Chapter 106: Quarterfinals – Drastically Different Outcomes
A clearly deliberate change of subject—but Lin Qi didn't mind. Anyone with half a brain could guess who was responsible for Tien Shinhan's injuries!
"Here, take a miracle healing pill!" Lin Qi flicked a senzu bean his way.
Crunch.
Tien stared at the senzu bean in his palm, a complicated look on his face. His lips pressed into a tight line, and for a long moment, he didn't say a word.
"They ate all the food. You guys will have to make do with the side dishes," Bulma said helplessly to Blonde Launch.
"It's fine," Tien replied casually, though he chewed without tasting a thing, eyes flicking to Lin Qi every so often.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, just when Lin Qi thought the tournament was shaping up to be a fierce battle of power struggles beneath the surface…
He noticed that Chiaotzu had used his psychic powers to quietly rig the matchups for everyone.
It was cheating, plain and simple—but so flawlessly done there wasn't even a hint of sloppiness.
Unfortunately for poor Chiaotzu, he drew Yajirobe as his opponent. Though "unfortunate" might not be the right word.
Yajirobe's specialty was swordsmanship, and weapons were prohibited in the tournament. Chiaotzu, on the other hand, had his psychic powers.
But that very advantage proved to be his downfall.
Because he relied so much on his psychic abilities, Chiaotzu had neglected his physical training. One moment of distraction—
And Yajirobe decked him clean out of the ring with a single punch.
As far as Lin Qi was concerned, the rest of the matches were just formalities—not even worth watching.
Yajirobe advanced, but his next match was against Piccolo. Yikes…
Lin Qi realized he had completely overestimated that damn glutton!
"Yeah, yeah, I forfeit, okay?" Yajirobe didn't even dare step onto the stage. "No way I'm fighting that freak! I came down from Korin Tower for the food, not a beatdown!"
Once the top eight were selected, it was time for a meal break—and of course Goku, being the ultimate foodie, wasn't going to miss that.
The sunglasses-wearing, mic-wielding host even teased, "Mr. Goku, now that you've grown up, how much can you eat?"
"I heard from our staff that in the past two tournaments, you ate your way through all the prize money!"
"Prize money? Wasn't the food always free?" Goku scratched the back of his head, looking genuinely puzzled.
"Haha… no worries. I've got money!" Bulma chimed in to smooth things over. To her, money was just printed paper anyway.
But Lin Qi noticed Yamcha's face looked a bit sour. Hm… just wait. Things are only going to get worse for him.
Before the finals, all the contestants capable of energy blasts were called away by the tournament host.
"Huh? What do they want with us?" everyone murmured, confused.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the referee cleared his throat, holding a mic that wasn't even turned on.
"Since your participation, the level of the World Martial Arts Tournament has been rising steadily—like a tide lifting all boats!"
After a few pleasantries, he got to the point. "In the last tournament, if Jackie Chun hadn't intercepted Tien Shinhan's Kamehameha…"
"That blast would've hit the audience—something none of us want to see happen."
The ever-logical Krillin was first to respond, "Are you saying we're not allowed to use energy attacks anymore?"
"Not at all. We just want to ask a favor: during the matches, please help protect the audience."
"We don't want to ban techniques like energy waves—that would ruin the spectacle!"
"We'd like you all to stand at the front of the audience during matches. If an energy blast comes flying, it's up to you to stop it."
Lin Qi raised an eyebrow. This referee really knew how to handle things. Coming to Earth had been a trip down memory lane!
As the crowd roared with excitement, the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament finals officially began.
The first match was—as expected—part-cyborg Tao Pai Pai versus Tien Shinhan.
Their fight was standard fare: fists flying, kicks exchanged. Tien had a rough time, but still came out on top.
The second match? Goku versus Chi-Chi. Childhood betrothal sealed by fists—a wedding decided by combat!
The crowd's enthusiasm hit its peak. Cheers and shouts of encouragement rang out nonstop!
The third match: Piccolo versus the noseless, bald-headed Krillin. The Demon King makes his debut, and Krillin… voluntarily sacrifices himself—no, loses.
Facing Piccolo, Krillin knew full well who he was up against. He entered the ring not to win, but simply to survive.
Lin Qi had spent some time with Krillin and noticed his personality was even more timid than in the anime.
As a result, Krillin entered the match already on the back foot. The more he fought, the more cautious he became—Lin Qi couldn't help frowning.
Though Krillin's defense was flawless, he never once launched a preemptive strike, even after a hundred exchanges. It was nothing like the anime version.
In the show, Krillin had gone all-out—every move ruthless, like he and Piccolo were sworn enemies.
Hey! Noseless bald dude! Where's that fierce determination when you pummeled Piccolo before?!
"Krillin, why did you start martial arts in the first place?" Lin Qi suddenly shouted at the ring, glancing at Master Roshi, who was too busy ogling girls to pay attention.
"How can you call yourself a student of Master Roshi if you don't even have the courage to fight back?!"
Lin Qi's shout made Krillin freeze. He pulled back to create distance from Piccolo, staring at his hands in confusion.
"Yeah… why?"
A look of dazed confusion appeared on Krillin's face.
Memories of a smiling, innocent girl flashed through his mind—of his days at Orin Temple.
Lin Qi narrowed his eyes at Piccolo, who was about to attack Krillin. He deliberately released a trace of his aura to intimidate the Demon King.
Countless exclamation marks popped above Piccolo's head. Eyes wide, his whole body trembled—he couldn't move at all.
Meanwhile, Krillin was lost in childhood memories. Being small and scrawny, he was constantly bullied by his seniors at Orin Temple.
That's why he'd escaped, braving hardship…
Rowing all the way from the City to Master Roshi's island to become his disciple.
Krillin's reason for training was to grow stronger, to be liked by girls.
He remembered those clear mountain streams, those joyful moments with a farm girl from the nearby village.
And how his senior brothers forced him to do all the chores, while trying to woo that village girl…
Under the pretense of "training," they'd beat him until his face was swollen like a pig's. Then lied, claiming he'd stolen fruit from the villagers…
It was after one particularly brutal beating that young Krillin made up his mind.
He packed a small bundle, quietly opened the gates of Orin Temple—
And set off on his path to train under Master Roshi, where he met his true (bro) comrades!
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