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*****
"Since everyone is here, please come forward to draw your lots when you hear your name!"
With the exception of Mr. Satan, all fifteen finalists for the main tournament were present. The host signaled for the staff to bring out a box containing sixteen numbered balls. Those who drew the same number would be paired together; the winner would advance, and the loser would be eliminated. The winners would then be automatically matched for the next round until a champion was crowned. Since Mr. Satan was absent, the host drew on his behalf.
"George!"
Upon hearing his name, George stepped forward and casually drew a ball. He handed it to the staff, who promptly wrote his name under the number two on the nearby scoreboard.
"Next, Contestant Spopovich, please come forward!"
The host called out three times, but there was no response. Suddenly, the cloaked "Mighty Mask" went scurrying up to the stage.
"Those two rascals," George muttered, shaking his head.
He knew that the current Mighty Mask wasn't the original fighter; that poor soul had been knocked unconscious by Trunks. Beneath that oversized cloak, Trunks was currently perched on Goten's shoulders in a clumsy disguise. The two children felt the Junior Division was far too boring, so they had hijacked Mighty Mask's identity to enter the adult tournament. However, they didn't even know the name of the man they were replacing. Seeing no one answer, they simply assumed they were Spopovich.
"Aren't you Contestant Mighty Mask?" The host adjusted his sunglasses, looking deeply confused as Trunks and Goten approached the box.
Just then, an unnaturally hulking man named Spopovich shoved Trunks and Goten aside. "Move it! I'm Spopovich!" he growled impatiently.
"Spopovich, Number Two!" the host shouted to the staff after seeing the number on the ball.
"It seems my presence has caused the match order to shift a bit," George mused, rubbing his chin.
He recalled that in the original timeline, Spopovich was supposed to fight Videl in the first round. Because of Babidi's magical empowerment, Videl would have been brutally beaten. Now that George was the opponent, he could spare her that fate.
Fine by me. I can use Spopovich to find out exactly where Babidi is hiding, he thought.
Ten minutes later, the drawing concluded, and the first-round matchups appeared on the giant screens throughout the arena:
Match 1: Ma Junior vs. Shin
Match 2: George vs. Spopovich
Match 3: Krillin vs. Puntar
Match 4: Kibito vs. Great Saiyaman
Match 5: Android 18 vs. Mr. Satan
Match 6: Videl vs. Killa
Match 7: Mighty Mask vs. Yamu
Match 8: Goku vs. Vegeta
The host pointed toward the waiting rooms behind the arena. "If there are no questions regarding the rules, please head to the back. The tournament will begin shortly!"
The fifteen fighters, George included, filed into the waiting rooms. It wasn't long before the host's voice boomed over the speakers. Amidst thunderous cheers, the first pair—Piccolo and the Supreme Kai—walked onto the stage. However, there was no fierce battle. After a tense silence, Piccolo abruptly surrendered and walked off the stage.
"Piccolo, is he really that strong?" the others asked, struggling to understand.
Piccolo was easily the strongest among them after Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan—several times stronger than Android 18. Theoretically, there shouldn't have been anyone on Earth capable of making Piccolo forfeit without throwing a single punch. And yet, this "Shin" fellow didn't look particularly formidable.
"Yes... our dimensions are simply too far apart!" Piccolo replied, his voice stiff. He was clearly shaken.
Not exactly, George thought with a secret smile. Piccolo's reaction was primarily due to his former status as the Guardian of Earth; his divine essence was being suppressed by the sheer authority of the Supreme Kai's position. In terms of raw combat power, Piccolo's seven or eight billion was likely even higher than the East Supreme Kai's.
Startled by Piccolo's answer, everyone turned their gaze toward Shin as he descended from the ring.
"Next match: George vs. Spopovich!"
"Good luck, George!" Gohan and Videl cheered for their classmate.
"That guy is a bit strange. Watch yourself," Goku warned. He had sensed something off about Spopovich's ki and offered the advice before George stepped up.
George smiled. "He's definitely a bit 'off,' but it's nothing I can't handle."
As George and Spopovich took their places, the host began a brief introduction for the audience.
"Contestant Spopovich has undergone quite a physical transformation, but many of you may remember him. He narrowly lost to Mr. Satan in the third round of the last tournament. We'll see if he can make it to the finals for a rematch! As for Contestant George, this is his first time competing. He's currently a high school student, but he posted a shocking 130 on the punch-strength test—only seven points behind Mr. Satan! He's a high-potential fighter and reportedly a part-time magician. Let's see who moves on to the next round!"
"Don't be afraid, George! You can do it!"
"Go get him, George! Knock that big guy down!"
The cheers came from Emma, Alice, and George's other friends and schoolmates. However, the majority of the crowd was cheering for Spopovich. Compared to the moderately built George, Spopovich looked like a sure bet. Plus, he had a track record of reaching the third round, losing only to the world's "strongest" fighter, Mr. Satan.
Amidst the rising clamor, the gong sounded. The match had begun.
Spopovich's muscles looked ready to burst. He glared at George, his breath coming in heavy, ragged rasps. "I can't wait... I can't wait to tear you in half!" he hissed.
"You know, for a guy with such bad varicose veins, you really should visit a hospital instead of a ring," George retorted casually, mocking the bulging, blackened veins pulsing across Spopovich's body.
"Raaah!"
With a roar, Spopovich lunged forward, throwing a punch that far exceeded the limits of human strength. It was a blow that could shatter solid rock into dust. Yet, George simply extended a single finger and stopped the fist dead in its tracks.
"That's it? You're way too weak," George teased.
