Bulma changed her hairstyle to a bob cut, paired with a fashionable and lively outfit, making her look youthful and full of energy.
Krillin tightened his belt and said with high spirits, "Ready!"
With that, he and Bulma climbed into the flying vehicle together.
"Flying Nimbus!"
Goku shouted toward the sky. Soon, after a brief flash of light, a yellow cloud descended from the blue sky and white clouds. Goku jumped on the spot, performing more than a dozen backflips in the air, tracing an arc before landing steadily on the Flying Nimbus that flew from behind to his feet.
"Long time no see, how have you been?" Goku happily patted the cloud he sat on, greeting his old friend.
Boom—the flying vehicle shot out flames.
"We're about to depart, let's go claim the championship!"
Bulma put on a baseball cap backward, sat in the pilot's seat full of energy, and shouted. Ignoring Krillin's muttering, "Hey, hey, hey, there's still someone here who probably has no chance of winning," she pulled the joystick up. The vehicle suddenly gave a "bang" and shot into the sky.
"Yoho! Here we go, Flying Nimbus!"
Goku shouted excitedly as the Flying Nimbus let out a "whoosh," spiraling upward swiftly with Goku on board. It left a long white trail across the sky, chasing after the flying vehicle.
At that moment, a large fiery red bird also soared into the sky, letting out a loud, clear cry. It was the Phoenix—missing for days, no one knew where it had gone, but it appeared just in time now.
Two figures, a man and a woman, gracefully appeared and lightly landed on the phoenix's feathered back, as light as a feather themselves. They were none other than Taro and Hathaway.
"Grandpa Taro! Grandma Hathaway!"
"Master!"
Goku, Krillin, and Bulma all greeted them joyfully.
Hathaway smiled and waved. A pale white ki barrier lit up before her.
Taro nodded and said, "Let's go…"
They were at a very high altitude, surrounded by swirling clouds. Below was a dense miniature cityscape. Taro's gaze moved forward, passing over mountains, rivers, forests, and plains, focusing on the city where he had once founded the Muten School. Now, that place had become a large modern metropolis.
The ki of Tsuru had been lingering there since the regional preliminaries of the World Martial Arts Tournament began.
'If I'm guessing correctly, you'll have Tienshinhan participate in this tournament as well... Surely you won't let Tienshinhan join the Martial Arts Association and enter the Virtual Earth Network to climb the Muten Tower... Rest assured, I haven't let Goku start learning the Muken style yet. He and Tienshinhan can still "fairly compete" for now... That's what you want, right... younger brother?'
Thinking this, Taro and his group quickly flew toward Sayuan City, the site of the World Martial Arts Tournament finals.
---
The World Martial Arts Tournament had been held for twenty full editions, once every five years—that's a century in total. This edition was the 105th year. Such a long-standing global event was unimaginably grand in scale. At this time, the flow of people in Sayuan City was terrifyingly dense, twenty-four hours a day, the streets and alleys always packed with people shoulder to shoulder.
After years of development, even without considering the tournament, Sayuan City had plenty of cultural heritage to absorb all these tourists.
Historic sites, major attractions, numerous martial arts halls…
Among them were many shops selling souvenirs under the banner of the Muten School. Of course, no one dared to blatantly claim "authentic immortals' items," but phrases like "Immortal's relics," "Umbrella used before the immortal's great breakthrough," or "Snacks loved by the Martial Saint" were common. Some people were willing to pay for these, even knowing they were just using a famous name to fool customers, but tourists liked it—it was just for fun.
Everywhere on the glass walls of Sayuan's skyscrapers, promotional videos for the World Martial Arts Tournament played non-stop.
Highlights of exciting matches from the five major tournament regions—East, West, South, North, and Central—looped endlessly. Edited by skilled editors, the already thrilling battles combined with perfectly timed background music made the scenes even more exhilarating.
Promotional posters covered the city, souvenirs sold out quickly, and betting kiosks operated fiercely both openly and covertly. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the opening of the finals, arguing passionately to support their favorite fighters…
Behind the Muten School dojo, centered around the broken mountain grand arena, the finals' main venue stood, where the entrances for competitors and spectators branched off.
One by one, the contestants, whether surrounded by admirers like stars or lone wolves, began to register for the competition.
There were sixteen spots available across the five major regions.
Because martial artists were different from entertainment celebrities — these people truly had real skills. The fans and spectators knew this very well, so they were careful not to cross the line when showing their support. Even if the martial arts stars swaggered through the entrance, the crowd wouldn't block their way to the point that the contestants couldn't move an inch. Otherwise, if someone got upset and accidentally caused injury, the unlucky fan would have to take the blame.
Among the crowd, Taro, Hathaway, and Bulma accompanied Son Goku and Krillin to send them off for the competition.
Son Goku and Krillin wore animal masks on their faces, and they looked around with curiosity. Suddenly, a muffled voice came from Goku's mask, "Huh?!" The little monkey ran in one direction and leapt into the arms of an elderly man also wearing an animal mask, calling out softly, "Grandpa, you're here too!"
"Hehe…" Behind his mask, Gohan's voice sounded muffled as well. He ruffled the little one's hair. "Goku, you've grown taller."
"Hehe…" Goku wagged his tail.
Taro nodded toward them, Gohan bowed slightly, and Hathaway smiled, waving at him.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the crowd.
Gohan felt it too. He looked up and saw a muscular, bare-chested young man with three eyes and a bald head, alongside a pale-faced, zombie-like short boy, flying down from the sky and landing in a cleared area.
"'Crane'?" Gohan noticed the large character on the chest of the young man's gi — the symbol for Crane — and thought for a moment. He gazed thoughtfully at Tienshinhan 's tall figure. "Not bad kung fu. Is he the disciple of my Uncle Crane? It must be, besides that uncle, who else could train such a disciple?"
Tienshinhan exuded a cold aura, honed from years as a professional killer. Although the crowd was excited to see him, no one pushed forward rudely; they were all subdued by his presence. And the short pale boy next to him, with his vacant stare, made people feel uneasy.
Suddenly, Tienshinhan 's third eye rotated with a sudden perception. He looked back and saw an old man wearing an animal mask. Although behind the mask, Tien's entire body trembled. With his well-trained ki sense, he sensed a profound, unfathomable aura from that man — obviously a grandmaster of martial arts with immeasurable cultivation.
Who is this? Such a terrifying aura?
Could it be… Gohan?!
Tien's heart raced. This was the first time he had seen Gohan in person, the one his master had spoken of. He quickly noticed the short person in front of Gohan, also wearing an animal mask, with a conspicuous long furry tail…
So this is… Goku?
Not particularly strong, it seemed.
Apparently, he was suppressing his aura.
Tien thought this over, and noticing Gohan's gaze fixed on him, sweat appeared on his forehead. Just being scrutinized like this made him feel a crushing pressure as if Mount Tai itself were pressing down… Gohan's strength was truly beyond belief — this was the level of a direct disciple of the Muten School?
He nodded slightly. By now, Gohan was already leading Goku away.
Tien glanced over and, upon seeing the gray-haired man Gohan and Goku were walking toward, his whole body trembled violently. When Taro cast a calm glance in his direction, Tien quickly turned his head away, his heart pounding fiercely. He instinctively dared not meet the gaze of the Muten Roshi, as if just one look from this presence would completely shatter all his confidence for the competition.
"Tien?" The pale boy looked up in confusion.
"Let's go…" Tienshinhan took a deep breath and set his expression firmly. "I will prove to Master that the Crane School will never lose to the Muten School!"