Goku vs. Panpoot

The Celebrity Challenger

The announcer hypes up the fourth and final quarterfinal match, with all eight competitors now revealed. Out strides Pamput, a famed striker with a large following, to face the runner-up of the previous tournament, Son Goku. The announcer expects fireworks. Pamput opens by firing a punch that stops an inch from Goku's nose, trying to rattle him, but the little martial artist does not even blink. Annoyed that Goku is unimpressed, Pamput dismisses the jab as weak. He asks the announcer for a moment to demonstrate his real power, then launches into a dazzling sequence of strikes, back-flips to the wall, and slams an elbow through solid stone to break off a chunk. He brags that the fight will be over in thirty seconds.

A Blink and a Knockout

The bell rings and Pamput charges forward, only to fold around an elbow Goku drives into his stomach. The celebrity crumples and the announcer declares Goku the winner. The crowd reacts as though the bout was settled by a single hit, but Tien quickly corrects that impression out loud. He explains that Goku actually caught Pamput's incoming punch with his right hand while delivering the elbow with his left, which itself landed three distinct times in a single motion. To himself, Tien admits that this child is no ordinary contender and that the tournament has just become far more interesting.

The Semifinal Looms

Backstage, Krillin cheerfully congratulates Goku for toppling a supposedly unbeatable star. Jackie sets the record straight: Pamput really was a top-tier martial artist, but Goku and Krillin have simply grown monstrously strong, to the point that they can now track lightning-fast movements with ease. Krillin remembers Yamcha's defeat and his own difficult struggle against Chiaotzu, and Jackie warns that the Crane School contingent is just as formidable. The announcer calls the first semifinal: the man in white versus the three-eyed prodigy. Jackie makes his way to the ring, and Tien privately concludes that this old man is not ordinary at all.