"Even that 'Eight-Armed Fist' King Chappa and the 'Martial Arts Star' Puff have been eliminated?!"
The match had already been decided, yet the audience below the stage still couldn't believe it.
"Not just them. Even Nam, who made it into the top four last time, got taken out in a single move by some three-eyed guy no one's ever heard of!"
"Just how many hidden masters are there in this year's World Martial Arts Tournament?"
For ordinary people, King Chappa and Puff were absolute top-tier fighters. In the previous tournament, they would've easily reached the semifinals at least. In fact, with Chappa's strength, he might have even made it to the finals if Master Roshi hadn't been there.
Unfortunately for them, they were a few years too late — this year's tournament wasn't meant for martial artists of their level at all.
This year's World Martial Arts Tournament had a clear theme —
The Battle of Turtle and Crane.
In other words, it was a showdown between the Turtle School and the Crane School.
Every other participant was basically just there for show. Even if they somehow lucked their way into the top eight, they'd be wiped out in a few moves. They simply weren't in the same league.
And the next tournament after this one would take things even further — that one would be on the level of gods fighting.
After defeating King Chappa, the remaining preliminaries were a breeze for Naruto. He carved through his opponents like they were made of paper; not a single one could withstand even one of his attacks.
Before long, the top eight were announced:
Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, Krillin, Jackie Chun (Master Roshi), Son Goku, the Wolf Man, and Naruto.
Aside from the Turtle and Crane Schools, the only odd one out was the beast-type human who'd somehow stumbled into the top eight. By all logic, as the weakest one there, he should've been trembling in fear — but since he couldn't sense ki, he had no idea how outmatched he really was, and kept glaring at Jackie Chun with hatred in his eyes.
The matchups were decided by drawing lots.
This method was… fair, in a sense, but also not really.
Unlike the fixed pairings in the Chūnin Exams, the World Martial Arts Tournament actually used random draws. The organizers didn't rig the results — but they never said the contestants themselves couldn't cheat.
"Chiaotzu, that guy called Yamcha — leave him to me," said Tien, his face full of arrogance as he looked at Yamcha. "He should be the strongest among the Turtle School."
At this point, Yamcha's strength really was a bit higher than Krillin's. But if the two of them actually fought, Naruto was certain Krillin would win.
After all, compared to Yamcha's rigid, straightforward fighting style, Krillin's unpredictable tricks were far more dangerous.
"Yes, Tien-bro." Chiaotzu curled his finger, preparing to use his telekinesis.
However, when Tien drew number 3, Yamcha drew number 6.
"Sorry, Tien-bro… I think I messed up. The number after 3 should be 4," Chiaotzu said tearfully.
Just like Goku once mistook age 12 for 14 years old, now Chiaotzu had somehow decided that the number after 3 was 6.
"Forget it…" Tien sighed helplessly. His partner was great in every way — except when it came to math. "I wanted to give the Turtle School a good scare right from the start, but I guess that'll have to wait."
"Chiaotzu, put the reigning champion and that brat who offended Master together. I want to see their strength firsthand. This time, don't mess up the order of the numbers."
"Got it, Tien-bro." Chiaotzu nodded earnestly and curled his finger again.
However—
Master Roshi drew number 2, and Naruto drew number 5.
"Chiaotzu, 5 comes after 6, not 2," Tien said, covering his face in exasperation.
Now he'd be facing the reigning champion right from the start. Originally, with a psychic on his team, he could've arranged any matchup he wanted — but instead, his partner had landed him a nightmare difficulty first round.
He wasn't afraid… but he was definitely annoyed.
"Tien-bro…" Chiaotzu shook his head, insisting he hadn't made a mistake.
His telekinesis… wasn't working.
A childlike voice echoed inside both their minds:
"Hey, don't go pulling little tricks."
It was Naruto — standing there with a grin, mimicking Chiaotzu's finger-curling gesture perfectly.
He'd copied the psychic's move exactly.
So he really did have a way to nullify psychic powers.
Chiaotzu's level of telekinesis was something Naruto could reproduce in a thousand different ways — whether through chakra or ki.
"Excellent." Tien's eyes gleamed with challenge. "You've successfully gotten my attention."
With Naruto's interference, the quarterfinal matchups ended up as follows:
Match 1: Son Goku vs. Wolf Man
Match 2: Tien Shinhan vs. Jackie Chun (Master Roshi)
Match 3: Naruto vs. Yamcha
Match 4: Chiaotzu vs. Krillin
Seeing the match list, Yamcha smirked gleefully.
"What a pity — looks like you'll be packing your bags early."
He knew Jackie Chun's strength all too well. In the previous tournament, just a flick of the old man's hand had sent him flying out of the ring. Even though he'd improved a lot since then, he still didn't have the confidence to win.
"You'd better save that line for yourself."
If Yamcha could gloat over Tien's bad luck, then Tien could certainly return the favor. After seeing what Naruto had just done, he was sure Yamcha's opponent would be no pushover.
"Damn it! Why didn't I get matched against Jackie Chun?!"
The only one truly dissatisfied was the weakest of the bunch — the Wolf Man. He glared at Master Roshi with gritted teeth, his face twisted with frustration.
"Fine then, I'll take care of you first, brat."
He turned toward Goku, full of bluster.
To be fair, among ordinary martial artists, the Wolf Man wasn't terrible. He called himself a thirtieth-degree black belt — whatever that meant — so his strength probably wasn't low.
Too bad his opponent was Goku.
The moment the match began, the Wolf Man lunged forward with everything he had —
and before the audience could even blink, he was flat on the ground.
"Three elbow strikes and one heavy punch," Krillin said confidently after catching the movements.
"Goku's improved a ton. His speed and power are both insane now. If I had to face him, I'd have to go all out from the start."
Yamcha nodded in agreement. "Even the strength he's showing is already that high… as expected, he's our biggest rival."
"Hmph. Pathetic." Tien snorted when he heard them. "So that's the extent of the Turtle School's skill?"
From Tien's perspective, Goku's displayed power wasn't much at all.
He figured he could finish someone like that in ten seconds.
Trash.
"The second match — Tien Shinhan vs. Jackie Chun! Contestants, please step up to the ring!"
The sunglasses-wearing announcer shouted into the mic with enthusiasm.
This host was something of a legend in the Dragon Ball world — an ordinary man who had served as the tournament's commentator ever since Goku's very first appearance on this stage.
Even by the end of Dragon Ball Z, he was still there, calling the fights.
"Old man, show me everything you've got," Tien said arrogantly, staring down Roshi. "Let's see just how much you're really worth."
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