"And now..." The referee prepared to announce the start of the match.
"Wait! Hold on! Time out!" Mr. Satan shouted frantically.
The referee gave a slight nod.
Mr. Satan immediately rushed over to Son Goten, slinging an arm around the boy's shoulders with a forced grin. "Listen... kid, I forgot to tell you, this exhibition has a very special way of greeting the audience."
"A greeting?" Goten blinked, confused.
"That's right. Once the match starts, I want you to take your fist and very, very gently tap my face. Just like this." Mr. Satan gave a quick, pathetic demonstration. "Got it? Whatever you do, do not use any real force!"
"Mr. Satan, you're Videl's dad, right?" Goten didn't acknowledge the instructions, instead looking up at the champion with a curious expression.
Mr. Satan froze. "????"
Videl? This kid knows Videl?
"Yes... that's right," Mr. Satan nodded slowly.
"My big brother is dating her," Goten said with a wide, innocent grin.
"Your brother?" Mr. Satan was stunned again.
So that's where Videl was going the other day? To this kid's house? No wonder she said her new boyfriend was stronger than me. Is her boyfriend really this kid's older brother?
"So, I'm going to lose to you on purpose! In a minute, you just have to punch me once, and I'll pretend to fly out of the ring," Goten chuckled.
Mr. Satan stood there, paralyzed. At that moment, he felt as if a miracle had just dropped into his lap. He was so moved that tears nearly welled up in his eyes.
Videl, you really are daddy's little girl. If it weren't for you, your old man would've been beaten to a pulp by this kid!
"Are... are you serious?" Mr. Satan asked, his voice trembling with hope.
Goten gave a firm nod and whispered, "Just one punch is all it takes."
Mr. Satan's heart soared. Could it really be that simple?
"Alright, we're ready to start!" With his confidence restored, Mr. Satan waved to the referee. "Haha! The little guy just wanted my autograph. I told him I'd give it to him after the match!"
"I see." The referee didn't press further and continued with the announcement. "And now, let the match between our Junior Division Champion, Son Goten, and Mr. Satan begin!"
"Alright, here I come!" Mr. Satan shouted. He focused all his energy, charged toward Goten, and swung a massive punch right into the boy's forehead.
"Aaaah!"
Goten let out a dramatic cry of pain. He went sailing backward through the air and crashed down hard outside the ring.
The arena fell into a deathly silence.
Even Trunks, watching from the sidelines, was completely bewildered. Is this 'World Champion' Mr. Satan really that strong? He sent Goten flying with a single punch? Am I seeing things?
THUD!
Goten landed squarely on his backside. He rubbed his cheek, then scrambled back to his feet.
"Haha! I lost! Good job, Mr. Satan!" Goten laughed heartily.
Mr. Satan felt a twinge of guilt. He scratched his head, looking at the boy with immense gratitude. This kid is actually quite polite! He really did let me knock him out of the ring! My reputation is saved!
"Dad?" Videl was also in a daze. When did Dad get so strong? He actually knocked out Gohan's brother with one hit? No, wait... why do I get the feeling Goten was holding back?
"Was Goten doing that on purpose?" Videl asked, looking up at Son Gohan.
"Well... I don't think so?" Gohan replied, his voice trailing off as he looked away guiltily.
"Hmph, do you really think I can't tell?" Videl pouted, clearly unimpressed.
"Look... we just wanted to give Mr. Satan a little respect... It wouldn't have looked right for Goten to beat him in front of all these people," Gohan explained hurriedly.
Videl remained silent.
"Ring out! The winner is Mr. Satan!" the referee announced at the top of his lungs.
"WHOOOO! YEAH!"
"SATAN! SATAN! SATAN!"
The crowd erupted once again in thunderous applause and cheers. However, not everyone was convinced.
"Did you see that? I swear that kid was faking it."
"I was thinking the same thing. It looked like he lost on purpose."
"But why would he do that?"
"Maybe he just didn't think Mr. Satan was worth the effort?"
Mr. Satan: "..."
His face darkened. He had clearly overheard the whispers. Wait a minute... I was supposed to be the one who got punched and 'pretended' to lose. How did this kid end up stealing my script?
"The Adult Division of the World Martial Arts Tournament will begin in thirty minutes, at exactly 1:40 PM!" the referee announced into the microphone. "Everyone is free to take a break and grab some lunch!"
"A lunch break already?" Krillin blinked. "Well, that works out. Let's go eat."
