Age 774, the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament.
A grand occasion not seen for a long time, the atmosphere was buzzing with noise and excitement.
Perhaps because the number of participants in this tournament was a bit high, the organizers specially added punching machines as a qualifying round.
Participants had to score 80 or above on the punching machine to advance.
First up was the world champion, Mr. Satan, who scored a high 137 in a showy manner.
Among the competitors after him, few could score above 120.
But when Krillin and the others took the test, the style completely changed.
Krillin carefully tapped the punching machine. The numbers on the display rapidly jumped, finally settling on 192.
The assistant referee was dumbfounded, wondering if this short baldy is really a human.
He hurriedly sent someone to check the machine and had others test it, but the results all showed that the machine was functioning properly.
Under the assistant referee's stupefied gaze, Goku also threw a light punch. The number that jumped up on the punching machine was 186.
Piccolo crossed his arms, stepped forward coldly, and threw a punch. 210, breaking the record again.
Just as the assistant referee had gone numb, Vegeta walked over with his hands in his pockets, his face full of arrogance.
He glanced at the machine, his eyes full of disdain.
"A boring trick." He snorted coldly, throwing a casual punch, but without holding back his strength.
With a loud bang, the punching machine shattered into pieces.
The entire arena fell into deathly silence.
If the jumping numbers could still be faked, then smashing the punching machine with one punch undeniably demonstrated strength.
In the contestants' waiting area, Gohan, disguised as a masked superhero, sighed helplessly, "There's just no dealing with him..."
Videl beside him looked suspicious. "That guy just smashed the punching machine. How come you're not surprised at all?"
"Ah? Ah! Y-yes!" Gohan finally reacted, quickly putting on a 'panicked' expression. "I-I'm so scared! He's amazing!"
It must be said, his acting was a bit exaggerated.
Fortunately, Videl didn't dwell on it. Instead, she stared fixedly at Vegeta and the others. "Even my dad only scored 137. Are they truly strong, or is it some kind of trick we don't know about?"
Just then, Vegeta, having finished his test, walked past Gohan and Videl with his hands in his pockets, his face expressionless, and dropped a remark: "Try to be quick."
His tone was as cold as ever.
Gohan instinctively replied, "Okay, Uncle Vegeta."
"?!" Videl's head snapped around, looking at Gohan in surprise. "So you do know them?"
"Uh... well..." Gohan's forehead beaded with sweat. He scratched his head sheepishly, his brain racing to find an excuse. "Yeah, we've met a few times at other tournaments before. Ha, haha..."
Videl, however, did not let him off easily. She stepped closer, lowered her voice, and her eyes sharpened.
"Gohan! That thing called [Ki] you taught me before... is that the reason they're so strong?"
Gohan was caught off guard by the question. He hesitated for a moment, then ultimately nodded honestly. "Well, sort of. Ki is the foundation."
Videl's eyes grew even brighter, full of fighting spirit. "Then can I become as strong as them in the future?"
"Well... that might be a bit difficult." Gohan said sheepishly.
"Difficult?" Videl frowned, unconvinced. "Are you saying my talent is inferior to theirs?"
Just as Gohan was flustered and unsure how to explain, a gentle voice sounded beside them.
"Your talent is top-tier among Earthlings."
Videl turned her head at the sound and saw an unfamiliar young man standing beside her.
His eyes seemed like stars, making one unconsciously want to be drawn in.
Hearing the other praise her talent, Videl was pleased, but also somewhat confused. "Among Earthlings? Are there aliens too?"
This person was naturally Setsuna. He smiled slightly. "Isn't your boyfriend a mixed-blood of Earthling and alien?"
Videl, forgetting to refute the 'boyfriend' remark, looked at Gohan in shock. "You're an alien?"
Various bizarre, tentacled alien monster images from science fiction movies suddenly flashed through her mind.
'Was Gohan going to suddenly transform into that kind of perverted tentacle monster?'
"It's not what you think!" Gohan explained frantically. "I'm a Saiyan hybrid. Saiyans and Earthlings look the same. We just... just have an extra tail."
"You have a tail?" Videl's eyes lit up. Like an infatuated girl, she asked, "Can I touch your tail?"
"Eh?" Gohan's expression stiffened. He instinctively covered his rear, embarrassed. "My tail was cut off when I was a child."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized and jerked his head around to look at the unfamiliar young man who had just spoken.
"You, you're Uncle Setsuna?"
Setsuna smiled slightly. "It's me, Gohan. You've grown up too."
"It really is you!" Gohan's excitement was almost overflowing. "That's great! My dad and the others will be so happy to know you're also participating in this tournament!"
Videl looked at Setsuna, who seemed only a few years older than herself, in shock. "Uncle? How does he look so young?"
Setsuna laughed. "For martial artists like us, maintaining youth is very normal."
Videl's eyes practically turned into stars. Her desire for Ki had never been stronger.
Gohan, however, looked suspiciously at the top of Setsuna's head. "Uncle Setsuna, where's your halo?"
Setsuna smiled calmly. "I've been resurrected now, so naturally I don't have a halo."
"That's great!" Gohan was even happier.
Videl, beside him, was even more confused, 'Had I misheard? Resurrected?'
Just then, the staff finally finished cleaning up the debris of the shattered punching machine and brought out a brand new one.
The assistant referee wiped his sweat and announced loudly, "Testing continues."
Setsuna looked at the new machine and nodded to Gohan. "I'm going to take the test too."
He walked to the machine, lightly tapped the punching machine, and the number settled at 137.
"Amazing! It's the same record as Mr. Satan!" The assistant referee exclaimed loudly.
Setsuna was speechless. The influence of the Satan virus was indeed strong.
After Setsuna, No. 17 and No. 18 also stepped forward one after another, consecutively scoring 137.
"Eh? Isn't that..." Seeing No. 18, Gohan's expression became strange.
He still remembered how Krillin had excitedly wanted to revive No. 18 back then, only to be told by Shenron that No. 18 had already been revived by someone else, and how Krillin had turned to stone on the spot, utterly embarrassed.
"So, No. 17 and No. 18 were revived by Uncle Setsuna?" Gohan scratched his head and could only silently mourn for Uncle Krillin.
After all, whether in strength or appearance, Krillin was completely outmatched.