Dragon Ball Roshi

The instant the match was declared open, the two runners-up-to-be on the Broken Mountain Arena moved at once!

Goku's eyes narrowed—he left an afterimage where he stood and vanished!

Piccolo gave a cold snort, his eyes locked onto Goku, whose high-speed movements were invisible to most ordinary spectators. His shoulders lifted slightly, claws spread, waist lowered, knees bent, ankles twisted, and the soles of his feet pressed against the ground... The moment this sequence of preparatory motions completed, he too disappeared from view!

"They're gone!"

"So fast!"

The crowd cried out in shock. At that moment, only dull impact sounds could be heard on the Broken Mountain Arena—aside from the afterimages left behind by Goku and Piccolo when they briefly paused in their exchange! Even those afterimages were faint and blurry, a testament to the insane speed of their battle.

Boom!

Boom-boom!

Boom!

Each sound echoed like muffled thunder. One could almost see shockwaves rippling from the arena surface, spreading like concentric rings with every fierce clash...

The spectators quickly turned to the large screen displaying footage from the high-speed cameras. A professional backstage team of dozens had edited together the slow-motion highlights for everyone to watch clearly.

In slow motion, Goku and Piccolo moved at what still looked like astonishing speed, darting around the stage, seeking openings, closing in, swinging punches—one blocking, twisting his wrist to deflect, responding with a knee strike, turning defense into offense...

Seizing the moment, Goku grabbed Piccolo's wrist, leapt into the air, flipped behind him, and with his tail like a long whip, coiled it around Piccolo's neck. Goku clenched his teeth, gripping tight with his hands and tail, and hurled Piccolo forward with all his strength!

However... Piccolo's arms and neck suddenly extended! Goku's force met only empty air, and he nearly lost his balance, stumbling forward!

Startled, Goku looked back—Piccolo's neck, still bound by his tail, had stretched out. As Goku turned his head, Piccolo's face appeared behind him, jaws wide open, unleashing a blast of yellow energy!

Since it was a hastily fired ki wave and Piccolo hadn't trained in the Muken, it lacked full power.

Goku evaded instantly.

Piccolo vanished again.

And that—was merely a split second of their high-speed exchange. Just one of the many blurred afterimages flickering in and out across the Broken Mountain Arena!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Their "now-you-see-it, now-you-don't" combat raged on without pause! Even with ultra-slow-motion playback, the spectators could scarcely imagine how many rounds these two monsters had fought in the blink of an eye!

"So this is... the clash between the finalists of the World Martial Arts Tournament..." murmured a young man in the audience—likely someone new to martial arts. It was his first time watching the global finals live, and he was utterly overwhelmed.

Was this... even human anymore?

Their speed couldn't be followed by the naked eye—how could anyone even fight someone you couldn't see move?

"Haha! It's not usually this intense!" someone nearby laughed. "Maybe it's because Goku is the disciple of the Muten Roshi, so Piccolo showed up as a rival worthy of that legacy!"

The young man was silent for a moment, then scratched his head and said, "I haven't been training long, but I've heard on the Virtual Earth Network that the Muten School teaches something called the Muken, right?"

"Yep," someone said with a deep breath. "It's the ultimate martial art bestowed by the Muten himself. The Muken..."

"...a martial art that multiplies a person's strength many times over. Truly... the Muten Roshi's decision to share it with all martial artists is nothing short of miraculous!"

The young man looked even more confused. "Of course, it's true that Muten Roshi is great… but even with such an unparalleled martial art, is there really no one who can beat Son Goku? Neither Goku nor Piccolo used the Muken, right? If they had, the host would've definitely been alerted by the crew backstage and announced it!"

"Looks like you really are a newcomer…" someone nearby chuckled. "In the martial arts world, there's an unspoken tradition—if someone has both won the World Martial Arts Tournament and reached the fifth floor of the Muten Tower, they basically never compete again."

"Ah… that makes sense now! No wonder none of the old masters show up to compete!" the young man exclaimed in awe.

"Yeah, they say it started as an unspoken rule during the final championship run of the great Master Son Gohan!"

"But hey, I heard something interesting—recently, someone on the Virtual Earth Network has submitted a request to the network company to create a tournament specifically for practitioners of the Muken! The matches would take place entirely in the virtual world… who knows if it's true though!" another person revealed.

"Huh?" The young man was stunned.

---

Boom!

Zzt! Zzt!

Two ki blasts—one bluish-white, the other purple-gold—crisscrossed each other and shot into the sky.

The two fighters, who had been moving too fast to be seen until now, finally appeared on the ring.

"Not bad, Piccolo," Goku said with a smile as a few strands of black hair drifted to the ground.

"Hmph." Piccolo wiped a bead of blood from the wound on his cheek and coldly replied, "That's enough warm-up for now, don't you think?"

Goku was already removing his wristbands, grinning. "Yeah, I'd say so!"

Piccolo took off the turban wrapped around his head and casually tossed it to the ground with a loud thud. Though it looked like cloth, it landed like a block of iron. He then grabbed his white cape and shoulder pads and pulled them off over his head.

Goku tossed away his wristbands as he floated down lightly.

Piccolo threw his weighted cape to the ground with a clang, cracking the stone ring slightly. He cracked his knuckles and sneered. "Let's finish this in one shot!"

Goku spread his chest, stretching out his limbs while his tail whipped the air behind him with a crisp snap. "That's exactly what I was thinking!"

Their auras surged—one pure white, the other a deep purple. Though not yet forming visible flares, the sheer pressure felt like powerful magnetic fields surrounding them. At the edge of the ring, the referee already felt short of breath…

"What an overwhelming pressure…" the announcer wiped away a stream of cold sweat.

Goku vanished!

Piccolo vanished!

Boom!!

In the very center of the ring, their fists collided in a shockwave!

"Heh!"

"Hmph!"

At close range, Goku's eyes blazed with excitement and fighting spirit, while Piccolo's eyes burned with arrogance and malice. Their gazes clashed with crackling electricity!

"Oooooooooh!!!"

"Let's go!!"

"Come on, Son Goku!!!"

The cheers surged like waves, with some spectators so pumped they were literally jumping out of their seats!

---

"This guy… he's even stronger than yesterday! He was still holding back?!" Tien muttered under his breath, seated beside his master Tsuru. His third eye was locked onto the main arena, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. He gritted his teeth. "So confident he could take me out in one shot? That damn bastard…"