The 21st World Martial Arts Tournament was the first competition described in detail in the Dragon Ball storyline. It was also the first time the Turtle Hermit, Son Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha participated.
The overall level of this tournament was noticeably lower than the following tournament and the one where Goku later won the championship. However, it was still much stronger than the tournament that Hercule Satan eventually won.
The truly outstanding participants were these familiar faces. Aside from them, only Nam had decent strength, while the rest were merely fillers.
From a manga perspective, during this tournament arc Dragon Ball was still a comedic series mixed with hot blooded battles, so many ridiculous things happened on stage. Ethan watched from the sidelines as if he were watching a comedy and found it quite amusing.
Yoruichi also forgot her frustration from encountering a strong opponent in the preliminaries. She laughed loudly and repeatedly slapped Ethan on the back, leaving his entire back numb. He strongly suspected she was deliberately taking revenge.
As for the matches, Yamcha performed better than in the original storyline. After training with Ethan, his strength had improved significantly. He caused considerable trouble for the Turtle Hermit, who was disguised as Jackie Chun, making Roshi's path to victory more difficult.
Before reaching the finals against Goku, Roshi had already consumed a noticeable amount of stamina. If Goku had possessed more combat experience, he might have won directly.
In addition, Goku's unexpected transformation into a Great Ape still occurred in the finals. During the earlier matches, his tail had regrown. When he saw the full moon again, he transformed into a Great Ape once more, causing a bit of damage to the arena. It had to be said that the arena's construction quality was quite good.
Then Roshi used his full power Kamehameha again to destroy the moon. This allowed Goku to return to normal, and the match continued as usual.
Looking at the moon that had disappeared, Ethan suddenly realized that the Dragon Ball world, still in its comedic phase, seemed even more dangerous than the later stages.
In the middle and later parts of the story, as long as one's strength was sufficient, many threats could be dealt with.
However, in the early stage, even someone strong might encounter inexplicable enemies and die inexplicably. For example, a certain little girl with wings on her hat often destroyed the Earth.
"So it is better to maintain the glorious tradition and quietly hide while developing."
Seeing Roshi, disguised as Jackie Chun, smiling on the stage and making a victory gesture while declaring himself the champion, and Goku lying on the ground unable to stand up, Ethan knew that the World Martial Arts Tournament had ended.
He had only played the role of an unnoticed spectator, blending into the crowd as background. Although Yoruichi had entered the tournament, her result was similar to his own. However, she remained confident about the future, because he knew better than anyone how to grow stronger properly in this world.
"Hmm. There are still some things I need to learn, such as the Flying Nimbus. To learn that, it seems one must first learn how to sense ki."
Since he had already become friends with Goku and the others, it would be natural for him to learn such things while training diligently in a safe place. Once Tien Shinhan and the others joined their circle, the Flying Nimbus would no longer remain an exclusive technique of the Crane School.
Another possibility was going to Kami's Lookout, where he could also learn the Flying Nimbus. Goku learned it from Kami.
There was another method as well, continuously increasing his strength. Once his strength reached a certain level, abilities like sensing ki and flying could be learned quickly. For example, many aliens did not know how to sense ki or ride the Flying Nimbus, but they could still use their energy and fly.
This situation was similar to having enough energy in the body to make using it naturally easy. Ethan estimated that reaching this level would require a power level of several hundred at least.
"That does not seem too difficult."
According to the scouter standard, Roshi's later normal power level was around 139. Considering that he secretly trained over the years in order to better guide Goku and Krillin, his current strength had probably not yet reached that number.
Since Roshi's strength had not changed significantly, it was likely around one hundred now.
Ethan calculated these numbers in his mind. When he came back to his senses, everyone had already gathered outside the arena. Roshi had removed his disguise and changed back into his normal outfit, announcing that he would treat everyone to a meal.
The 500,000 prize money he had just won was immediately consumed by Goku. Even all the ingredients in the restaurant were eaten completely. Saiyan appetites were truly frightening.
Although Ethan had seen it before, he still found it astonishing.
Even Yoruichi, who always believed she could eat a lot, admitted defeat and stopped competing with Goku to see who could eat more. She was already about to throw up, while Goku had eaten every ingredient in the restaurant and still said he was only eighty percent full.
"..."
