The preliminary hall was crudely divided into four zones, where brutal elimination matches took place simultaneously.
There were no countdowns from referees here.
Only winners and losers.
Shouts and battle cries rose and fell in waves.
The dull thuds of fists striking flesh, the sharp crack of breaking bones, and the unwilling screams of the defeated intertwined into a violent symphony.
"Fourth Zone, First Match! Son Goku versus King Chappa!"
The moment the referee announced the match, the crowd erupted.
"King Chappa? The former world martial arts champion?"
"Are you serious? A match like this in the very first round?"
"I heard he was eliminated in the preliminaries three years ago. After that, he trained like a madman just to get revenge."
"That kid named Son Goku looks slow and kind of dumb. Not even that tall. This might end badly for him. He could get killed."
On the platform.
King Chappa stood tall in a bright yellow training outfit, muscles bulging like carved granite.
His face was thick with flesh, a feral grin exposing rows of white teeth. His eyes gleamed with bloodthirsty excitement.
"Heh heh heh… Son Goku…"
He clenched his fists, joints popping loudly.
"I've waited three whole years for this day!"
"For three years, I stood under waterfalls and trained in thorn forests!"
"To defeat you, I mastered the ultimate Eight-Armed Fist!"
"I've already seen through every move you'll make!"
Compared to Chappa's killing intent, Goku looked far too relaxed.
He stood there casually, arms hanging at his sides, without even taking a stance.
He simply blinked and looked at his opponent as if watching a noisy frog by the roadside.
"Oh."
Goku replied flatly.
"Then let's start. I'm kind of in a hurry to eat."
That complete disregard instantly ignited Chappa's rage.
"You bastard! Don't look down on me! Die!"
With a furious roar, Chappa launched forward.
His speed was incredible, almost like a yellow bolt of lightning to ordinary spectators.
"Eight-Armed Fist Secret Technique! Thousand-Handed Asura!"
In an instant, his arms moved like high-speed windmills, leaving countless afterimages in the air.
It looked as if he truly had eight arms, or even more.
Fist winds screamed as they tore through the air, sealing off every possible retreat.
Facing this overwhelming assault, Goku moved.
Or rather, everyone felt like he moved.
There was no flashy dodge and no fierce counterattack.
Goku simply raised his right hand slightly, fingers together like a blade still in its sheath.
Then, toward the charging Chappa, he casually waved it once.
Softly.
Almost lazily.
Like swatting a fly.
The next second, something terrifying happened.
A visible stream of compressed air was sliced apart by that single hand motion.
The compressed air formed an invisible wall that slammed forward with overwhelming force.
All of Chappa's countless fist afterimages vanished instantly.
He felt like he had run headfirst into a speeding train.
"Wha…"
His eyes bulged. He did not even have time to scream.
Still frozen in his punching posture, Chappa fell straight backward.
Thud.
The dull sound echoed through the hall.
Silence.
The man who had been shouting about revenge just moments ago now lay foaming at the mouth, eyes rolled back, limbs twitching uncontrollably. Completely unconscious.
The referee stood there in shock for a full thirty seconds. The whistle slipped from his hand and hit the floor.
Trembling, he stepped forward to confirm, then raised his hand stiffly.
"W… Winner… Son Goku!"
The entire hall exploded.
"You've got to be kidding!"
"What just happened? Did he even touch Chappa?"
"It looked like he just waved his hand. Was that air pressure?"
Goku jumped happily, brushing dust off his hands.
"Yes! I won! Krillin, how was that move?"
Behind a pillar in the distance.
Piccolo, wrapped in a white cape and massive turban, clenched his crossed arms so tightly that his nails dug into his muscles.
"That strike…"
His sharp eyes flashed with disbelief.
"No ki burst. No advanced technique. Just raw physical speed and strength creating pressure."
"Is it really possible to reach that level with the body alone?"
"Son Goku… you really have grown stronger. But…"
He sneered coldly, turned away, and left, his cape snapping behind him.
On the other side.
"Second Zone, Krillin to the stage!"
