Speedrun

"Boom—!"

The deafening cheers were like a tsunami, nearly overturning the sky above Papaya Island!

On the open-air arena of the World Martial Arts Tournament, dull impacts boomed like frenzied war drums, every thud slamming hard into the hearts of the entire audience. Tens of thousands of spectators were red-faced with excitement, their hoarse shouts weaving into a blazing, boiling sea of noise.

This was undoubtedly the rawest, most blood-pumping hand-to-hand brawl in the tournament's history!

Yet above the roaring stadium, the VIP suite of Capsule Corporation exuded an air of absolute calm.

Cool air drifted quietly through the room. Son Goku leaned back on a leather sofa, his gaze fixed through the one-way glass on the towering man below.

Bulma took off her sunhat and handed him a chilled grape. Watching the savage fight below, her eyelids twitched.

"Goku, you let Raditz compete, but does he even understand what it means to stop at the right point?" Bulma looked worried. "With that temper of his, what if he gets careless and tears his opponent apart?"

Son Goku ate the grape and patted her shoulder. "He doesn't dare cause trouble now. Just watch. This is a necessary step for him to shed his reliance on brute force. It'll also give Earth's martial artists a lesson."

At that moment, Raditz was experiencing the most humiliating day of his life.

To strictly obey Son Goku's order not to use ki, he had forcibly turned himself into a punching bag that could only take hits without hitting back.

In the quarterfinals, fighter Pamput unleashed a flashy combination at Raditz's face. Raditz's skin was not even scratched, while Pamput shattered the bones in his own hand from the recoil. He rolled around on the ground in agony and forfeited on the spot.

But in the semifinals, Raditz had his hands full against the slippery Krillin.

Krillin refused to confront him head-on, instead darting through every blind spot he could find. Raditz possessed tremendous strength, but his movements were especially clumsy. He took several kicks to the left knee and an elbow to the back.

Krillin even stepped on his shoulder and flipped into the air, hammering the back of his head with a heavy punch. Though it felt no different from a scratch, the repeated humiliation threw Raditz's balance into chaos. He staggered, nearly toppling over.

"Why is Raditz being so clumsy? Krillin isn't going to eliminate him, is he?" Bulma asked.

Son Goku took her hand, his voice steady. "Don't worry. He's thinking about how to fight in a different way."

Bulma nodded as if she understood, then turned her attention back to the arena.

On the arena floor, Raditz gritted his teeth and forced himself to close his eyes.

Instead of fixating on Krillin's nimble footwork, he calmed himself and recalled the method Son Goku had taught him for deflecting force—feeling shifts in his center of gravity.

Krillin slid forward again with a sweeping low kick. Rather than resisting it head-on as usual, Raditz slightly lowered his shoulder with the force of the strike and turned just enough to block Krillin's route. Then, borrowing Krillin's forward momentum, he awkwardly drove his shoulder forward.

Bang!

It was only a collision of flesh and bone, but Krillin felt as though he had crashed into an iron wall. He was sent flying out of the arena and eliminated immediately.

Raditz himself lost his footing due to his unfamiliarity with the movement and landed hard on his backside on the bluestone tiles.

Without using ki, fighting with technique alone—Raditz climbed to his feet, dusted himself off, and a flicker of realization flashed through his eyes. He had looked rather pathetic just now, but the feeling of controlling his muscles like this was strangely addictive.

He could hardly wait to try it in the finals.

His final opponent was Tien Shinhan, a first-time participant. The moment this gifted disciple of the Crane School stepped onto the stage, he assumed a stance that looked ready to risk his life.

There was no pointless talk. They went straight into close-quarters combat.

Tien Shinhan unleashed the Afterimage Technique in rapid succession, turning into several phantom images that surrounded Raditz as fists and kicks rained down. This time, Raditz did not simply endure the blows. Using the trick he had grasped while fighting Krillin, he began trying to catch his opponent's movements amid the high-speed exchange.

