Chapter 9: The Mysterious Man

After John Doe and his group had their fill, they proceeded towards the venue. At the entrance, the staff stopped them to verify their identities. After confirming their names, the staff member said, "All of you have passed the preliminary rounds and are now invited to enter for the draw of the round of 16."

Just as they were about to enter the draw venue, two individuals suddenly blocked their path. One of them was short, with a Mohawk hairstyle and two earrings, floating above the ground in front of John Doe.

John Doe immediately recognized the two individuals as the Supreme Kai and Kibito, who had come to Earth regarding the Majin Buu incident.

The Supreme Kai slowly floated towards John Doe, extended his hand, and said, "Hello, Mr. Doe. Seven years ago, your final battle with Majin Buu was truly spectacular."

John Doe, knowing that the Supreme Kai could observe any corner of the universe, wasn't surprised. He stepped forward, shook the Supreme Kai's hand, and asked, "What can I do for you, sir?"

The Supreme Kai replied, "I wouldn't dare to presume to instruct you, but there may be a matter later on that requires your assistance."

Vegeta retorted, "Assist you? Why should we help you?"

The Supreme Kai remained calm and said, "Mr. Vegeta, you can decide whether to help or not later. I believe that when the time comes, you won't want to refuse."

Upon hearing the Supreme Kai's words, Vegeta coldly snorted without saying a word.

The Supreme Kai then shook hands with Goku and said, "We'll meet again later. I hope we don't draw each other as opponents, or I won't be confident of winning."

After saying this, the Supreme Kai turned and headed towards the venue with Kibito.

Although Goku and his group looked perplexed and couldn't understand what the Supreme Kai was saying, they followed and entered the draw venue.

Soon, the host, who was noticeably older than before, came out and immediately spotted John Doe and Goku. He approached them and greeted everyone. Looking at Goku, he said, "Mr. Goku, I never expected that after so many years, you would finally return to participate in the tournament."

"In the youth division competition just now, I immediately recognized that Son Goten is your son. He looks exactly like you did when you were young."

"It's been so many years, and I can finally witness a truly exciting match."

The host complained to John Doe's group with a pitiful expression, almost on the verge of tears. He must have endured a great deal of injustice.

Goku laughed and said, "It's not that bad. Don't feel so wronged. Rest assured, this time we will bring you an extremely exciting match."

"That's good. I wish all of you success in the upcoming matches. I'll take my leave now and prepare for the draw." After saying this, the host bid farewell to everyone and rushed to the front.

"Alright, contestants who have passed the preliminary rounds, the draw for our final matches is about to begin." The host held the microphone and shouted, and his voice could be heard not only in the venue but also through speakers at the arena, reaching the ears of all the spectators.

"Before the official draw, I need to explain the situation of the finals. A total of 15 contestants have passed the preliminary rounds, and together with Mr. Satan, there are 16 contestants participating in the finals."

"Now, let's begin the official draw. Please welcome Mr. Kira to the stage for the draw." The host announced.

There isn't much to describe about the draw. Compared to the original storyline, John Doe replaced the effeminate Mr. Killa in the draw, participating alongside the others.

John Doe looked at the masked contestant in the overcoat, and indeed, his arms and legs were thin, and his body and limbs were completely out of proportion. He just didn't know which two young men were inside.

Finally, after the draw was completed, the match schedule was as follows:

Krillin vs. Pudda

Supreme Kai vs. Piccolo

Videl vs. Spopovich

Kibito vs. Gohan

Android 18 vs. Mr. Satan

Goku vs. Vegeta

Masked Man vs. Kira

Yamcha vs. John Doe

Looking at the match schedule, the most attention-grabbing match for the other contestants was Android 18 vs. Mr. Satan, especially for Videl, who looked at Android 18 with regret, thinking that if Android 18 were to fight Mr. Satan, defeat would be certain.

However, for John Doe's group, the most anticipated match was Goku vs. Vegeta, followed by the winner's fight against John Doe.

After seven years, these three individuals had been silently enduring arduous training. No one knew the extent of the other two's current strength, and today was the day to uncover their true abilities.

The three of them silently locked eyes, and invisible sparks of electricity appeared before them, with an intangible aura enveloping the entire venue.

Videl inexplicably felt a heart palpitation but didn't know what was happening. She had to lean towards Gohan's side.

Gohan, of course, knew what was going on and quickly used his energy to shield Videl, preventing the auras of his father and uncles from affecting her.

Android 18, Piccolo, and Krillin quickly spoke up, "John Doe, Goku, Vegeta!"

At this moment, John Doe and his group realized that their auras had already affected the other contestants in the venue, so they retracted their auras.

As they retracted their auras, the other contestants immediately felt the heart palpitations disappear, and their breathing became smooth again.

The Supreme Kai, with a delighted expression, said to his subordinate god, Kibito, "Kibito, did you see that just now? John Doe, Goku, and Vegeta, with their auras alone, suppressed everyone else to the point of immobility. How formidable is that?"

"Supreme Kai, I saw it. I truly hope they can help us resolve this crisis." Kibito replied.

As the draw concluded and the match schedule was set, the host once again addressed all the contestants, "Alright, the contestants for the eight matches have been selected. Before the official matches, let me explain."

"To avoid a stalemate between equally matched contestants on the arena and to ensure the entertainment value of the tournament, we have specifically set a time limit of 30 minutes for the matches. If a winner cannot be determined within 30 minutes, our judging panel will step in to decide the outcome."

Upon hearing the host's words, many contestants at the scene were taken by surprise and began discussing among themselves.

On the other hand, John Doe's group was unconcerned. Krillin said, "This time limit doesn't affect us much. When I fight others, I can quickly defeat them, and when they fight me, they can quickly defeat me. So, this 30-minute limit doesn't matter to us."

Regardless of the discussions, the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai officially began.