The arena trembled under the sheer force of the battle between Mori and Goku. Their movements were a blur, each strike echoing like thunderclaps. Suddenly, Mori leaped back, a wild grin spreading across his face.
"This is great! This is what I was MADE for!" he exclaimed, his voice resonating with newfound purpose. "NOT TO JUST SIT AROUND AND BE A LAB RAT, NOT TO OBSERVE AND WAIT, BUT TO FIGHT, TO BE THE BEST..."
He paused, eyes lifting to the sky, arms spread wide as if embracing the heavens.
Turning back to Goku, who stood patiently, Mori's expression softened slightly. "Thank you, Son Goku, for awakening my fighting spirit three years ago. You simply made my Saiyan genes more reactive, and I will relish in that fact."
In the stands, Bulma watched with concern. "What does he mean by that?" she whispered, unease creeping into her voice.
Master Roshi, standing nearby, furrowed his brow. "There might not be a tournament area left after this fight..." he muttered, beginning to gather his Ki, fully aware that intervening might be futile if things escalated.
Back in the ring, Mori began hopping up and down, his movements fluid and unpredictable, like water dancing in the wind. Suddenly, he dashed towards Goku, launching a flurry of kicks from all angles. Goku found himself on the defensive, struggling to keep up with the relentless assault.
One particularly forceful kick broke through Goku's guard, sending him soaring into the sky. Mori's grin widened as he pursued, delivering a powerful kick to Goku's back, propelling him back towards the ground.
Anticipating Goku's descent, Mori landed first, charging Ki into his leg. As Goku approached, Mori leaped upward, delivering multiple rapid kicks to Goku's stomach, each one sending him higher. Positioning himself behind Goku, Mori grabbed him mid-air and hurled him back down with tremendous force.
Goku crashed into the arena, creating a massive crater. But Mori wasn't finished. Channeling all his Ki into his leg, he spun like a drill, descending rapidly and striking Goku's stomach with devastating impact, causing Goku to spit up blood.
Mori stepped back, observing Goku lying motionless. The announcer's voice rang out, "Oh, what a relentless assault by Mori, using the same attack sequence he used on Tien but with an extra move added to it, seemingly knocking out Goku!!"
From the crowd, Krillin, Launch, and Oolong gasped in shock. "Goku, get up!" they shouted in unison.
Mori's smile faded as the announcer began counting. "Is that all, Son Goku?? WE TRAINED FOR 3 YEARS FOR THIS MATCH, JUST FOR YOU TO BE TAKEN DOWN BY A MOVE THAT DEFEATED SOMEONE LESSER THAN US?? WHERE IS YOUR SAIYAN DRIVE I'VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT FROM MY CREATORS??"
Within the crater, Goku found himself enveloped in darkness. A figure emerged, composed of stars and cosmic light.
"Who are you?" Goku asked.
The figure touched Goku's forehead. "My child, you and the boy you are dueling with will be among the greatest beings I've ever created, along with three others you'll meet in time. For now, let me enhance this fight. It's the most exciting thing I've seen since I created 'him'."
A surge of energy flowed into Goku, invigorating him. Simultaneously, Mori, waiting in the arena, felt a similar surge.
Goku tried to resist. "Don't reject it, my child," the being said. "This is your strength. You just haven't reached it yet. I'm simply bringing it forth a bit earlier to see my children fight at their best!"
With a gentle flick to Goku's forehead, the being sent him back.
The announcer's voice reached Goku's ears, "Eight!" Goku's eyes snapped open. He leaped to his feet, landing in front of Mori.
"Don't count me out just yet, Mori. I have a little something just for you."
Mori, who had been growing anxious, laughed. "HAHAHA YES! I knew you wouldn't lose like that!"
The two smiled at each other, then began to charge up, pushing beyond their limits.
Mori's Ki turned a deep pink mixed with black, his hair standing upright, mirroring Goku's. Goku's Ki became golden, his hair turning yellow, eyes shifting to teal, and his tail glowing yellow.
They stared at each other, energy crackling around them. "NOW LET THE FINAL ROUND BEGIN!" they declared in unison.
Silence.
Then — laughter.
"This is insane, Son Goku!" Mori shouted, taking in the overwhelming sensation of their power.
"Hehe, right? This is just the best!" Goku laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "A shame the Void Man said it's only available for this fight!"
Mori blinked, confused, not knowing what Goku meant. Before he could ask, Goku called out, "No more talking — it's time to fight!"
Mori simply grinned, bouncing up and down as he slipped into his Flow of Life stance. Goku, energized, dropped into his fighting stance too.
The two stared intensely at each other — Goku's golden hair and Mori's silver locks flowing in the rising wind — both studying, waiting for someone to make the first move.
Seconds passed.
