Goku's tail hair stood on end as he sensed a threat. It was the first time he had seen Chi-Chi perform a spell like this, so he didn't know where the sense of danger was coming from. He backed away as fast as he could.
Suddenly, his movements became sluggish, and he could feel the abrupt change in gravity. Although he had trained with augmented gravity, such a sudden change could catch anyone off guard, and it caught him off guard, too.
The energy balls floating around Goku lunged toward him. Instead of colliding with his body, though, they collided with each other at a particular point. This created a strange phenomenon that revealed the power of magic to everyone.
A black pyramid rose and covered the Saiyan's body, hiding his figure. The structure was completely dark but seemed to have several white dots on it.
If you looked at it a certain way, it resembled the starry sky. Chi-Chi unleashed quite a powerful spell; she held nothing back when performing this magical attack. It was one of the strongest in her arsenal.
She did it all because she wanted to show Goku how strong she was! Chi-Chi was a strong-willed person with an active personality. If she set her mind to something, no one could stop her.
The pyramid rose silently, but its destructive power was unleashed, completely cracking the combat arena, which was always in need of repairs. Although the magical structure did not make a sound, nor was it extremely spectacular, it terrified others.
"That's Chi-Chi's magic. How terrifying! I worry for Goku's future life..." Krillin muttered before receiving a blow to the head from Bulma.
"It's too early for you to be thinking about something like that!" the blue-haired girl complained, causing Krillin to stick out his tongue in mockery.
"But just look at that thing! I never thought the ever-blushing Chi-Chi would have something like that up her sleeve.
Hey, Bulma, do you think Goku will be okay? My skin crawls just looking at that pyramid. He's inside," Krillin said, expressing his concern. Yamcha, who was standing next to him, patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry! If anyone in our group is tough, it's Goku. Besides, I don't think Chi-Chi wants to hurt him too much," Yamcha comforted Krillin. He wasn't wrong.
Chi-Chi cast that spell to show off her power and gain more approval from Goku. How could she seriously hurt Goku? But even though she controlled the spell's output, she still unleashed some of its true power.
Goku was now in a strange space. Everything was dark before his eyes, and a terrible pressure fell on his body. It was no longer simply increased gravity; it was a systematic crushing of his entire body.
His bones creaked, and his cells and organs ached. If not for the layer of red ki covering his body like a protective cloak, he would have collapsed long ago, though Chi-Chi wouldn't have let it get that far.
Yet the pain he felt was genuine. This space seemed to want to tear him apart completely, but he resisted. Though he searched for ways to solve this problem in his mind, a strange emotion stirred within his heart.
'Chi-Chi has become stronger,' he thought. There was no dramatic heartbeat, but the image of that girl in his heart had become much clearer, leaving an indelible mark.
'If she started with all her power from the beginning... let's do it too!' Despite being completely stained with blood due to the tear he suffered in this strange space, a smile adorned his face.
Then, a scream, no, a roar, erupted from his body, shaking the whole place. Those who heard it were quick to recognize the voice, but what followed was even more unbelievable.
For perhaps the first time in thousands of years, a far superior force was detected on Earth. It was a sensation filled with pure oppression. Though it lasted only a few moments, the fighters knew they couldn't fight whatever it was.
"That brat..." Bulma smiled as she watched the pyramid shatter from a torrent of red ki rising into the clouds like a pillar of the world.
Everyone saw the image of a gigantic monkey with red eyes, lush brown hair, and a wild aura. Goku's actions shattered Chi-Chi's spell, scattering him all over the arena and releasing him.
The young Saiyan's breathing was labored, yet his smile remained. He looked at Chi-Chi with sparkling eyes, gave a thumbs-up, and laughed rather loudly, as if the damage to his body didn't exist at all.
"Wow, now that was painful! You've gotten strong without telling me, Chi-Chi! I like that! I like you!" Although Goku was much smarter than his original self, he still didn't fully understand the implications of his words due to his age and innocence.
To everyone else, however, his words were simply a rather blunt declaration of love. Gohan, who was watching the fight from the audience, patted his face.
"Ah, little Goku.... that's not how you say things," the old man muttered, a smile sketching itself on his face.
"But it seems you're just as proactive as your grandfather! HAHAHAHAHA!" Gohan burst out laughing, scaring the people around him. No one understood why this gentle old man was suddenly having a fit of giggles.
"Strong statements have been made today..." the presenter said after coughing a little, trying to lighten the mood.
"Young people are very lively nowadays. They're not as subtle as they used to be," muttered Muten Roshi. He felt that he had wasted a lot of his life because he had no women around.
He was a pervert, but he spent most of his time training in isolation from society. Except for watching television and catching a glimpse of the elusive mermaids that lived near him, he had hardly any contact with women.
"It's obvious that Saiyans like strong women with character," Whis said, wanting to clarify the situation.
"Yeah... What's a Saiyan?" the presenter asked in a low voice. Meanwhile, the fight was still going on.
