"Speaking of which, where did that oaf Brute run off to?" Son Goku asked, noticing the Minotaur's name wasn't on the final bracket. Given his strength, the guy could easily have made it to the finals.
"You mean Brute? I saw him and the Strategist following a very… well-endowed woman earlier," Krillin said, rubbing his bald head with a grin. He wasn't exactly disappointed about Brute's disqualification. It meant one less obstacle on his own path. "He missed his match, so he was disqualified."
Goku shook his head in resignation. "That idiot… It's probably for the best. Who knows what kind of trouble he'd cause if he were here."
After a short break following the preliminaries, the main event of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament finally commenced!
"Goku-nii! You have to win first place!" Arisu and the other young girls cheered from the sidelines, waving their tiny fists.
"Goku! If you don't take first place in a tournament like this, you're not setting foot in our room for a week!" Bulma and the other women declared with mock severity.
"Don't worry. First place is a given. I'll wipe the floor with all of them," Goku replied with a confident smile, giving them a thumbs-up before heading toward the contestant entrance with Krillin and the others. All of them… including you, Coola, he added silently.
---
The women made their way to the spectator stands, only to be met with a wall of people. "Ugh, what a pain. It's too crowded—we can't see a thing!" Launch complained, craning her neck.
"What should we do?" Yuriko asked, looking around for a gap.
Bulma's eyes lit up with an idea. She pulled a stalk of foxtail grass from her pocket and sidled up to Launch with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about this, Launch!" She gently brushed the fluffy tip under Launch's nose.
"Achoo!" Launch sneezed violently. In a puff of smoke, her gentle blue hair and demeanor vanished, replaced by wild blonde locks and a fiery glint in her eyes. Blonde Launch had arrived.
"I'm counting on you again, Launch!" Bulma said, her expression clearly stating, You know what to do.
"Watch this!" Blonde Launch grinned, pulling a capsule from her jacket. She tossed it, and a pair of heavy pistols appeared in her hands. She strode boldly into the thickest part of the crowd, raised both weapons toward the sky, and let loose a deafening barrage of gunfire. "MOVE IT, YOU PACK OF MONGRELS! YOU WANNA DIE?! CLEAR THE WAY!"
The crowd panicked and scrambled aside, creating a wide path.
"Excuse us, everyone!" Bulma chirped cheerfully, making a peace sign with both hands as she led the stunned women through the miraculously cleared aisle to the best seats at the front.
"This… isn't this a bit too aggressive?" Saeko murmured, wiping a bead of cold sweat from her temple as she watched the chaotic scene. The other women could only nod in silent, horrified agreement.
---
Martial Arts Arena
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience! The 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament main event… begins NOW!"
Thunderous applause erupted from the stands.
"The first quarter-final match is between Contestant Tao Pai Pai… and last year's champion, Contestant Tenshinhan! Both fighters, please come to the ring!"
Krillin clapped Tenshinhan on the shoulder. "Good luck out there."
Tenshinhan gave a curt nod. "Yeah."
Tao Pai Pai, however, oozed confidence. "Don't worry. For now, I'll settle for leaving you half-dead. Once I've won the championship, I'll take my time finishing you and that Son Goku."
"The first match… BEGIN!"
Tao Pai Pai sneered at Tenshinhan. "Heh. Are you ready?"
"I am."
"Good. Then I'll finish this quickly!"
In the front row, Master Shen watched with a cold, triumphant smile. "Hehe… you're finished, traitor."
"Hmph!" Tao Pai Pai stomped forward, his right hand shooting out in a lethal chop aimed at Tenshinhan's throat. Tenshinhan's form blurred, leaving only an afterimage. Tao Pai Pai's strike hit empty air. In the same instant, Tenshinhan's own knife-hand connected with devastating force to the back of Tao Pai Pai's neck.
THUD.
Tao Pai Pai face-planted onto the stone floor.
Master Shen's smug grin vanished, his jaw going slack in shock.
The fight proceeded much as it had in the original timeline—there is no need to recount every blow. The power gap was simply too vast. Humiliated and desperate after being dominated, Tao Pai Pai revealed the hidden blade in his cybernetic arm, slashing a deep gash across Tenshinhan's chest. Enraged by this betrayal of martial honor, Tenshinhan unleashed a single, furious punch that sent Tao Pai Pai crashing through the ring ropes and into unconsciousness.
"Despite the… chaotic conclusion to that match, we must proceed! The second quarter-final match features Contestant Son Goku, who narrowly missed the championship last time… and Contestant Chi-Chi, who, despite being one of the few female entrants, shone brilliantly in the preliminaries!" (Because Goku had saved her in the past, Chi-Chi did not fight anonymously here as she once did.)
"Hmph!" Chi-Chi stood across from Goku, arms crossed, her expression stormy.
"Why are you still so angry? I already said I'd marry you," Goku said, scratching his cheek awkwardly.
"You already have wives! Why would you marry me? I refuse to be just another concubine!" Chi-Chi shot back, her temper flaring.
"Are you two… acquainted?" The girls in the front row leaned forward, their curiosity piqued. "When did that guy meet such a cute girl?"
"Are both contestants ready? The second match… BEGIN!"
BANG!
The moment the referee finished speaking, Chi-Chi launched a furious flying kick straight at Goku's face. Goku leaned back just in time, the air whistling past his nose. He began to weave and dodge, evading her relentless assault. He couldn't bring himself to strike her.
"Hey! Can we talk about this calmly? Do we really have to fight?" Goku pleaded between evasive maneuvers.
"Talk? With you?! You unfaithful jerk! You don't understand a woman's heart at all! I've been waiting for you all this time!" Chi-Chi's attacks grew more fierce with each shouted word.
"Huh? 'Unfaithful jerk'? Could she be a girl Goku abandoned?" Saya and the others exchanged shocked glances.
"It's not fair! Goku's sheer magnetism is just off the charts!" Krillin and Yamcha muttered backstage, their faces twisted with envy.
"Are you done being upset? I said I'd marry you!" Goku's patience was wearing thin. This public drama was getting embarrassing.
"You want me to be a concubine? No way! Defeat me first, then we'll talk!"
"Actually, I agree this match has gone on long enough," Goku said, his tone shifting. He gave a firm nod. "In that case, you'd better brace yourself." With a casual flick of his wrist, he released a gentle but irresistible wave of ki. It swept Chi-Chi off her feet and deposited her neatly outside the ring boundary.
"I… I didn't expect you to become so strong. You really are worthy of being my husband," Chi-Chi said, a look of genuine surprise on her face as she climbed back onto the ring platform.
"So you're not mad anymore?" Goku's eyes lit up with hope.
"Well… it's not entirely unheard of for an exceptional man to have several wives," Chi-Chi admitted, a deep blush coloring her cheeks as she looked down shyly. "However, I absolutely refuse to be just a concubine!"
"No problem! You can be the head wife if you want!" Goku laughed, relieved. In his heart, all his women were equal anyway.
"No way… it's settled just like that?!" Krillin, Yamcha, and the others backstage watched, utterly dumbfounded, as Chi-Chi happily took Goku's hand and walked over to join them. "Even the greatest playboy in history wasn't this smooth!"