c14 – Li Xu vs Son Goku
"It's truly the era of the young now," Master Roshi thought as he woke up from a nap, feeling a sense of aging for the first time. The age where the God of Martial Arts dominated was slowly coming to an end.
In the second match of the semifinals, Son Goku faced off against Namu. Namu's fighting power was around 50 points, and although he was skilled, he encountered a Son Goku much stronger than in the original timeline. As expected, Namu was quickly defeated, unable to keep up with Goku's overwhelming speed and strength.
However, much like in the original story, Master Roshi disguised as Jackie Chun secretly helped Namu by solving the water shortage problem in his village, earning Namu's deep gratitude before he returned home.
With the semifinals concluded, the highly anticipated finals were finally about to begin. Excitement filled the entire arena, and even Goku and Li Xu could hardly contain their eagerness.
"Now, let's welcome our two finalists, Li Xu and Son Goku, to the stage for the championship match!" the announcer's enthusiastic voice boomed, setting off a wave of cheers and applause.
"Li Xu! I can finally fight you!" Goku said, practically bouncing with excitement. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
"Let me see how much stronger you've gotten these past few months," Li Xu replied, equally eager. He wanted to witness the results of Son Goku's hard training under Master Roshi's rigorous guidance.
"I'll definitely surprise you!" Goku said, his eyes sparkling with confidence.
Whoosh!
Without warning, Li Xu dashed forward, blurring from view with a burst of speed, appearing right in front of Goku and launching a punch aimed straight at his stomach.
But the fist passed clean through Goku's body it was only an afterimage.
"This trick again, huh?" Li Xu muttered.
Goku grinned mischievously, having reappeared behind Li Xu, launching a sharp kick toward his back.
Yet, just like before, Goku's attack struck only air. Another afterimage.
"Behind you!" Li Xu's voice came from behind Goku this time. He counterattacked with a swift roundhouse kick.
But to his surprise, this Goku was also an afterimage, flickering and vanishing on contact.
"That's the Multiple Afterimage Technique!" Master Roshi said in astonishment from the sidelines. "He's learned it just by observing me and even improved on it!"
"Heh heh!" Goku chuckled proudly. From above, he clasped both fists together and aimed a powerful hammer blow down at Li Xu.
Li Xu merely smirked, having anticipated the move.
"Oh no!" Goku realized his mistake mid-attack, but by then it was too late.
Li Xu instantly repositioned behind him and delivered a precise whip kick, sending Goku crashing face-first into the ring floor.
Boom!
The platform cracked under the impact, creating a small crater around Goku's fallen body.
Li Xu calmly floated down, signaling to the announcer not to start the count, and said, "Get up. That little hit isn't nearly enough to take you out."
"Ow... it still hurts, though!" Goku grumbled as he stood up, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Stop playing around. If you don't fight seriously, you won't stand a chance," Li Xu said, his tone firm.
"Okay! This time I'll go full strength!" Goku said, shaking off the pain and growing serious.
"Bring it on," Li Xu replied with a confident grin.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Both fighters vanished from view, moving at speeds invisible to the ordinary eye. The air trembled with the rapid exchange of blows.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Their fists and feet collided repeatedly, sending shockwaves through the arena.
"So fast!" the announcer cried, barely able to keep up.
Master Roshi's eyes darted left and right, but even with his trained perception, he could barely catch fleeting afterimages of the two fighters.
"They're both total monsters..." Krillin said, feeling a little discouraged as he clenched his fists tightly.
"You're the monster!" Bulma snapped, bonking Krillin lightly on the head. She refused to let anyone call Li Xu a monster, even jokingly.
"Both of them are already top-tier martial artists," Master Roshi said seriously, stroking his beard. "I can't even predict who'll win the championship now." Deep inside, he realized that Son Goku had quietly grown strong enough to surpass even his expectations.
"Of course, Li Xu will win!" Bulma said with absolute confidence, folding her arms proudly.
On the stage, the two blurs suddenly became visible again, their rapid exchanges turning into a raw contest of strength a tight grapple.
"Ahhh!"
Li Xu let out a roar, gathering his power and swinging Son Goku by the arms, flinging him straight toward the edge of the ring.
"Ah! Careful!"
Master Roshi tensed as he saw Goku hurtling toward the ground. But just before Son Goku hit the ground, his body abruptly halted in midair.
"Flying Technique?!"
Li Xu's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He hadn't expected Goku to pick it up so quickly. After all, in the original story, Goku hadn't even learned how to fly by the next World Martial Arts Tournament (22nd Tenkaichi Budokai).
"Hehe!"
Goku chuckled proudly, floating back above the stage and landing lightly.
"Son Goku's flying! He's flying!!" the host screamed into the microphone, his voice almost cracking. Whether he was genuinely shocked or just hyping the crowd, the audience went wild with excitement.
"Goku, I'm going to use my full strength now," Li Xu warned calmly.
After the earlier exchanges, he had already assessed Goku's strength: roughly around 180 battle power, significantly higher than in the original timeline where Goku was only around 100 after training with Master Roshi. Clearly, Li Xu's presence had accelerated Goku's growth.
His butterfly effect had officially begun to change the world.
"Bring it on!" Goku said, his face serious and his stance steady.
Whoosh!
Li Xu disappeared again, this time moving faster and more fiercely toward Goku.
Goku's sharp eyes flicked rapidly in every direction, struggling to track Li Xu's movements.
"Li Xu hasn't even been serious until now...," Master Roshi murmured, astonished. "If he uses all his power, I'm afraid Goku won't be able to keep up."
"Wait, maybe Goku's still hiding something?" Krillin asked hopefully, feeling a strong bond with Goku and desperately wanting him to win.
"No... Goku's already going full-out," Master Roshi said with a shake of his head, sounding regretful.
Boom!
In the ring, Li Xu suddenly materialized right in front of Son Goku, landing a brutal uppercut that sent Goku rocketing skyward.
Li Xu immediately chased after him with astonishing speed.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
In midair, Li Xu unleashed a storm of punches like a machine gun, each blow hitting with devastating precision. Goku, though resilient, couldn't find an opening to counter.
Finally, with a sweeping roundhouse kick, Li Xu sent Son Goku crashing down into the arena.
Boom!
The impact smashed a crater into the stone floor, with rubble burying half of Goku's battered body.
Li Xu calmly floated down and turned to the stunned host.
"You can start counting now," he said nonchalantly.
"Ah—yes! One! Two! Three!"
The host hurried over and started counting loudly, filled with tension.
"Goku, get up!" Krillin yelled desperately from the sidelines, trying to encourage his friend.
"Sigh..."
Master Roshi sighed heavily, a rare look of sadness on his face.
"Even if he stands up... it'll be nearly impossible for him to defeat Li Xu now."
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