Finals

Piccolo slowly came to. Through the haze, he saw several figures chatting and laughing not far ahead.

When Ye Bai noticed that Piccolo had woken up, he turned and walked over. Stopping in front of him, he said with a smile, "Piccolo, don't forget our earlier bet. Those injuries just now weren't a big deal for you. They were only a reminder of what you can and cannot do in the future."

"And you're not some demon. You're a Namekian. It was only the original King Piccolo who had once gone to the Demon Realm. Namekians are a peaceful race. King Piccolo didn't leave much evil intent within you, so you aren't an evil person by nature. You should know that in your heart."

"Hmph." Piccolo merely snorted at the first statement. But after hearing the second, he abruptly raised his head. "I'm not a demon? How is that possible? I have no memories of being a Namekian at all. Don't think you can fool me."

"Not just you—even the original King Piccolo and Kami didn't know they were Namekians. When there's a chance, I'll take you to see your home planet. For now, you just need to train properly. If you don't, your home planet might be destroyed in a few years," Ye Bai explained.

Piccolo opened his mouth but said nothing. Instead, he lowered his head, seemingly considering whether Ye Bai was trying to deceive him.

Just then, the referee stepped onto the stage and announced the start of the finals, calling Goku and Ye Bai to the ring. Ye Bai rose to his feet and headed toward the arena alongside Goku. Goku turned to him and said, "Xiaobai, you're still so strong. But I won't give up. I'll use all my strength to fight you."

Ye Bai looked at Goku's battle-filled expression, nodded, and said, "Goku, I'll lower my ki to your level and fight you."

"Huh? Xiaobai, are you going easy on me? You can't do that. I want to see your full strength," Goku said hurriedly, thinking Ye Bai intended to hold back.

"No, Goku. You still have a lot of room to improve. I'll show you that, at your current level, you can actually become much stronger." After saying that, Ye Bai ignored him and walked alone toward the right side of the arena.

"Huh?" Goku was somewhat confused, but he still went to the left side of the ring. Once he had reached the opposite side and the referee announced the start, Ye Bai said to him, "You attack first, Goku."

"Then I won't hold back, Xiaobai."

Goku looked at Ye Bai, who was still completely relaxed, then instantly burst forth at full speed and vanished from Ye Bai's sight as he attacked from behind. Ye Bai merely shifted slightly to evade Goku's strike, then drove an elbow backward.

"Waaah!"

Goku cried out in pain, clutching his stomach as he staggered backward. Seeing that Ye Bai had made no further move, he rubbed his abdomen and charged again at even greater speed. This time, he held nothing back, throwing a punch with all his strength.

Ye Bai leaned aside slightly to evade it, seized Goku's incoming right arm with his left hand, and struck Goku in the face with another elbow. Then, gripping Goku's arm, he repeatedly hammered his body with his right fist.

The entire arena was filled with nothing but Goku's cries of pain. Only when it was nearly enough did Ye Bai release his arm. Goku collapsed weakly onto the ground, bruises covering his body.

Ye Bai stepped back two paces, leaving Goku enough room to recover. Just as the referee was about to begin counting, Ye Bai said, "No need to count. That level of attack isn't enough to keep him from getting back up."

Seeing Goku's miserable state from the back area, Chi-Chi shouted at Ye Bai, "Why? Xiaobai, aren't you friends? Why did you hit him so hard?"

The others also failed to understand and spoke up one after another. "Yeah, Xiaobai, why are you doing this?"

Only Master Roshi beneath the ring saw what was happening. Ye Bai's speed and strength were about the same as Goku's, but he needed to observe a little longer to understand what Ye Bai was trying to do.

Ye Bai ignored them. Once Goku had propped himself up, he said, "Goku, that's not how you use your strength. Don't put all your force into an attack, and don't make unnecessary movements. You put all your strength into throwing your punch. If your opponent only needs to dodge it, you'll be stiff for an instant, without the strength to evade. An attack should be like this."

As he spoke, Ye Bai walked farther away. Only after he had finished speaking did he turn and launch an attack at Goku. He was not moving quickly, and Goku could see him clearly.

But the moment Ye Bai's fist came swinging over, Goku hurriedly blocked it. Then Ye Bai's fists rained down like a violent storm, seemingly without any recovery time between strikes, forcing Goku to defend with all his might.

"Not good!"

Goku's expression changed drastically. His blocks could not keep up with Ye Bai's attacks, and Ye Bai caught an opening, punching him in the abdomen and sending him airborne. The instant he flew up, Ye Bai grabbed his wrist with his left hand and held him suspended in the air, launching another flurry of strikes that kept Goku floating midair.

