…

“Jackie Chun and Ranfan,” the first fight, was announced, and Yamcha looked on from the sidelines as Roshi got on the stage with a stubborn look. On the other side, a purple-haired bombshell got on, smiling seductively at the old man. 

 

“I saw what you did in the preliminaries.” Ranfan seized Roshi up and narrowed her eyes. “You took out your opponents with one hit only.”

 

Though she looked nervous, likely initiated by the power Roshi had previously displayed. She took off her top, revealing her breasts, which made the crowd around them stare in shock and awe. She charged Roshi, and just as she was about to hit him, the old man’s nose burst out blood like a water hose. 

 

The blood spurted out at such high pressure that it made him flip and land the back of his head onto the stone floor, leaving a crack in the hard stone. 

 

“Huh?” Ranfan looked confused. 

 

“What?! That guy lost! But he looked so strong!” Goku exclaimed in shock. Krillin looked disappointed too. 

 

“This was the worst matchup for the old man.” Yamcha tried acting calm on the outside. 

 

‘What the fuck! What’s with this bullshit result! She has a power level of seven and didn’t even hit him!’

He didn’t know what the announcer might have been thinking. But Roshi and Ranfan were a horrible combination for the old man. Though looking at the announcer’s face, his mouth was agape.

 

“I -I won?” Even the girl herself looked confused. 

 

Ranfan was so out of it that she had forgotten to cover her breasts. Everyone was leering at her. Well, everyone except Yamcha. Since everyone else was looking at her, he was sure Bulma was looking at him.

 

"Uhhhh… Ranfan is the winner?" Even the announcer seemed confused. 

 

“Can we get him a medic?” Yamcha asked, and finally, the medical staff stopped staring at Ranfan and went to get Roshi on a stretcher. The old man had grown pale, and Yamcha frowned at this.

 

There’s no way Roshi would die from blood loss from this, right?... Maybe he should give the old man a Senzu Bean, just to be safe. 

 

“The next fight is Krillin against the monstrous Giran!”

 

Yamcha went backstage just as the next fight. In the back, there was only medical staff.

 

“Does anyone know what this old man’s blood type is?! We don’t want him to die on us!” One of the doctors yelled at him.

Yamcha approached the stretcher, removed a Senzu Bean from the inventory, and put it in Roshi’s mouth, which immediately made the older man regain some colors. 

 

“Hey! What are you doing?!” Asked one of the doctors. 

 

“I am just an old relative of Jackie Chan, and I gave him some medicine. He forgot to take his in the morning.” Yamcha waved his hand and smiled harmlessly.

The doctor didn’t say anything at first, noticing that Yamcha was one of the martial artists participating and it wasn’t a smart thing to anger such a person. “Okay, but if anything happens to the old man, or that was some kind of poison bean, you will be held responsible.”

 

He gave the doctor a thumbs up. “Don’t worry. He will be okay.”

 

After that, he walked back to the arena and saw that the fight between Krillin and Giran, the dinosaur/dragon creature, had started. Krillin was in a bad position and trapped in a slimy ring around his midsection and arms.

 

“Gehehe, you should give up, kid,” said the dinosaur, trying to sound intimidating.

 

‘Why do they have to act so stereotypically villainous? Also, why the laugh? It makes them look silly. Well, maybe that is a new thing in this world, whereas in my old one, it was so cliche it became… lame.’

 

As Giran approached Krillin and was about to push him off stage, Krillin bowed down, which confused Yamcha until he realized it was the middle of the day, and the sun shined quite brightly. 

 

Krillin’s bald head reflected the sunlight right into Gririan’s eyes and blinded him for a split second, enough for Krillin to pounce and headbutt the dinosaur dragon right in the chin. 

 

‘Krillin Version: Solar Flare!’ Exclaimed Yamcha in his mind and chuckled but covered it with an awkward cough.  

 

It was a technique that only bald people could use. Maybe that’s how Tien came up with the idea of the Solar Flare. Just the sun was shining on his bald head one day. Yamcha made a mental note to ask him when they meet.

 

Giran was about to be kicked out of the ring, so he used the little wings to fly over. 

 

"How the hell do those wings carry over all that body weight?" Yamcha wondered. This world's physics don't make any sense. 

 

'He is like a Pterodactyl. I finally remembered the name of the dinosaur.'

 

Giran swiped his tail toward Krillin. “Die, you little brat!”

 

The baldy smirked and smashed his strange rubbery shackle against the tail. 

 

Both of the forces from Krillin's body and Giran destroyed the gum-like substance. 

