"This move didn't work on you before—probably because you were just a kid who didn't understand anything back then."
The Devil Man extended two fingers from each hand and pointed them toward his own temples, his gaze fixed on Goku.
"But now you're an adult."
He shifted his eyes toward Chi-Chi, who was cheering for Goku outside the ring.
"And now you've even got yourself a beautiful wife."
"The pure-hearted, desireless child you once were—he's long gone."
"Which means this move will affect you this time."
A green glow began to gather at the Devil Man's fingertips, making all the Turtle School fighters tremble in alarm. Even Naruto's expression grew wary as he watched the ominous light forming.
"Farewell, Son! Goku!"
The green beam shot straight toward Goku.
"This move looks interesting," Piccolo said, watching the green light wave with mild amusement. "Too bad it's so slow."
Indeed, the Devil Beam had an absurdly long charge-up time.
If his opponent had been Piccolo instead of Goku, he would've been knocked out before finishing the move.
Who in their right mind would just stand there and let an opponent charge up a big attack?
Still, once the Devil Beam was fully fired, it never missed its target.
Unsurprisingly, Goku took the full hit.
And then—
"Ah-da-da-da-da!" Goku rushed forward like nothing had happened, unleashing a flurry of punches straight into the Devil Man's stomach before kicking him clean out of the ring.
"It… still doesn't work… This makes twice now…" the Devil Man muttered faintly before collapsing, unconscious.
"Winner: Son Goku!"
And so, the first of the semifinalists was decided.
"Crane Hermit versus Naruto."
"Hahahaha! I've been waiting for this!" Crane Hermit burst out laughing when he saw the matchup on the display. With a flap of his arms, he used the Flight Technique to soar onto the arena platform.
"I was hoping to crush those Turtle School trash first—but facing you before them works just as well."
"I'll kill you first, then deal with the rest of those fools afterward!"
Naruto followed casually, floating up to the ring as well. He didn't argue—just replied offhandedly, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."
"It seems you don't realize the seriousness of your situation." Crane Hermit sneered. "The man standing before you isn't who I used to be. I've shed my old skin. I've been reborn!"
"Sure, sure. You're absolutely right," Naruto replied lazily, his gaze already wandering elsewhere.
"You have no idea what I've been through," Crane Hermit continued, clearly unsatisfied with Naruto's indifference. "Don't worry—I'll make sure you experience every last bit of it yourself. I'll make you beg for death!"
"Mm-hmm, got it," Naruto said dismissively, waving a hand and turning his back to look toward Piccolo.
"You insolent brat!" Crane Hermit roared, infuriated by Naruto's attitude. He gathered all of his ki into his right index finger.
"Let me show you… my true power!"
At that moment, Crane Hermit's power level skyrocketed—surpassing 1,200, reaching near Saiyan-tier levels. Even Piccolo and Goku's expressions turned serious as they sensed his energy.
A sphere of light the size of a dragon fruit swelled at Crane Hermit's fingertip. Seeing Naruto still daydreaming, he finally snapped.
"Repent in hell!"
"Super Dodon Ray!"
A massive beam—ten times thicker than a normal Dodon Ray—burst from his fingertip, roaring straight toward Naruto.
Sensing the intensity of Crane Hermit's ki, Master Roshi's face paled beneath his shades.
"This isn't good—it's the Super Dodon Ray! Naruto, dodge it! That attack's too much even for you—!"
But before Roshi could finish, just as the beam was about to hit, Naruto casually raised his hand and slapped at it.
And that was it.
The terrifying Super Dodon Ray—packing a power level over 1,200—simply vanished, dispersed with a single lazy smack.
Crane Hermit froze, eyes bulging, snot bubbles trembling on his face. He wore the exact same stunned expression his brother Tao Pai Pai had once shown when Goku deflected his Dodon Ray years ago.
Well, brothers will be brothers.
"What? Were you talking to me just now?" Naruto turned around slowly, pretending to have just realized what happened. He blinked innocently. "Oh—my bad."
