A Trial Run

Son Mirai and the others had all advanced, and Master Roshi gave the three of them his verbal approval.

Soon, preparations for the tournament were complete, and the host stepped onto the ring.

"The World Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin! All eight competitors, please gather inside the Martial Arts Arena!"

Goku said, "Let's go. We need to get ready!"

Son Mirai and Krillin nodded. "Bulma, Master Roshi, we're heading in!"

Bulma encouraged them, "Good luck, everyone!"

The three hurried inside.

Bulma and Amy watched Son Mirai, Goku, and Krillin go in.

When they looked back, Master Roshi had vanished right under their noses.

Amy couldn't help staring in surprise.

"Huh? Where did that old pervert go?"

Bulma glanced around and said confidently, "What else would he be doing?

He's probably gone to find a place with lots of pretty girls so he can take advantage of them again..."

Just as Bulma was looking around for Master Roshi,

a beautiful woman in a pink T-shirt, with golden curls, came limping out of the arena.

Bulma was curious. "Is that girl a competitor too? Why is she coming out?"

Amy took a look and said, "She probably got eliminated and is walking slowly because she's hurt. Look at her limping..."

Bulma nodded.

"That makes sense. It's so ungentlemanly to hit such a pretty girl that hard..."

Not long after, the draw was over, and the host announced the order of the upcoming matches.

Bacterian vs. Krillin.

Jackie Chun vs. Yamcha.

Son Mirai vs. Nam.

Son Goku vs. Giran.

After reading the matchups, the host shouted, "Now, let's begin the first match!

Bacterian vs. Krillin. Both competitors, please come to the ring!"

There weren't any rookies left among the finalists.

Krillin was on his guard, too, and stepped carefully into the ring.

The host introduced him. "This is Krillin, the youngest competitor in the tournament, at just thirteen years old!"

Cheers and gasps immediately rose from the crowd.

"He's competing at thirteen, and he even made it to the finals. That's incredible!"

"Yeah, he looks really strong!"

"But isn't it suspicious that a little shrimp like him made it this far?"

"Let's see. If he doesn't have any real skill and just snuck in, he'll embarrass himself sooner or later..."

Suddenly, a foul stench swept over the arena, and the spectators covered their noses.

"Ugh, what's that smell?"

Everyone turned to look. A filthy, bare-chested, drooling brute had stepped into the ring.

He wore only a pair of underwear, his body was caked with grime, and flies buzzed around him.

The host covered his nose with a handkerchief as he introduced him. "This foul-smelling gentleman is Bacterian, a competitor who has never bathed since the day he was born."

"Bacterian?"

"Good grief, how can someone this disgusting exist in the world..."

Pinching her nose, Bulma said, "That guy's practically a biological weapon. If he gets even a little bit of stink on you, you'll smell for ages. He's absolutely revolting!

I hope Son Mirai doesn't have to face someone like him..."

Amy pinched her nose, too. "Why are all the people in the final eight so weird?"

"What's weird about them?" Bulma asked.

Amy replied, "You don't think they're weird?

There's a little shrimp and a foul-smelling germ who never bathes. What a mood killer!

I came all this way hoping to meet a handsome martial artist, but that hope's fading fast..."

Bulma's lips curled into a smug smile. "Exactly. A competitor who's both handsome and strong is one in a million."

"Just start already! It reeks!"

"Hurry up and knock that guy out of the ring!"

"I don't care who wins, just get that guy off the ring! I'm about to pass out!"

The referee ignored the crowd and continued explaining the rules.

"Listen carefully. You lose if you surrender or get knocked out of the ring.

You also lose if you fall down in the ring and don't get up after the count of ten.

Weapons are forbidden, and you must not kill your opponent!"

After finishing the explanation, the host shouted, "All right, those are the rules! Let the match begin!"

The staff immediately struck the gong.

Krillin was already dizzy from the stench as he stood in the ring.

Fortunately, Bacterian was only disgusting, not very strong. Krillin wasn't overwhelmed by the stink and eventually won the match.

After Bacterian left the ring, the air felt much fresher.

The referee let out a sigh of relief and announced loudly, "Krillin wins!"

The audience applauded, too.

"Nicely done!"

"Thank goodness that guy isn't staying in the ring. He stinks!"

"Yeah, this isn't a martial arts match—it's like playing in a pile of shit!"

"Still, that little shrimp's pretty good. He actually kicked him out of the ring with his own skill..."

"Yeah, he must have some real ability if he made it to the finals!"

After Krillin stepped down from the ring, Goku sincerely congratulated him.

"Great job, Krillin."

Son Mirai gave him a thumbs-up, too.

Krillin had performed much better than Son Mirai had expected.

With the air fresh again, the host announced, "All right, spectators, the second match is about to begin..."

"Jackie Chun and Yamcha, please come to the ring!"

The two of them stepped into the ring.

Jackie Chun glanced around at the beautiful women and kept flashing peace signs at them.

Yamcha, on the other hand, stepped onto the ring with a serious expression, looking rather nervous.

"This is Jackie Chun, and this is Yamcha!"

When Yamcha appeared, the cheers of many girls rang out at once.

"Wow, what a handsome guy..."

Amy exclaimed, "If he made it to the final eight, he must be really strong, too!

I've decided—he's going to be my boyfriend..."

Bulma was a little surprised as well. "This really is the World Martial Arts Tournament. There are even handsome martial artists here!

He doesn't have quite the same air as my boyfriend, but he's still pretty good-looking. He'd be perfect for you."

Amy immediately launched into an all-out attack, calling to him and whistling.

"Yamcha, over here!"

Yamcha had no experience with women and was afraid of them, too.

When he realized that all the girls were cheering and whistling for him, he became so nervous he couldn't speak, and his legs went weak.

Jackie Chun (Master Roshi) recognized Yamcha at once. He was the young man who had robbed them in the desert.

The fact that Yamcha had come here meant he had turned over a new leaf and stopped robbing people.

Master Roshi was pleased.

But Yamcha seemed to be trembling.

Jackie Chun couldn't help asking, "Young man, you seem pretty nervous!"

With a slight quaver in his voice, Yamcha replied, "N-no, not at all. I'm not nervous..."

A few girls cheered.

"Yamcha, you can do it!"

"That guy's so handsome! I like him!"

Yamcha grew even more nervous.

Jackie Chun frowned a little.

"Hey, you don't seem nervous about the match. You seem nervous about the girls cheering you on, don't you?"