I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 40 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Link: Patreon.com/Heroicverse
—------------------—
"Grandpa! Grandpa!"
Not long after entering the arena, Goku spotted a familiar figure; he immediately rushed forward excitedly to greet him.
That man was none other than the champion of the previous World Martial Arts Tournament—the martial arts master who had defeated him—Grandpa Jackie Chun.
One of the reasons he had trained so diligently over the past three years was his desire to have a proper rematch against Grandpa Jackie Chun. Therefore, seeing that Grandpa Jackie Chun was participating in this World Martial Arts Tournament, he was overjoyed.
However... why did Grandpa Jackie Chun's Ki feel exactly like Grandpa Roshi's?
Now possessing a highly refined level of control and sensitivity regarding Ki, Goku immediately sensed that something was slightly off.
But he quickly realized the explanation.
Grandpa Jackie Chun had mentioned that he and Grandpa Roshi were actually related, and that he had even improved upon Grandpa Roshi's *Kamehameha* technique.
In that case, it was entirely possible for their Ki signatures to be identical.
Still... why did Grandpa Jackie Chun's Ki feel so incredibly weak to him?
Oh—Grandpa Jackie Chun was such a formidable fighter; he surely knew how to suppress his own Ki.
Therefore, the Ki intensity he was currently sensing definitely did not reflect Grandpa Jackie Chun's true power; he absolutely could not afford to let his guard down.
Three years had passed. He had grown stronger, everyone else had grown stronger, and naturally, Grandpa Jackie Chun must have grown stronger as well.
"Oh, it's you, little guy! Long time no see!"
Master Roshi—still maintaining his Jackie Chun persona—responded as if they hadn't crossed paths in three whole years.
Goku exclaimed excitedly:
"You really came! It's absolutely wonderful that you're participating in the tournament, Grandpa!"
"Indeed. I came partly just to see you."
Master Roshi clasped his hands behind his back, striking the pose of a wise and distinguished master. Goku's face was beaming with anticipation:
"I see! This time, I'm going to give it my absolute all. I *must* defeat Grandpa!"
"It looks like you've done quite a bit of training. Who knows—you just might stand a chance of beating me."
Master Roshi patted Goku on the shoulder, though inwardly, he chuckled to himself:
'What a joke! How could Master Muten—the man known as the God of Martial Arts—possibly lose to his own student?'
'I've undergone plenty of special training myself, you know. Heh heh... you're still a little too green for this, kiddo.'
At that moment, the announcer began explaining the tournament rules—the same as in previous years.
No weapons were allowed, and killing was strictly forbidden. A contestant would be eliminated if they were knocked out of the ring, knocked to the ground and failed to rise before the ten-count, or if they voluntarily surrendered.
Next came the divisional draw. Goku was placed in the lower bracket of Division 1; Krillin was in the lower bracket of Division 2; and Yamcha was in the upper bracket of Division 1.
Consequently, the three of them wouldn't have to worry about facing one another during the preliminary rounds.
This came as a huge relief to both Krillin and Yamcha.
They certainly didn't want to run into Goku before the main tournament began, as doing so would almost certainly mean forfeiting their chance to qualify for the finals.
It wasn't that they lacked confidence in the training they had undergone over the past three years; rather, it was Goku's freakish performance in the past—combined with the training he had endured yesterday under ten times normal gravity—
that forced them to brace themselves mentally for the possibility.
Yamcha was the first to step into the ring. His opponent was a fairly well-known martial artist, yet Yamcha took him down with a single move.
"The Turtle School style... is nothing special."
Standing amidst the crowd, Tien Shinhan curled his lips into a smirk after witnessing Yamcha's attack.
He had been curious to see just how formidable the legendary Turtle School style truly was... but *this* was it?
It seemed it was only good enough for beating up on scrubs like these.
However, he didn't completely dismiss the Turtle School's martial arts just yet; instead, he shifted his gaze toward the fighter he considered to be the Turtle School's strongest disciple: Krillin.
Krillin's opponent was a giant standing over five meters tall—the reigning World Wrestling Champion. One of his fingers alone was nearly as big as Krillin's entire body.
Yet, after playfully toying with the giant for a moment, Krillin grabbed hold of that massive finger and promptly tossed him right out of the ring.
"Heh, what a bunch of provincial bumpkins—to be so astonished by such a trivial little trick."
Shaking his head, he mentally crossed Krillin off his list of potential threats.
Krillin's strength was slightly greater than that Yamcha fellow from earlier, but only marginally so.
