Giran lost momentum in midair and began plummeting. His heart tightened, but then he suddenly remembered he was a pterodactyl man. He quickly steadied himself, spread his wings, and flew toward the ring.
"Heh heh heh... I definitely won't go out of bounds, don't you worry!"
Giran laughed smugly in midair, his voice echoing over the arena.
The referee's voice followed immediately. "Contestant Giran has risen again like a phoenix. That's right, the rules state that only someone who falls outside the ring loses, so he hasn't lost."
Son Goku looked bewildered. "Huh...? That kind of twisted logic counts?"
He frowned, then took a fighting stance. "But that's fine. I'll beat you until you beg for mercy yourself!"
Giran returned to the ring, a cunning gleam in his eyes.
He didn't want to fight Son Goku hand to hand, so he opened his mouth and spat out a wave of light. It quickly wrapped around Son Goku, forming something like chewing gum.
"Aaah... what is this?" Son Goku struggled desperately, but no matter what he did, he couldn't break free. "I can't move."
"Heh heh heh... you're completely caught in my Rubber Band. Don't bother struggling! Give up!" Giran the pterodactyl man said with a smug laugh.
"No one can break free of my Rubber Band. Right now, you're just like a rag doll..." Giran the pterodactyl man pressed his fingers together, cracking his knuckles.
The spectators below, along with Yamcha and the others, looked terrified and hopeless, as though Giran already had victory firmly in his grasp.
Giran seized the chance to punch Son Goku on the head, leaving him in considerable pain. Giran then grabbed Son Goku and lifted him high overhead.
"Ah, what are you doing?!" Son Goku shouted in panic.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to do exactly what you just did to me."
"Don't do that. Let's have a proper fight, okay?"
Giran ignored his words.
"Oh... things have taken a terrible turn! Contestant Son Goku is now truly unable to move. If he's thrown out of the ring, he'll be declared the loser. Contestant Son Goku has absolutely no hope of victory left!"
The spectators looked worried and expectant: worried because Son Goku looked like a little child, and expectant because they hoped a miracle would happen.
"You're going to lose, kid!" Giran said with certainty, then hurled Son Goku into the air.
Son Goku couldn't move at all as he hurtled through the air.
"Whoa~"
"Goku..."
"It's over. It's over this time!"
Krillin and Yamcha spoke as they watched Goku fly out of bounds.
Seeing that he was about to hit the ground and fall to his death, Son Goku shouted.
"Flying Nimbus! Please, hurry over!"
"Whoosh~"
A yellow streak crossed the sky, swiftly arriving beneath Son Goku and catching him.
"Ah~ I'm saved. Thank you, Flying Nimbus!" Son Goku breathed out after escaping death.
Under everyone's astonished gazes, Son Goku flew back to the ring, while Giran stared blankly. "Wh... wh... what?"
Krillin and Yamcha shouted excitedly, "He's saved! He's saved!"
Flying Nimbus stopped above the ring, and Son Goku jumped down.
"I'm back!"
But Son Goku still couldn't move, which meant his crisis wasn't over.
"Hey! How is that allowed? Isn't using an item against the rules?" Giran pointed at Son Goku and protested to the referee, losing his composure.
Son Goku retorted quietly, "Didn't you fly back through the sky yourself? And what about this stupid band?"
Giran roared angrily, "I flew using my own body, and I spat that Rubber Band out of my mouth!"
The referee coughed and announced, "Ahem... after a discussion between the judges and the director, we've decided to allow a special exception. Contestant Son Goku's use of the cloud just now did not break the rules."
"What?!"
Seriously, aren't you people targeting me, King Chappa?! (ｷ｀ﾟДﾟ´)!!
"However, this exception can only be made once. If you use that cloud again, you'll lose. Do you understand, contestant Son Goku?" the referee added.
Hahahahaha...
I, King Chappa, still have a chance... (￣▽￣)~*
"You're finished, kid. Let's see how you survive this time." Giran looked smugly at Son Goku.
This is bad!
The spectators' moods rose and fell with the referee's words, their hearts filled with worry and tension.