His footwork was still messy, but he could now barely keep pace with Tien Shinhan's rhythm. He twisted aside to evade a heavy punch, raised an elbow to block a whip kick, and even managed to return a kick through the gaps, forcing Tien Shinhan to use the Four Witches Technique to increase his attack frequency.

The two became intertwined afterimages on the arena floor, the dull crashes of fists and feet colliding without end. The more Tien Shinhan fought, the more alarmed he became. Compared to the semifinals, his opponent's fighting skill seemed like that of an entirely different person. That body which had only known how to rely on brute force was becoming more agile at a visibly rapid rate.

Seeing that close combat was no longer working, Tien Shinhan decisively pulled away. He raised both hands near his forehead, and a brilliant light erupted.

Solar Flare!

As the intense light robbed Raditz of his vision, Tien Shinhan leaped high into the air. Red light flared at his fingertips, and an orange beam tore down through the sky.

"Dodon Ray!"

The violent explosion sent thick smoke and dust billowing across the arena. Everyone believed the long-haired giant had either been killed or badly injured.

The wind scattered the smoke, revealing Raditz's unmoving figure. A hole had been blasted through the martial arts uniform on his chest, but his Saiyan physique, tempered beyond measure, bore only a faint red mark on his skin.

"How is that possible?! He took the Dodon Ray with nothing but his body?!" Tien Shinhan stared in horror from midair.

"Finished? My turn."

Raditz grinned. His legs suddenly exploded with force, and the bluestone tiles beneath his feet cracked inch by inch. Moving with far more practiced footwork, he rushed in and slipped inside Tien Shinhan's guard. His right hand deflected Tien Shinhan's instinctive defense, while his left became a knife-hand and struck precisely at Tien Shinhan's neck.

Tien Shinhan let out a muffled groan and collapsed stiffly to the ground, unconscious.

He won! The entire audience erupted in astonishing cheers.

Raditz accepted the five-hundred-thousand prize check and looked up at the VIP suite. Son Goku held a cup in his hand and gave him a slight nod.

Night fell, and the atmosphere in the contestants' rest area was oppressive. Krillin, Yamcha, and the newly awakened Tien Shinhan sat together, so crushed by Raditz's despair-inducing strength that they began doubting their lives.

Outside the suite, Son Goku prepared to head to the rest area.

Under the corridor's dim yellow lights, Son Goku adjusted a strand of hair by Bulma's temple. "I'm going to say a few things backstage. I'll be right back."

"Mm." Bulma smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes and smiled. "Go on, Goku! What are we having for dinner tonight?"

"You decide." Son Goku turned and walked toward the tightly shut wooden door.

The door to the rest room was pushed open.

Son Goku, who had been gentle and composed in front of Bulma just moments ago, stepped into the room and his aura abruptly sank. The pressure of a true powerhouse spread through the air. Behind him stood Raditz, fresh from his overwhelming victory.

Everyone rose to their feet in unison.

"Goku... who exactly is Raditz?" Krillin swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

"We're called Saiyans, a warrior race renowned throughout the universe." Son Goku pulled out a chair and sat down, his gaze sweeping over the group as he spoke calmly.

"Out there, people with his level of strength are a dime a dozen. If you think ruling supreme on Earth is enough to make you smug, then when a real crisis arrives, you might not even be qualified to serve as cannon fodder."

The lounge fell utterly silent.

"Still, since all of you have talent, I don't mind giving you a hand." Son Goku stood and pointed at Raditz behind him.

"Starting tomorrow, anyone who wants to make a breakthrough can go to Capsule Corporation in West City. They have gravity equipment that can send your combat power soaring. As for sparring partners... aside from customized combat robots,"

Son Goku smiled. "My brother here has just taken several months of brutal beatings. I think he'd be more than happy to share that experience with you."

Raditz clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking loudly. He gave the group a friendly smile.