c15 — The Third Plug-In
"Four... five... six..."
The host continued counting aloud, every audience member holding their breath, all eyes locked onto Son Goku's crumpled figure.
Cough cough...
Son Goku struggled to his feet, his orange gi torn and dirtied, a thin line of blood trailing from the corner of his mouth. Despite the injuries, his determined eyes still burned fiercely.
"Son Goku player is back on his feet! The match continues!"
The host announced excitedly, quickly retreating from the ring to leave the battlefield to Li Xu and Son Goku.
"His willpower... it's really something else," Li Xu thought to himself, genuinely impressed.
The outcome of a battle wasn't determined by strength alone. Many other factors could tip the scales—willpower, endurance, strategy. If a fighter could endure a brutal hit and keep fighting with focus and ki, it could often be the difference between victory and defeat.
"Li Xu, you're even stronger than I thought."
Son Goku grinned, completely without fear or discouragement—only pure fighting spirit burning brighter.
"Your strength really shocked me too."
Li Xu smiled back, admiring Goku's indomitable spirit.
In the original timeline, Son Goku had a combat power of only about 180 during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament and that was three years from now. To think that, influenced by his own presence, Goku had already achieved such growth so much earlier. It exceeded even Li Xu's expectations.
"I still have one last move. If you can withstand it... I'll admit defeat."
Son Goku smiled sheepishly, then suddenly shifted into a serious stance.
Both hands cupped together at his right waist, he began gathering energy.
"He's going to use it too?"
Master Roshi's eyebrows lifted in surprise.
He had never formally taught Goku the Kamehameha. Yet, like in the original manga, Goku had learned it simply by observing him once a genius in its truest form.
"The Kamehameha... the Sun family's ultimate weapon. And today, I'll finally challenge it properly," Li Xu thought, secretly excited.
In the original story, no matter how overwhelming the advantage, fighting the Kamehameha from the Son family always meant trouble. But this time, Li Xu didn't plan to back down.
Mirroring Goku's posture, Li Xu gathered energy in his own hands, crouched slightly, channeling his full ki into the technique.
Brilliant lights began to glow between their palms, the tension in the air crackling like static before a storm.
"Kamehameha x2!"
They shouted simultaneously, thrusting their palms forward.
Twin surging beams of pure energy roared toward each other, colliding at the center of the ring in a massive shockwave.
The beams slammed into each other, neither side willing to retreat even an inch, the sheer force causing the tiles of the ring to tremble and crack.
Li Xu narrowed his eyes in shock. His combat power had already surpassed 240 at least 60 to 70 points above Goku's current strength yet even now, Goku was holding him in a deadlock.
"Raaahhh!"
Li Xu roared, pouring more ki into his Kamehameha. The energy sphere in the middle began to bulge and squirm, slowly tipping toward Goku's side.
The ground beneath Goku's feet shattered, the white marble tiles splintering apart.
Even as he was pushed back, Son Goku dug his toes into the floor, dragging deep scratches across the ring with sheer resistance.
"Aaaaah!"
Son Goku cried out, his tiny frame straining desperately against the overwhelming force, his arms trembling but refusing to give way.
"It's terrifying how stubborn the Sun family is when it comes to energy clashes," Li Xu thought grimly.
If he hadn't challenged Goku head-on, he might have already knocked him out with a different tactic.
"Get out of here!!"
Li Xu roared with all his might, compressing his ki to the limit, sending a final surge into the beam.
He didn't believe he could lose here not when he had a system, not when he was the true protagonist of this altered timeline.
Suddenly, Li Xu felt a strange surge through his body, as if his strength had suddenly increased. The balance of the beam clash rapidly tilted in Li Xu's favor, and the twin Kamehameha waves formed a curving arc, hurtling away into the distant sky.
BOOM!
After a brief moment of eerie silence, a thunderous explosion echoed across the landscape, and a towering mushroom cloud rose in the distance, shaking the air.
Whoosh...
