Chương 473: Bardock's Skeletons

"Greetings, you filthy little monkeys." Sneered one of the most evil and infamous people in the entirety of Universe Seven. The same person responsible for wiping out the Saiyans decades ago, only to be defeated by the SSJ Goku, and then killed by Trunks.

"FRIEZAAAAAA!" Roared Vegeta Sr as his golden aura exploded outwards, before the former king charged the killer of his people in a blood rage.

Despite the furious SSJ2 that was trying to attack him, Frieza's sneer never faltered as a certain figure covered in red fur appeared between him and Vegeta Sr, halting his attack with ease.

"What is the meaning of this?!?" Vegeta Sr roared in fury from Alex's interference, which the emperor ignored for the moment as he sent him flying back down to the ground.

The stadium floor caved in from the force of the former king's impact, but, before he could say anything further, Alex stated in a firm voice while he suppressed the rest of the Saiyans with his aura alone,

"Violence against other contestants is strictly prohibited for the duration of the tournament. Violate this rule one more time, and you'll be disqualified and possibly banned depending on the circumstances." Vegeta Sr's eyes widened as he sputtered in disbelief,

"'C-contestants'?!" Frieza sneered at the former king's disbelief, and stated as he slowly descended alongside the larger person at his side, his father, King Cold.

"That's right little monkey King. I'm also participating in this tournament, and I do so look forward to the coming fights!" As they landed a short distance away from Goku and Vegeta, the larger figure of King Cold looked over at the former before saying,

"So this is the infamous Son Goku... How interesting." Actually seeing Goku for the first time, since both he and his son had been killed by Trunks before Goku returned to Earth, King Cold was fascinated by the man who made Frieza taste defeat for the first time.

His first impression was that Goku was a softy who didn't have what it took to do what needed to be done. After all, he let Frieza live when they fought instead of finishing him off.

Though he wasn't expecting much, King Cold was fairly eager to get the chance to fight against Goku, and show him what a REAL Frost Demon was capable of.

Meanwhile the Saiyans were still glaring at Frieza and King Cold with murderous glares as if they were going to attack at any given moment, but Alex's own oppressive aura was holding them in check. Well, all of them but one, as Goku commented,

"I can tell you've gotten a lot stronger since we fought Frieza. I'm looking forward to seeing how strong you are now!" Frieza smirked at Goku's comment, already knowing his nemesis wasn't the type to be easily intimidated or baited, as he remarked,

"Oh I wouldn't be too eager Son Goku, though I will say you're in for a surprise." Even as he said that though, Frieza glanced over the remaining Saiyans that had also transformed at his presence, Vegeta Sr and Jr, Trunks, Bardock, Raditz, and the two Saiyan women that were in the crowd as well.

With so many Super Saiyans appearing one after another, it only reaffirmed Frieza's decision to wipe them out all those years ago, and once he was done with this farce of a tournament and free of the brand on his back, Frieza intended to wipe them all out once and for all. But to do that he had to WIN the tournament first.

While all that was going through Frieza and his father's heads, Alex finally continued when it seemed as the Saiyans weren't about to go postal anymore,

"ANYWAYS, these two are the last of the seeded contestants that will compete in the tournament, Frieza and 'King' Cold." Unlike the previous eight contestants that Alex had named, the colosseum was dead silent at the announcement that Frieza and his father were participating. However, if they'd known that Alex had taken precautions to prevent them from harming anyone outside their matches, then they would feel VERY relieved.

Alex didn't bother volunteering that information though, as he continued,

"Now then, for the remaining 54 contestants we have a special item called a space-time orb set up!" At Alex's cue, space distorted to reveal a large crystal clear sphere at the edge of the arena.

As its image was projected for everyone to see, Alex explained,

"A sphere enchanted to be much larger on the inside to allow maximum space within a minimum area! Inside there is enough space for hundreds of matches to take place simultaneously, at an accelerated rate of time that will ensure the preliminaries are completed within a matter of hours with even this many contestants!"

The colosseum erupted into a storm of muttering and whispers when they heard what the space-time orb was capable of, while many also looked at it with greed and desire in their eyes. Acting as if he hadn't noticed their blatant greed, Alex continued once it quieted down,

"In a few short minutes all of our competitors will be entering the space-time orb, and will be split up into different groups to determine who will compete in the tournament! But, a few rules first.

"Firstly there is no limit on weapons one can use, be it swords, bows, hammers, or even firearms and bombs! The same goes for magic, and other such powers one may have at their disposal! And worry not about injury, as we can even bring back someone if they had just died! That brings me to the few restrictions we do have though. Firstly any healing abilities or items are strictly banned!" As he said that Alex held up his hand and conjured a knife that he used to cut his palm open, drawing numerous gasps and intakes of breath until the wound began to visibly close.

