Part 2, Chapter 8.

PART TWO: LOTS OF OLD FOES HERE!

Chapter 8

Translated by MikeysBoner(certified god), Kakarotto Ka Power Level Kya Hai?, and npberryhill

The presenter's voice boomed out into the audience a final time. "Let the battle begin!"

The presenter had barely finished his sentence when Nappa instantly charged his foe. The latter had already been in a defensive stance, which allowed him a sliver of time to parry the Saiyan’s first blow with his left forearm. The Namekian blocked the Saiyan's next two blows as well, before attempting to counter with an uppercut—which failed when the bald colossus leapt sharply backwards.

Bracing in another stable defensive stance, the Namek exhaled. His opponent quickly continued the assault, delivering a horizontal kick that the Namek parried with his elbow. The block even threw Nappa off balance, and Cargot intended to press his advantage.

Cargot advanced forward to to continue the assault, but was taken aback by the speed with which his opponent recovered his balance. Nappa was back on him instantly with a barrage of powerful fists, this set even stronger than the last. The Namekian was quickly becoming overwhelmed by the Saiyan’s raw force, and had began a slow retreat backwards under the onslaught of incoming blows.

"You know," Nappa said with a smirk, clearly not out of breath. "I killed your entire race back in my universe. The whole species, wiped out completely."

Cargot didn’t respond, though Nappa clearly had hoped to provoke a reaction from him. The Saiyan loved getting in his opponent’s heads, destabilizing them mentally—but Cargot wasn’t fooled. He maintained his focus and composure as he continued parrying the Saiyan’s assault.

"That's none of my business," he managed to finally reply, between two attacks.

Up in the grandstands, the audience hadn’t decided on a consensus of who to cheer for. The majority cheered on both fighters for putting up such a great showing. Of course in Universe 10, the other Namekians wished good luck to their comrade, while those of Universe 13 merely hoped the fight would end quickly rather than Nappa continuing to fool around.

"This Nappa is much stronger than the one we knew," noticed Gohan of Universe 18.

"True," added his father. "But it's also apparent that he's aged considerably. His movements are fast enough, but they're a bit...stiff..."

"This Namekian is also quite strong," Piccolo observed, who was watching the match very closely (after all, he had been killed by Nappa). "He’s definitely a true warrior like Nail and myself. His strength doesn't seem that far removed from Nappa's... But..."

"Oooh!" said one of the presenters. "The warrior from Universe 13 is starting to take the lead! His increasingly powerful blows are connecting with Cargot! Oh, Nappa just landed a serious blow to Cargot’s face!"

Spitting blood, Cargot began losing major momentum—he could hardly attack at all. He had no time to find an opening... ‘There!’ he thought to himself when he finally noticed one.

Unfortunately for Cargot, Nappa had left this opening exposed on purpose as a misdirection, and planted a huge punch to the stomach of the Namek. Cargot doubled over, gasping. His eyes met with those of his sneaky opponent just before Nappa landed another powerful kick that propelled him several meters away. Nappa stared down at the lifeless body of his opponent and let out a small sigh... The Namek hadn’t moved.

"Took him long enough," growled Vegeta of Universe 13.

"And thirty seconds! Nappa is declared the winner!" said the enthusiastic voice of the announcer.

"Hahaha, that was nothing!" Nappa said before returning to his space. Two Nameks came to the ring to bring Cargot back to his space.

"Well," said the presenter, "it was a good fight, regardless of how quickly it was decided! Without any further delay, let us announce the second match of the first round... Freeza of Universe 8 against Jeece of Universe 8!"

The Red Magma’s eyes shot wide open as he exchanged a terrified glance with his best friend Butta. A huge drop of sweat beaded up and trickled down the forehead of the white-haired man. "Wait, we can still fight even though we're from the same universe?"

He hadn’t spoken it rhetorically, however, as he hoped the draw was merely a misunderstanding. Jeece held his breath as he awaited confirmation from the Vargas.

"The fights are randomly chosen between the entire pool of fighters," the presenter replied into the microphone in order to clarify this point for everyone.

Freeza, who stood just in front of Jeece and Butta, turned slightly to catch the terrified gaze of his henchmen. The cruel leer of the galactic tyrant was a harsh reminder of reality to Jeece. Clearing his face, he faltered. "Er... I forfeit."

He was booed loudly by the spectators, who responded as expected to the second fight of the tournament ending before it began. This time, their disappointment was somewhat justified. The presenter wasted no time in declaring Freeza the winner by forfeit, and announcing the next fight: Son Goku of Universe 18 against Mahissu of Universe 10.

"Already? That’s lucky!" said the Saiyan from Earth. "Let's go!"

As he flew toward the ring, he heard encouragement from Goten. On the other side of the spherical tournament ring, his "primitive" Saiyan opponent was already waiting for him.

"Tch, this pathetic match isn’t even a warm up..." Vegeta criticized.

