In the semifinals, Krillin, despite his impressive earlier performances, was soundly defeated by Jackie Chun, becoming the first Turtle School disciple to be eliminated.
The next match was an internal battle between Turtle School members—Goku versus Ray Chu.
From below the stage, Bulma thoughtfully touched her lips, "Goku versus Ray Chu…this should be an exciting match, huh?"
Beside her, Oolong crossed his arms skeptically. "I doubt it. Remember, Boss Ray Chu even beat Goku in his Great Ape form."
"That's true, but Goku's gotten pretty strong too!"
As the audience buzzed with speculation, Goku eagerly faced Ray Chu onstage. "This is great! I've been waiting for a real fight against you."
In their months of training, the three fellow disciples had sparred briefly, but never seriously enough to show their true strength.
Ray Chu lifted a sign reading, [I'll fight seriously now.]
"That's exactly what I want!" Goku grinned, swiftly charging at Ray Chu. His combat style was wild and fierce, using unpredictable movements—jumping and running like a mountain monkey—appearing behind one moment after being in front the next.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Their fists and kicks collided heavily, cracking the ground and walls around them. Clearly, immense power was behind every blow.
Yet, despite the brutal hits, both seemed completely unfazed, continuing their relentless exchange, dazzling spectators as they danced across the stage.
"Haa!" Goku growled fiercely, throwing a punch that almost echoed with a Great Ape's roar.
Ray Chu's body sparked electrically, leaving afterimages across the ground, dodging strikes before suddenly appearing at Goku's side, sending him flying.
Goku crashed headfirst into the wall at the edge of the stage, sitting on the floor and clutching his aching head.
From the audience's perspective, the two fighters seemed utterly monstrous. After just a brief clash, the entire arena looked as if a bulldozer had run through it.
"You're really strong, but I'm not gonna give up yet!" Goku leaped back up, adopting an odd fighting stance.
"This technique…!" Jackie Chun murmured in surprise from the sidelines.
"Hehe!" Goku smirked, vanishing instantly, aiming a punch at Ray Chu's face.
Ray Chu raised his right fist to counter, but the figure before him turned out to be an afterimage. Simultaneously, Goku appeared beneath him, pushing off the ground with his hands to kick Ray Chu high into the air.
"Afterimage Technique!" Jackie Chun blurted.
"Exactly! Jackie Chun's technique!" Goku grinned triumphantly. In midair, three afterimages of Goku appeared simultaneously, each posing aggressively, but only one was real.
Ray Chu glimpsed the incoming attack from the corner of his eye and suddenly spun at high speed, generating fierce wind pressure that dodged Goku's real punch.
They fought from midair down to the ground, simultaneously grunting from impacts.
BRICK BREAK!
"[ROCK, SCISSORS 'N' PAPER!]"
Their silhouettes repeatedly separated and collided, filling the arena with the sharp cracks of tearing air. After another fierce exchange, Ray Chu ripped through an afterimage with a claw swipe, then swiftly retreated, swinging his tail sharply to the right.
A figure was knocked from empty air, tumbling toward the stage's edge. Goku barely stopped himself from falling.
"That's not fair! Why do you get a tail when mine just suddenly vanished one day?!" Goku complained, finally steadying himself, pointing indignantly at Ray Chu's tail.
Ray Chu raised another sign: [Even if you had ten tails, you'd still lose.]
Goku grumbled unhappily when suddenly he felt a tingling sensation near his tailbone. He crouched, and to everyone's astonishment, a furry tail suddenly sprouted from his backside.
"Haha! My tail's back!" Goku cheered happily.
Watching this bizarre turn of events, Ray Chu couldn't help but internally comment: That's just ridiculous—who grows a tail instantly?!
Below, Bulma and the others were utterly dumbfounded.
"Goku's tail… it's back again!"
"Wait… Isn't tonight a full moon…?"
Bulma and Yamcha exchanged panicked glances, yelling urgently toward Ray Chu, "Ray Chu! Tonight's a full moon!"
Ray Chu's ears twitched; he glanced at the sky. Thankfully, thick clouds still covered the moon, preventing it from being seen yet.
While Goku joyously examined his tail, Ray Chu suddenly flashed behind him at incredible speed, grabbing at Goku's tail.
"Hehe! Not that easy!" Goku deftly flicked his tail aside, but Ray Chu's speed instantly doubled. He firmly grasped Goku's tail, sending a jolt of electricity through it, briefly paralyzing him.
"Oh no—!" Before Goku could react, he felt a chill at his backside—his newly regrown tail had just been completely ripped out by Ray Chu.
"OW OW OW OW OW!!!" Goku collapsed, clutching his behind with tear-filled eyes. "Why'd you take my tail? Are you gonna eat it?"
"Ugh…" The audience collectively collapsed.
Calmly, Ray Chu raised a sign explaining, [I was just curious and accidentally pulled too hard.]
"Oh… That's okay then," Goku replied casually, patting his sore backside and standing up. "I kinda got used to not having a tail anyway. Actually, having it back was a bit annoying."
Everyone fell over again.
Bulma wiped imaginary cold sweat from her forehead, exchanging relieved glances with her companions, grateful for escaping disaster.
"One more time!" Goku became serious again, cupping his hands at his waist as a bright golden glow built rapidly.
"This move…!" Jackie Chun exclaimed, astonished.
"[KAME—HAME—HA]!" With Goku's loud shout, a golden energy wave surged toward Ray Chu.
At the last instant, Ray Chu opened his mouth to counter with Hyper Beam, colliding head-on with the Kamehameha. The clash exploded violently, kicking up even more shattered tiles and stones.
"Hehe, even my Kamehameha couldn't beat you…" As the smoke cleared, two standing figures appeared. Goku scratched his head, grinning sheepishly.
Ray Chu raised another sign approvingly: [Nice Kamehameha.] The Saiyan's battle instincts truly were terrifyingly impressive.
However, now fully grasping his opponent's limits, Ray Chu decided to finish the match.
In a flash, another afterimage appeared beside Goku, both Ray Chus simultaneously attacking.
"Another Afterimage Technique? The real one's here!" Goku turned, blocking the Ray Chu in front confidently—but his triumphant expression vanished as a heavy strike from the second Ray Chu landed squarely on his back, sending him tumbling off the stage.
According to tournament rules, touching the ground off-stage meant Goku had lost!