Double

Dragon Ball: Universe Zero

A wise strategist once said that the battle plan was always the first casualty of any engagement. An oversimplification, to be sure, but the logic was sound and the idea behind it was not without well deserved merit. This was one of those times. Han's initial plan would not survive this particular clash, but that in itself did not immediately mean failure. Yet another wise man once reasoned that there were occasional moments in time when one had to make a split-second decision, or else that moment - and the opportunity it provided - would be lost forever. That wise man also happened to be Han's great-grandfather, and like most everything else he learned from him, Han took that lesson to heart. This, he felt, was one such moment described by his great-grandfather's advice. A split-second decision was made, one that would decide the success or failure of this skirmish.

While Han had returned the dossier to the representative at the meeting, what that man hadn't realized was that 3 of the pages from that dossier had been slipped out of the folder. Those pages were now in Han's possession, and in the fraction of a second that it took Han to realize that his footing slipped, he acted as quickly on the draw as he possibly could. A hand slipped into his Gi, grabbed the three pages and let them fly from his possession as his body flew back. He went out into the water, was even submerged for a moment.

Now to end this, hopefully my ploy has done its job.

The ploy, in retrospect at least, was a rather simple one. Those 3 pages contained accounts of alleged transactions involving Niko, and the sale of military information to foreign entities. The way Han saw it, one of two things was likely to happen. If those accounts were indeed genuine, then most likely Niko would grab the pages and run or he would wait for Han to return to shore and attempt to get more information from him, possibly even try to silence him. Or the other possibility, should Han's suspicions prove true, was that Niko's curiosity would be piqued and he would similarly stay around to question Han for further information. No matter which outcome happened, Han would have been able to learn all he needed to decide on his next course of action for the contract.

Han had swam a short distance before surfacing. He walked upright on the shore, no longer maintaining any battle stance. If Niko had stuck around, this at least would be enough to signal an end to their brief fight. A smile would be Han's face, as he continued to maintain the warm and friendly vibe he had begun this encounter with, "I suppose I owe you some answers now, don't I?" he would ask, provided that Niko had not run away and was still present.

Dragon Ball: Universe Zero

I'd also like to point out that we've now had two rounds of posting each with little or no actual attacks being thrown or landing. I'll tell you this, though, Han DOES have a tactical goal in mind with his constant feint attacks (or rather, I do) but its going to be up to you to try and figure out what that angle is.

Dragon Ball: Universe Zero

The beginning was a test, more than anything else. Han was looking to measure up his opponent by taking stock of how he reacted to potential attacks coming from various angles. But this wasn't something Han could keep up forever, he could sense an ever-so-slight difference between the two of them, though he did not know if Renzo was aware of this difference. If Han wanted things to go smoothly, then he needed to make sure every move counted, and that not a single motion or movement was put to waste. With that in mind, he came in for one last feint attack, a chop that would have otherwise been aimed for the back of the neck had it not been backed out of. Instead Han maneuvered himself in front of Niko and willingly allowed his footwork to slow a bit.

"You know what you're doing. Good. Little wonder you made it to the Semifinals." By this point Han had allowed himself to stand still. Gone was his light footwork. Instead, ever-so-subtly, he had shifted his stance in a slightly different direction. His feet were more firmly planted on the ground and his guard appeared to be even more fortified than it previously was. The art of Defense was a two-sided coin, one of Evasion and one of Guarding. Han had previously just showcased the former side to that coin, and now it was time to showcase the latter. He readied himself, not to dodge, but to catch whatever blow came his way like an unbending oak.

---

~Defensive Stance, Immovable Shadow~

Health: 100
Power Level: 80
Attack: 0
Speed: 0
Defense: 80

Dragon Ball: Universe Zero

As the post-Tournament festivities prepared to begin, an elder woman introduced herself to the four semifinalists. Mr. Satan... the name certainly rang familiar to anyone who studied the history of the World Tournament, as Han certainly had. And yet his was not the only noteworthy name associated with the Tournament. Before Satan's time, there was another Champion, an enigmatic old man known only as Jackie Chun. Though he had only won the championship a single time, that championship battle was recorded as one of the greatest in the Tournament's history. And yet, despite returning to defend his title, the old man simply forfeited his match early on during the semifinals, and stranger still was never seen or heard from again. Perhaps he desired a quiet retirement? Han supposed that only the old man himself would've ever known the answer to that question.

