Tien's face slammed into the ground with such force that he became disoriented, his nose bleeding and tears welling up in his eyes.
The crowd erupted in shock!
The mustached referee, equally stunned, exclaimed, "Oh my god! What did I just see? Tien's back suddenly sprouted two more arms! Is this magic, or some legendary superpower?"
Tien didn't care what the audience thought. He quickly pushed himself up with all four arms and sprang into action, but Yamiru was nowhere to be seen.
His three eyes scanned the area frantically, but suddenly, Yamiru's voice came from behind him: "Looking for me?"
Although Tien couldn't understand how Yamiru had silently moved behind him, there was no time to think—he just had to fight!
Standing behind him, Yamiru was eerily still, like a ghost.
Tien knew that in terms of martial arts, Yamiru was already on a different level than him, so he decided to just throw everything he had into the fight.
Tien charged forward with all four arms, attacking with ruthless precision. His punches rained down like a storm, but Yamiru simply smiled.
In the stands, Master Roshi shook his head in resignation.
Tien's four-armed barrage seemed like it should have overwhelmed Yamiru. At the very least, Master Roshi thought, Yamiru would be flustered or temporarily suppressed.
After all, it was one thing to fight a two-armed opponent, but dealing with someone with four arms was a whole different challenge, right?
But to Master Roshi's surprise, Yamiru was handling Tien's four-arm attacks with increasing ease.
Swish, swish, swish, swish! Tien's fists moved faster than bullets, his four arms swinging in perfect synchronization. It was like a rain of bullets coming toward Yamiru. Yet, Yamiru effortlessly deflected the blows with his palms.
The sounds of the punches hitting rang out like firecrackers as they collided in a flurry.
How was this possible? Tien's mind raced as his punches grew more frantic, and his unease grew with each strike.
His three eyes were fixed on Yamiru, determined to find a flaw in his movements. With four arms, he was confident he could exploit the opening.
But instead of finding a flaw, Tien only saw Yamiru growing more relaxed. He stopped using his palms to block and even crossed his arms, retreating while effortlessly dodging Tien's attacks, never missing a beat.
Tien was stunned. Had Yamiru's martial arts already reached such a profound level that it was beyond his understanding?
Or was it that Yamiru's senses had been honed to an extraordinary degree, or was there something else at play?
Behind the martial arts archway, Krillin and Chi-Chi were staring in disbelief. Goku, with his arms crossed, was watching intently, especially focused on Yamiru's calm and precise movements as he dodged with his eyes closed.
"Can't figure it out?" Yamiru said calmly, still dodging effortlessly, even though Tien's four-armed attacks had pushed him to the edge of the ring.
Yamiru disappeared from sight, only to reappear in Tien's blind spot, his voice coming from above Tien's back.
Tien didn't have time to react, and suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in the arms that were holding off Yamiru.
Boom!
Yamiru had locked Tien's extended arms, the ones growing out from his shoulder blades, into an awkward position. These arms weren't naturally angled, so the pressure made them even more immobile.
"Four arms may seem impressive, but your body and thought patterns have been trained to fight with just two. Suddenly having four, how could you possibly adapt so quickly?" Yamiru said, pressing harder on Tien's back.
Tien grimaced in pain, his two original arms struggling to reach Yamiru, but his large, muscular arms made it impossible to touch his own back. There was no way he could reach Yamiru, who was firmly planting his foot on Tien's spine.
Then, a strange smile appeared on Tien's face.
Yamiru felt something was wrong. The arms Tien had pinned were suddenly retracting, causing Yamiru to lean forward as well.
And then, Tien's head was rushing toward Yamiru's forehead.
Did he really love headbutting this much?
Yamiru's eyes flickered. This time, he didn't even try to dodge or block. Instead, he tilted his head back slightly and slammed it forward with all his strength, aiming directly for Tien's skull.
Bang!
The loud impact echoed across the ring, causing everyone to wince in pain, wondering if their heads would crack open from such a violent collision.
Tien's vision went black, his three eyes flashing white as he staggered a few steps and then collapsed to the ground.
Yamiru landed back on the ground, grinning in pain as he rubbed his sore forehead. It was already swelling up, but Tien's head wasn't in much better shape. He chuckled, knowing that as the one delivering the blow, he was the one who usually took the brunt of the damage.
The mustached referee scrambled up to the ring, quickly inspecting Tien and confirming that he had lost consciousness. After counting to ten, he declared Tien the loser.
"The winner is Yamiru! He will be advancing to the final match!"
Tais led the applause, and the audience followed with enthusiastic cheers. Yamiru casually waved his hand before walking back behind the martial arts archway.
The next match was the showdown between Son Goku and Chi-Chi.
Krillin couldn't help but think to himself, wondering if this lucky girl Chi-Chi could possibly defeat Goku and make it to the finals.
Goku shook his arms, not sure how much he had recovered from his battle with Raditz, but he was ready to step into the ring.
Chi-Chi, whether from shyness or fear, hesitated but ultimately forced herself to walk up to the arena.
Yamiru leaned against the wall, and Krillin, noticing that he was closing his eyes to rest, curiously asked, "Aren't you going to watch the match?"
Yamiru waved his hand, signaling that it wasn't necessary. He was still feeling a bit dizzy…
Completely shutting out the noise of the outside world, Yamiru meditated for a moment. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and the sounds of the surroundings returned like a wave. "…Son Goku wins!"
The little bald-headed man beside him sighed. Did he think Chi-Chi had a chance to beat Goku?
Yamiru turned his gaze back to the arena. There, Chi-Chi sat outside the ring, looking confused, while the referee raised his fist to declare Goku the winner. Goku, on the other hand, didn't look the least bit embarrassed.
As Goku walked back, Krillin marveled, "You actually knocked Chi-Chi out of the ring with just your punch's wind pressure! Goku, you're amazing!"
Goku didn't bother to argue; he just smiled confidently. He wasn't one for humble words. He knew it was impressive.
"You'll have a hard time winning," Goku said, looking at Yamiru.
Although his battle with Raditz had drained much of his stamina, Goku had been in recovery mode since then. On the other hand, Yamiru's first match against Krillin hadn't consumed much energy, but the fight with Tien had been more taxing. Given that, he had had far less rest time compared to Goku.
Yamiru also looked at Goku, his close disciple, "It will be difficult, but I'm not one to give up easily."
Goku grinned silently, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "I know."
Yamiru smiled, "I know you know."
The two lightly tapped fists, and Krillin, standing in the middle, stared at them with a puzzled expression. Was this really the way they communicated?
Fortunately, before the final match, the referee gave both fighters a brief break to adjust.
He spoke some atmosphere-building nonsense in the ring, and the audience was fired up, continuously cheering and chanting for Son Goku and Yamiru.
Bang!
A loud gong sounded from the martial arts temple, signaling the official start of the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament final!