CRACK-BOOM!
The two beams of light exploded in their confrontation, and the energy of the Kamehameha and Final Flash reached their peak simultaneously. Fighting spirit was unlimited but physical strength was finite. Goku and Vegeta each endured a massive impact and flew backwards, ruthlessly slamming into the ground.
The golden flames dimmed and then disappeared, and their yellow hair returned to black.
The center of the martial arts venue was blown apart during the fierce battle, and cracks large enough to swallow a person spread along the edge of the broken ring to the viewing platform. The hard rock of Planet Pagoda exploded under waves of escaping energy, and the crowd boiled. The panicked audience ran toward the perimeter, squeezing into corners of the damaged viewing platform, away from the dangerous fissures.
The dedicated announcer didn't run away like the panicked spectators. Instead, he approached the ring with trembling hands and feet, still sticking to his post.
"Everyone calm down! Calm down!" The Grand Kai stood up and waved his hands to settle the panicked crowd. Staff around him were already repairing the protective barrier and preparing to fix the auditorium.
The Kais also took action to help their respective galaxies stabilize. Only King Kai didn't move—he sat firmly in his seat because the North Galaxy audience also sat firmly without making noise.
They'd never seen any storms. When Frieza attacked their headquarters, the battle intensity wasn't as fierce as now, but it was similar. Seeing those running away in panic, they all cast contemptuous looks. Some even shook their heads and sighed "They've never seen the world," while others said "We must do what Mr. Raditz said—stay calm even if mountains collapse," even though they didn't know what a landslide actually was.
The other galaxies cast envious and admiring glances, as if saying: Aren't you afraid? The North Galaxy is too incredible, right?
With the Grand Kai's reassurance, everyone's mood improved slightly, but when they saw the venue looking like ruins, an inexplicable chill immediately rushed to their heads.
"Terrifying..."
"These two actually broke through the Grand Kai's shield."
"Mommy, I want to go home! Waaah..." There were also audience members who'd brought their children to cheer for their fathers, and the children were so frightened they couldn't stop crying.
The blame lay with both fighters being too powerful.
This was also the result of the two restraining themselves and only concentrating their strength on their target. Otherwise, the entire planet might have been destroyed in the opposing waves.
Raditz looked at both Goku and Vegeta, wounded and unable to tell the difference for the moment. Both had reached their peaks in the end and must have learned something new during the battle.
"The winner of the first round is Goku from the North Galaxy!"
Amid the noise and exclamation, the announcer held up his microphone and announced the result in a high-pitched voice. He stood in the center of the ruins, his voice spreading to every corner of the martial arts field.
The Grand Kai hadn't even noticed his presence, and when he heard the result, he couldn't help casting a puzzled look. Everyone fell silent for a moment, all looking toward the ring. Obviously both had fallen, and it was impossible for them to stand up and fight again.
A tie was right! How was Goku winning?
The announcer cleared his throat and said triumphantly, "Look everyone! Vegeta's body is outside the boundary of the ring, while Mr. Goku fell to the edge of the ring—half his body is still on it!"
Raditz followed the announcer's directions. Sure enough, although the arena had been completely destroyed, the basic outline was still there. You could see there was a rough square boundary at the edge of the destruction. Of the two who'd fallen to the ground, Goku had half his body on the ring with half exposed, while Vegeta had fallen out of bounds.
This was life...
Just a little short—Vegeta still lost.
But even Goku, who won this match, didn't have much energy left. If he encountered a strong opponent later, he might not be able to persist until the end.
Gohan and Tarble ran to the field, carrying Goku and Vegeta back to the rest area respectively. The exhausted two looked at each other, then Vegeta turned his head away.
After all, he was unwilling in his heart. There should have been a tie between them, but Kakarot was declared the winner. But he was the mighty Prince Vegeta—he couldn't make a fuss over this. According to the rules, he really had lost.
What's more, he wasn't satisfied with a tie. He wanted to win—he needed to beat Kakarot.
Thinking of this, Vegeta closed his eyes silently, fighting spirit burning in his heart.
"Ah... the battle between these two was so scary. I wonder who my opponent will be?" Watching Goku and Vegeta walk by, Yamcha's face slowly recovered color. He laughed, but his heart was extremely disturbed.
Among the remaining North Galaxy people, his strength was the worst. Although he'd undergone rigorous training, his talent was limited after all. Earth's martial artists had many special techniques, but they couldn't break through racial bottlenecks. Yamcha looked around and silently prayed he wouldn't meet these freakish guys.
Tien patted him. "What are you doing?"
"Don't bother me—I'm praying. If I meet a Saiyan, I'll be eliminated immediately. Please protect me from meeting them..."
"Haha, how could it be possible that two consecutive matches were between North Galaxy fighters? You can't have that bad luck." Krillin interjected.
He wasn't worried and nudged Yamcha with a smile.
"That's right."
"I'm relieved when you say that." Yamcha breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was right—there was no such thing as such a coincidence.
At this time, the announcer who'd received orders from the Grand Kai spoke in the arena: "Everyone, because the battle level has exceeded expectations, the stage can no longer be repaired, so subsequent battles will be carried out within the ruins of the original arena. We'll try our best to clean up the debris. I hope everyone understands..."
"By the way, the next match will be between the North Galaxy's Raditz and the North Galaxy's Yamcha." At the end, the announcer added.
North Galaxy vs North Galaxy again? The audience froze.
Everyone in the preparation area looked at Yamcha one after another, especially Krillin and Tien. They opened their mouths to say something, but their voices suddenly went silent. Well, time to buy a lottery ticket.
"Good luck," Krillin finally choked out.
Yamcha was stunned and almost spat blood. Good luck?! Good luck my ass! If there was still some chance of winning against Krillin and Tien, but Raditz...
Yamcha wanted to cry but had no tears.
Raditz hadn't expected such an arrangement and thought it wasn't his intention. God of Tea, you can't rise after all—this is fate...
Shaking his head with a wry smile, Raditz suddenly met Pikkon's eyes in the distance. Pikkon was watching him, and having seen the power of Super Saiyans, he was more and more interested in Raditz, his eyes full of fighting spirit.
Across the ruined arena, both smiled at the same time.
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