"Maybe, but they could be stronger than people think, Vegeta," said Gohan, trying to convince him that the fight might still be interesting. "What if they’re all suppressing their power levels like we do?"

"Do you honestly believe that?" Vegeta responded.

"Well... No... But..."

"I've been around these types for a long time. Hiding one's power is a rare talent..."

"Both fighters are in the ring!" informed the host with a loud voice. "Let the fight begin!"

"You're a Saiyan?" asked Goku, slowly putting himself into position.

"I'm not talking to a renegade with no tail," replied his opponent, who remained upright and immobile.

"Not very friendly... But how did he guess I was a Saiyan? My hair? Or maybe he heard me talking to my father? Well... No need to use full strength... But he isn't human, either... Maybe a little strength!"

At the speed of light, Goku, smiling, threw his fist forward. Facing him, Mahissu barely had time to open his eyes before a massive invisible shockwave slammed into his stomach, lifted him off of his feet, and hurled him violently through the air. Mahissu ricochet off the ground several times before finally skidding to a halt, a trickle of drool at the corner of his mouth.

Surprised, Goku approached him and crouched. His opponent didn’t budge. "Hey, are you okay?"

"S... Son Goku of Universe 18 wins!" stammered the presenter, incredulously.

The referees, as well as the Universe 1 organizers, paced with nervousness. They hadn’t expected three fights to end so quickly! The audience wasn’t even sure what had happened. Some had caught on that it was a type of air pocket, but began to grumble that they didn't get a good fight yet again.

In the Universe 19 balcony, one of the fighters had plainly seen what had happened thanks to the helmet on his head. Their advanced technology had analyzed the attack, calculated its force, and even recorded slowed-down images. The only thing he managed to say at the time was "Powerful...!"

Back in the ring Goku was standing idly, arms crossed. He had a feeling of déjà vu, but he couldn’t put his finger on what had caused it. Two Namekian organizers brought Mahissu back to his own balcony, dropping him gently on the ground. The Nameks and Saiyans of Universe 10, after witnessing the fights they had been in, began to wonder what they were doing at such a tournament. Vegeta of Universe 13 took the opportunity to heckle and belittle the whole group, calling them pathetic and low-leveled.

"I forfeit." said one of the Universe 10 Nameks, before being joined by others.

"Hmph, cowards!" insulted the King Vegeta of Universe 10.

While Goku returned to the Universe 18 patio, still trying to figure out his déjà vu moment, he saw Goten approach him with a thumbs-up. Behind his son, Pan ran towards her grandfather, arms outstretched hoping he’d pick her up. Uub congratulated his sensei on the win. Goku finally snapped his fingers and exclaimed. "Chichi!"

"What?" Uub asked, not understanding the sudden jubilation of his sensei.

As Goku began to explain his deja vu, the four Saiyans from Universe 13 approached their space...

The group from Universe 18 watched as these Saiyans approached them. It was the smallest of the group who spoke, arms crossed with an arrogant smile on his face. Vegeta of Universe 18 felt a sense of déjà vu himself.

Finding this universe to be far more interesting than Universe 10, Vegeta approached the group of Saiyans as his counterpart began to explain who they were. "We are the Super Saiyans, and I am the future winner of this tournament," he said, pointing a thumb at himself.

While almost everyone of Universe 18 gathered before the Saiyans, their leader, Vegeta continued. "Disregarding your ridiculous clothes, I’d say you're the closest group to us, as you have Kakarotto with you... but... a Namek?! I suppose you had a possible divergence while fighting Freeza on Planet Namek, right?"

"Interesting," thought Vegeta of Universe 18. His counterpart had already given him a lot of information. In this universe, they had faced Freeza... but...

"Obviously we diverged before that," analyzed Piccolo, who had theorized a quick scenario to explain the presence of Nappa, Raditz, and especially Goku. "Your Kakarotto was not sent to Earth as a baby, was he?"

Goku stood a mere two feet from his counterpart, with only the low wall of his space separating them. Kakarotto replied proudly. "No, I was sent to Earth. I killed all of the humans and the others picked me up twenty years later. Together we went to Namek to find the Dragon Balls."

"You killed...all of the humans!?" Goku repeated, shocked by his counterpart.

"And surely Kami-sama also," Piccolo said, guessing that’s how Kakarotto had learned about the Dragon Balls.

"While on Planet Namek, we fought and destroyed Freeza... I discovered the secret of the Super Saiyan there! What about your group?" Vegeta of Universe 13 asked.

"To put it simply..." Goku began, ready to tell their story... From the very beginning!

"We were better," Vegeta of Universe 18 cut in.

He turned, ultimately uninterested in this group. It was obvious how this band of four Saiyans had survived for so long... But before leaving the conversation, he allowed himself one last remark. "Funny... While your Kakarotto may have killed all of the Earthlings, I killed Nappa myself back on Earth."

