Dragon Ball: Saiyan's Gourmet Journey

Chapter 621 The Western Martial Arts Tournament Eight Years Later
"Broly, why don't you stay a few more days? The Great Western City Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin. You can go back after this grand event, how about that?"

Faced with Mine's offer to stay, Broly glanced at his other wives, who were dressed in thin pajamas and looking at him expectantly, and did not refuse: "Okay, then stay a few more days."

Akame and the others were very happy. After changing into their everyday clothes and having breakfast, they took Broly to the Great Western City, which is now the capital of the Great Western Kingdom, for a stroll.

"Guest, have we met before?"

The owner of the bursting candy shop had a vague sense of déjà vu when he looked at Broly.

"I am not sure."

Broly shook his head; he usually didn't remember people he didn't care about.

“But I’ve participated in martial arts tournaments here before, so you might have seen me in the ring.”

After paying, Broly carried a bag of different colored lava candies and ran back to his wives.

As the shop owner watched the group of people walk away, he suddenly recalled the reason for making his signature red heart fruit blood plasma candy, and how he had secretly used the name of the other party's martial arts tournament runner-up to promote his candy stall without permission.

"Hey, how could that be? It's been seven or eight years. People can't stay the same forever. It's probably that person's child..."

As for the women holding the boy's hand, perhaps one of them is his mother.

"Boss, please give us one of their signature candies."

Just then, a few more guests arrived.

"Tatsumi, are candies very expensive in big cities?"

Beside him, a girl tugged at the sleeve of the boy who was speaking.

"Don't worry, Shayou. With the skills of the three of us, we're sure to get a ranking in the martial arts tournament. The money for a candy will be more than enough."

Another boy following behind said casually.

“Iyeas is right. As long as we can make it into the top 32, we will get a prize. With the prize money, the villagers won’t have to live such a hard life.”

Three teenagers from a remote village in the central part of the former empire arrived in the Great Western Kingdom with travel expenses collected by their village, their goal being to earn a lot of money to make life easier for everyone in their village.

At this point in time, the easiest way for someone confident in their abilities to make big money is to directly participate in the upcoming martial arts tournament.

"Hey, why do I have to pay to register?"

The three of them ate a piece of candy as they arrived at the registration point for the martial arts tournament, but upon learning that registration required a hefty fee, Iyeas immediately became somewhat dissatisfied.

"This is to weed out some people who are not confident in their own abilities. After all, losing a match means losing not only your reputation but also your registration fee, which will make many people who are not confident in their abilities think twice before participating."

A tall figure appeared behind the boy, and a rough voice answered the boy's question.

"Wow, it's so tall..."

Iyeas looked up and saw the burly man with a full beard. He quickly turned around and took a few steps back.

"Of course, some participants can participate without paying a registration fee."

The burly man approached the counter and introduced himself to the registration clerk behind it: "I am Sambasang, a representative of the J&T Commerce Association. Please register me."

"Ah, it's Sambasang! Has he come out of the mountains again?!"

Upon hearing this, some people around exclaimed in surprise.

"Excuse me, who exactly is that bearded man?"

Tatsumi politely inquired about the situation from those around him.

"What? You don't even know what a sambassador is? You must be from outside the Great Western Kingdom."

"Uh, yes."

Tatsumi acknowledged it, and then he saw a strong sense of local superiority emanating from the speaker.

"Hey, another bunch of country bumpkins here, hoping to make a name for themselves at the Great Western City Martial Arts Tournament. Let me tell you, our Great Western Kingdom is different from your little rural town; there are plenty of martial arts masters here..."

After showing off his superiority, the man introduced Sambasang to Tatsumi and the other two: "Sambasang is the reigning champion of the previous martial arts tournament. However, three years ago, he suddenly disappeared for some unknown reason. We thought he might have died somewhere unknown, but we didn't expect him to be alive. He is definitely the strongest contender for the championship in this martial arts tournament!"

Sambasang's ears twitched as he overheard the people around him talking about him. He coughed lightly and said to them, "Three years. Do you know how I spent these three years? That's right. Three years ago, I felt that my strength had reached a bottleneck (I was contacted by the Imperial Assassination Force to assassinate people from the Assassin Alliance). So I resolutely returned to the Gifunola Sea Tree Forest to hone my martial arts (and then sold the Imperial Assassination Force's information to the Assassin Alliance, and then took the assassination fee from the Imperial Assassination Force and ran away).

Now, my martial arts skills have made a new breakthrough (three months ago, when he came out to purchase supplies, he learned that the imperial regime had collapsed. He felt that the empire should no longer be able to cause him any trouble. Once the storm had passed, he decided to come out of seclusion).

