Dragon Ball Acquired!

"Emperor Pilaf, please calm your anger. We also uncovered an important piece of news that we haven't had the chance to report yet."

Seeing their Emperor shocking himself whenever he got worked up, Mai and Shu panicked, each scrambling to claim credit.

"Yes, yes, Mai is right! Emperor Pilaf, we found out that those two brats with tails seem to be the grandchildren of some guy named Sun Wufan!"

"Shut up, Shu! Emperor Pilaf, don't listen to Shu's nonsense. The real news we uncovered is that those people competing with us for the Dragon Balls have their next target set on Mount Fry-Pan. Isn't there a Dragon Ball there?"

"Emperor Pilaf, they already have five Dragon Balls. As soon as they get the one from Mount Fry-Pan, we can just snatch them away. Combined with the one-star ball we have, we'll have collected them all."

Hearing this, the charred Emperor Pilaf broke into a smile and set the two down. "Very good. You two keep monitoring them and find an opportunity to snatch all the Dragon Balls for me!"

The two quickly agreed and gave their word.

"Bang! Crash!" Just then, the window shattered, a gust of wind surged in, and a figure suddenly appeared, staring coldly at the trio.

"Hand over the Dragon Ball, and I can let bygones be bygones regarding last night." Like a true villain, Wuchen wore a grim expression, exerting immense pressure on the three.

"It's him! How? Didn't we shake him off?"

"Yeah, why is he here?" Mai and Shu spoke instinctively, infuriating Pilaf. "Useless fools! You actually led the enemy right here!"

"Hold it," Wuchen waved his hand, signaling them to stop bickering. Once the trio turned their attention to him, Wuchen took two steps forward, again exerting heavy pressure, before saying, "You should have a Dragon Ball in your possession. Where is it?"

"You—don't come any closer!" The three scrambled back into a corner. After the initial panic, they each pulled out a Hoi-Poi Capsule and threw them to the ground. "Boom!" After a burst of smoke, three mechs of varying shapes, each seven or eight meters tall, appeared out of thin air.

Fortunately, the castle had been built with future renovations in mind, leaving enough space; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to house these three machines.

As one of the top inventors in the Dragon Ball world, Pilaf's capabilities were not to be underestimated.

"Puppets? Interesting." Looking at the three towering mechs, Wuchen smiled slightly. He didn't move, simply waiting quietly for his opponents to initiate the attack.

"Mai, Shu, flank him from both sides and surround him. Don't let him escape!" Pilaf quickly formulated a battle plan, forming a triangular formation to pin Wuchen down.

Seeing Wuchen standing perfectly still, Pilaf assumed he was stunned and immediately ordered Mai and Shu to attack. He himself waited for the right moment, ready to deliver a fatal blow!

"Brat, no matter how skilled you are, you're no match for the combat mechs secretly developed by Emperor Pilaf!"

"That's right!" Charging at Wuchen from two directions, Shu and Mai looked as if they intended to crush him into paste.

Yet, Wuchen shifted his body slightly, and both mechs' attacks missed. Although they turned in time to avoid colliding with each other, they destroyed most of the room's furnishings.

"Idiots! Idiots!" Pilaf stomped his feet in rage. These two useless fools! The brat hadn't even really moved, and they still couldn't hit him. Truly pathetic.

Unable to help himself, Pilaf thought, If I do it myself, I can succeed. Spotting an opening, Pilaf charged out in his mech. The massive mechanical arms unfolded, aiming for Wuchen, and the mech's palms slammed together in a pancake-smashing maneuver.

"Clap!" The mechanical palms crashed together, but before Pilaf could even laugh, he saw Wuchen appear right in front of him, raising a fist outside the cockpit's window.

Strike at the leader first. With a flash of golden light, Wuchen slammed a Diamond Fist into the window, shattering it instantly. Pilaf was snatched out like a chick, his neck gripped tightly by Wuchen, who was only half a head taller than him.

"Take one more step forward, and I'll crush his neck!" Wuchen used Pilaf as a bargaining chip to hold off Mai and Shu. "Get out here!"

Seeing Pilaf's face turning purple as he struggled to breathe, Mai and Shu lost their nerve. They scrambled out of their mechs and begged for mercy:

"Please, spare Emperor Pilaf."

"Kill me instead, just don't hurt Emperor Pilaf!"

"Quite loyal, aren't you?" Wuchen was slightly moved, but he tightened his grip, turning Pilaf's face a liver-like shade.

"Emperor Pilaf!" Mai and Shu cried out in unison, but dared not move.

"Turn your puppets back into capsules and hand over the Dragon Ball!" Yes, besides the Dragon Ball, Wuchen was quite curious about these 'puppets' and wanted them for himself.

Though they didn't understand what he meant by puppets, they grasped his intent. They immediately told Wuchen, "Release Emperor Pilaf, and we'll give you the mechs and the Dragon Ball. Otherwise, you won't get anything."

"You are no threat to me. I could easily kill you all and find the Dragon Ball at my leisure. I simply don't want to waste time. Don't waste any more of it!" Wuchen grew impatient, holding Pilaf with one hand while gathering a fireball in the other!

"Whoosh!" A burst of flame erupted, and the mech Pilaf had been piloting was reduced to a charred wreck.

After Wuchen displayed his firepower, Mai and Shu didn't dare hesitate. It turned out the guy really just didn't want to waste time searching.

They immediately turned their mechs back into capsules. Mai then went to Pilaf's usual chair, fumbled around, and pressed a button. A pedestal rose from the floor, holding an exquisite small box.

Mai opened the box and took out an object: a golden sphere with a red star. It was indeed the Dragon Ball.

With the Dragon Ball revealed, Wuchen released Pilaf and walked toward Mai. He wasn't afraid of them going back on their word; his only concern was finding the ball, not their combat power or resistance.

Mai had no intention of resisting. She handed over the two Hoi-Poi Capsules and the Dragon Ball to Wuchen.

She and Shu then rushed to Pilaf's side to help him up. "Emperor Pilaf, are you alright?" Pilaf seemed mostly fine, only muttering weakly, "My... Dragon Ball..."

"I'll spare you this time. Remember, don't let it happen again!" Since they were so cooperative, Wuchen had saved himself some trouble and was in a decent mood.

After the warning, Wuchen leaped out the window. Only one Dragon Ball remained. It was time to regroup with Goku and the others.

Wuchen began to sense the marks he had left on Goku and Oolong.

"Separated?" It didn't matter until he sensed it, but he discovered the two marks had split up, though they weren't far apart. However, one of the marks was becoming difficult to track—it was so faint it was about to vanish!

"What on earth happened!"