Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the two floated midair without relying on any external force. Naturally, this sent the mustached referee into a frenzy, as if he had just seen an alien.
Well, to be fair, Goku was an alien…
Yamiru took a deep breath in midair. He could clearly sense that Goku's energy behind him remained completely steady, whereas his own had already been significantly drained.
Suddenly, he tilted his head to the side—just in time to dodge a fist that had aimed for him from behind.
Yamiru chuckled. "What's this? A sneak attack?"
Behind him, Goku muttered in surprise, "I moved as quietly as possible, and you still noticed? How'd you do that?"
"The trick is to cut out…" Yamiru abruptly grabbed Goku's arm, then, with a loud swoosh, flipped him over in midair and slammed him down. "…any unnecessary movements!"
Whoosh! Goku was hurled toward the ring, but just before hitting the ground, he managed to stop himself in midair.
"Phew! That was close. Still not used to flying yet."
He let out a breath, then sharpened his gaze. Yamiru had already darted toward him again, throwing a punch. Bam! Goku barely had time to raise his arms to block.
Yamiru's punch, bolstered by the pull of gravity, even made Goku wince.
Of course, Yamiru's own fist hurt even more.
It was a simple principle—force acts in both directions. If your strength is lower than your opponent's, close combat will hurt you more than it hurts them.
Without changing expression, Yamiru smoothly caught Goku's crossed arms, flipped over his head, and once again hurled him down. This time, Goku skimmed across the ring's surface like a skipping stone.
Smack!
Yamiru kicked off the ground with force, his clothes nearly brushing against the surface as he accelerated in pursuit of the airborne Goku. He cut in between him and the ground.
Heh… Goku, now facing the sky, grinned. Utilizing his flight technique and a twist of his waist, his tail lashed out like a steel whip, a dark blur striking downward at Yamiru.
Whoosh! The tail whip hit nothing but air.
Goku's eyes widened. It was the Afterimage Technique!
But how?
At such high speed, it was impossible not to hear Yamiru's footsteps when he moved!
In a split second, Goku glanced toward the ground. His tail had torn through a flickering afterimage of Yamiru, splitting it in two.
Above him, Yamiru's real body was already in motion, hands clasped together above his head.
Wait… he wasn't moving by foot. He was using his flight technique to create afterimages?!
Goku whipped his head around in alarm—only to see a pair of glowing golden eyes staring back at him.
That's why there was no sound!
Bam! Yamiru's double-fisted strike landed squarely on Goku's chest and stomach.
Too late to react!
"Gah!" Goku gagged as acid shot up his throat. His body bounced off the ground.
Before he could recover, Yamiru seized the moment to unleash a relentless barrage of punches, their sheer speed and density surpassing even Tien Shinhan's Four arm Technique.
Goku, pummeled by Yamiru's overwhelming assault, was caught in a cycle—smashed into the ground, bounced back up, only to be struck down again. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for Yamiru to maintain the perfect rhythm of his attacks. After all, if he struck while Goku was still falling, the impact would be reduced.
Yet, somehow, Yamiru controlled his strength and timing with absolute precision. Every punch landed just as Goku's body reached the peak of its rebound.
"That's insane…" Tien Shinhan muttered, cold sweat dripping down his face.
It sounded complex, but in reality, from the moment Yamiru's afterimage trick earned him a chance to strike, to pinning Goku in place and mercilessly pummeling him, it all happened in a fleeting instant.
Of course, that instant was all Goku needed to devise a countermeasure.
He had no angle to strike back—Yamiru had intentionally locked him into a position where he couldn't retaliate.
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!
Fists rained down like a storm.
As Yamiru raised his fist for another strike, Goku, sprawled against the shattered ground, took a deep breath, gathering his energy.
As his body bounced up from the impact, Yamiru's fist was fully charged, ready to send him crashing down again.
Goku used the momentum of his rebound and let out a deafening roar toward the ground.
The shout was like an explosive missile!
Thunder erupted across the arena!
A deep crater formed beneath Goku from the sheer force of his voice.
Goku rode the shockwave, accelerating toward Yamiru.
But Yamiru, though surprised, remained unfazed. Instead, he amplified his own power, let out a fierce battle cry, and—
SLAM! He snatched the airborne Goku mid-flight and brutally slammed him back down.
"AHHH!" Goku yelped as he crashed into the pit.
Touching down, he crouched in the crater, wincing. Then, with a grin, he sprang straight up and disappeared from view.
The crowd barely caught a glimpse of a black blur shooting from the pit toward Yamiru—
And then, in the next moment, Yamiru was sent flying like a meteor into the sky!
