Assuming Baki's stance, I ready myself, anxious to get to fight such a legend.
"You look like a real fighter with that stance of yours, I'd love to hear more about it one day," Master Roshi comments.
Stepping forward I throw out a jab, but Master Roshi dips below it, pushing my hand away with his cane, before slamming the end of it into my stomach, forcing me backward.
"You aren't thinking far enough ahead, one turn isn't enough, you gotta map the battle out in your head," Master Roshi lectures.
Dipping backward I plant my left foot firmly into the ground, before pushing against it with great force, propelling myself forward with a swift knee.
Master Roshi jumps ever so slightly, landing on my knee, before stamping his foot into my face, getting sand in my eyes.
"You're still not thinking," Master Roshi says from my left.
Swatting to my left, I am mee with a strike to the chest, knocking the wind out of me.
Staggering backward, I calm myself, listening carefully and breathing slowly. Clearing my eyes of sand I keep my other arm up with the best intentions of defense.
In the corner of my right eye, I notice movement, spinning around I kick in that direction, Master Roshi blocks with his cane, bouncing back from the impact, unfazed by the attack.
"While you didn't think ahead, you certainly honed your senses for that one," Master Roshi comments.
Both, I'll need both to get stronger, I thought to myself.
Focusing on my breathing, I continue to throw jabs at Master Roshi, until eventually, I catch one of his feints, kneeing him in the stomach.
He seems to have managed to lessen the impact, bouncing backward with only his shirt indented at his stomach.
Fixing his shirt, Master Roshi comments, "There ya' go sonny boy, now yer' getting it!"
Shaori? Maybe some equivalent, those motions looked like that, this is a world unlike the one I hail from, anything is possible, actually, that is pretty tame now that I think about it, I thought to myself.
Stepping forward I do a feint kick at Master Roshi, turning it into a spin punch, which Master Roshi pushes away, throwing me past him.
"Feints aren't everything," Master Roshi scolds.
Come on, I can get a solid hit in, I thought to myself.
Spinning around to face him, I throw a wide punch at him, leaving my left side exposed.
A subtle grin creeps up on his face, as he takes the bait, lunging to my left to hit my left side.
As soon as he goes to punch me, I twist my torso, dodging the strike as I bring in a left hook at the same time.
Striking him in the face, Master Roshi is jostled by the attack, forcing him backward for a moment.
Snapping out of it, I pause for a moment, saying, "Oh shit, my bad Master Roshi, I kinda got absorbed in it."
Wiping his face, Master Roshi chuckles, "Didn't expect ya' to bait me like that."
"That should be good for right now," Master Roshi comments.
"You've got the last piece of the puzzle now, that punch you gave me had a bit of ki packed behind it," Master Roshi comments.
No way, I used it subconsciously, I thought to myself.
Quickly I responded, "Thank you, Master Roshi!"
Laughing to himself he waves at me as he returns to the house, "Happy I could help."
Looking down at my hand I focus for a moment, clearing my mind as I focus on my hand, suddenly a faint white outline is visible, like a tide on a beach.
I'm one step closer, thank you so much Master Roshi, I'll make sure to remember you when I'm a god, I thought to myself.
***
After my bout with Master Roshi, I decided to return to the beach and headed back inland in search of life or death battles.
I fought with countless beasts, from deadly T.rex, vigilant Pterodactyls, and steadfast triceratops. Each battle brought me a step closer to great strength, but they quickly grew dull, their predictable patterns became more evident as each passed.
Eventually, I was met with a visitor as I enjoyed a T.rex roast, Goku had paid me a visit, alongside Krillin.
"Hey Adder, long time no see!" Goku yells as he jumps from the nimbus, Krillin holding onto his back.
Hopping off of his back, Krillin complains, "I hate that stupid nimbus, having to climb on your back is so frustrating."
"Glad to hear you both are doing good, looking stronger than ever!" I exclaim.
"Are you gonna join the tournament with me and Krillin!" Goku asks excitedly.
