Light.
Nothing but light.
When Krillin's "Serious Kamehameha Fist" collided with Goku's all-or-nothing shockwave, time seemed to freeze.
No explosion erupted immediately. Even the air itself seemed to halt.
The spectators in the stands remained frozen with their mouths agape, and even a fly poised to steal a hot dog from a nearby child hung motionless midair.
Then came the wail of air compressed to its limit.
"Vvvvv…!!!"
It wasn't a deafening roar, but a high-frequency vibration that pierced directly into the mind.
The stone slabs at the center of the arena instantly vaporized, not shattering but transforming into fundamental particles.
The point where the two forces met formed a perfect black sphere, crackling with blue lightning and red plasma sparks.
"Go… back!"
Krillin gritted his teeth, his right arm's muscles coiling and writhing like a living python.
He was controlling it, straining to control it.
The power of the Saitama template was like a can holding a nuclear bomb.
A slight overexertion could not only obliterate Goku but turn Papaya Island and half the Earth into cosmic dust.
"This is… Krillin's true strength!"
Goku trembled.
His feet dug into the terrifying pushback, soles worn bare, the friction scorching his feet in midair.
His eyes, pure and wide, held no fear only the exhilaration of witnessing a new world.
But he had reached his limit.
The Saiyan's potential burned violently, granting him a fleeting taste of power over ten times his normal strength.
Yet against absolute numerical dominance, willpower alone is useless.
Krillin saw Goku's health bar flashing violently red in his mind. He knew he couldn't delay any longer.
Drag it out, and Goku's body would collapse first.
"It's over, Goku!"
Krillin's right arm tensed, releasing just a fraction of his restrained force merely a sliver.
But that one-millionth was the final Himalayan mountain to break the camel's back.
Boom boom boom…!!!
The black energy sphere destabilized completely, swallowing Goku's shockwave like a runaway bullet train smashing through a scarecrow.
A colossal mushroom cloud rose above the sea, shockwaves rippling outward in rings.
If not for Mr. Shen (the divine observer) erecting a transparent protective barrier, the first few hundred spectators would have been blown across the planet.
Even so, the entire Budokai arena resembled the aftermath of a Category 12 typhoon.
The host, microphone and all, was swept onto a coconut tree, his wig floating alone into the sunset.
The seawater was forcibly pushed aside, revealing mud and jagged rocks, only to rush back in a roaring surge, creating waves hundreds of meters high.
When the smoke cleared, the arena that had witnessed countless battles was gone.
In its place was a five-hundred-meter-wide crater, seawater gurgling into it.
Krillin floated midair. Except for a scorched cuff on his pants, he was untouched.
He shook his tingling right hand and glanced at a reef at the crater's edge.
There, Goku lay sprawled, steam rising from his body like a freshly roasted sweet potato.
Cough… cough…
Goku spat seawater, lifted a hand, and gave a thumbs-up.
"Krillin… you… are insane."
He collapsed, unconscious.
[Ding! Mission Complete!]
[Successfully defeated Goku, awarded Champion of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai.]
[Rating: Perfect (S+). You demonstrated overwhelming power without killing your opponent or destroying the Earth.]
[Reward calculation in progress…]
Krillin's mind was bombarded with system chimes, like slot machines spinning wildly.
[Congratulations, host! You have acquired S-Rank Talent: "Goku's Combat Instinct (Plunder Edition)."]
[Congratulations, host! All attributes have been maximized to the current story version's limits.]
[Congratulations, host! Charisma +50; title acquired: "Strongest Bald Head on Earth."]
Krillin didn't rush to claim the rewards. He descended toward Goku first.
From his pocket, he pulled out a Senzu Bean obtained backstage from Master Roshi.
He opened Goku's mouth and fed it to him.
Snap.
Seconds later, Goku's eyes shot open, and he sprang up with a flipping motion.
"Ow… ow… huh? No more pain?"
He touched his chest, confused, then his stomach rumbled thunderously.
Gurgle…
He glared at Krillin, eyes gleaming green.
"Krillin! What about the roasted dinosaur?"
Krillin laughed at the food-obsessed boy.
The tension from the cataclysmic battle evaporated instantly.
"Don't worry, you'll get it."
Krillin patted Goku's shoulder, feeling the revitalized, firm muscles beneath his hand.
"But first, we need to collect the prize money. Who's buying the dinosaur otherwise?"
The host, still clinging to a tree, finally regained his senses.
He poked his head through the coconut leaves, using the half-microphone left in his hand to shout hoarsely:
"The… match is over! The arena… has… vanished!"
"Goku has regained consciousness, but he clearly lost combat capability!"
"The champion of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai is Krillin!!!"
The arena fell silent for a second.
Then erupted into a roar that could shake the sky.
It wasn't just that Krillin won. They had witnessed a miracle beyond human comprehension.
The bald-headed boy, once a background figure in past tournaments, had ascended to godlike stature.
"Krillin! Krillin! Krillin!"
Amid the tidal wave of cheers, Krillin summoned his attribute panel.
Even prepared as he was, the numbers made his pupils shrink.
[Host: Lin Fei (Krillin)]
[Current Template: Saitama (One Punch Man)]
[Fusion: 25% (critical threshold reached for this stage)]
[Strength: 2500 (MAX – Earth Arc limit)]
[Speed: 2500 (MAX – Earth Arc limit)]
[Durability: 2500 (MAX – Earth Arc limit)]
[Mind: 2500 (MAX – Earth Arc limit)]
[Skill List:]
Serious Series (Passive/Active): Includes Serious Fist, Serious Return Jump, etc.
Muscle Control (Master Level): Perfect control over every fiber of strength.
Genius Intellect (S-Rank): Photographic memory, computational power comparable to supercomputers.
Beast Instinct (S-Rank): Body reacts before brain.
Goku's Combat Instinct (S-Rank, New): Evolves mid-battle, strengthens against stronger opponents, learning ability MAX.
Flight, Kamehameha, Solar Flare, Ki Blade (incomplete)…
[System Notice: Host's attributes have reached Earth Arc capacity. Further gains require system missions, "Saiyan Invasion" chapter, or travel to higher-tier planets.]
"Locked in?"
Krillin touched his bald head, a playful smirk curling his lips.
"Two thousand five hundred strength… that's a battle power of 2500, doubled…"
"If I recall, Raditz's battle power was just over a thousand when he first came to Earth."
"So what am I now? A max-level massacre in a newbie village?"
Exactly what he wanted.
He refused to be the background character, getting blown up in the end like the original Krillin.
Now, whether Saiyans or Frieza, anyone who dared trouble Earth would learn the true meaning of the "Bald Overlord."
"Hey, Krillin! What are you spacing out for?"
Goku waved in front of him.
"The host with sunglasses says it's time to receive your trophy."
Krillin snapped back, glancing at the host holding the massive golden cup, then at the blue-haired girl on the second floor, covering her mouth and crying.
Trophy? Useless except for taking up space.
"Goku, you can take this one for me."
"Huh? But it's the champion's trophy!"
Goku looked puzzled.
"I have more important rewards to claim."
Krillin crouched slightly, then:
Boom!
A shockwave blasted outward as he launched like a golden meteor, ignoring the host's calls and everyone's gazes, straight toward the second-floor stands.