The matchups were announced:
Alaric vs Tien
Chi-Chi vs Goku
Piccolo vs Krillin
Shen vs Yamcha
And so the tournament continued.
The stage shifted to the main outdoor arena. Alaric and Tien stood opposite one another under the sunlit sky, the crowd roaring around them.
For the first time, Alaric was facing a key figure from the original story. He could feel the pressure building.
"Alaric, I'm not holding back," Tien said firmly.
Alaric smirked. "Good. Today, I get to return every hit you've ever given me."
The announcer stepped forward. "Ladies and gentlemen! The first quarterfinal match of the World Martial Arts Tournament… begins now!"
No sooner had the host's words left his mouth than both Alaric and Tien vanished from sight.
The arena fell into stunned silence, a breath held collectively, then erupted into chaos as a thunderous crack echoed through the sky.
A sonic boom shattered the stillness. Alaric's fist collided with Tien's forearm mid-air, sending a shockwave that fractured the ring's edge.
Before the dust could settle, they vanished again. A blur darted to the left, Tien appeared behind Alaric, launching a sharp elbow strike aimed at his neck. Alaric twisted, caught the blow with a raised arm, and countered with a backflip kick that barely grazed Tien's cheek.
The crowd gasped. They hadn't even registered the first punch.
High above the ring, the two reappeared, Alaric's heel smashing downward like a comet. Tien blocked with both hands, knees buckling from the force as the shockwave cratered the arena.
They clashed again mid-air, fists moving in rapid succession, left, right, feint, dodge, knee, palm, jab, kick. With every impact, lightning-like cracks flashed across the sky, and the arena's barrier flared to contain the force.
"Solar Flare!" Tien shouted suddenly.
A blinding burst of light exploded outward. But Alaric had already closed his eyes.
Boom!
He surged forward through the glare, fist glowing faintly gold, and struck Tien in the gut. The crowd felt the impact from their seats.
Tien coughed out spit, flying backward, only to catch himself mid-air with a burst of ki and retaliate with a Ki blast.
"HAHHHHH!"
The ki ripped through the arena, carving a trench straight through the tiles. But Alaric had disappeared again, above!
"Too slow!" he roared, slamming both fists down like a meteor.
Tien crossed his arms to block, but the ground beneath him cracked and gave way. The moment he landed, Alaric was already waiting, sweeping his leg in a low arc. Tien flipped back, barely avoiding the strike, and fired a rapid barrage of ki blasts to keep Alaric at bay.
BANG! BAM! BANG!
The arena exploded in flashes. When the smoke cleared, Alaric stood there, surrounded by sparks, steam rising from his shoulders, fists clenched.
"W-What's happening?! We can't see either of them!" the host shouted, adjusting his sunglasses in disbelief. "Their movements are beyond human perception!"
Alaric pushed his speed to its absolute limit, keeping pace with Tien blow for blow. Under his clothes, he wore a custom 80-kilogram weighted vest, not a bulky turtle shell, but a sleek, discreet design he had made specifically to avoid attention.
Even Kurilin and the others leaned forward in suspense, sweat on their brows. Despite the intensity, Alaric was grinning inside. He wasn't the type to seek out fights, but once the match began, the thrill, the rush of clashing power, was something he truly loved.
"Solar Flare!" Alaric shouted suddenly, unleashing a burst of blinding light.
The entire crowd flinched. Even the cameras struggled to adjust.
But Tien, the originator of the Solar Flare, wasn't so easily fooled. The moment Alaric come to strike, Tien countered with his own flash.
Alaric was forced to shut his eyes. But he already prepared how to counter this move, he spread his energy across the arena, using his ki to sense Tien's movements.
"Wait… are they still fighting? With their eyes closed?!" the host gasped. "Incredible! Both fighters are battling blind!"
Tien's voice rang out from the haze. "You've improved faster than I expected."
Alaric's eyes stayed focused, calm amidst the chaos. "I didn't come here for a title. I'm preparing for whatever threat comes next… to Earth, or beyond."
He dropped into a low stance, energy crackling around him. Hands drawn back at his side, his voice echoed with resolve.
"Ka… me… ha… me…"
But Tien was already in motion, eyes narrowed with intent. He raised his hands in a triangle, ki bursting between his fingertips.
"Neo Tri-Beam!"
A golden triangle of blinding light erupted forward just as Alaric thrust his palms out with a roar,
"HA!!!"
Two forces met mid-air with cataclysmic force. The Kamehameha's brilliant blue beam twisted violently against the raw, golden-orange pressure of the Tri-Beam, colliding with a deafening BOOM that lit up the entire arena.
A dome of raw energy expanded outward, rattling the stands and kicking up a cyclone of shattered tiles and swirling dust. The crowd held their breath. Time seemed to freeze.
Alaric dug in his heels, aura flaring into a sapphire blaze. The ground beneath him cracked, but he stood firm, muscles straining with every ounce of power he poured into the beam.
Tien gritted his teeth, sweat dripping down his brow. "You're not… the only one who's pushed past limits!" he shouted, unleashing a second Neo Tri-Beam layered onto the first, forcing the clash back toward center.
But Alaric's hidden trump card surged forth. The Ultra Divine Water, have awakened the potential in his veins. His ki sharpened, intensified, his beam surged forward with a roar.
The crowd gasped as the tide of the clash shifted.
Tien's triangle of energy flickered.
Then cracked.
Then shattered.
The full force of Alaric's Kamehameha tore through, engulfing Tien in a blinding wave. He was hurled across the ring like a comet, smashing into the barrier and collapsing outside the arena with a heavy thud, smoke rising from the scorch marks across his uniform.
Silence fell. Then the crowd erupted into cheers.
Alaric stood at the center, chest rising and falling, arms still outstretched. His aura flickered and settled as he exhaled slowly.
"The winner: Alaric!" the host roared to a chorus of cheers.
Before the crowd even finished reacting, Alaric had already jumped down and knelt beside Tien, offering a Senzu bean.
Goku and Krillin arrived with theirs, but Alaric beat them to it.
Tien slowly sat up, his expression weary.
"…I lost."
"You held out longer than anyone else could've," Alaric said with a grin.
Tien gave a faint smile and nodded. It stung, but a loss was a loss.
The second match was Goku vs Chi-Chi, a showdown that continue just like in the manga, it looked more like a wedding trial than a tournament match.
Goku, true to form, had no idea what was going on. He bumbled through the fight with a clueless grin while Chi-Chi launched her attacks with determination.
Still, the match ended with a result that pleased the bride-to-be, and left every bachelor in the audience sighing in envy.