After throwing the Supreme Kai around for a while, Piccolo grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground.
Pain shot through the Supreme Kai's body. His face went pale, his body trembled, and despair crept into his eyes.
Why?
Why can't I, the greatest god in the universe, even beat someone who used to be Earth's Kami?
This is humiliating.
Still… if he's this strong, he really does have what it takes to become a Supreme Kai.
Maybe I can use him to defeat Majin Buu.
"Supreme Kai of Universe 7," Piccolo said coldly, patting his cheek. "Do you give up?"
"I… I give up," the Supreme Kai said weakly.
"Hmph. Good." Piccolo let him down.
Piccolo shifted back to his normal green form and glanced toward the referee.
"Sh-Shin has surrendered!" the referee snapped back to reality and raised the microphone. "The winner of the second match is Ma Junior!"
"Piccolo… I didn't know he could transform like that," Goku said, still surprised.
Vegeta stayed quiet, but his expression kept shifting.
When did that bastard Piccolo get this strong?
Winning this tournament might not be as easy as I thought.
Vegeta stared at Piccolo for a long moment, his face complicated.
"That's Piccolo for you!" Gohan said, genuinely happy. "He beat the Supreme Kai from another universe! Other than Dad, Piccolo might be the strongest future Supreme Kai now."
…
In the infirmary, Spopovich shook Yamu hard.
"Wake up already! That guy has a lot of energy. Go absorb it!" Spopovich said through clenched teeth.
Yamu finally woke up. He sat up with a cold expression and looked out the window.
"You really can sleep," Spopovich said. "Their match is already over. We missed our chance."
"It's fine. Those people are together, and some of them have even more energy," Yamu said.
"What happened to you anyway? How did you lose to that short guy?" Spopovich asked.
"Couldn't you tell? That short guy has way more energy than a normal person," Yamu said, grinding his teeth.
"I really couldn't," Spopovich said. "He looks so plain. He doesn't even have a nose. Who would think he could beat us?"
"We'll absorb their energy later and finish Babidi's mission as soon as possible," Yamu said, clenching his fist as his face twisted with anger.
"My match is next," Spopovich said.
…
The crowd was still stunned by Piccolo's transformation.
Even ordinary spectators could tell how strong he was. His energy felt explosive and heavy, the kind of power they could understand just by watching him move.
"Piccolo can transform like that too?" Zarek snorted. "Winning this might be harder than I thought."
"Zarek, we're in the seventh match," Trunks said, trembling a little. "Our opponent is the Legendary Super Saiyan. We might get knocked out in the first round, so I don't think we'll even reach Piccolo."
"Shut up. Do you think I need you to remind me?" Zarek snapped.
Trunks stopped talking.
"Zarek, how are we supposed to fight Kale-nee?" Goten asked.
"How else? There are three of us. Are you saying we can't beat one Legendary Super Saiyan?" Zarek said, acting fearless while quietly panicking inside.
"Huh? Why are your legs shaking?" Trunks asked.
"I need to pee. Is that a problem?" Zarek snapped.
Back in the ring, Piccolo patted the Supreme Kai's cheek again.
"Hey, Supreme Kai. You still alive?"
The Supreme Kai looked like he had lost the will to live.
"Talk. Where did all that confidence from earlier go?" Piccolo tapped his other cheek with the back of his hand.
"I'm fine…" the Supreme Kai answered quickly.
"You thought being a Supreme Kai made you special? I already told you, I'm going to become the Supreme Kai of another universe soon." Piccolo snorted.
The Supreme Kai felt that one deep in his chest and could not say a word.
"Hmph. Running into us was really bad luck for you." Piccolo let him go, shook his head, and walked off the ring.
The Supreme Kai followed him down, looking miserable.
The audience kept talking, most of them still shaken by Piccolo's transformation.
"All right, let's move on to the next match," the referee said, cutting through the noise. "Match three will be Videl versus Spopovich!"
"Videl! Videl! Videl!"
The moment the crowd heard Videl's name, they started cheering.
Piccolo and the Supreme Kai's match was already old news.
Nothing got the crowd excited like Videl stepping into the ring.
"You're really popular, Videl," Gohan said with a grin.
Videl smiled proudly.
"Good luck, Videl," Kale said.
"Thanks." Videl nodded and walked toward the ring.
"As everyone knows, Videl is Mr. Satan's daughter and has helped the police catch criminals many times," the referee said, introducing her to the crowd. "She is a young fighter with a strong sense of justice. At only seven years old, she won the Junior Division championship of the World Martial Arts Tournament!"
Then he gave a quick introduction of Spopovich.
"Her opponent, Spopovich, lost in the first round of the previous tournament. This time, he has changed his look and returned for another challenge!"
As the Supreme Kai passed Spopovich, he immediately sensed something wrong with him.
He turned back with a frown and stared at the man, whose body was full of evil energy.
So he must be one of Babidi's men.
"Now, begin!" the referee shouted.
Videl took her stance.
Spopovich only stared at her with an ugly, vicious look, his eyes full of malice.
"Videl! Videl! Videl!"
The crowd kept cheering her on.
The Supreme Kai had already entered the waiting room.
