Synopsis: As Goku launches himself at Piccolo, the Demon King quickly recognizes how fast Goku is. Goku fist connects with Piccolo's jaw, and he immediately follows up with a kick that sends the demon flying backwards, but Goku isn't done with him yet, leaping off of the ground to pursue him further. Piccolo strikes out with a clawed hand, but Goku manages to stop just short of the blow connecting, grabbing Piccolo's wrist with his tail and launching another punch at his face. Piccolo moves quickly, knocking Goku backward with his opposite hand, but Goku launches off of the ground again, slamming both feet into Piccolo's chest, knocking the Demon King to the ground. Watching all of this from above, the Pilaf gang is horrified and declares Goku the real monster here, while Yajirobe, watching from his own hiding spot, is in disbelief that Goku is really holding his own against Piccolo. As the Pilaf gang prepares to flee, Piccolo's attendant stops them and asks if they truly believe that it would take so little to defeat the Demon King. Getting back on his feet, Piccolo says that he never imagined there would be a power out there great enough to force his back to the ground, even in his current state. He muses that it's little wonder his underlings couldn't handle Goku, and says he has no choice but to completely obliterate him himself. Piccolo removes his tunic before telling Goku that he'll show him the true overwhelming power of the Demon King now, but Goku says he doesn't care what Piccolo does. Wasting no time, Piccolo rushes Goku, kicking him high into the air before the boy can react. Jumping into the air after him, Piccolo catches up to Goku's body and punches him hard in the jaw, sending him crashing hard into the ground. As Yajirobe watches in horror, Piccolo lands and reaches into the crater, pulling Goku out by the front of his shirt. Piccolo praises Goku for being able to survive that before punching him hard in the face, but to his surprise after that, Goku bites him on the thumb. Piccolo tosses Goku to the ground and he quickly scurries away, causing Piccolo to laugh in amazement that he still has even enough strength left to do that. Realizing that Piccolo is not only stronger but faster than anything he's ever seen before, Goku is seemingly out of options. Piccolo tells Goku that death is the only path left before him and boasts that he hasn't even used half of his strength yet, mockingly asking the boy what he plans to do next. Piccolo is momentarily horrified when Goku clasps his hands together in front of him, but rather than the Mafuba that he fears, Piccolo is delighted to see that it's something else entirely. Goku launches his Kamehameha, hitting Piccolo head-on. As the dust cloud disperses however, Piccolo stands there, completely unscathed much to Goku's dismay. Piccolo laughs and wonders if now is the time to kill Goku after all. Review: This chapter and Goku both don't waste any time, launching right into the thick of things right from it's very first panel. Goku throws everything he's got at Piccolo right from the start of their encounter, and at first it seems to be paying dividends. He catches the Demon King off guard, knocks him back twice over, and even manages to contend with Piccolo's own attacks on him just fine. After how strong Goku was against Tenshinhan at the 22nd Tournament, and him now arguably being even stronger and back to full power to boot, it's almost believable that Goku might just have this fight in the bag. ...Almost. C'mon, I don't think anyone actually expected this story arc to be wrapping up THAT quickly, even when it was first coming out. That said though, this all serves a purpose in bigging up King Piccolo in a very real sense. Up until now, there's just been talk about how great and powerful he was, and though we could assume he was pretty strong based on the capabilities of Tambourine – well, Tambourine himself was dealt with quickly enough in the last chapter, and Piccolo himself has noted that he's nowhere near what he once was due to the ravages of time. But that's just it – this is Piccolo in, by his own words, a weakened state. He's nowhere near his prime, if anything this is the most vulnerable he's ever been on the power scale...but even that's not enough. As soon as that tunic comes off and he starts to take the fight with Goku seriously, Goku is completely overwhelmed, and doesn't manage to land so much as a single other blow on the Demon King. I mean, okay, he bites him, but that's more a sign of Goku's refusal to give up than anything else. And compare the number of blows Goku has landed on Piccolo up to now with nothing to really show for it, whereas all Piccolo had to do to almost completely defeat Goku was hit him TWICE. Demon King Piccolo more than lives up to the stories about him, as Goku is now learning. Even Goku's final ditch effort, a point-blank Kamehameha, isn't enough to do more than scare Piccolo momentarily, and that's for reasons completely foreign to Goku. Things couldn't possibly be looking more bleak for our little monkey boy, but you know what they say – it's not over until the fat lady sings. ...Does anyone else hear opera right now? Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: An outright loss.
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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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