The Qualifying Rounds

Four Blocks and a Quick Opener

The tournament officials hold their drawings, and the competitors scatter into their assigned blocks. Krillin lands number seventy-one in the back half of Block Two, Goku is placed near the end of Block One, and Yamcha draws into the front half of the same block. When Goku asks the disguised Jackie Chun where he ended up, the old master reveals his number one hundred seventy-eight in Block Four. The public address system then announces that these qualifying matches will decide the final eight. Rules are straightforward: fall off, faint, or surrender, and the bout is lost. Yamcha steps up first in Block One and ends his opponent in a single brutal elbow to the face, dropping the Mohawked Fighter before he can react.

A Tiny Monk and a Three-Eyed Stranger

In Block Two, a massive bully looms over Krillin and mocks him as a bald baby. The giant swings down to flatten him, only for Krillin to seize one of his fingers and flip the enormous man clean over his head into a wall. As Goku compliments the effort, a smug three-eyed fighter strides over and begins throwing insults. Krillin warns Goku that this newcomer is a disciple of Master Shen, the Crane School sage and lifelong rival of Master Roshi. The stranger sneers that they should feel lucky to avoid him and brags about his coming match. Yamcha flashes him a rude gesture as the official calls the Block Three numbers ninety-nine and one hundred.

Six Strikes and a Legendary Opponent

The three-eyed fighter sheds his coat and steps into the ring against a sumo wrestler. In a single blur of motion he finishes the giant with four hand strikes and two swift kicks, a flurry so fast that most of the crowd registers nothing at all. Krillin and Yamcha catch the full count and exchange uneasy looks while the victor dismisses the bout as beneath his effort. The official then signals Block One to continue, and Goku is called forward to face the celebrated champion King Chappa in his first match of the day.