Then Mori struck first, charging at Goku and launching a massive axe kick imbued with Ki. Goku sidestepped swiftly, the heavy kick slamming into the ground and blasting out a violent shockwave, tearing a gash into the tournament floor.
Trying to catch Mori off-guard, Goku threw a jab, but Mori raised his arm, blocking it. In one smooth move, Mori grabbed Goku's arm and judo-slammed him into the ground. Goku bounced off the tiles — but he wasn't down for long.
Spinning mid-air, Goku grabbed Mori's leg and slammed him into the ground.
And so it went — back and forth, Mori and Goku catching each other's attacks and throwing each other like rag dolls.
Watching this, Bulma deadpanned, "This has gotta be the dumbest thing I've ever seen them do..."
Launch, Puar, Krillin, and even Master Roshi just nodded silently, too stunned to argue.
Finally, Mori broke the ridiculous chain, launching a small Ki blast at Goku to knock him back. Taking a quick breath, Mori unleashed a full Ki volley at Goku, who flipped and spun through the air, dodging every blast as he closed the distance.
Goku smartly fired one blast into the ground, creating a thick smokescreen. Hidden within, he sneaked behind Mori, punching him in the back. He then wrapped his tail around Mori's waist to hold him in place and unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of punches to Mori's back.
Surging his Ki outward in a burst, Mori broke Goku's grasp, spinning into a powerful kick that connected with Goku's head, sending the Saiyan flying. Mori dashed after him, launching a fierce combo:
A knee to the back A punch to the stomach A grab of Goku's head into a knee strike And finally grabbing Goku's tail, swinging him around before slamming him hard into the ground.
But Goku, ever resilient, shook it off and sprang back up, taking a deep breath before charging at Mori again.
The two boys collided once more, fists and kicks flying faster than the eye could track.
"OH MY GOODNESS, FOLKS! THESE TWO ARE PUTTING ON A FIGHT FOR THE AGES!" the announcer screamed. The crowd roared in excitement, the whole arena shaking with their energy.
"Wow..." Krillin muttered, sagging his shoulders. "I knew Goku was strong, but with this golden hair thingy, he's gotten even stronger than we thought."
Master Roshi nodded gravely, stroking his beard, but his gaze shifted to the Crane School's star student — Tien.
Tien stood frozen, watching the battle with wide, trembling eyes.
Master Roshi walked up to him.
"Don't be discouraged, son."
Tien turned, anger flashing across his face.
"How can I not?? Mori didn't even show a fraction of this power against me! It's like he was just playing with me! I... I can't help but ask — was I ever really strong? Were the Crane School teachings ever as great as I believed...?"
Falling to his knees, Tien gritted his teeth.
Master Roshi placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Comparison is the thief of joy," Roshi said quietly. "Besides, those two... they've fought before. Three years ago. And Goku, at least, made a vow — he would never draw with Mori again. He trained with one purpose: to beat him. Mori likely trained just as hard."
The old master smiled kindly.
"Find your own purpose, son. Don't fight just for the Crane School. Find your true martial arts."
With that, Roshi turned and walked away, leaving Tien to wrestle with his thoughts.
Back in the Arena:
The two fighters stood, panting heavily. Blood and bruises covered them, their clothes tattered and torn, but their smiles remained — wide and genuine.
Goku's golden hair flickered back and forth between gold and black, a sign of his fading energy. Mori's dark pink Ki slowly shifted back toward his natural blue-white hue.
"Hah... Come on, Goku," Mori huffed between heavy breaths. "I can see you're exhausted. Just give up and admit I won!"
Goku laughed, breathless but cheerful.
"Would you really want me to quit in a fight like this? I'm having the time of my life, man."
Mori chuckled too.
"Fine, then — let's keep going!"
Both boys tried to step toward each other... but their bodies finally gave out.
Thud!
They both faceplanted into the ring at the same time, their auras dissipating completely. Goku's hair returned to black, and silence fell over the arena.
Five seconds.
Eight seconds.
Ten seconds.
"...Uh, hello?" the announcer said awkwardly as he walked over to check.
Seeing both boys completely unconscious, he raised his microphone.
"Well, everyone, it seems Mori and Goku have completely worn each other out and are unable to continue the fight! For the first time in World Martial Arts Tournament history... we have a TIED final!!"
The crowd sat in stunned silence.
Thirty seconds.
Forty-five seconds.
A minute passed.
And then —
"WHATTTTTTTT?! THREE YEARS, THREE DAMN YEARS OF HIM TRAINING NON-STOP IN THE LAB JUST FOR HIM TO STILL TIE WITH GOKU??!!"
Bulma's furious scream shattered the stunned quiet, echoing across the entire stadium.
"HAHAHAAHAHA, the best fight of untapped power"