Being slapped four times in front of everyone was more humiliating for the proud Tien than if he had been killed.
The four clones immediately merged back into one, his face darkening to the color of raw liver, the third eye on his forehead bloodshot.
"Son! Goku!"
"You've truly made me angry!"
Teeth gritted, each word sounded like it was forced out between clenched jaws.
Goku stood with his hands on his hips, looking completely innocent.
"You spread your own power around. Should I be blamed for that?"
Krillin, just back from the restroom, nearly burst out laughing.
This monkey… who taught him to be this sharp-tongued?
On the arena floor, Tien suddenly closed his eyes and thrust both hands into the air.
"If your speed is fast, then I'll make you blind!"
"Solar Flare!"
A blinding white light erupted from Tien, as if a supernova had exploded on the arena floor. The entire venue was instantly drowned in a sea of white.
"Ah! My eyes!"
"I can't see!"
"What kind of move is this?"
The spectators screamed, covering their eyes and tumbling into their seats.
Even the host, sunglasses in place, was blinded, tears streaming as he clutched the table leg and wailed.
At the center of the blinding light, Goku was hit first.
"So bright!"
Instinctively, he shut his eyes and covered his face with both hands.
"Now's my chance!"
Tien seized the opportunity, lunging like a leopard. He slammed a powerful knee into Goku's abdomen.
Thud!
The strike landed perfectly.
Goku curled up like a shrimp, spitting out a bit of saliva, and was sent flying toward the edge of the arena like a cannonball.
"Not done yet!"
Tien pursued relentlessly, leaping through the air and smashing both fists into Goku's back.
"Volleyball Fist Spike!"
Boom!
Goku crashed into the arena floor, the hard stone cracking under the impact as debris flew everywhere.
The white light slowly faded.
Spectators rubbed their tear-streaked eyes, squinting to see what had happened.
Goku lay motionless at the bottom of the crater.
Tien hovered in midair, breathing heavily, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.
"Did… did I win?"
Yamcha stood nervously.
"Not yet. That kid's ki didn't even fluctuate."
Krillin yawned, barely glancing at the system interface.
As expected, a cough came from the bottom of the crater.
"Cough… that really hurt."
Goku rubbed his stomach and casually climbed out, looking completely fine.
"That Solar Flare was intense. Almost blinded me," he said.
"You… you're still standing?!"
Tien's eyes widened, disbelief written all over his face.
He had thrown everything into that combo, enough to shatter stone!
Goku dusted himself off, his gaze growing serious.
"I was careless just now. But the same move won't work twice on me."
"Don't talk big!"
Tien roared, assuming the Solar Flare stance again.
"Then let's try again! Solar Flare!"
White light exploded once more.
But this time, Goku didn't close his eyes or cover his face. He reached into his pocket and, with lightning speed, put on sunglasses.
They were Master Roshi's sunglasses.
"Heh, I came prepared."
Goku smiled at Tien through the dark lenses.
The arena fell silent.
Tien froze, still glowing, like a giant, embarrassed light bulb.
The light from his Solar Flare finally died out.
His composure nearly broke.
"Cheating little monkey…"
Shaking with anger, Tien ripped off his shirt, revealing his sculpted muscles.
"If technique won't work, then I'll win with raw power!"
He began gathering his ki intensely.
The air trembled, and debris hovered around his feet.
"Kamehameha? No, that's not it."
Krillin squinted.
"Is he going for a straight-up power clash?"
Tien wasn't using a life-draining forbidden technique like the full Ki Cannon.
Instead, he concentrated all his ki into his limbs, his body burning like fire.
"Goku! Take this!"
They collided again.
This time, no fancy moves just pure, bone-crunching impact.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Each collision shook the arena violently.
Gradually, it became clear: Tien was being overpowered.
Goku moved faster, his strikes stronger.
He seemed bottomless. Just when you thought that was his limit, he produced even more power.
"How is this possible…"
Tien's heart sank with every blow.
His fists struck Goku like hitting steel, numbing his bones.
Goku's punches, in turn, sent tremors through Tien's body, rattling his organs.
"Is this the result of your training at Kami's?"
Gritting his teeth, Tien swept his leg to push Goku back.
Goku flipped backward, landing perfectly.
"Not just that," Goku said.
"Master Popo had me running with 100 kilograms of stone in a thunderstorm. A god made me dodge bees blindfolded…"
"Compared to that, your attacks are too straightforward."
"Too straightforward…"
Tien felt humiliated.
"Then how about this!"
He roared, his body swelling, the shoulder blades twitching. Two more arms sprouted from his back!
"Four Demon Fist!"
