Piccolo roared, and his aura began to surge. As his energy skyrocketed, his body gradually grew larger, instantly doubling, tripling in size.
Krillin, startled by Piccolo's transformation, stammered, "What kind of technique is this? His body can grow larger."
John was very interested in this skill of Piccolo's and immediately thought of the mythological concept from his previous life. However, it was clear that Piccolo's skill was far less powerful compared to that concept.
It might be that there were few methods to counter this skill when it first appeared, but after Goku broke it in the past, Piccolo never used it again.
John originally wanted to analyze and improve Piccolo's skill, but after some thought, he realized that such overwhelming power could not be achieved in the Dragon Ball world.
After identifying the significant flaws in this skill, John decided against learning it.
At this moment, on the arena, the enlarged Piccolo began attacking Krillin. Faced with such a massive opponent, Krillin chose to keep dodging.
Goku shouted from the side, "Krillin, although Piccolo has grown larger, his speed and agility have decreased; you can use this to defeat him."
After hearing Goku's words, Krillin's mind started racing. After dodging one of Piccolo's attacks, he aimed for the back of Piccolo's knee to try to make him lose balance and fall.
Just then, Piccolo showed a smug expression; he quickly shrank his massive form while simultaneously landing a punch on Krillin's cheek.
Caught off guard, Krillin was sent flying by Piccolo. Following up quickly, Piccolo swept his leg and knocked Krillin out of the arena.
Looking at Krillin being knocked out of the arena by him, Piccolo said with a complex expression, "Little bald head, you're better than I imagined."
At that moment, Piccolo felt very conflicted; he thought that with his current strength, avenging his father and conquering Earth seemed increasingly distant.
The announcer then loudly declared Piccolo the winner.
Thus, the four finalists of the martial arts tournament were decided; tomorrow's matches would be the semifinals and finals.
The semifinal matchups were John vs. Shen and Goku vs. Piccolo.
That night at the hotel, while walking outside, John saw the bespectacled man possessed by God.
John walked over and greeted him: "God, hello!"
Shen looked up and recognized John greeting him; he nodded in response: "Oh, it's John. Hello."
John approached and sat silently next to Shen on a long bench.
"Aren't you going to ask why I'm participating in this martial arts tournament?" Shen asked.
John replied: "It's simply because you don't believe Goku will go all out against Piccolo; we all know that you and Piccolo share a life. If he dies, you will too."
"However, King Piccolo indeed separated from your body; thus you want to personally deal with him. Am I wrong?"
Shen didn't expect John to understand his thoughts so clearly; he sighed and said: "Everyone fears death; even gods are no exception. To put it plainly, being a god is just a position; without that identity, I am still just a person."
"I have weaknesses as a person too; that's what led King Piccolo to cause great harm to the world back then."
"But this time I don't want to back down anymore; I must resolve this myself," Shen declared loudly.
John looked at him and said: "But what if you can't defeat him? Back then he wouldn't kill you because if you died, he would too."
"You know that with your current strength, you won't be much help in battle. As a god now your greatest role should be to protect your life and ensure the Dragon Balls remain functional."
John bluntly expressed his thoughts to make Shen recognize the harsh reality.
Hearing John's words made Shen's expression change drastically; he looked at John with anger as if ready to fight if John continued speaking like that.
But seeing John's calm demeanor made him finally sigh in acknowledgment of his situation: "You're right; I shouldn't take this risk."
"But do we just let King Piccolo run rampant in this world?" Shen asked reluctantly.
John replied: "You don't need to worry about that because there's me and Goku and other fighters here; King Piccolo won't stir up much trouble."
"And haven't you noticed? Is there a significant difference between King Piccolo 2nd generation and 1st generation?" John said.
"Yes! What do you mean?" Shen asked somewhat confusedly.
"You know that King Piccolo 1st generation is actually a manifestation of your evil thoughts. He inherited your deepest evil nature; that's why he is particularly wicked and caused massive destruction through rampant killing."
"But now King Piccolo 2nd generation is different; although he is spawned from 1st generation's lineage, he has developed a new personality. While he has inherited 1st generation's memories, he did not inherit that evil character."
"In these three years or so, has he caused any significant harm to the world?"
John's words left Shen momentarily stunned as he recalled that indeed King Piccolo 2nd generation had not caused much killing in this world.
"Are you suggesting...?" Shen asked excitedly towards John.
John nodded: "Yes! If nothing unexpected happens now, King Piccolo will not turn evil as long as he cannot defeat me or Goku; perhaps in the future he will become a warrior helping Earth resist alien invasions."
Hearing John's words made Shen breathe a sigh of relief; although still somewhat doubtful about John's claims, it was true as John said—until King Piccolo defeated them both; he wouldn't cause much trouble.
So Shen told John: "In that case, there's no need for us to fight anymore. I know I'm not your opponent; I will express my stance to the organizing committee."
Hearing that Shen wanted to concede made John unhappy: "Don't concede! Let's have a match! I've been looking forward to battling with you for a long time."
However, ignoring John's request entirely, Shen turned around and headed back to the hotel without looking back. No matter how much John pleaded, Shen paid no attention.