Tension rippled backstage.
Tenshinhan's brutal actions toward Yamcha had drawn no small amount of anger. Yet he remained unfazed—after all, he'd been shaped by the teachings of the Crane Hermit.
Far from remorseful, the Crane Hermit even looked smug.
"Hmph, well done! Now they've tasted the power of the Crane School!"
He glanced around and sneered, "Huh? Where's that old Turtle Hermit? I crippled his disciple—wasn't he supposed to be fuming right about now?"
Chiaotzu greeted Tenshinhan with gleaming eyes as he returned from the ring.
"Tenshinhan, that was amazing."
Tenshinhan smirked. "Naturally. Though... the Turtle Hermit's disciple was stronger than I expected. That Yamcha guy might've been the strongest among them. Which means—second place is yours, and I'm the champion."
Chiaotzu nodded eagerly. "Definitely."
Just then, Goku and Krillin returned backstage. Krillin's fists were clenched tight, his voice sharp with fury.
"You two… you're not worthy of being martial artists!"
He glared at them, seething. "Yamcha was already done for, and you still struck him deliberately. I swear—I'll avenge him!"
Tenshinhan laughed coldly. "He should count himself lucky I didn't kill him. I'm quite the merciful soul."
Chi-Chi's eyes narrowed at the two.
"You jerks. If I run into either of you in the tournament… I'll snap both your legs."
Tenshinhan blinked, stunned to hear such a threat from a girl. Then he burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! That's rich. A little girl wants to beat me up?"
He looked Chi-Chi over, then turned toward Krillin and Goku.
"Are the Turtle Hermit's disciples nothing but women and kids now? Yamcha's done, and there's no one left? You," he pointed at Goku, "I bet you won't even make the top two."
Then, with a swaggering grin, he turned and walked away.
"You'll get what's coming to you!" Chi-Chi called after him, fuming.
Goku stood quietly, watching their retreating backs. It was hard to believe that someday, those two—Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu—would turn over a new leaf.
Without foreknowledge of the future, Goku might have thought they were lost causes. But for now… maybe he'd get a bit of payback.
Noticing Chi-Chi's anger, Goku smiled and said, "If you really wanna hit him, how about this—I'll throw the first match and let you fight him yourself! You're a girl, so if you beat him, it'll humiliate him even more."
Chi-Chi blinked. "Wait… aren't you mad? After what they did?"
Goku shrugged. "I don't even know Yamcha that well. Why would I be mad?"
Chi-Chi paused, scratching her head. "Huh. Now that you mention it… I don't know him either. Guess I'm not mad anymore."
Goku grinned. "Yeah. I actually fought Yamcha back when he was still a bandit. But after training with Master Roshi, he changed. He became a good guy—so now people feel bad for him."
Chi-Chi nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense. My dad used to be a bandit too. People hated him… but once he stopped robbing folks, the neighbors got real friendly."
Krillin piped up, steering the conversation with a grin. "Hey Goku, that thing earlier—thanks for that. A bunch of people came to thank me. Even Bulma praised me! I was over the moon!"
Seeing Krillin's bright smile, Goku chuckled. "C'mon, no need for thanks between us."
Krillin nodded. "Right. No need to be polite! You've already got Chi-Chi and Bulma—both beautiful and kind. You're set for life."
Chi-Chi giggled. "Keep talking like that, Krillin. You could throw in that I'm not just pretty, I've got a great personality, a killer figure, and top-tier martial arts too…"
Krillin: "..."
Meanwhile, the announcer's voice rang out:
"Next match—Man-Wolf versus Jackie Chun!"
Fueled by hatred for the full moon, the Man-Wolf charged in fiercely. But in the end, Jackie Chun used Krillin's bald head and some well-timed hypnosis to force the werewolf back into his human form. From that day on, Man-Wolf lived a tragically single life…
"Third match—Krillin versus Chiaotzu!"
"Krillin, student of the Turtle Hermit! Chiaotzu, student of the Crane Hermit! Once again, it's Turtle versus Crane!"
The two stepped onto the ring.
Chiaotzu, with his pale face and round hat, looked like a little hopping zombie. His blank stare and expressionless face weren't intimidating—in fact, he looked oddly cute.
Krillin stared at him, deadpan. 'What's this kid thinking? Is he dumb?'
The announcer raised the mic. "Begin!"
Krillin slid into his stance. Chiaotzu didn't move.
Krillin frowned. "What's wrong? Not gonna fight?"
Suddenly, Chiaotzu flashed forward, launching a kick at Krillin. It landed squarely—yet Krillin didn't budge.
Chiaotzu followed up with another kick—same result. Krillin stood still as a statue.
Krillin glanced down at him, unimpressed. "You tickling me or something? Try harder!"
Tenshinhan's eyes widened. "What the…?"
'Does the Turtle School have some kind of Iron Body technique? He just shrugged it off!'
