Krillin nodded.
"Yeah. I saw it with my own eyes.
Three years ago, the Red Ribbon Army hired Tao Pai Pai to kill Goku.
But Tao Pai Pai couldn't beat him at all.
Then he tried to use dirty tricks, but Goku countered every single one.
In the end, Tao Pai Pai got blown apart by his own bomb—there wasn't even a body left. It was brutal."
Jackie Chun's face changed.
"Unbelievable… Goku defeated the world's number-one assassin…"
Krillin scratched his head and laughed.
"Uncle Chun, last time you just ran out of stamina, so I barely managed to beat you.
This time, I'll beat you with pure strength!"
Jackie Chun chuckled.
"Good spirit. I'll be waiting."
Not far away, Tien had heard the word bomb, and his face darkened.
"Hmph. So it was a bomb… I knew it. There had to be some trick involved if someone killed my master-uncle."
He looked at Goku, who was still calmly dodging the Dodon Rays on the ring.
"That kid may be strong… but there's no way he beat Tao Pai Pai head-on with real skill."
Tien hurried over to Master Shen and told him what he'd just learned.
Master Shen froze.
"What did you say?!"
"Tao Pai Pai… was killed by a Turtle School disciple?"
Tien nodded.
"I heard it was a bomb that did him in…"
Master Shen's hands clenched into fists.
"So that's why there's been no word of him for three years…
I knew it—Tao Pai Pai could never be defeated in fair combat.
So it was a bomb… how despicable."
His eyes burned with rage as he shouted toward the ring.
"Chiaotzu! That's enough playing around—kill him!"
Jackie Chun heard the shout and immediately yelled,
"This is bad—they're trying to murder a Turtle School disciple!
Goku, get serious!"
Goku opened his eyes and looked up at Chiaotzu.
"Alright, kid. You've had your fun. Now it's my turn."
Chiaotzu panicked.
"Not yet! Dodon Ray—full power!"
The glow on his finger intensified, and a blazing beam shot toward Goku.
Goku smiled slightly.
He raised one finger—and flicked.
The Dodon Ray bent sharply and slammed into a nearby building, blowing it apart in a massive explosion.
Smoke and debris filled the air.
The crowd was stunned.
"What just happened?!"
"That attack was insane!"
"He destroyed a building!"
"No—what's crazier is that Goku deflected it with one finger!"
Jackie Chun's eyes widened.
"He… he deflected a Dodon Ray with a single finger?
That's something even I wouldn't dare to try…"
Krillin grinned.
"That's nothing. When Goku fought Tao Pai Pai, he did the same thing—one finger.
Compared to Tao Pai Pai, this kid doesn't even come close."
Jackie Chun gasped.
"You're saying Goku could even deflect Tao Pai Pai's Dodon Ray?"
Krillin nodded.
"Yeah. I saw it myself on Korin Tower."
Jackie Chun inhaled sharply.
"Unbelievable…
At this rate, Goku might already be the strongest person in the world."
Up in the air, Chiaotzu began to panic.
His strongest technique hadn't even scratched Goku.
Tien shouted,
"Chiaotzu! Use your psychic powers!"
Chiaotzu's eyes lit up.
He pointed both hands at Goku.
Goku had been letting Chiaotzu attack on purpose—he wanted to understand psychic abilities.
The moment the power activated, Goku felt invisible threads wrap around his body, binding him with pressure from all directions.
"So… this is psychic power."
Instead of breaking free immediately, Goku calmly studied the sensation.
When he struggled, Chiaotzu strained.
When he relaxed, Chiaotzu seemed more at ease.
Goku realized the truth.
Psychic power was just a different way of using ki.
Some people were born with the talent to use it this way—but its strength was still limited by their ki.
Against someone far stronger, it simply wouldn't work.
Once he understood, Goku lost interest.
He took one step forward.
That single step exceeded Chiaotzu's limit.
Sweat poured down Chiaotzu's face as the invisible pressure shattered.
"My psychic power—it's not working!"
Goku vanished and appeared right in front of him.
With a casual roundhouse kick, he sent Chiaotzu flying.
"Ahhh!"
Chiaotzu slammed into the edge of the ring and fell out.
The referee immediately shouted,
"Chiaotzu is out of bounds! Son Goku wins!"
Jackie Chun watched Goku leave the ring, his heart heavy.
Pride… and fear.
Overwhelming strength often led to overwhelming ambition.
Goku was still young, yet already terrifyingly powerful.
Jackie Chun could only hope he would never stray down the wrong path—
because if he did, no one could stop him.
The referee raised his voice again.
"Next match—last tournament's champion, Krillin, versus Puff-Puff!"
"First, Puff-Puff, please step forward!"
Puff-Puff somersaulted onto the ring, shirtless, wearing red martial-arts pants.
He flexed his massive biceps and perfectly sculpted abs.
The crowd—especially the women—went wild.
The announcer explained,
"Puff-Puff is a champion of two other world-class fighting tournaments.
His goal is to win the World Martial Arts Tournament and become the true world champion!"
Thunderous applause followed.
Krillin stared at him, a strange fire burning in his chest.
"This guy… he has the same goal as me.
And he's not even that handsome—yet he's got tons of girls cheering for him!"
Jackie Chun nodded in recognition.
"So that's it… he's a professional fight-show champion."
Tien scoffed.
"A bunch of idiots, worshipping a showman like that.
Those fake tournaments can't even compare to the real World Martial Arts Tournament."
The referee shouted,
"Now entering—the reigning champion, Krillin!"
Krillin leapt onto the ring.
The two fighters stood face to face, eyes locked.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/NightShard525