Chapter 172: Conclusion
'That's pretty high...' noted Vahn, raising his gaze skyward as Goku and his opponent, Nam, bounded several hundred meters into the air, leading to an aerial exchange of punches and kicks. Curiously, unlike in the canon, Goku didn't land first, so Nam wasn't able to temporarily incapacitate him. Instead, Goku demonstrated his uncanny ability to copy(steal) techniques by sending the desert native flying using a blast of frigid wind, forcing the turban-wearing man into a ring-out.
"Alright! I made it to the Finals...!" exclaimed Goku, beaming from ear to ear and throwing up double peace signs that garnered him considerable fanfare from the crowd. Immediately after, Michael had him conduct an impromptu interview, asking him various questions about himself, his tail, and how he had gotten so strong despite his young age.
"And with that out of the way, can we please have Mr. Mason enter the arena!?" exclaimed Michael, prompting Krillin, who had come out to help explain things on Goku's behalf, to leave while he emerged with a relaxed smile.
"I hope you're ready, Vahn! Because I'm not going to go easy on you...!" exclaimed Goku, adopting a peculiar pose with his feet spread wide, his knees bent, and his arms held out to the side, slightly bent with his hands clenched into fists.
"Sure. Give it your best..." responded Vahn, adopting a slightly hunched posture with his hands held as if he were prepared to grab and flip Goku over him. At this point, Goku's Power Level was actually two points higher than Roshi's at 135 to the latter's 133, so he couldn't be underestimated. His own Power Level was decently higher at 238, but as Goku had started the tournament at 126, it wasn't an exaggeration to state the pint-sized Saiyan could achieve victory if he were given the opportunity to acclimate to the difference in their strength.
"Then, since both fighters appear to be ready, let the final round of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai begin...!" shouted Michael, punctuating his words by making a beeline for cover.
"Alright, then, here goes...!" exclaimed Goku, smiling confidently as he borrowed a page out of Roshi's book by producing a total of three hazy afterimages. His movements were far beyond what the spectators could follow, but Vahn managed to track him through his domain, allowing him to weave his head and upper body back as Goku passed in front of him, performing a swift flying kick.
'Let's wrap this up before the moon comes out...' thought Vahn, reaching out with his right hand as Goku passed, grabbing the young Saiyan's tail. The moment he did, Goku reacted as though he had been shocked, every nerve and muscle in his body tensing before going limp. Vahn found this a little strange, as Goku was able to dangle by and support himself atop his tail, but having it grabbed caused him to lose his power.
"Aw, man...I wanted to be the champion..." groaned Goku, unable to do more than twitch the muscles in his fingers as Vahn dangled him by his tail, looked to where Michael was hiding, and said, "Since my opponent is no longer able to fight, I believe this is my victory."
"Huh...?"
Though briefly confused, Michael eventually noticed that Goku wasn't moving. Tournament regulations, however, said that an opponent either had to give up themselves, be knocked out, or be sent out of the arena, so after a brief exchange, Vahn walked to the edge of the stone arena and gently lowered Goku to the lush green grass below. It was an exceedingly anti-climactic conclusion to the tournament from the spectators' points of view, but since the horizon was a beautiful shade of orange and the moon was already high in the sky, Vahn concluded it was best to wrap things up before Goku transformed and was revealed to be capable of turning into a giant ape monster...