46: 21st World Martial Arts Tournament.
Fireworks were shot into the night sky, illuminating the sky with their various colors. Some of them formed the number 21, indicating that this would be the twenty-first edition of this tournament.
"Welcome to the 21st edition of the World Martial Arts Tournament!" shouted a man with blond hair, dark glasses, a black suit, and a wireless microphone in his hand.
He sat at what appeared to be a table next to a rather recognizable old man, Muten Roshi, wearing a black suit and matching hat. Their faces were shown on large screens so people in the upper tiers could see the fights.
Thanks to Capsule Corp's sponsorship, the signal from this event was broadcast around the world, making this perhaps the most watched and largest of all.
"We are here to witness the best of the best in martial arts! And if that wasn't enough, I had one of the former champions standing next to me.
Not only that! He is a legendary person who is considered to be the strongest man in the world. Without further ado, let's give a strong salute to the legend, the myth, Muten Roshi of the Turtle School!" the host announced his partner, Muten Roshi, with much excitement and energy.
The audience became excited, and many people began to shout. All present were in a huge stadium that might be seen in the future but was made possible at this time thanks to the ample resources of Capsule Corp.
The screens even showed a black and white recording of Muten Roshi fighting Tsuru. Both were wounded and exhausted, their clothes tattered, but with fighting spirit burning in their eyes.
There was no sound in this video, but the montage was made with music that seemed pretty good and gave it an epic feel. Even Tsuru, who was in the training area, watched this video with some nostalgia in his eyes.
"Thunder Shock Surprise!" they both seemed to be shouting, but only those who knew about this event knew the name of the technique.
From the hands of the two fighters, a green thunderbolt shot out and crashed into the middle of the road. As students of the same master, Mutaito, this was one of the most powerful techniques available to them.
But in the end, Roshi's ki and training were superior, defeating his opponent's lightning and trapping him in his thunder. The green electricity made Tsuru shake uncontrollably; even his skeleton seemed to show.
In the end, it was Roshi who effectively prevailed and won this edition of the tournament. This tournament was usually canceled for several years for various reasons before being resumed.
So this match took place almost 150 years ago, which shows how old this event was. But after the heroics of the 'Strongest Man in the World' were shown, many people looked at the figure of Muten Roshi on the screen with varying degrees of interest.
"Did you see how great Mr. Muten Roshi was? And we have him here as a companion and commentator for this edition, so do you have any words for the young fighters? For you, they are young." The host made a little joke, making Roshi smile before he spoke.
"Ah, that video brought back old memories. If I had to give one piece of advice to the younger ones, it would be to not be obsessed with glory, to give your best in the fight, it doesn't matter if you lose or win, what matters is the experience", Muten Roshi's words, being the one who said them, were taken seriously by many fighters.
While many were still thinking about the glory and money they could win if they came in first, others who were a bit worried or nervous calmed down and realized that this was truly an opportunity to gain experience that would be invaluable to them.
"There you have it, ladies and gentlemen! The words of Muten Roshi are full of wisdom! Without further ado, let's review the rules of this tournament.
First of all, it is forbidden to kill your opponent. We are not responsible for any injuries, but if for some reason you kill your opponent during the fight, believe me, disqualification will be the least of your regrets," the moderator said in a serious voice, and even his unusually cold tone made the crowd start to murmur.
"If a person is unconscious, lies on the ground for more than 10 seconds, or leaves the area designated for the match, they are out. Likewise, if a person surrenders, either by word or gesture, they will be disqualified.
If the opponent decides to continue attacking despite the other person's surrender or disqualification, he/she/they will also be disqualified. We are here to share the martial arts experience and to have fun, not to act out of control.
No weapons, drug use, gadgets, or concoctions of any kind are allowed. However, all forms of power are allowed.
This means that the use of Ki, Psychic power, or Magical power is allowed, as long as you have indicated on your application form that you are the possessor of such forms of combat.
For people who can fly, either with wings or their means, the maximum height is 50 meters in the air in any direction. If you go too far, you will be disqualified.
In addition…" the moderator then talked about some minor rules, such as avoiding intentional obscenity during the fight.
After that, it was explained that there would be an introductory activity before the preliminaries began. Soon, some dancers appeared in front of the audience and danced while a singer, Lynn Minmay, sang the opening of this event.
...
"How much money did Dad spend to have that girl sing twice?" Bulma wondered quietly as she watched the show from the wrestling area.
"I don't know, but I like her music." Goku waved his tail as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the music.
"She has that effect, I guess." Bulma didn't understand why there was a woman with that name in this universe. Some kind of reference?
She didn't mind too much because she also enjoyed the music. Even Chi-Chi, instead of being jealous that Goku liked another woman's voice, was also enjoying the song.
