Chapter 124: The Fifty Years Left
Taro raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. "The Other World Tournament?" He wasn't surprised by the words themselves but by what they implied. Could it be that the movie content existed in this world?
After all, in the original manga, not only was there no mention of the Other World Tournament, but even the "Grand Kai" was only briefly mentioned by Piccolo during the Buu Saga, without ever truly appearing.
What concerned him more was this: If there's really Movie content in this world, then one character had to be taken seriously—the one who resembled Namekians, "Pikkon." This character was someone who could overpower Super Saiyan Goku in the afterlife.
But... if Pikkon existed, why would they allow Freeza to wreak havoc across the galaxy? Or perhaps, at the level of the Grand Kai and the others, they had reached the point of seeing all life as insignificant, indifferent to everything? Taro pondered, thinking that based on the weak performance of Kaioshin in the original story, the "gods" of the Dragon Ball universe didn't seem quite so "heartless" after all.
"Yes, it's a martial arts event held irregularly on the Grand Kai's Planet. Basically, all the martial artists in the afterlife who are training in various parts of the Underworld come to participate. It's quite lively, with souls from across the universe gathering to spar and exchange techniques."
North Kai nodded, explaining. He was watching Bam, who had easily caught Bubbles and was now chasing after the grasshopper Gregory with a bat, oblivious to Taro's thoughtful expression. His small round sunglasses flashed briefly as he added, "If you perform well at the Martial Arts Tournament, or simply put, place well, you'll get the chance for personal guidance from the Grand Kai himself!"
"Does Grand Kai want me to participate?" Taro asked.
"Yes." North Kai didn't deny it. He turned to look at Taro with a serious expression. "Originally, this event was for Underworld martial artists, and you had no reason to be involved. But this time... the Grand Kai specifically mentioned that if we, the four Kai's, have human martial artists we want to bring, we can allow them to participate. Personally, I think he's hoping you'll join. What do you think?"
Taro didn't respond directly and instead asked, "How strong was the champion of the last Martial Arts Tournament?"
North Kai walked in circles, thinking for a moment. "Hmm... if we go by their battle power scale, based on what Freeza's people calculated, the champion's power was around one million—close to Freeza's third form's base power level... After winning the tournament, that person was taken by the Grand Kai himself to train. If I recall the timing..." He thought for a moment, probably calculating in his mind, then continued, "It's been about two hundred years... Although, in my opinion, that person's potential for growth is actually quite limited, having received the Grand Kai's personal guidance, but after two hundred years of steady effort, his strength has certainly improved quite a bit."
'So... no Pikkon after all,' Taro thought to himself as he spoke up, "But to put it another way... his potential for a breakthrough is actually quite low, right? Does the Grand Kai still think I have a reason to participate?"
Several years ago, when Taro had fought Freeza, the Northern Kai had witnessed that battle, where his power had reached 60 million. The previous tournament champion only had a battle power of over a million. Even if that version of Taro were to challenge this so-called champion... without using his eye technique, and without even needing to unleash the full power of his Muken, he could easily defeat the opponent.
"You're not wrong," North Kai chuckled. He paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "With your strength, winning the championship would certainly be easy. But..." He smiled and hesitated before continuing, "The Other World Tournament is still fifty years away. Do you know why I'm telling you this now?" Without waiting for Taro to guess, he lowered his voice and went on, "It's been many years since any human martial artist has participated, and this time, something has caused the Grand Kai to change the rules. I've been reviewing some of the recent events in the East, South, North, and West galaxies, and I think..."
He pushed up his small round sunglasses and said smugly, "The most likely scenario is that your previous battle with Freeza... that event must have caught the attention of the Grand Kai! He watched that fight and took an interest in you, so to give you a chance to participate, he specially modified the rules."
"Oh?" Taro crossed his arms and closed his eyes, recalling the fight with Freeza. He tapped his forehead with his finger, then slid down to his eyelids, pausing for a moment before smiling. "The Grand Kai... did he discover the nature of my eye?"
During the battle with Freeza, Taro had been using the amplification eye technique. Otherwise, with his battle power of just under two million, he wouldn't have been able to match Freeza's second transformation. Thinking about it... the only thing that could have caught the attention of someone at the Grand Kai's level—so much so that he would go so far as to change the Other World Tournament's rules just to allow him to participate—was probably a technique as unreasonable as the "Amplification Eye Technique."
"I think so too," North Kai nodded. "The Grand Kai notified us fifty years in advance, well, mostly me..." He cleared his throat and said solemnly, "If my guess is right, and the Grand Kai really did watch your fight with Freeza, he must have noticed my presence on the battlefield, which means he probably deduced our connection. When he notified me, it was essentially telling you as well. So, these fifty years... they're likely the time the Grand Kai deliberately set aside for you." He pointed at Taro as he spoke.
Taro crossed his arms and looked thoughtful.
North Kai glanced at him. "I remember we talked about this before... whether it's the power in your eyes or the Muken, we've discussed the limits of your amplification ability."
"Indeed," Taro nodded.
"So, I was thinking... with the Grand Kai's sharp perception, he must have noticed how powerful your ability is. He probably wants to see where the true limit of this power lies, which is why he gave you these extra fifty years."
"The limit of the Muken..." Taro mused.
At that moment, Bam suddenly moved in a flash, catching up to the flying locust, Gregory, and swung his hammer, striking it on the back of its head. He had finally completed his training and fully adapted to the tenfold gravity of King Kai's planet.