"Krillin's" Inner Heart

"Go, Krillin! Knock him out!"

"Goku! Don't you lose! I'll treat you to a fifty-person feast tonight!"

From the second-floor stands, Bulma cupped her hands around her mouth, shamelessly switching sides on a whim.

One moment she blew a kiss to Krillin, the next she tempted Goku with food.

Oolong beside her rolled his eyes. "Bulma, who are you even rooting for?"

"Idiot! Obviously the hotter one!"

Bulma declared with utter confidence.

"Sure, Krillin's bald now, but that oppressive vibe is just insanely cool!"

"But Goku's like a little brother I've watched grow up..."

"Ugh, so torn!"

Master Roshi, wearing his Sunglasses and leaning on his cane, laughed until his beard shook.

"That's the spirit! Watching my two disciples fight on the highest stage—this old man could meet King Yama right now and die happy."

On the Arena, two figures collided again.

This time, there was no testing.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

A series of white shockwaves burst through the air.

Their movement speed had already surpassed the speed of sound. Ordinary spectators couldn't track their motions at all—only the dense impact sounds reached their ears, like hundreds of drums being struck at once.

Krillin blocked Goku's storm of attacks while a tidal wave of something called "nostalgia" surged inside him.

Before he'd crossed over, he was an Office Drone working nine to six.

His rented room was plastered with Dragon Ball posters, and his bookshelf held the complete manga set.

He'd watched that kid with a tail push boulders on Mount Paozu, watched him transform into a giant ape for the first time, watched him charge into the Red Ribbon Army's base to save his friends, watched him become a golden legend on Namek through sheer rage.

Son Goku—that name wasn't just a manga character. It was the passion and thrill of countless sleepless nights.

And now, that legend stood right before him.

Those fists carried real warmth and real pain as they slammed into his arms.

"This feeling..."

Krillin deflected one of Goku's knee strikes and countered with a punch aimed at Goku's stomach.

"Is way too awesome!"

Goku reacted instantly, crossing his arms in front of him.

BOOM!

The immense force blasted Goku back dozens of meters. His feet carved two deep furrows across the Arena floor before he finally skidded to a stop at the edge.

"That's heavy!"

Goku shook his arms, wincing.

"Krillin, how are your fists like iron blocks?"

"Because I went bald, and I got stronger."

Krillin didn't press the attack. He stood still, watching Goku.

In this world, he was Krillin.

The one who always followed behind Goku, responsible for commentary, for shock, for being the sacrificial lamb.

But deep in his soul, he was the "reader" who'd watched Goku grow up.

"Goku."

Krillin spoke suddenly, his voice losing some of its playfulness, gaining something more complicated.

"Do you remember the first time we met?"

Goku blinked, scratching his head.

"Yeah. At Kame House. You rowed over in a boat and brought a bunch of... heh, those magazines."

"Yeah."

Krillin smiled.

Back then, the original him really was a slick little monk.

"Back then, I thought, why is this kid with a tail stronger than me?"

Krillin clenched his fist, feeling the power surging through his body.

"I kept chasing your shadow, watching you run farther and farther away."

"Tien Shinhan, Piccolo... your opponents keep getting stronger, and all I can do is stand on the sidelines shouting, 'Goku's amazing.'"

Krillin took a deep breath, his gaze turning crystal clear.

"I just want to say, this time, I don't want to watch your back anymore."

"I want to stand in front of you, and let you see mine."

"I don't really get what you're saying..."

Goku's eyes sharpened—that was the focus of a beast facing a worthy foe.

"But I can feel it, Krillin, you're serious. In that case..."

Goku suddenly crouched down, planting his hands on the ground, his whole body like a drawn bow.

"Then I'll show you what I've achieved in these three years!"

Whoosh!

Goku vanished.

It wasn't just speed—it was an instantaneous shift using a burst of ki.

Krillin's pupils contracted.

In his [Genius Intellect] vision, Goku's figure split into eight.

"Afterimage Fist? No, it's the Multi-Afterimage Fist!"

All eight Gokus attacked from every direction at once, each one seeming solid, each one carrying a sharp gust of wind.

"Useless!"

Krillin stood his ground, throwing out eight punches in an instant.

Plain, ordinary punches—no name, no flashy effect, just pure speed and power.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

Seven afterimages shattered instantly.

But the eighth Goku—the real one—just as he was about to be hit, twisted in midair in a way that defied physics.

"What?"

Krillin was slightly startled.

Goku used the airflow from that split second to forcibly change his trajectory, slipping like an eel into Krillin's blind spot—directly above.

"Heh heh! Gotcha!"

Goku hung upside down in the air, planted his hands on Krillin's bald head, used it as a springboard to flip his body, and slammed both feet together into Krillin's back.

It was an incredibly tricky move, completely improvised on the spot.

If this had been the old Krillin, he'd have been sent face-first into the dirt.