47: Start of the Preliminaries.
"It looks like the audience has enjoyed the wonderful voice of our guest star, Lynn Minmay. Now, I hope they continue to have energy for what we will see next.
The start of the preliminaries for the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament! All matches will be randomized, so let's start with the first showdown of the night," the tournament announcer said, building up the atmosphere for the excitement of the match.
On the screens, a black background was bisected by a white line. Soon, many random names in gold letters began to change at a dizzying pace.
"And we have our two contestants. Come on, Mr. Roshi, you announce who will start this tournament." As the names stopped changing, the announcer looked at Roshi, who took his microphone.
"The first to fight will be contestant Rock Lee against contestant Jean Paul!" With Roshi's words, pictures of the two fighters appeared on all the screens.
Below their pictures were their names, affiliations, and some other details such as their weights or heights. Soon, the cameras caught the two fighters as they approached the arena.
On one side was a young adult; the most striking thing about him was not only his extravagant green suit, which was quite tight to his body, but also his special haircut, that no matter from which angle you looked at it, his mushroom-shaped black hair seemed to radiate glitter.
On the other side, Jean Paul was a man whose body was full of muscles, his white hair was extravagantly styled, and his torso was almost naked, wearing only a black suspender flannel.
The two fighters entered the arena at the same time, and one of the monks in charge of the tournament approached the two men, for he would serve as referee.
"Are both fighters ready to fight?" the referee asked.
"Yes!" the two fighters replied at the same time, staring at each other.
A tense atmosphere developed between them. Being the first to fight was a big burden for them, so the nervousness and anticipation grew more and more.
"Then.... fight!" the referee announced, having two men loudly ring a large gong to announce the start of the match.
The fighters didn't hesitate much and started the fight. The beginning of the fight between the two was quite intense. Their fists collided, causing the wind to be expelled.
Noticing that both of them had similar strength, a smile appeared on their faces; this was what they were looking for, to test themselves against other fighters, to push their limits, to explore new heights.
Then, the battle between them broke out, with a constant exchange of blows, each demonstrating their particular style. Rock Lee's way of fighting had many traces of martial arts schools, focusing more on powerful but fast punches and kicks.
On the other hand, Jean Paul's style was more restrained, keeping his defense most of the time and only counterattacking when necessary, but his punches were powerful enough, and he even used ki in his punches, making them resemble cannons.
"Wow, the fighters aren't taking it easy. They're going all out from the start; they seem eager. What do you think, Mr. Roshi?" the announcer asked, causing Muten Roshi to touch his beard, but his attention never left the fight.
He didn't need to watch the fight through a screen where a slowed-down video was shown so that inexperienced people could appreciate the fight. With his level of strength and experience, Roshi was able to notice many aspects that could be ignored, which is why he was a commentator.
"The tension of the first match of the tournament, that's why. But as they tested each other's strength in that first exchange, you could see that they both decided to go all out and enjoy the process.
Participant Rock Lee is younger, but I can see traces of many 'mundane' martial arts, in other words, masters who, for some reason, could not use ki.
I would not be surprised if he is a descendant of one of them. His fighting style is hard and fluid, but his main strength is direct physical damage." Roshi evaluated what was going on in the fight, first highlighting Rock Lee's particular style.
Many people in the stadium or wherever they were watching the fight noticed that Rock Lee was indeed using some popular 'techniques' that you might see in some dojos, but the way he used them and transitioned from one style to another showed the effort he had put into his training.
"I don't know if young Rock Lee knows how to use ki, but he has an enviable physique. On the other hand, Jean Paul seems to be someone who is creating his fighting style. As a connoisseur of Ki, he seems to have discovered the muscle growth that is conducive to this energy.
Notice how his arms swell as he punches, and knowing that his punches are slow, he remains quite defensive. But notice how he deflects attacks, how he stands his ground, and how he takes every available opportunity to strike.
Even I felt inspired watching this fight; truly, young people are a treasure and the future of martial arts." Roshi's words made some fighters pay more attention to Jean Paul, noticing these details.
"As expected from the strongest man," said one fighter, King Chapa, a former champion of these tournaments.
He even felt some inspiration while watching the fight between the two fighters, whose fight was accelerating more and more. Only if you have some strength, training, or can feel the ki, you can perceive the action properly.
"Looks like the old man is still hot~" said a female fighter, Lan-Fan, and shortly after her words, the two fighters suddenly separated.
Rock Lee touched his left arm and felt a sharp sting of pain. He had used this limb to protect himself from one of Jean Paul's attacks, but the force behind the blow was so great that he even felt his arm break.
Worse, a strange energy was flowing into his arm, causing it to shake erratically. As a result, his arm was now shaking convulsively, limiting his control.
"That strange energy again," Rock Lee muttered, but he didn't know that the senses of a fighter with Ki were quite high, so Jean Paul heard him.
"Boy, don't you know what Ki is? That's your disadvantage, because although we have similar strength, with this energy..." Jean Paul's voice stopped, then he showed his right arm.
An aura of white Ki appeared on his arm, veins appeared under his skin, and soon, his muscles began to swell. The pressure caused by Jean Paul increased at that moment, causing Rock Lee to swallow unconsciously.
