"The world's number one assassin? You're not all that."
Piccolo stood coolly at the center of the arena. At his feet lay Tao Pai Pai, who just moments ago had been radiating arrogance and pride.
"How… how could there be such overwhelming power?" Tao Pai Pai struggled to get up, but Piccolo's foot pressed him firmly back down.
"Impossible! My body is equipped with the most advanced energy detection device. Your power level should be far below mine!"
Just moments ago, Tao Pai Pai had been so smug and overbearing—now he was utterly pathetic.
"That's our king!"
The demon warrior whom Goku had defeated earlier had regained consciousness. He looked at Piccolo with reverence, his gaze toward Tao Pai Pai full of disdain.
"Just a mere human. You think you're worthy?"
It was all but written on his face:
"You think you're qualified? You want a key made? Three yuan for one, ten yuan for three—are you qualified?! Huh?! Qualified for how many?!"
"Well done, as expected of our king!"
Reiwu shouted from the sidelines, more exaggerated than anyone else—he'd somehow found a giant flag that read "Victory to the Great Demon King!" and was waving it with zeal.
Their other companion, the mummy man, held two smaller flags in each hand, shaking them energetically.
"Strong?"
Piccolo gave a faint, self-deprecating chuckle at Tao Pai Pai's words. "You think I'm strong? I've never once believed I was strong enough."
"Especially when that man is standing before me."
Piccolo's gaze turned toward Naruto.
"The more ignorant a man is, the more he believes himself to be everything. The more one learns, the more one realizes their own insignificance."
"There's always someone beyond someone else. A sky beyond the sky. And a demon beyond every demon."
He spoke quietly, as if to himself. "You're the one who taught me that."
"There's more to life than conquering the world. Maybe… there are things far more important."
"Like eating an orange."
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
Tao Pai Pai roared, struggling to rise again—yet with his thousand-point power level, he was as feeble as a child before Piccolo.
"Forget it. You wouldn't understand."
Piccolo shook his head and stepped back, releasing the pressure that held Tao Pai Pai down. "I'll show you a glimpse of my real power."
The next instant, an overwhelming force swept across the stage, crushing down on Tao Pai Pai from all directions. It felt as if the slightest twitch would tear him apart.
If Tao Pai Pai had moments ago believed himself the stronger one, now his internal detector was screaming in alarm.
Flashing in bold red letters across his vision—
"Extreme Danger."
"In recognition of your decent battle power," Piccolo's cold voice rang out, "I'll give you a choice. Submit to me—and I might spare your life."
Before anyone could react, Tao Pai Pai collapsed to his knees with a dull thud.
"I—I am willing to serve you, Great Demon King! From now on, you are my only master, and I am your most loyal servant!"
Despite his dramatic entrance and villainous flair—his tongue tricks, his flying columns—Tao Pai Pai's survival instinct was simply too strong.
Pride? A warrior's dignity? Those meant nothing to him.
"Uncle…"
Tien Shinhan stared at the man he had once idolized, disappointment heavy in his voice.
Was this really the person he used to look up to?
This man no longer deserved to be called a martial artist.
"Get lost."
Piccolo's voice was icy.
Without another word, Tao Pai Pai leapt off the stage—no hesitation, no pride left to salvage.
Against anyone else, he might have feigned weakness to strike back later. But against Piccolo? He wouldn't dare.
Piccolo would actually kill him.
"Winner: Contestant 'Piccolo Junior.'"
The four semifinalists had been decided:
Naruto vs. Tien Shinhan
Son Goku vs. Piccolo Junior
Naruto and Tien Shinhan stepped onto the stage.
After a brief exchange of words, both immediately launched into battle.
It had to be said—Tien Shinhan's strength was already among the very top of human fighters. Without artificial modifications—like cybernetic enhancements or consuming the fruits of the Spirit Tree—there were few paths left for humans to grow stronger through training alone.
At least, not through ordinary Earth-based martial arts.
If the Dragon Ball story had ended with King Piccolo, perhaps that would have been enough. But after the Z-era began, power levels skyrocketed at an absurd rate—hundreds, thousands, millions—and the ordinary human fighter was left far, far behind.
The Z Fighters needed to evolve.
And indeed, they could become stronger.
"Do you think you've reached the height of your power?"
Naruto asked calmly, blocking one of Tien Shinhan's strikes while locking eyes with him.
"Before this tournament, yes," Tien admitted without hesitation. "But after meeting so many incredible fighters here, I realized—I'm still far from strong enough."
Naruto smiled approvingly. "Exactly. Your potential… all of your potential, really—goes far beyond this."
Compared to Krillin, who later chose a quiet life as a policeman, and Yamcha, who gave up fighting to play baseball, Tien was the only non-Saiyan Z Fighter who never stopped training. Even through the Majin Buu saga, he was still striving to improve, devoted to the way of martial arts.
Though his growth could never match that of the Saiyans, his determination was real.
During the Cell saga, even though he was hopelessly outmatched by Androids 17 and 18, Tien had singlehandedly held off Cell's second form.
And during the Buu saga, when Super Buu wiped out nearly all of humanity in an instant, Tien survived the assault and even made it to Goku's side—almost fusing with him using the Potara earrings.
He had even taken one of Buu's full-force kicks and lived.
"How did you train your power to such levels?" Tien finally asked as their exchange continued, realizing he couldn't keep up. "What did you do to get this strong?"
Naruto shook his head. "My own energy has long since stopped growing."
(Note: In the Dragon Ball world, this 'energy' is known as ki—spiritual life force cultivated through training.)
"The reason your strength has plateaued," Naruto continued, "isn't because your body has reached its limit… it's because your perspective has."
