In the distance, Cabba and Caulifla were standing in another line.
"That guy is Vegeta…" Cabba clenched his teeth.
"What move did he just use?" Caulifla asked, stunned.
"I don't know…" Cabba shook his head.
"That was insane," Caulifla said, still staring.
"Looks like we'll need to train even harder if we want to win," Cabba said.
"Then let's train harder! We're not losing to them! We're the strongest Saiyans in this universe!" Caulifla said with a confident grin.
"Contestants who haven't completed the preliminaries yet, please wait a moment. We'll prepare a new Punching Machine right away!" the staff member announced helplessly.
"Vegeta, the kids' Junior Division matches are about to start. Want to go watch?" Goku asked.
"Hmph. Fine," Vegeta said, glancing at Goku. "Better than staying in this boring place."
Goku and the others walked out.
Everyone stared after them, faces full of shock.
Goku's eyes lit up when he spotted Caulifla and Cabba in the line.
"Caulifla-nee!" Kale went over to greet her.
"Oh, it's you two…" Goku also waved at them. "You came to Earth for the tournament?"
"Of course. This time, we're definitely beating you Planet Vegeta Saiyans!" Caulifla snorted.
"I'm not a Planet Vegeta Saiyan. I'm a Saiyan who grew up on Earth," Goku corrected her seriously.
Vegeta went silent.
You were born on Planet Vegeta.
Are you seriously trying to distance yourself from Planet Vegeta now?
"Let's both do our best," Goku said with a smile.
"I won't lose to you, old man!" Caulifla said, grinning.
Goku and the others kept walking.
Gohan's eyes lit up when he saw Videl in the line.
"Videl, are you doing okay?" Gohan went over to greet her.
Kale hesitated for a moment, then also stepped forward and gave Videl a polite nod.
"Is she… your friend, Gohan?" Goku asked from the side. "She's a girl, right?"
Videl was too busy being shocked to answer.
"Y-Yeah," Gohan replied.
"Videl, we'll see you later." Gohan waved at Videl and returned to Goku's group.
Kale also gave Videl another polite nod.
The reason Kale did this was because she felt Videl had been right.
If she tried to control Gohan too much, it might backfire.
It would be better to let Gohan do what he wanted.
I need to trust him.
Videl watched Goku, Gohan, and the others leave, lost in thought.
Who are they?
How are they so strong?
"Ladies and gentlemen, after a long wait, the World Martial Arts Tournament is finally about to begin! First, we'll have the Junior Division, where contestants aged fifteen and under will fight for the championship!" the middle-aged referee announced loudly.
The crowd burst into excited cheers.
"The Junior Division champion will receive ten million zeni, and the runner-up will receive five million," the referee said with a smile. "We also have a very special bonus event. The Junior Division champion will be allowed to spar with a special guest as an extra prize! And that special guest is none other than the World Martial Arts Tournament champion, Mr. Satan!"
The crowd exploded.
Mr. Satan strode out from the contestants' tunnel with his usual swagger, raising both hands in a victory pose.
"Mr. Satan! Mr. Satan! Mr. Satan!"
The crowd chanted his name again.
Mr. Satan ran toward the ring, jumped up, and tried to leap onto the platform in one go.
Unfortunately, the stage was too smooth. His feet slipped, and he landed hard on his backside, smacking the back of his head against the floor.
Mr. Satan rolled around on the ring in pain, clutching his head and feeling absolutely miserable.
"A-Are you all right, Mr. Satan?" the referee asked with concern.
The crowd went completely silent, worried for their hero.
Mr. Satan suddenly realized the mood felt wrong. He gritted his teeth, forced himself through the pain, and stood up straight.
"Hahaha! Just a joke, just a joke!" Mr. Satan laughed with his hands on his hips, though the huge bump on the back of his head made him look ridiculous.
The crowd immediately erupted again, shouting his name.
In the Junior Division waiting room, Trunks asked, "Goten, what are you going to buy with the prize money?"
"Hehe, I want toys and snacks," Goten said with a smile.
"What about you, Zarek?" Trunks asked.
"I don't need anything. Stealing stuff feels more satisfying," Zarek snorted.
Trunks fell silent.
"What about you, Trunks?" Goten asked.
"Me? I'll have to think about it." Trunks looked up thoughtfully.
Nearby, two other young contestants huddled together.