Just then, Yamcha—who had come over with Goku to cheer Krillin on—happened to overhear Tien Shinhan's remarks, and his expression instantly turned ugly.
"Hey, kid! What did you say?"
"I said that if any of you guys run into us, we'll absolutely wipe the floor with you in the tournament."
"That is, assuming you manage to get lucky enough to scrape through the preliminaries."
Tien Shinhan held his head high, making no attempt to conceal his arrogant attitude.
"Get lost! Or don't blame me if I beat you to a pulp right here and now!"
Yamcha stepped forward, squaring off against Tien Shinhan; the tension between the two was explosive.
Fortunately, Master Roshi—disguised as "Jackie Chun"—intervened just in time, stopping the confrontation by reminding them that engaging in unauthorized combat before the tournament would result in immediate disqualification.
However, the look Goku cast at Tien Shinhan was somewhat peculiar.
He couldn't understand why his opponent—who seemed so weak—was nevertheless so incredibly confident. Could it be that he, too, was concealing his true strength?
"It seems no one wants to reveal their full power before the main tournament begins. In that case, I shouldn't go all out either."
Goku made his decision: for the preliminaries, he would refrain from using his Giant Magic, Ki Breathing techniques, or his Great Ape transformation.
He would fight using only the foundational strength he had cultivated through his rigorous training under the effects of Gravity Magic.
By doing so, he would still be demonstrating a level of power roughly fifteen times greater than what he possessed three years ago—which certainly qualified as concealing the vast majority of his true capabilities.
After all, if he were to unleash his full potential, his current power level would be more than two hundred times what it was three years ago.
If his strength three years ago could be represented as a single unit, then his maximum potential now stood at over two hundred units—yet he was currently choosing to display a mere fifteen units.
If *that* didn't count as concealing one's strength, then what did?
Before long, Tien Shinhan stepped into the ring. He dispatched his opponent with a swift combination of punches and kicks, yet he took care not to reveal too much of his true power.
For all his arrogance, he wasn't stupid; he certainly wasn't about to lay all his cards on the table during the preliminary rounds. And then, finally, the Goku made his entrance.
His opponent was quite famous: the champion of the World Martial Arts Tournament held two editions prior—King Chappa.
It was said that the runner-up of that tournament was defeated without ever even managing to touch his body.
He was, in fact, one of the heavy favorites to win this year's World Martial Arts Tournament.
Precisely for this reason, when Goku and King Chappa stepped onto the ring, nearly every other contestant—those not currently competing—gathered around to watch.
One was the runner-up from the previous tournament; the other, the champion from the one before that. Two such masters had, against all odds, crossed paths during the preliminary rounds.
Upon hearing that Goku's opponent was King Chappa, Krillin and Yamcha couldn't help but feel a surge of anxiety for him.
"Contestants! Begin!"
Seeing King Chappa and Goku exchange bows, the referee immediately blew his whistle to start the match.
"Relax, kid. I won't kill you."
King Chappa assumed his opening stance, then looked at Goku with a look of playful mockery:
"Come at me with everything you've got!"
"Alright then... here I come!"
No sooner had Goku finished speaking than King Chappa went flying out of the ring, instantly knocked unconscious.
It was as if his figure had never moved at all.
"What just happened?"
Every face in the surrounding crowd wore a look of utter bewilderment—including those of Krillin, Yamcha, and Master Roshi (who was currently disguised under the alias "Jackie Chun").
Not a single one of them had actually seen *how* Goku had delivered the strike.
"Son Goku... wins!"
It took the referee a good moment to regain his composure before he finally announced the result of the match.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the arena, Tien—who was watching Chiaotzu's match—heard the referee's announcement but did not turn around.
Instead, he simply remarked with a hint of disappointment:
"It seems this so-called 'King Chappa of the Eight Hands' is nothing but a hollow reputation; he couldn't even handle the likes of the Turtle School."
He had actually held some expectations for the champion of the previous World Martial Arts Tournament.
Having heard that King Chappa's "Eight-Hand Fist" technique was a true masterpiece, he had hoped to test his own skills against it during the main tournament rounds. Yet, as it turned out, the man had lost to the weakest disciple of the Turtle School. After watching the match between Yamcha and Krillin, he felt that...
...the disciples of the Turtle School no longer posed any threat to him.
If he happened to encounter them in the tournament arena, he would simply have to thoroughly humiliate them—for the sake of his own master's honor.
Since Chiaotzu was about to compete, he couldn't be bothered to stick around and watch the match of the Turtle School's final disciple: Son Goku.