Krillin's opponent was a massive sumo wrestler over eight feet tall and weighing at least eight hundred pounds.
Every step he took made the platform groan as if it might collapse.
"Hey, baldy!"
The sumo slapped his mountain-like belly, producing thunderous smacks.
"Running into Bulldozer Yokozuna is your bad luck! I'll flatten you into meat paste!"
"My fat is absolute defense! Even bullets can't get through it!"
Standing in front of him, Krillin looked like a child at a giant's feet.
No system quest at all for someone like this?
How boring.
Krillin yawned. His eyes drifted briefly to the second-floor stands.
There, Bulma leaned over the railing, clutching the dark blue battle suit tightly, watching him with eager anticipation.
"Let's end this quickly," Krillin murmured. "Wouldn't want to keep a lady waiting."
"Match start!"
"Rooaaar!"
The sumo roared like a beast and charged forward, like a runaway armored tank.
The ground shook violently beneath his steps.
"Super Human Bulldozer!"
Facing a charge powerful enough to smash walls, Krillin did not move.
He even slipped his hands into his pockets.
Just as the massive body was about to collide with him, Krillin took a single step forward.
That step looked slow, yet somehow pierced through space itself, placing him directly in front of the sumo.
Then he extended one finger.
No buildup. No glow.
Just an ordinary finger, gently pressing against the trembling navel.
"Normal Finger."
Time froze for an instant.
Pop.
A soft sound.
Then a horrifying shockwave erupted from Krillin's fingertip and surged through the sumo's entire body.
The thick layers of fat he took pride in rippled violently like waves.
All the forward momentum was instantly neutralized, then reflected back with ten times the force.
"Gah!"
The sumo's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Bitter liquid sprayed from his mouth.
The next moment, his enormous body shot backward like a kicked soccer ball.
He flew off the platform, over the crowd.
Smashed through the thick brick wall of the hall.
Then vanished into the street outside like a shooting star.
A massive human-shaped hole remained in the wall.
Sunlight streamed through it, illuminating Krillin's smooth bald head and reflecting a holy glow.
Dead silence.
Even quieter than Goku's match.
Because Krillin had not even swung his arm.
He had just poked.
"What… what kind of sorcery is that?"
"That bald guy… is he a monster?"
"One finger sent an eight-hundred-pound man flying hundreds of meters? That's impossible!"
Tien Shinhan stared at Krillin with all three eyes wide open.
His third eye could see through many illusions, yet in that moment, he saw nothing.
"I couldn't see it… not at all."
Cold sweat soaked his back.
"No sign of ki. No muscle tension."
"That was pure violence. This Krillin is far more terrifying than I imagined."
The rest of the matches held no suspense.
Yamcha advanced easily with his improved Spirit Ball, though he still could not resist striking a pose afterward, drawing screams from female fans.
Mercenary Tao fought ruthlessly, slicing his opponent's Achilles tendon with a mechanical hand chop, earning loud boos.
He ignored them, his cold gaze fixed on Goku and Krillin.
The man disguised as "Mr. Shen" acted frightened while clumsily tripping his opponent, somehow winning by sheer luck.
Terrible acting.
The preliminaries neared their end.
Six of the top eight were confirmed: Son Goku, Tien Shinhan, Piccolo, Mr. Shen, Chi-Chi under an alias, Mercenary Tao, and Yajirobe.
Yes. The timeline had already shifted in subtle ways.
This time, Yajirobe actually made it into the top eight.
"Everyone made it!"
Goku ran over excitedly, his face glowing with pure joy.
"Krillin! That move just now was amazing! Did you use your finger to send ki inside him? Teach me!"
"Something like that," Krillin replied vaguely, his eyes searching for a familiar blue figure.
"Goku, go have fun. I've got something important to do."
"What is it? Food?" Goku's eyes lit up.
"More important than that."
Krillin adjusted his collar and smiled knowingly.
"Adult training."
"Come back quick! One more round and it's your turn!" Goku waved.
The announcer's voice rang out immediately after.
"Next match! Chiaotzu versus Mercenary Tao!"
…