"Go, Krillin! Take him down!"
"Goku! Don't lose to him! I'll treat you to a feast for fifty tonight!"
In the second-floor stands, Bulma cupped her hands like megaphones, switching sides without a hint of shame.
One moment she blew kisses at Krillin, the next she dangled food to tempt Goku.
Oolong rolled his eyes beside her. "Bulma, who are you actually cheering for?"
"Idiot! Of course the handsome one!"
Bulma said proudly.
"Krillin may be bald now, but the pressure he radiates is insanely cool!"
"But Goku's been my little brother since we were kids…"
"Ugh, so conflicted!"
Master Mutaito adjusted his sunglasses, leaning on his cane, his whiskers quivering with laughter.
"That's perfect! Watching my two disciples fight on the highest stage makes this old man feel like meeting King Yama right now would still be worth it."
On the platform, the two figures collided once more.
This time, there was no testing.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
White rings of energy erupted through the air.
Their movements had surpassed the speed of sound. Ordinary spectators could barely see anything, only hearing the dense collision sounds like hundreds of drums being struck at once.
Krillin blocked Goku's relentless flurry while a massive wave of nostalgia surged inside him.
Before the time-travel, he had been an ordinary office worker, nine-to-five.
His small apartment had posters of Dragon Ball plastered everywhere, the shelves filled with complete manga sets.
He had watched that long-tailed boy push rocks on Mount Paozi, seen him transform into a Great Ape for the first time,
seen him rush into the Red Ribbon Army base to save a friend, watched him become the golden legend on Namek out of sheer anger.
Son Goku this name represented more than a fictional character. It carried countless nights of excitement and inspiration.
And now, that legend stood before him.
The fist, carrying real heat and impact, struck his arm.
"This feeling…"
Krillin deflected Goku's knee strike and countered with a punch to Goku's abdomen.
"This is incredible!"
Goku reacted instantly, crossing his arms to block.
Boom!
The immense force sent him flying dozens of meters, his feet gouging deep trenches in the platform, sliding to the edge before barely stopping.
"So heavy!"
Goku swung his arms, gritting his teeth.
"Krillin, how is your fist like a block of iron?"
"Because I got bald, and I got stronger."
Krillin didn't pursue. He stood, watching Goku.
In this world, he was Krillin.
The Krillin who always trailed behind Goku, narrating, marveling, sacrificing.
Yet deep in his soul, he was the "reader" who had watched Goku grow.
"Goku."
Krillin spoke suddenly, the teasing in his voice replaced by something complex.
"Do you remember our first meeting?"
Goku paused, scratching his head.
"Of course. At Master Roshi's, you rowed over, carrying a bunch of… hehe, those magazines."
"Yeah."
Krillin smiled.
Back then, the original Krillin had been a slick little monk.
"I remember thinking, why is this long-tailed kid stronger than me?"
He clenched his fist, feeling the power surging through him.
"I've always chased your shadow, watching you grow farther and farther away."
"Tien, Piccolo… your opponents kept getting stronger, and I could only stand by and shout, 'Goku is amazing!'"
Krillin inhaled deeply, his gaze crystal clear.
"This time, I don't want to see your back anymore."
"I want to stand in front of you and show you mine."
"Even if you don't understand what I'm saying…"
Goku's eyes darkened, the focus of a beast facing a worthy opponent.
"But I can feel it, Krillin, you're serious. In that case…"
Goku crouched, hands on the ground, body coiled like a drawn bow.
"I'll show you what I've accomplished in these three years of training!"
Whoosh!
Goku vanished.
Not merely speed this was instantaneous displacement fueled by ki.
Krillin's pupils contracted.
In his [Genius Intellect] vision, Goku's form split into eight.
"Afterimage punches? No, multiple afterimage punches!"
Eight Gokus attacked from all directions, each seeming solid, each carrying a cutting gust of wind.
"Useless!"
Krillin stood firm, swinging eight punches in an instant.
Eight ordinary punches, no name, no special effects, only extreme speed and power.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Seven afterimages shattered instantly.
But the eighth Goku the real one performed an impossible midair fold at the last moment.
"What?"
Krillin was slightly surprised.
Goku exploited the air currents from the previous instant, altering his trajectory, sliding like an eel into Krillin's blind spot directly above.
"Hehe! Gotcha!"
Goku flipped upside down, hands pressing on Krillin's bald head, springing off to rotate his body, bringing his feet together for a brutal kick to Krillin's back.
The move was deviously improvised.
The old Krillin would have gone flying.
But now, Krillin had [Beast Instinct].
The moment Goku touched his scalp, his body reacted.
Back muscles tensed instantly, hardness like diamond.
Thud!
Goku felt as if he had kicked a mountain, rebounding back himself.
During the rebound, he managed an awkward midair turn, hands gathering ki again.
"Not done yet!"
He couldn't use leverage in the air, normally unable to release a strong Kamehameha.
But the next second stunned Krillin and the audience alike.
Goku didn't fire with his hands he kicked the air, releasing ki blasts from his feet!
Using the pushback from the blasts, his speed skyrocketed.
Like a cannonball, head down, fists streaking like meteors, crashing toward Krillin.
"So this is a talent…"
Krillin's excitement outweighed fear.
Innovation in combat, adaptation in a pinch.
This was the S-Rank Talent he had always dreamed of.
"Perfect!"
Krillin stopped defending.
He stepped back slightly, rotated his waist, and launched a right punch from his hip.
"Serious Series·Serious Punch (Youth Edition)!"
A large and a small fist collided across the ten-meter distance, ki pressures already meeting.
In that moment, Krillin saw the little boy in front of the TV mimicking Goku's moves merge with the man on the platform throwing punches.
This punch was for the dream called "childhood."