 

"Finally! I am free!" Krillin exclaimed happily and then clasped his hands together with a confident smirk. He started gathering his Ki, and the energy formed in his palms shone like a lighthouse. "Ka-Me-Ha-"

 

"I give up," Giran suddenly takes out a stick and white cloth, waving it around.

 

"Krillin is the winner!" Johnny announces, then his face becomes overrun with worry. "Next fight is Tao… and Nam."

***

 

Nam had a responsibility to his family, and his people. Everything in the village was dehydrated and starving, and the lands were barren. That made Nam willing to do anything to win this. He clasps his hands in silent prayer and then walks up the stage.

 

Opposite of him stood Tao. Even in his small village, he has heard of the world's most dangerous assassin. 

 

Some say he is immortal and has lived for hundreds of years. Nam’s hands shook at the thought of fighting a monster like that.

 

“I can already see you’re scared. How about you give up, and I will only break an arm?” Tao stated coldly. 

 

Nam didn’t listen to him and kept his hands in a prayer motion, which gave him strength. He prayed for his village’s prosperity in the future in case anything happened to him. 

 

“Begin!”

As soon as the announcer said that, Nam charged toward the world’s strongest assassin. The man still kept his hands behind his back, but Nam didn’t care about his opponent’s arrogance, and this-

 

Suddenly, Tao’s figure dissipated and pain assaulted Nam’s shoulder. All the strength seemed to seep from his body. 

 

He looked where the pain came from and saw Tao standing beside him with his pointer finger shoved into his shoulder. 

 

“You have nice bones,” Tao smirked as he took out his finger from his flesh, and blood spilled out uncontrollably. “I hit one of your veins. If you don’t get medical treatment soon, you might never be able to use your left arm again. Or maybe you could even bleed to death. I am good at killing, so I never had to try and spare someone so weak.”

 

Nam grit his teeth in anger. Yes, he was weak. But if he could save all of his people, his little brother, what was the sacrifice of one arm compared to that? Even giving up his life was worth it if he could save them. 

 

His only usable arm shot out, and he grabbed onto Tao’s wrists. “I got you now.”

“Do you?” Tao asked as he turned his wrist upward, making Nam’s grip on his hand turn, and he had his elbow pointing down. The assassin used his knee to hit Nam’s elbow. 

 

Crack!

 

It rang so loud; Nam never thought a bone breaking could be so loud. It felt like the body could hear the hit. Nam fell to his knees, his arm broken as a bone protracted from the front of his elbow. Pain spread through his upper arm, and crawled like a snake moving under his skin. 

 

Blood spilled out as pieces of bones fell on the ground. 

 

“No, no, no, I can’t lose now. I must live. I must win for my village. I must… I…” Nam muttered between heaved breaths. He couldn't move either arm and was losing blood by the minute. 

 

Nam understood has had already lost, but it wasn’t something he could just accept. 

‘I feel lightheaded and about to pass out, but I can’t. I have a family who depends on me. I must win.’ 

 

Nam remembered his village and his little brother, who was skin and bones. He was so thin and malnutritioned.

 

‘My life, if I can win, I will give it away.’ Nam clenched his teeth and stuttered toward Tao, ready to bite the man to death. But as he got within arm’s length of his opponents, dozens of bullet-like finger-sized holes appeared in his body. 

 

No matter how hard he tried, Nam couldn’t move anymore, and his body felt limp. He was barely standing.

 

‘Everyone, I am sorry. I couldn’t win after all, and your efforts were wasted. Sorry for being such a useless older brother, who couldn’t even provide for those he cared about.’

 

Darkness started surrounding the edges of his eyes—despair and desperation in his heart, with an image of his starving village in his mind.

 

“Maybe after this, I will go and massacre that village of yours you keep mumbling about,” Tao snorted. 

 

Just like that, Nam felt a burst of energy through his body, and for the first time in his life, he hated someone with all his being. He saw red, and nothing mattered anymore as he charged at Tao one last time with all his might. But before he could do anything, Tao pierced his throat. He could feel the assassin’s finger piercing right through the spinal cord behind his neck.

 

“There, go and spend the rest of your life as a cripple,” Tao turned his back and walked away while using a napkin to wipe the blood off his finger.

 

Nam fell into a warm pool of red, his life liquid spilling out. Many thoughts came through his mind, of what he had done in life and how he had doomed his family by using all the money the village had given him to come to the tournament. 

 

Tears spilled down his eyes and mixed with the blood. He couldn’t say anything, as his throat was crushed. Nam wanted to beg Tao not to kill his village, but only gurgling gasps came through in the end.

 

‘Everyone, I am sorry.’