One Thing After Another

"They're gone? Both of them are gone!"

The host stared in shock, clutching his microphone as he searched the ring. At last, he spotted them in the air!

"Everyone, look! They're up there! Both fighters jumped into the air at the same time!"

But the host's eyes clearly couldn't keep up with Wukong and Li Shu.

The moment he looked skyward, their midair exchange was already over. They landed and immediately clashed again.

Their movements were so fast that they left one afterimage after another. The sound of their fists and feet colliding rang through the arena.

Although the audience couldn't make out their movements, the host's commentary kept them enthralled.

The fight soon reached a fever pitch. The sky gradually darkened, and a full moon quietly appeared on the horizon.

Now that he no longer feared pain, Li Shu only grew more valiant as the battle went on. He held his own, and even seemed to be gaining the upper hand against Wukong.

Seeing that he couldn't finish the fight with a prolonged assault, Li Shu's eyes flickered. He began putting a plan he'd devised long ago into action.

"Hm? What's that smell? Why does it smell so good?"

After a long battle, both fighters had used up a great deal of energy. Then an irresistible scent of roasted meat wafted over, instantly stirring Wukong's hunger.

"Grrr..." His stomach growled in protest, and Wukong instinctively looked at Li Shu's right leg. That delicious smell was coming from there.

That distracted glance gave Wukong away. Li Shu seized the opening with an uppercut and sent him flying.

Li Shu was about to press his advantage and knock Wukong right out of the ring when he suddenly noticed the full moon overhead. A wild power awoke within him, and his expression changed dramatically!

Li Shu hurriedly looked away and turned his gaze toward Wukong. Wukong's body was rapidly swelling, and his thick fur was sprouting at a frantic pace.

In an instant, he transformed into a terrifying, savage Great Ape. His enormous body took up half the ring.

Everyone was stunned by the horrifying sight. Since when could people transform into giant apes?

The audience was completely dumbfounded.

"Big Bro, I thought I was going to lose. I didn't realize it was a full moon tonight. Good thing I transformed in time. Heh heh." Great Ape Wukong spoke like a human, his laughter savage.

"Ah." Li Shu sighed. With his help, Wukong wouldn't lose his reason and go berserk after transforming into a Great Ape. But once the transformation began, it couldn't be reversed unless he ran out of energy, was gravely wounded, had his tail cut off, or the moon was destroyed.

In other words, neither he nor Wukong could end their Great Ape transformations on their own for now.

"Big Bro, aren't you going to transform?" Wukong asked excitedly.

Li Shu didn't want to transform. There were so many people watching, and transforming into a Great Ape would destroy his clothes. Once he changed back, he'd be completely naked. Wouldn't his huge dragon be on full display for everyone?

Even a skill like [Thick Skin-LV1] couldn't hide his shame.

But sometimes, not wanting to do something didn't mean you could avoid it. Looking at the combat power above Great Ape Wukong's head, Li Shu felt utterly hopeless.

[Combat Power: 830]

Transforming into a Great Ape multiplied his combat power tenfold! How could he fight without transforming?

Was he really going to follow Master Roshi's example in the original story and destroy the moon?

Li Shu quickly abandoned that idea. His Kamehameha wasn't powerful enough to destroy the moon yet.

"This is really frustrating." With no other choice, Li Shu looked at the full moon and began his Great Ape Transformation.

Great Ape Li Shu had a combat power of [945]!

As his Battle Eye improved, he no longer needed a mirror to see his combat power above his head.

945?!

Li Shu was taken aback. He hurriedly worked out a very difficult math problem in his head, one that most people couldn't solve mentally: 945 divided by 78.75 equaled 12.

The answer made everything click. His Saiyan Bloodline was one level higher than Wukong's, so his combat power increased by two additional times when he transformed into a Great Ape!

At first, Li Shu had been worried. Wukong's base combat power was higher than his, so transforming would only widen the gap between them.

But now it seemed that he had the advantage after all!

Looking at Great Ape Wukong, who occupied the other half of the ring, Great Ape Li Shu let out a wild laugh and threw a punch!

With their enormous bodies, just a couple of steps backward would send either fighter out of the ring.

In other words, they had so little room that they could hardly make any large movements. What came next would be a true test of strength!

They would trade blows head-on, every punch landing solidly, with neither side giving an inch!

It was a spectacular sight most people would never see in their entire lives, and the audience watched with pounding hearts.

For people living on Earth in the Dragon Ball world, living alongside animal-people and marrying and having children with them was already perfectly normal. One or two humans who could turn into giant apes weren't hard for them to accept.

"Who could have imagined it?! Who could have imagined it?!" the host bellowed excitedly. "The final match of our tournament has come down to a showdown between two giant apes!"

"Li Shu's Great Ape form seems to have the upper hand!"

"Great Ape Wukong is being driven back!"

"He can't retreat any farther! Wukong can't retreat any farther! One more step and he'll be out of the ring!"

Great Ape Wukong knew that, of course. But Great Ape Li Shu was putting him under enormous pressure.

Li Shu had the advantage in both presence and strength!

Even the blood flowing through Wukong's body seemed to feel a mysterious pressure. His blood no longer circulated as smoothly as before.

When the blood didn't flow smoothly, neither did his strength.

That was why Great Ape Wukong had started to falter after only a few exchanges.

If Wukong and Li Shu had received the same education, Wukong would surely have cried out, "Bloodline suppression!" The phrase "unable to summon his full strength" would also have perfectly described how he felt.

Even Li Shu hadn't expected this. If he'd known, he would've torn his clothes off and transformed right from the start, sparing himself all this pain.

It really freaking hurt!

Just when Li Shu thought victory was all but assured, something freaking unexpected happened again.

At last, Li Shu understood how villains felt when fighting the protagonist. It was an emotional roller coaster, one thing after another, with no end in sight.

Great Ape Wukong had been punched so hard he was about to go flying out of the ring. Suddenly, a red glow appeared in his mouth and rapidly gathered there.

"Roar!" Wukong let out a furious roar, and a red beam of light surged out.

Propelled by the beam, he dug his feet firmly into the ring and avoided being knocked out.

The red beam struck Li Shu squarely in the face. It nearly knocked his head clean off!

The intense pain and impact sent Li Shu falling stiffly backward.