As the halftime break ended.
The first match of the semifinals began.
The Martial Arts Tournament entered its last stage before the finals.
Talot vs. Goku!
The two of them stepped onto the newly repaired arena at the same time, smiles on both their faces.
In the spectator stands, whether on the Supreme Kai's side or the God of Destruction's side, everyone perked up a bit.
The main reason was getting to see Talot in action again. Even if his opponent was just a youngster whose hair hadn't even fully grown, he was still a Saiyan, definitely worth watching.
"Match! Begin!" the blonde-haired referee shouted, announcing the start of the match, and quickly retreated to a safe distance.
He couldn't say for the others, but Goku's strength was something he understood well; after all, Goku was last tournament's champion.
Obviously, this time he was even stronger, and Talot's strength was just as terrifying.
"Come on, Kakarot. Show me the results of your training," Talot said, arms crossed, looking completely relaxed.
His current base power level was already enough to rival Goku and Vegeta from the Majin Buu Saga in the original work.
He was curious to see if Goku could even force him to use half of his strength while still in his base form.
"Heh heh~! Then I won't hold back. Let me show you what I've accomplished!" As Goku finished speaking, a golden light flashed in his eyes.
Whooshhh~~!!
A golden aura burst outward from within him.
In just a blink, Goku entered Super Saiyan Full Power.
With the boost from Super Saiyan Full Power, his power level soared straight to 240 million.
It looked impressive, but even at this level, he couldn't reach one-tenth of Talot's power in his base form.
"Super Saiyan Full Power, huh? Not bad…" Talot smiled calmly.
He'd already anticipated this from Goku, but when would Goku ever fix that bad habit of his?
Did he really think Talot couldn't see he was still holding back?
If he wasn't willing to go all out, then he shouldn't blame Talot for not holding back either.
"Let's fight, Brother Talot!" Goku shouted, full of fighting spirit.
Hearing this, Talot just smiled without saying anything, already planning how he'd teach Goku a lesson.
Whoosh~!
Whoosh~!
Two sonic booms echoed in the air as Talot and Goku moved at the same time, turning into streaks of light soaring in the sky.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ... The sound of fists and feet colliding like distant thunder echoed through the air.
But every time that sound rang out, it was always accompanied by Goku's pained cries.
Talot didn't hold back at all, dealing him devastating blows.
Each punch landed with perfect control. Not enough to take away Goku's ability to fight, but enough to make him hurt so much he'd question his life choices.
BOOM!!! With a loud bang, Talot's fierce punch landed square on Goku's cheek, sending him crashing down from mid-air back onto the arena.
"Ow ow ow!!" Goku landed on the arena, clutching his aching face.
He felt so frustrated that he wasn't given a single chance. Right from the start, Talot came at him hard, fast and ruthless!
"How did that feel, Kakarot?" Talot landed from the sky, arms crossed, teasing Goku with a grin.
"Brother Talot, you're way too harsh! I didn't even get a chance to react," Goku complained with a wry smile.
"Can't help it, I'm already going easy on you. And this is only a tenth of my power in base form. If you know it hurts, then hurry up and give it your all. Or if you want to keep playing around, that's fine too, but just know my punches will be even heavier next time." As Talot spoke, he raised his right fist, a layer of white aura gathering at his knuckles, giving Goku a bit of a scare.
Seeing this, Goku's expression instantly changed, and just imagining what would happen to him next sent chills down his spine.
If he continued to fight in Super Saiyan Full Power, he was afraid he'd be ruthlessly punished by Brother Talot.
"Haha… Brother Talot, you're sharp as ever. There's nothing I can hide from you." Goku scratched his head awkwardly.
Right after, his expression changed dramatically.
With a single thought, he drew upon a deeper pool of Super Saiyan energy within his body.
As the S-cells inside him gathered once more and erupted at the center of his back, his aura skyrocketed.
Crackle!
Blue-white electric arcs exploded around Goku's body.
At this moment, his appearance changed. His upright golden hair transformed into spiky golden hair, and his power level soared to 300 million.
"So you finally used Super Saiyan 2. If you'd just done this from the start, you could have saved yourself some pain," Talot teased with a slight smile.
Now, Goku finally had the power to fight Talot at one-tenth of his base form's power level.
Talot didn't have to hold back anymore. After all, "bullying the weak" was a delicate job. He had to control his strength perfectly, or else if he accidentally beaten Goku to death, that would be no good.
"Heh heh~! Originally, I wanted to see if my Super Saiyan Full Power could stand up to you, Brother Talot, but now I see I was being a fool. Even when you're not transformed, your power level is way higher than mine as a Super Saiyan," Goku said with a sigh.
"Since you know the gap between our strengths, then come at me with everything you've got. If you hide anything else, don't blame me for not holding back." With that, Talot assumed a fighting stance, giving Goku plenty of face.
Otherwise, he wouldn't even need to move.
"This time, I won't hold back anymore!!" With a loud shout, Goku launched the first attack.
Super Saiyan 2 at full power. He once again transformed into an afterimage, disappearing.
Talot smiled and used his own ultra-high-speed movement to catch up, launching his own attack.
Bang!!!! The two's fists collided, creating sonic booms in the air.
The battle erupted again!
This time, Goku no longer held anything back. He took the initiative against Talot. After enduring so much training, his fighting style was no longer as weak as before. He now had some foundation.
His attacks and defenses flowed smoothly, switching between offense and defense in an instant. Facing Talot, Goku started with an all-out offensive, pouring everything he had into attacking.
He knew that if he wanted to stand against Talot, he had to seize the initiative in battle, only then would he have a chance to face Talot head-on.
If Talot seized the initiative instead, Goku would be completely overpowered, unable to fight back or even mount a final resistance.
Facing Goku's fierce assault, Talot didn't rush. He kept his power level even with Goku's, using a defensive approach to neutralize Goku's attacks one after another. At the same time, he subtly pointed out Goku's flaws and weaknesses, gradually guiding him.
Goku's comprehension was top-notch. After just a few exchanges, he realized Talot was deliberately pointing him in the right direction and helping him patch up his weaknesses.
Goku's combat talent shone through. He grew rapidly as he fought Talot.
His power level soared, and his mastery of Super Saiyan 2 became more and more refined.
"Now that's more like it. Next, I'll raise my power a bit. Don't get knocked out too easily, Kakarot," Talot said with a slight smile.
In the next instant, a wildly violent aura exploded from his body, his overwhelming aura rapidly expanding.
Boom~!!! The boundless aura turned into a fierce aura storm, and in an instant, the terrifying shockwave forced Goku back several meters.
Knocked back, Goku felt the overwhelming aura coming from Talot and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
He knew that if he slipped up even a little now, he'd be knocked out of the arena.
Soon enough, Goku's premonition came true.
This time, Talot used twenty percent of his power against him, instantly dashing right up to Goku and unleashing an unstoppable punch.
....
TN: Hey guys, I've picked up a new One Piece novel. You can search it: One Piece: The Undying King.
Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations
You can read ahead upto 20 chapters on my pa*reon.