Even the Crane Hermit looked unsettled. Chiaotzu's attacks weren't as strong as Tenshinhan's, sure—but they were no joke. How could this little Turtle student take them like nothing?
In the audience, Jackie Chun was stunned. "Krillin… he's gotten that strong? Is that really him?"
Chiaotzu, unfazed, launched into a flurry of rapid punches. Krillin casually blocked them with one hand. They were so light, he barely had to try.
Realizing something was off, Chiaotzu shot upward, hovering in the air with his flight technique.
Krillin blinked. "Oh, he can fly?"
"Too scared to fight me on the ground, huh?"
In midair, Chiaotzu raised a finger. A faint glow formed at its tip.
Krillin's gaze sharpened. 'He's gathering Ki at his fingertip… like a Kamehameha, but concentrated.'
Chiaotzu shouted, "You can't hit me—but I can hit you! Get ready!"
"Dodon Ray!"
A searing beam of energy shot from his finger toward Krillin, who jumped back just in time.
The attack exploded against the arena floor, charring the stone.
Chiaotzu fired again. Krillin had no choice but to dodge, zigzagging across the stage.
Krillin muttered to himself, 'Wait… it's not full-body Ki—it's focused at the fingertip. That saves stamina.'
He watched Chiaotzu fly and fire like an angry sparrow pecking at him. Harmless, really.
To Krillin, it was more amusing than dangerous.
The audience was divided.
"What a weird move!"
"He can fly and shoot energy? Turtle School already lost once—looks like it'll happen again!"
"Crane School's better for sure!"
"Shame though… I think Krillin's actually stronger."
"Yeah. He hasn't even shown what he can do!"
The Crane Hermit still didn't understand how Chiaotzu's attacks weren't working—but seeing him hover and fire Dodon Rays endlessly, his eyes gleamed.
"Well done, Chiaotzu. You've got this."
Chi-Chi rested her chin on her hand. "That flying move looks really handy. I wanna learn that. Even if Chiaotzu's weaker, if he doesn't come down, Krillin can't win."
She turned to Goku, expecting a reply.
But Goku said nothing.
She looked over—only to see him… floating?
"Go… Goku?!"
He gently touched back down. "Yeah, I figured it out just now. Watched how he controlled his Ki while flying, and picked it up."
Chi-Chi lit up. "That's amazing! You didn't say a word and just learned it?! I wanna learn too!"
Goku nodded. "It's easy. I'll teach you when we get back."
"Deal!" she beamed.
Back in the ring, Chiaotzu's expression had finally shifted—he looked excited.
He kept blasting Dodon Rays down at Krillin like a kid with a squirt gun. Only… he kept missing.
Tenshinhan scowled. Something was wrong. Krillin was dodging far too easily.
He shouted, "Chiaotzu! Just hit him already! Knock him off the stage!"
Chiaotzu responded by charging up a massive Dodon Ray.
But this time, Krillin didn't dodge.
He smirked.
"Hmph… Dodon Ray, huh? I can do that too."
As Chiaotzu fired, Krillin raised his own finger—light sparked.
With a blinding flash, Krillin's own Dodon Ray shot out to meet Chiaotzu's.
The two beams collided—and with no contest, Krillin's tore right through.
Krillin's Dodon Ray tore through Chiaotzu's beam with unstoppable force. The moment it smashed through, it continued straight on—slamming directly into Chiaotzu's outstretched arm.
A deafening boom echoed across the arena.
Flames and smoke engulfed Chiaotzu's small frame. The air filled with the sharp, sickening scent of burnt flesh.
Then—
Chiaotzu's eyes rolled back as he plummeted, hitting the tournament floor with a heavy thud.
"Chiaotzu!!"
Tenshinhan's voice cracked as he bolted toward the fallen boy. Even the announcer froze for a heartbeat before scrambling after him.
The smoke cleared.
Chiaotzu's tiny arm… was gone.
Where it had once been was only a scorched, blackened stump, still smoking faintly. His small body lay limp, his eyes shut tight—unconscious, but alive.
A murmur of horror rippled through the crowd.
Bad news: the arm was gone.
Good news: the kid wasn't dead.
Tenshinhan's face twisted, hatred igniting in his eyes as he rounded on Krillin.
"How dare you?! I only broke Yamcha's leg. It could still be healed!" His voice trembled with rage. "But you—you destroyed Chiaotzu's arm completely! Your Turtle School is far crueler than anything I've ever done!"
Krillin stared at his own trembling fingertip in shock.
"I—I didn't mean to! I swear I didn't!" His voice cracked. "It just… it wasn't supposed to be that strong!"
Tenshinhan clenched his fists, teeth grinding as his fury overflowed.
"Krillin… you Turtle brats…
You just wait. I will definitely avenge Chiaotzu!"
He knelt beside the unconscious child, trembling with rage.
The Crane School's revenge had just been sealed.