And now, Tien had seized the opportunity, yanking Goku by the tail and slamming him with brutal force—each strike was vicious.
"Is this... my uncle master's Kikoho?" Gohan carefully sensed the shift in Tienshinhan's energy. At every key point in his body, large amounts of ki were condensed, intensifying in an incredibly complex and profound manner.
From a ki-sensing perspective, it looked as if flames of energy surrounded Tienshinhan's aura, within which countless miniature suns blazed.
Gohan had heard his master talk about it before—how the great master Mutaito had passed down his two ultimate techniques, the Bankoku-Bukkiru-Shou and the Kikoho, to his two disciples: Taro and Tsuru. The Bankoku-Bukkiru-Shou had been taken by his master Taro and developed into many sophisticated energy variations—creating fire from ki, generating lightning and electromagnetic storms from ki, and so on. Even the Destructo Disc—Krillin's signature technique in the original timeline—had been something his master reverse-engineered into a cutting-type variant.
Gohan had learned a bit of this himself, though after reaching martial mastery, he rarely used them anymore. Not because they were useless, but because their utility was limited to very specific scenarios—like enemies who had a natural fear of lightning or fire. Otherwise, whether it was lightning-based ki or regular ki, both could kill just the same. At most, the lightning version had a slight paralyzing effect.
But against high-level opponents with ki-reinforced bodies, it made no difference whether it was lightning or not.
"So this is... what Uncle Master Tsuru developed from the Kikoho?" Gohan thought silently. "Using the Kikoho's core principle—sacrificing life force to compress high-intensity, high-density ki—he developed a support-type martial art similar to the Muken, enhancing combat strength... Right. The Kikoho releases all its power outward, which can lead to 'death by exhaustion.' But the way Tien uses it, locking the essence of numerous 'mini Kikoho's within his body, avoids the fatal blowback of the original version…"
"But... can it really be increased without limit? Kikoho burns one's life force. If Tien keeps forcing it without restraint, won't the consequences be disastrous?"
With his keen eyes, Gohan had already grasped the full picture—both the advantages and the hidden dangers of Tien's current state.
Back in the ring, Goku seized his chance—just as Tien was swinging him by the tail, he raised both hands and blasted a thick white ki wave straight at Tien's face!
"It's the Kamehameha!"
"Goku's used the Kamehameha!"
"Ah! What a pity! The three-eyed guy dodged it!"
Tien managed to avoid the ki blast aimed at his face, but his cheek and shoulder were scraped, leaving swollen red marks with traces of blood seeping out.
"You didn't use your full power in that Kamehameha?" Tien asked.
"It's not a life-or-death fight, so why go all out?" Goku said with a grin, rubbing his nose. He had just taken a heavy beating from Tien and looked battered—his teeth ached, his nose was sore, and when he wiped it, he found a nosebleed.
"If you keep holding back... be careful I don't end up killing you by accident," Tien snorted coldly. "Let me remind you—my training with my master... was as an assassin."
With that, his energy surged again—this time, even denser and more intense!
Goku's eyes gleamed with excitement, his blood boiling. "Then try and kill me if you can!"
Hmph...
Tien gave a slight smile.
Whoosh!
The two of them vanished from the ring again, transforming into two flickering afterimages.
---
"What's this move called?" Taro asked casually.
Tsuru downed a cup of wine and replied just as casually, "Didn't really change the name. I still call it the Kikoho."
After a pause, he added, "Though Tien seems to call it the 'True Kikoho.'" He shook his head and poured himself another drink.
Taro chuckled and said, "Why not call it the Tsuken instead, what do you say?"
Tsuru glanced at Taro and didn't respond, continuing to drink silently.
Taro didn't mind—he had only been making a passing comment. Hathaway chuckled at him from the side, and Taro pretended not to notice. At that moment, Tsuru furrowed his brows, pausing his cup at his lips.
Taro said, "If Tien keeps this up, keeps pushing his limits... he'll be in danger, won't he?"
"..." Tsuru remained silent. Maybe he had placed too much pressure on Tien, wanting too badly to outdo Taro. That's why Tien was going all out.
Taro said, "Don't worry. I think... that kid Goku will stop him."
---
"Hey! If you keep pushing your power like that, you're gonna die, you know?"
Goku was sent flying by a fierce elbow from Tien, flipping through the air before landing solidly on the ground with a bang. He frowned, wiped the blood from his face, and spoke to Tien.
"Huff… huff…"
Tien was panting lightly. His bare, muscular upper body was like a collection of steel plates, each muscle bulging with force. Veins crawled across his skin like small snakes, pulsing intensely. A faint red hue now covered his entire body—an unnatural flush.
"Stop blabbering. If you don't start using your real strength, you're going to lose!"
All three of his eyes burned with a fanatical fighting spirit.
But as he looked at the bruised and bloodied Goku across from him, Tien was confused… It felt like Goku's strength was also steadily increasing as the fight went on. How was this happening? He hadn't learned how to use the True Kikoho!
What Tien didn't realize was that Goku naturally grew stronger the longer he fought—that was just the kind of fighter he was.
And…
As a hybrid with Three-Eyed Clan blood, Tien had sharp vision and excellent perception. He'd noticed something strange—beneath Goku's feet, the specially reinforced surface of the Severed Mountain Arena was covered in dense, spiderweb-like cracks… Was it the result of some technique like Thousand-Pound Drop? Or something else?
Could it be…?
Tien's gaze shifted toward Goku's outfit. His martial arts uniform was lightweight and didn't seem to be made from any heavy material. His eyes then moved to Goku's right wrist—where, just like Krillin in the previous match, there was a black wristband that looked like it was made from ordinary cloth.
Then, Goku reached for that wristband.
He began to remove it…
"What's going on here? Why is contestant Son Goku… just like Krillin last match, starting to take off his right wristband?" The announcer's voice rose in excitement, playing up the moment for the crowd whether he understood what was happening or not.
"I can't just stand by and let you kill yourself! So… sorry, but I'm gonna take you down in one go!"