After two days of travel, Goku and Wuchen arrived above a dense forest.
Deep within the forest stood a towering pillar of unknown material, its top hidden from view.
The Dragon Ball was at the pillar's base.
"Let's go down, Goku. This time, our opponent won't be easy." Wuchen slowly descended and warned him. He sensed two presences below, one of them fairly powerful.
"Let's see. Are you two my targets this time? You certainly don't look like ordinary people." The brothers had barely touched down when a shrill voice reached their ears.
The air here reeked of blood, mingling with the fresh scent of trees and grass.
Following the voice, the brothers spotted a middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache. He flicked the long braid hanging down his back and gave them a chilling half-smile.
"Dad... Dad..." A dozen or so meters to his right, a strangely dressed little boy lay beside a corpse pierced by a spear, weeping.
Several other bodies were sprawled nearby. They were dressed much like the bandits they had encountered before.
"Who are you? Did you do all this?!" Unlike Wuchen, who was carefully surveying their surroundings, Goku questioned the man outright.
"Me? I'm Tao Pai Pai, the world's strongest assassin—and the man who's about to kill you." The man clasped his hands behind his back, turned up the ends of his mustache, and wore an utterly confident smile.
"I spent the time waiting for you getting rid of an annoying mosquito. It was nothing."
This man was none other than the world's number one assassin, Tao Pai Pai.
Several days earlier, he had been invited to the Red Ribbon Army's headquarters. Last night, he had officially accepted the job of killing the brothers, Goku and Wuchen. The fee was two hundred million.
According to the information the Red Ribbon Army had given him, his targets were on their way here. He had flown in on a pillar and waited for them to arrive.
Along the way, he had also dealt with a local—a man who had wiped out the Red Ribbon Army's advance team. Not long after that, his targets had finally shown up.
"An assassin?" Tao Pai Pai's words caught Wuchen's attention.
The group trying to seize the Dragon Ball must have hired him. Had they been scared off after losing to them? Now they'd hired this so-called number one assassin to take on the brothers.
Wuchen was somewhat surprised by Tao Pai Pai, but didn't take him too seriously. The man was strong—even a little stronger than Master Roshi had been—but that was all.
What interested him more was that, as the world's number one assassin, Tao Pai Pai must have plenty of real combat experience.
"In that case, make your move. Let's see what the world's number one is made of."
"Goku, he's yours. He should be a capable fighter, so don't underestimate him." Wuchen spoke to Tao Pai Pai and Goku in turn, goading the assassin before heading straight toward the little boy in the distance.
Tao Pai Pai had been looking forward to seeing the brothers' faces contort in terror. Wuchen's casual dismissal enraged him. How dare this brat look down on him!
Tao Pai Pai shot forward, but Goku blocked his path.
"Are you really that strong? I can't tell." Goku studied Tao Pai Pai and asked earnestly.
"Are you in a hurry to die? Fine! I'll kill you first!" Goku's words only fanned Tao Pai Pai's rage, and their fated battle was about to begin.
Meanwhile, Wuchen reached the little boy and crouched beside him. "Have you heard of the Dragon Balls?" he asked softly.
He suspected that the boy and his father had once had a Dragon Ball. He just didn't know whether they knew what it was.
"Who are you?!" The boy spun around and glared at Wuchen. He had just lost his only family because of a pillar he'd happened to find.
The people who had come after them had mentioned the Dragon Balls more than once, too.
So, of course, he didn't feel the slightest bit of goodwill toward Wuchen for asking about them.
Wuchen wasn't surprised. He went on, "Gather all seven Dragon Balls, and you can summon Shenron and make a wish. Not every wish can come true, but bringing back someone who died within the past year is within Shenron's power."
"I think there's a way to bring your father back."
"Is that true?" The boy's hostility toward Wuchen eased, and a glimmer of hope lit his despairing eyes.
"The Dragon Ball is probably no longer in your hands, so I have no reason to lie to you." Wuchen spoke slowly, then looked at the spear that had pierced the boy's father.
"I don't know exactly how to bring the dead back, but I think we should pull this thing out."
The boy didn't object. He helped Wuchen remove the spear from his father.
"Will you really bring my dad back?" When someone had their one and only hope, they rarely questioned whether it was real.
The boy believed what Wuchen had said about the Dragon Balls and Shenron. Now he looked at him nervously.
Wuchen nodded. "Your father isn't the only one who's suffered because of the Dragon Balls. Many innocent people have been caught up in this, too. Once I've gathered the Dragon Balls, I'll wish for all of them to be brought back."
"Can you tell me what happened?"
That was how Wuchen first gained the boy's trust and learned a great deal from him.
The boy was named Upa. He and his father, Bora, protected this sacred place—Karin Sacred Land.
They were also the guardians of Korin Tower, the pillar that reached into the clouds.
The father and son had found the Dragon Ball by chance. They didn't know where it came from, but it had brought trouble to them. A group of armed men had come for it, intent on killing them both.
Upa's father had killed those men, but Tao Pai Pai arrived soon afterward and killed him.
Wuchen also gave Upa a rough explanation of who he and Goku were, focusing on why they had come here. That further eased Upa's suspicions.
After that, the two of them turned their attention to Goku and Tao Pai Pai's fight.
"Go, Goku! Beat the bad guy!" Upa even began cheering Goku on, his heart in his throat.
That was right—Goku and Tao Pai Pai were fighting evenly, neither gaining the upper hand.
Wuchen felt a little helpless. Goku was stronger than Tao Pai Pai. Unless there was an overwhelming gap between him and his opponent, Goku could make any fight look even. He simply enjoyed battling.
Tao Pai Pai, on the other hand, was under increasing pressure. The kid facing him was like a machine that never needed to rest—and he was getting stronger by the moment.
His fighting skills kept improving. Goku was treating him like a whetstone!
"Damn it!" Tao Pai Pai shouted and opened up some distance. He took out a Hoi-Poi Capsule and pressed its button. A razor-sharp broadsword appeared out of nowhere.
Seeing this, Goku took the Power Pole from his back.
Sword met staff. Every clash rang out shrilly, sometimes sending sparks flying.
There was no denying that Tao Pai Pai was skilled with his sword. His attacks were fierce, and he left few openings. He was a master swordsman.
Unfortunately, Goku's staff was no ordinary weapon, either. He easily blocked Tao Pai Pai's fierce attacks, in no hurry to land a decisive blow. He kept the fight even.
Goku was using the fight to hone his skills, whether or not he knew it. Perhaps that was why he loved battling.
No matter how strong his opponent was, Goku could always grow and learn in a fight. In the end, he would surpass his opponent—and himself.
That was why Wuchen simply watched in silence, without urging him on. A killer as experienced in combat as Tao Pai Pai was rare sparring practice.
"Crack!" Tao Pai Pai still hadn't tired from the intense fight, but his prized sword couldn't take it any longer. It snapped with a sharp sound!
"Come on, use all your strength!" Seeing this, Goku put away the Power Pole and resumed his fighting stance.
"Ah!!! You brat!" Goku's serious yet dismissive attitude finally drove Tao Pai Pai over the edge.
"Dodon Ray!" A golden beam shot from Tao Pai Pai's fingertip straight toward Goku's face!
"Arrogant little brat! Die!" Tao Pai Pai had absolute confidence in his signature move.
But the next second, he froze, his mind going completely blank.
Goku simply swung his hand, and the Dodon Ray Tao Pai Pai was so proud of went flying off, felling a swath of trees and raising a cloud of dust.
Goku, however, looked completely unharmed. He stared straight at Tao Pai Pai, as if waiting to see what he would do next.
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