"Who's your first opponent?" the shorter one asked.
"Hehehe, lucky me. It's that little shrimp over there," the taller one said with a grin, pointing at Trunks.
The two walked over to Trunks, laughing.
"Hey, I'm going to send you flying! Did you remember to wear your diapers?" the taller boy said, glaring down at Trunks. "You little baby."
Trunks was about to answer, but Zarek grabbed the boy's outstretched hand first.
Whoosh!
With one casual toss, Zarek sent the taller boy flying far into the distance.
The boy traced a long arc through the air as he flew away.
The shorter boy froze in terror, his legs shaking nonstop.
"Waaah! I want to go home! I want my mom!" the shorter boy burst into tears.
"Hmph. That's much faster. Why waste time talking to him?" Zarek snorted at Trunks.
Trunks went silent.
Goten went silent too.
"You really do whatever you want. Aren't you worried you might kill him?" Goten asked, speechless.
"I know what I'm doing. He won't die." Zarek shook his finger confidently. "And even if he did, it wouldn't matter. People like that are just wasting Earth's food."
Goten stopped talking.
Trunks quietly wiped away sweat.
…
Outside, in the ring, Mr. Satan was being interviewed by the referee.
"Mr. Satan, how are you feeling today?" the referee asked with a smile.
"That's bad news for the other contestants, because I'm fired up today!" Mr. Satan laughed.
"The tournament has arranged for the Junior Division champion to face you. How do you feel about that?" the referee asked.
"I'm scared. I'm really scared!" Mr. Satan put on a terrified look and gave a fake little shiver. "I hope they go easy on me!"
Whoosh!
As he spoke, the tall boy Zarek had thrown earlier came flying through the air in a long arc.
Splat!
The tall boy crashed straight into Mr. Satan and knocked him flat.
Mr. Satan was completely lost.
The referee was stunned too.
What just happened?
Where did this kid fall from?
"Ah! Isn't that my Idasa?" a fat woman in the stands cried out excitedly. "Wahaha! When did my Idasa learn a move like that? He's sitting right on Mr. Satan!"
Bulma, Chi-Chi, and the others nearby had no words.
Gine, however, immediately felt uneasy.
I have a feeling that woman's son was thrown here by Zarek.
"Zarek! Causing trouble again!" Gine clenched her fists through gritted teeth.
"Was that Zarek?" Chi-Chi asked, startled.
"Who else could it be? That child is going to worry me to death." Gine's chest rose and fell with anger. "The worst part is, I'm only an Earthling now. I can't do anything to him. Bardock needs to come back soon and beat some sense into him."
"Idasa! Good job! Mommy's right here!" the fat woman kept waving, completely misunderstanding the situation.
The crowd was also confused.
Where did that kid fly out from? And how did he end up on top of Mr. Satan?
For a moment, the arena was silent.
Mr. Satan scratched his head and climbed up with a confused look on his face.
Who threw something at me?
Have some decency!
Throwing things at people now?
Shameless!
Mr. Satan looked closely and realized the thing that had hit him was actually a young boy.
Luckily, the boy wasn't too heavy… but damn, that hurt.
Mr. Satan grimaced in pain, but he could not exactly beat the kid up in front of the audience.
"This is…" The referee looked completely baffled and even glanced up at the sky.
Then he recognized the boy lying unconscious on the floor.
"Wait, isn't this Idasa?" The referee froze, then stepped forward and patted his face. "Hey, wake up!"
Idasa had been thrown from so far away that he was already completely knocked out. There was no way he was waking up.
The referee saw something was wrong and quickly called the medical staff to carry Idasa away.
In the audience, the fat woman rubbed her eyes and finally realized something was off with her son.
Did my son faint?
What's going on?
"Well… that was a small unexpected intermission!" The referee hurriedly tried to smooth over the awkward mood with a joke. "Junior Division contestant Idasa was so eager to get close to Mr. Satan that he flew down from the sky! However, we don't recommend this kind of entrance. Young Idasa got a little too excited and accidentally knocked himself out."
Mr. Satan went silent.
"Let's thank Mr. Satan once again! And now, the Junior Division of the World Martial Arts Tournament officially begins!" the referee announced. "As everyone knows, there are no preliminaries for the Junior Division. This year, thirty-six talented young fighters have entered. The rules are the same as the Adult Division. Losing by surrendering, forfeiting, getting knocked out of the ring, or staying down for more than ten seconds. Now, ladies and gentlemen, the first match will begin: twelve-year-old Badu versus fourteen-year-old Paroni!"
