"Revenge!"
"Yes, Master. I swear I will personally avenge Uncle."
Tien Shinhan fixed his gaze upon Goku standing before him, radiating a palpable aura of murderous intent.
Meanwhile, the blond-haired announcer, having pieced together the full story from the exchange between the combatants, raised his microphone and began to provide commentary for the audience:
"What a shocking revelation! It turns out that the world-renowned assassin, Mercenary Tao, was actually Crane Hermit's younger brother!
Contestant Goku killed Mercenary Tao three years ago, and now Crane Hermit intends to have his own disciple avenge his brother's death.
However, if Contestant Tien Shinhan were to actually kill Contestant Goku, he would be immediately disqualified from the remainder of the tournament.
Do you think he will truly go through with it?"
Upon hearing the words of the blond-haired host—words that struck a deep chord—Tien Shinhan, who had already unleashed his murderous intent, suddenly went rigid; a look of hesitation flickered across his face.
Once, his dream had indeed been to become the world's greatest assassin—just like Mercenary Tao.
Even right up until he arrived to compete in the World Martial Arts Tournament, that remained his sole ambition.
Yet, over the course of these few short days, a subtle shift seemed to have taken place deep within his heart.
Perhaps it was the sight of those martial artists on the ship, training day and night in preparation for the World Martial Arts Tournament.
Or perhaps it was his opponents during the preliminaries—those who, despite facing such an overwhelmingly powerful foe in him, still fought with every ounce of their strength.
Opponents like Nam.
Outwardly, he had mocked their insignificance, even striking them down ruthlessly and without mercy.
But in truth, his harshness stemmed precisely from the fact that something deep inside him had been stirred.
And those stirred emotions had begun to shake the very convictions he had inherited from his Master and Senior Uncle over the years.
That was why he had reacted with such frustrated fury—unwilling to admit that his lifelong dream might, in fact, be changing.
Should he become an assassin—hunted and reviled by all like a rat in the street, spending his entire life fighting solely for the sake of a bounty?
Or should he be like the other martial artists—pursuing his own strength, standing proudly and honorably upon the stage of the World Martial Arts Tournament to prove his worth?
"Sigh... don't blame me. I cannot defy my Master's orders."
Tien Shinhan let out a sigh, and the murderous aura he had briefly suppressed surged forth once more.
He yearned to become the champion of the World Martial Arts Tournament; yet, the weight of his Master's command was too heavy to bear. The faint stirrings deep within his heart were not yet strong enough to compel him to betray his martial arts school.
"Four-Witch Technique!"
With a furious roar, he channeled his internal Ki through a specialized circulation pattern, directing it toward his back to intensely stimulate the muscles there.
Tien Shinhan unleashed the signature technique he had devised himself.
Amidst the gasps of the astonished spectators, two additional arms suddenly sprouted from Tien Shinhan's back—transforming him into a man with four arms. "My attack speed right now is double what it was just moments ago.
Can you still handle it?"
Tien Shinhan suddenly surged forward, charging straight at Goku. His four arms worked in perfect unison, striking directly at every major vital point on Goku's body.
"Blazing High-Speed Fists!"
The barrage of "hundreds of hands" from earlier was merely an illusion—afterimages created by sheer speed. But these four hands now...
These were four real, tangible hands.
Possessing an extra pair of hands—fully under one's own control—is about far more than just doubling one's attack speed.
It allows for the execution of far more potent techniques—strikes designed to blanket every single one of an opponent's weak points.
Crucially, the coordination is flawless, for these are, after all, his very own arms.
It is akin to the difference between having one hand and having two—two entirely different concepts.
All four hands simultaneously unleashed the Blazing High-Speed Fists; each individual hand was capable of delivering a terrifying twenty punches per second.
Working in perfect, alternating rhythm, the four hands effectively amounted to a barrage of eighty punches per second raining down upon Goku.
Even if Goku's physical prowess far exceeded his own, he surely could not withstand such an onslaught.
Moreover, this was not even his true finishing move yet.
"This technique... it's actually quite interesting."
Faced with such a tempestuous, torrential assault, Goku remained unperturbed. He simply raised a single hand and effortlessly deflected every single incoming blow.
A barrage of eighty punches per second was hardly a challenge for him to parry; he would need to face at least eight hundred punches per second before he would even begin to take things seriously.
Furthermore, each punch required a corresponding level of power; speed alone was simply not enough.
What truly piqued his interest was Tien Shinhan's ability to manifest an additional pair of arms.
To be honest, he had never imagined that Ki could be utilized to produce such an effect.
Thus, even as he parried Tien Shinhan's attacks, he was intently sensing the flow of Ki within Tien Shinhan's body.
He sought to decipher and master this "Four-Armed Demon Fist" technique.
"Die!"
Seeing that every single one of his four-armed strikes had been blocked, Tien Shinhan was taken aback—yet he did not succumb to despair.
Instead, he let out a thunderous roar and threw open the Third Eye situated upon his forehead. Unexpectedly, a beam of energy shot forth from his third eye, aiming straight at Goku with the intent of blasting his head to smithereens right on the spot.
Born with three eyes, he possessed superior vision and dynamic tracking capabilities compared to ordinary humans.
Furthermore, thanks to the rigorous training he underwent in the Crane School, he could also utilize his third eye to unleash attacks similar to the Dodon Ray.
While naturally lacking the raw power of the Dodon Ray, its true strength lay in its sheer unpredictability—making it incredibly difficult to dodge.
"What?!"
However, to Tien Shinhan's utter astonishment, Goku simply tilted his head—managing to narrowly evade the surprise attack launched from his third eye.
"Was that a fluke? No... his reflexes are simply too fast!"
He fired several more shots in rapid succession, yet failed to land a single hit. At that point, he could no longer deny the truth: this was a disparity in sheer power.
"In that case... I have no choice but to use that technique."
In that very moment, Tien Shinhan made a firm and final decision.
And just then, a beam of energy—charged with intense murderous intent—suddenly struck out at the back of Goku's head.
"Die!"
"Look out!"
Upon seeing this, Tien Shinhan immediately spun around to position himself behind Goku; bringing his four hands together, he forcefully intercepted and blocked the incoming attack.
"Tien Shinhan! What in the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Witnessing this, the Crane Hermit erupted into a furious tirade.
As it turned out, he had seized the moment while Tien Shinhan was attacking Goku to slip into the spectator stands—positioning himself directly behind Goku—and launch a cowardly sneak attack.
"Master, I will kill him for you—but I ask that you refrain from interfering in the battle between us."
Indeed, he had fully resolved to kill Son Goku—
even if it meant forfeiting his chance to continue in the tournament and claim the championship title.
However, he intended to kill Son Goku through a fair and honorable duel—not through such despicable, underhanded sneak attacks.
His inner pride simply would not allow him to defeat an opponent in such a manner.
"You cannot defeat him, Tien Shinhan. I command you—along with Chiaotzu and myself—to surround and kill him right now! Avenge your master, Mercenary Tao!"
Master Shen gritted his teeth as he spoke.
He cared not a whit for what was going through Tien Shinhan's mind; his sole objective was to avenge his younger brother, Mercenary Tao.
Moreover, when he had first taken Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu under his wing all those years ago, his intention had always been to mold them into cold-blooded, ruthless killers—to turn them into mere tools for his own financial gain.
If a tool refused to obey, then it had no reason to exist.
"If you dare disobey my orders, I will expel you from the school immediately!"
"Master, please place your trust in me. In a moment, I intend to use that technique—you know full well the destructive power it holds. I assure you, I will not let you down."
Tien Shinhan replied, his voice firm and resolute.