Goku's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Goku slammed his fist into the padded dummy and felt nothing new. The wooden target rocked, settled, and stared back with its faded stitched face. He wanted to be the strongest fighter alive, but his knuckles had stopped learning. Same dent. Same depth. Same ceiling. He walked to the heavy dumbbells and lifted them clean overhead. The iron handles bit his palms, but his arms locked at the exact angle they always locked. He lowered the weights and stared at the floor. His body had memorized this limit. That was the problem. Goku ate until the table was empty, then trained until his legs folded under him. He lay on the mat, breathing hard, reading the data. The dummy hadn't cracked. The weights hadn't climbed. His old methods were finished. He stood, wiped his mouth, and looked toward the far skyline. The great tournament arena rose above the rooftops, banners hanging from its towers. Strong fighters lived there. Real ones. Goku grabbed his jacket. If his training couldn't break his ceiling, a worthy opponent would.