"Ladies and gentlemen... the third match is now underway, with contestant Wumu facing contestant Nam."
When Wumu and Nam stood in the ring, the referee announced the official start of the match.
Wumu assumed Bajiquan's opening stance, his determined gaze fixed on Nam.
Nam was one of the few formidable fighters in the early stages, and Wumu dared not let his guard down in the slightest against such an opponent.
Bajiquan had its own distinctive strengths and weaknesses.
Before full mastery, it had more than enough ferocity but lacked staying power, making prolonged combat difficult.
Bajiquan's most distinctive feature was the Millstone Step. Its principle was to close in quickly, then bring the opponent down with a sequence of moves.
It emphasized explosive power from the whole body, attacking through three levels: the hands opened the gate, the feet controlled the gate, and the body pressed and leaned in.
Simply put, the hands pushed the gate open, the feet stepped through, and the body delivered the final attack.
Styles emphasizing opening the gate and hand techniques resembled long fist, those emphasizing footwork resembled wrestling, and those emphasizing the body often favored Lean Against the Mountain.
Nam stood on the other side, his brow tightly furrowed as he recalled what the village chief had said before he left.
This can't go on. If the drought continues, we won't even be able to grow crops. The village is finished!
Nam... our village has no money left to buy water...
At that thought, Nam resolved to win the championship no matter what.
Only the champion would receive prize money, and the prize was five hundred thousand-enough to buy some water and relieve their immediate crisis.
"Mother... my little brother... and everyone in the village... I'll win the championship, then buy more drinking water than you could ever finish and bring it back to you..."
The match officially began!
Clang!
The ringing gong interrupted Nam's thoughts. He immediately pulled himself together and assumed his opening stance.
Seeing this, Wumu pushed off and stepped forward, unleashing King of Hell's Three Touches of Water.
In a right bow stance, he drove a right straight punch toward Nam's chest. With his left foot forward, Nam blocked outward with his left forearm.
Then Nam followed through with his left hand, sweeping around and pressing down on Wumu's right forearm as he stepped forward with his right foot and struck at Wumu's face with a right backfist.
Wumu immediately leaned back to evade, swiftly withdrew his left foot, and pulled back his right fist. Opening both hands into palms, he braced them beneath Nam's right forearm and intercepted his attack.
Not to be outdone, Nam thrust his left palm toward Wumu's face.
Wumu immediately pushed both palms outward against Nam's left arm at the elbow to defend.
Nam swiftly turned left and settled into a horse stance, chopping at Wumu's head, shoulder, or neck with the right chopping strike from the horse-stance double chopping fist.
Wumu turned sideways and tilted his head to dodge, knocking aside Nam's right chopping palm with his right elbow.
Finding themselves at an impasse, both tacitly leaped backward.
Everyone watching was stunned by the fierce exchange. The scene fell silent until someone cried out.
"This... this is incredible! They're so fast!"
Those words prompted the others, who began cheering them on.
"Come on... dark-skinned Nam..."
"Come on... young Wumu..."
Uncle Malo and the others were cheering too...
In the spectator stands, Son Goku exclaimed in amazement, "Amazing!"
Krillin watched the two in the ring, his heart uneasy. "I won't have to fight him, will I...?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Get past me first. If anyone should be worried, it's me," Yamcha said calmly, his arms folded across his chest.
"Tch..."
Krillin's eyes turned into little dots as he shot Yamcha a sidelong glance.
In the ring.
Nam focused all his attention on Wumu, watching closely for an opening.
Wumu also knew they could not remain deadlocked like this, so he decided to offer a false opening and shifted his footwork.
An opening!
Nam's eyes flashed, and he charged at Wumu.
Nam stepped forward with his left foot, throwing a left straight punch at Wumu's head. Wumu defended in a left empty stance, blocking outward with his left arm.
Following straight through, Wumu swiftly turned left and stamped his right foot against the shin of Nam's left leg, simultaneously chopping his right palm at the right side of Nam's neck.
