Public Enemy Goku

"F... Fantastic! Absolutely fantastic!"

"Contestant Tien Shinhan has advanced to the semifinals with overwhelming strength!"

The announcer wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, doing his best to keep his voice from trembling.

The battle just now, filled with the sound of metal being torn apart, had been so shocking that the atmosphere in the venue had grown oppressive for a while.

"Next, let's change things up a little!"

"The second quarterfinal match! In one corner, the runner-up from the previous tournament and immensely popular contestant, Goku, versus..."

"Er, a mysterious and beautiful young contestant who never gave us her name!"

In the rest area beneath the arena, Goku stuffed the last sizzling, bone-in piece of meat into his mouth, his cheeks bulging like a hamster's.

Hearing his name, he answered indistinctly.

"Oh! It's my turn!"

He casually wiped the grease from his hands onto his pants, then vaulted lightly onto the arena with a somersault.

Sunlight spilled over his signature spiky hair, setting off his carefree smile. He looked just like the cheerful boy next door who had come out for a picnic.

However, the atmosphere on the other side was completely different. One might even say it was ready to explode.

The young woman in the blue-and-red qipao-style Martial Arts Uniform was glaring at Goku with all her might.

She was tall and slender, with jade-white skin. Her long, jet-black hair fluttered faintly with her anger.

Her pretty face, which should have been gentle and charming, was now covered in frost.

Her beautiful, wide eyes were filled with aggrieved tears and fury that was almost bursting forth.

She bit her lower lip tightly and clenched the hem of her clothes with both hands. Her knuckles had gone white from the force, and her body trembled faintly with extreme rage.

"Hmph!"

The young woman snorted heavily and turned her head away, as though even looking at Goku would dirty her eyes.

Goku scratched his head and approached a couple of steps, asking tentatively with a bewildered look.

"Um... hello? Have we really met somewhere before?"

"Why do you look so angry? Did I steal your snacks sometime in the past?"

Those words were the final spark that ignited the powder keg.

The young woman whipped her head around, and her tears finally spilled over.

She pointed at Goku, her voice trembling like a fallen leaf in the wind, filled with endless accusation.

"You... you actually asked me why I'm angry? And you're still thinking about food?!"

"You... you big idiot! Heartless jerk! Liar!!"

Her furious roar was carried through the loudspeakers across the entire venue, even drowning out the sound of the waves.

The spectators, who had still been heatedly discussing the previous match, fell silent in an instant.

Tens of thousands of eyes shot toward the arena, blazing with the flames of gossip.

"Take this!!"

The young woman gave Goku no chance to explain. She pushed off the ground, darting across the arena like an enraged swallow.

She was incredibly fast. Her red combat boots swept toward Goku's face, carrying a sharp gust of wind.

"Whoa! So fast!"

Goku was startled and instinctively leaned his head backward.

"Whoosh..."

Her kick skimmed past the tip of Goku's nose, and the pressure of the wind left his cheek stinging.

Missing her target, the young woman used her momentum to land and immediately unleashed a rapid series of palm strikes.

Her techniques were exquisite, combining the agility of the Turtle School with a powerful, wide-open ferocity. Her attacks flowed without end like a violent storm.

Goku dodged left and right as nimbly as a monkey while shouting,

"Hey, hey! Can't we talk this out?! I haven't even finished eating!"

"Eat, eat, eat! That's all you ever think about!"

The young woman grew even angrier, every move aimed straight at his vital points.

"Am I really worth less to you than a meal?"

"All these years of waiting for you were for nothing! I kept waiting for you to come and get me! And in the end, you completely forgot about me!"

The spectators beneath the arena erupted into an uproar, and public opinion instantly turned entirely against Goku.

"Oh my gosh, this isn't how the story is supposed to go! Isn't this supposed to be a hot-blooded fighting series? How did it turn into a family drama?"

"From the sound of it, that kid named Goku abandoned her after seducing her?"

"Look how heartbroken that girl is! She's beautiful, too, and has such a great figure. She must have been deceived by some jerk!"

"How despicable! I thought this kid seemed innocent and adorable, but it turns out he's a womanizer! He actually made a beauty wait for him all these years!"

"Beat that heartless jerk to death! Kick him out of the arena!"

The excited spectators even began throwing empty water bottles and popcorn buckets onto the arena. The entire venue was filled with denunciations of Goku.

Inside the contestants' rest area.

Oolong covered his mouth and rolled around on the ground laughing, his pig ears nearly falling off.

"Hahahaha! That's karma!"

"I can't believe even a blockhead like Goku has romantic debts! This is going to be good! It's way more entertaining than watching him fight Tao Pai Pai!"

Puar floated in midair, watching the arena with a worried expression.

"Master Goku isn't that kind of person, is he...? But he really can be dense sometimes. Could this be a misunderstanding?"

Only Krillin leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, wearing a sly smile that said he saw through everything.

Watching Goku—who feared neither Heaven nor earth in his daily life and had even dared to stand up to King Piccolo—being driven into a flustered scramble by a girl was an exceptionally rare treat.