"If you possess a natural accelerated healing factor, like mine, then it WILL be sealed for the duration of each match. Afterwards, not only will it be unsealed, but each contestant will be checked over by the amazing staff of Asora's hospitals, ran by my own wonderful empress!" As Alex said that he directed everyone's attention back to Anne, who smiled warmly and waved at all of them.

"And finally!" Alex continued, drawing everyone's attention back him as he stated in a serious tone, "Any abilities that may damage or destroy a person's soul are strictly forbidden, while any actions dreamed as 'malicious', such as torturing your opponent or purposely prolonging the match instead of swiftly defeating them, will result in immediate forfeiture and disqualification from the tournament!"

"Tch."

As he said that, Alex pretended not to hear Frieza click his tongue in annoyance, as the former tyrant was infamous for 'playing' with his food. Meanwhile King Cold smirked at that, as he'd always been telling Frieza not to develop such bad habits.

Ignoring them, Alex finally declared,

"With all that said, LET THE TOURNAMENT BEGIN!"

There was resounding cheer at that as the thousands of contestants flooded towards the space-time orb to begin the preliminaries. As they did, Alex noticed a couple people split off as they bee lined towards a certain Saiyan.

He watched with interest as the first figure, a short statured man with blue skin, pointy ears, and purple dreadlocks-like hair, approached Bardock with fury evident in his demeanor. Seeing this, the second one hung back as the blue-skinned man confronted Bardock and snarled, "I WILL beat you this time Saiyan."

Bardock just cocked a brow at him before smirking back at him,

"Sure thing Gas. Just don't throw another temper tantrum when I beat you AGAIN." Killing intent rolled off of Gas in thick suffocating waves at Bardock's taunt, but, with Alex hovering the air and watching them from above, he didn't dare do anything. After all, Gas and his siblings had a goal in being present at the tournament, and causing trouble here wouldn't do his brother Elec any favors.

So, for the sake of attaining Elec's goal, Gas turned his back to Bardock for the moment, and stormed towards the space-time orb. This left an opening for the other man who had been eyeing Bardock to step forward.

Though he was nearing his forties, the man looked young and could almost pass for a human, if not for his red and dark green eyes. The man also had light green hair that was swept up and back like it was windblown, while a white scarf was wrapped around his neck and a single lens in a leather band sat on his forehead for ready use.

Strutting up to Bardock with a purposeful glare in his eyes, he stated,

"That scar on your cheek.... You were one of the Saiyans that attacked planet Cereal, weren't you?" Bardock studied the man's face for a moment when he heard that, before he exclaimed,

"Granolah!? Is that you?!" Though shocked that the Saiyan in question knew his name, Granolah's glare deepened as he snarled,

"I don't know how you know me, and I don't care. Just know that once this farce is over with, I'll be killing you and every last Saiyan until there's none of you left, and then Frieza himself." As he said that Granolah glanced at Alex, Goku, Vegeta Jr, and the space-time orb where Trunks, Vegeta Sr, Raditz, Sala, and Caulifla had all disappeared into.

His piece said, Granolah turned on his heel and stormed off towards the space-time orb to secure his place in the tournament. As he departed though, Alex descended from the sky next to Bardock and asked, "Anything I need to be aware of?"

Bardock was silent for a moment as he thought on Alex's question, before answering,

"Gas and the Heeters may be a problem. I ran into them after we attacked planet Cereal, and overheard their discussions to usurp Frieza. Gas had been one of the hardest opponents I ever faced before dying, and he's fiercely loyal to his brother, Elec. I'd keep an eye on them since they may try to stir up trouble after the destruction of Frieza's army."

Alex nodded slowly in affirmation as Bardock spoke, recalling the very same group that Gas had arrived with several days prior. He then asked,

"And the other guy?" Surprisingly Bardock sighed with a tired expression as he explained,

"A survivor from when we were hired by Frieza to wipe out the Cerealians. He wants vengeance against us and Frieza for the deaths of his people." As he said that, Alex recalled when Bardock mentioned the wish he made on the Dragon Balls before his death, making him ask,

"Didn't you say you spared a woman and her child?"

"Yeah, but she was killed almost immediately after by the Heeters. I don't know what happened with the kid after that." Bardock replied while shaking his head, before he slapped his cheeks lightly and stated,

"Alright! Enough about that! I have a place in the tournament to secure." Saying so, Bardock then made his way to the space-time orb as well, leaving Alex alone with his thoughts.

When the last contestant had entered the orb though, he slowly floated back up and created numerous projections for people to see, which alternated between the various preliminary matches already taking place within the orb.

