King Piccolo

Raditz's journey in the World Martial Arts Tournament had come to an end. Although he missed out on the championship, compared to the title and the 500,000 prize money, Raditz felt he had gained something far more valuable.

The Flight Technique went without saying; as long as Raditz practiced diligently, his speed would be no slower than the Flying Nimbus.

Furthermore, a divine skill like the Solar Flare was incredibly practical in the early stages of Dragon Ball. As long as the timing was mastered, it could produce miraculous effects whether for combat or making an escape.

These skills demonstrated more versatile ways to utilize ki, confirming the philosophy of the Turtle School. Raditz believed it wouldn't be long before he could master them all.

"Hey! Your match is over, why are you still spacing out?" Seeing Raditz standing there in silence, Bulma couldn't help but speak up. "Even if you regret forfeiting now, it's a bit too late, isn't it?"

Raditz waved his hand and laughed, "Not at all, I was just pondering what I gained this time."

"What could you possibly gain after forfeiting?"

"..." For some reason, Raditz detected a hint of resentment in Bulma's tone.

"Well, I did gain something; I have a new understanding of how to use ki." Raditz felt quite pleased with himself, then remembered that Bulma might not know what 'ki' was.

He added, "You just need to know that I've become stronger. By comparison, the match itself is insignificant."

"You have a point," Bulma said.

Seeing that Bulma's tone was unfriendly, Raditz awkwardly forced a change of subject. "By the way, the arena was destroyed, so how will the tournament continue?"

"There must be a backup arena. After all, this is a large-scale event held several times; they wouldn't lack experience in that regard."

"I see. Then let's go watch the matches; the fight between Wukong and Krillin should be starting soon."

"Let's go. If we're late, we won't get good seats." Seeing that Raditz truly didn't seem to care about winning or losing, Bulma stopped dwelling on it.

After all, she had witnessed Raditz's hard work over the past year.

Since Raditz himself didn't feel it was a pity, perhaps his purpose for entering the tournament was, as he said, to learn?

At the new arena site, the crowd was surging like a tide, packed so tightly that it was impossible to see what was happening on the stage.

Bulma was right; they wouldn't have good seats if they were slow.

However, Bulma solved the problem with a single fuzzy little gadget.

"Achoo!"

"Miss Launch, please~" Bulma said in a sweet tone.

"Leave it to me!" Blonde Launch grinned and nimbly pulled two machine guns from a Hoi-Poi Capsule.

She raised the barrels above the crowd and pulled the triggers without hesitation.

"Move, move! If you want to live, get out of the way!"

Two tongues of fire erupted, immediately scaring the audience in front into scrambling away and clearing a path.

"Done!" Bulma tilted her chin at Raditz triumphantly.

"Heh... hehe." Judging by her proficiency, she was a repeat offender.

Walking to the front row of the spectator area, Raditz saw the two people facing off on the stage.

At this moment, the tournament had reached the semifinals.

On the stage were Tien Shinhan and Master Roshi, who was using the alias "Jackie Chun."

With the help of a Senzu Bean, Tien Shinhan's stamina had fully recovered, and every move he made was exceptionally sharp.

Master Roshi was experienced and cunning, but as time dragged on, he gradually found it difficult to keep up.

Moreover, just as Raditz had expected, Tien Shinhan had indeed learned the Kamehameha.

The strength and talent he displayed earned Master Roshi's respect. Master Roshi felt a desire to nurture his talent and, while fighting, offered him earnest advice.

"Why don't you use your martial arts for the right path?"

"Leave behind the path you have followed in your life!"

"Break ties with Master Shen immediately!"

These words struck Tien Shinhan's heart with every syllable.

In the end, Master Roshi "stumbled" and fell out of bounds.

"Contestant Jackie Chun is out! Contestant Tien Shinhan wins and advances to the finals!"

Tien Shinhan stood on the stage and did not leave immediately. He looked at Master Roshi, who had intentionally lost, and then subconsciously looked at Raditz, who had also voluntarily forfeited in the spectator stands.

The two were completely different, yet they had made similar choices and given nearly identical admonitions.

A complex emotion welled up in his heart; the creed and philosophy that Master Shen had long instilled in him began to show unprecedented cracks.

The other semifinal match unfolded between Wukong and Krillin.

The duel between fellow disciples did not result in an evenly matched fight. Wukong was truly the "low-class warrior" Kakarot; in three years, his strength had long since left Krillin far behind. He won the match without any suspense.

"Contestant Sun Wukong wins! Advances to the finals!"

The entire arena erupted.

After a short rest, the final of the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament began immediately.

Tien Shinhan and Sun Wukong stood facing each other on the stage. The referee raised his right hand, took a deep breath, and announced the start.

At this very moment!

Raditz's expression tightened, and he jerked his head up to look at the horizon.

A faint yet malicious sense of oppression appeared without warning.

There was no specific direction; it felt more like some massive, slumbering entity had just awakened, radiating a wisp of ominous aura.

"King Piccolo." Raditz understood immediately.

It seemed the Pilaf Gang had managed to find the Electric Rice Cooker that sealed him and had set him free.

However, he was not yet proficient in using his ability to sense ki; he could only detect nearby signatures. This malice directed at the entire world was too vague to pinpoint a specific location.

There was no panic in Raditz's heart, only the calm of knowing that what was meant to happen would eventually come to pass.

In his mind, this decrepit King Piccolo should not be as strong as the Guardian at Kami's Lookout.

He had previously seen the Guardian's strength through his scouter; based on the Saiyan combat power standards, the Guardian was around 320, so this old King Piccolo would only be lower.

As long as he intervened at the critical moment, it wouldn't be a major issue.

With that thought, Raditz's gaze drifted over to Goku, who was fighting on the ring, and Krillin, who was watching from below.

In the original story, after the match ended, Krillin would kindly go to help Goku retrieve his Power Pole from the lounge, only to encounter one of King Piccolo's minions—who had come to collect a list of martial artists—and meet a tragic end.

As long as he went to get the Power Pole for Goku before Krillin did, he could prevent this from happening. It would be best to capture that member of the Demon Clan to avoid any unforeseen accidents.

Raditz's thoughts shifted, and he settled back in to watch the match.

The duel between Tien Shinhan and Goku continued. Since Master Roshi had previously used the Kamehameha to deal with the meddling Master Shen, Tien Shinhan was no longer held back and was focused solely on winning the championship with all his might.

The final result was just as dramatic as in the original story.

Tien Shinhan once again performed the "Arena Disappearing Technique," successfully forcing Goku into the air.

But Goku had not yet learned the Flight Technique; instead, he used his remaining energy to output a reverse blast for propulsion, slamming headlong into Tien Shinhan.

Both of them fell to the ground, and Goku lost the championship by a hair's breadth.