"Guh—" Yamiru coughed up blood. In his golden-glowing eyes, a faint trace of red flickered.
Goku, his iron-hard skull having rammed Yamiru upward, caught sight of his opponent's trembling hands reaching for him.
He immediately stopped himself in midair with his flight technique.
He figured Yamiru would still be carried by inertia, meaning Yamiru's outstretched hands wouldn't be able to grab him.
But the moment he halted—
Yamiru stopped as well.
What?! Goku's mind reeled.
"No unnecessary movements, remember?"
SMACK! Yamiru grabbed Goku's tiny arms, yanked him forward, and rammed his knee into his stunned face.
Goku's head snapped back, a trail of blood flying from his nose.
"Ugh… so that's how it is…"
Just as Yamiru prepared to deliver another knee strike—
Goku's bloodied face suddenly shot forward, headbutting him with even greater force, like an unyielding battle doll.
"What's considered an unnecessary movement?!"
Bang!
Goku's iron-hard head collided with Yamiru's knee!
"Agh!"
Yamiru clenched his teeth so hard they nearly shattered. His face and neck flushed red, veins bulging.
The sensation in his left knee was almost entirely gone—whether it was temporary numbness or outright shattered, he couldn't tell.
But instead of retreating, the searing pain only ignited his bloodlust. The golden hue in his eyes flickered with a tinge of red as he propelled himself with Flight, driving his other knee straight toward Goku's face.
Goku clearly hadn't expected the guy to keep attacking with his knees and was sent flying again, blood splattering from his face.
The two fighters clashed violently in midair, over a hundred meters high.
Down on the ground, Master Roshi tilted his head back, murmuring, "Yamiru's disadvantages are obvious, but Goku still looks inexperienced fighting in the air."
Tien, despite being unable to sense ki, had exceptional vision with his three eyes. He stared unblinkingly at the battle above, his voice filled with shock. "Don't tell me... Goku only just learned how to fly?"
The other spectators couldn't sense ki, nor did they have such keen eyesight. Only a few had brought binoculars along, having come prepared for sightseeing.
But the ever-dedicated mustachioed announcer had already pulled out a pair of binoculars, closely tracking the aerial combat while giving rapid-fire commentary. He was so caught up in the moment that he nearly jammed the microphone into his own mouth multiple times.
"It's like a reenactment of that World Martial Arts Tournament final from years ago! The same two fighters have taken their battle to the sky once more! This is brutal—absolutely brutal! Yamiru's knee seems to be in serious trouble—his stance is completely off!"
Bulma anxiously held onto her sister's hand. Tights' fingers felt a bit cold.
Tights, uncertain whether she was comforting Bulma or herself, said, "Relax, it's just a knee. We still have a few Senzu Beans left."
"Oh my god! Yamiru's other knee is in trouble too! Ladies and gentlemen, this final match is unbelievably intense! Both fighters, especially Yamiru, are going all out!"
The mustachioed announcer's passionate commentary made the audience feel as if the fight were still happening on the ring instead of high in the sky.
However, as time dragged on, neither fighter descended...
"Is Yamiru pushing himself too hard?" Chi-Chi gazed upward with concern. In her perception, Yamiru's ki was steadily dropping, while Goku, though slightly fatigued, was in significantly better shape. But the weaker Yamiru's ki became, the more tenacious it seemed.
Tights tightened her grip on Bulma's hand.
The aerial struggle continued for nearly twenty minutes. Then, all of a sudden, the mustachioed announcer let out a startled shout:
"Ah! Yamiru is plummeting toward the ground at high speed! Goku is still in the air—does this mean Goku has won?!"
Up above, Goku was charging a Kamehameha.
Yamiru, battered, bloodied, and with both legs crippled, was plummeting toward the ground. Through his blurred vision, he could see Goku's figure growing smaller in the sky.
"..." Goku hesitated for a moment. That should be it, right?
Deciding that he'd already won, he released the Kamehameha charge.
He let out a relieved sigh—Yamiru had really been tough to deal with.
"But this time, the championship is mine."
Wiping away sweat, Goku smiled slightly and began descending toward the ring.
The ground drew closer.
Yamiru, weak and falling fast, suddenly snapped his eyes open wide.
"Heh, heh... I can still move my hands."
Raising his arm, he fired a Ki Blast straight toward the ground.
Boom!
Another quarter of the ring was blown to pieces.
With both legs ruined, Yamiru used the explosion's recoil to propel himself back into the air. Combining it with Flight, he surged upward at a speed faster than ever before.
What?!
Still descending, Goku was suddenly stunned.
He saw Yamiru's figure rocketing back toward him, his aura burning with an indomitable spirit.