Goku offered no objection. The group began making their way toward the dining hall.
"Excuse me! Only contestants who passed the preliminaries are allowed inside!" a staff member shouted, extending an arm to block their path.
"The results should be out by now, right?" Krillin said with a grin. "I'm fairly certain we all made the cut."
"Oh? One moment, please. Give me your names!" The staff member pulled out the official tournament roster.
Goku and the others reported their names one by one.
"Yes, you've all passed the preliminaries. Please follow me." The staff member gave the group a long, lingering look. These guys are all incredibly impressive! Are they all together?
"The drawing for the main bracket will take place at 1:30 PM," the staff member added as a final reminder.
Goku's group continued forward without much further comment.
"It looks like aside from our group and Gohan, there aren't really any other top-tier fighters. That prize money is as good as ours," Krillin chuckled, clearly enjoying the thought.
"Haha, yeah, it seems so," Goku replied, nodding with a smile.
Elsewhere on the grounds...
Trunks peered cautiously at a masked man standing in the center of the preliminary arena.
"Goten, come look at this," Trunks whispered, beckoning Son Goten over.
Goten looked inside and couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Wow, that's one unique-looking masked guy."
"The fact that he's standing there means he passed the preliminaries," Trunks said, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Goten! We can use him!"
"What do you mean?" Goten asked, looking a bit confused.
"If we dress up like him, no one will ever know it's us," Trunks grinned.
"Huh? What are you planning?" Goten still didn't quite follow.
"It's simple. We just knock that guy out with one punch, take his clothes, and enter the tournament in his place." Trunks wagged his finger, his smile growing even wider.
"That's not right, Trunks. Stop talking nonsense," Goten said, starting to get anxious.
"What? Don't you want to compete in the adult division?" Trunks countered. "Don't you want to see how your transformation stacks up against the adults?"
"I've sparred with my dad... I..." Goten scratched his head.
"Exactly—you sparred. Do you really think your dad was going all out against you?" Trunks challenged.
Goten found himself at a loss for words.
"If we're disguised as that masked man, my dad and yours will definitely take the fight seriously. That's the only way we'll see their true level," Trunks said, his smile persuasive.
"Well..." Goten was completely out of ideas.
"No more 'wells.' It's settled!" Trunks made the executive decision and immediately began creeping toward the masked fighter.
"Wait... hold on..." Goten hesitated, but it was too late.
Trunks had already appeared in front of the masked man.
"Excuse me, sir..." Trunks greeted him politely.
"What? You want an autograph?" The masked man looked down at Trunks.
"There's a beautiful lady over there who wants to have a chat with you. She's very shy, so she asked me to come get you," Trunks said, pointing toward the exit.
"What? Really? Where?" The masked man was instantly overcome with excitement.
"This way, this way." Trunks grabbed the man's hand and led him outside.
The masked man followed without a hint of suspicion. Once they were outside, he began scanning the area for the "beautiful lady" with the "stunning figure."
"Is she really that pretty? I have very high standards, you know!" The masked man's heart was racing.
THWACK!
Trunks delivered a swift chop to the back of the man's neck. He collapsed instantly, out cold.
Trunks grabbed the man by his ankles and dragged him into a nearby grove of trees.
"Goten, help me get his clothes off," Trunks called out.
"Our bodies are too small. Won't people notice something's off?" Goten asked.
"You dummy! We're both going to wear them at the same time!" Trunks grinned.
"Both of us?" Goten blinked in surprise.
After a bit of struggling, Trunks was perched on top of Goten's shoulders.
"Are you sure we won't get caught?" Goten asked nervously.
"Of course not! It's a perfect fit! Let's go!" Trunks pointed in one direction.
Patter, patter, patter!
Goten immediately started running in the opposite direction.
"Hey! Wrong way!" Trunks groaned.
Inside the restaurant...
Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta were eating like there was no tomorrow. Videl watched in stunned silence as the three of them polished off massive quantities of food.
No wonder Gohan's family is so poor, she thought. They've literally eaten themselves out of house and home! Fortunately, my dad has plenty of money... I hope it's enough to keep them fed.
Once they had their fill, the group left the restaurant and headed back outside.
"Vegeta, the Supreme Kai should be showing up right about now, shouldn't he?" Goku whispered into Vegeta's ear. "By the way, was it the same in your world?"
"Didn't I tell you? At least regarding the Buu situation, our two worlds are identical. There's no difference," Vegeta nodded.
