Synopsis: King Piccolo is overjoyed to have his youth and full power restored to him, as are the Pilaf gang and his attendant. Shenlong bids the Demon King farewell, but Piccolo says there's going to b ea change this time around, and quickly fires an energy blast from his mouth, catching Shenlong full on with the blast and killing him, much to the horror of a watching Tenshinhan and Pilaf gang. Piccolo laughs again and says that now, with the Dragon Balls also taken out of the equation, nothing can ever threaten his life ever again. At Karin's tower, Yajirobe notices the sky getting bright again, and Goku checks the radar to discover the Dragon Ball signals are gone, indicating that a wish really was made. Still though, he can't figure out what someone as strong as Piccolo would even wish for... As Yajirobe and Goku get out of the car, Upa spots Goku and runs over to greet his friend before shouting to his father that Goku has come back. Yajirobe reminds Goku that he was promised a feast, but Goku talks to Upa and Bora first who are surprised to see that he's injured. Back on Pilaf's airship, Piccolo boasts that he's now ready to take over the world, and orders the ship to be flown to the King's castle, boldly declaring that the world will now be remade in his evil image. Pilaf interrupts Piccolo's declarations to congratulate him and remind him about their previous discussions about what Pilaf might receive as payment for helping him. Piccolo tells his attendant to take over the helm and send Shu and Mai up to join Pilaf, and Pilaf is overjoyed, thinking they're about to receive payment for their work. Piccolo however tells them to leave as he no longer has any use for them. Pilaf objects and says they're the ones that resurrected him in the first place, but Piccolo tells them they can either leave immediately or receive death as their payment. Horrified and left with no choice, the Pilaf gang leap from the airship while it's still in the air. Bora, having been told what's going on by Goku, thinks Piccolo sounds incredibly powerful, and Goku says he came back to ask Karin about training him again. Bora thinks Goku will never make it back up the tower in his condition however, and Goku says Yajirobe will be more than capable of carrying him up the tower. Yajirobe refuses, saying he only came here for food, and Goku tells him the food is at the top of the tower. Yajirobe doubts him, but when Goku tells him about the senzu, Yajirobe is somewhat intrigued and realizes he has no choice. He tells Goku to hang onto his back, and Bora offers to help them out as well. The Pilaf gang is shown to have survived the fall, albeit injured, as Mai asks Pilaf if they're really as pathetic as all this, prompting Pilaf to tell her to shut up. Review: Of all the surprises the arc has thrown at us this far, I think Piccolo killing Shenlong might be the most shocking one of all. It's arguably the most shocking moment in the entire manga when you stop and think about it really. At this point, the Dragon Balls are still billed as having no real limits. If you gather all seven of them, any one wish you have, no matter what it is, will be granted without caveat. We've seen them bring people back to life before, so we already know that using them to revive everyone that dies in this arc is fully possible (to be fair, we've only really seen it bring a solitary person to life, but it's safe enough to assume with the context of the series up until now that bringing back multiple people won't be a problem either). Piccolo may have gotten his wish, which sets things back a full year, but that's plenty of time for the characters to grow stronger, do something about Piccolo, and then use the balls to set things right at the end of the day. ...But then Piccolo kills the dragon. There was absolutely nothing in the series up until now to suggest Shenlong was even “alive” in any traditional sense, or that it was even possible to touch him, much less kill him. But Piccolo blows him away almost like it's an afterthought, complete with Shenlong's arm falling to the ground with a physical thud before it finally fades away. This is completely mind-blowing, and changes the game moving forward. Despite the series being called 'Dragon Ball', it looks like we don't even have those titular objects moving forward. There's no way to wish people back. There's no way to wish away Piccolo. And seemingly, nobody is left that knows how to use the Mafuba. The world is now Piccolo's oyster to do with as he wishes, and he knows it too. Out of everything we've come to in the series so far, this is the moment that I most feel must have had audiences on the edge of their seats back when it first hit, because it's really hard to try and guess where the story would go from here if you don't already know. The rest of the chapter keeps any guesses on that pretty close to it's vest as well. Tenshinhan's still laying on the ground, unable to move. Goku has arrived at Karin's tower, which seems somewhat hopeful, but there's really no hints given as to what he could really achieve there that will bring him any closer to Piccolo's power than he already is. Everything is left completely up in the air. That includes the Pilaf gang, at least briefly, as they're completely ditched by Piccolo and the story at this point. Poor rubes. They kickstarted the series, and they kickstarted this franchise-changing arc, but this is the very last time they're seen in the original manga. There's a few more filler appearances yet to cover, but as far as the 'canon' material goes, the trio won't re-surface until Battle of Gods many, many decades down the line. Thanks for all the laughs, Pilaf trio. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Piccolo's Insurrection Day
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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
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