Though still young, Chi-Chi, Goku, and Krillin had made a stunning impression in the preliminaries—earning the respect of the crowd through sheer skill.
"Would Contestants #23 and #29 please come to the ring!"
Having won a few matches, Chi-Chi's confidence had grown noticeably.
"My turn again! I'm going up, Krillin, Goku!"
Goku gave her an encouraging nod.
"Yeah—go for it, Chi-Chi!
But be careful, things are getting serious. Everyone left is a top fighter."
Chi-Chi nodded. "Thanks, Goku. I will!"
With a spring in her step, she hopped up onto the ring.
Across from her, her opponent also stepped up—a woman with striking features and a curvaceous figure, made even more alluring by the beauty mark on her cheek.
Unfortunately for her, her opponent was a little girl.
Her charm would be useless here.
Her name was Rouge (兰芳), and she was once considered a sure bet for the top eight of this year's tournament.
But fate had paired her with Chi-Chi.
Rouge took her stance and looked Chi-Chi up and down.
"You're wearing the same uniform as that bald kid and the other boy.
You're all from the same martial school, aren't you?"
Chi-Chi mirrored her posture with youthful confidence.
"That's right. The three of us train together."
Rouge smiled. "You're all still kids, but I can tell you're strong.
Your teacher must be incredible."
Chi-Chi nodded. "Of course he is.
He's the God of Martial Arts—Master Roshi!"
"What?!"
"Master Roshi—the God of Martial Arts?!"
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"No wonder those kids are so strong."
"They're disciples of the Turtle Hermit himself!"
"Incredible…!"
Rouge stared at Chi-Chi in surprise.
"So you're all students of Master Roshi… no wonder you're this powerful."
Chi-Chi tilted her head, glancing at her opponent.
"Our master may be powerful, but he's also a total perv.
If you're thinking of becoming his student, I'm sure he'd love to have you…
But someone like you? He'd definitely be all over you."
Rouge froze, dumbfounded.
Around the ring, people stifled their laughter, some grinning, others whispering behind their hands.
Not far away, Master Roshi—currently disguised—stood watching, dark lines forming on his face.
'Agh! That girl's got zero tact.
She's going to ruin my reputation one day…'
Just then, the referee shouted,
"Begin!"
Rouge darted forward, hoping to catch Chi-Chi off guard.
With a sudden thud, Chi-Chi took a kick to the stomach and lost her balance, falling to the floor.
Rouge didn't give her a second to recover—she followed up with an elbow strike and then dropped her full weight onto Chi-Chi's back, pinning her hard to the ground.
Chi-Chi lay face-down, unmoving.
Krillin gasped. "This is bad! Chi-Chi got careless!"
But Goku just shook his head. "Don't worry. Don't underestimate her."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Rouge, thinking she'd won, jumped to her feet and turned to the referee.
"I win!"
But the referee didn't declare a result.
The people behind him weren't looking at Rouge.
They were staring past her.
Rouge blinked in confusion and quickly turned around.
Chi-Chi stood there, completely unfazed, calmly brushing dust off her sleeves.
"I didn't expect to be this strong already.
That attack didn't even hurt."
She looked at Rouge and smiled.
"Now, it's my turn to hit back."
She raised a small but determined fist and marched forward.
Rouge's eyes widened in panic.
"N-No—wait! I surrender!!"
"Congratulations! Contestant #23 wins!"
"You are officially advancing to the finals of the World Martial Arts Tournament!"
"Wow! Chi-Chi made it to the finals! She's amazing!"
"Division Two—Contestant #70 and Contestant #79, please come to the ring…"
Before long, both Krillin and Goku also secured their victories and joined Chi-Chi in the final bracket.
The three of them huddled together, grinning and cheering.
Just then, a handsome young man approached them.
"Well, well! So you're competing in the World Martial Arts Tournament too?
This time, I'm going to settle the score!"
All three turned toward the voice.
Goku blinked in surprise.
"Wait… you're Yamcha?"
Yamcha was just as surprised.
"What?
I don't even know your name—how do you know mine?"
Goku tilted his head. "Does that matter?"
Yamcha sighed. "Guess not.
Back in the desert, you knocked out several of my teeth.
Now that I've run into you again, I've finally got a shot at revenge.
I've been training like crazy this past year…
and I made it to the finals.
I'm hoping I get to face you in the ring—I'll show you my Wolf Fang Fist and pay you back!"
Goku smiled faintly.
"Looks like we've both had a good year.
I've been training hard too—and I've grown to really enjoy it.
If we do face off, I won't lose to you.
Just make sure you don't get knocked out before we meet."
The two locked eyes for a long moment before Yamcha turned and walked away.
Chi-Chi and Krillin both looked at Goku curiously.
"Who was that guy?" Chi-Chi asked.
"When Bulma and I were searching for the Dragon Balls in the desert,
he tried to rob us. I beat him up."
Chi-Chi nodded. "Oh, I see.
We used to have a bunch of bandits near my home too.
But after that big fire was put out, my dad gave up being a bandit…
Since then, things have calmed down a lot."
Krillin beamed. "This is awesome! All three of us made it!
Why don't we go tell Master Roshi the good news?"
Hearing that, Roshi quickly slipped out of disguise and snuck back into the audience.
Training these three was exhausting.
And with the finals coming up… he'd better change quickly and get ready.