That's right, after training with Master Roshi, they go to a tournament, I thought to myself.
"Sure, why not, I've been fairly bored fighting against all these wild beasts," I say in confidence.
Looking at my campfire, Goku is entranced with my roast, noticing this I ask, "Either of you want some?"
"Boy, would I!" Goku says excitedly.
After a hearty meal, Goku and Krillin eat alongside me, and eventually, we talk about the tournament.
Taking a bite of meat, I ask, "So… When's the tournament?"
Goku thinks for a moment before finally responding, "I think it's today, right Krillin?"
This idiot, I thought to myself.
"Shit, when does it start?" I ask urgently.
Looking at a watch on his wrist, Krillin looks shocked, "In about 3 hours…"
Standing up I dust myself off, limbering up as Krillin bickers with Goku, "Goku you idiot, your stomach is gonna make us miss the tournament!"
"Nuh-uh, you ate some too Krillin!" Goku retorts.
"Where is the tournament?" I ask.
Krillin thinks before pointing southwest, "About 300 miles that way."
"Alright, we'll make it if we're lucky, if you use Nimbus we can make it," I declare.
Goku interjects, "But what about you Adder, you can't fit on Nimbus, you'll fall right through!"
Stepping back, I lightly jump off the ground, before coming to a standstill in the air, hovering above the ground.
"Don't worry about me, just focus on getting to the tournament," I say proudly.
In awe at the sight, Goku exclaims loudly, "Wow Adder you're flying all on your own!"
"Less talking, more flying," I say, before rocketing off toward the tournament.
Glancing behind me I see Goku and Krillin hop on Nimbus, racing to catch up with me.
Alright, let's get cooking, I thought to myself.
***
If just barely, we manage to make it in time, but the trip took a lot out of me, seeing as I had to fly as fast as possible.
Breathing heavily, Goku and Krillin drop from Nimbus next to me, Krillin commenting, "You were a lot cooler at the beach."
Jabbing back, I quickly respond through exasperated breaths, "At least I can fly… you bald bastard."
"What did you say about my hair!" Krillin huffs.
"Come on guys we gotta hurry!" Goku exclaims loudly.
Running into the tournament building, we graze by, being the last participants to enter.
The preliminaries are a breeze, with Krillin and Goku easily making it through, alongside a few new faces which I hadn't seen since I was a kid.
Jackie Chun huh, you aren't fooling me, Master Roshi, I'm gonna meta-game the shit out of you, I thought to myself.
As the quarter-finals proceed, Krillin's fight with Bacterian is eye-watering, literally. Yamcha put up more of a fight than I expected, facing off against Jackie Chun quite well.
Then there is my fight, Nam.
With a thunderous start, the announcer initiates the third match of the quarter-finals.
"No hard feelings Nam, but I'm a warrior, and I'm gonna have my fill," I declare honestly.
Staring at me, Nam eventually responds, "I am sorry young man, but I have something more important than my own life to care about."
Nice, I can tell this dude is as earnest as he was depicted, I thought to myself.
Assuming Baki's stance, I stand my ground, waiting for Nam to move.
"Your ki is so violent, it is unbecoming of your demeanor," Nam comments.
Shaking his head, he assumes a fighting stance, finishing his comment, "It doesn't matter now."
Lunging forward Nam takes a punch at me, guarding the attack, I grab his fist, twirling him around me before smacking him into the ground.
Landing back first, he catches himself with his feet, kicking with great force, wrestling control from me, jerking my arm towards him.
Striking me in the chest, the force from the strike is like a hammer, however, bashing his arms away from me I lunge backward, pulling my arm behind me, focusing with great intent I feel my energy pool in my right hand.
Nam assumes a defensive stance, able to sense what is coming.
Ki sense, I'm still green when it comes to ki, so he has the advantage, I thought to myself.