This time, however, Ye Bai held back some of his strength. Once he had struck enough times, he withdrew his hand and stopped attacking. Because he had pulled his blows, Goku did not collapse to the ground. Instead, he supported himself with one hand, clutched his stomach with the other, and knelt on one knee.

"The purpose of attacking isn't to send your opponent flying away either. You should crush them in a single storm of blows. Mr. Popo said attacks should be as swift as lightning, but that's not entirely correct. They should be as swift as lightning and as fierce as a raging storm."

Ye Bai continued as he looked at Goku, his voice exceptionally clear in the silent arena.

Behind the wall, Chi-Chi covered her eyes, unable to bear watching any longer. Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien Shinhan could not help swallowing, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at Ye Bai.

Yamcha especially felt immensely fortunate that Xiaobai had not treated him this way.

Master Roshi, beneath the ring, had sweat beading on his forehead as he looked at the young figure standing onstage, feeling a chill run through him.

Although Bulma understood now, she could not help shouting, "Xiaobai, that's enough."

Ye Bai looked at Bulma but said nothing. He shook his head, then turned back to Goku and asked, "Do you understand, Goku? Do you want to try it? Use roughly seventy percent of your strength in an attack and keep thirty percent in reserve. As for exactly how much force to use, judge it according to your enemy."

Goku raised his head and looked at that familiar face. It suddenly felt a little unfamiliar, but he still nodded and replied, "I understand, Xiaobai. You're amazing. In that case, I won't hold back."

With his fighting spirit restored, Goku stood up, rubbed his sore body, let his hands hang at his sides to relax, and closed his eyes to think for a moment. After assuming an attacking stance once more, he opened his eyes and charged fiercely at Ye Bai.

Seeing Goku rush toward him, Ye Bai also adopted a serious stance and began blocking Goku's storm-like attacks. The two finally began a true battle. Watching Goku's attacks begin to take shape, Ye Bai could not help marveling that this idiot's talent was actually quite impressive.

The two began exchanging blows back and forth, and the spectators' enthusiasm returned at once. Master Roshi spoke from below the arena. "Xiaobai truly is remarkable. In martial arts, he has already surpassed us old-timers."

Amid the attacks, Ye Bai could clearly sense Goku improving at an astonishing rate. After all, Ye Bai only had an understanding of some basic martial arts training from Earth in his previous life.

Although Ye Bai was distracted, his body continued attacking and defending at high speed. Suddenly, he made a mistake, allowing Goku to seize the opportunity and land a blow. Goku immediately returned the favor with a series of attacks.

Once Goku released him, Ye Bai deliberately sprawled on the ground and played dead, prompting the referee to begin counting.

By the time the count reached halfway, Ye Bai still had not moved, while Goku beside him began to panic.

"Xiaobai! Stop pretending! Get up already!"

Ye Bai remained motionless, and everyone below the ring began to worry as well.

"Xiaobai, what's wrong? Wake up, quickly!" Goku panicked and hurried over to shake Ye Bai.

Even after the referee's countdown ended, Ye Bai remained motionless. Before the referee could say anything, Goku quickly hoisted Ye Bai onto his shoulder and ran toward the resting area, shouting as he ran.

"Krillin, quick! Give me a Senzu Bean!"

Once they had reached the area behind the resting room wall, Ye Bai suddenly stood up, pulled his arm free from Goku's shoulder, dusted himself off, and casually said, "Idiot."

Goku froze. He stared at Ye Bai with his eyes wide open and said, "Xiaobai, you were pretending just now? Why? I thought I'd hit you too hard!"

Ye Bai looked at Goku speechlessly. "Idiot, with that little strength of yours, you think you could hurt me? Not a chance."

"Of course it was to let you become champion. Why else would I pretend to be dead? And it wasn't because I went easy on you that you became champion."

"It's because this championship was originally yours. I don't belong here to begin with. If I hadn't appeared, this championship should have been yours. You don't need to understand—you wouldn't get it even if I explained. You just need to know that you were meant to be the champion." Ye Bai spoke seriously to Goku, but halfway through, he realized this idiot did not understand a word.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean you don't belong here, and this championship was originally mine, Xiaobai?" Goku scratched his head, feeling like he was about to get completely confused.

"What I mean is, I'm not from this world. I wasn't supposed to appear here in the first place. Under normal circumstances, the final battle should have been between you and Piccolo, and you would have defeated Piccolo to win the championship. Do you understand now?" Ye Bai got carried away explaining and spilled everything.

