriously, you're even less reliable than Ken," Bulma complained. "You've been gone this long and didn't even think about your family?"
"Well… hahaha…" Goku laughed awkwardly and scratched his head.
"Goku, so you do remember how to come back?" Chi-Chi planted her hands on her hips and glared at him.
"I was out training for a long time. I'm really sorry, Chi-Chi," Goku said, admitting fault right away.
"Goku, where did you train? Gohan said you went to Trunks's timeline?" Krillin asked from the side.
"Yeah, I did go to Trunks's timeline." Goku nodded. "I got along pretty well with the Supreme Kai over there, so I stayed and learned from him for a long time."
Vegeta looked sideways at Goku, a faint smile tugging at his mouth.
"Did you know we're all here for the World Martial Arts Tournament today?" Krillin asked.
"I didn't at first. After I came back, I sensed all your ki here, so I came to check it out. Now I get what's going on," Goku explained.
"Dad!" Goten was beside himself and threw himself into Goku's arms.
"Whoa… Goten, you've gotten so big!" Goku said in surprise, gently patting Goten's head.
Then Goku looked at Zarek, who stood nearby.
"Huh? Isn't that my little brother, Zarek? You've grown too." Goku smiled and greeted him.
Zarek stood on tiptoe, snorted, and looked away without answering.
"Call him Goku-nii!" Gine slapped Zarek on the back of the head.
Zarek fell silent.
Am I really your son?
"Haha…" Goku laughed awkwardly.
"Be polite!" Gine tugged Zarek's ear and repeated herself. "Do you hear me?"
"Goku-nii…" Zarek muttered reluctantly.
"Are you entering the World Martial Arts Tournament too, Zarek?" Goku asked with a smile.
"Of course," Zarek huffed.
"That's good, that's good." Goku did not say much more.
"Kakarot, you think coming back from training makes you special?" Vegeta had been watching coldly the whole time, and now he finally spoke with a light sneer. "I'll tell you this now. I'm the strongest future God of Destruction. You're still only a Supreme Kai. A Supreme Kai is weaker than a God of Destruction. Don't tell me you don't even know that."
"Right now, in most universes, Supreme Kais really aren't as strong as Gods of Destruction," Goku admitted with a nod. "But if a Supreme Kai trains hard enough, one day i can become someone who surpasses a God of Destruction."
"Then I'll wait for that day." Vegeta's mouth curved slightly.
"Vegeta, looks like you've trained pretty hard these past few years," Goku said with a smile.
"Hmph. You'll find out soon enough," Vegeta snorted.
"Registration is about to close. Stop chatting and sign up first," Piccolo said from the side.
Goku and the others went forward one by one to register.
"Huh? Great Saiyaman?" The staff member looked confused when he heard Gohan's entry name.
"What happened?" Goku asked, not understanding.
Then it was Zarek's turn.
"Junior Division? What Junior Division?" Zarek's face darkened as he glared at the staff member.
"Yes, the Junior Division. Anyone fifteen or younger belongs in the Junior Division," the staff member explained simply.
"Say that again." Zarek got angry and slapped the table.
Crack!
The registration table broke into several pieces on the spot.
The staff member's face turned ugly with fear.
"I'm entering the Adult Division. Change it right now, or I'll punch you to death!" Zarek threatened, shaking his fist.
The staff member nearly lost his mind.
I'm being threatened by a seven-year-old brat.
Isn't this going a little too far?
"You look like a kid at a glance. Even if I changed it, people would notice," the staff member said, somehow keeping calm.
"He's about my height, so why can he enter the Adult Division?" Zarek pointed at Krillin beside him.
Krillin went silent.
What the hell?
I didn't even say anything, and now I'm getting dragged into this?
"You have a child's face. That man is clearly an adult," the staff member said calmly.
"I don't care! Put me in the Adult Division!" Zarek shouted at him.
Bang!
Gine walked over with a cold face and slapped Zarek on the back of the head, sending him stumbling several steps before he fell to the ground.
"Stop causing trouble! These are the tournament rules!" Gine snapped.
Zarek stopped talking and rubbed the spot where she hit him.
Goten and Trunks looked at each other, then had no choice but to enter the Junior Division too.
Krillin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Good thing you kids are in the Junior Division.
If you really entered the Adult Division, I'd probably be better off dropping out.
Once registration ended, everyone walked ahead.
At the next intersection, Goku and the others waved goodbye to the family members who were not entering.
"Do your best, everyone," Bulma said, waving.
In the end, Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Kale, Piccolo, Android 21, Android 16, Krillin, Zarek, Goten, and Trunks entered this year's World Martial Arts Tournament.
