(A little while later)
The moment the starting gun was fired, the whole of Battle Island exploded into a frenzy of excited cries and flying fists as all across the various disk-shaped arenas, every single fighter in sight went at each other all at once. From top to bottom of the oddly designed stadium, the audience watched on excitedly as the two-hundred plus martial artists began battling one another in a fantastic display of strength, agility and skill for a spot in the quarter finals of the competition, while at the same time trying to avoid getting pushed into the surrounding ocean.
As stated by the announcer, the rules of the preliminaries were simple. On each stage, over two dozen contestants would fight one another in a series of free style, free-for-all battle royals. Fighters are disqualified if they fainted, surrendered, or fell into the sea. The last one standing on each stage would move on to the quarter final rounds for a shot at the championships. Killing is prohibited of course, as was the use of weapons.
Right from the get-go, every single combatant threw themselves into the fray, dashing across their spaces in an effort to engage and take down as many opponents as they could. On one ring, the massive sumo wrestler Doskoi took on an entire swath of fighters attempting to force him over the edge. Managing to turn the tide with a quick reversal, he instead picked up the main balk of the group and shoulder tossed them over the side. The maneuver earned him a spirited cheer from the audience, who went on to watch the many other engagements taking place over the other platforms.
No man or woman was left out, as groups of fighters squared off against one another in heated one-on-one exchanges or all-on-one bouts with the most imposing competitors in their fields. It was a messy start at first what with the amount of bodies taking up each of the arenas, but when the warriors managed to find their speed, spaces and targets, the simultaneous battles quickly started to gain a little more traction.
For the Cash family overseeing the tournament from their roving skybox, the mother and father were completely invested in their fights, while their son was more interested in Hercule and his afro.
"You know, hair like this doesn't grow on trees. It takes a lot of tender care and special conditioners to actually get it like this," the man exclaimed to the glasses-wearing youngster, who was currently devouring a bowl of ramen like there was no tomorrow.
The Z-Fighters on the other hand, were having a ball in the madness of it all. Unlike in the tournament that'd been hosted by the maniacal Cell, this competition didn't have the entire world, population, or the fate of the universe at stake. Instead, it was an enormous free for all where each of the group's members could, for the first time in a long time, battle how they wanted and have some fun.
Krillin was especially enjoying himself, bounding across his platform which had a continually moving surface and clearing the stage of every single fighter in sight. The competition on his end was so easy in fact that he didn't even need to put any effort into his attacks. He just jumped from one block to the next in an invisible blur, knocking out guys with a gentle poke of his finger and backhanding them over the side of the platform.
A hearty laugh escaped his lips when he flicked a guy between the eyes and sent him tumbling into the sea, before placing his fists on his hips heroically. "That's Krillin with two 'L's' and I do accept personal checks. Thank you." Was pretty much his introduction while ducking a boxer coming in from his blind spot and effortlessly kicking him into the sky.
Unfortunately, the young monk's celebrations were cut short by a loud yet familiar cheer echoing in from the sidelines.
"GO GOHAN!"
Krillin's head snapped to his left where he saw, standing on one of the balcony's railings, his best friend's wife Chi-Chi waving a pair of fans around her in cheerleading fashion, while at the same time drawing odd gazes from the people behind her.
"BEAT EM' ALL! YOU CAN DO IT!"
The short fighter stammered in disbelief, "What? Gohan's fighting? But he's a Super Saiyan! That's not fair!" In fact, it wasn't fair for anyone. As it stood, Goku's son was currently the strongest man on the face of the planet and probably the entire universe.
In an instant, Krillin's confidence plummeted like a rock.
The feeling of despondency only seemed to gain weight when, moments later, the Z-fighter's ears caught on to the sound of a familiar battle roar. Looking to his right, Krillin then saw dozens of stunned fighters flying into the ocean one after the other, with the echo of rapid-fire blows reverberating across the island.
The sight and the presence of a powerful ki signature had Krillin pale.
"P-Piccolo too?" The man then glanced up with tears in his eyes. "Where's Trunks? Make it a full set." As soon as he said that, a swath of bodies crashed into the ground behind him, causing Krillin to spin around and look up. When he did, he freaked out when he saw, on the platform high above, the lavender haired face of Trunks peer over the side and smirk. The sight had Krillin scowl, "Me and my big mouth. This is now officially unfair!"
xxx
Standing at the railings of the balcony just outside of the food court, Videl gazed across the island in silent awe as the battles taking place on the various platforms took off. From one arena to the next she saw swarms of fighters ramming into one another to clash in a furious display of skill and power. The diversity of forms and styles was simply extraordinary.
On some stages she saw small fighters using speed and technique to take on larger and much slower opponents. On others she saw massive fighters using their size and bulk to either knock out their foes or toss them into the sea. Then there were the unorthodox fighters, who used various techniques from in-fighting based ones to out-fighting strategies to swiftly overpower or outpace their adversaries.
All in all, it was one hell of a skirmish between professionals.
Ignoring the great majority, including the strange, turban wearing green man dominating the competition on his platform and the three-eyed fighter knocking his opponents out in rapid succession, Videl's attention swiftly turned to the one Gohan was on.
Easily recognizable from his orange and blue garb she'd seen him wear in the food court and his wild, untamed black hair waving on the wind, the young girl saw the boy battling on the lowest platform closest to the sea. Despite there being so many other people around him, she was able to make him out for one reason and one reason only.
He was clearing house of all his opponents.
Eyes widening in amazement, the girl watched on as Gohan darted between fighters at ludicrous speed and took each and every one of them out with a series of lightning fast punches and kicks. It was almost like he was gliding across the surface of the arena, like he had wires holding him up or something. What's more, not only were his attacks shockingly fast, nearly untraceable to the human eye; he was also wearing a big smile on his face, as if the act of taking out his opponents meant nothing to him.
He was knocking them out one after the other seemingly without effort.
To put it into perspective, Videl was astounded.
"Wow. He… He's amazing," the girl whispered, before a wide grin spread across her lips and she thrust a fist into the air in encouragement. "Yeah! Go Gohan! Get em'!"
Her heart was pounding as she called out his name. Whether it was from the excitement of watching the many fights taking place or his in particular she didn't know. All Videl knew was that she wanted to see Gohan kick ass, win, and push his way clear through to the finals.
xxx
"I can't believe Gohan and Trunks entered the tournament. Just my luck," the melancholic voice of Yamcha spoke up as he lay across a large, arcing surface with his hands behind his head, completely ignoring the fighting taking place far below. "Ugh. One-hundred million beautiful zeni."
Having signed up for the preliminaries hoping for an outstanding streak, despite being aware that Tien and Krillin were also participating, the moment he heard that Piccolo was also entering the competition, the Z-fighter's enthusiasm from the beginning of the day dropped. Figuring he should have done this in the first place, Yamcha then reached out with his senses to see who else was there.
Sure enough, the man had then let out a groan of defeat when he sensed Gohan and Trunks in the area too. So, wallowing in a sea of self pity, the human fighter immediately flew up to the top of the massive pole on his arena and lay there to mope.
A heavy sigh escaped Yamcha's lungs, "Oh well. It was a nice dream while it lasted."