The two contestants entered the ring and attacked each other.
The Junior Division had officially begun.
"The tournament's gotten a lot flashier than it used to be," Krillin said.
"The ring is bigger too," Goku said with a nod.
"Hmph. And they added a lot of useless entertainment," Piccolo snorted, clearly annoyed.
"Next, we move on to the ninth match," the referee announced. "Eight-year-old Trunks versus fifteen-year-old Idasa."
Trunks walked toward the ring.
Then he suddenly realized he had no opponent.
The referee also remembered what happened.
Idasa was still unconscious and had not woken up.
"Right, contestant Idasa has not regained consciousness yet, so he is considered to have forfeited. Trunks wins by default," the referee quickly added.
Trunks went silent.
Oh, right. My opponent got thrown away by Zarek.
Trunks had no choice but to return to the waiting room.
"So, Trunks? Pretty good, right? I took care of one opponent for you." Zarek gave him a wicked grin.
"Mind your own business," Trunks said, glaring at him.
"You should be thanking me, not making that face." Zarek looked annoyed. "But next round, it's the two of us. Be careful, Trunks."
"I'm not scared of you," Trunks said without backing down.
"My match is next!" Goten said excitedly.
"Next match: fourteen-year-old Ikose versus seven-year-old Goten," the referee announced loudly.
Goten and Ikose, who had only just stopped crying, walked into the ring.
"Ikose, don't let your guard down!" the fat woman shouted to her son.
"Goten, don't hit too hard!" Chi-Chi shouted as well.
"Hmph. My noble son has to fight her child? How annoying." The fat woman looked sideways at Chi-Chi with obvious disgust.
"Oh? So that flying idiot was his brother?" Bulma mocked.
"Who are you calling a flying idiot? Who?" the fat woman shouted, furious.
Bulma stopped paying attention to her.
"Begin!" the referee announced, then suddenly felt Goten's face looked a lot like Goku's.
Is he Goku's son?
He has to be.
Now this should be a good match.
"Brat, that little uncle of yours is pretty strong!" Ikose glared at Goten, taking all his anger out on him.
Goten said nothing.
"Take my killing punch!" Ikose threw a hard punch at Goten.
Goten calmly raised one finger and stopped Ikose's fist.
Ikose was shocked, his expression changing again and again.
"Try harder," Goten said.
Ikose felt like he had been stabbed in the heart.
Was I not trying hard enough already?
Is this kid a monster?
"Aaaaaah!" Ikose shouted, trying to hype himself up.
"Ah! Ikose is finally getting serious! That little brat is done for!" the fat woman yelled excitedly.
Ikose unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks at Goten.
Goten blocked every hit with ease.
"I'm done playing." Goten threw a light punch and hit Ikose on the chin.
Ikose twitched violently a few times, then fell backward and fainted on the spot.
Goten bowed politely to his unconscious opponent.
This was something Grandpa Gohan had taught Goku back when they fought each other in the early days: bow to your opponent during a match.
Since then, Goku had kept it in mind and would bow to his opponents in later tournaments.
It was a sign of respect.
By Goten's generation, that habit had still been passed down.
"Knockout! Goten wins!" the referee announced loudly.
The crowd went silent.
One was seven, the other fourteen.
The age gap was huge.
It was like a middle schooler picking on a second grader.
But the second grader had knocked the middle schooler out.
No one could believe what they had just seen.
The fat woman looked like her whole world had collapsed.
"Hehehe!" Bulma made a face at the fat woman.
"I won't forgive you!" the fat woman shouted, charging at Bulma with clawing hands.
Bang!
Chi-Chi punched her and dropped her to the ground.
The fat woman fainted on the spot.
"That's much quieter," Chi-Chi said, dusting off her hands.
Gine went silent.
I didn't know my daughter-in-law was this strong.
Several more matches passed.
"Next, we move on to the following match: eight-year-old Trunks versus seven-year-old Zarek," the referee announced.
"Now we finally get to see a good match," Krillin said with a smile.
"Yeah…" Goku nodded.
"But with Zarek's personality, this match probably won't go the way we expect," Krillin said, quietly wiping away sweat.
"You're right, Krillin," Gohan said from the side, looking worried.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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