Li Xu gasped heavily, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. His ki reserves were dangerously low after the massive energy clash.
Meanwhile, Son Goku lay sprawled on the arena floor, battered even more severely than Li Xu, his energy completely spent.
"One! Two! Three! Four! Five!"
This time, without waiting for any reminder, the host instinctively rushed toward Goku and started counting aloud.
"Goku, you can do it! Get up!"
Krillin shouted from the sidelines, hands cupped around his mouth, his voice trembling with emotion.
"Six! Seven! Eight! Nine..."
Just then, with a pained grunt, Son Goku forced himself upright. His whole body trembled, and his knees wobbled uncontrollably.
Seeing Goku struggle to stand gave Li Xu a newfound respect for Goku's willpower.
If it were me, Li Xu thought, I might not have the strength to even rise again after that.
Thump!
However, the moment Son Goku straightened fully, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the floor, this time completely unconscious.
The host hesitated briefly, then resumed the count.
"...Ten!"
The arena fell silent for a moment before erupting into cheers.
"The final champion of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai is... Li Xu!!"
The host shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice full of excitement.
"Li Xu, you're the best!"
Bulma cheered gleefully from the audience, jumping up and down as if she had won the tournament herself.
Ding Dong! Mission complete! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Normal Saiyan Bloodline plug-in!
The mechanical voice of the system echoed inside Li Xu's mind.
Li Xu's heart pounded with excitement.
The Saiyan bloodline one of the strongest legacies in the Dragon Ball universe was now his!
He knew well how terrifying Saiyans could become. Initially, Goku's advantage over others wasn't overwhelming, but once he unlocked the Super Saiyan transformation, the gap between him and the rest, like Tien and Krillin, became insurmountable.
With Saiyan blood running through him, Li Xu was destined to soar to unimaginable heights.
"Goku!"
Krillin rushed onto the ring, carefully lifting the unconscious Son Goku into his arms.
Li Xu stepped forward, remembering something critical from the original manga.
"Careful! If Son Goku sees the full moon, he'll transform into a Great Ape!"
He warned urgently.
"Since the moon's out tonight, you need to get him indoors fast otherwise, things could get ugly."
He vividly recalled that in the original story, Goku had accidentally looked at the full moon during the first tournament and turned into a massive Oozaru (Great Ape), forcing Master Roshi to destroy the moon itself to prevent disaster.
And now, with Goku's base combat power already around 180, if he transformed into an Oozaru, it would multiply tenfold—to a terrifying 1,800. It would be far worse than in the original timeline.
"WHAT?!"
Krillin yelped, panicking, and with the help of Yamcha, hurriedly carried Goku inside.
"Li Xu, congratulations on becoming the champion!"
Bulma beamed at him, running up and hugging Li Xu's arm tightly.
"Then... shouldn't there be a reward for me?"
Li Xu teased playfully, flashing a mischievous grin.
"Hmph! I'm not talking to you!"
Bulma pouted adorably, her cheeks flushing pink as she turned and fled.
Li Xu laughed heartily.
Bulma from the original manga rarely showed this shy, girlish side. This version of Bulma... is even cuter.
---
The next morning, after a good night's rest, Li Xu collected the hefty prize money awarded to the tournament champion and rejoined the others at a restaurant, where a victory feast awaited.
"Li Xu, you're amazing! Even though I lost, it was a great fight!"
Son Goku said enthusiastically, grinning widely despite the previous day's defeat.
Thanks to his incredible Saiyan vitality, he had already recovered most of his strength after just one night.
"I'm looking forward to fighting you again next time,"
Li Xu replied, clinking a cup with Goku in good spirits.
"Yeah! I'm gonna train even harder and fight even better next time!"
Goku vowed, his fighting spirit completely undiminished.
"The food's here! Let's eat!"
Li Xu called out.
"Wow! It all looks delicious!"
Goku shouted excitedly, immediately diving into a plate of roasted chicken legs, devouring them like a starving wolf.
Not even losing the championship could dampen his bottomless appetite.
---