At the World Martial Arts Tournament venue…
The staff member at the registration desk froze when he saw Goku and Krillin step forward.
"Huh?"
"You're kidding, right? These two kids want to enter the World Martial Arts Tournament?"
Master Roshi nodded calmly. "That's right. Hurry it up."
Krillin and Goku quickly gave their names.
The clerk wrote them down—Krillin and Son Goku—and only then did the three leave.
Roshi brought them to the entrance of the backstage combat area and stopped.
"I can only walk you to here," he said. "But you two—work hard."
Both of them nodded firmly.
"Don't worry, Master! We'll do our best!"
Right then, a system notification flashed through Goku's mind.
[In your previous life, Krillin was your best brother.
But as a human of Earth, his talent had limits. In the later stages, he couldn't keep up with universe-level power and had no choice but to step away from the path of a martial artist, falling farther and farther behind you.
Yet compared to other Earthlings, he was outrageously strong—
and still ended up living like a workhorse, with a life that was never truly wealthy…
Your life has restarted.
You believe that even if your best bro can't keep up with the cosmic era, that's fine—
but as the strongest Earthling, if he wants fame, he should never be unknown.
You decide to help your best bro Krillin become the globally recognized strongest Earthling from a young age, gaining wealth and fame, enjoying glory and riches for a lifetime.
Mission: Help Krillin win this World Martial Arts Tournament.
Reward: Comprehension +50!]
Goku stared at Krillin's bald head, stunned for a second.
You little… triggering another "help-you" mission again.
Being my brother in this life is way too good a deal for you.
But… he really was his brother.
Helping him was fine.
Still—
Let's make something clear in advance.
I'll hand you fame and fortune… but Android 18 belongs to me.
Deal.
…
Soon, Goku and Krillin entered the preliminaries arena.
The internal qualifying matches began.
Goku looked around at the martial artists, and his mindset started to float.
After all, his current strength was already close to King Piccolo-level.
Compared to these ordinary fighters, it was hard not to feel a little dismissive.
But for some reason…
Even though he was clearly the strongest in the beginner zone…
he still felt a vague sense of danger.
Goku's head stayed relatively clear.
He realized why Roshi would later disguise himself as "Jackie Chun" to take the championship—
It wasn't just for fun.
It was to stop him and Krillin from getting arrogant.
And honestly?
Even normal people, when they're winning too hard, still feel the urge to show off at the enemy fountain.
Goku forcefully pulled his arrogance back, warning himself not to inflate his ego—
Otherwise he might end up face-planting at top speed like Vegeta.
He even had a faint realization:
I'm missing something important.
But when he tried to focus on it… the feeling vanished like smoke.
In the end, Goku could only put it aside.
…
For Krillin, this was his first World Martial Arts Tournament.
He was nervous—really nervous.
Goku patted his shoulder.
"Krillin. If they're not strong, hold back a little. Don't kill anyone."
Krillin blinked.
"Goku, what are you talking about? Those guys are way bigger than us…
I'm worried I'll get beaten to death!"
Goku said seriously, "Don't underestimate yourself.
We trained under Master Roshi. We've gotten way stronger—
you just haven't realized it yet."
Krillin thought about it, then snapped out of the fear.
"You're right… our master is literally called the God of Martial Arts."
But just as his confidence returned…
Two tall, bald monks walked over, grinning.
"Hehehe… so it really is you, Krillin."
"Ever since you left Orin Temple, it's been a long time."
The moment Krillin saw them, his face turned iron-blue.
These were the "senior brothers" who bullied him when he was little.
His confidence shattered instantly.
"S-senior brother…"
The chubbier monk smiled. "So why are you here?"
The tall skinny one was even worse—he rubbed Krillin's head with a smug laugh.
"You're not telling me you came to enter the World Martial Arts Tournament?"
Krillin lowered his head, voice small.
"Y-yeah… I came to enter…"
The tall monk laughed. "What a joke.
Didn't I tell you before? You've got zero hope."
Krillin's posture was so low he didn't even dare argue back.
The fat monk asked, "By the way, Krillin, what number are you?"
Krillin didn't lift his head. "Ninety-three…"
The tall monk froze for half a second—then burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! That's hilarious.
You're my opponent. I'm looking forward to it…"
The two monks turned and walked away.
Goku frowned. "Those are your seniors? Their attitude is disgusting."
Krillin looked visibly more wilted.
Back at Orin Temple, he'd been bullied constantly.
"I-I can't do this… That senior brother is insanely strong.
I'm going to forfeit!"
Goku immediately shut that down.
"Forfeit? Are you kidding me?
You and I are Master Roshi's disciples. We can't embarrass him!"
Then he leaned in, voice firm.
"Trust me. Right now, you can beat them with one finger."
Krillin froze. "You're serious?"
Goku nodded. "Of course. Go try and you'll understand."
Right then, the announcer called out:
"Contestants No. 93 and No. 94—please step onto the stage!"
Krillin jolted.
"Th-that's me!"
Goku gave him one last push.
"Go, Krillin.
Show them. They're not even close to your level anymore.
You'll make it to the finals—maybe you'll even take the championship!"
Krillin had never even dared imagine that sentence… but the referee was already urging them.
So he stepped up—heart pounding—onto the ring.
Across from him, the tall skinny Orin monk walked up with a cocky smirk.
"Krillin… we haven't seen each other in so long.
I'm gonna take real good care of you."
Krillin swallowed hard, then raised a guard stance that looked full of openings.
The referee shouted, "Begin!"
The monk lunged forward and threw a heavy punch.
But in Krillin's eyes…
That punch looked like slow motion.
It was like the world had hit the brakes.
Krillin's pupils widened.
So weak…
Have I… really gotten this strong?
In that instant, Krillin stomped the ground, flipped up into the air, and dodged cleanly.
Then he stomped again—
His body shot back like a spring-loaded arrow, and his foot slammed into the monk's back.
BOOM!
The tall monk flew like a cannonball and crashed into the stone wall of the arena—
His body embedded into it, rubble exploding outward, dust rising in a cloud.
Everyone watching froze in shock.
A moment later, the monk slid out of the wall and collapsed.
Staff rushed in to check his breathing.
"He's still alive! Hurry—get him to the hospital!"
The referee snapped back to reality and shouted:
"Contestant No. 94 is unconscious! Contestant No. 93 wins!"
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