Originally, the mysterious mastermind behind the tournament had requested to meet Bulma first, as the information he received indicated that the swarm of media personnel had been invited by her.
However, Bulma informed him that Lin Xuan was the true mastermind behind the publicity strategy, so they sought out Lin Xuan instead.
The reason for this meeting was to express their gratitude. They felt it would be improper to accept such a massive, costly publicity campaign without thanking the person responsible. They also wanted to understand Lin Xuan's motivations. When Lin Xuan received the invitation from the announcer, he naturally agreed.
After all, he was very curious about the mastermind behind the World Martial Arts Tournament; it was one of the unsolved mysteries from the original Dragon Ball series.
In his previous life, all he found on reference sites was that it was "sponsored by an anonymous wealthy individual," with no specific name ever revealed.
"Mr. Lin, right this way!" the announcer said upon receiving his agreement, promptly leading the way.
As they walked, Lin Xuan suddenly looked at the blond, sunglasses-wearing announcer with a peculiar expression.
It had just occurred to him that this World Martial Arts Tournament announcer was also quite enigmatic.
First, no one knew his name from start to finish; some even joked that his name was simply "Announcer."
Second, his abilities were mysterious. He seemed like an ordinary person, yet he repeatedly escaped danger at the perilous tournament grounds, even dodging energy waves. It was simply unbelievable!
Because of this, many speculated that this announcer was actually the strongest fighter on Earth, a master of Ultra Instinct or something similar!
As Lin Xuan scrutinized him, the announcer noticed his gaze and asked, puzzled, "Sir? Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with me?"
Lin Xuan shook his head. "It's nothing. Oh, by the way, I haven't asked for your name yet."
The announcer replied politely, "My name is Toriyama!"
"Huh?" Lin Xuan was momentarily stunned, his steps halting as he stared at the announcer in shock. "What did you say your name was?"
The announcer, confused, said, "I'm Toriyama. Is... is there a problem?"
After confirming he hadn't misheard, Lin Xuan's mouth twitched. Of course there's a problem!
Naturally, he couldn't tell the man that the author of the Dragon Ball anime in his original world was named Toriyama!
But then he remembered an analysis he'd once seen, suggesting that the announcer character was actually drawn based on Toriyama's own likeness, especially the middle-aged announcer, who looked strikingly similar. Some even joked that Dragon Ball was actually Toriyama's memoirs from his old age!
Just to be sure, Lin Xuan silently asked his system: "System, this Toriyama isn't also a transmigrator from my original world, is he?"
The system replied, "The host is overthinking it. Toriyama is a native of this world."
Relieved, Lin Xuan thought, It seems the Dragon Ball author just designed this character based on himself but was too shy to explicitly name him Toriyama later, hence he remained nameless.
Of course, that wasn't important.
Lin Xuan simply shook his head lightly and said to the announcer, "No problem at all! It's just that I have a friend who happens to be named Toriyama as well. I was just surprised."
However, just as he had come to terms with the fact that the World Martial Arts Tournament announcer was named Toriyama, he received another startling piece of news.
It turned out that the announcer was the true mastermind behind the World Martial Arts Tournament!
Upon learning this, Lin Xuan asked in astonishment, "So you're the boss? Why didn't you reveal it to the public? And why are you working as the announcer?"
The announcer gave an embarrassed laugh. "I'm just a martial arts enthusiast. The World Martial Arts Tournament was originally organized by a group of martial artists, but due to funding shortages, it nearly collapsed during the 20th tournament. When I found out, I simply took it over to satisfy my hobby and promote martial arts at the same time. To ensure the fairness of the competition, I never publicly revealed that I am the boss."
"I see!" Lin Xuan finally understood.
Then, an idea struck him. "Actually, the reason I went to such lengths to have Bulma help bring in all these media outlets to spread the word about the tournament was also to promote martial arts! If Mr. Toriyama doesn't mind, I could provide funding later to help you run the tournament together."
"Ah, is that so? That would be wonderful!"
Hearing that Lin Xuan shared his passion, the announcer became visibly excited. "To be perfectly honest, while I have some savings, funding the World Martial Arts Tournament involves significant expenses. I've been struggling to manage it at its current scale. If Mr. Lin is willing to offer support, that would be a tremendous help!"
Then, realizing he might have been too effusive, he quickly apologized repeatedly. Lin Xuan, of course, didn't mind.
Now viewing Lin Xuan as a partner due to his offer of financial support, the announcer began discussing the tournament's details with him, asking for his opinions.
Lin Xuan offered several suggestions and made some changes to the current tournament's arrangements:
For example, extending the registration period by two days to allow more people from around the world to participate.
Also, adjusting the match schedule and brackets due to the increased number of participants.
Toriyama noted everything down and immediately had his staff implement the changes.
Three days later, registration for the tournament finally closed.
Thanks to the extensive news coverage, the number of participants had surged over these three days, far exceeding previous years.
On the day registration ended, the announcer solemnly announced that due to the dramatic increase in participants (and, in reality, because Lin Xuan didn't want his own people to face each other too early), the competitors would be divided into three separate brackets for the preliminary rounds via a draw.
The rules of the matches themselves remained unchanged: one-on-one fights, single elimination, until only one winner remained from each bracket to advance to the final round!
The competitors had no objections to these changes.
In fact, the tournament's rules, venue, and format had often been modified in the past.
With the new format announced, the preliminary rounds officially began
----------
T/N:
You'll also get 5 extra chapters just for being a free member!
Access 40 chapters in advance on my Patreon: [email protected]//allbluestories