"Attention, contestants of the World Martial Arts Tournament—
The preliminaries are about to begin. Please gather at the arena."
As the announcement echoed across the venue, waves of martial artists began moving toward the martial arts hall.
Tien Shinhan approached the building, then paused.
Master Roshi was leaning against a pillar in a full suit—looking completely disinterested in entering.
"Master Roshi, you're not participating this time?" Tien asked.
Roshi shook his head with a grin. "Come on, don't joke with me. You guys have been training with Kami. I can't even beat a single one of you anymore. What's the point?"
"Alright then, see you later, Master Roshi."
"Go on—give them a good show."
Tien and Chiaotzu stepped into the hall. Yamcha followed closely behind.
Tien looked calm, but Yamcha wore a troubled expression.
"Hey, Tien... after all that time training up at the Lookout, we've definitely improved a lot.
But don't you feel like the gap between us and Goku's group just keeps getting wider?"
Tien nodded slowly.
"Yeah. They're monsters. Even though we've been pushing ourselves, they never let up either.
Still, that's the heart of martial arts—never stop moving forward."
"Yeah, you're right..."
Just then, a tall figure passed them by.
Cloaked in a cape and scarf, he turned his head at the corner and gave them a chilling glance.
"What the hell was that? That look he gave us—like we killed his dog or something."
"You know him?" Yamcha asked.
"Nope," Tien replied. "Weird guy. Never seen him before."
They shrugged it off and continued inside.
The cloaked man was none other than King Piccolo's offspring—Piccolo himself.
He had overheard them mention Son Goku, but quickly realized neither of them was Goku, nor were they relevant. Without another thought, he entered the arena.
The moment he stepped in, his eyes locked onto Goku—
Standing together with Chi-Chi and Krillin, all three dressed in orange Turtle School uniforms.
Piccolo narrowed his gaze. That man—Son Goku—radiated a strange and unnerving presence.
Piccolo reached out, not with words, but telepathically:
"So you're Son Goku. The rumors didn't lie.
For three long years... I've waited for this moment."
Goku froze as the voice echoed in his mind.
He turned to see Piccolo—turbaned, distant, and glowing with unmistakable hostility.
Their eyes met briefly before Piccolo turned away and headed for another part of the arena.
Chi-Chi tilted her head. "Goku, do you know that guy? He looked super mean."
Goku nodded. "He's probably the son of King Piccolo. His name's Piccolo Jr."
Chi-Chi blinked. "Ohhh... that explains the green face. He's got such a weird look."
Krillin watched Piccolo disappear around the corner and gave a little shake of his head.
"You know, Goku, Chi-Chi... I think I've been getting cocky these past two years.
When I hear people talk about King Piccolo, I don't even feel nervous anymore. His energy feels... normal."
Chi-Chi laughed. "Krillin, are you fishing for compliments?
Fine. You've gotten really strong!"
Krillin smiled. "Well, we have been training under some top-tier mentors. No wonder we're so tough."
Then he turned to Goku. "Hey, Goku. Don't you think we're close to being... like, unbeatable now?"
"'Unbeatable'?"
"Yeah!"
Goku paused, thinking back to the Saiyans—
Their power levels rising like wildfire.
He shook his head immediately.
Forget Frieza—
Even the random nobodies under Frieza's command had power levels in the tens of thousands.
And the Ginyu Force? Monsters.
Right now, the three of them might look strong, but in Frieza's army, they'd be bottom-tier grunts.
"Not even close."
"There's always someone stronger, somewhere out there.
Never get complacent. Keep training."
Krillin blinked. "You really think there are people that powerful?"
Goku thought about the ones yet to come:
Frieza. The Androids. Majin Buu. Hit. Jiren... and even the Gods of Destruction.
But that was too much to explain. If he told Krillin Frieza could crush him with a pinky, it'd break his spirit.
So instead, Goku repeated what Bulma had once explained.
"Bulma's been in touch with the Galactic Patrol for years.
She's visited lots of star systems and seen things you wouldn't believe.
One time, she sat me and Chi-Chi down and gave us a whole lesson about the universe.
Turns out, Earth is just a speck in a huge galaxy.
There are countless planets with humans and aliens living on them.
And some of those planets? They've got wars.
Like the ones we had on Earth hundreds of years ago—except in space.
Out there, power—not tech—decides everything."
"Wow..." Krillin's mouth hung open.
"There are so many powerful warriors out there," Goku continued,
"If Earth is ever invaded, we'll need to be ready.
That's why we train—to protect this world."
Krillin's eyes grew distant.
"You think people out there just fight for no reason?"
"Probably not," Goku said.
"But with that much power floating around... you never know."
Chi-Chi added, "Krillin, you really don't pay attention.
When you and Snow went on that vacation, Bulma taught us tons of space stuff.
It's not even that complicated.
The galaxy is just like the ancient human world—tribes fighting over land.