"Supreme Kai, are you okay?" Goku asked.
"Supreme Kai, let me heal you!" Kibito rushed forward, looking over the bruises on his face.
"Thank you…" the Supreme Kai said with a nod. He had no reason to refuse.
Piccolo had beaten him badly. The injuries were mostly surface wounds, but they still hurt.
Healing light bloomed from Kibito's hands and covered the Supreme Kai.
In the blink of an eye, his injuries faded.
Goku, Vegeta, and the others watched quietly, not especially surprised.
They had met plenty of people who could heal over the years. Kibito being able to heal was not a big deal to them.
"Piccolo, you hurt the Supreme Kai this badly. I won't forgive you!" Kibito glared at Piccolo.
"Win your first match first," Piccolo said with a smile.
"Hmph. I'll win my first match easily," Kibito said.
"You're the Supreme Kai's attendant, right?" Piccolo asked, still smiling.
"So you know that much." Kibito lifted his chin proudly. "Then you should also know this. Even though I serve the Supreme Kai, my rank is still very high in this universe. Let me put it this way: without my approval, you can forget about becoming the next Supreme Kai."
"Oh? I need your approval to become Supreme Kai?" Piccolo smiled.
"Of course," Kibito said. "Normally, the next Supreme Kai is chosen from the Supreme Kai's disciples. I may be his attendant, but I'm also his disciple."
"How about we skip the ring and go somewhere quiet to settle this?" Piccolo suddenly asked.
"What… what did you say?" Kibito froze, panic flashing across his face.
"Great. Then it's settled." Piccolo gave him a wicked smile.
"Settled? I… I didn't agree to anything," Kibito stammered, completely flustered.
After all, Piccolo's orange form had beaten the Supreme Kai.
There was no way Kibito could beat him.
He had only been talking tough. If they actually fought, he knew he had no chance.
"Come on." Piccolo grabbed Kibito by the back of his collar and flew off with him toward a quiet area.
"Hey! Let go of me! I never said I'd fight you outside!" Kibito flailed like a chicken caught by the neck.
Piccolo said nothing and quickly flew away with him.
"Kibito!" the Supreme Kai shouted angrily. "What are you doing? We are the greatest gods in this universe!"
"Don't worry, Supreme Kai. It'll be fine," Goku said, trying to comfort him.
Vegeta stayed silent.
Kakarot, that makes it even worse.
Of course nothing serious will happen. Piccolo won't kill Kibito.
But he's definitely going to beat the hell out of him.
The Supreme Kai looked at Goku with a dark expression, too speechless to respond.
What do you mean, it'll be fine?
Gohan and the others laughed awkwardly.
A moment later, everyone heard Kibito screaming from the distance. It sounded like a pig being slaughtered.
The screaming lasted for a full minute.
Then Piccolo flew back, carrying Kibito, whose face had been beaten swollen.
"Kibito!" the Supreme Kai rushed forward in alarm and took him from Piccolo.
"Piccolo, did you transform again?" Goku asked with a smile.
"Yeah. Beating him without transforming would've taken too much effort," Piccolo said honestly.
He had already returned to normal.
"You people have no sense of fair play!" the Supreme Kai shouted, shaking with rage as he glared at Goku and the others.
"Don't be mad, Supreme Kai," Goku said with a laugh. "Kibito can heal, right? He can just heal himself."
The Supreme Kai shook with anger.
What does healing have to do with this?
…
In the ring, Videl's match with Spopovich had officially begun.
Videl opened with a flying kick that landed cleanly on Spopovich's face and knocked him down.
Spopovich soon stood back up and stared coldly at her before rushing in again.
Videl's expression grew serious as the two clashed.
"That girl is your classmate, right, Gohan?" Goku asked.
"Yeah, Dad," Gohan said.
"How's she doing?" Goku asked, looking toward the ring.
"She's strong," Krillin said with a smile.
"She has the upper hand. She has a good chance of winning," Gohan said.
"Don't celebrate too early," Krillin said quietly. "The guy fighting your classmate isn't normal. Judging from his outfit, he's probably with Yamu. The Yamu I fought could take a beating, and I'm guessing Spopovich can too."
"You're right, Krillin," Gohan said, looking toward the ring with a small nod.
Videl hit Spopovich with another fast combo.
His body twisted under the blows.
Then she kicked him hard and knocked him to the ground again.
"Another knockdown! As expected of our talented young fighter!" the referee shouted. "Spopovich still hasn't had a chance to fight back!"
Videl was breathing hard now. Sweat rolled down her face as fatigue started catching up with her.
Then Spopovich stood up again like nothing had happened.
"Spopovich is back on his feet again! Incredible!" the referee shouted.
Spopovich clenched his fists and charged at Videl again.
"You really don't stay down," Videl said with a cold snort. She kicked him in the face, then followed with a hard elbow straight into his jaw.
She kept attacking, driving punch after punch into his stomach before snapping her knee up into his chin.
Spopovich hit the ground again.
Videl bent forward, hands on her knees, breathing even harder than before.
That last rush had drained most of her strength.
"That should be it, right?" Gohan said, relieved for her.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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