Kale Kohlrabi assessed the potential of all the other fighters in the room. That was one of the first things he had learned in his years with the military, assess the situation to determine possible threats. There were some decent fighters at this year’s Tenkaichi Budouki Tournament; he could sense their strong ki. He still felt confident that he could win, although it wasn’t guaranteed. Kale closed his eyes and leaned against a nearby wall with his arms crossed.

“Well, if it isn’t our good friend Kale Kohlrabi.” Kale opened one eye, before him stood a large, bald man in a green tank top and black biker shorts.

“Conan, when did they let you out of jail?”

“Right after you ditched out on us. The boss wasn’t too happy about that.”

“Well, he shouldn’t have hired me to do his dirty work in the first place. That’s what big, ugly goons like you are for.”

“I’m gonna enjoy beating you into the ground, Kohlrabi.” said Conan, cracking his knuckles to emphasize his point. Kale closed his eyes again and Conan turned on his heel and stomped away. The announcer began to broadcast the first round match ups and the tournament was underway.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let the twenty-seventh Tenkaichi Budouki begin!” There was a thunderous applause as the first two opponents entered the ring. Kohlrabi didn’t bat an eye. There were grunts, groans and screams as the combatants duked it out.

“Oh, it looks like he’s had it folks! He’ll be recovering from that for quite some time. Our next competitors are…” Kale’s eyes snapped open. There was a strong ki which he hadn’t sensed before and it sent shivers down his spine. It was coming from one of the current competitors. Kale had to find out who possessed energy like that. He strolled over to ringside to watch the match.

The two participants were Conan and a young Asian boy, who appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen. He was shorter than most men, barely past four feet. He appeared especially minute when compared to the hulking form of Conan. If it wasn’t for the strange energies emanating from the tiny man, Kale would have said that Conan was bound to win. Conan apparently felt the same way, because he snickered when his opponent entered the ring.

“Ladies and gentlemen, for our second match we have two vertically differentiated combatants. Over here we have the tiny titan, Lei Fe going against the towering leviathan, Conan the destroyer. This match will prove whether or not size actually matters.” The telecaster stood aside as the gong signaled the start of the match. Conan was true to style and rushed in with his fists flying. Lei Fe simply took the blows without flinching.

“Ladies and gents, Conan has let loose with a volley of perfectly executed moves so fast that Lei Fe is unable to block any of it. How much more of a beating can this man take?” Conan was enjoying himself; the little runt didn’t even bother to fight back. For his finishing move, Conan grabbed his opponent, jumped five feet into the air and slammed the miniature fighter to the ground with enough strength to crack some tiles. Conan then took a breather to admire his handiwork and stared in surprise as the little man stood up and dusted himself off.

“I hope that’s not all you’ve got.” he said, unperturbed.

“Oh, a wise guy?” snarled Conan, “Let’s see how you like this, you little punk!” Conan charged in like a bull, intending to flatten Lei Fe and shut him up for good. Lei Fe had other plans, dropping on his back he used his feet to catch Conan in the midriff and flip him out of the ring and into the far wall of the arena.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like size doesn’t matter. Lei Fe is the winner.” Kale watched closely, he knew how strong Conan was and an average person wouldn’t have withstood a beating of that caliber. The strange energy he had felt had mysteriously vanished as soon as the fight had ended. He would have to watch himself around this Lei Fe character.

The following bouts were less interesting; Kale easily dispatched every one of his opponents with barely a fraction of his full strength. It wasn’t until the final round that Kale began to worry. It was just him and Lei Fe. Once again, Kale felt that evil aura. He tugged nervously at the hem of his white gloves as he entered the ring.

“This is it, ladies and gents, the final bout that will determine the winner of this tournament. This fight isn’t for the squeamish, so all those faint of heart please exit the stadium.” The gong signaled the start of the match. Kale shifted his feet for better balance and waited for his opponent to make the first move. Lei Fe simply smiled at him. Time past as the two combatants waited each other out. Finally the announcer spoke up.

“Um fellas, if one of you doesn’t start this match you’ll both be disqualified.” Kale grunted, it looked like he would have to make the first move. He charged forward with a roar just as Conan had, but instead of following through, he jumped into the air at the last possible moment and landed behind his adversary. He then thrust his leg to the side and sent his target flying forward. Lei Fe quickly recovered and glared at him with an evil light burning in his eyes and Kale felt the mysterious power increasing. Lei Fe darted forward, dropped to a crouch and swept his foot under Kale’s legs. Kale caught himself as he fell, only to barely dodge an incoming kick to the head. He leapt to his feet and was immediately bombarded by a barrage of punches. Kale had had enough, he powered up to half of his full power with a shout that made the walls tremble. Lei Fe was blown back to the edge of the arena by the force that was created.

“Let’s finish this.” said Kale. Lei Fe smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. He then powered up to match Kale’s power. The two combatants launched themselves forward and met mid-arena and locked hands, each trying to gain the upper hand. Kale planted his foot on his adversary’s midriff and propelled himself away from his foe. Lei Fe leapt into the air and hovered there, smiling down at Kale.

“Get down here!” Kale fired an energy beam at his opponent. When the blast had subsided, Lei Fe was still smiling. He then fired his own energy beam at Kale. Kale barely dodged by leaping high into the air above Lei Fe and fired several smaller energy beams in short succession.

Without waiting for the smoke to clear, Kale aimed his body so that he fell on top of Lei Fe’s neck and fired another energy blast at point blank range. Lei Fe plummeted to the ground, followed by Kale. Lei Fe lay still for a long while and then a purplish-black fog arose from his body and rushed towards Kale and enveloped him. It entered his nose and mouth and Kale nearly suffocated on its foul stench.