Son Goku VS Tien Shinhan

"Ladies and gentlemen! The 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament begins now!"

The announcer's voice boomed across the arena through the loudspeakers.

Son Goku stood in the contestant tunnel, Bulma's cheers echoing behind him.

"Goku! Good luck!"

"Don't get hurt!"

Son Goku turned back, waved at her, and flashed a brilliant smile: "Yeah! Just wait until I win the championship!"

The preliminaries ended quickly.

In the quarterfinals, it was Son Goku versus Chi-Chi.

On the ring, Chi-Chi assumed the martial arts stance of Fire Mountain, her expression serious: "Goku! I won't go easy on you!"

"Yeah! Same here!" Son Goku replied, taking the opening stance of the Turtle School.

The battle began.

Chi-Chi's moves were sharp and her footwork agile, clearly having inherited the true teachings of the Ox-King as she closed the distance and threw a punch at Son Goku.

But against Son Goku... the gap was simply too vast.

"Thud."

Son Goku parried lightly, neutralizing her offensive. His figure flickered, appearing behind Chi-Chi like a phantom, yet he didn't strike, merely tapping her shoulder gently.

"Chi-Chi, you've gotten stronger," he laughed. "That 'Flame Punch' is much more powerful than when we were kids."

"Cut the chatter!" Chi-Chi spun around with a kick, but Son Goku dodged it with ease. "Fight seriously!"

After a few exchanges, Son Goku seized an opening, his fingers moving like lightning to tap her pressure point.

Struck in the meridian, Chi-Chi's body stiffened, her energy stalled, and as she began to fall, Son Goku quickly caught her.

"Quarterfinals! Contestant Son Goku wins!"

Son Goku held Chi-Chi, gently set her down outside the ring, and asked softly: "Are you okay?"

Chi-Chi blushed, turned her head away, and whispered in a voice as faint as a gnat's: "You... you jerk, you did that on purpose, didn't you... holding me so tight..."

"Hehe." Son Goku scratched his head.

Chi-Chi suddenly grabbed his wrist, looking at him earnestly: "After the tournament... shall we get married?"

"Yeah!" Son Goku nodded vigorously, his smile radiant. "With Bulma too! The three of us, together!"

Chi-Chi's face flushed, and she scolded him: "...Idol!!!"

Semifinals, Son Goku versus Tien Shinhan.

Tien Shinhan stood on the ring, his three eyes locked firmly onto the figure opposite him.

"Son Goku! Three years! I've waited for this day... for three whole years!"

Son Goku put away his usual relaxed smile, his gaze turning serious.

"Tien Shinhan! Let me see... the sweat you've shed over these three years!"

In the original story, Tien Shinhan risked his life to unleash the Tri-Beam to stop Cell and the androids. He is a true martial artist... far more pure than I am right now.

In this life, I want him to know that his efforts... I have seen them.

"As you wish!"

Tien Shinhan let out a roar, and the aura around his body erupted violently!

The spectators in the stands were forced back by the sheer pressure, some even sliding right off their seats.

"So, so much power!" Krillin's bald head reflected the white light, his voice trembling. "It's more than ten times stronger... than three years ago!"

Yamcha's palms were slick with sweat: "This guy... what kind of training has he been through..."

"Four Witches Technique—!!!"

Tien Shinhan crossed his arms over his chest, and his figure suddenly split amidst a blinding light! Four identical Tien Shinhans appeared on the ring simultaneously.

"Go!"

All four figures moved at once!

Son Goku watched the incoming figures.

Four Witches Technique... each clone has a quarter of the original's strength; it really is a god-tier skill for group combat!

However... after training on the King of Worlds Planet, my eyes can now perceive the flow of energy.

"Ha!"

He let out a low shout, his body turning into a blur! He didn't retreat, nor did he defend, but charged straight toward the four Tien Shinhans!

"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Four muffled impacts rang out almost in the same second.

