Zangya, who'd watched the whole thing from her position by the railings, was giving Videl a standing ovation. "Bravo! Bravo! Did you see how fast that kid rolled? Now that is entertainment!" the woman laughed.
The Namekian standing beside her smirked, "Told you."
Up in the balcony above the waiting room, Hercule, who'd secured himself a comfortable place by the window, was at first stunned by the flawless victory of his daughter. Eventually though, after he was done gawking like a fish across the building's roof, he then put on the biggest grin you'd ever see on him and he let out a manly roar of triumph.
"YEAAAAAHH! THAT'S MY LITTLE GIRL!"
The whole of the stadium actually stopped for a moment when they thought they heard the great Hercule's yell.
Passing groups of stunned youngsters, Videl walked right up to Gohan and high-fived him. "Yes! Did you see that?!" Grinning from ear to ear, the girl clenched her fists excitedly and showed the boy her response to her amazing success. "That was awesome! I've never been able to do that before!"
"See what I mean. Your strength is on a whole other level now," the demi-Saiyan informed with an expression of unwavering confidence. "It's great that you have so much control over it as well. Great job."
"Thanks Gohan-kun," Videl said, at the same time giving the boy a fond look. She continued to stare at him warmly and with a shade of red in her cheeks, even when Gohan fixed his gaze back out the viewing window and went on to watch the next two junior fighters walk out onto the ring.
The next several rounds passed by at a humdrum pace. Once again, both Gohan and Videl had to endure another couple matches where adolescent youngsters were pummeling each other into submission. A couple of them cut and ran, one of them even cried, and another kid was even forcibly chased out of the ring after running circles around the announcer. Sure, the audience was entertained and the contestants were adorable, but all this really brought was a great deal of boredom to the Z-fighters that were actually in attendance of the event.
However, after passing the halfway mark of the first rounds of the Junior Division and moving onto Gohan's half, there was one fighter in particular that caught the demi-Saiyan's attention. It was only after they were both in the ring that he finally noticed them.
"And now for the tenth match: we have Takashi vs Paprika!" the announcer bellowed, directing the audience's attention to a boy in a karate uniform and the child in the dusty brown, hooded cloak, who was only half a head shorter than Gohan. Because the person kept themselves hidden, the people assumed they were very shy. "Let's wish these two the best of luck! BEGIN!"
The audience cheered as they watched the determined lad assume a fighting stance and prepare to advance on his quiet and still adversary. But just as he was beginning to shuffle forward, he suddenly saw a hand emerge from underneath the figure's cloak and point towards him. At first baffled by the unexpected gesture, the crowd soon became aware of why the young fighter had extended their palm because a split second later there was a loud crack of wind.
This was immediately followed by an invisible force that crashed into boy and sent him flying across the arena, which he bounced along several times before rolling to a stop at the edge. Clothing ruffled and covered in bruises, Takashi's body lay motionless on the tiles, bringing startled gasps from the people watching from afar.
While the sudden shockwave stunned the crowd, the people who were the most surprised by the unexpected hit were Piccolo, Zangya, Gohan and Videl, all of whom had picked up the sudden energy spike from the unseen attack.
The announcer quickly rushed over to the fallen Takashi to see if he was okay and breathed a sigh of relief. "Takashi is out cold." He then turned and gestured to the cloaked figure, "The winner is Paprika!"
Lowering their hand, the short fighter turned to glare towards the waiting room, their red eyes fixing upon the raven haired boy in the window. When Gohan felt the person's gaze land on him, he narrowed his eyes and glared right back at them.
As the fighter now identified as Paprika left the stage, Piccolo and Zangya watched them closely from afar.
The Hera sweated nervously, "Hey… did you feel that just now?"
"I think so," the Namekian replied.
"What the hell was that?" That blast had obviously been a Kiai attack. While there were a handful of fighters in the world who knew how to perform that move, to see that attack come from a kid they'd never seen before… it was unheard of.
Whatever it was they felt, the two warriors immediately knew they didn't like it and continued to watch closely as the person left the arena.
When Paprika strolled into the room, Gohan and Videl's eyes were still stuck on them. Hard expressions framing their faces, they saw the cloaked youngster walk over to the wall to stand beside it, where they then remained. As the unconscious Takashi was carted off stage, the next match soon began, but the two youngsters paid it little mind.