He did that on purpose… Krillin and the others all thought the same thing instantly.
"No… no, impossible… My Super Dodon Ray… impossible…" Crane Hermit mumbled over and over, his mind breaking. His strongest technique—defeated with a slap.
It had only ever failed once before—against that bespectacled kid in suspenders…
"You're thinking of Arale Norimaki, right? Oh, I get it now," Naruto said casually, as if reading his mind. "You're homesick for Penguin Village!"
"No—I'm not—!" Crane Hermit shook his head frantically, beads of sweat flying everywhere. His heart pounded. "You—you can read minds?!"
"Nope." Naruto denied it immediately. Then, spreading his hands with a grin, he said, "I just happened to see it."
"Well then, sit tight."
In the blink of an eye, Naruto appeared behind Crane Hermit, resting a hand on his shoulder. "The Naruto Express is about to depart. Please prepare for departure."
"No—I don't want to go back—!"
Crane Hermit tried to flee, but before he could even move, space around him twisted violently.
The next instant, his vision spun wildly—
BOOM! He crashed to the ground in a very familiar setting.
"Oh-ho-ho! You're back at last!"
That all-too-familiar, nightmare-inducing voice came from behind him.
"AAAAAAAH!!!" Crane Hermit screamed, utterly breaking down. He bolted forward, tears flying.
"Help me! I don't want to be in this cursed place again!"
"Oh-ho-ho!" Arale tilted her head as she watched him flee toward the horizon, her mouth stretching wide in a huge grin, revealing two perfect rows of teeth.
"I get it now—it's ghost-chasing time!"
"I'm the ghost! Heeheehee!"
"How fun, how so much fun!"
"Here I come!"
Arale blurred into a streak of lightning, moving three times faster than Crane Hermit as she chased him down.
"Excuse me, contestant Naruto—where did your opponent go?" The announcer looked around the ring, baffled to find only Naruto remaining.
"Him? Oh, he went where he was supposed to go."
"You mean… out of bounds?" the announcer asked uncertainly.
Receiving Naruto's calm nod, the announcer turned to the audience to explain. Still, protocol was protocol—he began the countdown.
If Crane Hermit returned to the ring before time ran out, the match would resume.
But when the countdown ended, there was still no sign of him.
"Winner—contestant Naruto!"
"A power level over 1,200, and he still lost to Naruto?" Bulma fumed. "And to think I actually worried for him! That liar said his power level was only 500!"
Naruto had never said that. Bulma had secretly measured it herself.
"Tien Shinhan versus Krillin."
This match was far less dramatic.
Both had trained together on the Lookout, so they knew each other's techniques inside out.
It was less a fight and more a spar between two close brothers-in-arms.
In the end, Tien's power level gave him a slight edge, allowing him to narrowly claim victory.
Even with Krillin's tricky maneuvers, Tien was simply too familiar with his style for any surprise tactics to work.
Having exhausted a large amount of ki, Tien restored himself with a Senzu Bean.
With no "bean thief" around anymore, Korin's stockpile was plentiful.
"The Assassin versus the Demon King's Heir."
This quarterfinal's theme: Villain vs. Demon.
Though Tao Pai Pai's strength was formidable—
"What a pity I didn't get to face that traitor Tien Shinhan," he said coldly, glancing at Piccolo as if he were beneath notice.
"Congratulations to him—he gets to live a little longer."
"In the semifinals, I'll make sure to kill him personally."
He spoke as though his victory was already decided.
"You seem awfully confident in yourself," Piccolo remarked, arms crossed.
"Of course," Tao Pai Pai replied proudly.
"I," he said, pointing to himself with a smirk, "am Tao Pai Pai—world's number one assassin, senior adviser to the Red Ribbon Army. Ten years of missions, one hundred percent success rate.
Save for one fluke, I've never failed a kill."
"You really think you can beat me? Don't make me laugh."
Piccolo's eyes narrowed. "Good. I like people who think too highly of themselves."
