Chapter:52 The Answer Is Six - Legend of gine !!

Want to read more?

The next 10+ chapters are already available on my Patreon!

By joining, you'll get:

📖 Early access to future chapters

🗳️ Polls to shape the story

🎁 Exclusive content for Patrons

🔥 Bonus scenes & content you won't find anywhere else

👀 Don't fall behind—others are already ahead!

👉 patreon.com/FanfictionTakashi

(If link doesn't show, just search on Google: FanfictionTakashi Patreon)

------------

The fight continued in earnest with Chiaotzu charging Krillin with his whole body used as a ram. Krillin dodged, even when Chiaotzu dive bombed into the ground. Gine swore the fights humans have get weirder and weirder the more she learned and observed.

Chiaotzu then raised his hands at Krillin, suddenly making him clutch his abdomen in agony. Gine could feel the energy concentrated in his stomach, making it feel like it was on fire.

Krillin fell to his knees, groaning in horrible pain. Chiaotzu kicked him hard, making Krillin cry out. Gine was appalled, Chiaotzu was trying to torture Krillin from the inside out, beating him while he was down where Krillin is feebly able to defend himself.

"His death will be on you!" Crane declared at them. "For the murder of my brother Tao!"

Gine was confused. Tao? As in the cruel Mercenary Tao that Kakarot and Chi-Chi defeated? He was his brother?!

Now this fight was personal. This wasn't just a tournament, this was a fight for survival. She didn't fear for her son as much as she did for his friend, but she felt a twinge of worry somewhere in the back of her mind if Crane had something in store she didn't know about for Kakarot besides this Chiaotzu.

Krillin was near the edge of the ring; in so much pain he looked like he was going to vomit and pass out. Chiaotzu approached him with his glowing hands outstretched and looked at his fallen foe with a smile of malignant glee, the first time Gine had seen him express an emotion. It was horrible. And Krillin looked like he was finished, his efforts and cheers for nothing.

Krillin's face suddenly lit up in realization. "Hey! What's nine minus three?!" He shouted at Chiaotzu.

"Huh?!" Chiaotzu stopped his energy concentration. He then looked at his fingers in confusion. "Uh, um, well let's see."

Seriously? Gine thought in amazement as Chiaotzu tried to count his digits. "Now, would that be, um, five... seven...eight?" The boy replied, completely unaware he left himself open and Krillin was back on his feet.

"WRONG!" Krillin shouted as he pounced on him. Chiaotzu didn't see the gut punch fast enough to react, clutching his stomach in surprise and agony. With Chiaotzu distracted by the pain, Krillin gave him one hard roundhouse kick to the side of his head and Chiaotzu was sent out of the ring. He slammed into the spectators' wall and slumped to the grass below, dazed.

"The answer is six!" Krillin proclaimed to the unconscious Chiaotzu before the announcer stepped in.

"The winner by knockout is Krillin!"

The crowd went crazy, and so did Gine as she gave a genuine round of applause for her son's best friend. Seeing this brave little human boy triumph against torture with some ingenuity was truly something incredible. Kakarot danced on stage with him, laughing heartedly in victory.

Gine looked towards Crane and saw how infuriated he looked, clenching his teeth and feeling the raw and unbarred rage and embarrassment emanating from him. She couldn't help but smirk at him and didn't feel ashamed of it. All his bravado at how unstoppable he and his students were had gone up in smoke.

"Who would've thought a martial artist would need mathematics." Gohan said amazedly. Gine could only nod at that, still not taking her eyes off of Crane and Tien huffing off and vanishing behind the crowd. Chiaotzu was left where he fell for the tournament staff to carry him away in a stretcher.

"Some teacher HE is." Gine said sarcastically as she observed, "Leaving his pupils to tend to their wounds and suffer for HIS mistake of messing with Kakarot's friends."

"Yes, it is. Poor mentorship and regard for his students, no wonder they come off as quite hostile. Yet it is a pity for someone to be left behind so coldly." Gohan remarked. Gine turned to him as everyone cheered around them.

"He tortured Krillin. He probably would've killed him. I don't feel the least bit sorry for that doll." She said, but somewhere within her Gine felt slightly bad that she would say something like that. But didn't linger on it.

"Hmm." Gohan said simply, not wanting to push the matter further with debating how to feel for your enemies after the talk they had yesterday. But then remembered something. "Did Master Shen say that Mercenary Tao was his brother?"

"Yeah, he did." Gine said, then looked toward where Crane departed.

"Oh dear." Gohan said gravely. "Does he know that it was Kakarot?"

"I'm not sure, but it sounded like he's after revenge for what happened to his brother." She said more to herself. Then she looked at her son leaving the ring with Krillin, worry beginning to set in. Based on what Kakarot told her about Tao, what would his older brother, a Martial Arts master, be capable of?

"We should keep on eye on him in case he tries something on Kakarot, and should let Kakarot know too." Gine said.

"Indeed, we should." Gohan replied, then looked at Gine apologetically. "It's unfortunate that you would have to be put under these kinds of stresses for your one outing into the world. Especially with Crane."

Gine looked at him and understood. The concern he had been showing all day for her. She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, now that you mention it. It's been stressful being here, with all the people and noises and things. I never though Earth could have so much activity in one place where we want to lay low. But with Master Shen being such an antagonizing presence, I've been a bit on edge."

Gohan hummed in acknowledgement, "We can leave at any time you wish. They would understand, and Kakarot can take care of himself."

Gine considered this for a moment. The mountains, the tress, the solitude, the quiet, the smell of the forest, all of it. She could be free from all this drama, and back to the comfortable and lonely home she knew. As much as she adored her son's pursuits and his friends, she couldn't stay to handle more of this constant bombardment on her senses. He could indeed handle himself in battle, and with all his friends and Gohan here, he'll be more than safe from that Master Shen and his henchmen. And she DID keep her promise by coming to the tournament to see him fight...even thou

gh he hasn't fought yet...

But...

"No... I'll stay."