"Impossible... You and I never went to Earth, only Raditz went there!" Replied Nappa, who was just as shocked as Goku before him.

While the small psychological battle was balanced by Universe 18 Vegeta, Piccolo hastened to add. "And I killed Raditz when he came to Earth. And inadvertently, our Kakarotto also..."

"Hehehe," Goku grinned, remembering his sacrifice.

"You killed me... How dare you, vermin!?" Raditz yelled after a slight moment of hesitation. To learn that he was killed, even in another universe, was not at all comforting.

"Calm down, Raditz," ordered his chief. "We’re not here to fight against them or anyone else outside of the official matches..."

A silence fell. Everyone was trying to discern the behavior of the other universe. Trunks and Goten felt a slight tension. Nothing serious, but it was a bit chilling, especially the other Prince Vegeta... Trunks tried to change the subject. "These primitive Saiyans are gonna be damn disappointed with their results here."

Universe 13 Vegeta showed a sadistic smile again. "The funny thing will be Freeza. I look most forward to killing him a second time."

"Not only you, but I’m guessing it would be a pleasure for many of the universes," Gohan intervened.

"Hey, I'll be the first to confront him in the second round," Nappa pointed out.

Gohan was attentive. "You think you can beat him?" he asked, interested.

"Of course!" Vegeta replied, annoyed. "What do you think, kid?"

"I don't know... In my universe, Freeza killed you, Vegeta."

"And in mine it was I who killed him!" replied Universe 13 Vegeta. "Was your Freeza stronger than ours? Or was I just weaker?"

Gohan did not know what to say... Using Universe 8 as a comparison, it would appear that Freeza was about the same in every universe. How could this Vegeta have been stronger than the Universe 18 Vegeta if he had not faced Goku on Earth to receive his near-death Zenkai power boost?

"Don't over-exert yourself," said Universe 13 Vegeta, who saw the perplexed look on Gohan's face. "I have another, simpler question: if Freeza killed me, who killed him?"

"I defeated him," replied Goku, finally joining the conversation.

"Ahah! That's me!" Kakarotto repeated in front of him, rather proud. H shot a small, mocking grin at his chief Vegeta... Who returned with a look that threatened him to stop the taunting, which Kakarotto did at once.

"I also transformed into a Super Saiyan against Freeza," Goku said.

"What got you so angry?" asked Vegeta, curious.

"Well..."

"Freeza killed his best friend, Kulilin," Goten cut in, who felt proud to tell his father's story. "He nearly killed Piccolo, too, but Piccolo isn't that weak now! Today, he could crush Freeza easily!"

"Um, Kulilin..." Kakarotto reflected, folding his arms. "He was a bald dwarf, right? And Piccolo was, like, the Namek over there?"

"Yes," Goten simply said.

"Well, these two were on Earth and... Heh heh... I killed them both. Shocked?"

With these words, Kakarotto had hoped to take advantage of the psychological battle... But it was in vain. Gohan and Goten looked at each other. They had already realized that Kulilin and Piccolo were long since dead in Universe 13, making the mental attack ineffective. However, the two brothers had the same idea.

"You want to be shocked?" Gohan laughed with the same smile as Kakarotto.

"You will be shocked," Goten said finally, taking the same position.

"You are my father!" they shouted, both pointing a finger at Kakarotto, who cringed, his eyes widening with surprise.

Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz all laughed hysterically. No doubt they could hear from afar, especially Nappa.

"Who would have thought Kakarotto could be a father?" Vegeta of Universe 13 said between laughs. "Imagine it, Kakarotto, you, a papa-hen! Haha!"

Bra, who had heard her alternate-universe father, advanced between Gohan and Goten. She looked at her brother before quickly saying, "You'd better hold your tongue too, Prince," emphasizing last part with as much malice and sarcasm as she could put into a single word.

"Yeah," said Trunks, "you're ultimately no better than him because..."

"You are our father!" the two siblings said in the same fashion as Gohan and Goten, pointing a finger each at Vegeta, who had stopped laughing immediately.

Vegeta didn’t know how to react. He could counter to stop their cackling, or just look at his children from another universe... Until finally, it finally dawned on him that if the four of them didn’t have offspring, it would be the end of the Saiyan race in their universe...

The announcer’s voice sounded again. "Sorry for the wait, ladies and gentlemen! Universe 10 had the most participants, and every Namek save for one just forfeited. We had to remove them from the roster, but we can finally continue!"

"Kakarotto, come, we're returning to our balcony," said Vegeta, who had already began to leave, followed closely by Nappa and Raditz.

"Alright," said Kakarotto, who turned to his Universe 18 counterpart. "I wonder which of us is stronger... I'd love to fight against you. Much more than against any of these losers!"

"We now call to the ring #17 of Universe 14 and I'K'L of Universe 15!"

"Ah, someone we don't know!" Goku exclaimed, trying to imagine the surprises of this I'K'L, "An interesting battle!"