I, Sambasang, will return to the championship stage of the Martial Arts Tournament wearing this latest summer tough-guy men's outfit from J&T Commerce Group, a complete set priced at only 1888, to let the world witness my efforts over the past three years!

"Ah, why does he keep mentioning the J&T Commerce Group?"

Iyeas looked at the burly, bearded man posing for a photo and was somewhat puzzled by his behavior.

"Ha, you don't even know this? You want to participate in the martial arts tournament?"

"What do you mean?"

“Jitu Commerce Group is the financial backer of the other party, so of course they will help advertise. And speaking like this now, each word is probably worth thousands of dollars.”

Tatsumi and his two companions were shocked, thinking that the people in the city were really generous, actually willing to spend so much money to hire someone to say a few words of publicity.

"Tatsumi, let's go find the merchant caravan too."

Iyeas suggested, and just as the three of them were full of confidence and went to find a merchant group willing to invest in them, a scantily clad girl also passed by them and went straight to the counter.

"My name is Horse Head, and I'm here to win the martial arts tournament and then, as the champion, apply to join the Assassin's Guild..."

After the imperial regime was overthrown, the horse-headed member of the Four Demon Rakshasa, who had not yet found employment, was immediately declared unemployed. After leaving the central part of the empire with her father, Gozchi, the father and daughter, former imperial assassins, arrived in the Great Western Kingdom.

Her father told her that the empire was gone and they had to work for a new country, but because of their past identities, they needed to offer enough value to join the Assassin's Guild without being held back by their past.

The Great Western Kingdom Martial Arts Tournament is the best place to showcase one's value as a martial artist, and the winner will undoubtedly receive offers of favor from various forces.

Many of the champion warriors then joined the Assassin's Guild, becoming part of the Great Western Kingdom's order-guarding force, or, in other words, military civil servants with the privilege of adjudication.

. . . .

"General Najenda, are you really going to participate in the martial arts tournament held by the Great Western Kingdom?"

Inside an old hotel, Lubbock asked the question to the capable woman with braided hair in front of him.

"Yes, I want to participate. If you're worried about the danger, you can leave first."

"That's not what I meant, but your identity is very sensitive." A former major general of the empire, he betrayed the empire a year ago, allowing the Southern Revolutionary Army to march directly into the capital, becoming the key figure in overthrowing the imperial regime.

However, due to his differing ideologies with the high command of the revolutionary army, and having witnessed the behavior of some members of the Southern Revolutionary Army that was no different from that of the Imperial Army, this major general who betrayed the Empire is now preparing to betray the Southern Revolutionary Army, which is not worthy of its name.

"This is the Great Western Kingdom. Given the Ice Queen's style, she certainly won't care about the threats from various forces. Although my identity is somewhat sensitive, it doesn't matter here."

"But do you really believe that participating in a martial arts tournament can truly save the empire?"

“Lubbock, you’ve got one thing wrong. I’m not a restorationist, and I have no interest in saving the corrupt empire that betrayed us.”

There is only one thing I want to do: end this chaotic world and bring peace and light to more people. And the only power capable of doing this is the Great Western Kingdom.

However, Atlantis has no intention of saving the outside world. I participated in the martial arts tournament only to gain access to Atlantis's political stage.

Win the championship, join the Assassin's Guild, become a high-ranking member of the Assassin's Guild, and then persuade the lords of the various city-states of the Great Western Kingdom to expand the territory of the Great Western Kingdom.

Only in this way can I achieve my goal and bring peace and light to more people.

Najenda, who said this, radiated a human warmth, and Lubbock stared at her, somewhat stunned.

But after realizing this, he became worried: "But the current emperor of the Great Western Kingdom seems to be that cruel Ice Queen."

“Lubbock, I need to remind you that Atlantis has no emperor. Esdeath is just a battle maniac. As long as her fighting desires are satisfied, she certainly won’t mind getting the same peace in other places as she does here in Atlantis.”

Najenda, who had met Esdeath before, even fought her, and was then spared, was quite certain of this.

"You have great potential to become stronger. Keep working hard with this. If there were no rivals in this world, it would be too boring."

At that time, Esdeath said this to her and gave her a book that resembled the Yomiji Temple's martial arts manual, which she called "Qi-training Fist".

Najenda has been practicing this technique for more than half a year, and her strength has improved significantly compared to half a year ago.

She was determined to win the championship of the Great Western Kingdom Martial Arts Tournament this time.

