(A.N. After posting the last chapter I realized that I shouldn't have added the 'Martial Arts' to the tournament name, since it implies that it'll only have martial arts. The tournament will be open to every style of fighting, barehanded, magic, armed, etc, so it'll just be referred to as the Universal Grand Tournament (UGT) from now on)
After Alex announced the tournament the interview only lasted a few more minutes before coming to an end, and the reporter was asked to leave. During this time Trunks had also left to return to the future, after saying goodbye to everyone he had grown close to. Though he hoped to return with his mother and Mai, none of them treated it as a guaranteed outcome since there was a lot that could happen once he returned home, including even the two refusing to leave for one reason or another.
As Alex approached the group, sans Trunks, he was immediately approached by Goku, who was practically bouncing up and down in excitement as he asked,
"Are you really going to gather the strongest fighters from all over the universe!?!" Alex nodded and said,
"That's what I'm hoping for, and I know a few people who might be able to help with that. On top of that I'm also going to have people from Asora and the other realms we're connected to compete as well, you should have more than enough people to challenge." Goku's excitement only intensified when he heard that, as he automatically began imagining all the tough new challengers he would face, with Alex being at the top of the list of course.
In response to Goku's excitement though, someone snorted with contempt as he said,
"What tournament? We all know that one of us Saiyans will win without competition! Except perhaps each other." As one, everybody turned to look at the speaker, Vegeta Jr, with various expressions.
Though no one openly argued with his declaration, there were various reasons why.
On the side of Bulma and the rest of their gang, they were silently in agreement due to having witnessed the power of the Saiyans so many times, the same power that allowed them to overcome the most impossible odds to achieve victory time and again.
On Alex's side though, most of the girls just flashed wry smiles while Shia in particular had a shit-eating grin on her face. Though Vegeta Jr had a point about the power of the Saiyans, their superiority as warriors was primarily in this universe.
In the Dragon Ball universe everything was settled by punching, kicking, screaming, and energy blasts. Yes, Saiyans were incredibly and stupidly powerful, but they were in for a surprise when they saw how people from the other worlds fought.
Even more so considering that the people there had known about Alex's Saiyan heritage for years, and had been preparing methods to fight against his ridiculous and absurd power. After all, battle maniacs like Sairaorg, Cao Cao and Vali would never stay down after he beat them, not to mention the numerous gods with matching godly egos.
Though Yuna didn't know much about the other people in Asora, DXD and Earthland, she could still feel the atmosphere of excitement being emitted from most of the girls next to her as they too planned to compete.
Just as Alex himself felt torn between warning Vegeta Jr not to get too cocky, and letting him find out for himself, there was suddenly a flash as Grayfia returned with two other people in tow. With everyone directing their attention to the newcomers, Alex quickly stepped forward and gestured towards Gohan while saying,
"Good timing! Gohan, this is Millicas, Grayfia's son, and Sona Sitri, headmistress of the Academy in Asora."
...
Immediately after introducing Gohan with Sona and Millicas, the former to discuss Gohan attending the Academy to get him away from his mother, and the latter to help him make friends around his own age despite Millicas being a little bit older than Gohan, Alex excused himself to take care of some buisness.
Though he left, Alex didn't end up going far as he appeared on a mountain within view of West City, and said to the open air,
"So how long are you gonna hide for?" Immediately the space before him shimmered as the two beings that had been spying on them appeared. Immediately Alex recognized the duo as the Supreme Kai(God) of this universe, Shin, and his faithful attendant Kibito.
While he wasn't surprised that the duo were spying on him, Alex was surprised that they moved this quickly after he stopped trying to hide himself. His suspicions on why were proven correct however when Shin said,
"I don't know who you are or why you're on this planet, but you need to leave immediately. There is a danger slumbering here that can threaten the safety of the entire universe!" Alex was surprised that Shin outright told him about the danger laying dormant on planet Earth, as for all the relatively 'young' Kai knew he intended to release said threat.
Though this meant that Alex must've earned some semblance of trust from the Kai after killing a threat like Cell, that didn't stop him from wanting to fuck with them. A shit-eating grin formed on Alex's face as he held out his right hand, confusing the Kai until a massive sphere appeared in it that was purple in color, and had a network of veins crisscrossing over it.
"You-!" Shin exclaimed in surprise as both he and Kibito readied themselves to fight, but also hesitated due to not wanting to disrupt the sphere in Alex's hands.
His smirk widening, Alex then proceeded to spin the sphere on his middle finger as he taunted,
"This wouldn't happen to be the threat you were talking about, right?" If looks could kill Alex would've died hundreds of times over from how Shin and Kibito were both glaring at him, only to immediately shift to panic when he almost 'dropped' the sphere, only to catch it before it hit the ground with his 'Telekinesis'.
