Master Roshi was furious. "You bastard! Have you fallen this far? Yamiru is just a child!"
"Anyone who dares to upset me, Young or Old, deserves death!" Master Shen sneered, mocking Roshi's righteous indignation. "For centuries, you've clung to fleeting morals and so-called rules. What a bore!"
"Sigh, sigh, sigh!" Roshi let out a series of heavy breaths, his face filled with sorrow. Signaling to Tighs, bulma, and Dr. Omori to move back, he tossed his jacket to the ground. "Today, I will correct my master's mistake and discipline you, you wayward fool."
"If you think you can!" Master Shen chuckled darkly.
Neither of them assumed their respective Turtle and Crane stances. Instead, they both adopted a similar stance — one they had learned under Master Mutaito in their youth.
Dr. Omori quickly retreated, carrying Bulma, while Tighs followed close behind.
Roshi and Master Shen engaged in a fierce standoff.
Their techniques were nearly identical, and both were well aware of this fact. Neither pushed their strength to the limit, as it would be wasteful. Instead, they focused on carefully countering each other.
Master Shen aimed to prevent Roshi from assisting Yamiru, while, after hearing Tighs's words, Roshi was equally determined to stop Master Shen from interfering in Yamiru's fight.
"As long as I keep him occupied." The thought crossed both their minds.
Roshi silently regretted. "I should've trained harder! I never expected to encounter something like this.'"
"Take this! Yellow Shockwave!" Master Shen suddenly hurled a capsule at Roshi.
The capsule exploded, and Roshi assumed it was some special weapon. But to his surprise, what appeared on the ground was a pile of adult magazines.
"…" Roshi glanced at the magazines briefly, then ignored them. "Are you kidding me?"
"Don't you love this stuff?!" Master Shen jeered. "Go on, take your fill!"
Meanwhile, Tighs and the others paid little attention to the two masters' skirmish. Their focus remained on the arena, where the battle was so fast-paced it was almost impossible to follow.
"Please, you have to win." Tighs hugged Bulma tightly.
Bulma silently grasped her sister's hand, noticing how cold and trembling it was.
" What a match! It's been years since the World Martial Arts Tournament has seen such an extraordinary battle!" The referee's excited voice echoed through the audience, leaving many speechless. "Of course, this isn't an official match but an unexpected event. Perhaps only Yamiru has the strength to face the fearsome Tao Pai Pai! Let's pray he can prevail in this confrontation!"
Yamiru and Tao Pai Pai grappled fiercely, both showing visible injuries. However, Yamiru's bruised and battered face revealed he had taken the heavier toll.
"… Damn it!" Tao Pai Pai, having fought this long, was finally shaken by Yamiru's extraordinary strength.
His playful attitude vanished, replaced by his brutal win-at-all-costs nature.
Shoving Yamiru aside, Tao Pai Pai lunged toward the edge of the stage, aiming to punch the chatty referee who had been irritating him.
The referee stumbled backward in fear, falling to the ground. Tao Pai Pai's fist reached toward him, but suddenly froze mid-air — he couldn't move forward.
It was Yamiru, gripping Tao Pai Pai's braid from behind.
"Ugh…"
Tao Pai Pai groaned in pain, veins bulging on his forehead.
Yamiru, panting slightly, tightened his grip on Tao Pai Pai's massive, bull-like body. His golden eyes shone even brighter. With a low growl, he swung Tao Pai Pai by his braid.
"Ahhh!"
Whoosh, whoosh… Tao Pai Pai spun in the air.
Finally, with a powerful toss, Yamiru hurled him into the sky!
Tao Pai Pai's body shot like a spear toward the outskirts of Papaya Island, landing somewhere near the coastline.
With a sharp whistle, Tao Pai Pai disappeared into the sky, becoming nothing more than a speck of light.
Yamiru's focus was laser-sharp, his eyes locked onto the faint glow in the heavens. Taking several steps back, he broke into a run and leapt high into the air, landing on the streets outside the arena. Using his Golden Veil to track Tao Pai Pai's ki at the very edge of his vision, Yamiru dashed through the streets, weaving through alleys with a speed that stirred up gusts of wind, reminiscent of his delivery runs through the southern city five years ago.
" My word! Something even more unexpected has happened! Yamiru has actually thrown the world's top assassin, Tao Pai Pai, out of the arena! The height! The speed! He might even land in the ocean!" The referee, squinting into the distance while adjusting his sunglasses, was at a loss. "What a sudden twist, and now just as abruptly, it's over…"
The spectators were just as stunned, collectively adopting expressions worthy of Mr. Satan himself.
Master Shen, seeing Yamiru hurl Tao Pai Pai away and give chase at full speed, frowned in thought. With a swift kick, he sent the pile of adult magazines scattering toward Master Roshi. "Have fun with these, you moron!"
Then, he soared into the air.
" Ah! For some reason, an elderly gentleman just flew out of the stands... "
"Not good!" Master Roshi watched Master Shen take off with an arrogant smirk and groaned. "He's probably going to help Tao Pai Pai! This is bad!"
"…" Tighs bit her lip, holding Bulma tightly. Suddenly, she turned toward the referee, who had climbed back into the ring, and shouted, "Hey! Yamiru's opponent is down! Shouldn't you have declared him the winner by now?"
The referee, flustered, wiped his brow nervously before nodding. "Technically speaking, that's correct... Tao Pai Pai isn't even an official participant in this tournament. And Yamiru, in resisting him, was arguably protecting the audience..."
"Then what are you waiting for? Declare his victory already!" Tighs yelled at the top of her lungs, abandoning all decorum. "He'll come back, I'm sure of it! Announce it now!"
"Yamiru!"
Son Goku couldn't hold back any longer, rushing up to the arena in concern.
"Ah, you're…" The referee checked his list. "The third-round contestant, Son Goku... Sorry, but even if we declare Yamiru's win, the next match will be Tien Shinhan versus Fourteenth Monk!"
But Goku ignored him entirely, racing to the edge of the arena and shouting toward the sky, "Flying Nimbus—!!"
"What? Are you planning to help Yamiru?" Master Roshi exclaimed, reaching out to stop him. "Don't be ridiculous! With your current level of skill, Master Shen will kill you!"
The Flying Nimbus spun down from the heavens, stopping in front of Goku.
"But—!" Goku protested, clearly unwilling to back down.
"No, Goku can do it!" Tighs suddenly remembered something Yamiru had told her before the tournament. Digging into her bag, she pulled out a watch that Yamiru had entrusted to her and threw it to Goku. "Goku, wear this!"
"Ah, it's that watch!" Bulma recognized it immediately. It was a device she had invented that could change its wearer's size. Originally, she'd created it for Yamiru to spar with Jiora at a similar scale. Later, during their Dragon Ball hunt, Yamiru had specifically asked her and Goku to retrieve it from West City. There was even a photo of Tighs wearing it to shrink herself to the size of a palm while sipping coffee — it was still in Bulma's album.
Catching the watch, Goku strapped it to his wrist and pressed the shrink button as instructed by Bulma.
Whoosh...
Goku's body began to shrink. Just as he was marveling at the transformation, Tighs shouted, "Goku! Look over here!"
"Huh?" Goku turned, only to see Tighs holding the Moonlight rod invented by Bulma. She pressed the switch, and the wand's tip radiated light as bright as a full moon.
Thump, thump!
Goku's shrinking process abruptly halted as his eyes turned crimson. His chest swelled with powerful, rhythmic heartbeats.
---
Son Goku: 777