"In other words—your version of reality, your 'patch'—has capped your growth."
If the Z Fighters could have set a clear goal early on and pushed themselves toward it, perhaps they could have reached far higher heights—even if not top-tier, at least enough to avoid being reduced to background characters later on.
As the saying goes:
Only those with goals can move forward. Only those who see a direction can evolve.
Naruto faintly remembered a manga he'd once seen—Dragon Ball: Super Dimensional Battle—a story set in a world where Son Goku never existed.
In that universe, the Z Fighters had grown strong on their own.
They defeated King Piccolo, repelled the Saiyan invasion, crushed Frieza's army, overcame the Android crisis, and even thwarted Babidi's evil schemes.
That world had a Krillin who inherited the title of Master Roshi.
A Tien Shinhan of unimaginable strength.
A Yamcha who had turned himself into a cyborg.
And a Videl who could draw the Z-Sword.
Even if that story wasn't canon, Naruto believed it showed something important—that humans could still become stronger.
He wanted to see that kind of Z Fighter again.
Not just bystanders doomed to be knocked out seconds after appearing.
Naruto's voice resonated in the hearts of everyone present—Piccolo included.
"Do you all… want to see my true power?"
Of course they did. Every Z Fighter on the field burned with curiosity—especially Piccolo.
Just how powerful was Naruto, really?
"Then I'll show you."
But just as Naruto prepared to unleash his energy, Tien raised his hand. "Wait—please, not yet."
Naruto paused, looking at him questioningly.
"I'm afraid that if I see the full extent of your power now… I'll lose the will to fight entirely."
Tien's eyes were firm. "Before that, there's one technique I want to try. I developed it specifically for this tournament."
Tien and Krillin were both masters of innovation, each known for creating some of the most iconic moves in Dragon Ball:
the Solar Flare and the Destructo Disc—techniques so simple yet devastatingly effective that they remained useful no matter how powerful their enemies became.
"Alright then," Naruto said, gesturing for him to begin. "Show me."
As Tien's energy began to surge, his body started to shift.
He split into two, then four identical copies—all real, all alive.
"What an unbelievable sight!" cried the announcer. "Four Tien Shinhans—four of them on the ring at once!"
The Four-Body Technique.
A move that splits the user into four physical bodies, each possessing the same memories and fighting abilities. Twelve eyes, sixteen arms—overwhelming in close combat.
But it had a fatal flaw: each body had only one-fourth of the original's strength.
And once the fight began, that weakness became obvious.
"Hah!"
The four Tiens positioned themselves at the four corners of the ring, launching simultaneous energy blasts. From the third eye on each forehead, beams of energy shot toward Naruto in perfect unison.
The crowd gasped as Naruto's figure suddenly blurred—then multiplied.
Shadow Clone Jutsu.
The audience fell silent.
The Four-Body Technique and the Shadow Clone Technique were strikingly similar—but in terms of efficiency, the ninja art was far superior.
While Tien's technique divided his strength, Naruto's clones each retained his full physical ability.
And that was without even mentioning the far more advanced Wood Clone Technique, which was, by all standards, completely broken.
"Amazing! Uzumaki Naruto has also split into four—he's facing off against four Tien Shinhans at once!"
The crowd erupted.
Tien's eyes widened. "What?!"
In a blur, each Naruto effortlessly dodged the attacks and countered, sending all four Tiens flying out of the ring simultaneously.
By the time they landed, the clones had merged back into one.
"I never expected my brand-new technique to be something you already knew," Tien said, surprised but not bitter.
Naruto shook his head. "No. What I used wasn't your Four-Body Technique. It's a ninjutsu—a combat art from my world."
"Ninjutsu…" Tien repeated the unfamiliar word under his breath, but seeing that Naruto didn't elaborate, he dropped the question, assuming it was a move Naruto himself had created.
"Now," Naruto said, turning back to the others, "let me show you what real power looks like."
The match may have ended, but Naruto wasn't done.
He gathered his energy—and the air around him began to blaze with white, flame-like aura.
"Beep-beep-beep—"
Bulma's scouter started screaming in alarm as the numbers on the display began to skyrocket.
"1000… 1500… 2000… 2500…"
Krillin gasped. "That ki—it's terrifying!"
"How could a human possibly have that much energy?"
The Kami of Earth watched Naruto in silence, his gaze unreadable.
"That kid…?"
Tao Pai Pai muttered in disbelief, glancing at his own detector. Though crude compared to Bulma's scouter, it still registered power levels—and what it showed made his jaw drop.
"His energy is several times higher than mine!"
He gritted his teeth. "I knew it! That old man who installed this device must've messed it up—it has to be broken!"
"Of course."
When Naruto's power exceeded 1500, Piccolo's eyes gleamed. "I knew it. I knew your power wasn't what it seemed."
But as the numbers kept climbing, that excitement slowly drained from his face—replaced by a bead of cold sweat.
Just how much power is he hiding…?
If the gap had only been double, Piccolo might still dream of catching up. But five times? Ten times? That was a chasm that no amount of training could easily bridge.
On Bulma's scouter, the numbers continued to rise—
5000… and still climbing.
"This isn't even his limit?!" she exclaimed.
At this rate, Bulma thought, she'd have to upgrade the device soon—before it exploded from overload.
Finally, the numbers stopped at 7000.
A hush fell over the arena.
Naruto's battle power: Seven thousand.
No one could speak. Only Goku still wore an excited grin.
But even that astonishing number wasn't Naruto's full power.
Because the Naruto standing on the stage—
wasn't the real one.
It was a clone.
A Shadow Clone… that had created another Shadow Clone.
A technique only Naruto could pull off.
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