Synopsis: With Pilaf's airship heading towards the location of Tambourine's demise, King Piccolo vows to show whoever the culprit is the true terror of angering the Demon King. Just then however, Pilaf notices something strange on their radar – the Dragon Ball that was being shown just a short while ago is missing. Tuning the radar in once again, Pilaf discovers that four of the Dragon Balls have now been gathered together in one place, and the four balls are now heading towards a fifth, meaning someone else out there is gathering the Dragon Balls as well. Flying in their own plane, Tenshinhan tells Roshi that he can't believe they've managed to gather four of the balls so far without any real incidents. Roshi says it seems that gathering the Dragon Balls must be a secondary concern for Piccolo at the moment, as the murders of martial artists have continued, with word of Giran's death having reached him. Tenshinhan muses that perhaps the Dragon Ball they're going after now is the one Piccolo's monster took from Kuririn, and Roshi says that if that's the case, they'll be face-to-face with the Demon King sooner rather than later. Roshi says they won't have a chance facing him head-on, so in that scenario, all they can do is try to catch him off guard, take his Dragon Ball, and then once they have all seven, wish for Shenlong to destroy King Piccolo. Tenshinhan still isn't fond of that plan, saying that he'd rather stand and fight, but Roshi assures him that even if they all attacked as a group they still wouldn't stand a chance against Piccolo's power. Tenshinhan thinks that if only they could try using the Mafuba against him, but Roshi tells him that if they try that and fail, only Yamcha will be left to face him. Tenshinhan accepts Roshi's objection, but mentally notes that he was correct – Roshi DOES know how to do the Mafuba. Pilaf asks Piccolo what they should do, thinking it'll be bad if this other group manages to gather the Dragon Balls first, but Piccolo isn't concerned. Whoever they are, they'll have to come to him to get the Dragon Ball in his possession, and says they'll let this other group gather the Dragon Balls for them and then take them from them when it's time. For the time being, Piccolo's entire focus is on killing the ones that killed his children. On the ground, Yajirobe tells Goku that if he brings him another big bird to eat, he'll give him the Dragon Ball he has, but Goku is too busy looking at the radar to pay attention to him. The radar shows that a Dragon Ball has moved right to their location, and looking around, Goku finally spots Pilaf's airship in the air just above them. Mai's voice rings out over the intercom and announces that the Demon King Piccolo has reached his destination, causing Shu to point out that she hit the wrong button and just used the outside speakers. As Mai repeats her message with the inside speakers, Yajirobe thinks the name 'Piccolo' sounds familiar. As Goku realizes this must be the guy behind the monster that killed Kuririn, Yajirobe suddenly remembers why he knows that name and hastily gives Goku his Dragon Ball before running. Goku thinks Yajirobes acting strange, but puts the Dragon Ball necklace around his neck and prepares to challenge this new threat. On top of the airship, Pilaf uses a pair of binoculars to see who Tambourine's killer is and immediately recognizes Goku. Pilaf warns King Piccolo that the brat may look small but is incredibly strong, and Piccolo is annoyed to realize that such a small being is behind the deaths of his children, wondering if his powers have decayed more than he realized. Piccolo leaps from the aircraft and lands on the ground before Goku, who asks him if he's the boss of the guys who killed Kuririn and took his Dragon Ball. Piccolo is amused to see that Goku has another Dragon Ball on his person now, and Yajirobe – watching from the 'safe distance' of a nearby tree – thinks this really must be the great Demon King after all. Piccolo praises Goku for having enough strength to defeat his children, and Goku vows to defeat him and take back his Dragon Ball. Piccolo laughs and says that Goku must not be aware of how strong he is, but muses that it has been a long time since he was last active. Goku says he doesn't even know who Piccolo is, and Piccolo smirks, saying that even the sight of a martial artist as small as Goku fills him with the urge to kill. Goku launches himself at Piccolo, as Yajirobe watches and thinks that it's futile. Review: You'd think that discovering that someone else is gathering the Dragon Balls would draw Piccolo's ire greatly, what with the news coming just after the death of yet another of his children, but give the Demon King his due – if there's one thing he's fully confident in even after these setbacks, it's his own power. The only things Piccolo fears are the Mafuba and the chance that someone out there might know to use it, but beyond that he's certain he's got control of things, or will soon enough. And he does raise a pretty good point in that, since he has one of the Dragon Balls in his possession already, anyone wanting to use them against him is going to have to come for him directly eventually. When that happens, he can either take their Dragon Balls from them, or kill them and go retrieve the six Dragon Balls they have from wherever they stashed them before facing him. He certainly knows how to be efficient, much more so than Commander Red ever was. On the other side of the Dragon Ball gathering, Roshi has realized this same issue now that they're getting close to gathering the last few balls themselves. At least one of the balls they've yet to gather is in the enemy's hands, and whether that's one of the next ones or the very last one they go after, either way they're going to need a plan to get around Piccolo that doesn't involve fighting. Given how Tenshinhan was before his change of heart, it makes sense that he'd still want to face Piccolo by his own strength rather than relying on a magical wish-granting dragon to do the dirty work, so much so that he actually tricks Roshi a little bit here. When he suggests the Mafuba once again, he's hoping Roshi will slip up and say something other than 'we don't know how', and that's exactly what Roshi does – he instead says that if they try and fail, they're doomed. As far as proof for a deduction goes, it's fairly flimsy, but it's enough for Tenshinhan to feel pretty certain that Roshi has that final card stored away just in case they need it after all. As for Yajirobe...well, him being cool and effective was nice while it lasted. In the presence of King Piccolo, he's now becoming basically what he'll be for the rest of the series, a bit of a coward who will almost never help out no matter how much it's needed unless he can be fairly certain he won't be put in harm's way as a result. He still keeps his selfish disposition on top of that, but it's that cowardice that's gonna rule the perception of his character moving forward, which is a bit of a shame. Heck, he won't even be the best person to be in this role, as the boots of 'big-talking coward' will get filled again by someone else later, and that someone else will wear them WAY better than Yajirobe ever did. But that's all far in the future. For now, Goku is going to clash with the greatest threat he's ever come across in this series. Will even having a full stomach be enough to keep him in the game this time? Well... Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Son Goku V.S. Demon King Piccolo
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About the AuthorAspiring author and big anime/manga fan, just trying to do my best in the world. For more details, go to About Me. Archives
September 2022
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