其之三十三
Chapter 33

修業の威力!!
The Power of Training!!

Story

Gokuu and Kuririn stare at the crowd, while the Turtle Hermit tells them to move along. A man with a megaphone then tells all the participants to head to the Competition Hall for the preliminaries. Before they head in, the Turtle Hermit pulls something out of his suitcase for them: Turtle Hermit School dougi, with the kame character on it. The boys both really like it. The Turtle Hermit tells Gokuu and Kuririn that they'll have to make it through the preliminaries to compete in the final eight, and wishes them well, since he won't be able to watch them in there.

Inside, there are all kinds of people. One of the officials thanks them for coming to this World's Best Martial Arts Fest, which happens once every 5 years to decide the greatest martial arts master in the world. There are 137 contestants, but only 8 will make it to the real tournament. He then goes over the rules: the fights are one-on-one atop the contest platforms. If you fall from there, faint, or concede, it's a loss. However, killing your opponent is forbidden, as is the use of weapons. You'll have only one minute to fight in the preliminaries, but in the case of a draw, the winner will be chosen by decision.

Now everyone has to draw numbers to see which of the four preliminary blocks they'll end up in, and only two people from each block will be entered in the World's Best Martial Arts Fest. Kuririn draws #93, and Gokuu #70. They're both in Block 3, but Gokuu says they're on opposite ends, so they won't have to fight each other. #69 vs #70 is the first match for Block 3, so Gokuu is called up to fight a huge wrestler-looking man. The match begins, and Gokuu rushes at him, but runs through his legs. The man wonders where Gokuu went as Gokuu taps him from behind, knocking him off the platform. It's #70's win.

Kuririn is impressed, but Gokuu can't believe his own strength. Two members of Kuririn's Oorin Temple, much bigger than him, then approach the boys. They start picking on Kuririn, asking what number he has. The taller of the two says that #93 would make them opponents, and then they walk off laughing. Kuririn is nervous, but Gokuu gives him a pep talk. Some time passes, and now it's time for #93 vs #94. The match begins, and the tall Oorin Temple guy swings at Kuririn, but Kuririn jumps over it. Kuririn then comes down and flies toward him with a kick to the gut, which sends the guy crashing through the wall to the outside. It's #93's win. Gokuu praises the old man's training, while Kuririn still can't believe his own strength.

Continuity

The events of this chapter are depicted in Dragon Ball 19 and Dragon Ball 20. These episodes first aired approximately 11 months after this chapter was first published. There is considerable anime-original material, such as Yamcha's progress in the preliminaries, and Blooma's attempts to watch the preliminaries. The arrival at the Southern Capital has also been altered to take place the night before the World's Best Martial Arts Fest begins, and the reunions with Yamcha, Blooma, et al. now take place before the preliminaries.

Cast

• SON Gokuu
• Turtle Hermit
• Kuririn
• Megaphone Man
• Preliminary Reception Man
• Martial Arts Temple Priest
• Referee
• Large Man
• Oorin Temple Senior Classmen

There are also numerous other people, including spectators, other competitors, and Martial Arts Fest officials.

Setting

The events of this chapter take place at the World's Best Martial Arts Fest grounds, at the outer reception areas and inside the Competition Hall.

This chapter takes place during Age 750, immediately after the events of the previous chapter.

Miscellaneous

• This chapter features the debut of the dougi that Gokuu and Kuririn (and later other characters) would wear throughout most of the series.
• This chapter reveals that the World's Best Martial Arts Fest occurs once every 5 years. But that schedule would not be consistent, because the next World's Best Martial Arts Fest would happen in only 3 years.