The rain over Papaya Island had finally stopped.
After a night of torrential downpour, the tropical island looked as if it had been freshly glazed.
The air was thick with the scent of sea salt, damp earth, and the distinctive fragrance of broad-leaf tropical plants.
Sunlight pierced through the heavy clouds, stabbing down like golden blades onto the rain-soaked streets and lifting a thin veil of steam into the air.
At this very moment, the island's most famous restaurant, the "All-You-Can-Eat Grand Feast," was facing the greatest crisis since its opening.
Or perhaps, its greatest business opportunity.
"Boss! Ten more bowls of rice! Make them big!"
"And five more plates of that meat with bones!"
A booming voice cut through the noisy restaurant, so loud it made the hanging lamps above tremble slightly.
In one corner of the dining hall, stacks of empty plates had risen into a miniature fortress, completely hiding the diner inside.
Servers darted back and forth between tables, trays in hand, sweat pouring down their faces as if they were running a relay race.
"This is already the fifth round of extra orders…"
The restaurant owner wiped cold sweat from his forehead while staring at the constantly rising numbers on the bill, excitement and fear mixing together.
"That spiky-haired kid… is his stomach connected to another dimension or something?"
Behind the mountain of plates, Goku was devouring food with both hands at a dazzling speed.
He grabbed a whole roasted chicken, golden and crispy, chewed through it without even spitting out the bones, and swallowed happily, his face glowing with pure bliss.
"Delicious! This is amazing! I've been eating wild fruit and grilled fish for three whole years. I almost forgot what rice tastes like!"
Goku spoke with his mouth full, cheeks puffed out like a hamster hoarding food.
Sitting across from him, Krillin looked refined by comparison.
Krillin held a cup of hot tea, gently blowing away the steam.
His appetite was still far beyond that of normal people, but after gaining "Genius Intellect," he had learned how to control his body far more efficiently.
He no longer needed to binge eat to replenish energy. Every cell in his body could extract calories from food at peak efficiency.
"Slow down," Krillin said calmly, setting the cup down. "No one's stealing your food."
His gaze swept over Goku's arms, solid and dense like they had been forged from steel.
Although Goku deliberately suppressed his aura, to Krillin's discerning eyes, he looked like a dormant volcano, hiding terrifying power beneath the surface.
"So you spent the last three years at the Lookout?" Krillin asked, tapping the table lightly.
"Yeah!"
Goku swallowed a thick, half-rare steak and let out a loud burp.
"At first, Mr. Popo trained me."
"He was incredible. Like a black shadow. No matter how I attacked, I couldn't touch him."
"He taught me how to be 'still.' As calm as the sky, but as fast as lightning."
Goku put down the bone in his hand, his expression unusually serious.
"After that, Kami let me enter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."
"That place was terrifying. Just endless white everywhere. Nothing at all. The air was thin, gravity was heavy."
"I only stayed a month before I ran out. Any longer and I think I would've gone crazy."
"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber…" Krillin murmured thoughtfully.
It truly was a sacred training ground, but one that tested the mind as much as the body.
"But the most amazing thing was that Kami sent me back to the past!"
Goku gestured excitedly.
"I met Master Roshi when he was young! He was still a pervert back then, sneaking peeks at girls bathing…"
"But I also met his master, Master Mutaito!"
"That move where he split a waterfall with ki was so cool! I learned how to control the flow of ki from him."
Nearby, Yamcha stared in shock, his fork slipping from his hand and clattering onto the floor.
"Back… back to the past? That kind of thing actually exists? Goku, are you sure you didn't just starve your brain?"
"It's real!" Goku nodded earnestly.
"It felt really strange. And now I can sense things I never could before. Like…"
Goku suddenly closed his eyes. His ears twitched slightly.
"At the entrance, there's a really angry ki approaching fast. It feels like a burning fireball."
Before his words finished, the restaurant's heavy oak doors were violently shoved open with a bang.
The wind chimes on the door let out a miserable wail.
Every diner jumped and turned to look.
A young woman stood in the doorway, dressed in a blue-and-red martial arts outfit styled like a qipao.
She was tall and slender, her skin pale as jade. Her long black hair fluttered slightly with her barely contained rage.
Her features were delicate and beautiful. She should have looked gentle and elegant, but the fury blazing in her large eyes was almost tangible.
Her gaze swept across the restaurant before locking firmly onto the spiky-haired figure buried behind plates.
"Hmph!"
She snorted heavily, her voice packed with grievance and resentment. The shockwave shattered a wine glass on a nearby table.
Goku froze.
It was her again. The girl from the registration desk earlier.
Back then, she had greeted him warmly. But when he could not remember her name, she stormed off in anger.