Sure enough, after walking a bit further, they spotted Shin and Kibito ahead of them.
"Lord Supreme Kai, it's been a long time," Goku greeted them with a smile.
"Isn't that the Supreme Kai? What's he doing on Earth?" Krillin asked, a bit surprised.
"Gohan, is that really the Supreme Kai? The greatest god in the universe?" Videl whispered to Gohan.
"Yes," Gohan nodded.
"Goku, I see you're all here," Shin said, letting out a small sigh of relief.
"Lord Supreme Kai, I take it you're here about Majin Buu?" Goku laughed.
"You... you already know?" Shin froze, looking at Goku in utter shock.
"Why don't you tell us the details," Goku said with a smile.
"I've told you about Majin Buu before, so I won't repeat myself," Shin said, his expression turning serious. "The reason Kibito and I are here is that we've discovered that Bibidi, the creator of Majin Buu, had a son named Babidi! He's still alive, and he's come to Earth with the intention of reviving Majin Buu!"
"Dealing with Majin Buu shouldn't be that hard, right?" Goku said casually. "In Trunks' future world, Majin Buu was defeated quite easily!"
"Well... I'm afraid things are a bit more serious than we anticipated," Shin's expression grew even more somber.
"More serious than anticipated?" Goku blinked.
"Let's talk over there," Shin said, pointing to a secluded spot nearby. He knew that other contestants would likely be passing through their current location soon.
Goku and the others followed Shin to the quiet area.
"Hmph. You could have just come straight to Kakarot. There was no need to go through the trouble of entering the World Martial Arts Tournament," Vegeta remarked dryly.
"I've been investigating the seal on Majin Buu recently, and I've found the situation to be far more complex than we imagined," Shin said, his voice low as he glanced at Vegeta. "That's why I didn't come to you directly."
"What do you mean by 'more complex'?" Goku asked.
Snap!
Shin raised his right hand, and a crystal ball instantly materialized.
"Isn't that Old Kai's crystal ball?" Goku asked, momentarily taken aback.
"This... this is mine..." Shin smiled sheepishly. "Actually, all Supreme Kais have these crystal balls. I just didn't know how to use mine before..."
"Right, right," Goku nodded solemnly.
"Look," Shin said, suspending the crystal ball in mid-air and chanting under his breath.
Flash!
An image flickered to life within the crystal ball, centered on Majin Buu's seal.
"The seal... it doesn't look any different than before, does it?" Goku asked, scratching his head.
Vegeta, however, narrowed his eyes. Something felt off.
"What's wrong with the seal?" Vegeta asked.
"You noticed it too, didn't you, Vegeta?" Shin nodded toward him, his voice grave. "Look closely. Don't you see those strange patterns on the surface of the seal?"
Goku leaned in for a better look. Sure enough, there were faint, intricate textures visible on the seal. They were so fine that they were easy to miss if one wasn't looking for them.
"Those patterns weren't there before," Shin said, his brow furrowed.
"What does that mean?" Krillin asked from the side, then added with a smile, "Don't worry, Lord Supreme Kai. With Goku here, there's nothing to fear."
"I thought so too at first... but after the Ancestor had me investigate further, I realized the situation is much more complicated than I thought," Shin's expression shifted.
"Yes, I assisted Lord Supreme Kai in the investigation, and we discovered something very eerie," Kibito added, his voice heavy with concern.
"What exactly is so eerie?" Goku asked.
"Majin Buu... has mutated!" Shin let out a long sigh.
Goku: "..."
Vegeta: "..."
This damn Supreme Kai! they both thought. Everyone knows Majin Buu is a mutant! The problem is, you're being way too vague!
Gohan was also scratching his head in frustration.
"Gohan, what's going on? Who is this Majin Buu you're talking about?" Videl asked, completely lost.
"I'll explain it to you later. Just stay quiet for now," Gohan whispered.
Videl nodded obediently.
"Can you be a bit more specific, Lord Supreme Kai?" Piccolo asked, his lip twitching slightly.
"To put it simply, Majin Buu has become far more powerful than he was before," Shin said, his expression growing even more grim. "In other words, his strength has already surpassed that of Cell!"
"Surpassed Cell?" Goku raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed. Judging by the energy coming from the seal, his power definitely exceeds Cell's!" Shin said firmly. "We must be extremely cautious!"
"But... how did he get that much energy?" Goku asked, sounding puzzled.
Normally, Majin Buu's base power shouldn't be that overwhelming—roughly around the level of a Super Saiyan 3. Many of the people standing here could easily take him down.