"I don't know why, but it relaxes me to hear her sing, as if all the savagery in Ozaru is soothed by her voice, as if it wasn't worth the sheer brutality. She's a good choice to open the tournament," Goku said critically and intelligently, getting right to the point.
"It seems you're not only talented in fighting, Goku," Krillin said beside him, not quite understanding how Goku came to such a wise conclusion.
Since Krillin didn't know Goku very well, he had taken on the facade that everyone sees, how restless the Saiyan was. But Goku was the type to hide his wisdom very well, to expose his childish side to the others, to set a trap.
Yes, Goku was 'fighting' long before his battle began, giving many fighters the impression that he was just a wild and capricious child who barely understood a little music.
Bulma only noticed that some people's emotions when they looked at Goku were full of contempt and mockery, but others looked at him more cautiously, including a rather tall boy with three eyes.
When Bulma looked at him, he noticed Bulma's gaze as well. Maybe it was because of his third eye, but Ten Shinhan had an unusually sharp perception and could even see some things that others could not.
Looking at Bulma, he could only sense a hint of danger in her, and although his Ki sense told him that this woman's strength was average, Ten Shinhan trusted his instincts enough to ignore that detail.
For her part, Bulma simply smiled at Ten Shinhan, who returned the gesture with a nod. Then the blue-haired girl looked at other more 'promising' fighters.
There was a man in monk's robes in a meditative position. Bulma felt that the man's state of mind was similar to Gohan's when she first met him, but much stranger, as if it was a different 'path, ' something that caught Bulma's attention.
At that moment, the meditating man opened his eyes, and their gazes collided. Bulma felt like she was in the hands of a great being, but soon her 'other self' looked on from a similar position, balancing things out.
After this brief test, the two nodded, knowing that if they met and fought, they would both learn much from each other. Having come to this silent conclusion, Bulma continued to look around.
Another person she observed was a former champion who stood alone, no one approaching him because of his imposing appearance. The man just glanced at Bulma when he felt the girl's gaze but then went back to his business.
Surprisingly, Bulma exchanged glances with a purple-haired woman who, noticing the girl's attention, winked seductively at her, causing Bulma to suddenly blush.
"Bulma, do you have a fever?" Goku asked suddenly, noticing his older sister's blush, but Bulma shook her head before patting her face.
"No, I'm fine," Bulma replied before noticing the strange smiles on Yamcha and Krillin's faces, knowing that the two boys would tease her about it in the future.
Back to evaluating interesting targets, Bulma noticed a rather fat green pterosaur, but even in this situation, it was eating voraciously.
Finally, what caught Bulma's attention were two people she had not expected to see here at all. Lapis and Lazuli, who seemed a bit nervous about the environment they were in.
Bulma could sense that both of them had been training, not only that, but they had control over their own Ki, which caused them to take a very different path than they had in the original series.
Many would be frightened by such a drastic change to what they knew, but since she was a little girl, Bulma had actively encouraged these kinds of different situations, so the surprise was only momentary before she felt excited.
Though the unknown is terrifying, the fact that she could have her own adventure was something that intrigued her, even more so when she knew that she didn't have to cling to the 'canonical' or 'what should be or happen'.
Noticing Bulma's gaze, the twins glanced in her direction at the same time before paying no further attention to her. At least Lapis paid no attention to Bulma.
She was just another competitor; why would he waste his time looking at her? However, Lazuli continued to pay attention to Bulma for a few more moments before her attention was drawn to her older brother.
"Is there something about that girl?" asked Lapis, noticing the strangeness in his sister.
As twins, the two were connected in a very mysterious way, and the training of their Ki enhanced this special connection between the two, so Lapis noticed certain things and asked his sister this question.
"I don't know, but you should be careful with her, she's very... relaxed." that was what caught Lazuli's attention, how relaxed Bulma was surrounded by so many fighters.
Lazuli didn't understand why, because even the nervousness of each fighter was obvious, more or less. But Bulma showed none of that, so she gave her a long look.
"If she's not nervous, it could be for different reasons. Either she is very strong, or she is so rich that she does not need the money for the championship. If she loses, who cares? One of those two options was the right one," Lapis thought after giving Bulma a quick look.
What Lapis didn't know at the time was that both cases applied perfectly to Bulma; she was both strong and rich. Being here was more about enjoying the atmosphere and, as Muten Roshi said, gaining experience.
Therefore, Bulma was eagerly waiting for the preliminaries to begin!
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AN: Writing while listening to a mashup of Bury the Light and another soundtrack of Metal Gear Rising, also being sick, is the strangest thing that happened to me this week.