Reuniting with old friends made Goku, Bulma, and the others very happy.
"Goku, how come you're here at the martial arts tournament too?"
Holding an ice cream cone, Bulma asked Son Goku, her eyes sparkling with delighted surprise.
Just then, Master Roshi appeared from who knew where and sidled up to Bulma.
"Hello!"
"Huh?! M-Master Roshi!"
Bulma recoiled in fright, nearly dropping her ice cream.
She steadied herself, then asked with a frown.
"Where exactly are you living now? I went to that little island to find Goku, but there was nothing left on it."
Wearing sunglasses and a black suit, Master Roshi chuckled with his hands behind his back.
"That place was a little too small for Goku and the others to train, so we moved."
He suddenly raised both hands, blushing as he grinned foolishly.
"Anyway... it's been so long. Would you like to play that game with me again? Have you forgotten? Just a little feel here... a little feel there..."
Bulma's face instantly turned livid. Unable to take any more, she pulled out a huge mallet and sent Master Roshi flying with a vicious blow.
"Idiot!"
Watching this, Oolong shook his head helplessly and remarked.
"Master Roshi hasn't changed a bit."
"But whenever I think about Goku competing too, I really can't feel happy about it."
Yamcha poked fun at himself, a trace of resignation in his voice.
"Huh?"
"Starting tomorrow, we'll be enemies in the ring."
"Huh? Tomorrow? Aren't we competing today?"
Speechless, Bulma slapped her forehead.
"What are you talking about? Today is for sorting out the dorm assignments. The matches don't start until tomorrow morning."
"What?! That's so disappointing!"
Goku spoke dejectedly, a flicker of regret in his eyes.
With no matches to fight, Goku finished chatting with them, then moved into the dormitory provided by the tournament with Krillin.
Everyone went their separate ways to prepare for the next day's matches.
In the dormitory, Goku and Krillin finished unpacking and washed up. Immersed in the joy of their reunion and anticipation for tomorrow's matches, everyone went to bed early as time seemed to slip by unnoticed.
Wumu slept alone, with Uncle Malo's family next door.
Lying in bed, he kept analyzing the people who would compete tomorrow.
If nothing unexpected happens, just like in the original story, there are only four people I need to watch out for.
He repeated this silently, his brows tightly furrowed.
Depending on the tournament format, I'll face at most two of them. But if I want the championship, I'll definitely have to face either Son Goku or Jackie Chun, Master Roshi's alias...
As he thought, Wumu's eyelids grew heavy, and he finally fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, the World Martial Arts Tournament finally got underway!
"I never expected such a huge crowd!"
Bulma stood at the tournament entrance, gazing at the surging crowd with astonishment in her eyes.
"Are there lots of contestants inside?"
Son Goku looked excitedly at the crowd, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Krillin frowned and said uncertainly:
"I think there should be quite a few!"
"All right, head to the preliminaries venue!"
Master Roshi urged them along.
"Don't get lost now."
"All tournament contestants must pass the preliminaries. Please come to the competition hall!"
In the center of the tournament grounds' inner plaza, a man shouted through a megaphone, his voice carrying across the entire square.
Hearing this, all the contestants headed toward the competition hall.
At the competition hall entrance.
Master Roshi stopped at the competition hall entrance and turned to Son Goku and Krillin.
"This is as far as I can go with you. You'll have to rely on your own efforts from here."
"Yes!"
Son Goku and Krillin answered in unison.
"Ah! I almost forgot. Those clothes aren't convenient for fighting. Here, take these."
Suddenly remembering something, Master Roshi turned, opened his suitcase, and took out two martial arts uniforms.
Both uniforms were red, with a circle on the left breast containing the character for "turtle," representing the Turtle Hermit School.
Son Goku and Krillin took the uniforms and changed on the spot.
Looking at his new outfit, Son Goku said with delight:
"Wow, this looks so cool!"
Krillin, however, looked himself over awkwardly.
"Isn't this a little too flashy?"
As everyone looked at the two after they had changed, Oolong couldn't help praising them:
"Goku, it really suits you!"
Master Roshi walked over to the two and earnestly advised them:
"The eight people who pass the preliminaries will fight in front of the audience. I'll be watching from the stands too, so I hope I'll get a chance to see you there. That's all I have to say."
"Uh-huh, we'll remember."
"We'll do our best!"
Bulma, meanwhile, encouraged Yamcha:
"Make sure you win, Yamcha!"
"Right. I've trained more than I can say for this day. I won't lose easily."
With that, they went to compete, while the others headed to the stands to wait.
Elsewhere, Uncle Malo's family was also cheering Wumu on.
"Wumu, give it your best!"
Uncle Malo patted Wumu's shoulder, his voice full of encouragement.
"Good luck, Big Brother Wumu!"
Yalijia waved her little hands and shouted excitedly.
She was Uncle Malo's daughter, lively and adorable, with the crimson hair she had inherited from her mother, Maria.
When Wumu first transmigrated here, she had only recently been born and was still very small. In the blink of an eye, she had grown this much, and she often came to play with him.
Maria smiled gently, silently cheering Wumu on.
Uncle Malo's family were truly good people. They owned their own farmland and had no real worries about food or drink.
Throughout the five years since he had come to this world, they had kept helping him with his daily needs, and Wumu silently felt grateful for their support.
Aunt Maria was a capable, gentle woman whose presence was like a ray of sunshine in their home.
Every day, she quietly took care of the housework for Uncle Malo, never letting him worry about trivial matters.
Uncle Malo handled matters outside the home, and the two complemented each other perfectly.
This way of getting along filled their lives with warmth and harmony.
In the world of Dragon Ball, apart from Son Goku and Chi-Chi, most of the married couples who appeared were very harmonious.
"Right! I'll do my best!"
Inside the competition hall.
Noise filled the entire space as the contestants limbered up, the atmosphere tense and fierce.
As soon as Wumu entered, he spotted Son Goku and the others. A thought struck him: I've run into the main cast. I might as well say hello.
Son Goku and Krillin walked through the bustling crowd. All sorts of contestants moved among them, some warming up and others sparring, while tension and anticipation filled the air.
Son Goku looked around, his eyes full of curiosity and excitement.
"Are all these people contestants?"
Krillin seemed rather uneasy, his brows tightly furrowed and a few beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"I'm starting to lose my confidence," Krillin muttered, a trace of worry in his eyes.
"Oh! Hello there!" Just then, Wumu walked over to greet them.
"Ahhh!"
"You're that guy from yesterday!"
Son Goku pointed at Wumu and shouted in surprise.
Krillin tugged at him awkwardly, then greeted Wumu:
"Hello! My name's Krillin."
Only then did Son Goku react, pressing his palms together and bowing slightly to Wumu.
"Hello! My name's Son Goku. What's your name?"
"My name's Wumu."
"Wumu...? What a strange name."
Son Goku muttered, looking a little confused.
"Hey! Goku!"
Worried that Goku had upset Wumu, Krillin called out.
Wumu didn't mind and said with a smile:
"It's fine. A name is just a label so people can remember you. Whether it's strange or not depends on the person."
Just then, someone in the hall shouted:
"We begin now! The World Martial Arts Tournament preliminaries are officially underway!"
Dong!
A gong sounded, and the entire competition hall instantly erupted.
"The World Martial Arts Tournament has finally begun!"
"Son Goku, we're in different brackets, so I'll see you in the quarterfinals."
"Yeah!"
Son Goku nodded quickly, his eyes full of anticipation.
"You too, Krillin. Good luck!"
After saying goodbye, Wumu walked over to his assigned ring. The other two also found their own rings, watching the bouts already underway and waiting for the results.