Back
Dragon Ball Volume 14 cover art
Cover art © Shueisha / Akira Toriyama. Not an original work of Daddy Jim Headquarters. Displayed for editorial commentary and review purposes.

New Challengers

Manga ChapterCh. 167

The 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai preliminaries begin with only 72 entrants. Chiaotzu uses his powers to scatter the group across different blocks. Goku dispatches King Chapa with a single strike, demonstrating the fruits of his divine training. The preliminaries end on a shocking note when Chiaotzu is brutally defeated by a cyborg opponent who reveals himself to be Tao Pai-pai.

Volume: 14
Text Size

Preliminary Preparations

Piccolo's offspring and Goku exchange cold smirks before the offspring walks away. Tenshinhan asks if one of Piccolo Daimao's henchmen survived, and Goku quietly tells him to keep it quiet so they do not cause a commotion. Yamcha, Krillin, and Chiaotzu notice the exchange and ask what is going on, but Goku deflects by saying the guy looked strong.

A young woman approaches and taps Goku on the shoulder, calling him by name. Goku has no idea who she is, and she storms off in frustration. Krillin asks who the cute girl was, but Goku is clueless. The officials announce the start of the preliminaries with only 72 entrants, far fewer than previous tournaments. As the block drawings begin, Tenshinhan telepathically instructs Chiaotzu to scatter everyone across different blocks, including Piccolo's offspring.

Goku vs. King Chapa

Goku draws number 2, placing him in Block One's opening match against King Chapa. Chapa declares that things will be different this time. The match begins, but Goku does not move. Yamcha observes that he cannot sense any trace of Goku's energy, and Tenshinhan recognizes that Goku has achieved complete emptiness, making him unbeatable for someone of Chapa's level.

Chapa charges in with a kick, but Goku vanishes. Chapa looks skyward expecting Goku overhead, but Goku is behind him and drops him with a single tap to the back of the neck. The crowd is stunned.

The Cyborg Assassin

Everyone is impressed, including Piccolo's offspring, though he dismisses these moves as insufficient against him. Krillin, Yamcha, and Tenshinhan each advance through their own preliminary matches without trouble. Chiaotzu, however, is overwhelmed and loses to a fighter wearing a strange helmet and goggles. The victor remarks that Chiaotzu is only still alive because he held back to avoid disqualification. Tenshinhan looks up at the figure, who greets both him and Goku by name. To their shock, it is Tao Pai-pai, alive and rebuilt as a cyborg.

Share this resource

Sources & Information

Looking for more on New Challengers? The Dragon Ball Wiki on Fandom has a dedicated page with community notes.

View on Fandom

This content is original writing by Daddy Jim Headquarters based on the Dragon Ball anime series, manga, and official materials. Episode and chapter references are cited where applicable.

Character and scene imagery on this site is original artwork by Daddy Jim Headquarters, not screenshots or licensed imagery. Official cover art is used on three types of pages for editorial commentary:

  • Movie pages: theatrical posters and key visuals, credited to Toei Animation and Shueisha.
  • Game pages: official box art, credited to Bandai Namco, Atari, and other publishers.
  • Manga chapter pages: Jump Comics volume covers, credited to Shueisha and Akira Toriyama.

Dragon Ball Music by Daddy Jim Headquarters

Come listen to some Dragon Ball R&B.

Help Us Keep This Wiki Accurate

Daddy Jim Headquarters maintains this encyclopedia across 13 languages. If you spot an error, a translation issue, or something that doesn't look right, let us know.