Nam immediately pulled back his left hand and withdrew his left foot to dodge. Wumu swiftly planted his right foot forward, immediately turned right, and threaded his left leg around the outside of Nam's right leg to hook behind it, striking at the vital point of Nam's solar plexus with a left driving elbow from a horse stance.
Without stopping, Wumu quickly turned left, driving his right knee into Nam's abdomen while attacking Nam's jaw with a right rising punch.
Nam was sent flying, sliding along the ground to the edge of the ring. His body struck the ground heavily, throwing up a cloud of dust.
"Hah... hah, hah..."
Wumu panted heavily and raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, thinking, He really is someone who nearly defeated Son Goku in the early stages. He put me under so much pressure. I couldn't relax for even a moment. The slightest mistake would have gotten me knocked down.
"Urgh..."
Nam climbed up painfully. After a brief adjustment, he assumed his fighting stance again, determination showing in his eyes.
The referee had never stopped his commentary, while the spectators below hardly dared breathe.
Standing up, Nam looked gravely at Wumu and silently told himself, I won't go down like this!
Whoosh!
Nam pushed off with both legs and leaped high into the sky. Wumu knew he was about to use that move.
The spectators' gazes followed Nam upward until he disappeared from view. Only after quite some time did they see a black dot plummeting from high above.
Still some distance from the ring, Nam descended headfirst, his arms crossed beneath his head, and shouted, "Take this! Cross... Arm... Dive!"
I have to win! Everyone in the village is waiting for me...
Wumu stared unblinkingly at Nam, judging where he would land and looking for a chance to dodge.
Looking up at something falling from high above, it was impossible to judge its landing point in a short time. The field of view was too broad, and it moved too fast; but once dodged, this move was practically a joke.
Taking it head-on was out of the question, unless something was wrong with his head.
Wumu concentrated, barely able to make out the speed of Nam's descent. Just as Nam was about to crash into him, he abruptly leaped left.
Boom!
The impact blasted a huge crater into the arena, filling the air with dust...
"Ah... what happened?"
The spectators craned their necks, trying to see through the dust and find out what was happening in the ring.
"Amitabha..."
The dust slowly cleared, revealing Nam. His palms were pressed together, and his tattered clothes left him looking utterly bedraggled.
"Ah... Mr. Wumu, you truly are strong. Even if I used that move again, it would be useless..."
Wumu smiled slightly. "Mr. Nam, the match isn't over yet. You should have another move, shouldn't you?"
Though it was a question, his tone was full of certainty.
Nam shook his head and sighed. "It's no use. I have another move, Super Cross Arm Dive, but it's much the same as this one."
I'm sorry, everyone...
"I surrender! Mr. Wumu, I accept my defeat wholeheartedly..." Nam said with a forced smile, turning to leave the ring.
Watching his retreating figure, Wumu felt full of sympathy, but there was nothing he could do either. He had yet to gain a foothold in this world himself and still needed Uncle Malo's support. Besides, he intended to use the prize money to repay Uncle Malo.
"Contestant Nam has surrendered! Contestant Wumu wins!" the referee announced. "That was truly a spectacular match."
Wumu walked out of the ring, beginning to consider his opponent in the next match.
If Krillin could use the Kamehameha, he might have a chance of beating Yamcha. He might not win through hand-to-hand skills alone. Yamcha was not yet as useless as he became later; his martial spirit was brimming, and he had more combat experience than Krillin.
Meanwhile, Nam entered the waiting room and began packing his bundle. Just then, Master Roshi approached.
Master Roshi had noticed his gloom long before and used the Mind-Reading Technique to look into his thoughts. Perhaps moved by compassion, he wanted to offer whatever help he could.
"Nam, are you going home?"
"Yes."
"Aren't you going to watch the tournament to the end?"
"I don't have time to watch."
Nam lowered his head, images of the village's surroundings and the villagers' faces flashing through his mind.
Overwhelmed with guilt, he thought, I'm sorry, everyone... I've let your hopes come to nothing. I can't buy water to bring back for you to drink.
"Mr. Nam, take this back with you!" Master Roshi took a Hoi-Poi Capsule from his pocket and tossed it to Nam.