"Until the preliminaries are done everyone can watch the matches through these projections, but that isn't all I have in store for you all!" Alex declared with his previous excitement, directing everyone's attention back to him, before a new group made their way into the middle of the colosseum.

"Presenting the tournament before the tournament, the Junior Cup!" Alex cried out as the image of the numerous children that were now below him was also projected alongside the ones of the preliminaries taking place.

Every child was between the ages of five and fifteen, and like the UGT itself, they were gathered from Universe Seven, Asora, and the three other worlds connected to it. Amongst them, Alex quickly picked out his own little monkeys, Edith, Alec, Regal, and Yuki, accompanied by Videl, Myuu, Gohan, and Millicas.

Smiling as his children readily waved at him and tried to get his attention, Alex then stated,

"Unlike the main tournament, this little competition will only take place today while we await the results of the preliminaries, and will be comprised of those from five years of age to fifteen!" As he trailed off for the cheers of the parents who were excited to see their kids in the spotlight, Alex also noticed a number of people amongst the younger group who seemed dissatisfied, particularly those from Universe Seven who were older.

"Pft! This must be some kind of joke, making us compete against five year olds!" One boy who was almost sixteen snorted in contempt, pissed that he had been forced to wait to compete in the actual tournament.

When he heard this, Alex slowly descended until he landed next to the kid, and asked him,

"Do you truly think you're strong enough to beat some of these five year olds though?" Though he hesitated slightly from being face-to-face with Alex himself, the kid eventually snorted as he stated,

"Of course! I'm three times their age, and have even gone into actual battles before! How can some snot nosed brat compare to people like me?!" With several other teens also voicing their displeasure, Alex just smirked as he asked him,

"Are you ready to put your money where your mouth is then?" The teen appeared taken aback at that, as he hadn't expected Alex to challenge his claims. Instead of backing down though, the teen doubled down and said,

"Yeah I will!" Alex smiled widely at that, as he declared to the audience,

"Ladies and gentlemen! Though not entirely according to procedure, we will now have our first match between this young man..." "Gera" "GERA, versus one of our youngest competitors, my own daughter, YUKI SHIRAYUKI!"

The moment her name was called out, Yuki ran forward excitedly to leap into her father's arms. She had her purple hair tied back into a bushy ponytail, and was dressed in her and Aurora's signature white gi while her hands and feet were bare.

"I get to fight first daddy!?!" She excitedly exclaimed, to which Alex nodded as he set her down and said,

"Yep, you will!" He then looked up at the announcer, who quickly declared,

"AND WE HAVE THE FIRST MATCH OF THE DAY, AS WELL AS THE FIRST MATCH OF THE ENTIRE TOURNAMENT LADEIS AND GENTLEMEN! YUKI VS GERA!"

As the audience applauded and the rest of the children moved back, soon it was just Yuki and Gera standing up on the stage where the children would fight. Though there would be more specialized stages for the main tournament, they decided to use the standard stage for the children's tournament.

"Pft. I'll try not to hurt you too much little princess." Snorted Gera as he took his stance, while Yuki cheerfully replied,

"Ok! I'll try not to hurt you too mister!" Though he wanted to state that he wasn't old enough to be considered a 'mister', Gera didn't get the chance as the bell signaling the start of the match sounded out.

*BOOM!*

In an instant Gera was sent flying out of the ring as he crashed into the walls surrounding them, all while snowflakes began to fall and the temperature dropped within the colosseum by several degrees.

In the same exact place where Gera had been standing seconds prior was Yuki, her hair free of its ponytail as it stood up straight, now golden instead of purple with frosted tips. Despite the small blizzard forming around her, Yuki appeared confused as she cocked her head to the side cutely, and asked, "Did I win?"

Remembering his role, the announcer quickly shouted,

"AND THE WINNER WITH AN INSTANT KNOCKOUT, IS YUKI SHIRAYUKI!"

With his cry, the audience began to cheer as they applauded Yuki, who began to act bashful at their cheers and praises while a few men came to check on Gera's condition.

"WELL FOLKS, ARE YOU READY FOR MORE!?!"

As the announcer's voice rang out, every cheered even more to see such more strong people fight, especially the Dragon Emperor's children. However, in his private viewing room, a certain individual appeared annoyed as he swirled his wine its glass.

"It appears that we will have to modify our plans...again." Said Elec, leader of the Heeters and oldest brother of the other two in the room with him, Maki and Oil.

"Not only the Dragon Emperor, but we will have to find a way to kill his children AND Frieza..." Elec groaned in frustration as he looked down at Yuki and her three siblings, all of which were older and presumably stronger than even she was.