As soon as Alisha made the announcement, staff brought eight number plates and placed them into a hidden box.
Raditz and the others stepped forward one by one to draw lots determining the order of appearance.
"Contestant Ratmouse." Alisha began calling names.
Cooler, with a dark expression, stepped forward, reached into the hidden box, rummaged around a bit, and pulled out a spherical number plate.
"Number 3, second match!" Alisha announced clearly.
Staff immediately wrote Ratmouse's name on the large screen, listed for the second match.
"Contestant Raditz." Alisha smiled at Raditz.
Raditz stepped forward and drew a number plate.
"Huh? Number 1? The first match?" Raditz was slightly startled.
"Contestant Raditz, number 1, first match." Alisha announced, then looked at Merus. "Contestant Merus."
"Yes." Merus nodded politely, stepped forward, and drew a number plate.
"Number 7, fourth match!" Alisha responded. "Contestant Broly."
Broly scratched his head, stepped forward in a similar manner, pulled a number plate from the hidden box, and casually took a bite of it.
Pah! Not tasty.
Hmm, not as good as mineral water or cola.
Alisha: "..."
This little Broly is quite the character.
Why don't you just kiss the number plate?
Staff immediately stepped forward to check Broly's number plate.
"Number 4, second match." Alisha said.
Cooler raised an eyebrow, squinting as he looked at Broly.
My opponent is a Saiyan monkey.
Looks like an idiot.
I can win easily.
Lord Champa wants me to get third place.
The question is, how do I get third place?
Winning the first match means directly advancing to the semi-finals.
So it seems, I have to lose the second match...
Then, after the champion and runner-up matches are over, I compete against another for third place?
Is that how it works?
Seems not too difficult!
Better finish the task Lord Champa gave me quickly.
It's just third place.
This is way too simple.
"Mr. Bardock." Alisha looked at Bardock again.
Bardock nodded lightly, stepped forward, and drew a number plate.
"Number 8, fourth match." Alisha announced.
Bardock was slightly taken aback, immediately turning to look at Merus.
I'm against this Galactic Patrolman named Merus!
Shouldn't be a problem, right?
Perfect chance to see the skill level of the Galactic Patrol's top elite.
"Contestant Vegeta." Alisha called again.
Vegeta: "..."
Damn, now these people don't even call me "Your Highness the Prince" anymore?
Vegeta, looking displeased, stepped forward to draw a number plate.
"Number 5, third match." Alisha announced, then added, "Contestant King Vegeta."
King Vegeta stepped forward to draw a number plate.
Nearby, Nappa silently prayed.
You must draw number 6.
The only numbers left are 6 and 2.
I want number 2!
If I draw number 6, I'll have to fight Prince Vegeta.
I'm completely no match for Prince Vegeta.
With number 2, I can fight Raditz.
"Nappa, are you praying to be in the same group as me?" Raditz laughed, patting Nappa's shoulder.
"Of course, otherwise if I'm in the same group as His Highness Vegeta, I'll lose badly." Nappa snorted.
"I'm also praying to be in the same group as you." Raditz's mouth twitched.
If uncle draws the same group as me, I might as well just forfeit.
My battle power is no match for the former King Vegeta.
"Then let's pray together." Nappa suggested.
Both put their hands together and prayed silently.
King Vegeta took out his number plate.
"Number 6, third match." Alisha announced.
Vegeta: "..."
Vegeta glanced at his father.
King Vegeta also fixed his gaze on Vegeta.
"Hmph, Father, don't expect any father-son sentiment during the match." Vegeta snorted.
"Smack!"
King Vegeta slapped Vegeta, sending him tumbling to the ground.
Vegeta: "..."
"How many times have I told you, stop calling me 'Father'!" King Vegeta scolded angrily.
"Then what should I call you? Hmph, Daddy?" Vegeta snorted.
King Vegeta: "..."
"Get lost, don't talk to me." King Vegeta was furious.
Just you wait, kid!
Wait until we're on the ring, I'll teach you a lesson.
I find this kid just needs a good beating.
He went out, didn't improve his battle power much, and even let some Soya take our throne.
"Finally, contestant Nappa, number 2, first match!" Alisha announced loudly.
"Woohoo!"
Nappa and Raditz high-fived each other, extremely excited.
However, after high-fiving, they both snorted coldly, expressing deep contempt for the other.
"Dear audience, the appearance order for the 8 contestants who entered the finals has been arranged. Please look at the large screen..."
Alisha announced clearly, "Some species with poorer eyesight might not see clearly, so I'll read it out for everyone. First match: Contestant Raditz vs. Contestant Nappa; Second match: Contestant Ratmouse vs. Contestant Broly; Third match: Contestant Vegeta vs. Contestant King Vegeta; Fourth match: Contestant Merus vs. Contestant Bardock!"
"Ooh ooh ooh!"
The audience shouted, cheering for the 8 contestants.
Soya looked at the match list and immediately became interested.
I didn't cheat for this match list.
They really drew it themselves.
But... Cooler, that unlucky guy, his opponent is Broly...
Can he really get third place and obtain the Combat God Water?
I feel a bit doubtful.
Should I cheat to let him get third place?
That's impossible!
Soya would never deliberately cheat to help Cooler succeed.
"Then, let's proceed immediately with the first match!" Alisha announced. "Contestant Raditz vs. Contestant Nappa. Please, both contestants, step onto the main arena."
Raditz and Nappa walked from the waiting area towards the arena.
The World Martial Arts Tournament venue had specially built a large arena for use during the finals.
The preliminary round arenas were relatively much smaller.
"As we all know, both Contestant Raditz and Contestant Nappa are elite warriors of our Saiyan race." Alisha smiled, explaining some basic information about the two. "The rules for this tournament are: weapons are not allowed, killing is not allowed. Surrendering, conceding defeat, or falling outside the arena counts as a loss. There is no time limit for the matches!"
"Raditz, are you ready to get beaten up?" Nappa grinned, looking quite pleased.
"Hmph, who beats who isn't certain yet!" Raditz snorted, completely unfazed.
"Additionally, to make the matches more enjoyable to watch and exciting, the use of scouters is not allowed during the matches. Those with scouters are not allowed to shout out loud, and are especially forbidden from announcing the combat power numerical values of the contestants. Violators will be sent to clean toilets!" Alisha announced again. "Besides that, the use of various strange drugs during matches is prohibited, such as the Combat God Water rewarded by King Soya!"
Raditz: "..."
Raditz's mouth twitched.
They've blocked my path!
Not allowed to use anything.
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