Several people from in front of the arena had run in as well out of concern. After hearing those words, they all looked at Ye Bai in disbelief. Only Goku still understood nothing. Ye Bai covered his forehead and shook his head. This idiot was beyond saving.

"But you're here right now, Xiaobai. You really exist. And I'm completely no match for you. The championship doesn't matter. If I want to be champion, I'll train hard, defeat you, and win it fair and square," Goku said seriously and solemnly to Ye Bai, even though he had not fully understood.

Hearing that, Ye Bai raised his head to look at Goku. He suddenly smiled, and his gaze became resolute.

"That's right. I exist here. I am Ye Bai."

At that moment, Bulma suddenly said from behind them, "So you couldn't fight because of some special reason? Is that it?"

Ye Bai turned around and looked at the beautiful Bulma before him. He opened his mouth, but in the end, only one sentence came out.

"I'm sorry, Bulma."

"Idiot, idiot, you big idiot!" Bulma shouted. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked at Ye Bai, then she suddenly threw herself into his arms.

Ye Bai helplessly raised his hands and let Bulma hug him. The others let out relieved laughter, making Ye Bai even more embarrassed.

Fortunately, the referee ran in at that moment and asked what had happened. After Goku and the others gave him a revised version of the story, the announcer understood the situation and said he would explain it to the audience.

The announcer walked out onto the arena with a microphone and began to speak.

"Due to a small mishap just now, an error occurred in the match because of a misunderstanding. In a moment, our two contestants will return to the arena and compete again."

The audience did not dwell on it, instead breaking into enthusiastic applause.

"Now then, let us welcome our two contestants back for another exciting match!" With that, the referee jumped down from the arena.

Ye Bai and Goku returned to the arena as well. Goku looked at Ye Bai across from him and said, "Xiaobai, you're not allowed to hold back this time. I want to have a real match with you."

Ye Bai nodded without saying anything. Once Goku had taken his stance, Ye Bai launched an attack. Goku focused with all his might as he watched Ye Bai charge toward him, but Ye Bai suddenly vanished before his eyes.

Goku released his energy to search for Ye Bai's location. Ye Bai appeared behind Goku without him noticing at all. By the time Krillin and the others warned him, it was already too late.

Ye Bai immediately unleashed a torrential barrage of attacks. This time, he did not grab Goku, but kicked him flying instead. Then, the instant Goku was sent airborne, Ye Bai appeared above him and kicked him back down toward the ground.

Goku crashed into the ground, blasting a huge crater into the arena. But it was not over. Ye Bai appeared beside Goku again, tossed the still-dazed Goku into the air with one hand, then aimed his other hand at him and fired an instant ki blast, sending Goku flying.

The people behind the arena all swallowed hard at the sight. Krillin said fearfully, "He might as well have just told Goku to surrender. How is that holding back even a little? He was obviously going all out. Xiaobai is terrifying."

Chi-Chi looked at Goku worriedly, but when she saw Ye Bai stop attacking, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

Goku used Flight in midair to force himself to a stop. After steadying himself, he began gulping down breaths.

Looking at Ye Bai below and realizing he could not beat him in close combat, Goku assumed the Kamehameha stance and shouted, "Watch out, Xiaobai!"

"Super Kamehameha!"

A massive blue beam gathered in Goku's hands before blasting toward Ye Bai on the arena.

In response, Ye Bai condensed a small blue-black sphere in his hand and flung it out. It collided with Goku's Super Kamehameha. Though the blue-black sphere looked tiny, it forced Goku's Super Kamehameha aside all the way and shot rapidly toward Goku.

Goku hurriedly stopped his attack and dodged. The blue-black sphere grazed past him and flew high into the sky. Once it reached a great height, it suddenly exploded, blasting Goku out of the air. The shockwave pressed down on the audience so hard they could not even lift their heads.

Goku crashed onto the arena. Looking at the explosion in the sky, he turned toward Ye Bai in the distance and said, "Xiaobai, were you trying to kill me? That was so close just now. Good thing I dodged fast."

"With that little speed, you could have dodged it easily. Even if you couldn't, I'd just get Shenron to revive you," Ye Bai said without a care.

Goku had no response. Feeling that he did not have much stamina left either, he could only helplessly say to the referee, "Referee, I surrender."

"Surrender? O-oh!"

"Contestant Son Goku has surrendered! The winner of this match is Contestant Xing!"