Chapter:58 A Cracked Rib, An Unbroken Spirit" - Legend of gine !!

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"Rude!" Chi-Chi seethed before turning on her heel and huffing off back to the fighter's temple, calling over her shoulder with: "I will beat you one day, Kakarot!"

A confused Kakarot sat where he fell from the slap, caressing his cheek.

"What was that for?" He asked to no one in particular.

Later, they were having lunch in the food court with Jackie Chun.

"You two did very well today!" Gine said to her son and Chi-Chi.

"Thanks, Mom!" Kakarot said.

"You almost gave us a scare with your tail being grabbed." Krillin quipped.

"Yeah, I know. But it was a neat trick I've been wanting to do for a while since it's a lot stronger now." Kakarot said innocently, unaware of Chi-Chi turning a furious red next to him.

"Bet you've been wanting to trick me into loosing!" She fumed.

"Hey! That's not true!" Kakarot defended himself. "It could've been Krillin I was up against and would've used it against him!"

"Not anymore you won't." Krillin said, looking as if he was thinking hard.

Chi-Chi didn't look convinced and just pouted where she sat. Kakarot sat there unsure of how to appease her.

"I'm sorry about that, though." He said softly. That got Chi-Chi to turn to him with a smile this time.

"It's okay, Kakarot. Next time though, I'll know not to use that, and it'd be a fair fight next time. Deal?!" She said, her determination back.

"Deal!" He said with an outstretched hand to shake hers, but instead Chi-Chi surprised him with a hug.

"Oh, such a gentleman you are!" Chi-Chi swooned.

Krillin groaned in disgust at the sight. "Ugh. Get a room, you two!"

Gine chuckled to herself seeing them interact. Gine admired Chi-Chi's fighting spirit even though she was way too strong willed. She guessed that's why Kakarot liked her besides her feistiness. And how close they had gotten during their adventures. She could see it now that Chi-Chi would definitely have made a good mate if she was born a Saiyan. Gods help them if she ever fought as one.

Then they heard the call.

"THE FIRST MATCH OF THE SEMI-FINALS IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. JACKIE CHUN AGAINST TIEN SHINHAN!"

"It's time. Let's go." Said Chun.

They all knew what it meant, so they all wordlessly got up and went back to the arena. Gine wondered not for the first time during the tournament how anyone else around here didn't immediately figure out that Chun was indeed Roshi.

"It's now time to begin the fifth match, and the semi-finals of the tournament, just halfway to the championship and determining who will become the next Master of martial arts!"

They got back to their spots and saw Jackie Chun took up his place to enter the ring. Tien was out of view from where they were. Gine scanned the audience and felt herself sour when she saw Master Shen among them. But she saw that his leg was bandaged up in a cast like Yamcha's, and used a crutch for his bad leg. And he didn't look like his conniving self but rather pained and annoyed.

"Look who decided to show up!" Bulma said out loud and pointing at Crane.

Crane noticed that they were all looking at him and made eye contact with Gine. His irate scowl turned to pure hatred at the sight of her. Gine looked back at him unflinchingly and glanced at his broken leg, as if telepathically daring him to challenge her again.

After a long stare down, Crane wordlessly turned back towards the ring.

"Ha! He's got nothin' to say now, eh?" Oolong boasted by sly elbowing Gine. Everyone seemed to agree as well. Gine herself was satisfied, but didn't take her eyes off of him.

"Here they come!" Said the referee. "The one and only Jackie Chun, the current title holder of World Martial Arts Champion! Followed by Tien Shinhan of the Crane Hermit school!

Jackie Chun walked out onto the arena. A moment later, Tien Shinhan stepped out onto the ring as well. His bare chest was wrapped in bandages, and he winced in pain whenever the inside of his arm brushed against his chest.

Some in the audience gasped and the referee took a look at him and exclaimed, "My goodness, what happened to you, Mr. Shinhan?!"

Tien looked at him expressionlessly. "I... had an accident." He looked away, embarrassed and enraged. "I cracked a rib."

"What?!" The referee was baffled. "Then why are you here?! You shouldn't even be thinking of fighting with injuries like that!"

"I'm here to fight, no matter what!" Tien said angrily, wincing as he did. "I will not let some minor handicap stop me from winning this tournament!"

"Don't be too stupid!" Jackie Chun said from his spot. "No one should be fighting with a broken rib!"

"Er, he is right. And we at the Tournament Staff don't take responsibility for any injuries that happen from pre-existing conditions." The referee said, trying to reason and clear himself.

Tien glared at him as if he had been insulted.

"Didn't you just hear me?! I said I'm going to fight no matter what! So, let's get on with it!" He yelled at them, making the referee step back in fright.

Jackie Chun just stood there and looked disconcerted at Tien, then shrugged. "Very well then, don't say I didn't warn you."

Gine was incredulous. Was Tien really going to fight with a cracked rib? And all the dangers that come with it? She immediately glanced towards Crane, who just watched silently. He had to be up to something, putting his injured student through this. If they wanted to, Crane could've just blurted out to the tournament staff that she, another contestant's family member, had injured him and his pupil outside the ring. And that would disqualify them all for good. But he wasn't. So why was Tien doing this?

No answer came to mind. There had to be a reason. But if there wasn't, then perhaps this guy was just extremely tenacious. After going onstage despite everything she did to him the night before, she was willing to grant him that. Perhaps he had more honor than his master? As ridiculous as that sounded.

Well, either way, if Tien was determined to fight in his current condition, then who was she to be against it? This should still be interesting. And they had a better chance at winning if a rib punctured his lung. Or if they take this fight out of the tournament, if that happened another day, that is.

The referee was baffled by this turn of events but decided not to anger Tien further and get on with it as ordered.

"Very well, then. Despite the warnings, Tien Shinhan is going to proceed with the fight with a broken rib, folks. Let's hope he has a strategy to win, but we'll keep the medical staff on standby!"

The crowd murmured at this, and Gine felt somehow uncomfortable that Crane and Tien weren't giving up so easily.

"Quick reminder folks: flash photography is prohibited unless you catch my good side, heheh; but in all seriousness, get ready for a stellar fight!"

Tien stared Chun down, ignoring his pain.

"Champion or not, I will defeat you."

Chun waved him off. "Take it easy. You shouldn't stress yourself out, it'll make you lose your hair."

Tien did nothing that on that attack on his baldness. After a few tense moments, the gong rang out.

"Ready? You may begin!"

Chun took up a defensive position, while Tien charged. Almost immediately Chun parried every attack Tien threw. Then, Jack

ie Chun grabbed him by the arm and threw him high and out of the ring. It looked like a certain victory!