Chiaotzu, is that your doing?
Tien called out, projecting his thoughts gently into his best friend's mind.
The little mime flinched, his eyes widening in panic.
T-Tien?... I have to do it, Tien! Master Shen... he said if I don't ensure your victory, he will punish us both! He said you have to kill her!
Tien sighed internally, a wave of sadness washing over him. He hated that Shen had put Chiaotzu in this position.
It's okay, Chiaotzu, I know this isn't your idea. But you have to stop it, now.
But Tien... you have to win...
I will win.
Tien promised, his tone firm but kind.
But not like this. Do you really think I need to cheat to defeat her? Do you think I want a victory that was handed to me while my opponent couldn't move?
Chiaotzu hesitated, his psychic grip loosening slightly.
No... you are the strongest, Tien.
Chiaotzu looked from the furious Master Shen to the calm, confident Tien.
Okay, Tien... I believe in you.
The faint aura around Chiaotzu's fingers dissipated.
In the ring, Chi-Chi gasped loudly, her body jolting forward as the invisible weight vanished instantly.
She fell to her hands and knees, sucking in greedy gulps of air, her muscles trembling from the sudden release.
"Hah... hah..." She looked up, sweat dripping from her nose, staring at Tien with wide, confused eyes.
"You... you stopped it?"
Tien looked down at her, his face serious but void of the previous arrogance.
"Recover your breath, we aren't finished yet."
"YOU DARE?!"
Master Shen's voice was so shrill it nearly shattered the arena lights.
He leaned over the wall, his face turning a shade of purple that matched his hat.
"You ungrateful, insolent brat! I gave you a direct order! Finish her!"
Tien Shinhan stood his ground in the center of the ring, his back straight. He looked up at his master with a gaze that was no longer subservient.
"I will not. This is a tournament, Master. Killing an opponent results in immediate disqualification. I came here to prove the supremacy of the Crane School through skill, not to be kicked out for murder like a common thug. And I certainly will not win by cheating."
"Disqualification?!" Shen spat, foam forming at the corners of his mouth.
"You think I care about a plastic trophy? I told you to destroy the Turtle School! If you won't do it, then you are useless to me!"
He spun around, looming over the terrified Chiaotzu.
"Chiaotzu! Freeze them both! Right now! Paralyze Tien and the girl! I will enter that ring and snap their necks myself!"
Chiaotzu trembled, shrinking back against the concrete pillar. He looked at the furious Crane Hermit, then down at the ring, where Tien was standing tall, waiting for the fight to resume.
"N-no..." Chiaotzu squeaked.
Shen froze.
"What did you say?"
Chiaotzu looked up, tears in his eyes, but his voice found a tiny shred of courage.
"I... I said no, Master. I've never seen Tien look like that before. He looks... alive. He wants to fight her properly. He wants to see who is stronger! I want to see the end of the fight too!"
"You traitorous little runt!"
Shen roared in pure fury.
He lunged forward, snatching Chiaotzu by the collar of his tunic and lifting the small boy effortlessly into the air.
He dangled him over the edge of the spectator wall, his fingers tightening around Chiaotzu's throat.
"You defy me too?! Then you die first! I'll kill you, then I'll kill them, and I'll burn this entire pathetic tournament to the ground!"
"Chiaotzu!" Tien screamed, taking a step forward, but he was too far away to reach them in time.
"HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
A furious shout erupted from the other side of the ring.
Chi-Chi was already on her feet.
She didn't hesitate.
She didn't think about the consequences.
She simply saw a bully hurting a child. She planted her feet, drew her right arm back, and thrust her open palm forward with every ounce of strength she had left.
BOOM.
A condensed, shimmering sphere of high-pressure air screamed across the arena, tearing up the grass as it flew.
It bypassed Tien, bypassed the announcer, and slammed directly into Master Shen's chest with the force of a wrecking ball.
"Gwah?!"
Shen's eyes bugged out.
The impact lifted him clean off his feet. He lost his grip on Chiaotzu as he was launched backward, tumbling violently over the spectator benches and crashing into the concrete wall at the back of the stadium in a cloud of dust.
Chiaotzu fell, landing safely on the grass outside the ring.
Silence descended on the arena. Everyone—Goku, Krillin, Roshi, and the entire audience—stared in shock.
Chi-Chi stood there, arm still extended, panting heavily.
"...I hate bullies." She muttered.
Chiaotzu scrambled to his feet on the grass, dusting off his hat. He looked at the smoking crater where Master Shen had landed, then up at Chi-Chi in the ring. His eyes were wide with disbelief.
"She... she hit Master Shen? To save me?" Chiaotzu whispered, trembling.
In the ring, Tien stared at the spot where his master had been blasted away.
His expression was unreadable, a mask of stone. Slowly, he turned his gaze back to Chi-Chi.
She was lowering her arm, wincing slightly as she rolled her shoulder.
"You attacked my master."
"I don't care who he is. You don't hurt family."
Tien stared at her for a long, silent moment. He glanced briefly at Chiaotzu, verifying he was safe, then looked back at Chi-Chi.
