Goku and Chi-Chi's movements grew faster and faster.
Soon, the air itself was filled with afterimages from their exchange—two blurs darting and clashing so rapidly, the eye could barely follow.
All that remained was the crisp snapsnapsnap of fists and feet colliding.
After a particularly intense collision, the two fighters sprang apart, resetting their distance. The round was over—for now.
Chi-Chi wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.
"Goku, you're amazing. That move where you flashed behind me just now—
I almost didn't dodge in time!"
Goku grinned.
"I was saving that one!
But you still managed to avoid it. You're amazing too!!"
Chi-Chi laughed.
"Hehehe! Don't praise me like that—I'll get cocky!
I'm gonna win this!"
Goku took his stance again.
"Then come at me! I won't lose!"
The audience was silent now—no clapping, no cheering.
They were spellbound.
Even though they couldn't clearly follow the strikes, they could still see the fighters themselves—and they were moving like lightning.
"Unbelievable!"
"Are they really just kids?"
"This is incredible!"
"Yeah! It's the semifinals—this is the real deal!"
And just like that, the next round began.
Chi-Chi stomped down hard and charged straight at Goku.
He flickered aside just in time to dodge her headbutt.
But before he could counterattack, Chi-Chi twisted mid-step—slamming her elbow into his cheek.
The blow rocked him off balance.
At that moment, Chi-Chi unleashed a perfectly timed split kick right into Goku's chin.
With a grunt, Goku was sent flying.
Seeing that she'd finally broken his guard, Chi-Chi didn't let up.
'This is it—if I press my advantage now, I might just win!'
As Goku soared back, she burst forward with a powerful kick aimed at his midsection.
But Goku snapped his body up mid-flight, dodging the strike in a narrow arc.
Chi-Chi sailed past his back.
Goku flipped and landed cleanly on his feet.
Chi-Chi landed as well, pivoting into a new stance.
She smirked.
"Now I'll show you a technique I've learned—see if you can catch me!"
Goku blinked.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Chi-Chi's form vanished, replaced by dozens of flickering images circling around him.
"Afterimage Technique?!"
Chi-Chi giggled.
"Impressive, huh?"
Goku grinned.
"Watch this!"
He lunged at one of the illusions—
WHAM!
Chi-Chi flew backward and hit the ground with a thud.
She groaned.
"Aw man… you figured it out… that was my best move!"
But Goku didn't gloat.
Instead, he took a stance—and then vanished as well.
Countless Gokus now surrounded Chi-Chi.
"Your Afterimage Technique still needs work," he said.
"Let me show you mine!"
Chi-Chi braced herself, spinning to look at each image, ready to counter.
Then—
Her eyes flashed.
"There! I see you!"
She launched a kick at what she believed was the real Goku.
But the moment her foot landed—
—it passed through empty air.
A false image.
Chi-Chi's pupils shrank.
"Oh no…"
Before she could recover her posture, Goku's real body appeared behind her.
He struck, palm to abdomen.
THUMP!
Chi-Chi flew backward.
Unfortunately, just behind her was the grassy edge of the ring.
She landed softly—but outside the boundary.
Her clear, bright eyes misted over instantly. The world blurred through her tears.
"I… I lost…"
And with that, Chi-Chi rubbed her eyes and began to sob loudly.
The referee called out:
"Chi-Chi has fallen out of bounds! Son Goku wins!"
The arena erupted with thunderous applause and cheers.
"Amazing! What a match!"
"Totally worth the ticket price!"
"She was incredible too!"
"Don't cry, sweetheart! You were amazing, Chi-Chi!"
The crowd began offering comfort to the heartbroken girl.
But her sobbing didn't stop.
Bulma watched the weeping Chi-Chi sitting on the grass, then sighed and walked toward her to offer some comfort and maybe lead her away.
But before she could take more than a few steps—
Goku had already jumped down from the ring.
He walked straight up to Chi-Chi and helped her to her feet.
"Don't cry, Chi-Chi. Your martial arts are almost as good as mine—you were amazing!"
Chi-Chi trembled in his arms.
Then, slowly, she wrapped her arms around him.
She rested her chin on his shoulder, and two more tears fell quietly.
"Goku… I lost.
Does that mean… you won't like me anymore?"
She pulled back slightly, gazing up at him with teary eyes.
Goku gently wiped her tears away and smiled.
"Of course not. You're adorable—I like you a lot.
But my dream is to become the world's greatest martial artist.
You've gotta work hard if you wanna keep up with me!"
Chi-Chi froze—then her eyes lit up with joy.
"Goku! I'll keep training!
When the tournament's over, let's go back and keep practicing together, okay?"
Goku patted her head with a grin.
"Okay. That's what I was thinking too."
Chi-Chi beamed.
"Then I'll head backstage first!"
"Mhm!"
With a spring in her step, Chi-Chi skipped toward the back.
Bulma, standing nearby, was completely stunned.
"...No way."
"...Did I just get replaced?!"