"Today, we are going to change one moment that has defined Goku's entire philosophy as a fighter. And no, it's got nothing to do with food." note
What If Goku Won Against Master Roshi? is a Dragon Ball What If? fanfic by Lawrence Simpson aka MasakoX of Team Four Star fame as part of his Dragon Ball Discussion series of Youtube videos. This particular topic started on May 8th, 2018, and is the thirty-first entry in the overall series.
As the title suggests, he explores his interpretation of an alternate version of the story where Master Roshi's plan to instill a valuable lesson to his students falls through by means of his prize student landing the final blow. As of early June 2023, this series has covered all of the original Dragon Ball saga and has gone up to the start of the Majin Buu Saga.
You can find the playlist for it here
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See also Masako X - Dragon Ball What-If which explores other possibilities in the Dragon Ball verse.
What If Goku Won Against Master Roshi? has the following tropes:
- Adaptational Badass:
- Piccolo not only knows Kaioken, but he also fuses with another Dragon Clan Namekian after fusing with Nail, boosting his power further. It's still not enough to beat Final Form Frieza.
- Vegeta is strong enough to fight the entire Ginyu Force by himself.
- Adaptational Curves: Chi-Chi is far more muscular here, thanks to staying a martial artist.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Goku’s ego gets inflated and becomes more mean spirited after winning against Jackie Chun through biting his foot.
- Adaptational Villainy: Downplayed with Piccolo. Without Gohan he’s still evil but training with Goku mellows him out somewhat.
- Adapted Out: Obviously Gohan doesn't exist because Goku never married Chi-Chi.
- Agony of the Feet: Goku biting Jackie Chun's foot is enough to lessen the force of his kick, allowing Goku to remain conscious long enough to declare victory.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Thanks to his first taste of victory, Goku develops an inflated ego overtime that only his principals are the correct way to win in a fight. It only gets worse as time passes.
- But Now I Must Go: Goku heads out into space at the end to figure out who he is.
- Celibate Hero: While Goku was something of a Chaste Hero in the original, here he completely blows off his promise to Chi-Chi because he only cares about getting stronger.
- Character Development: The finale ends with Goku finally learning the lesson that there is always someone stronger and making peace with the Dragon Team.
- Combat Pragmatist: The plot kicks off when Goku decides to weaken Jackie Chun by biting his foot.
- Composite Character:
- Surprisingly, Goku takes the place of Gohan in terms of making Piccolo a better person.
- Hercule Satan, Jimmy Firecracker, and Lionel take the place of Yamu and Spopovich in terms of being Babidi's minions.
- Cross Counter: Much like in canon, this is how Goku's fight with Jackie Chun comes to an end in the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament. The main difference is Goku caught Jackie Chun's foot in his mouth to lessen the impact, thereby maintaining enough stamina to declare himself the winner.
- Curb-Stomp Cushion: Chi Chi is unsurprisingly not a threat to Cell, but does manage to genuinely piss him off with successfully destroying one of his eyes.
- Gone Horribly Wrong: Master Roshi’s Stint as “Jackie Chun”, since Goku manages to win in this timeline, derailing the intended lesson in humility and accidentally leading Goku down a darker path.
- Hazy-Feel Turn:
- While not actually a villain, Goku slowly develops a more antagonistic outlook over the course of the first two parts. By the third, Tenshinhan has now effectively become The Hero of the story, with Goku breaking off all ties with his former friends when they side with Tenshinhan's decision to spare Piccolo Jr. Even when he ends up joining Raditz and Vegeta, he still is plotting against them to help protect Earth.
- Piccolo is the one to ultimately go to King Kai's planet and train. He's by no means a hero, but Kami knows they need to put aside their differences to face the oncoming threat of the Saiyans and Frieza.
- Heel–Face Turn: Tenshinhan, though rather than the slow burn of disagreeing with his master's methods, the catalyst of Tenshinhan's face turn here was Master Roshi showing him kindness after he gets greatly injured in his fight with Goku.
- Heel Realization: Chi Chi’s death causes Goku to realize that he’s the real cause of his problems, and gains Super Saiyan 2 as a result which allows him to defeat Cell.
- In Spite of a Nail: Piccolo ultimately ends up turning over a new leaf in this timeline, with his bond with Gohan getting replaced by Goku ironically enough.
- Karmic Jackpot: Tenshinhan's new found humility results in him being taken in as Kami's disciple instead of Goku. Tenshinhan even pays it forward where, after the 23rd Martial Arts Tournament, he decides to open his own dojo, taking on Yamcha and Chi-Chi as his first pupils.
- Kick the Dog: Goku and Tenshinhan's World Tournament match ends with Goku intentionally sending Tenshinhan careening into the car, seriously injuring him. This serious unsportsmanship from Goku results in his friends finally cutting off ties with him while Tenshinhan, surprised at how much Master Roshi shows him empathy despite earlier breaking Yamcha's leg, sets him down a path of redemption.
- Knight Templar: As a result of Goku's newfound Might Makes Right mentality, he becomes convinced that "evil" warriors are unable to change their ways. He continues to hold a grudge against Tenshinhan even after the latter undergoes a Heel–Face Turn and even attempts to kill Piccolo Jr. after Tenshinhan was willing to show him mercy.
- Man Bites Man: Goku wins against Jackie Chun by biting his foot.
- Smug Super: Goku's ego goes out of control due to not being humbled by Roshi defeating him.
- Spared by the Adaptation: A weird example: Vegeta tosses Jeice into the path of Ginyu's Body Swap, and kills Jeice-in-Ginyu's-body, leaving Ginyu-in-Jeice's-body unconscious, but alive.
- Sore Loser: Goku takes losses far less in stride in this timeline.
- Swapped Roles: Goku's characterization is actually more akin to the Stock Shōnen Rival archetype that characters like Tenshinhan (originally) and Vegeta had, while Tenshinhan develops into the more Stock Shōnen Hero character.
- Taking the Bullet: Raditz takes an attack meant for Goku.
- Took a Level in Badass: In Part 3, as a result of being taken in as Kami's disciple, Tenshinhan ends up surpassing both Goku and Piccolo Jr. come the 23rd World Martials Arts Tournament.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Goku becomes far more of a jerk due to his ego getting far larger and ultimately severely hurts Tenshinhan in their tournament fight.
- Traumatic Super Power Awakening: Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan after Raditz saves Goku from one of Frieza's attacks and dies.
- Villain Team-Up: While a villain in a loose sense, the alliance between Piccolo and Goku is one based around their mutual hate for Tenshinhan and Kami.