After Ms. Pan's speech, two of the four semifinalists appeared in quite a rush to leave. And unfortunately, Han's target was one of them. While Lee vanished in a burst of speed, Renzo instead walked calmly away. At least until he was out of sight, then he was gone at a greater speed after that. Perfect, approaching the target privately was going to be the most ideal way for Han to move forward with his plan. And so, he too slipped out of the festival, and was able to do so with no fuss to boot as he was not among the important guests present. Despite the head start, Han was able to pick up Renzo's trail and followed him to the shore. His target was on the beach, seemingly in deep thought with himself.

Looking up, Han took in the view of the full moon. Part of him was reminded of his meditation that morning, at a similar beach while briefly under the light of the moon. This time, it seemed ominously reversed, as a dark night approached instead of a hopeful new day. In fact, a new haiku made itself known in Han's thoughts. But as he had no implements on his person to write it down, the next best thing was to verbalize it.

"The Sun lays to rest
The Night Sky envelopes All
ruled now, by The Moon"

That, of course, would no doubt tip Niko off to Han's presence. But, Han was never planning an ambush anyway, so this would have to do for an introduction, "Forgive me." he said, offering a bow, "When a haiku comes to me in moments of peace, sometimes I can't help myself but to share it. It helps to clear the mind, you know, keeps you at peace." he maintained a polite tone in his voice, and warm expression on his face. He wanted this meeting to be amicable, at the very least until he learned what he needed to learn from it, "Ah, right, I forget my manners. I am Wu Han. I watched you fight in the Tournament. I tried to sign up myself, but alas, I arrived too late. I hope you'll forgive my forwardness, Niko Renzo, but I followed you in here in the hopes you would honor me with a match." Han said nothing more, and from here allowed his actions to speak for him instead.

Han entered his Shinigami Stance, likely not one that Riko or most people had ever seen unless they were well versed in martial arts folklore. He appeared to make a lunge forward to strike, but what would have been a torso-aimed kicked instead stopped mid way - revealing itself to merely be a feint - so that Han could push himself back a few inches, tightening his guard and keeping his footwork quick and light as a feather.

---

~Feint attack, Trickster's Shadow~
Serious Speed Boost

Health: 100
Power Level: 100
Attack: 5
Speed: 30 x 2 = 60
Defense: 65

Dragon Ball: Universe Zero

Okay, it is morally and critically imperative that I ask this next question:

Goku Jr and Vegeta Jr when? XD

Dragon Ball: Universe Zero

@Balthazar007@FalloutJack

Wait, hold on, Bal edited their explanation. The 100 cost became 10. That made it make a bit more sense. I just thought the 100 cost was way too high and wondered how techniques could ever be usable if they cost that much to muse. xD

Dragon Ball: Universe Zero

Uh... I'm not quite understanding.

Dragon Ball: Universe Zero

@Balthazar007@FalloutJack

Also, scrap what I said about static. I just realized they wouldn't work at all since they would almost immediately be rendered worthless by power level scaling.

Dragon Ball: Universe Zero

<Snipped quote by Double>

Also, it sounds like you're referencing the Solar Flare. I'm not sure that works here yet. It doesn't raise any of your stats like our other secret techniques. BUT since our RP is evolving, it could be time to introduce secret techniques that effect the opponent's base stats instead of yours.

So if I'm correct in assuming that your secret technique is the Solar Flare, I think the fairest way to implement it would be if it cuts the opponent's SPEED, instead of increasing your own.

@Balthazar007

Well, Debuffs are usually an inevitability once Buffs are introduced. They aren't as prevalent in Dragon Ball as buffs are but they exist nonetheless. Solar Flare would indeed count as one. And if you take games like the Xenoverses into account, there are skills on those that also apply debuffs and some cases even inflict poison. Han starting out with a strange debuff technique would be a good way to distinguish him from the rest of the cast early on. Since all three types of buffs (Attack, Speed, and Defense) have already been introduced by the others... Han introducing the concept of a debuff could make things interesting.

How would the diminishing returns formula work? For buffs, they start at x2.5, then go down to x2, then to x1.5 from then on. Debuffs would need a different multiplier, and cutting a stat in half seems like a decent baseline but where would we go from there? 75% for the first time, 50% for the second, and then maybe 25 or 30% after that? Or should debuffs use static numbers? -50 the first time, -40 the second time, and then -30 all times thereafter?

Dragon Ball: Universe Zero

@Balthazar007@FalloutJack

The power difference is really not that big. And the series has shown quite a few times that tactics can beat out raw power. Also helps that my Secret Technique is one that was used frequently in the series for tactical purposes, although I'm still not saying what it is per your request that we keep our techniques to ourselves until they are unveiled.

Also, his intentions are clear but that doesn't mean the challenge will happen right away. Especially not if something else happens and things get interrupted.