"Looks like it's our turn this time," said Yamcha, sounding nervous as he saw the names projected on every available screen in the arena.
Bulma Brief vs. Yamcha. He wasn't nervous about fighting Bulma; why would he be? He had wanted to fight her since the day he met her. No, his nerves came from something much deeper.
Although he had overcome his fear of women enough to speak and act around them, a deep remnant of fear still put him in that state whenever he chatted with beautiful women.
It was a strange condition; even Muten Roshi, a man who had lived for centuries and faced creatures that caused chaos in the world, did not know what to say about it.
Yamcha saw a psychologist under Son Gohan's advice and found Doctor Wong. After Yamcha told her about his problems, the doctor looked at him, somewhat offended, before giving him an answer. He suffered from Caligynephobia, an irrational fear of women. He already knew he had it, but never knew the exact name.
Thus, Yamcha began to grow to solve this problem. Now, at least, he could have a proper conversation with Bulma or other women without becoming catatonic or extremely weak.
"It looks like it. I hope you fight with everything, Yamcha. You have some interesting ideas about Ki and psychic power," Bulma replied, patting Yamcha's shoulder before jumping toward the arena.
Yamcha froze when she touched his shoulder, but he soon took a deep breath and jumped toward the arena. Many might think there was chemistry between Bulma and him, but it was more of a trust between friends and fellow apprentices than anything else.
They didn't chat or exchange typical comments before starting their fight; instead, they both adopted their respective fighting stances. Yamcha's stance was always influenced by wolves' savagery, but this time it was much more refined.
With his long hair and serious expression, he crouched forward, his hands simulating the fangs of a wolf. An aura materialized around his body, tinting it with a grayish glow.
Bulma's pose, on the other hand, was much more relaxed than Yamcha's but just as careful. She simply adopted the initial stance of a boxer at the start of a fight. However, her purple aura burned within her body, fighting against the pressure released by Yamcha.
They hadn't even begun to fight, yet their auras clashed in the arena. Every being capable of sensing ki could see how the arena was divided into two sides, two colors.
When the gong sounded to start the fight, instead of fighting and lunging at each other to exchange blows, they chose a different approach. Yellow ki orbs appeared on Yamcha's back, adorning him.
With a simple gesture, these energy spheres streaked through the air, heading directly toward Bulma. She responded by holding her palm forward and creating small strands of purple ki.
Yamcha subtly moved his hands, causing the energy balls to change course. Bulma's ki threads parted from her hand and cut through everything in front of them.
Bulma smiled slightly as she was surrounded by Yamcha's attacks. He was exceptionally talented at controlling the direction of his attacks once launched. For others, this would be the result of refining his technique and energy control. For Yamcha, however, it was something he could achieve easily.
The strands of ki that Bulma had launched came back toward her, weaving around her with enough speed to intercept Yamcha's energy attacks. This caused a large explosion that covered the girl's body in smoke and dust.
Yamcha remembered this strange piece of information Bulma had once given him without any context: 'If there's smoke and dust after a Ki attack, your enemy is probably fine.'
He decided to follow her advice and, without waiting for Bulma to recover, molded the aura around his body into something that resembled a wolf's claws.
With everything he had seen and learned these days, Yamcha felt sure that he had mastered the technique of making a Ki sword. But he opted for these energy claws for a much better reason: familiarity.
He wasn't influenced by wolves just because; there was a connection between him and those creatures. You could even say they were a kind of totem for him. Because of this connection, he felt he could combine many of the things he had mastered with what he knew about wolves. Thus, this technique was born.
Yamcha waved his hands forward as if pawing. These movements created small arcs of energy that flew toward the dusty area from his previous attack.
Bulma suddenly appeared off to the side and dodged the energy blades. However, under Yamcha's control, the blades spun around and headed for Bulma, relentlessly pursuing her.
"What a bore you are," Bulma complained under her breath before pointing two outstretched fingers forward and making a cutting gesture.
Nothing happened, even though the ki arcs were very close to her. Then, a strange fluctuation occurred, and a huge arc of purple energy cut through everything in front of Bulma, even hitting the sand and leaving a large gully in the sand floor.
'Freezer's ideas of what constitutes a technique are certainly interesting,' Bulma thought, impressed by such an attack. Then, she focused her attention on Yamcha again.
So far, their exchange had been limited to Ki techniques, but since Yamcha had attacked her so many times, it was her turn, right? Bulma clenched her fist and punched hard in the direction of her opponent.
Unlike Goku's Ki-molded fist, Bulma's punch created a chaotic yet rhythmic purple energy canyon. Yamcha didn't think this was a random attack; nothing from Bulma was ever random.
Then, as the attack came toward him, Yamcha became translucent. His figure faded, revealing that he was only a remnant image. Wolves are known for their speed, and Yamcha was no exception. He approached Bulma in less than a second, ready to strike.
His grayish Ki claws glowed ominously as he launched a flurry of blows toward Bulma. Ready to react, her blue hair lengthened and took on a metallic texture as it enveloped her.
His Ki claws screeched as they struck her hair. Bulma glared at Yamcha, and two bolts of Ki shot out of her eyes and struck him in the chest, sending him backward.
"That hurts!" Yamcha shouted as he spun in midair and landed on his feet, dozens of feet away from Bulma.
Black smoke gushed from his chest, and two holes were burned in his clothes. Luckily, the little gray aura covering his body was sturdy enough to resist Bulma's sudden attack.
