The idea of signing up for the World Martial Arts Tournament had only been a passing thought for Uchiha Hikari, something she hadn't yet discussed with Esdeath.
So, when Master Roshi mentioned the tournament, Esdeath's interest was piqued immediately.
"I see. So this world has something like the Empire's martial arts competition?" she said, her eyes gleaming. "A gathering of strong fighters from all over the world… Does that mean there'll be more people like you, old man?"
Though their earlier sparring match didn't quite finish, Esdeath had acknowledged Roshi's strength.
That said, finding opponents on his level at the tournament might be a tall order.
The Earth of this Dragon Ball era isn't exactly short on skilled fighters. There's Karin, the duo at the Lookout, and Piccolo Daimao, to name a few. Then there's the Crane School, a rival to Roshi's Turtle School, with heavy hitters like Tien Shinhan, Tao Pai Pai, and Master Shen himself—each boasting power levels over 100. Shen, despite barely fighting in the original story, clocks in at around 120, making him a standout among Earthlings.
Oh, and Arale from Penguin Village counts too, but she's a gag character, so normal logic doesn't really apply.
The problem is, none of these people will show up at the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament.
The champion of this tournament, under the alias "Jackie Chun," is none other than Master Roshi himself, with Goku taking second place. After them, you've got Krillin and Nam—the guy with the "Sky Cross Fist." Aside from Roshi and Goku, who could give Esdeath a decent challenge, the rest of the field probably averages around a power level of 50 or 60. Against Esdeath, they'd be knocked out before she even breaks a sweat.
So, to spice things up a bit, Hikari had her own plans.
She was going to…
"Whoa, there's a tournament like that?" Yamato suddenly piped up, sounding thrilled. "The winner gets called the 'World's Greatest Martial Artist'? That sounds so cool! I'm in!"
"Uh… I know I'm not exactly strong," Tanjiro added cautiously, "but if it's okay, I'd love to see everyone's skills up close."
Even Bulma looked eager. "Hikari, let's go join the fun! I'll cheer you on from the sidelines. Oh, and what about Kikyo, Brand, Eri, Mizu… They'd probably be into this too, right? I'll ask in the group chat later!"
You could tell Bulma almost mentioned Minato but caught herself, remembering he's currently just a soul and can't exactly tag along.
Hikari raised an eyebrow.
"Hm?"
Her original plan was just for her and Esdeath to join the tournament, test the mettle of Earth's martial artists, and maybe pick up a few techniques worth copying.
But…
"Getting Brand and the others to come along… That could work."
The group had been chatting online for a while but hadn't had an "official" offline meetup. Using the tournament as an excuse to hang out and have some fun didn't sound half bad.
Eri, though, definitely couldn't compete. Her "Judgment" Dragonmark is way too overpowering—either she doesn't use it, or someone's going to end up dead. If she lost control and accidentally took out a few spectators, that'd be a mess.
As for Yuji Itadori…
Sukuna, the curse inside him, is a walking hazard. Not only is he vicious, but his "Dismantle" technique is a devastating area-of-effect attack on par with Eri's Judgment. And Sukuna wouldn't bat an eye at wiping out the entire tournament audience. If Yuji wanted to come, Hikari figured she'd need to have a chat with Sukuna first.
If they could come to an agreement, great.
If not, she'd have to resort to some "special methods" to persuade him.
[Brand: The World Martial Arts Tournament? Sounds kinda fun!]
[Ghost Princess: Right?!]
[Brand: My mission load's been light lately. If I've got time, I'll swing by to check it out.]
It had been a while since Hikari left the Akame ga Kill world. The Empire there was gradually stabilizing. Some stubborn factions were still causing trouble, and the purge of old officials and nobles was ongoing, but it was small-scale stuff. Word was that Glenn, the Revolutionary Army's leader, was preparing for his coronation, which would officially mark the end of the old Empire.
To smooth things over, the Revolutionary Army planned to pardon a batch of less guilty officials and death-row inmates.
This meant the Night Raid crew had far fewer assassination missions, leaving Brand, one of their heavyweights, free to take a break.
By the way, Brand asked Hikari if he could bring someone along.
[No Name: Leone and Akame? If they're interested and don't mind a temporary power seal, I'm cool with it. Bulma would probably love to have them.]
[Yotsuya Miko: Um, can I come too?]
[Yotsuya Miko: I don't mean to compete, just to watch from the stands… I've been in the group for a while but still haven't met Tanjiro, Yamato, Brand, or Yuji in person.]
[Bulma: Totally! My place is huge—could host hundreds, no problem. We'll throw a big party and have a blast!]
After a pause, Bulma pinged Kikyo.
For Bulma, if she ranked group members by closeness, Hikari was number one, no question. Kikyo was probably second. Though Kikyo joined later, the two spent two months together in the Inuyasha world hunting for the Sacred Jewel, building a solid friendship.
Kikyo, however, wasn't as hyped about the tournament as Brand or Yamato.
[Kikyo: I'll come to watch, but I'll pass on competing. My abilities are meant for dealing with demons and spirits, not fighting people. Besides, I'm no match for Hikari or Esdeath, so I won't embarrass myself.]
