Synopsis: Piccolo, Kuririn, and Gohan fret over Nappa's indestructability, with Kuririn mourning the loss of three of their friends already. Kuririn screams for Goku to hurry up and come back and help them, catching Vegeta's attention. Just who is this 'Goku' they keep calling for, he wonders. Nappa smirks and says that it's the last three's turn now, though he says he'll leave Piccolo alive to tell them about the Dragon Balls. Kuririn nervously jokes that Piccolo's lucky since they seem to think he's the only one that knows about the balls, but Piccolo says it's only a short reprieve as the Saiyans plan to kill them all anyway. Still, Kuririn is glad to have Piccolo on their side even if it's only temporary, and asks Piccolo how much confidence he has that they'll win this, to which Piccolo confesses that he has none, as he never dreamed they'd be this powerful. At Kami's sanctuary, Kami and Popo wonder where Goku is, as Kami can sense that he and Piccolo have little time left to live. Piccolo suggests that they fight Nappa on the ground as the Saiyan seems to have the advantage in the air, though Nappa thinks it won't make any difference. As Piccolo and Kuririn land and Nappa begins to come for them, Vegeta suddenly yells for Nappa to stop. Nappa asks him why, and Vegeta says there's something he wants to ask the Earthlings. He asks if this 'Son Goku' they keep mentioning is Kakarot, and Kuririn says that it is. Vegeta realizes they must have brought Kakarot back to life with the Dragon Balls, but wonders what good it will do as Kakarot wasn't even able to take on Raditz alone before. Piccolo tells them that Goku is a bad one to underestimate, and when Nappa laughs and says Kakarot is probably too scared to show up, Gohan insists that his father isn't a coward and is coming to beat them both up. Vegeta laughs at their faith, and says that they'll wait three hours for Kakarot to show up. Nappa disagrees with this idea and starts to attack again, causing Vegeta to demand that he listen to him, resulting in Nappa freezing again in fear. Reluctantly, Nappa agrees to wait the three hours. As the two groups split up, Gohan apologizes to Piccolo for failing to attack Nappa earlier, saying that he got scared. Piccolo tells him to leave then and curses his own foolishness for expecting better. Kuririn tries to defend Gohan by saying that it's his first fight, but Piccolo is already lost in his own thoughts, thinking about how scared of Vegeta that Nappa was. If Vegeta is really that much stronger than the Saiyan they already can't beat, then all hope really is lost... Over with the Saiyans, Nappa asks Vegeta why they're waiting for Kakarot. Vegeta explains that Kakarot is a traitor to their race, so he wants him to suffer and watch his remaining friends die before his very eyes – that is, if he even shows up in three hours time. Nappa praises Vegeta's plan now that he understands it, and says Vegeta can have Kakarot if he still gets to kill the other three, which Vegeta allows but reminds Nappa that they need the Namekian to talk first. Kuririn wonders what's taking Goku so long, and suggests that maybe they should just run away until he shows up, but Piccolo says that the Saiyans already plan to kill everyone on the planet anyway, so it's the choice between dying running or standing and fighting. Kuririn pleads with Goku to hurry up and be stronger than the Saiyans, as Goku is shown to still be rushing down the Serpent Road. Three hours pass, and Goku still hasn't shown up, and Vegeta says it seems they've all been stood up. Review: While the three fighters left defending the Earth are very likely the strongest ones (save for Goku who's still running late), Nappa's seeming invulnerability definitely poses a problem for them all. After two all out attacks from both Chaozu and Tenshinhan, the big brute only has a few bruises and cuts, barely even enough to actually piss him off. It's the exact sort of dire straits that forced Piccolo and Goku to team up against Raditz, and now it's pushed Piccolo to work alongside Kuririn instead – a pretty funny turn of events in-of-itself, given their own fight at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, and the slight respect that Kuririn earned from Piccolo that day. That said however, things are looking even more dire than that, as Kami seems to get the feeling that Piccolo is due to die any time now. Not only would this severely nerf our characters fighting chances, it also takes the Dragon Balls out of the equation. While Chaozu is already dead for good due to having been wished back once before, losing the Dragon Balls would mean losing the ability to bring Yamcha or Tenshinhan back to life either, not to mention anyone else that might end up dying before this fight is through. Piccolo dying would definitely push the story into the worst case scenario immediately. Which is where the three hour reprieve Vegeta gives them may just come in handy for the characters. Vegeta's offer doesn't come from a good place, he just wants to make Goku suffer for choosing Earth over returning to his Saiyan brethren, but three hours for Goku to get there and help is still three hours they didn't have before. This brief respite does more narratively than just giving Goku more time to arrive as well: it gives the characters a moment to touch base and realize just how truly bad the situation is, as Piccolo notices at last that it's been the shorter Vegeta giving the larger Nappa orders this whole time. He sees Nappa freeze up when Vegeta yells, which means he's afraid of him. Given all that Nappa can do, this absolutely builds Vegeta up as one hell of a threat, better than him being active in the series right now could ever do. It's an interesting tactic, one that Toriyama briefly used with King Piccolo, but here it comes into full form. He'll be making even greater use of this trick in a coming arc as well. For now though, it paints a big picture of just how screwed the Earth is if Goku doesn't show up soon, and if he's not even more unbelievably improved than the rest of our heroes are. When the three hours pass however, Goku still hasn't quite made it back yet, and if Kami's uneasy feeling is correct, Piccolo and he aren't long for this world... Until next time! Favorite Panel:
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September 2022
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