Chi-Chi turned red as usual, but instead of stopping, simply admired Goku's heroic figure before bringing up her own Ki projection. The image of Princess Iron Fan, as Bulma had named her, appeared.
"That's not all I've got, Goku! Get ready!" Chi-Chi shouted. A bit of blue energy appeared in her right hand while a red glow emerged in her left.
The blue light emitted a cold wind, while the red increased the temperature of the environment. However, Goku didn't wait for Chi-Chi to finish charging her attack. With a single gesture, he fired several ki blasts at his opponent, who had to evade them, consequently distracting her from launching her spell.
Not wanting to fall short, Goku flew close to the ground in Chi-Chi's direction. The aura around him turned him into a red meteor, and the image of Ozaru shrank behind him as he roared into the air.
"Ozaru Rush!" Goku shouted as he slammed into Chi-Chi's body, pushing her backward.
Although it was merely a physical impact, it dispersed the energy in the girl's hands, making her uncomfortable at her spell's failure. There was no time to dwell on such things, though, as the Saiyan approached her again, this time raising his fist to strike her.
As Goku's fist landed on Chi-Chi's body, a strange green energy covered her, stopping his blow. He shoved her again, bringing her almost to the end of the arena.
"You mastered the protection spell! Great! But I'll have to hit harder to break it," said Goku. He did little hops on the spot before flying at high speed toward her again.
"Many of my powerful spells are tedious to use. Looks like I'll have to use that one, despite the risk," thought Chi-Chi, as she channeled her magic into a dangerous spell, perhaps the most destructive she had encountered thus far.
Goku stopped dead in his tracks, watching a small red ball grow in Chi-Chi's hands. It felt different; it didn't compare to the previous black pyramid or whatever his rival had in his hands. It was a cataclysm.
"Flare!" A dome of crimson energy expanded from Chi-Chi's body, raising the temperature of the entire island by several degrees.
The sand, the epicenter of such a spell, suffered. Materials melted straight through. The air became blurry due to heat distortion. A pillar of energy rose into the sky, illuminating the night.
It was as if a sun had exploded because of Chi-Chi. Bulma recognized the spell; it sounded similar to a spell performed by Lucca, who, in a sense, could be an alternate version of her in another timeline.
True, Toriyama drew the characters from Chrono Trigger. Remembering the first spell Chi-Chi used, it looks a lot like Magus's final attack. But what if the source of inspiration for the authors simply showed Toriyama the connection between the two worlds?
'Looks like I'll have to explore those timelines wiped out by some cataclysm a bit more.' Bulma's thoughts changed when she considered this prospect, but she felt they were most likely just 'references,' so to speak.
She was interested in so many seemingly otherworldly characters in this universe. However, after doing some research using her family's abilities and connections, she found that these people did exist on Earth.
So? She felt that they were probably reflections of their original existence. Dragon Ball is a work that has inspired many others and received nods and homages. Perhaps they are also reflected here for the same reason?
Bulma thought that if she went to a world different from Dragon Ball, she would find similar reflections. Besides, she had examples in mind: the versions of Sun Wukong and Merlin in works of fiction. Technically, they were references and reflections.
'But that doesn't matter to me. I don't plan to travel to other universes. I have too much to do here to disperse my attention in other directions,' Bulma concluded, turning her attention back to the end of the fight.
The arena had melted and shattered. The heat had barely returned to a bearable temperature. Only two things hadn't changed: the fighters. Goku's body was burned, and his clothes were torn, but they covered his nakedness.
Chi-Chi was staggering and barely standing. She had barely controlled that spell, and it was something she still hadn't quite mastered due to how powerful it was. Luckily, she was able to divert some of her energy into the sky.
"Magic is amazing. You're amazing, Chi-Chi," Goku said with excitement in his eyes. He had used a lot of energy to protect himself, and his clothes were severely damaged, indicating the power unleashed by Chi-Chi's earlier spell.
"But... I lost," Chi-Chi muttered, somewhat saddened because she thought Goku would be disappointed in her for not being stronger.
"Losing isn't bad; it makes you stronger," Goku declared as he walked over to her, held her, and kept her from falling.
"You're a fool..." she said before fainting completely. Goku had to carry her like a princess.
Goku looked toward the announcer, who declared his victory. Chi-Chi opened her eyes slightly, a mischievous smile appearing on her lips as she knew her trick had worked.
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AN: I almost didn't write today because I was feeling lazy and sleepy, but Black Pink inspired me. By the way, I'll explain to those guys who complain that I made a tournament with characters that reference others. Please take it as a tribute to Toriyama's work and those he inspired. If you don't like the tournament, too bad. Luckily, this is the only tournament I'll write about, aside from the Cell and Tournament of Power tournaments, which are vital to the plot. Yes, Cell will exist. Technically, he's a critter from another timeline. The mess will be... How will things play out in a world where Doctor Gero is different from his original timeline? Think about it and tell me what you come up with.