Namu pressed his hands together like he was praying.
Chi-Chi, the moment she stepped up, began warming up.
"One-two-three-four, two-two-three-four…"
Seeing this little girl, Namu said apologetically,
"Little sister, even though you're just a child,
I have a reason I must win. So… forgive me."
Chi-Chi stopped warming up and took her stance.
"No need to go easy on me. I trained just as hard as Goku.
Beating me won't be simple!"
She charged first.
Being small, she knew to avoid her weaknesses and strike his.
She darted in and attacked Namu's lower body—fast as lightning.
But Namu dodged easily and leapt high into the air.
"Where'd he go?!"
Chi-Chi lost him and spun around searching.
A shadow fell across her face in the sunlight.
She looked up—Namu was diving in with a kick.
In a flash, Chi-Chi stomped the tiles and slid backward two meters across the ring,
barely dodging his downward kick.
No sooner had that attack ended than the next came.
Namu kicked again.
Chi-Chi smirked. Her hands flickered, perfectly blocking his leg attacks without leaving a single opening.
The moment she felt his pressure ease, she countered.
She stomped forward, sprang up, and kicked toward Namu's abdomen!
Even Namu, towering over her, started sweating.
Sensing the strength behind it, he crossed his arms to block.
The kick landed on his guard—
he held, but his arms went numb, and he staggered back two steps.
Then Chi-Chi surprised him again.
She flipped backward, landed crouched—
and the instant her knees straightened, her body shot forward like a cannonball, ramming into him.
The hit connected. Namu was blasted back.
Chi-Chi pressed her advantage, aiming to drive him out at once.
But Namu was an adult—taller, longer-legged.
While flying backward, he swung a sweeping kick.
Chi-Chi was knocked away too.
Thankfully she reacted fast—mid-air she rolled and landed cleanly.
Then Namu, in mid-flight, kicked off a pillar—
using the rebound to rocket straight at her.
Chi-Chi had barely stabilized her footing.
She couldn't react in time.
Namu's kick struck her stomach.
She cried out and flew back, slamming onto the ring.
She lay there clutching her belly, groaning.
Namu looked pained.
"Sorry. I have to win. Please surrender."
From backstage came Krillin and Goku's cheers:
"Chi-Chi, go all out!"
"You're doing great! Don't lose!"
Hearing them, Chi-Chi forced herself up.
She wiped her tears and raised her stance again.
"Goku's watching me fight. I'm not losing that easily!"
Namu's face tightened. Sweat dripped from his forehead.
"Should've just knocked her out of bounds earlier…"
Even Bulma was stunned.
Chi-Chi's strength already surpassed most grown men.
She was still little,
yet stronger than her own peak in Bulma's previous life—
even though she hadn't trained much back then.
Bulma glanced at Namu.
She knew him well from seeing every tournament.
Namu was strong enough to go toe-to-toe with young Goku.
And Chi-Chi was fighting him evenly—
even though she was just a child.
If she grew a few more years,
defeating him would be easy.
Bulma murmured, "Is this the butterfly effect?"
"In this life, Chi-Chi's actually walking the path of a martial artist… I wonder how far she'll go."
But thinking of the future, Bulma shook her head.
Even if Chi-Chi kept up now,
Goku would still leave her behind later.
Among Earthlings she'd be amazing—
but when Raditz arrived and the era of the wider universe began,
Earth's fighters wouldn't keep up.
Only Krillin, after Namek, would barely stay close.
And after Goku died of illness, everyone except Gohan and Trunks fell one by one.
Bulma had thought of countless ways to change that future.
Stopping the Saiyans? She couldn't.
Even defeating Androids 17 and 18 wouldn't be enough—
Trunks had proven that with training.
Later there would still be Babidi…
and Majin Buu.
What scared Bulma most of all
was the unknown enemy who would someday swap bodies with Goku.
So even if Goku grew monstrously strong alone, it wouldn't be enough.
The best way to protect Earth was only one:
make Goku keep getting stronger,
and also make sure there were fighters who could stand beside him—
even if it took several people together to restrain him.
Then, if that body-stealing enemy appeared,
they could suppress him temporarily
and use the Dragon Balls to restore Goku.
Right then, Chi-Chi and Namu reached a fever pitch.
At the decisive moment, Chi-Chi fired a Kamehameha.
It wasn't huge—
but it still blasted Namu out of the ring.
The crowd erupted into thunderous applause.
The referee declared Chi-Chi the winner.
Bulma stared, shocked.
"I wonder… if in this life she walks the martial path,
will she still marry Goku as his 'little wife'? Will she still have kids so early?"
But seeing Chi-Chi barely 1.2 meters tall,
and Goku and Krillin still tiny kids peeking from backstage,
Bulma could only bitterly laugh at herself.
She was thinking too far ahead.
They were still children.
Bulma started reflecting.
As someone who knew the future,
if she pushed her plans onto Goku,
forcing him to do this or that—
how would she be any different from the future Chi-Chi who forced him to work for money?
So she would only use her advantage
to support him materially when it truly mattered.
Just then, the defeated Namu trudged past the sidelines.
Bulma's eyes flicked. She called out to him.
"Hey—were you trying to win the tournament to buy water for your village?"
Namu jolted.
"H-how do you know that?"
Bulma didn't explain. She took out a Capsule and handed it to him.
"Don't ask. Take this.
Fill it with river water and bring it home.
It'll last your village a few days.
If you hold out a few days, your river will run again."
Namu's pupils shrank. "Who are you?"
Bulma grinned.
"Me? Just the perfectly ordinary daughter of the world's richest man."
"What?!"
"Now hurry and go buy water, then go home!"
But Namu refused politely.
"No need. Master Roshi already gave me a water capsule inside the dojo. Thank you."
Bulma froze.
"Master Roshi gave you a capsule… inside the dojo?"
Namu nodded. "Yes. My villagers are waiting. Excuse me!"
"Okay. Goodbye!"
Namu walked away and vanished into the distance.
Bulma stroked her chin, thinking.
"Inside the dojo, Master Roshi gave him a capsule…
Jackie Chun's power is even greater than Roshi's fire-extinguishing feat,
a Kamehameha that can push the moon,
and Roshi disappeared early on…"
Roshi's bald head overlapped with Jackie Chun's image in her mind.
Her eyes widened.
"I get it. He's Jackie Chun. They're the same person!"
…
Just then, the referee announced:
"Match Four—Son Goku versus Giran! Please step onto the stage."
A dinosaur-man stepped up.
Huge, winged, and muscular—
clearly not an ordinary human.
He was Goku's opponent: Giran.
Goku stepped up too, casually stretching like it was nothing.
Giran scowled.
"Kid, I'm going to beat you till you wet yourself!"
Goku sniffed the air a couple times.
"Hey, you smell really good, brother! Too bad…"
Giran blinked. "Too bad what?"
Goku kept warming up.
"My roast-dinosaur skills are amazing!
With your build—fat but not greasy—you'd sizzle like crazy on a fire.
But since you're intelligent now, I can't roast you.
That's why it's too bad!"
Giran exploded. "What?! You little brat—so arrogant!"
The referee shouted, "Start!"
Giran relied on his size and swept a giant leg kick at Goku.
His thick thigh was bigger than Goku's whole body.
Blocking was pointless.
But because he was so huge,
he also had plenty of openings.
Goku didn't retreat—he rushed in.
He dodged the kick by attacking forward, then snapped a counter-kick into Giran's face.
Bang! Giran went down.
The referee gasped and narrated,
"Incredible! Giran attacked first, but Son Goku charged straight through it,
dodged while attacking,
and kicked Giran in the face, knocking him down!"