He gave a single, almost imperceptible nod—an acknowledgment.
"I will not forget that, however... do not mistake gratitude for mercy."
His gaze hardened, the competitive fire returning instantly.
"You are still my opponent. And now that the distractions are gone, I can finally crush you properly."
"That's fine by me, I didn't do it for a thank you."
Tie took a deep breath, his muscles expanding as he gathered his Ki.
"Chi-Chi! You have proven yourself to be a nuisance, therefore, I will waste no more time. Witness the ultimate technique of the Crane School!"
He crouched low, his back muscles writhing unnaturally.
"SHIYOKEN!"[1]
"GwAAAH!"
With a sickening sound of shifting flesh and cracking bone, two large lumps formed on Tien's back. Suddenly, two fresh arms burst outward from his shoulder blades.
The crowd screamed in horror and amazement. Tien stood up, now wielding four muscular arms, each hand clenched into a fist.
"Whoa!" Yamcha yelled from the sidelines.
"He grew two extra arms?! That's disgusting..."
"Four arms..." Chi-Chi muttered, taking a step back, sweat trickling down her forehead.
That's... handy.
Tien charged. This time, the assault was overwhelming. With four arms, Tien didn't have to choose between offense and defense. He could do both simultaneously.
He threw multiple punches with his front arms while his back arms swept wide to cut off her escape routes.
Bam!
Bam!
Smack!
Chi-Chi blocked a left hook, parried a right cross, but then—
WHACK.
A third fist slammed into her.
THUD.
A fourth fist hammered the top of her head.
Chi-Chi was driven back, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of strikes.
It was like fighting two people occupying the same space. She tried to use her air pressure blasts to create distance, but Tien used two hands to deflect the blasts while the other two continued to pummel her.
Chi-Chi gritted her teeth, ducking under a synchronized clothesline from his top arms.
Tien grabbed her left wrist with one hand, her right wrist with another, effectively pinning her arms wide open.
"I have you!"
With his remaining two free hands, he began to deliver a rapid-fire barrage of punches to her undefended torso.
DADADADADA!
"Gah! Ah! Unngh!"
Chi-Chi cried out with each hit, her feet lifting off the ground as she was battered mercilessly.
Chi-Chi spat a glob of blood onto Tien's chest, her eyes blazing with defiance despite the bruising forming on her ribs.
You might have four arms... but you still only have one brain to coordinate them!
Tien pulled his two free fists back for another devastating volley.
Just as Tien's fists flew forward, Chi-Chi did the unthinkable. She didn't try to pull away. Instead, she jumped toward him.
Using the iron grip he had on her wrists as leverage, she swung her body upward like a gymnast on high rings.
She curled into a ball, tucking her knees to her chest, causing Tien's punches to sail harmlessly beneath her back.
"What?!" Tien gasped, looking up.
Chi-Chi was now suspended in mid-air, hanging from Tien's own grip.
She snapped her legs out with explosive force.
WHAM.
A double-legged dropkick slammed directly under Tien's chin.
The impact was thunderous, snapping his head back and rattling his teeth. Tien stumbled, his vision blurring, but his grip on her wrists held firm.
Chi-Chi used the rebound from the kick to vault herself high into the air, flipping completely over Tien's head.
But because Tien was still holding her wrists with his primary hands, her movement forced his arms to twist backward unnaturally.
Chi-Chi landed on the ground behind him, facing his back. She yanked her arms down hard.
"GAAH!" Tien screamed.
His primary arms were wrenched up and over his shoulders in a painful lock. But Chi-Chi wasn't done.
Tien's two extra arms—the "witches"—were now awkwardly sandwiched between his own back and Chi-Chi's chest, pinned by the angle of his own twisted primary arms.
She planted her foot squarely in the center of Tien's back (right between the extra shoulders) and pulled his primary arms back harder, acting like a human bowstring.
"Get... off...!" Tien roared, trying to thrash, but his own bulk was working against him.
"Here's a lesson from the Ox style!"
Chi-Chi suddenly released his wrists.
As Tien stumbled forward, relieved of the pressure, he instinctively tried to turn around to face her. This was exactly what she wanted.
Chi-Chi spun on her heel, generating a massive vortex of wind around her leg.
"TATSUMAKI SENPUKYAKU!" [2]
It wasn't just a kick; it was a localized hurricane.
Her leg caught the off-balance Tien in the side of the head with the force of a falling tree.
CRASH.
Tien was sent spinning sideways, his four arms flailing helplessly as he lost all equilibrium.
He crashed into the tiles, rolling like a tumbleweed until he slammed into the perimeter wall.
The extra arms on his back twitched spasmodically before slowly retracting into his body with a grotesque squelch.
Tien pushed himself up on his normal two arms, shaking his head, his eyes wide with shock.
"She... she used my own extra limbs to bind me?" Tien muttered, spitting out a broken tooth.
"She turned my greatest advantage into a weakness in seconds..."
[1] (Four Witches Technique)
[2] (Tornado Whirlwind Kick)