After finishing the meal, everyone prepared to say goodbye. Yamcha and the others would return to Bulma's house. After Roshi announced that Goku and Krillin had completed their training, everyone became curious about Goku's next plan.
"I am going to search for the Dragon Balls."
"Still searching?"
"I want to find my grandpa's Four Star Dragon Ball."
For Goku, the Four Star Dragon Ball was a keepsake left by his grandfather, so he had to find it. No one had any objection to his decision. Bulma gave him the latest version of the Dragon Ball Radar, which Ethan had improved.
"What is this?"
"Is it a watch?"
Krillin had some basic knowledge about daily life. Goku had lived deep in the mountains and forests and was unfamiliar with many things. Recently he had been learning such everyday knowledge from Bulma.
"This is a device Ethan made. It works as a watch, map, communicator, and Dragon Ball Radar. I will teach you how to use it first."
Goku was inexperienced, but not stupid. He quickly learned how to operate it.
"This is much more convenient than your Dragon Ball Radar." After learning how to use it, Goku praised Ethan and teased Bulma. "Ethan is much more amazing than you."
"It is nothing special."
Ethan waved his hand as if he wanted more praise. Unfortunately, Goku did not understand subtle social cues and simply turned around to continue packing his luggage.
"What about the rest of you?"
While Goku was busy, the others discussed their plans. Krillin thought about it and realized he had nowhere else to go, so he decided to stay with Roshi and continue training.
"Then we will part ways here."
"So soon?"
Goku was impatient. Once he decided something, he acted immediately. After packing his luggage and summoning the Flying Nimbus, he left.
"Ah, he already left."
Ethan remembered that Goku's journey to search for the Dragon Balls this time would not be easy. Compared to the previous adventure, there would be many twists.
The Red Ribbon Army would be Goku's main opponent. General Blue was a troublesome enemy who caused Goku many problems. The person who truly threatened Goku's life was Mercenary Tao, known as the world's greatest assassin.
During their first encounter, if Goku had not placed the Four Star Dragon Ball in his chest pocket, which blocked Tao's Dodon Ray, he would have been killed instantly.
After that, Goku climbed Korin Tower and met Korin. After receiving Korin's training, he defeated Tao and launched a counterattack against the Red Ribbon Army, ultimately destroying the organization. This also laid the groundwork for the later Android storyline.
These experiences provided Goku with valuable training and greatly increased his strength, allowing him to learn many new abilities.
Ethan did not plan to interfere in this process. Instead, he was considering whether he should visit Korin Tower himself.
With his current strength, climbing it in one attempt would be difficult. However, he firmly believed that as long as he continued training diligently, he would soon gain enough strength to succeed and meet Korin.
He was not interested in the so called Sacred Water, which was simply ordinary cold water, or the Super Sacred Water that could increase strength. However, he was very interested in the large supply of Senzu Beans stored at Korin Tower.
"Senzu Beans are valuable resources. They should not be wasted by Yajirobe."
Later, these powerful strategic resources became extremely scarce, to the point that half a bean had to be eaten at a time. The main culprit was Yajirobe. Although the author intentionally weakened this powerful item later, since Ethan now had a chance to change the situation, he certainly would not ignore it.
"Master Roshi."
"What is it?"
"I would like to ask you about the location of Korin Tower."
"Oh?" Roshi was surprised that Ethan would ask about it. "You know about that place? Do you want to challenge Korin Tower?"
"I have heard the legend. I think if anyone in this world can confirm whether Korin Tower truly exists, it would be you."
"Hahaha, young man, you are quite clever." Roshi laughed happily. "That is correct. I do know the location of Korin Tower. However, I am not looking down on you. With your current strength, you cannot challenge it yet."
"I only want to know the location first. I will attempt the challenge once my strength is sufficient."
"Hmm, I understand."
Compared with their first meeting, Roshi's impression of Ethan had changed slightly, for the better.
Through Yoruichi's performance in the preliminaries, he learned that the two young people who once asked to become his students had been training diligently at Bulma's home. Their strength had improved quickly, which proved they had good talent and were hardworking. At the same time, their character seemed trustworthy.
Although Roshi would not actively accept them as disciples, he was willing to help hardworking young people with such a small request.
After telling Ethan the location of Korin Tower, Roshi also became curious. When would Ethan attempt the challenge, and would he succeed? Would another outstanding martial artist appear in this world?
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
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