Krillin and Chi-Chi were about to charge Jackie Chun—
when his scalp tightened in alarm.
"Wait! He's not dead!"
He pointed into the rubble.
A naked body lay there, and behind it swished a furry tail.
"Goku!"
"He's alive!"
Their faces lit up instantly.
Jackie Chun explained, "What my shockwave destroyed wasn't young Goku. It was the moon."
"The moon?"
Everyone looked up.
The bright moon that had hung in the sky was now gone.
"The moon… it's really gone!"
Jackie Chun said, "Now he won't turn into a Great Ape because of it."
"But this is too absurd. We can't even have a Mid-Autumn Festival anymore. No mooncakes."
The announcer stared blankly upward.
"This is terrifying. The moon was blasted away by ki…
We'll never celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival again!"
Jackie Chun barked, "Quit yapping and start counting!"
The announcer jolted and began counting Goku out.
"One, two, three, four…"
At eight, Goku suddenly stood back up.
A breeze blew across him and he shivered.
"Brr… why is it so cold?"
He looked down to find himself completely naked.
Then he glanced around—
aside from Chi-Chi, Krillin, and Bulma, countless strangers were staring at him.
Goku yelped and covered himself with both hands.
Jackie Chun scowled at the announcer.
"If you'd counted faster, he wouldn't have gotten up and the title would've been mine!"
Bulma grinned mischievously at naked Goku.
"Wow… it's been ages since I've seen little Goku running around bare-butt. Nostalgic."
Krillin and Chi-Chi finally let out their breath.
Krillin: "Thank goodness he's alive!"
Chi-Chi: "As long as he's alive… the moon doesn't really matter."
Suddenly Chi-Chi turned to Krillin.
Krillin blinked. "What?"
"You are wearing underwear, right?"
Krillin stared. "Huh?"
Chi-Chi said, "We can't have Goku fighting that old man naked."
"You two wear the same size. Take your outer clothes and shoes off and give them to him."
Krillin was going to volunteer anyway, but hearing her say it like that made him feel sour… and suddenly he didn't want to.
Just then, the referee announced, "Time out!"
"Son Goku, please go put clothes on before continuing.
This is a respectable tournament."
Goku felt his tail and also noticed the moon was gone.
He now understood that he'd lost control and transformed,
and Roshi had destroyed the moon to stop it.
Krillin climbed onto the ring.
"Goku, take my clothes!"
Goku shook his head. "Forget it. Don't bother."
"After seeing that ki blast, I know I'm nowhere near him. I'll just concede."
Krillin protested, "You still have to put them on! You can't be naked in front of all these people!"
"And Chi-Chi's still staring!"
Goku glanced at Chi-Chi—
her face was bright red, hands covering her cheeks…
but her eyes were still peeking through her fingers.
Goku jolted and clapped a hand tighter over himself.
"Krillin! Give them to me now!"
Krillin whipped off his jacket and passed it over.
Goku hurriedly dressed.
Then he stepped forward and declared:
"Announcer, I concede!"
The announcer hesitated.
"The old gentleman is nearly out of stamina. Don't you want to try a little longer?"
Goku shook his head.
"If he aims a ki blast at me, I'm dead. So I think conceding is the right move."
Jackie Chun gave him a thumbs-up.
"Good kid. Fine martial virtue. Thumbs up!"
"From that alone I can tell your teacher is someone worthy of great respect!"
Goku: "…"
He's praising himself with a straight face. This old man has no shame.
With Goku conceding, the referee shouted into the microphone:
"Congratulations! Jackie Chun is the champion of this tournament!"
"This was an incredible match!"
"Please give a warm round of applause to champion Jackie Chun and runner-up Son Goku!"
The crowd erupted in endless applause.
"Thank you for coming, everyone. Please exit in order. We'll see you at the next tournament!"
Jackie Chun took the five-hundred-thousand-zenny prize and scurried off to change.
Goku stepped down, and Krillin and Chi-Chi rushed to hug him.
Bulma also approached, watching the three kids celebrate together, an unguarded, aunt-like smile spreading across her face.
patreon.com/BOB_Davinchi