. . . .

"The martial arts tournament is starting tomorrow. Although it's just the preliminary rounds, there will definitely be a lot of people. We need to prepare plenty of hamburgers and chilled juices. We'll make a killing over these three days!"

Chelsea, formerly a maid in the governor's mansion, lost her well-paid job after the governor was assassinated by the Assassin Guild.

Although she was later hired by the city lord's mansion, her salary was relatively low. Last year, while serving the assassin lady (Myoko) who visited the city lord's mansion, she ate a food called hamburger and realized that there was a business opportunity.

She researched how to make hamburgers, but opened the first hamburger shop in the West End. With the martial arts tournament approaching, she wants to promote hamburgers with simple packaging and easy-to-hold eating at the tournament.

"As long as our burger shop gains a good reputation and receives investment from the business community, we can grow bigger and stronger. Then we can open chain stores, and we'll all be store managers!"

Chelsea was speaking inspiring words, and the girls around her who had quit their jobs as maids at the city lord's mansion to start hamburger businesses were all incredibly excited, as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

The holding of a martial arts tournament requires not only the martial artists participating in the tournament to fight, but also the restaurant owners who are preparing to make money from their customers.

. . . .

"Just because we're not famous, does that mean we can't believe in our potential?"

In the evening, Iyeas, who had been repeatedly rejected in his search for a patron, shouted out in frustration.

"Forget it, Iyeas. We can only compete at our own expense. Only after we make a name for ourselves can we hope to get investment from wealthy merchant groups."

Tatsumi patted his companion on the shoulder helplessly and, before the registration deadline, paid to register all of them.

"Wait, weapons aren't allowed? Wait, aren't we allowed to use weapons?"

After registering, Sha You, a girl from the countryside, was dumbfounded when she learned that weapons could not be used.

"Weapons can be used, but that's for the top 32. As for the preliminary rounds, contestants are not allowed to use weapons."

The martial arts tournament is held annually, and every year some participants die. Hands and feet are indiscriminate, and the use of weapons is prohibited because weapons are more lethal than fists and feet, making them more likely to kill participants. This is for the safety of the participants.

After hearing this explanation, Tatsumi and the other two looked at each other in bewilderment.

"But if that's the case, wouldn't the top 32 teams be allowed to fight each other?"

Sha You asked the question.

"That's not the case. In the round of 32, the organizing committee will provide strong medical support for the players who make it to the final 32."

As long as the head isn't split open vertically, even if the head is severed, we have Imperial Arms users who are skilled in treating external injuries to help heal the wounds.

"Well, at least a head injury can be treated and saved as long as it's not left untreated for too long."

The God's Hand, this Imperial Arm, was not something Broly obtained for free eight years ago, but rather something Esdeath stole.

As for the reason for stealing this thing, Esdeath simply felt that the Western Martial Arts Tournament should be more enjoyable, that is, to remove the restrictions on the use of weapons.

The God's Hand is designed to prevent the potential for heavy casualties among contestants after the restrictions on weapon use are lifted.

In other words, once a martial artist skilled in weapons enters the top 32, they can unleash their full potential on the stage without any reservations.

Unless the head is smashed open, simple cuts can be completely saved with the super-precise surgery performed by the God's Hand.

"Let's work together to make it into the top 32 and earn enough money for everyone in the village!"

Two teenagers and a girl stood at the entrance of the registration point, palms together, shouting slogans like "Make it into the top 32 and make big money!"

But the reality is harsh; the quality of martial artists participating in the Great Western Kingdom Martial Arts Tournament is getting better year by year.

After the second day of preliminary rounds, only a boy named Tatsumi barely made it to the next round, while the other two were eliminated.

"I'm sorry, Tatsumi, my opponent is just too strong."

The boy, who had been defeated by Ma Tou in the preliminary round, looked ashamed.

"It's okay, I'll take your share and work hard together!"

On the third day, the sunny young man, carrying the last hope of the entire village, stepped onto the grand stage of the top 32 competition of the martial arts tournament.

Just like Broly did eight years ago, all the contestants who made it through the preliminary rounds need to make a group appearance.

But the difference is that Broly is no longer a fighter standing in the ring, but a distinguished person sitting on the observation deck representing the League of Assassins.

"Now, please welcome His Excellency Broly, the runner-up of the Western Martial Arts Tournament eight years ago, a believer in the Church of Kathisiea, the great liberator of slaves in Bosir City, and the true mastermind behind the Assassin's Guild, to give a speech for this grand martial arts tournament!"

(End of this chapter)