He dodged the first Tien Shinhan's hand blade with a sidestep, countering with an elbow strike to the ribs; he leaped high to avoid the second Tien Shinhan's sweep, spinning in mid-air to kick him in the shoulder; he swatted the third Tien Shinhan's energy blast into nothingness, the backlash of the shockwave forcing the attacker back; as for the fourth Tien Shinhan's sneak attack from behind, he caught the wrist without even turning his head and gave it a light twist—

"What?!"

All four Tien Shinhans widened their eyes in unison.

"Your coordination is perfect," Son Goku's voice came from within the shockwave, calm yet clear, "but..."

His figure flickered, appearing before one of the Tien Shinhans with his fist stopping an inch from the man's nose:

"Your ki is scattered."

"Solar Flare—!!!"

The remaining three Tien Shinhans raised their hands above their heads simultaneously, and a blinding white light turned the entire arena into a sea of white! Thousands of spectators screamed, covering their eyes in agony.

"Oh no! It's Solar Flare!" Krillin shouted through the glare, "Goku can't see!"

On the ring, Son Goku had indeed closed his eyes.

But the corners of his mouth curled upward.

Now that I've closed my eyes... I can see even more clearly.

In his perception, the ki of the Tien Shinhans was bright and distinct. Not a single movement could escape his "eyes."

"Above!"

The three Tien Shinhans leaped high into the sky simultaneously, pressing their palms together and aiming at the "blinded" figure on the ring. Their ki condensed frantically, white light erupting from their palms to form four massive pillars of energy—

"Tri-Beam—!!!"

Four Tri-Beams descended from the sky! It was Tien Shinhan's ultimate trump card; each shot was enough to shatter boulders, and all four fired at once completely submerged the entire ring in a destructive white light!

"BOOM—!!!"

The deafening explosion made the entire Papaya Island tremble. Dust billowed into the sky, gravel flew like a rainstorm, the spectators in the stands let out terrified shrieks, and the referee was knocked to the ground by the shockwave.

But as the dust slowly settled—

Son Goku stood in the center of a massive crater.

His feet were buried deep in the cracked stone floor, his arms crossed above his head, and a pale white aura shield surrounded his body. He had taken those four Tri-Beams, which were powerful enough to blast through the island, head-on.

His martial arts gi was only slightly damaged.

"Not bad power," he said, lowering his arms and looking up with a hint of genuine admiration, "really... not bad at all."

"If it were me a year ago, I wouldn't have been able to take that hit."

The Tien Shinhans in the high air panted heavily; the consumption from the Tri-Beam had caused their ki to plummet.

Hearing this, the original Tien Shinhan froze, a complex emotion flashing through his three eyes:

"You..."

"But," Son Goku's voice turned low, his figure sinking slightly as his feet carved two shallow pits into the rubble, "the me of now... is different."

"Sorry, Tien Shinhan."

"I'm coming in!"

"Whoosh—!"

The sound of air being torn apart.

Tien Shinhan didn't even see the movement; he only felt a gale force wind rushing toward his face. He instinctively raised his hands to block, but before his arms were even halfway up, a light, perfectly measured impact struck the back of his neck.

"Thud."

The force was controlled to perfection—a single strike enough to render a martial artist unconscious without causing physical injury.

Tien Shinhan's three eyes slowly lost focus, and his body toppled forward stiffly.

In the final moment before his consciousness faded, he heard Son Goku's voice from behind him, low and sincere:

"Thank you... for giving me such a wonderful fight."

"Thud."

Tien Shinhan collapsed onto the rubble, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The referee stood stunned for a full five seconds before trembling as he raised his flag, his voice cracking with shock: "The... the semifinals! Contestant Son Goku... wins!"

The entire stadium erupted!

Krillin's jaw dropped: "One... one hit?!"

Yamcha gave a bitter smile: "That guy... what kind of monster is he..."

Piccolo stood in the tunnel, his green fists clenched so tightly they creaked, his eyes filled with gravity: "Saiyan..."