Clenching my fist, I rush forward leaping from where I stand, throwing my fist toward Nam. As Nam goes to grab my arm, I tuck it into my chest, bobbing to his left, and connecting solidly with a left hook to his jaw.
Come on, don't get knocked out, I want to see that arm dive technique, I thought to myself.
His legs go slack, Nam hits the ground, and the count begins.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five..." The announcer shouted loudly.
Slowly, Nam brings himself to his feet, his eyes hazy, as if possessed.
That won't do, I thought to myself.
Lunging forward I drop below him, pull my hand back, and I strike him in the chest with my palm, waking him up and throwing him backward.
Barely managing to stay in the arena, Nam takes a moment to collect himself.
"Why did you do that?" Nam asks.
Scratching my head, I respond, "I'm still hungry and you have an appetizing dish I'm dying to taste."
Lightly chuckling, Nam responds, "So you find my attacks to be dishes you say?"
Quiet in response, I feel Nam's aura grow in intensity.
"Then in response, I'll cook you a dish you'll never forget!" Nam yells as he lunges into the air.
Here it comes, I thought to myself.
Crossing his arms, Nam rockets down towards me, plunging fiercely from the sky.
Let's get a taste of this attack, I thought to myself.
Standing still, I brace myself, preparing to take the attack head-on.
Upon noticing this, Nam yells, "Idiot!"
Upon impact, a gargantuan weight is forced onto my arms, weighing me down, and forcing me to my knees, but by that point, the attack is already over.
"A hearty meal, now allow me to show you something hard to swallow, be careful not to choke," I declare loudly.
Grabbing Nam's wrists, I pull them apart, pull them to his side, and head-butt him in the face repeatedly.
By the fifth headbutt, he's rendered unconscious.
"We have a winner, Adder Gravis!" the announcer says thunderously.
Walking toward the main room, Goku is there to congratulate me, "That was a fun match, but were you hungry during that fight or something?"
Oh yeah, he doesn't get it, I'll have to tell him about that later, he'll help him, I thought to myself.
"Nothing like that, focus on your next fight, you're gonna have a fun time," I say cautiously.
Goku's fight with Giran goes about as you'd expect, with the newly grown tail spelling the sudden surrender of Giran.
Next, in the Semi-Finals, Krillin's bout with Jackie Chun is electric, with their speed being to fast for the audience to follow, only a select few could follow.
Then came the time for my fight with Goku.
As we entered the ring, I was silent, staring on, thinking about the outcome, Goku notices this and asks me, "You okay Adder?"
Smiling, I approach the edge of the ring, shooting a look at Goku, "Get em' tiger."
Dropping down onto the ground, Goku has been crowned the winner of the match, much to everyone's surprise.
I really want to fight you, but this is an important part of history, I don't want to ruin it, I thought to myself.
"Hey Adder, you can't do that, get back up here!" Goku yells with great frustration.
The announcer cuts in, "Well, since Adder has forfeited, well move on to the final match, Jackie Chun versus Son Goku!"
Walking back inside to grab a drink, I pass by Jackie Chun, who whispers to me, "Thanks Adder."
Don't mention it, Master Roshi, I thought to myself.
After getting my drink, I meshed with the spectators, sitting next to everyone.
As I approach the group, Yamcha excitedly speaks to me, "Your fight with Nam was crazy, whenever we met I thought you were super weak, but now I don't think I'd stand a chance against you!"
You know what, I can change something, I thought to myself.
"Yamcha…" I retort.
A bit perplexed with my response, Yamcha responds, "Yeah?"
"You sell yourself short, I think you can go far," I say sincerely.
Pausing for a moment, Yamcha eventually responds honestly, "Really?"
Throwing a thumbs up at Yamcha in assurance, he sits in silence, watching the fight intently.
Maybe I can make Yamcha into something more, I won't let you be a joke, we warriors are gonna show our mettle, I thought to myself.
The fight with Goku goes as it should, with the destruction of the moon, and the conclusion of the tournament, Jackie Chun has been crowned the champion of the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament.