(Meanwhile)
On an island not too far from Kame House, a series of explosions rocked the rolling hillsides that sent blasts of dust and rubble hurling into the sky. When the debris eventually rained back down to the ground, scattering across the pristine wilderness, two shadows darted out of the cloud. Skidding to a stop along the grass opposite one another and out of reach of the latest crater they'd formed with their attacks, the pair revealed themselves to be Tien and Gohan.
Both glaring at each other, the two Z-warriors turned to face their opponent, showing off a couple of bruises they'd received in their scrap thus far. While the tri-clops was sporting his usual attire consisting of green gi pants with red belt and a white shirt, Gohan was adorned in Piccolo's purple style of gi. Just like his friends, the young martial artist had decided to go on a cycle of uniforms to alter his looks and to emulate the two great teachers in his life.
While it was definitely in his nature to pull off a gesture like this, there really wasn't any logic to why he chose to wear either gi. He just found both outfits to be insanely comfortable.
In the words of his Namekian mentor, he looked extremely sharp.
Upon watching the smoke fade from their attacks, Tien smirked at the demi-Saiyan when the two turned to face the other. "Excellent form, Gohan. I can tell you've been working really hard over the last few months."
"Thanks. You've gotten a lot stronger too, Tien," Gohan chirped back, bringing his hands around and sliding into a wide fighting stance similar to that of his dad's. "I can't remember ever sparring with you before. It's a really refreshing change of pace for me."
"Me too. Your style is a mixture of both your father's and Piccolo's. I think that's a really good fit for someone like you," the former martial arts champion replied before setting himself into a more defensive form. "Alright… I think it's about time I turned up the heat a little. Hope you're ready for it."
After shaking off the dizziness from the last exchange, the pair squared off with their fists raised and eyes set firmly on the other. Digging their feet into the ground, both warriors made sure that their opponent was set squarely in their sights. While Tien was being incredibly cautious due to how strong Gohan actually was, the young hybrid had taken on a certain level of concern as well.
Even though he was fighting at his base level so as to give his opponent a chance and to work on his techniques, Tien was still an incredibly strong fighter. It made sense considering he'd been one of his father's main rivals back in the day.
Upon sizing up their adversary and catching their breaths, the fighters then crouched forward and flew at each other. Darting across the field of grass at super speed, Tien and Gohan met in the center, colliding elbow first and causing a loud shockwave to ring out. After literally shaking the area with their impact, they then began exchanging lightning fast blows, their fists and kicks cutting through the air like bullets, only to be deflected and parried each and every time.
As the pair clashed, causing loud gunshots to ring out and shake the sky, sitting not too far from them, Krillin and Videl could be seen sitting on a fallen tree log and watching the duo from a safe distance. Both looking like they'd had a bit of workout themselves, particularly the raven haired girl in the orange and blue gi who was currently sporting several noticeable bruises, the two humans sat quietly on the trunk as they observed their fellow martial artists battling it out in the center of the island.
Though their exchange of blasts beforehand had been something to marvel at and left more than a few marks across the land, there was nothing that could compare to a good, old-fashioned fist fight. What with the level of speed and skill both of them possessed, they were definitely putting on one hell of a show for their two-person audience.
Despite moving faster than the human eye could track, the still in-training Videl was able to keep up with both of them, giving her a full scope of what Gohan and his friend Tien were capable of. "Wow…"
The monk, adorned in the symbolic orange and blue gi of the turtle hermit, smiled across at the awe-struck girl. "Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Yeah," Videl nodded, looking on as Gohan landed a wicked hook across his opponent's face before receiving a kick in the side in retaliation. "It's been a long time since I last saw Tien Shinhan fight. The guy is really good."
"Oh yeah. No kidding. He's one of the best," Krillin chuckled, knowing full well what that man was capable of. "Even I would have second thoughts tangling with that guy on a good day."
The girl shook her head in amazement, "The recordings I saw of him in the previous world tournaments were pretty intense. But I can tell he's gotten a lot stronger." Her ki reading abilities really helped her in that department.
As it stood, this guy was easily on par with Krillin and Gohan in his base form. Though the half-Saiyan did have an edge over him, it was only by a paper-thin margin.
She whistled when she saw the pair shoot off at super speed to try and outflank each other. "Wow, they're fast."
Krillin chuckled at her remark. "With the kind of agility that we have, it makes it impossible for normal people to follow us around. Even when standing at a distance," Krillin continued, seeing the demi-Saiyan kick Tien in the stomach and send him flying across the grass at supersonic flight. "It's gotten to the point that not even the cameras can keep track of us. You'll only be able to catch a small glimpse in one or two frames of an entire strip, and that's it."
It was a revelation that had the daughter of the champ giggle. "Even technology can't keep up with you anymore."
"Damn straight," the short fighter replied, wincing when he saw Tien get jabbed in the face before receiving a shot to the body, only to then retaliate with a hook that sent Gohan barreling across the ground. The boy recovered quickly though and leapt back to his feet just in time to block a jumping knee from his opponent. The shockwave caused by the impact was monstrous. "After all the fights we've gotten into, I'm amazed that any of us were able to make it this far without completely losing it."
"Your group is made up of some of the most amazing people I've ever met. Honestly, I'm not at all surprised at how strong you guys have gotten. All of you have worked so hard and fought against the worst opponents imaginable for your strengths," Videl said, watching Gohan get hit over the head by a chopping right and retaliate with an uppercut to his opponent's chin. "I can't think of anyone more deserving of your powers then you guys."
Seeing the amazement reflected in her eyes and hearing the sincerity in her voice, Krillin smiled at the champ's daughter while she continued to watch the boy she admired fight against the older male. After giving it a few moments, the bald fighter spoke up, "So… Gohan's training you to be just like one of us, huh?" When he saw Videl nod, the martial artist chuckled. "Well, if there's any member of our group that's cut out for the job, it's him. He's a smart kid and a brilliant fighter. After seeing the stuff you could do in our spar, give or take a few more years… I'm sure that with his help… you'll be able to fight toe to toe with us in no time."
Eyes shining at the man's compliments, the raven haired girl beamed and nodded, "I really appreciate that. Thanks."
Upon giving one last nod, both Krillin and Videl turned back to continue observing Gohan and Tien's spar. Seeing the half-Saiyan perform a brilliant throw, tossing his opponent across the hills, they then saw the youngster turn, smile, and wave towards them.
Sensing his focus was set squarely on her, the raven haired girl giggled and waved in return; a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Krillin.
Looking between the two and seeing Tien return to continue his match, the short fighter beamed and fixed his sights back onto his best friend's son. "You've got a good thing going here, Gohan. I'm really happy for yah."
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