As soon as Piccolo finished registering, Yamiru, Tights, Goku, Bulma, Gine, Chi-Chi, and Krillin all walked over together.
Gine took the lead in greeting, "So you really came, Mr. Piccolo."
Piccolo had already stepped down from his position as a Kami, so Gine naturally didn't address him as "Kami" anymore.
'So the former Kami that Mom had mentioned was him?' Goku looked at the tall, white-caped Piccolo and felt that this person was indeed somewhat unfathomable.
The energy he exuded was perfectly controlled and subtle.
"Doesn't seem all that impressive," Krillin muttered softly, "Except he's a bit taller..."
Piccolo's cold, detached gaze swept over everyone. The little bald head immediately fell silent. That look was really quite pressuring.
He gave a nod to his successor, Gine.
When Piccolo's gaze passed over Yamiru, who was standing behind Goku and holding Tights's hand tightly without letting go for even a second, their eyes exchanged affectionate glances.
Hmm?
Piccolo of course recognized the Earthling who had joined Goku when they both first arrived at the Kamio's planet. He had a strong impression of this Earthling because, at the time, he had arrived at Mount Paozu right when Goku did.
But... hmm?
Why had he never noticed before? Now, seeing this Earthling named Yamiru, his appearance and aura... the more he looked, the more he seemed like his master!
Piccolo's once indifferent gaze froze on Yamiru, as he studied him in disbelief. He hesitated and asked, "Master?"
Had he been blind before, or had the world changed so fast?
In his mind, flashes of memories from the past few hundred years replayed, from his first meeting with his master at Yunze Bit Gao Heights, to climbing the Karinta Tower over 300 years ago, then joining his master's training at the temple, and all the guidance he received throughout the years... His master, the one who had been around for hundreds of years as far as Piccolo knew, was the "ordinary Earthling" who stood beside Goku?
Piccolo's exclamation of "Master" clearly shocked everyone present.
Goku and Krillin thought someone else had come up behind them and didn't realize Piccolo was speaking to Yamiru;
But Gine, the current Kami, noticed immediately. She was sure that Piccolo's "Master" was addressed to Yamiru! As far as she knew, Piccolo's master was the savior of Earth from the ancient era, mentioned by Mr. Popo... But Yamiru? The current Kami, Gine, was a little stunned.
Of course, Yamiru was the first to react and was also the one who didn't need to react. Seeing Piccolo's confused expression, he smiled and said, "Let's just focus on the competition. We can talk about everything else later."
This, too, was an answer. Piccolo swallowed his next words. The figure of Yamiru in front of him completely overlapped with his memory of his master. The image of that unchanging animal mask in his memory merged with the face of this person... It was exactly the same as his master!
Master? Tights, standing beside him, subtly observed, especially the expressions of Piccolo, Gine, and Yamiru.
---
Goku, Krillin, Yamiru, and Chi-Chi had all registered and were ready to enter the arena for the preliminary round.
Tights released Yamiru's hand and smiled, "You're not here just to lose to Goku, are you?"
"What if I do lose?" Yamiru smiled, reaching his hand into Tights's soft, golden hair and gently cupping the back of her head, fingers caressing her.
Tights stepped forward with a smile at the corner of her lips. "Well, that's fine. After all, no matter what..."
She stood on her tiptoes, leaned close to Yamiru's ear, exhaled softly, and whispered, "You're way more handsome than Goku..."
Yamiru gently embraced his wife, quickly releasing her and kissing her forehead.
"Tsk!" Someone, a certain young lady, clicked her tongue loudly.
Tights pushed Yamiru away, fixing her hair and laughing as she saw her younger sister making a playful face.
"Well, let's go!"
Goku smiled as he clapped his hands together, waving at Bulma, Gine, and the others before turning and striding forward.
On either side of him, Yamiru was relaxed, while Krillin and Chi-Chi were a bit tense. Ahead of them, Piccolo flung his white cape and entered the Martial Arts Temple's competition hall...
The air was filled with the sound of people bustling with excitement!
Fists Collide!
Inside the large, spacious competition hall, the four square arenas were surrounded by a crowd of talented individuals from all over the world, creating an especially noisy atmosphere.
When drawing the numbers for the preliminary round, Piccolo noticed his master's signal. With a subtle flick of his pinky, the power of his magic flashed and disappeared in an instant.
As Goku drew his number, several slips of paper fluttered from his hand. In the end, he selectively chose one and handed it to himself.
Ultimately, the five of them were assigned to different arenas.
Only Chi-Chi and Goku were placed together, but their numbers were far apart, meaning there was a high probability that they could claim both spots on that arena.
Krillin looked at his number. "I'm number 1. That should mean the first match in arena one, right?"
The group temporarily scattered, each heading to their respective arenas.
As long as they didn't end up facing each other too early, Krillin was confident. Honestly, he didn't feel the need to be so modest. It wasn't that he was too weak, but his friend Goku was just too strong—his whole Saiyan family was ridiculously strong, and there was simply no comparison.
"Even that Yamiru..." Krillin's eyes couldn't help but wander toward Yamiru, who was standing near the adjacent arena.
He couldn't sense any energy from Yamiru.
Was it because Yamiru controlled it so well?
Krillin couldn't help but wonder, or was it that his own skills were lacking, making him unable to sense Yamiru's energy? I wonder what Goku thinks of him...
"Hey! Baldy, what are you looking at?" Krillin's opponent on the arena was clearly annoyed that Krillin was zoning out.
Krillin snapped back to focus and looked at his opponent.
Dark skin, an afro, a red dot on his forehead, yellow robes draped diagonally, bare feet and chest... wasn't that King Chappa?
"It's fine. You can attack," Krillin said casually, standing still.
King Chappa was livid. Three years ago, he had foolishly lost to some mysterious woman. This time, he found out that the woman hadn't even entered the competition, which only made him more frustrated. And now, the first match of the preliminaries was against a bald-headed brat who was just as irritating!
"Don't get too cocky. It won't be good when you start crying after losing," King Chappa sneered. "Oh, by the way... do you even have a nose? I can't see one!"
"Do whatever you want," Krillin sighed. "Can we hurry up?"
King Chappa let out an angry howl and stomped his foot on the arena, creating a loud cracking sound. His fists and palms blurred into afterimages, tearing through the air with a crisp sound as they flew toward the seemingly defenseless Krillin.
"I've won!" King Chappa silently rejoiced, but the Krillin in front of him, whom he thought he had "torn apart", slowly began to "dissipate."
"How is that possible? Where did he go!?"
Sweat dripped from King Chappa's forehead as he suddenly jerked his head to the left and right, searching desperately, but he couldn't see Krillin anywhere.
He even turned around but still couldn't find where his opponent had gone.
From the perspective of the onlookers and the judges, the short, bald Krillin was simply standing behind King Chappa.
King Chappa scanned left and right, even when he twisted his body, Krillin was still behind him, as if he had predicted his movements, moving in sync to stay hidden in King Chappa's blind spot.
Krillin was even standing there with his eyes closed.