Some warlords out there rule hundreds of planets, with huge armies under their command.
Bulma's sister, Tights, travels with the Galactic Patrol—they keep order across the stars.
She's seen everything."
Krillin's face twisted in disbelief. "No way..."
"It's true!" Chi-Chi insisted.
Krillin frowned. "Then why hasn't Earth ever been invaded by aliens?"
Chi-Chi rubbed her chin and turned to Goku. "Hey, what did Bulma say about that again?"
Goku nodded. "Something about Earth being too remote.
There's barely any inhabited planets nearby.
It's not worth the effort."
Krillin blinked.
"So what you're saying is... Earth is a poor backwater nobody cares about."
"Exactly," Goku said.
"In galactic terms, Earth is like a single grape on a vine, all alone.
Other planets are bundled up together—more valuable.
That's why no one bothers with us."
Krillin slowly nodded.
"So we're broke... but that makes us safe."
"Pretty much," Chi-Chi said.
"But that won't last forever.
With space travel getting faster, it's just a matter of time before someone does show up.
We need to be strong enough to defend Earth when that happens."
Krillin's eyes burned. "Yeah.
If aliens ever attack Earth, I want to be one of the people who protects it."
"You will," Goku said.
"We both will.
And hey—if you're curious, I'll get you a book Tights wrote.
It's based on real stories from her time in the field."
Krillin lit up. "Really?! That'd be awesome!"
At that moment, the tournament brackets were being finalized.
Tien gave Chiaotzu a subtle nod.
Chiaotzu used his psychic powers behind the scenes, making sure none of their group fought each other in the early rounds.
After several rounds of selection, the final eight were decided.
No surprise—Piccolo made the cut easily.
The rest of the group advanced without breaking a sweat.
Son Goku, Chi-Chi, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha—all familiar faces.
The only outsiders were Piccolo... and a mysterious masked fighter dressed in black.
As the quarterfinal matchups were drawn:
Tien Shinhan vs Chi-ChiSon Goku vs Masked FighterKrillin vs PiccoloYamcha vs Chiaotzu
Goku glanced at the bracket. "Chiaotzu... did you rig this one too?"
Chiaotzu shook his head. "Nope. I only touched the first round. This one's legit."
"...Okay."
Goku frowned, secretly worried for Piccolo.
Back in his past life, a fight between Piccolo Jr. and Krillin would've been no contest.
But now?
Krillin had been training right alongside him and Chi-Chi.
All three of them followed a rigorous regimen, customized by Bulma herself.
No wasted effort. No shortcuts. No blind spots.
At this point, Krillin was just behind Goku in strength.
Even if Piccolo fought with everything he had...
He might not even make it to the semifinals.
Goku winced. This might break him.
Just then, the announcer took to the stage.
"Thank you for waiting, ladies and gentlemen!
The 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament is now underway!"
"Our first match—Tien Shinhan vs Chi-Chi!"
"Would the two fighters please come to the stage?"
Tien and Chi-Chi stepped onto the platform.
After bowing into their stances, the referee shouted, "Begin!"
Tien called out seriously, "Chi-Chi! I know how strong you are now.
So even if you're a girl, I'm not holding back!
If you don't go all out, you're insulting me!"
Chi-Chi blinked. "You want my full power?"
Tien nodded.
"I need to know how far behind Goku I really am. If I can't fight him, you'll do just fine!"
Chi-Chi smiled. "Understood. Get ready."
Tien shouted as he raised his Ki to the max—
A fierce wind burst from his body, blowing the dust off the arena and clearing a wide ring of clean stone around his feet.
The crowd gasped.
"Whoa! Isn't that Tien Shinhan?"
"He was the runner-up last time, right? Looks like he's been training hard!"
"His energy is so powerful, it's changing the environment!"
With a single step, Tien launched toward Chi-Chi, fist raised.
But the moment his punch was about to land—Chi-Chi vanished.
"Where'd she go?!"
"She disappeared!"
Tien's punch missed entirely, almost throwing him off balance.
Then—
Thwack!
Chi-Chi reappeared behind him, striking with a clean hand-chop.
Tien let out a strangled cry as he smashed into the stone tiles below.
Crack!
The ground exploded into rubble.
Tien lay sprawled, eyes rolled back—completely unconscious.
The arena went silent. Even the referee was speechless.
Chi-Chi looked down, panicked.
"Oh no! You said to go all out—don't die on me!"
In the stands, Bulma stared in shock—then grinned.
"Wow...
I didn't expect Chi-Chi to reach that level.
Tien spent three years training with Kami and still couldn't keep up."
Looks like all those personalized training plans were paying off.
The crowd erupted in cheers:
"That was insane!"
"She took down a guy that size with one hit!"
"She's beautiful and terrifying—like a goddess of war!"
"Where do I sign up to marry her?!"
Even Bulma gave Chi-Chi a thumbs-up.
"Our fierce little Chi-Chi."