"I'm not entirely sure of the exact cause, but the Ancestor suspects it's highly likely that during your battle with Cell, the leaking energy was absorbed by Majin Buu's seal," Shin said, hanging his head and taking a deep breath.
"Hmph, don't make me laugh!" Vegeta was the first to voice his disbelief. "You're saying Buu's seal can absorb energy? Without the magic of the wizard Babidi, how could that seal possibly have the ability to absorb energy on its own?"
"Vegeta, you certainly know a lot," Shin said, looking at Vegeta with a hint of surprise.
Vegeta ignored him.
"But what if Babidi arrived on Earth a long time ago?" Shin asked solemnly.
Goku and Vegeta were both stunned by the suggestion. That guy Babidi was on Earth that long ago?
"These are just theories the Ancestor and I have..." Shin continued his analysis. "As for whether Babidi actually came to Earth long ago... that still requires further investigation! That's also why I came to the World Martial Arts Tournament. I've finally found two men controlled by Babidi, and I hope to learn more through them!"
"If Babidi came to Earth so long ago, then what's the point of these two entering the tournament?" Vegeta countered with a smirk.
"The two of them are definitely here to absorb energy," Kibito explained on Shin's behalf.
"Absorb it with what?" Vegeta asked.
"That... we're not entirely sure yet," Shin shook his head.
"Hmph, simple. We'll just grab them and beat the answers out of them," Vegeta snorted, his patience wearing thin.
As soon as he finished speaking, Vegeta took to the air, intent on capturing the men.
Shin: "..."
"Wait... Vegeta!" Shin cried out in a panic. "You'll alert them!"
"Hmph, maybe that Babidi fellow already knows you're on Earth! We should strike first instead of cowering like you!" Vegeta rolled his eyes and, ignoring the Supreme Kai, flew off.
Shin reached out a hand, but Goku stopped him.
"Lord Supreme Kai, let Vegeta go. I know he'll be careful," Goku said with a grin, offering a bit of comfort.
"Alright... fine... after all, you're the ones who will ultimately have to defeat Majin Buu," Shin nodded solemnly.
Maybe Vegeta's right, he thought. Maybe Babidi already knows I'm here. It's better to take the initiative.
Vegeta quickly returned, dragging Yamu and Spopovich with him. Having lived through this once before, it was easy for him to recognize them.
However, Vegeta suddenly felt something was wrong. He noticed that neither of them had the "M" symbol on their foreheads.
Does that mean they aren't being controlled by Babidi?
When Goku saw the unconscious Yamu and Spopovich lying on the ground, he also froze. The situation was clearly different from what he had expected.
"It's not them," Shin said, shaking his head.
Vegeta: "..."
So it really isn't them?
"Those controlled by the wizard Babidi will have an 'M' symbol on their foreheads," Kibito added, also shaking his head.
"Not them?" Vegeta's brow furrowed even deeper. History really is quite different from my previous life!
"They certainly don't look like the ones..." Goku leaned in for a closer look and gave a firm nod.
"Regardless, let's wake them up. Maybe we can get some useful information out of them," Piccolo suggested.
Everyone agreed. Krillin stepped forward and delivered two sharp slaps to the faces of Yamu and Spopovich, jolting them awake.
The two men sat up, looking dazed and confused as they stared at Goku and the others.
"Who... who are you people? Why did you kidnap us?" Spopovich barked.
"Are you contestants in the tournament too?" Yamu asked.
"Is this some kind of scheme to get us disqualified?" Spopovich snorted. "Is the World Martial Arts Tournament really this corrupt?"
"Cut the chatter!" Piccolo said, his face cold and impatient. "I'm going to ask you some questions, and you're going to tell me everything you know."
Yamu and Spopovich looked at Piccolo, then at Goku and the others. They leaned in and began whispering to each other.
"Why do these guys look so familiar?" Yamu asked.
"I was thinking the same thing... I've definitely seen them somewhere before," Spopovich nodded.
"I remember now! They were there during the Cell Games!" Yamu's eyes lit up.
"Right, right! That's where we saw them!" Spopovich realized.
"What... what do you want with us?"
Both men were starting to panic. After all, these people had put on quite a show during the Cell Games. They seemed even stronger than Mr. Satan... though for some reason, Mr. Satan was the one who ended up taking all the credit.
"Have you ever met a wizard named Babidi?" Shin asked directly.
To be continued…
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