"No matter how ugly that green face of yours gets, I won't go easy on you," Tao Pai Pai said flatly, still provoking him.
"I'm not like my useless brother."
One—Earth's greatest assassin.
The other—the son of the Demon King who once ruled the world.
"Whichever one of them loses, it benefits us," said Mr. Shen, stepping forward as the Dragon Team focused on the match.
"Mr. Shen?" Krillin blinked in surprise. There was a faint respect in his tone. For some reason, he felt a strange warmth toward the man.
"No," Naruto interjected, smirking. "You should call him Kami."
Mr. Shen didn't deny it. "So you've recognized me, then."
"Your ki hasn't changed," Naruto said. "It's not hard to sense."
"You're not in your Lookout—so let me guess, why did you come down to the mortal realm?"
"It's not to watch the tournament, that much is certain.
Could it be… to see your evil half's child? Or maybe you intend to personally clean up your old mistake?"
Kami froze, unable to deny it—silence was his only answer.
"Let me guess again," Naruto continued casually. "You're planning to use the Evil Containment Wave to seal Piccolo, aren't you?"
Kami: "…"
Seeing his silence, Naruto sighed.
"Kami, if you were Piccolo—and your own father had already fallen victim to that technique—don't you think you'd have prepared a countermeasure by now?"
"Chances are, Piccolo has already developed a way to reverse the Evil Containment Wave."
"If I were him, I'd pretend to be afraid of it—then when someone tried it again, I'd flip it right back at them."
Kami: "…"
"No way. Don't tell me no one's thought of that possibility?" Naruto said teasingly.
Kami: "You make me sound like an idiot."
(This kid is so damn insufferable, he thought.)
"So, what do you suggest I do, then?" Kami finally spoke after a long silence. "Regardless of who I am—whether as the God of Earth or the one responsible for creating this problem—I have to settle it myself."
"The Demon King was born because of me. Therefore, he must end because of me."
"It's my duty—my obligation as Earth's guardian."
"With great power comes great responsibility."
Ever since Piccolo had absorbed King Piccolo's full strength, Kami had felt a deep sense of crisis. That was why he'd been training to master the Evil Containment Wave.
But seeing the formidable warriors under Piccolo's command now, that sense of helplessness only grew.
Naruto nodded. "Kami, what I'm about to say might sound harsh, but I'll say it anyway."
Kami: "If it's something unpleasant… you don't have to say it."
"You've gotten old."
"In other words, you no longer have the power to handle the world as it is."
"Forget Piccolo—do you honestly think you could take on Reivu or the Demon Man now?"
It was a blunt truth—but a truth nonetheless.
Kami fell silent.
His era had ended.
Just as the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai had marked the end of Master Roshi's age, the 23rd marked the sunset of Kami's.
"So what should I do?" Kami sighed, looking at Naruto with weary eyes.
He'd been watching the mortal world closely, searching for Piccolo's whereabouts—but the young demon, inheriting his father's cunning, had learned to conceal his presence completely.
By chance, Kami had once glimpsed Naruto caring for Piccolo and thought he was trying to reform him—only to find Naruto left after three months.
What was Naruto really planning?
Truthfully, Kami couldn't tell at all.
"Try placing your faith in the younger generation of martial artists," Naruto said gently, pulling Kami out of his thoughts.
"The ones who defeated Reivu and the Demon Man—they trained under you for three years. You should know their potential better than anyone."
That was Naruto's goal, after all—to raise the strength of the Z Fighters.
Because soon would come the Saiyan saga… and then Frieza. Battles of near extinction.
Kami turned his gaze toward Goku and the others, feeling the powerful ki radiating from them—ki that already surpassed his own.
"Perhaps… I really should've spent more time guiding them," he murmured. "Then maybe things wouldn't have become so precarious."
"I left too much of their training to Mr. Popo…"
"It's not too late," Naruto said with a faint grin. "Recently, I came across some… intriguing information. I've got a bold idea in mind. If you don't mind, Kami—after this tournament's over—I'd like to ask for your help."
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