When Yajirobe saw that his opponent was Son Goku, he immediately felt cursed by fate.
Anyone who came to the World Martial Arts Tournament knew exactly who Son Goku was—the previous champion.
At this point, Goku and Krillin were the hottest names in the entire tournament.
Yajirobe knew very well—
he stood no chance.
The moment the referee shouted "Begin!", Yajirobe instantly raised both hands.
"I forfeit!"
His voice echoed across the arena.
Behind the mask, his eyes darted around nervously, his bulky body trembling slightly from tension.
The referee froze mid-motion, the small flag stiff in his hand, mouth wide enough to swallow an egg.
For a split second, the stands fell silent—
then erupted into deafening uproar.
"What?! He surrendered immediately?!"
"Didn't even dare to fight?"
"Hahaha, look at that fat guy shaking!"
Goku asked calmly,
"You're not fighting, Invincible Masked Man?"
Yajirobe wiped the sweat from his forehead. Beneath the mask, his face was flushed red.
"Are you kidding? Fight you? I still want to live a few more years!"
The crowd burst into laughter.
"Coward!"
"You wasted our ticket money!"
"At least show us something!"
But mixed among the jeers were other voices.
"Smart choice!"
"That's called knowing your limits!"
"Son Goku has already competed in two tournaments—his strength is proven. Surrendering is the wisest move!"
The referee finally snapped back to his senses and hurriedly raised his flag.
"Since the Invincible Masked Man has voluntarily forfeited, the winner of this match is Son Goku!"
Cheers exploded throughout the arena.
"Yeah! Goku wins!"
"Get off already, fatty—bring on the next match!"
Just as Yajirobe was about to leave, Goku called out to him.
"Hey… Invincible Masked Man."
Goku didn't call his real name.
Yajirobe turned back.
"What, you won already—still not letting me go?"
Goku shook his head.
"No, that's not it."
"I saw your performance in the preliminaries. You're actually not bad."
"I want to introduce you to a job. Food included. Interested?"
The moment he heard food included, Yajirobe's eyes lit up.
"Really?!"
There was no worldly desire in his gaze—
only hunger.
Goku nodded.
"Of course. Wait outside after the match. I'll arrange it once I'm done."
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Yajirobe looked happier losing than winning.
Goku soon left the arena as well.
The referee called out again:
"Next up—our thrilling third match!"
"Krillin versus Demon King's Second Generation!"
The two quickly stepped onto the stage.
Seeing Piccolo standing there with absolute confidence, Krillin's face filled with irritation.
"Hmph. Putting on airs."
Piccolo sneered.
"Bald little monk. I'll let you witness my true power."
Krillin immediately assumed a strange-looking stance.
The crowd murmured in confusion.
"Huh? What kind of move is that?"
"That looks weird…"
Master Roshi chuckled.
"That boy Krillin excels at creating unexpected techniques. This should be interesting."
The next instant, Krillin thrust both palms forward.
With a loud shout, two energy waves shot straight toward Piccolo.
Piccolo snorted.
"Such trivial tricks—how could I fail to dodge them, idiot!"
With a powerful leap, he sprang high into the air, avoiding both blasts.
At that moment—
the two energy waves abruptly changed direction.
Like bone-clinging parasites, they chased him relentlessly.
Piccolo's pupils shrank as he turned his head.
"What?!"
Twin beams fired from his eyes, colliding directly with Krillin's pursuing blasts.
A violent explosion erupted, canceling out the energy.
Piccolo finally let out a breath of relief—
only for Krillin to suddenly appear behind him.
With all his strength, Krillin delivered a fierce kick to Piccolo's weak point.
Piccolo screamed as he was blasted backward toward the edge of the arena.
From the sidelines, Goku watched calmly, expecting Piccolo to stabilize himself midair.
But just as Piccolo tried to stop himself using flight—
Krillin appeared above him again.
"Kamehameha!"
A full-power Kamehameha blasted straight downward, slamming into Piccolo's back.
Piccolo cried out as he was hurled away once more.
In the next instant, the beam smashed him into the grass outside the arena, sending dirt flying everywhere.
The entire tournament grounds fell into dead silence.
Then—
an explosion of unbelievable cheers.
"Krillin! Krillin!"
"Mr. Krillin is amazing!"
The roar of the crowd surged wave after wave, deafening enough to lift the sky itself.
If the arena had a roof, it would've been blown away.
"Incredible!"
A bespectacled middle-aged man jumped to his feet, nearly spilling his drink.
"As expected of Mr. Krillin! Those techniques were unprecedented—truly incredible!"
"That's right! He didn't even get a chance to fight back!"
A little girl tugged at her father's sleeve, eyes sparkling.
"Daddy! Uncle Krillin is so cool! His Kamehameha can turn corners!"
The referee quickly grabbed the microphone.
"Unbelievable!"
"With an exquisite tactical combination, Krillin has instantly defeated the Demon King's Second Generation contestant!"
"This is the power of a Turtle School disciple—our great Mr. Krillin!"
"Let's give him a round of applause!"
Goku slowly lowered his crossed arms, stunned.
"Krillin… he always pulls off things like this."
But his gaze immediately turned cautious as he looked toward Piccolo lying in the crater.
Piccolo couldn't possibly have been defeated so easily.
He had merely been knocked out of bounds by a surprise combo—
and lost due to tournament rules.
Goku felt uneasy.
He was worried Piccolo might flip the table because of this.
Shen, seeing Piccolo knocked out so early, also grew tense.
This is bad…
Everything's gone off script.
That child Piccolo—he wouldn't do something catastrophic, would he…?
Tien swallowed hard.
"Krillin's combat technique has improved again."
"That tracking energy wave was only a feint—the real killing move was the follow-up Kamehameha."
"That was amazing."
Chiaotzu danced happily in place.
"So strong! The opponent didn't even have time to react!"
Even Bulma and the others were forced to reevaluate Krillin.
"That guy… he really does look like a savior now…"
But just as the discussion spread—
BOOM!
A violent shockwave erupted.
A powerful gust swept the dust away.
Piccolo slowly floated up from the crater.
His white cloak was tattered and torn.
But in his eyes burned blazing fury as he stared straight at Krillin.
"Bald little monk…"
"You actually… defeated me like this."
"To me, this is the greatest humiliation!"
The cheers gradually died down, replaced by confused murmurs.
"Huh? Isn't the match already over?"
"Getting knocked out of bounds counts as a loss, right?"
"What's that green guy trying to do?"
The referee hesitantly raised the microphone.
"Contestant Demon King Second Generation, according to the rules, you have already lost—"
"Shut up!"
Piccolo roared.
Twin red beams shot from his eyes—
and the referee's microphone exploded instantly.
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