"Oops, almost dropped it!" Alex said with a jovial tone, stressing the two of them out to the max as Shin demanded,
"Are you TRYING to exterminate all life in the universe!?!" Alex however just shrugged as he replied,
"Might as well since it would probably be destroyed soon anyways with the way you're running things." Those words made Shin pause before he slowly asked,
"What do you mean?" For the first time a serious expression appeared on Alex's face, as he replied,
"I mean that I know things you don't, things like how your negligence will endanger the universe several times over." As he spoke Alex put enough force into his voice that both Kai flinched in the face of it, both from the overwhelming power, and the truth in the accusations.
"I don't deny I've made mistakes...." Shin began humbly, before continuing, "I was never supposed to be the Supreme Kai to begin with, but uncontrollable events led to my appointment to the position. Regardless of my mistakes though, I know for a fact that they'll all be considered insignificant if you allow that THING to escape from that sphere!"
By that point Alex felt the energy around Shin spike as he seemingly prepared to fight him in order to preserve the peace of the universe. What Shin didn't expect though, was for Alex to suddenly smile as he said,
"So you do have some balls. Good." To say Shin and Kibito were surprised at Alex's sudden shift was quite the understatement, before he continued,
"If you want to do better as a Kai, then let's go talk some more. But first let's change locations." As he said that Alex raised his hand to use Spatial magic to transfer all of them to the planet of the Kai's, but first he glance back at Capsule Corp to see how things were going down there.
Of course, Alex tuned in just in time to see Chichi shout at Sona that her academy was 'just a fourth rate bum of a community college, which could never compare to the multi-award winning universities she had already picked out for Gohan'. Though he shook his head at Chichi's behavior, Alex decided to let Sona hash this one out as he quickly transferred himself and the two Kai away.
***
In the days following Alex's defeat of Cell numerous changes were made on Earth regarding how people approached martial arts.
Dojos all across the planet had revamped their training and techniques due to Alex's revelations making them feel inferior, as well as to try out the things he had displayed regarding energy. But even better than that was that the numerous police academies around the world had also began implementing body strengthening training, while King Furry had also began implementing similar changes.
The latter two changes were especially good in Alex's opinion, as it was the job of the police and the military in the first place to protect the people of this planet, no matter how much Goku and his friends considered themselves the planet's protectors. Though it was doubtful they would reach the same level as Goku and the others, if the number of strong fighters on the world increased then it would be that much safer.
And surprisingly the one helping the most with increasing the collective strength of the Earth, was none other than Bulma.
As two of the most brilliant minds on the planet, if not the entire universe, Bulma and her father were usually the ones who made the equipment that Vegeta Jr in particular used to become stronger. They had been the ones to make the gravity chamber Goku used to become strong enough to defeat Frieza, which was then later became Vegeta's primary source of training.
Now Bulma had numerous people across the planet contacting her for information about her friends and the source of their strength. Though at first she had been extremely annoyed at it, that changed once her father casually mentioned marketing the gravity chamber in capsule form to them.
This caused a spark to ignite in Bulma as she began doing just that, as well as starting numerous projects of other inventions that people could use to become stronger. She had gained a lot of ideas recently after Alex took her family on a tour of Asora, part of which was specifically for them to meet with the Grigori to open the discuss for any future cooperation.
Of course, the most impactful part of their visit was when they got to know Lala better and see the numerous outrageous things she had invented. The bubbly Devilukian then gained yet another rival without even knowing it. (A.N. Lala, the ultimate cheat cheat/troll to other inventors, and she doesn't even know it.)
On top of the changes taking place on Earth, things in space were also beginning to move due to Alex's previous 'discussion' with the Kai. Now they were the ones spreading word of the Universal Grand Tournament all across the universe to gain the participation of as many planets and warriors as possible.
With the changes taking place on Earth, and word of the tournament being spread throughout the universe for him, Alex decided that it was soon time for him to make contact with the next person on his list, Beerus the Destroyer.
Before he traveled clear across the universe to wake up the angry kitty cat though, there was one last little thing Alex wanted to check on on Earth.
Transferring to his destination, Alex found himself beside a crowd of people clambering outside the gates of a large mansion with the letter S emblazoned on the front door. This was the home of Mr. Satan.
Though Alex didn't necessarily care for the supposed martial artist, there was still someone here he wanted to check up on after his death. But with the crowd of people trying to get past the gates, the vast majority of which were paparazzi and reporters trying to get a scoop, Alex frowned as he produced a pair of sunglasses and a metallic cylinder.