"But I really don't know her!" Goku thought desperately.
The girl marched forward.
Her heeled combat boots clicked sharply against the floor, each step pounding against Goku's heartbeat.
Goku still had half a chicken leg in his mouth. He blinked his clear, clueless eyes at the furious girl charging toward him.
Tilting his head, he pulled the chicken leg out and hesitantly offered it to her.
"Are you hungry too? You can have this."
The air froze.
The entire restaurant went silent. You could have heard a pin drop.
The girl's face flushed bright red with rage.
Her chest heaved violently, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You… you really don't remember me at all?!"
Her voice trembled, finger shaking as she pointed at Goku.
"You… you idiot! You absolute idiot!"
"Huh?"
Goku looked even more confused and turned to Krillin for help.
"Krillin, do you know her? She looks scary. And really strong too."
Krillin calmly took a sip of tea, the corners of his mouth lifting in amusement.
Of course he knew her.
Chi-Chi, the Ox-King's precious daughter.
The future housewife who would one day terrify the strongest Saiyan in the universe.
"Probably one of your unresolved romantic debts," Krillin shrugged casually.
No spoilers allowed. Watching Goku suffer was too entertaining.
"She came all this way just for you. Try thinking harder?"
"I can't remember…" Goku admitted honestly.
"Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!"
Chi-Chi trembled with anger, her maiden heart shattering into pieces.
She stomped her foot hard.
Crack!
The solid marble floor split instantly, fractures spreading like spiderwebs for over six feet.
"I'm never talking to you again! Stupid Son Goku! Hmph!"
She spun around sharply, long hair cutting through the air as she ran out of the restaurant, leaving only her resolute back behind.
"What a strange person," Goku muttered, stuffing the chicken leg back into his mouth.
"But her leg strength was impressive. That kick would've hurt."
Krillin glanced toward the door and summoned his system panel.
[Key Character Detected: Chi-Chi]
[Current Status: Extreme Anger (Affection Fluctuating)]
[Combat Evaluation: Capable of overwhelming ordinary martial artists]
"This tournament is shaping up to have more than just fights," Krillin thought with a smile.
"Goku, you're on your own."
…
Early the next morning, the preliminary hall of the World Martial Arts Tournament.
No spectators. No cheers. Only raw tension.
Hundreds of fighters from around the world crowded the dim hall.
The air reeked of sweat, foot odor, cheap liniment, and the sharp hormonal tension of an impending battle.
A massive lottery box stood in the center like an altar of fate.
"Line up! No pushing! Fighters with the same number will face each other!"
A staff member shouted through a megaphone.
In one corner, the Crane School trio stood out sharply.
Tien Shinhan crossed his arms, his three eyes coldly surveying the crowd like livestock awaiting slaughter.
Beside him, the doll-like Chiaotzu quietly extended his pale fingers.
Though dozens of meters away, psychic waves pulsed actively beneath his small cap.
"Tien, should I separate everyone?" Chiaotzu asked telepathically.
"Yes. Don't let us meet in the preliminaries."
"Okay."
His fingers twitched subtly.
In Krillin's vision, the world transformed into streams of data.
[Psychic Interference Detected. Source: Chiaotzu]
[Analysis: Telekinesis altering lottery ball order]
[Countermeasures Available. Execute?]
Krillin's intelligence stat was now over 500, his mental strength far beyond normal.
With Genius Intellect, Chiaotzu's actions looked like clumsy stage magic.
Krillin could even see the balls inside the opaque box jumping and swapping against the laws of physics.
But he chose not to interfere.
This outcome suited him just fine.
He had no desire to face Goku, Tien, or Piccolo in the preliminaries.
Winning would be easy, but boring.
A true powerhouse saved the best performance for the final stage, under the eyes of the entire world.
He wanted maximum shock value. Maximum prestige.
"Go ahead, kid," Krillin smiled inwardly.
He stepped forward and casually drew a ball.
Number 8.
"Proceed to your assigned zones!"
Krillin slipped the number tag into his pocket and glanced once more at his status panel.
[Host: Krillin]
[Strength: 1200]
[Speed: 1180]
[Constitution: 1200]
[Intelligence: 500]
[Charisma: 95]
[Fusion Rate: 16%]
[Skills: Serious Series (Locked), Normal Punch, Afterimage Fist, Modified Kamehameha, Flight, Ki Sensing]
"Stats in the thousands…"
Krillin clenched his fist, feeling power surge like a tidal wave through his body.
At this point in Earth's timeline, this was absolute domination.
He sighed softly, a hint of a strong man's loneliness in his eyes.
"Being invincible is sometimes boring. I hope I at least get to sweat a little."
Hands in his pockets, Krillin walked calmly toward his battlefield.