Eight of them entered the Adult Division, while three entered the Junior Division.
Goku and the others headed toward the preliminary round venue.
"Everyone, please hurry. The preliminaries are about to begin," a staff member called from ahead.
Goku and the others picked up their pace a little.
"Krillin, didn't you used to be bald?" Goku asked, turning to Krillin.
"I shaved my head! I remember telling you that!" Krillin explained.
Goku suddenly looked back and noticed Android 21 behind him.
"Huh? Android 21? Isn't that Android 21?" Goku said in surprise.
"You only noticed now?" Android 21 snorted.
"And Android 16?" Goku looked at Android 16 beside her.
"Son Goku, don't forget. I was created to kill you," Android 16 said with no expression.
Goku fell silent.
"He still holds that against me," Goku said helplessly.
"Android 21 and I live at Master Roshi's place now, and we had a child. That little girl from earlier is ours," Krillin whispered, his face red.
"Huh? What did you say? You scared me!" Goku was even more shocked. "She's an android, but she can have kids?"
"She's not a robot. She became that strong because she was injected with serum," Krillin explained.
"The real question is, if you two live with Master Roshi… is that little girl really yours?" Goku asked, scratching his head.
Krillin froze.
"Goku, what are you saying?" Krillin felt awful all over.
"Hahaha, nothing, nothing." Goku laughed.
Krillin went quiet.
Should I get a paternity test?
Goku is getting more and more like Ken.
He learned Ken's shamelessness.
"Excuse me, where are you from?" A pretty female reporter stepped up to interview Vegeta, who was walking in front.
Vegeta ignored her and walked past with a cold face.
Piccolo followed behind Vegeta and ignored her too.
"Those two are so rude," the reporter muttered. "A cute, pretty girl like me at least deserves a hello."
The cameraman went silent.
She really knows how to praise herself.
"Excuse me, where are you from?" the reporter asked again, this time approaching Goku and the others.
"I just came back from other timeline," Goku answered honestly. "Then I came here right away."
The reporter stared at him, completely lost.
Crack!
Piccolo's eyes shifted, and he used invisible energy to break the cameraman's camera.
Both the cameraman and the reporter jumped in shock.
"What was that? That was weird." The reporter was stunned.
"All the footage we just took is gone!" the cameraman said, nearly crying. "This camera was expensive… Do I have to pay for it?"
Goku and the others kept moving and soon arrived at the open-air preliminary venue.
"Ahhh! It's you!" A middle-aged man in sunglasses looked at Goku and the others with excitement, his face lighting up more and more.
Goku and Krillin recognized him right away.
Back when the two of them first entered the World Martial Arts Tournament, this same man had been the referee.
Nearly thirty years had passed since then.
"Today really is a day worth remembering. I can't believe I get to see all of you again," the middle-aged man said excitedly. "I've missed you so much. I kept waiting for you to show up again."
As he spoke, he stepped forward and warmly shook Goku's hand.
"You were the ones who defeated Cell, not Mr. Satan, right?" the man whispered with a smile.
"Well… how do I put it… That's kind of complicated to explain." Goku scratched his head.
"To be honest, the World Martial Arts Tournament hasn't been the same without you. The level of the matches has dropped more and more!" the man continued. "You all came together, right? This year is going to be amazing!"
Then he suddenly remembered something and stretched his neck to call out to Piccolo behind Goku. "Please don't destroy the arena like last time."
"Shut up," Piccolo snorted.
"All contestants, the preliminaries for the World Martial Arts Tournament are about to begin!"
An announcement rang out.
"Excluding the Junior Division, this year's tournament has a total of 198 contestants. Only 16 contestants will make it through the preliminaries!"
"However, the tournament has already granted world champion Mr. Satan a seed spot, so he does not need to take part in the preliminaries."
"That means we only need to choose the remaining 15 finalists!"
"Hahaha, I'm sure all of you will make it to the finals!" the middle-aged man said, waving to Goku and the others. "See you onstage later."
Goku smiled and nodded.
"To keep the tournament fair, the preliminaries will use a Punching Machine. The 15 contestants with the highest scores will move on to the finals," the staff member announced into the microphone.
"A Punching Machine? What's that?" Krillin asked, curious.
"We are honored to have world champion Mr. Satan demonstrate it for everyone," the staff member continued. "He will strike the Punching Machine and show us his score. Now, please give Mr. Satan a big round of applause!"
The crowd burst into loud applause.
Mr. Satan strode out from the next room, raised his right fist high, and shouted, "Who in this world can beat me?"
The applause grew even louder.
"He's getting more full of himself every year," Krillin said with a sigh.
