The audience erupted in chaos as an object—Son Goku—came crashing down from the sky, slamming into the ground with a loud thud and leaving behind a humanoid crater, complete with a tail.
"..."
Just as everyone thought the kid had kicked the bucket, Son Goku crawled out of the pit, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.
The crowd erupted into cheers, welcoming back the young warrior, even if he was only the runner-up—
As soon as Son Goku landed outside the ring, the blond-haired referee had already looked up at the sky and officially declared Yamiru the champion of the World Martial Arts Tournament!
The referee wiped his sweat. What kind of situation was this? The champion had already been decided, yet the champion himself was still in free fall.
Whoosh… Yamiru kept plummeting.
"This is bad! He's lost consciousness!" Master Roshi shouted. "If he lands in that position, he might break his neck!"
Just as the old master was about to intervene, a dark figure dashed forward, leaping high into the air. They caught the tournament champion, Yamiru, and gently landed back on the crater-riddled arena.
"Ah, that was a huge help, contestant Jaco," the referee walked over and expressed his gratitude. "Unfortunately, Yamiru is already unconscious and can't savor his moment of glory! But he and Son Goku have both given us a spectacular fight. He will receive the World Martial Arts Tournament's prize money—500,000 Zeni!"
The audience clapped and cheered as Son Goku, exhausted, walked over to Tights and the others. "I'm so hungry…"
"That's such a small prize," Bulma commented, only to be picked up and placed on the ground by Tights.
"Well, it's not as commercialized as professional fighting leagues. This tournament is only held once every five years," Tights chuckled. "But the honor is worth more than the money, right?"
Master Roshi nodded. "That may be true, but a little more prize money wouldn't hurt…"
---
Unlike the usual post-fight routine, where fighters rest for a bit, eat their fill, and bounce back full of energy, Yamiru remained unconscious for a long time and had to be carried to a nearby hospital…
That was Tights's decision. She believed Yamiru wasn't like a certain Saiyan who was currently stuffing his face at a restaurant—he needed proper rest for a few days.
Son Goku declared that he had never been this hungry before—he was starving, absolutely famished!
"Slurp, munch, gulp…" Son Goku ate with his cheeks puffed out, bowls stacking into a small mountain in front of him. Forks, knives, chopsticks—he used everything. When he got too impatient, he just grabbed food with his hands and stuffed it into his mouth. His tail swayed happily as he devoured his meal. Even for Son Goku, his eating habits at this moment were shocking, leaving Master Roshi, Bulma, Jaco, Dr. Omori, Tien, and Chiaotzu completely stunned—especially the last two newcomers.
Meanwhile, Tights stayed at the hospital with Yamiru.
The meal wasn't paid for using Yamiru's prize money. Even though Master Roshi thought Yamiru wouldn't mind if he were awake, Tights refused to use it. Instead, it was covered by the wealthy young lady, Bulma—whatever they wanted to eat, she would pay for it. And really, only someone like Miss Bulma could casually say "eat as much as you want" in front of Son Goku's appetite—especially when he entered the restaurant looking like a starved ghost reincarnated.
"Is he a beast…?" Chiaotzu muttered, sweating. Just watching him eat made him feel full.
Tien, however, was lost in thought about the finals. He asked, "Son Goku, why did you turn your back and use the Kamehameha in midair? Wouldn't it have been better to attack Yamiru directly?"
"Hmm?" Son Goku was gnawing on a chunk of meat. Hearing the question, he looked puzzled. "If I attacked head-on, Yamiru would've dodged for sure, right? He said himself that while he couldn't unleash a full-power Kamehameha, he could still use a little of it… Gulp!" Son Goku swallowed his mouthful of meat. "Besides, even if I hit him, the force from the Kamehameha would send us both flying. Who would hit the ground first? I figured the safest way was to use my own body to knock him down directly… I just didn't expect him to predict it! What a shame!"
Dr. Omori mused, "A preemptive prediction purely based on intuition?"
Son Goku grinned. "Whatever! Yamiru was stronger than me anyway. He was just too exhausted this time."
"No… perhaps it wasn't just intuition…" Master Roshi thought to himself. "Earlier, Yamiru sent Goku out of the ring twice in a row. Could he have been setting a psychological trap, conditioning Goku's thinking? No, that would be terrifying if true…"
After finishing their meal, the sky had already darkened. The group decided to visit Yamiru at the hospital, with Bulma bringing some food for both him and Tights.
"If I had just used the Kamehameha directly against Yamiru, maybe I could have gambled on my luck!" Tien walked beside Goku, genuinely believing that Goku had a real chance at winning the championship. At that moment, Yamiru's stamina was clearly worse than Goku's. If only Goku had remained calmer, more...
"No!" Goku interrupted decisively. "Actually, Yamiru could have ended the match at any time."
Master Roshi and the others looked at him in surprise.
Goku grabbed his tail behind him and smiled thoughtfully. "I only recently discovered that if my tail is gripped tightly, I become completely powerless... I think Grandpa and Yamiru must have known about this, and during the match, Yamiru definitely kept glancing at my tail! I bet he was really hesitant—if he had created an opportunity to attack my tail, he could have won easily. But he chose not to."
"..." A drop of sweat rolled down Tien's face.
Jaco clapped his fist into his palm. "Oh yeah! Saiyans without experience do have that weakness. But most Saiyan warriors train to overcome it..."
"Which is why I need to keep training!" Goku grinned, his tail swaying behind him. "Yamiru defeated me fair and square, so I need to defeat him the same way!"
Even someone like Dr. Omori, who wasn't a martial artist, was inspired by Goku's determination and smiled.
Bulma, however, just thought this guy was weird—just like Yamiru. Her sister seemed to have gotten together with Yamiru, but she had no idea what that actually meant.
As night fell, the group arrived at the brightly lit hospital and found Yamiru's room.
Yamiru lay in bed, his body and face covered in bandages, hooked up to an IV drip, while Tights sat beside him peeling an orange.
"Yamiru~" Goku greeted him with a cheerful grin.
"Gah, Goku's already recovered?" Tights was surprised, setting the half-peeled orange aside.
Bulma said, "He's like a wild animal." She handed the dinner that Dr. Omori had brought over to her sister.
Goku didn't mind the comment. Master Roshi and Dr. Omori chuckled at the childish remark, while Tien thought Bulma was being too soft—Goku wasn't just like a wild animal, he was practically a beast in human skin! No, wait… this guy actually did turn into a beast before…
Tights opened the food container, and the delicious aroma quickly filled the hospital room. "Wow, it smells so good. Yamiru, you must be hungry too."
"My mouth tastes bitter..." Yamiru smacked his lips.
"Then should I feed you?" Tights raised an eyebrow.
"Sure, sure!" Yamiru nodded enthusiastically.
Most of the people in the room: "...…"
What does bitterness have to do with being fed? Does food taste better when someone else feeds you??