Red-faced with rage, Spopovich unleashed a flurry of punches like a gatling gun. George remained rooted to the spot, moving his finger lazily to parry every strike. It looked as though he wasn't blocking iron fists, but harmless balls of cotton.
"If you don't start using your full strength, you won't get another chance," George said, his expression full of disdain.
Spopovich's eyes turned bloodshot. He stopped suppressing the dark aura churning within him. "Die!" he screamed. He no longer cared about the rules; he wanted to butcher George right then and there.
Below the ring, Spopovich's partner, Yamu, pulled out a device given to them by Babidi to measure and absorb energy. He aimed it at George.
This can't be right... Why is the reading zero? Yamu's brow furrowed. If George was suppressing Spopovich so easily, he should have an immense amount of energy within him.
"I knew something was wrong. Let's see who you really are!" George shouted intentionally as Spopovich exploded with evil ki and charged.
In a blur of motion, George vanished and reappeared directly above his opponent. He brought his foot down hard on Spopovich's head, slamming him deep into the stone floor of the arena. The impact left a massive crater and knocked Spopovich unconscious instantly.
Through Babidi's magic, Spopovich's strength had been multiplied a hundredfold, and his body was unnaturally reinforced by dark ki. In the original story, Videl had used superior technique to gain the upper hand multiple times, yet she couldn't put him down—he seemed immortal. In reality, Videl simply lacked the raw power to finish him. George's kick, however, far exceeded Spopovich's defensive threshold, instantly shattering the dark energy within him.
"Incredible! Contestant George evaded the onslaught and knocked his opponent out with a single blow! We will now begin the ten-count..."
While the host counted, George reached down and touched Spopovich's head, instantly reading all of the man's memories.
"Three, two, one! Contestant George is the winner!"
"George! George! George!"
The audience erupted in thunderous applause. Even though the fight was a one-sided stomp, it was spectacular. The shattered floor of the ring was proof enough of the power involved.
As George stepped down, he didn't wait for Gohan and the others to congratulate him. "There's a major problem with that Spopovich guy," he said gravely. "He's being controlled by an alien wizard named Babidi. They're here at the tournament to collect energy to resurrect a monster called Majin Buu."
"Babidi? Majin Buu?" The group looked at each other in confusion.
"While I was fighting him, he released a type of ki similar to demonic energy. I suspected he was from the Demon Realm, so after I knocked him out, I read his memories. Oh, by the way, memory reading is a new ability I developed a few days ago."
Since he had spent considerable time at the Lookout reading through the divine archives, he was well-acquainted with the lore of the Demon Realm. Sensing the tainted ki and investigating it was a perfectly logical progression. As for memory reading, it wasn't a shocking ability in this circle—Master Roshi, Piccolo, and the Supreme Kai all possessed various forms of telepathy.
As the group discussed the threat of Majin Buu, Shin walked over with a grim expression.
"Majin Buu is the most terrifying monster in existence. If he is resurrected, it won't just be Earth—the entire universe will be destroyed!"
"Are you sure about that?" Krillin asked, skeptical. He felt the man was being overly dramatic. They had fought plenty of aliens and monsters. Even Frieza, the former Emperor of the Universe, was considered small fry now.
"If he says it, it's the truth," Piccolo interjected solemnly. "Because he is... the Supreme Kai. The god of all Kais, including the Grand Kai!"
During George's match, Piccolo had confirmed the stranger's identity.
"What?!" Everyone's eyes went wide. The god of the Kais? What kind of being was that?
Goku looked impressed. "I heard King Kai mention the Supreme Kai before, but I didn't think you actually existed. You're really him?"
"Indeed. I am the East Supreme Kai. I came to Earth specifically for Babidi and Majin Buu." He turned a serious gaze toward George. "You read Spopovich's memories? Do you know where Babidi is hiding?"
They had been unable to find Babidi's location on Earth, which is why they had planned to stake out his subordinates at the tournament and follow them back to their base.
George nodded, offering no secrets. "I do. Babidi has his spaceship hidden underground in a desolate wasteland to the west. Besides the empowered Spopovich and Yamu, he has several powerful alien warriors and Dabura, the King of the Demon Realm."
"What?! The Demon King Dabura?!"
The Supreme Kai, who had been relatively composed until now, went pale. Babidi possessed various forms of evil magic, but his actual combat power was low; as long as they found his hiding spot, Shin and his attendant Kibito could handle him, just as Shin had killed Babidi's father, Bibidi, long ago.
However, Dabura changed everything. Dabura was the strongest being in the Demon Realm. Even the Supreme Kai was no match for him—and with Babidi's magical empowerment, the Demon King would be even more formidable.
"This is disastrous... Babidi actually controlled the King of the Demon Realm. What do we do? What do we do now?"
"Is this Dabura guy really as strong as you say?" Krillin asked, swallowing hard. He had a very bad feeling that Earth was facing another world-ending crisis.
"Extremely strong," the Supreme Kai said, his face shadowed. "Even if everyone here attacked him together, we might not be able to defeat him."
George nearly snorted with laughter. Dabura certainly wasn't weak, especially after Babidi's "Makarization." But at best, he was roughly on par with Perfect Cell—perhaps seventy or eighty billion in terms of power level.
Currently, Goku was capable of Super Saiyan 3, with a power level likely reaching four hundred billion. Even in Super Saiyan 2, he should be around a hundred billion. Vegeta, without any empowerment, was nearly as strong as Goku's Super Saiyan 2, sitting around ninety billion. Either of them could easily mop the floor with Dabura.
Even Gohan, despite his lack of training over the last seven years, could fight Dabura to a standstill once he knocked the rust off. The Supreme Kai was clearly, and hilariously, underestimating the strength of Goku and his friends.
(End of Chapter)