"It's got to hurt, Yamcha," Bulma said. Her hair returned to its original form as she looked at her partner as if he were a fool.
"Well, I know. I just wanted to complain." Yamcha ripped off his shirt, revealing a blue flannel in much better condition than the previous garment.
His aura shone on his body again, but with a subtle change: his muscles were much better defined; his hair danced despite the lack of wind; and his whole presence exuded a terrible feeling.
He wasn't Yamcha anymore; he was a wolf. Over time, he had refined the enhancement technique, making it more sophisticated and filling it with everything he had learned.
Bulma nodded when she felt the improvement in Yamcha's power. It wasn't as incredible as the Kaio-ken; that technique was on a completely different level: divine.
However, Yamcha's technique made him twice as strong, perhaps even stronger. The young man seemed slightly influenced by the savagery of wolves because he ran on all fours instead of on two feet.
His figure became invisible to the naked eye, his speed increased, and he relied on the flying technique to mitigate the sonic boom his movements should have caused.
For a moment, Bulma felt as if she were not fighting a human but a beast slowly hunting her, which made her blood boil with excitement. Since Yamcha was fighting like a wolf, Bulma decided to fight like a plant.
The purple aura coiled around her body, decorating it with tiny energy scales just as she raised her arms to protect herself from Yamcha's claw.
Three lines of grayish ki erupted from his hand and impacted Bulma's body, pushing her forcefully backward. When Yamcha attempted follow-up attacks, however, she responded with her own attack. In a moment, her figure simply flashed, and the sound of a loud impact echoed.
Yamcha's body flew through the air, and he spun several times before falling to the ground on all fours. His body stretched out like a wolf's as he looked at Bulma curiously and cautiously.
Bulma had sharply increased her speed over a short distance, putting all her strength into a single punch, pushing Yamcha away. Then, she aimed at her opponent with both hands and channeled a sphere of energy.
The attack was quick. Even if Yamcha had been able to react in time, he would have lost sight of Bulma, who suddenly appeared above him, flying through the air. She held her left palm open and pointed it at him as she created a strange energy cube in her hand.
Yamcha was suddenly enveloped in this strange cube of ki, and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of sharp energy strands assaulted his body. Perhaps because they were friends and fellow apprentices, Bulma's attacks did not pierce Yamcha's skin. However, the force behind them did not diminish, demonstrating her control over her power.
Some people were chilled by the sound of flesh being constantly struck, but others noticed something interesting: Yamcha's eyes had never stopped rolling as he looked for a way out under the bombardment.
Yamcha's ki shot toward his head, and, in an unexpected turn of events, he head-butted the wall of ki closest to him inside the cube. Cracks appeared in the wall, and with a second head-butt, the cube shattered and released him.
"Wolf's head is very hard..." said Yamcha, staggering. His eyes focused on Bulma, who looked down on him condescendingly from above.
"So, Wolf, show me your fangs," Bulma replied with a smile as a huge projection of Ki appeared behind her in the form of her Plant version. Unlike before, she had her eyes closed, and there was much more sensitivity in her appearance.
A purple Ki drill formed in Bulma's hand, causing a strong gust of wind as the buzzing sound spread. The drill grew in size, threatening to crush anything in front of it.
Yamcha was not daunted. From the beginning, he knew he would lose. But sometimes, knowing that just makes people try harder, perhaps to prove that they tried remarkably.
Yamcha's projection was not the best, but it was perhaps the most defined and complete among his companions. After all, he developed this technique. A wolf appeared behind him. Its gray fur was exaggeratedly defined. The saliva falling from its mouth looked real, and the greed in its eyes showed its complete sensitivity.
Yamcha concentrated all his ki in his right hand and added more, much more, to create a sphere of energy. Eager to expand his toolset, Yamcha was inspired by Bulma and Son Gohan, who sometimes created techniques based on scientific principles.
The ball in his hand? It wasn't just anything; it was a perfect Ki sphere. He knew that if it weren't his energy, he wouldn't be able to hold it properly.
Ki techniques usually have small deformations and fluctuations; this was normal. However, Yamcha managed to create something completely spherical without any problems. Since there were no irregularities to cause 'friction,' the ball could spin endlessly until it ran out of energy.
Two spinning attacks, based on similar yet different concepts, faced each other. Bulma's drill was inspired by the golden spiral. Yamcha's technique defied even normal physics, which is why Doctor Brief always complained that martial artists were illogical.
Without saying another word, the two attacks collided in midair. There was no exciting clash, screaming, test of will, roar, or energy splashing; both attacks collided without causing the slightest fluctuation.
They simply froze in midair before consuming each other and disappearing. Yamcha fell to his knees, looking to his right. A huge, circular pothole had appeared where the sand should have been. Remnants of Bulma's energy poured out of the bottomless pit.
"Yes... I give up," said Yamcha, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
As Whis announced Bulma as the winner, she looked up at the sky, specifically at the moon.
Focusing her Ki, she could see much better at long distances. She could detect a tiny hole in the moon, but she kept improving her vision with Ki because something deeply caught her attention.
She felt as if Yamcha's attack had simply pierced the moon, which offered no resistance. She couldn't see the other side of space through the small gap, but her senses didn't lie.
Maybe Yamcha didn't cause a huge explosion that shattered the moon, but going through it was quite another thing altogether. This made Bulma feel that Yamcha's fighting spirit was worth preserving.
Humanity couldn't miss out on someone as incredible as him.
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