"Excuse me everybody!" He nearly shouted after putting the sunglasses on, getting the attention of everyone present as they then tried to interview him regarding why he was there. Instead of answering a single question though, the moment all eyes and camera were on him, Alex immediately pressed the button on the cylinder, which then produced a flash in their direction.
Instantly the people all calmed as blank expressions appeared on their faces, none of them now remembering what they were doing there. On top of that, with the upgrades made to the device in Alex's hand, any audio or digital recordings made with the cameras and tapes were completely wiped clean.
Taking the sunglasses off and putting them away with the cylinder, Alex then said to the crowds in a clear voice,
"I was not here today, and none of you have any reason to be here either. You will all go home, and think about the choices you made in your life before thinking about how to better yourselves." Once Alex finished speaking the gathered reporters and paparazzi didn't respond right away, before empty mutters replied to him as they slowly shuffled away from the mansion.
Satisfied, Alex then teleported himself directly in front of the doors to the mansion, before knocking on them loudly.
"HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO SAY NO!?!" An angry voice shouted from the other side, before the door was violently thrown open to reveal a beautiful woman with bushy orange hair.
When she saw that it was at the door instead of reporters her expression briefly morphed to shock, before absolute fury as she declared,
"YOU HAVE SOME BALLS COMING HERE AFTER YOU MURDERED MR. SATAN!!!" Alex however, having already been dealing with numerous people blaming him for Mr. Satan's death, didn't even flinch as he calmly and casually said,
"Nice to meet you too miss." Though she was about to verbally tear into him some more, the woman was interrupted as someone else asked,
"Who is it Miss Piiza?" Apparently they had heard her raised voice, but not what she yelled. When the man saw Alex standing at the door though, he too had an incredulous expression as he demanded,
"What do you want!?" With more and more people gathering and demanding what he wanted, all of which had angry expressions on their face, Alex just sighed before transferring himself directly behind the growing crowd.
Now inside the mansion itself, Alex let out a whistle as he took in the gaudy and extravagant decorations within, while the numerous people that had been previously blocking his entrance whirled around.
"What are you doing?!" The woman, Miss Piiza, demanded, to which Alex replied,
"Well, if any of you had let me reply earlier you'd know I was here to check up on some things after Mr. Satan's death." This however raised an entirely new wave of protests from the group as they insisted that they needed nothing to do with Alex, while several also called him some choice colorful words.
They were of course Mr. Satan's martial arts students and his promotional agent, a group consisting of the self-proclaimed strongest people on the planet. While they were exceptionally powerful compared to the average person, they were all still pitifully weak in the grand scheme of things. But with the waves Alex had created, that wasn't going to be the case for much longer.
As the group began making a bigger and bigger racket, to the point where Alex was unable to tell was anyone was saying, he finally got fed up enough to where he stated with a small amount of divine power in his voice,
"Shut up." Immediately there was silence as everyone suddenly found themselves unable to so much as open their mouths, let alone speak. Once there was finally quiet, he then stated slowly,
"I do not deny my role in Mr. Satan's death, but I did not 'kill' him. His death, if anything, would be considered suicide by my hand, not murder. Do you understand?" As he finished Alex released his hold on the group, allowing them to speak once again.
Though they could speak again, no one did for a moment until the promotional agent Piiza asked venomously,
"Why do you care about Mr. Satan's interests?" Alex sighed in exasperation at the question as he replied,
"As I said before, though it was an accident I won't deny my part in his death. No matter whatever else he was, Mr. Satan stood up to face the greatest threat the people of this world had ever seen, the least I can do is make sure the things he cared about are doing ok. Especially his daughter."
Immediately everyone became tense as Alex mentioned Mr. Satan's only living family, Videl Satan.
At only eleven years old, Videl was now an orphan due to losing her mother when she was younger, and now her father to Cell and Alex. Needless to say she wasn't taking the loss 'well'.
...
"HA!"
"RA!"
"HIYAH!"
Within the dojo owned and ran by Mr. Satan before his death, located within his own home, a certain little girl was shouting over and over again as she repeatedly struck a wooden post with differing moves.
With each hit her knuckles became bloodier as the skin covering them split, and with each step and kick blisters burst on her feet that made even the simplest of movements painful. No matter how much pain she obviously was in though, the girl continued moving as she seemingly tried to destroy the wooden post with a ferocity that didn't match her age.
As he, and Mr. Satan's students, watched her train from the doorway secretly, Miss Piiza explained,
"She's been doing that almost nonstop since her dad died..... She's barely eaten anything, works herself until she collapses, and then just gets back up once she wakes to start all over again....." For a moment Alex said nothing as he watched Videl literally beat herself bloody on the wooden post, which he noticed even had a piece of paper with his face on it.