If he was thrown out again, he would lose. Everyone was sweating on Son Goku's behalf.
"All you've done is delay being thrown out. You're still going to lose." King Chappa sneered and charged at Son Goku, who was still struggling against the Rubber Band.
He moved like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, with tremendous force.
"You won't get another chance! Here comes my big fist!" he roared, throwing a fierce punch at Son Goku. His fist whistled through the air, heading straight for Son Goku's face.
It's over!
Son Goku squeezed his eyes shut in fright. Yet just as the fist was about to hit him, his body suddenly vanished from where he stood.
Everyone below the ring looked bewildered, completely unaware of what had happened.
Was... was he sent flying?
Giran looked around, trying to find Son Goku.
"Wh... where... where is he?"
"Where... where did he disappear to?"
Just then, he felt something strange on his arm. Looking down, he discovered Son Goku hanging upside down from his arm by his tail.
As Giran's fist came at him, Son Goku had squeezed his eyes shut, instinctively sensed the danger, swiftly dodged, and wrapped his tail around Giran's arm.
Because of the difference in their sizes, along with the blind spot in his vision, Giran hadn't noticed Son Goku right away.
"Ah! My tail! My tail's back!" Son Goku shouted excitedly, a brilliant smile spreading across his face.
A tail...?
Below the ring, Yamcha, Oolong, and Bulma looked terrified at the sight of Son Goku's regrown tail, as though they had seen something unbelievable.
Son Goku calmed himself, then hopped lightly back onto the ground.
"Ah~ I'm saved!" He let out a long breath, filled with relief.
"But... I can't win unless I break out of this!"
Son Goku looked down at the Rubber Band wrapped around his body, his brows tightly furrowed.
He tried once again to break free of the Rubber Band, letting out a series of roars.
"Aaaah...!"
o(▼皿▼メ;)o
"Yaaah... ha!"
Son Goku gritted his teeth, a thin sheen of sweat forming on his forehead as he pulled hard at the Rubber Band with both hands. Finally, after his persistent efforts, he broke free of the Rubber Band.
Son Goku braced his tail against the ground, supporting his entire body, and felt a strength he hadn't experienced in a long time.
"I really am strongest with my tail," he said, a satisfied smile on his face.
Seeing Son Goku's tail, King Chappa let his arms hang and craned his neck forward, asking in stunned disbelief, "You... aren't you human?"
Son Goku ignored Giran's astonishment. Once his excitement passed, he supported himself on his tail, bent his legs, and assumed a strange attacking stance.
Then, using his tail's springing force, he kicked fiercely at the wall beside the ring.
Boom!
The wall instantly collapsed into a pile of rubble.
"Great! My body feels much better now!" Son Goku looked with satisfaction at his handiwork, then turned toward Giran, his eyes gleaming with fighting spirit. "All right, I'm going to fight back now!"
By now, Giran had been frightened by Son Goku's various displays. Before Son Goku was even ready to attack, he took out a little white flag and waved it.
"I... I surrender..."
I'm falling over...
Hearing this, Son Goku instantly fell backward, utterly speechless inside.
(;´д｀)ゞ
"Oh yeah!"
The spectators cheered, their cries ringing throughout the ring.
"Contestant Son Goku wins!" the referee announced, looking astonished. "But the fact that he has a tail really is surprising!"
The spectators who didn't know remained curious and astonished, while those who did, such as Oolong and Bulma, looked utterly terrified.
Meanwhile, Wumu stopped meditating, knowing it was his turn to take the stage.
"It's finally my turn. Although I feel sorry for Nam, I won't be holding back!"
As for Son Goku's tail, Wumu wasn't worried.
In the original story, Master Roshi had restrained Son Goku with Thunder Shock Surprise during the finals. By then, it was already evening, and the moon's appearance had caused Son Goku to turn into a great ape.
Now the plot was completely different. It was still early, and Son Goku's match against Master Roshi was in the semifinals.
While Wumu's thoughts wandered, the break came to an end.
"Ladies and gentlemen... in the third match, contestant Wumu will face contestant Nam."