Clang—!
The preliminary matches began.
Duran didn't bother paying attention to his fellow disciples. In his opinion, there was no need to worry about them. Besides, he had no intention of analyzing everyone's power levels.
His goal wasn't to win the championship.
For him, participation was what mattered most.
Duran stepped onto the arena and quietly felt the atmosphere of the stage beneath his feet.
"You're really pitiful."
His opponent had appeared before him without him noticing.
"?"
Coming back to his senses, Duran looked at the man standing across from him.
Mercenary Tao (Tao Pai Pai).
He hadn't expected his first opponent to be that infamous assassin.
But Duran wasn't afraid.
"Pitiful? I don't think so," Duran said calmly. "In fact, I think I'm lucky. At least I didn't run into Goku or Krillin in the preliminaries."
"Hmph. Trash from the Turtle School." Tao spat on the ground.
"I'll deal with you first—then I'll clean up the rest."
Duran looked at him calmly.
No fear.
But he knew he had to defeat Tao—for the sake of his martial arts school.
"Enough talk. Come on."
"Haha! So eager to die!"
Tao Pai Pai rushed forward.
Fists collided.
For the first time, Duran experienced a true life-and-death battle. He deliberately tried different techniques, testing how well he had mastered them.
"Is that all?" Duran taunted.
Tao Pai Pai grew furious.
"You forced my hand!"
Duran knew Tao was about to use a Crane School technique like the Dodon Ray.
Goku might take such an attack head-on—but Duran had no intention of doing something so foolish.
Instead, he moved first.
"Solar Flare!"
A blinding flash erupted.
Tao Pai Pai was instantly blinded.
Duran rushed forward—one punch to the stomach, another, another—and finally smashed his fist into Tao's face, knocking him straight out of the ring.
The crowd gasped.
"That's the Solar Flare—the previous champion's technique!"
Even Duran's fellow disciples were surprised he knew the move.
His next opponent was a strange masked man who spoke incomprehensible nonsense.
However, the masked fighter's strength and agility were impressive, forcing Duran to fight seriously.
After exchanging blows for a while, Duran suddenly noticed something familiar about the man's movements.
The body shape… the strength…
Wait.
"Yajirobe!"
"Ah?!" the masked man froze.
Apparently he hadn't expected to be recognized.
"Well… don't shout it out so loudly," Yajirobe muttered awkwardly. "If you beat me later it'll be embarrassing."
Duran wiped sweat from his forehead.
"If you already know you'll lose, why not just surrender?"
To his shock, Yajirobe immediately raised his hand.
"Alright. I give up."
Duran nearly collapsed.
He knew Yajirobe lacked motivation—but he didn't expect him to surrender so casually.
"After the tournament, you're buying me dinner," Yajirobe added."Oh—and Korin is still waiting for you to bring him good food."
Duran suddenly remembered.
Three years ago, he had promised Korin he would bring delicious food—and completely forgot.
After Yajirobe surrendered, Duran didn't encounter any serious opponents.
He advanced all the way to the Top Eight.
The quarterfinalists were:
Piccolo
Chi-Chi
Son Goku
Krillin
Tien Shinhan
Kami (disguised as a human)
Yamcha
Duran
The matchups were drawn:
Duran vs Tien Shinhan
Chi-Chi vs Goku
Piccolo vs Krillin
Kami vs Yamcha
Duran and Tien stepped onto the official outdoor arena.
It was Duran's first time fighting a main character from the manga, and he felt a little pressure.
"Duran, I won't hold back," Tien said.
"Good," Duran replied. "Today I'll avenge all the times you punched my face."
The announcer stepped forward.
"The first match of the Top Eight begins now!"
The moment the signal sounded—
Both fighters vanished.
Only the sound of air splitting could be heard.
"What's happening?! I can't see either fighter!" the announcer shouted excitedly.
Duran pushed his speed to the limit, matching Tien blow for blow.
However, Duran was still wearing his custom 80-kilogram weighted clothing.
(The turtle shell was too embarrassing, so he had specially ordered discreet weighted clothes.)
Watching the fight, the other disciples were extremely excited.
Duran himself enjoyed the battle immensely.
He wasn't a battle maniac—but the thrill of combat made his blood boil.
"Solar Flare!"
A blinding flash exploded across the arena, dazzling the audience.
But Tien Shinhan was the creator of the technique.
The moment Duran used it, Tien responded with the same move.
"Solar Flare!"
Duran immediately closed his eyes.
However, he spread his ki across the battlefield, sensing Tien's movements.
"Amazing!" the announcer cried."Both fighters are battling with their eyes closed!"
"Duran," Tien said, "you've improved a lot."
"Of course," Duran replied. "I may not aim to be the strongest in the world—but I must face many dangers on Earth."
"Take this—Kamehameha!"
Duran stepped forward and cupped his hands.
"Ka… me… ha… me… HAAA!"
Tien shouted back:
"Good! Then I'll respond in kind!"
To everyone's surprise—
Tien also fired a Kamehameha.
The two beams collided violently.
Now it became a pure contest of energy.
Of course, Duran had a major advantage.
Inside him was an endless supply of ki—a perpetual energy engine.
It was a bit unfair.
After more than ten minutes of struggle—
Tien Shinhan was blasted out of the arena, his body covered in scorch marks.
"The winner—Duran!" the announcer declared.
Duran immediately jumped down and gave Tien a Senzu Bean.
Goku and Krillin arrived at the same time, each holding Senzu Beans—but Duran had acted faster.
Tien was slightly disappointed, but he accepted the result.
Even if Duran's advantage was a bit unfair—
A loss was a loss.
The second match, Goku vs Chi-Chi, turned into something more like a marriage proposal match.
Of course, Goku had no idea what was happening.
But the outcome was still happy—although the other bachelors watching were extremely jealous.
The third match:
Krillin vs Piccolo
The result was obvious.
Despite his progress, Krillin was no match for a Namekian like Piccolo.
The fourth match:
Kami vs Yamcha
Yamcha fought bravely, even using his Spirit Ball, but he was still knocked out by a single punch from Kami.
And so, the Final Four were decided:
Duran vs Son Goku
Piccolo vs Kami
The real battles were about to begin.
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