"With this energy, I can overpower you, boy." Jean Paul squatted before lunging at Rock Lee.
His movement was fast, powered by Ki, he could somewhat solve the disadvantage of the extra weight caused by the way he used his technique. Rock Lee could only try to defend himself, but his mind was distracted.
As a fighter who had reached his level of strength without relying on Ki, he knew that lack of control over that energy was a weakness, but he had come to this tournament hoping to achieve something.
Now, he realized that even if he had the strength similar to another fighter, if he did not master this power, he would only be thrown out in the preliminaries, like now, without going far.
So his distracted mind only reacted when the wind brought by Jean Paul's big fist woke him up, but it was too late. Jean Paul wanted to punch the boy in the face, but as if he had changed his mind, he punched him in the stomach.
"Cannon Punch!" Jean Paul shouted as he punched Rock Lee's body.
Along with the sonic boom caused by his punch, there was the sound of flesh colliding. Rock Lee's abdomen caved in, and even his back seemed to protrude. Rock Lee's body twisted into a 'V' shape, but that was not the end of it.
The shock wave passed through his body, exiting through his back, and then his body was thrown into the distance. Rock Lee soon fell to the ground, still lying on the sand. But his body was sliding dangerously over the edge.
"That was quite a blow," Bulma said, feeling a hint of alien pain at seeing such an attack.
Fortunately, it was not to the ribs, or everyone in the arena would have heard the crunch of broken bones. But as Bulma groaned, her empathic ability picked up Rock Lee's emotions.
Out of the pain, out of the confusion that clouded Rock Lee's emotions, came sheer, hard determination. Bulma then watched as the young man stood up. Even with his chin full of vomit, the girl could see the boy's burning eyes.
'If you have that name, how can you give up so easily? Come on, dude, perform a miracle,' Bulma thought, feeling even more interested in this young man.
"That... That was a good punch." Rock Lee wiped his face with his arm, and even though he could barely stand up, he had done it.
"But even if I don't know how to use this power, I will learn. In the meantime... let me hit you back my way." Rock Lee touched his temple gently and pressed it specially.
Bulma, Goku, and every experienced fighter noticed the change in Rock Lee when he touched his temple. Although the boy did not know the use of Ki, this energy was in all living beings, and Rock Lee's was boiling at that moment.
The sound of a heart begins to sound, and Rock Lee's skin slowly turns red. Jean Paul, curious about the changes in this boy, did not attack, wanting to see what was going on.
"What a turn of events! After that big blow, the fighter Rock Lee showed his willpower and got up. But why is his skin red now?" The host asked the same question as many people.
"Because this guy has broken the natural limits of his body, now we are about to see the real battle between them," Muten Roshi replied, this time even wanting to stand up in admiration.
Rock Lee let out a battle cry, though it sounded more like one of pain, then the young man's body suddenly disappeared. Jean Paul narrowed his eyes and raised his guard.
A red fist struck his body, knocking Jean Paul back several feet as he slid across the floor. Jean Paul felt it; the boy had increased his speed insanely and could only use his Ki-sense to perceive, but his reaction was lacking.
He was then bombarded by Rock Lee's attacks, constantly breaking or evading his defenses and absorbing his opponent's incredibly powerful blows.
"How intense! The camera is doing its best to pick up the trail of the fighter Rock Lee, he's moving super-fast," the host was excited at this point.
This was what he wanted to witness and report! An intense fight, a fight where everyone could see the incredible skills that the martial artists possessed. In the video, Rock Lee could be seen running around Jean Paul before breaking through his defense, but this time, he caught his arm.
Rock Lee started to spin, making Jean Paul spin with him. Then he threw him into the air. Jean Paul didn't seem to be able to fly, so a frightened look appeared on his face, but Rock Lee didn't wait for him to fall.
He went up! With one leap, he managed to reach Jean Paul and began to kick him steadily, lifting him higher and higher. The crowd looked up in unison, watching as the fighters almost reached the height limit.
Then he held Jean Paul's body again and put it underneath him, then his fists began to hit his rival's chest, his punches falling like rain and the sound of impact was similar to a machine gun.
"Morning Peacock!" shouted Rock Lee before punching hard enough and at the right angle to send Jean Paul flying out of the arena.
"Jean Paul is out of the arena! Rock Lee wins!" This time, Muten Roshi announced the result, quite excited and amazed by the young fighter's victory.
Rock Lee fell into the arena, feeling tremendously weak, but knowing that he had won, he staggered and threatened to fall. But he was held up by hands resting on his back.
"You must enjoy your first victory standing up, partner!" Rock Lee turned and saw a blue-haired girl smiling at him.
Bulma could not help but come out to help; she was genuinely excited about the outcome of this fight, so she did not feel it was inappropriate to offer support to the young man she was holding.
"Thank you..." Rock Lee murmured before looking out at the crowd chanting his name, feeling that this time he had fulfilled his father's wish.
'Dad, here I am. I hope you can see me.' Rock Lee looked up at the sky, feeling like he could see the blurry face of a man smiling at him as he gave him a thumbs up.
The first fight of the preliminaries started with a bang!
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AN: Yes, I'll throw in some cheeky references, and yes, Guy is Rock Lee's father in my heart. 3k collections wooooo!