"This isn't healthy..." He finally said, to which Miss Piiza replied snarkily,
"Well who's fault do you think that is?" Without missing a beat, Alex looked down at her and said with all seriousness,
"Yours." As priceless as the incredulous look she gave him was, Alex wasn't even remotely humored as he continued,
"With Mr. Satan gone, you're all pretty much the only family Videl has left, and apparently none of you have tried to actually help her when she obviously needs it. Or did you all think she'd be perfectly ok after her dad died?" Every one of the men and woman looked away at that due to the truth in Alex's words, as none of them even knew the first thing about taking care of and looking after a little girl.
Even Miss Piiza, Mr. Satan's promotional manager, didn't know the first thing about raising a child. In fact, the only idea she had been able to come up with was have Videl hold a press conference to discuss her loss in order to rally people against Alex, an idea that had been immediately dismissed for obvious reasons.
Shaking his head at the group, Alex then surprised them all by stepping out into the dojo, and saying out loud,
"Sure you have heart, but keep this up and that's all you'll have at this rate." Immediately Videl spun around to look and see who was there, allowing Alex to get a good look at her for the first time.
She had light blue eyes that had grown red and puffy from crying, was wearing a white gi, and had her chest-length black hair tied into two low pigtails at the sides.
With how physically and mentally exhausted she was it took Videl a moment for her eyes to focus on him, but when she realized who was standing in front of her any sign of fatigue instantly vanished. She then immediately charged him with a look of fury that no child should have, before actually leaping into the air with her foot leading in a kick.
"HIYAH!!!" Videl cried out as she tried to attack him, only for Alex to barely shift his body to side as she flew right past him harmlessly.
"Do you attack everyone when you first meet them?" Alex asked half jokingly, which Videl apparently didn't find funny as she cried out,
"I'm gonna kill you and get revenge for my dad!" Her declaration was then followed up by a series of punches and kicks that Videl threw at him with more viciousness than an eleven year old should possess.
Again, Alex avoided everything Videl threw at him with ease, before he began saying,
"'You' intend to kill 'me'? Not with those lousy skills." Videl practically snarled at Alex's taunt as she stated,
"I learned how to fight from my dad, the strongest person in the world!" Despite her ferocity though Alex just tutted at her lack of strength and said while avoiding another kick,
"Regardless of who taught you, it was be extremely embarrassing if I died to someone with such pitiful skill. Here, fix your stance and put more power into your fist here-" Then, even as she tried to kill him, Alex began directing Videl on how to better improve her skills while bringing more power out of her body.
Of course this just made her angrier, but Alex paid no mind as he continued directing her.
"Is he.....teaching her?" One of Mr. Satan's students asked incredulously, to which another one slowly nodded as he said,
"I think he is..."
"Why?" Another uttered, until they saw Videl suddenly deliver a punch more powerful than any yet directly into Alex's abs.
"Excellent! Keep this up and you might actually make a half-decent martial artist, though it'll take a lot more practice." By this point though Videl was too out of breath to retort, as the abuse she had been putting her body though the last several days quickly caught up to her.
Noticing this, Alex approached her and plopped his hand directly down on top of her head to pat it. Videl flinched at the contact, but was unable to shake his hand off due to how tired she was. Before she knew it though, her eyes began to grow heavy as even more of her strength left her body.
As Videl succumbed to her exhaustion, Alex gently held her like he would any of his children, before turning to face the group that had been watching the whole time.
"I'm taking her to my home. There I'll teach her how to fight, and maybe with time she'll be able to recover and move forward." Immediately of course Miss Piiza stepped forward and stated,
"Absolutely not! I'm not going to stand idly by as you essentially kidnap Mr. Satan's only child!" With a few others backing her up as they too voiced their objections, they were all suddenly silenced as Alex emitted an intense atmosphere, and stated with some anger in his voice,
"And do you think it's better for her to stay here? Where there's apparently no one to properly care for her?" That made them flinch, as with the current state Videl was in none of them were in any position to argue Alex's point. He then continued while healing Videl's hands and feet,
"In my home I have numerous children that will be able to keep her company while she trains, and I have numerous wives with their own tragic pasts that may be able to help her move forward like they did. And with how many of them have children of their own, you can be assured that Videl will be more than properly cared for as my student."
His piece said, Alex then turned to leave without giving any of them so much as a single glance, before pausing as he added,
"Someone will be by later to pick up Videl's things, and I'll arrange to have all of her father's assets frozen until she's old enough to claim them herself. As for the dojo, feel free to continue training. If you want to prove me wrong, then prepare for the Tournament in six months." With nothing else to say, Alex then exited the mansion before disappearing into a wall of mist, Videl still slumbering peacefully in his arms for the first time in days.