Dragon Ball Roshi-Chapter 295: Sixteen into Eight

"What's going on?"

Yamcha looked confused as he stepped into the shop and spotted the burly Ox-King (a nickname given to Nanda by the local punks; when he later opened a shop, he simply adopted it as the store name) sitting at the very front of the crowd. Beside him sat a petite, adorable little girl.

The girl's name was Chi-Chi. She was exactly the kind of girl who made Yamcha's heart race and tongue tie the moment he saw her face. He even suspected he'd developed gynophobia because of her—whenever he saw a girl now, he'd blush and lose the ability to speak.

...But, still, he didn't dislike her.

Blushing fiercely, Yamcha suddenly noticed Chi-Chi, sitting up front next to the Ox-King, watching the TV screen and quietly murmuring, "Such a handsome little guy..."

Huh?

HUH?!

Frowning, Yamcha finally turned his gaze toward the TV screen in the corner and, sure enough, saw a boy with messy black hair, a white gi with the "Son" insignia, and a brown tail. The boy was standing in a massive arena!

Surrounding the arena was a sea of dark silhouettes—packed with spectators!

Even through the screen, Yamcha could feel a wave of tension crash over him, making his heart race! And then, when he took a closer look at the boy's opponent, his expression darkened—what the heck?! It was a beautiful, scantily dressed older woman?!

That tailed kid—was he a martial artist too?!

What was he doing? Was this some kind of martial arts tournament?

But why was his opponent such a stunning older sister type?!

Yamcha's face turned beet red. Remembering what Chi-Chi had said earlier about the kid being handsome, he suddenly felt extremely annoyed. As he glared at Goku on the screen, every part of the kid rubbed him the wrong way! And yet, for some reason, Yamcha still found himself drawn to the match on TV.

The crowd's cheers, the dazzling flurry of punches and kicks exchanged by the fighters on the ring... it was all just too captivating! Yamcha felt his blood boiling with excitement. Instinctively, he reached into his clothes and touched the martial arts manual he'd found, thinking to himself:

One day, I'm going to master something even more incredible than this... and then... hehe, I'll spar with beautiful older ladies too... hehe...

On screen, Goku's opponent had pulled out every trick in the book that a woman could possibly use—but unfortunately for her, she was up against Goku. And not just any Goku—even if he were eighteen, twenty-eight, thirty-eight, or even forty-eight, her strategy of using her charms to try and distract him would still never work.

In Goku's mind, there was no real concept of gender. Men and women... to him, those were just words Grandpa had explained once. That beautiful martial artist, who had fought her way through the preliminaries into the top sixteen, was essentially flirting with a wall.

BAM!

Seizing an opening, Goku drove a powerful straight punch right into the woman's face—specifically, her nose and mouth. Poof—a white tooth went flying. Blood gushed from her mouth as she collapsed backward onto the ground.

"Ah—sorry!" Goku exclaimed, genuinely apologetic. "I didn't know you were so fragile!"

He sounded sincere, but the woman lying on the ground was rolling her eyes like crazy, cursing up a storm in her mind. Not that it helped. Truthfully, the moment she saw who her opponent was, she'd mentally prepared herself. Against anyone else, she might've had a shot. But she'd drawn this freakishly strong little boy?!

I'm totally screwed!

"Well done!"

"Yikes..."

"He actually hit a woman..."

"What's the big deal? Once you're on the ring, there's no gender! Besides, Little Goku's just a kid. What does he even know about men and women?"

The crowd was divided, but everyone acknowledged Goku's strength.

Had Goku been a bit older, with the way he showed absolutely no mercy toward women in matches, the internet would've been flooded with people flaming him—calling him a lunatic, sexist, and whatnot.

"Nice hit!" Bulma had also come to watch the match with her dad—well, more accurately, she'd dragged him out of the lab. Seeing Goku knock the flashy woman down with her mouth full of blood, Bulma clapped and cheered gleefully. She'd never liked that woman anyway!

Dr. Briefs and his wife sat in the back. He took a puff from his cigarette and smacked his lips. "Ah, our daughter's really grown up now..."

Mrs. Briefs cupped her face and smiled with squinted eyes. "Hehe, that little boy is so amazing. I'd love to go on a date with him sometime~"

Dr. Briefs was speechless, a dark cloud practically looming over his head.

"But... to think that this Son Goku is actually the 'grand-disciple' of our old ancestor... Heh, I guess that's fate," Dr. Briefs said, cigarette still in his mouth, eyes fixed with great interest on the match.

Son Goku had defeated his first-round opponent and smoothly advanced to the quarterfinals!

Currently, apart from the Central City region, which had four qualifying slots, the other four major cities—East, West, South, and North—only allowed the top three finishers to enter the Global Finals! So, if this wonder boy Son Goku, who had captivated the public's attention, wanted to miraculously make it to the world stage, he still needed to win two more consecutive matches!

Since Goku had fought in match number five of the first round, his next opponent would be the winner between matches seven and eight.

Soon, the next bout of the Round of Sixteen began amidst the beat of drums and gongs.

And in less time than it had taken Goku to defeat the female martial artist, the outcome was decided!

The crowd erupted in cheers!

Standing proudly on the stage, basking in the applause, was none other than a disciple of the Turtle School, wearing the white gi emblazoned with the character for "martial"! It had been several tournaments since a disciple of the Turtle School had participated in the World Martial Arts Tournament! Fans and media alike had long been eager to see what the Western City region's representative from the Turtle School would bring this time, and now...

Anticipation for his upcoming match soared even higher!

Son Goku, descendant of Son Gohan, vs. Ilip, disciple of the Muten School!

A match everyone was dying to see!

So much so that interest in the other matches of the Round of Sixteen noticeably dropped.

In the stands, Hathaway turned to Taro with a smile. "Who do you think will win?"

Taro didn't answer directly and instead tossed the question to Son Gohan beside him. "Gohan, what about you?"

Son Gohan pondered a moment before speaking. "That depends on how far Ilip has taken the Muken. I've observed him a few times... He's definitely awakened the ki within his body. He's one of those who can turn their training in the Muten Tower into real combat power. However, Goku also has the potential to unleash immense power when facing adversity. So, it's really hard to say who'll come out on top... It's just that..."

He glanced toward his master as he trailed off.

Taro caught the hint in Gohan's eyes and nodded. "When Goku's emotions flare up, it's true that the seal in his mind tends to loosen... So his training is about learning to stay centered even through intense emotional swings. In other words, when a human being is overwhelmed with rage, are we still the ones controlling ourselves—or is something else taking over?"

Son Gohan gave a wry smile and shook his head. "Master, that's getting a bit philosophical, isn't it..."