The daughter of the Champ broke a nervous bead of sweat as her eyes took in the newcomer, "This one…" She swallowed nervously. "She's strong." It was brief but she'd felt it. An immense power level way above her own. Right now, the unknown fighter was masking their ki signature, keeping it hidden from them.
Though both she and Gohan knew the person's name, they couldn't see their face. That was discomforting on a number of different levels.
Many more matches came and went after that, and one by one a new victor for the next round was decided. Throughout that entire time, neither Gohan nor Videl's eyes left the cloaked figure positioned in the corner. That was until the demi-Saiyan's name was called.
"The next match: Gohan versus Aoki!"
Disengaging from his spot, the teen Saiyan shared a smile with his companion and headed out. Passing the barricade, both martial artists were greeted by a cheer from the crowd and a shower of applause, a background noise that carried them all the way to the stage. The moment they started ascending the steps, the announcer, thrilled at the sight of the familiar orange and blue uniform once again, began reading the details to the spectators.
"As you folks probably know already, young Son Gohan is a former contestant of the Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament and one of the only four fighters to make it to the quarter finals. Having come so close to victory after a brush encounter with some unsavory characters, he's now decided to try his hand at the World Stage!" the blonde announcer shouted to an excited crowd, most of whom quickly recognized the youngster from the various broadcasts. "And here's some exciting news, Son Gohan is also the son of former World Martial Arts Champion Son Goku, who disappeared from the limelight several years ago. That means we have two descendents of world champions fighting for us in the Junior Division today!"
A loud cheer rang up that drowned the ring and brought a blush to the cheerful demi-Saiyan's face as he strolled to the center of the platform. When he turned to face his opponent, he saw his foe glaring back at him with a bead of sweat running down his temple.
"It looks like his opponent Aoki is in for one hell of a match. Thirteen years old and a prodigy kick boxer, this kid is looking to claim the grand prize and a match with the Great Hercule Satan himself. Let's see how our two young fighters will fair!" Raising his hand and sunglasses flashing brightly, the man then brought it down in a sweeping chop. "BEGIN!"
Placing a fist in his palm, Gohan bowed respectfully to his opponent who quickly set himself into a fighting stance and began to bounce on his toes. The gutsy Aoki growled as his fists hovered in a guard on both sides of his face, protecting his flanks while he nervously advanced on the Son fighter.
"Ha!" the taller youngster shouted, "You don't scare me, twerp. Father or no father, I'm going to wipe that smug grin off of your face." Despite the fact Gohan had no such expression in play, as he was just staring cheerfully back at him, the teen boxer was intent on following through with his threat.
The demi-Saiyan blinked, "Why are you calling me names? I haven't said anything to you yet."
"Because you're annoying! That's why!" Aoki shouted, before swiftly throwing a roundhouse kick at the boy's head.
Gohan effortlessly blocked it, watching the boy lower his leg and then throw a jab. With speed very few could track, the spiky haired Saiyan caught the fist and began to twist it in the wrong direction, immediately putting the boy in a painful wrist lock. Inch by inch, he lowered Aoki to the ground, who let out a pained cry as he fell to his knees and tried to pull his arm the other way, to no avail.
The still relatively cheerful Gohan grinned at him while he held the boy in position, "Say uncle."
"H-Huh?" Aoki stammered, only to then feel the pressure increase and he was pushed further down, earning another cry from the poor teen. "AAaaahh-UNCLE! Uncle! Uncle!"
"Okay." Gohan then released him, allowing the boy to roll onto his back, gripping his arm tightly. At that, he then turned and left, with the announcer grinning into his microphone.
"And that's it folks! The winner by forfeit is Son Gohan!" The announcement drew another loud cheer from the crowd, who offered their congratulations to the young man for such a clean victory. The spectators watched the spiky haired hero bow to all of them and descend the stairs at a leisurely pace.
Videl, who was too busy cheering Gohan at the entrance for his performance, didn't notice the hooded figure they'd been watching earlier standing by the window.
Seeing the spiky haired boy approach the waiting room, the cloaked youngster gritted their teeth, showing off a pair of prominent fangs. "This is confusing. How can a monster like him be so kind and merciful to someone that is clearly much weaker than him?"
While it wasn't the win Piccolo and Zangya were expecting, it certainly was in the youngster's character. The orange haired woman was sure to roll her eyes when she saw the boy offer his gratitude to the audience for their praise and move on. This left the stage wide open for the next few rounds to follow and, once Aoki limped out of the ring, the next match could begin.
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