The four arms spun like windmills, pressing down on Goku with overwhelming force.
"Another weird trick," Goku sighed.
"More arms, but more openings too."
Goku didn't back away. He ducked under the upper two arms and grabbed the lower two wrists.
"Up!"
With a shout, Goku swung Tien, larger than him, like a giant windmill.
"What?!"
He spun Tien multiple times, then released him.
Whoosh…
Tien flew like a top, crashing toward the arena wall.
But just before impact, he stopped midair using Flight.
Hovering, panting, all four arms trembling, he growled,
"Damn… damn it!"
Every technique he had mastered seemed like a mere toy in Goku's hands.
"Am I really this weak? Or is he just too strong?"
Tien glanced at Krillin.
The bald fighter sat casually, snatching snacks from Oolong.
"That bald guy… and this Goku…"
"What kind of monsters does the Turtle School produce?!"
Then Goku did something that puzzled everyone.
He started removing his wristbands.
"Warm-up's about done."
He tossed the bands to the floor.
Thud!
The seemingly light fabric hit the stone with a heavy crack, creating fissures.
Next, he removed his shoes.
Thud!
Finally, his dark blue undershirt.
Boom!
The entire arena shuddered as dust rose.
Silence fell again.
"How… how heavy is that?"
The referee swallowed nervously.
"Not much," Goku said, stretching.
"Just over a hundred kilos in total."
Tien's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
So the Goku who had moved too fast to see and hit with bone-shaking power…
…had been carrying over a hundred kilograms the whole time?
"Is… is this a joke…"
Tien felt his worldview collapse.
Krillin, watching Goku's aura surge after dropping the weights, smirked.
"Now, this fight should be over."
The dropped weight transformed Goku's presence.
If he was a sheathed sword before, now he was a divine blade.
A light jump sent him soaring over ten meters.
"Wow! So light! I feel like I could fly to the moon!"
Goku somersaulted in midair, shouting with excitement.
Tien felt a crushing sense of helplessness.
But as a martial artist, he couldn't give up.
"Even without the weights, I won't believe the gap is this big!"
He retracted the extra arms and condensed all his ki into one point.
He decided to gamble everything on a single, decisive blow.
"Goku! Take this! New Ki Cannon!"
Hands forming a triangle, he fired a powerful blast toward the airborne Goku.
Though not the life-draining full version, it compressed eighty percent of his ki.
A blinding beam shot skyward, radiating destructive energy.
"Danger!"
Bulma screamed.
Goku didn't dodge.
"Bring it on!"
Adjusting his stance midair, he stomped the air with his feet so fast he literally crushed it.
Using the recoil, he surged forward, directly into the beam.
"Kame…hame…ha!"
Blue energy gathered in his hands, swelling instantly.
"Ha!"
The blue wave collided with Tien's Ki Cannon midair.
Sizzle!
The two forces clashed, screaming as they crushed and consumed each other.
Violent winds swept the arena, blowing wigs off spectators in the front rows.
"Hold… it… aaaah!"
Tien's forehead veins bulged as he poured all his energy into the attack.
But it was useless.
Goku, freed from weights, had completely surpassed him.
"Haahhh!"
With a shout, the Kamehameha doubled in size, engulfing Tien's beam and crushing it toward the arena floor.
"Ahhh…"
Tien barely had time to scream before being swallowed by a blue wave of energy.
Boom!!
The arena shattered in a massive explosion, dust and debris flying everywhere.
When the smoke cleared, the arena was gone, leaving only a giant crater.
Tien lay at the bottom, clothes torn, body scorched. Not dead, but utterly defeated.
Goku landed lightly on the edge, only his clothes dirtied, completely unharmed.
"Tien is unconscious!"
"The winner Goku!"
The referee waved his arms frantically.
"He won! Goku won!"
Bulma and Oolong jumped for joy.
A small figure rushed in Chiaotzu.
"Tien! Are you okay?"
Chiaotzu hugged him, crying.
Tien struggled to open his eyes, looking up at Goku with a wry smile.
"I lost…"
Goku extended a hand.
"You were amazing, Tien. Next time, we'll fight again!"
Tien hesitated, then took the hand, using it to stand.
"Next time… I'll win."
Though he said it, he knew the gap was enormous.
He glanced at the competitors' seats Krillin sat smirking.
One Goku was already absurdly strong, and Krillin was even scarier…
Tien sighed, walking off with Chiaotzu's help.
"Well done, Goku," Krillin said, patting him on the shoulder.
"Heh, still not as good as you, Krillin," Goku said, scratching his head and smiling.
"That last punch… I definitely couldn't have blocked it."
"Good to know your limits," Krillin chuckled.