Reporters immediately began taking pictures of Mr. Satan.
Piccolo once again released invisible energy and sent it into their cameras.
Pop, pop, pop!
One camera after another exploded.
Mr. Satan froze, not understanding what had happened.
The reporters were also stunned, completely lost.
"Piccolo?" Gohan suddenly realized what had happened.
"I broke the cameras the audience brought too. Even if your costume comes off, your classmates won't see it. You can fight without worrying," Piccolo said, looking at Gohan with a warm, almost fatherly smile.
"Thanks, Piccolo," Gohan said, relaxing a little.
"Gohan, if you and Piccolo weren't different species, I'd think he was your real father," Zarek said with a grin, standing on tiptoe and patting Gohan's shoulder.
Gohan went silent.
"What are you talking about, brat?" Kale snapped.
"I'm just saying. Pretend you didn't hear it." Zarek made a face at Kale and immediately hid behind Goku.
"You…" Kale got even angrier.
"Goku-nii, Kale is trying to hit me," Zarek complained to Goku right away.
"Zarek, where's Dad?" Goku changed the subject.
"Dad went back to Universe 9…" Zarek snorted. "I haven't seen him in ages. Maybe he's dead."
Goku fell silent.
"Is that any way to talk about Dad?" Goku asked, speechless.
"Usually, the more you say stuff like that, the longer they live," Zarek said confidently.
Goku had no idea what to do with this younger brother.
Mr. Satan, meanwhile, swung his fist with a gloomy expression and faced the Punching Machine.
"Ha!"
Mr. Satan shouted and slammed his fist into the machine.
Beep, beep!
A number appeared on the Punching Machine's screen.
"The score is up! It's 137!" the staff member shouted.
Many contestants nearby gasped.
Mr. Satan quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Not bad, not bad. Better than last time.
"Goodbye, everyone! Do your best!" Mr. Satan laughed and waved his fist as he left. "I'll be waiting for an opponent who can make me take this seriously."
"Contestants, once you receive your number, please line up at the Punching Machine for your test," the staff member announced. "Junior Division contestants, please gather over here!"
"Hmph." Zarek walked over, clearly unhappy.
Goten and Trunks followed behind him.
Next came the Punching Machine test. The scores from the machine would decide who got to enter the main tournament.
"This is so boring!" Vegeta said through gritted teeth.
If I'd known it would be this dull, I wouldn't have come.
"Next, number 84!" the staff member called.
"What a cute girl. I'd love to fight her!" one contestant said, his eyes lighting up.
"Same here. I'd pin her down in the ring and pose her however I wanted," another contestant said with a grin.
Thud!
Android 21 stepped forward and lightly punched the Punching Machine.
Beep, beep!
The machine instantly displayed "328."
The referee jumped in shock.
The two contestants who had just been running their mouths stared with their jaws hanging open.
"Sorry, the machine seems to be malfunctioning. Please wait a moment," the staff member quickly said.
"Did you hit it too hard?" Krillin whispered.
"I couldn't help it. This thing is too fragile. I already showed the tournament some respect by not smashing it with one punch," Android 21 snorted.
The staff member stepped forward and pretended to inspect the Punching Machine. After finding no major problem, he could only smile awkwardly and say, "It seems to be working again. Please try one more time."
This time, Android 21 punched very carefully.
Even so, she still scored over 200.
The staff member adjusted his glasses as sweat formed on his forehead.
Krillin stepped up and threw a punch.
"Number 85… 192 points!" the staff member shouted, stunned.
Goku stepped forward and threw a light punch.
"Number 86… 186 points!" the staff member cried out.
Bang!
Piccolo punched the machine.
"Number 87, 210 points!" The staff member was completely shocked now.
Kale threw a light punch and scored 205.
Gohan controlled his strength and scored 198.
Android 16 also held back and scored 210.
"The machine seems completely broken and can't be repaired. Go prepare a new Punching Machine right away," the staff member ordered his assistant.
"Yes!" the assistant nodded.
Vegeta walked forward with a dark expression.
Now that it's my turn, you want to prepare a new Punching Machine?
I don't have time for this.
"Move," Vegeta snorted, and a purple-red point of light appeared at his fingertip.
The staff member froze.
"Hakai!"
Vegeta showed no mercy and flicked the purple-red light toward the Punching Machine.
Tap.
The purple-red light struck the machine.
In an instant, the Punching Machine turned into nothing and vanished without a trace.
Everyone present stared wide-eyed, completely stunned.
Where did the Punching Machine go?
It looked like it turned into sand.
But that sand couldn't even be touched.
What was that?
Is this guy a magician?
Goku could only laugh helplessly.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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