Time flew by quickly, and soon, the World Martial Arts Tournament was about to begin.
The day before the tournament, Master Roshi watched as his three disciples prepared to set off for South City.
"You guys can remove your turtle shells now."
The trio took off the heavy turtle shells, which slammed into the ground, leaving clear dents—demonstrating just how heavy they truly were.
"Whoa! My body feels weightless!"
Master Roshi smiled, "Jump with all your strength and see for yourselves!"
Exchanging a glance, the trio bent their knees and leaped upward with full force, immediately shooting into the sky, perfectly level with a passing bird.
Though it was just a glimpse, their strength was now vastly different from a few months ago.
"Heh heh!"
"Enough playing around; hurry up or we'll miss the plane!"
...
After bidding farewell to Launch and Mai, who stayed behind at the house, they flew via luxury jet to the southern city where the highly anticipated World Martial Arts Tournament would be held.
"Sign these three up," Master Roshi told the registration official.
"Hmm, they're so young—such promising youths…"
They barely made it on the last registration day. After fierce counting, the committee divided the 173 participants into four groups, each holding preliminaries to select two fighters to advance to the final eight.
Standing among muscular opponents, Ray Chu's group drew many mocking and provocative stares.
"We're doomed! We're definitely gonna lose!" Krillin's legs trembled, feeling defeated before even starting.
Goku excitedly looked around, "Wow! So many strong-looking people!"
"Announcing the rules!" a staff member shouted, "Matches are fought on the arena. Falling off the stage, fainting, or surrendering means defeat. No killing, no weapons—violators will lose immediately. Now, contestants, come up and draw your numbers!"
Ray Chu, floating gently in midair, stood out the most. His gaze swept around, lingering momentarily on the back of one particular old man.
The white-haired old man, facing away, sensed Ray Chu's gaze. Did he spot me already? he thought secretly.
"Hey! I figured you'd be here—good to see you again, Goku, Ray Chu." A short-haired man with a headband approached.
"Who are you?" Goku asked, surprised.
Ray Chu raised a sign: [Long time no see, Yamcha.]
"You two must've gotten a lot stronger," Yamcha said confidently. "But I've also trained hard—I won't lose easily."
"Contestant Goku, please come forward!" the announcer called, interrupting their reunion.
"Haha! It's my turn!" Goku jumped cheerfully onto the stage, reaching eagerly into the lottery box.
Better avoid meeting too soon. Ray Chu subtly twitched his fingers, telekinetically guiding a specific ball into Goku's grasp.
"Number 70!" Goku declared, showing the numbered ball as he stepped down.
"Great! Now we won't face off in the preliminaries," Yamcha sighed in relief. He didn't want his first tournament to end early because of friends.
"Quite a clever trick, young man," a calm voice suddenly spoke from behind.
A white-haired elderly martial artist in traditional robes approached them, exuding the aura of a master.
"Hello. My name is Jackie Chun. Seeing you youngsters reminds me of my youth."
"Hello, Jackie Chun!" Goku bowed politely.
A master! Yamcha immediately tensed up; this old man felt unfathomably strong.
Only Krillin seemed to guess something, sneaking a glance at Ray Chu. After months together, he knew Ray Chu's psychic abilities well.
Ray Chu stared intently at Jackie Chun, then abruptly whipped his tail toward him. Chun reflexively dodged, swiftly blocking with his right hand. A sharp "crack" echoed clearly.
Everyone jumped at their sudden clash, but both quickly separated without continuing.
"Heh heh," Jackie Chun laughed lightly. "Seems this young fellow wanted to test my skills."
Ray Chu held up a sign: [You're very strong, old man.]
"Ho ho ho, of course!" Jackie Chun chuckled, turning away and walking off while thinking nervously, He didn't recognize me, did he? He specifically targeted my cane hand…
After this brief episode, the lottery ended, and the preliminaries officially began.
When stepping onto the ring, Krillin and the others finally realized how powerful they'd unknowingly become—opponents they'd once considered formidable were defeated in just a single strike.
Due to Ray Chu quietly ensuring they ended up in separate groups, none encountered overly difficult opponents, and all breezed smoothly into the top eight.
"Yes! We all made it to the finals!" Krillin jumped high, thrilled he was no longer the bullied little monk from the temple.
"You've all become strong—I honestly don't have much confidence if we fight," Yamcha sighed next to Ray Chu. "Oh yeah, the others came too—wanna see them?"
"Bulma and everyone else are here? Great!" Goku said excitedly.
After several months apart, the Dragon Ball team happily reunited, joyous at seeing familiar faces again.
"I went to Master Roshi's island to find you guys but nobody was there. Didn't expect to meet you here!" Bulma, even more lively and beautiful after several months, was delighted to see everyone again.
"We moved to a small town near the sea for training," Master Roshi ogled Bulma eagerly. "Um…about that date we talked about—"
WHACK!
Without changing expression, Bulma produced a massive hammer from nowhere, utterly ignoring Roshi's sweating panic, turning cheerfully toward Ray Chu and Goku. "Let's have a proper reunion after the tournament."
Goku nodded energetically. "Yeah!"
"Ahem!" Master Roshi coughed loudly. "Did you kids qualify for the finals?"
Ray Chu held up a sign: [No worries—no problem!]
"Hooray! You're all amazing!" Everyone cheered at this great news.
Just then, an announcement echoed through the speakers: "All finalists, please assemble at the Martial Arts Temple! The World Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin!"
"I'll be cheering for all of you!"
...
Saying goodbye to the lively Bulma and friends, they hurried back to the Martial Arts Temple. Here stood eight formidable martial artists from around the globe, each striving for the title of world's strongest.
"Oh! You're here too!" Jackie Chun greeted them warmly in his white martial-arts robe.
Goku happily responded, "Jackie Chun made the top eight too! You're amazing!"
This time, Ray Chu didn't raise a sign—he simply replied with a cheerful, "Pika!" in agreement.
"Heh heh, it's wonderful seeing promising young fighters like you," Jackie Chun smiled warmly. "I'll be waiting for you all in the ring." He turned calmly and walked away, hands behind his back.
Meanwhile, the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament officially began!
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T/N: JACKIE CHANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN huehuehuehuheuheu