[Nishinaka Tiger: …Sorry, I probably can't make it. Gojo-sensei just scheduled a special training session for me, Fushiguro, and Kugisaki, so it's tough to get away.]
[No Name: Got it…]
That said, Hikari suspected the real reason Yuji couldn't come was Sukuna. As a "death-row" curse user, Yuji's only still alive thanks to Gojo's backing. If he casually hopped to another world, it'd be hard to explain to Gojo, not to mention the potential chaos Sukuna could cause in the Dragon Ball world.
Given Yuji's personality, he wouldn't take such a reckless risk.
In fact, Yuji occasionally dropped offline in the group chat when Sukuna took over his body. Since Sukuna couldn't see the chat anyway, Hikari didn't bother much with it.
[No Name: Alright, we'll catch up next time… If you're cool with it, we could hold the next meetup in your world. I kinda want to meet that Gojo-sensei of yours.]
Gojo's strength might not match Sukuna's, mostly due to the "space slash" issue, but his overall stats aren't far off. He could probably give Esdeath a decent fight, right?
Back in the Dragon Ball world, despite not fully grasping Hikari and her group's origins, Master Roshi helped them all sign up for the tournament.
Then he casually mentioned that Goku and Krillin were competing too.
His reason for bringing up the tournament and inviting Esdeath was tied to his two students. In the original timeline, Roshi entered as "Jackie Chun" to knock Goku down a peg. Since it was Goku's first tournament, winning the championship right away might make him complacent and stunt his growth. But with Hikari and her crew joining, Goku's chances of winning were slim to none, so Roshi was a lot more relaxed—though he did start worrying a bit about his students' safety.
Especially with Esdeath's strength. She could easily kill Goku if things got out of hand.
Hikari quietly reassured him, "Don't worry, Master Roshi. It's a tournament—we know to keep things friendly and stop short of anything serious. But now, can we ask you a few questions?"
"About ki?" Roshi waved a hand casually. "Go ahead. If I know the answer, I'll tell you what I can."
Putting aside his lecherous quirks, Roshi was a true martial arts master, worthy of the "God of Martial Arts" title. As long as he deemed someone a decent person, he was happy to share his knowledge, even if they weren't his students.
And, well, they were juniors to him. At over 300 years old, Roshi was ancient compared to Hikari, who, even counting her time asleep, was only a little over 100.
So, Hikari kept her tone polite. "We've got some questions about training, of course, but also a few about the Red Ribbon Army…"
The day after their sparring session with Roshi, Hikari's group settled in on Kame Island. Their lodging was courtesy of Bulma, who tossed out a Capsule Corp house on one side of the island. They began discussing and training in ki with Roshi.
Among them, Hikari and Tanjiro had studied under Karin for a while. They didn't learn many techniques—Karin wasn't big on moves—but their foundations were rock-solid, so they had no trouble keeping up with Roshi's teachings.
Esdeath, meanwhile, was a beginner, still working on refining her ki. Learning advanced techniques like the "Flight Technique" would take her some time.
Then there was Yamato.
After watching her demonstrate Armament and Observation Haki, Roshi took an interest in the "Haki" system, noting its similarities to ki. In theory, the two could be merged, but figuring out how would take some trial and error.
This went on for about eight or nine days before the tournament.
Finally, Hikari packed up, ready to leave Kame Island temporarily to pursue her main goal for this trip: the Red Ribbon Army.
Speaking of which…
Two nights ago, the Dragon Ball radar, which Hikari always carried, started picking up a signal.
The cooldown for making a wish with the Dragon Balls is one year—but not exactly 365 days. The "cooldown" is really just the time it takes for the Dragon Balls to recharge their energy after being drained. It's a gradual process, not a sudden full charge. By around 11 months, the radar can start detecting them again.
However, their energy isn't fully restored yet, so they can't be used for wishes.
The radar's signal is also faint at this stage, blinking slowly and showing only a rough direction with some margin of error. You need to be close to a Dragon Ball for the signal to clarify.
"Since our radar's picking up the Dragon Balls' locations, the Red Ribbon Army's probably already on the move," Hikari said.
Nine days…
If she could locate their headquarters, that should be enough time to take them down. She could wrap things up and still make it back for the tournament.
That was the plan.
"Be careful out there, Hikari," Bulma said, helping her pack. "If anything comes up, let us know in the group chat. We can help."
"I will," Hikari replied. "You watch yourself too. Don't let General Blue sneak up on you."
In the original story, General Blue did visit Kame Island. The timeline's changed a lot, but it's still worth staying cautious.
Hikari nodded, gave Bulma a quick safety reminder, then summoned the Flying Nimbus. With Esdeath in tow, she left the ocean behind and headed toward the mainland.
After flying a few hundred miles, Hikari paused over a mountain pass and pulled out the Dragon Ball radar to check.
"There's a Dragon Ball around here?" she murmured.
"Let's check it out, Esdeath."
With that, Hikari descended from the sky, and the two began searching the area.