Son Goku politely shook his hand.
"Hello. I'm Son Goku."
Supreme Kai Shin smiled faintly, both hands clasped behind his back. His entire body seemed to radiate a mysterious and powerful aura.
"I am a martial artist from a distant place. I have long heard of your reputation."
The surrounding Z Fighters unconsciously gathered around.
Although Shin's actual strength was not particularly impressive by their standards, his aura was still divine in nature.
Because of that, none of them could sense his ki at all.
So no one could properly judge how strong he was.
Vegeta crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Supreme Kai.
This guy's aura… isn't simple.
Cold sweat appeared on Piccolo's forehead.
This pressure… it's far beyond imagination.
Who exactly is he?
Supreme Kai's gaze swept across the group before finally stopping on Goten and Hongrui.
A faint approving smile appeared on his face.
"These two young heroes must be your children. Their talent is truly astonishing."
Goten felt a little embarrassed from the praise.
Hongrui tilted her head curiously.
"Uncle, who are you?"
Just then—
The referee arrived at the front stage and loudly announced—
"Alright, thank you all for waiting!"
"The World Martial Arts Tournament is finally about to begin!"
"In the preliminary round, the sixteen contestants will compete according to the following order!"
Supreme Kai Shin said calmly—
"You will all learn my identity later."
"For now, let us focus on the tournament."
Everyone nodded one after another.
The referee pointed toward the large screen, where the match list was clearly displayed.
He began introducing it while reading—
"First round: Mighty Mask versus Killa."
"Second round: Shin versus Piccolo."
"Third round: Videl versus Spopovich."
When Vegeta saw that Son Goku would be fighting him later, the corners of his mouth curled upward with delight.
Excellent.
I actually get to fight Kakarot.
As far as he was concerned, Trunks losing to Kakarot's son didn't mean much.
It only proved that Trunks' training was still insufficient.
But Vegeta's own training was more than enough.
After so many years of relentless effort, he firmly believed he had already surpassed Son Goku in strength.
That was why he looked forward to fighting him more than anything.
Vegeta couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from rising.
While the referee was still explaining the match order, a voice suddenly echoed inside Piccolo's mind.
"Hey, Kami—no, wait. I should call you Piccolo now. Can you hear me?"
Piccolo's heart tightened.
He replied mentally—
"You are…?"
The voice came again.
"I am King Kai. I contacted you all before when you eliminated Bojack."
"Lord King Kai, what business do you have?"
Piccolo was different from Kami.
He did not hold much reverence toward King Kai.
However, King Kai was easygoing and humorous, so he didn't care about that attitude.
King Kai's voice continued quickly—
"Listen carefully!"
"The person standing before you right now is Lord Supreme Kai!"
"He is the highest-ranking god in the entire universe!"
"You must show him respect and absolutely must not offend him!"
Piccolo's pupils shrank.
His heart trembled.
Supreme Kai?
No wonder he carries such pressure.
He is actually a god ranked above King Kai…
Piccolo possessed Kami's memories, so he deeply understood the weight of the name "Supreme Kai."
King Kai added—
"Lord Supreme Kai has personally descended to Earth, so there must be an extremely important reason."
"When the critical moment arrives, tell Goku and Vegeta to cooperate with him no matter what!"
At that moment—
Supreme Kai suddenly looked toward Piccolo.
Piccolo was startled, and cold sweat appeared on his forehead again.
But Shin merely gave him a seemingly kind smile, then placed one finger before his lips, signaling him to stay quiet.
He narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"It seems North Kai has already introduced me to you."
"However, do not reveal my identity for now."
"I am worried that too much commotion may frighten away the evil puppets sent by Babidi."
"That would be counterproductive."
Hearing this, Piccolo immediately understood what Supreme Kai meant.
Just as King Kai had said, he had come to Earth for an important matter.
Piccolo nodded at once.
"I understand."
"I will cooperate with you."
Soon, the referee finished announcing the match order and officially began the tournament.
"The first match is Mighty Mask versus Killa!"
"Contestants, please come onto the stage!"
Before long, a dark-skinned man with a genie-like appearance walked onto the arena.
He was Killa.
The other contestant looked exactly like his name suggested—
A masked man.
At that moment, Goku deliberately looked around for Goten and Trunks.
After seeing both children sitting in the audience eating snacks while watching the match, he withdrew his gaze.
Clearly, this Mighty Mask was the real one.
He had not been victimized by those two little troublemakers.
The match between Killa and Mighty Mask soon began.
However, both of them were only ordinary martial artists.
The audience found the fight fairly exciting.
But to Goku and the others, it was nothing more than flashy moves and weak fighters pecking at each other.
Nobody paid much attention.
After only a few minutes, Killa relied on his larger build and defeated Mighty Mask.
The referee shouted again—
"Next is the second match!"
"Contestant Shin versus contestant Piccolo!"
"Both contestants, please come onto the stage!"
Piccolo and Supreme Kai both walked toward the arena.
The referee introduced them loudly—
"I hear Contestant Shin is participating in the World Martial Arts Tournament for the first time."
"And his opponent, Contestant Piccolo, once displayed tremendous strength in past tournaments."
"Even now, I still remember it vividly…"
Then the referee turned toward Piccolo and said nervously—
"Um… please don't destroy the venue again this time, alright?"
Piccolo: "…"
Seeing Piccolo and Supreme Kai Shin step onto the stage, Vegeta muttered inwardly—
Finally.
Now I can see what this completely unreadable guy is capable of.
However—
Before the battle even began, Piccolo suddenly spoke.
"Sorry."
"I forfeit."
Everyone was stunned.
"What's going on?"
"Piccolo actually surrendered?"
"Is that guy really that strong?"
Goku was not surprised at all when he saw Piccolo give up.
After all, Piccolo had fused with Kami, so he could sense divine presence.
Facing Supreme Kai's pressure, he naturally couldn't move freely.
Of course, in terms of real fighting strength, Supreme Kai and Piccolo should actually be around the same level…
The referee was stunned when he heard Piccolo's surrender.
Then he quickly shouted—
"Since Contestant Piccolo has forfeited…"
"Contestant Shin wins without fighting!"
In an instant, boos and complaints erupted from the audience.
"What the hell?"
"Why would he surrender?"
"How boring!"
"Is he feeling sick or something? Look, his face is green…"
"What an unlucky guy."
The referee glanced at the list and continued—
"Alright, next is the third match!"
"Contestant Videl versus contestant Spopovich!"
"Both contestants, please come onto the stage!"
Looking at Spopovich's bulging muscles and the sinister M mark on his forehead, Goku turned toward Videl and shouted—
"Hey, Videl!"
"Just fight until you've tested him enough!"
"Don't push yourself too hard!"
Videl looked back at Goku and waved.
"Don't worry, Mr. Goku!"
"I'll fight with everything I have!"
"I absolutely, absolutely won't embarrass you!"
Seeing her confident and sunny expression, Goku slapped a hand against his forehead.
"Is this beating really unavoidable?"
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