Tapion's Grief and Indignation; Tarble Returns After Catching a Thief

Just at this moment.

Tapion noticed the colossal entity in the sky suddenly look behind him, its mouth opening and closing as a majestic voice resonated.

"The first wish has been granted!"

"Two wishes remain; please make your next wish quickly!"

Seeing this, Tapion realized that the words spoken by this unknown creature in the sky were not directed at him.

The entity's actions clearly indicated that there were others present at the scene.

Realizing this, he felt a sudden jolt of shock.

He whipped his head around, only to see several strangers dressed in peculiar attire standing behind him.

In an instant, his pupils constricted sharply.

Who were they?

Just as he was filled with confusion, he saw a tall man in an orange gi, standing near the front, suddenly look up and shout, "Shenron, we'll only make one wish this time; save the remaining wishes for next time!"

Far away on North Kai Planet, North Kai: What the stars!

I knew you were unreliable, you brat!!

Shenron?

Tapion looked back up at the massive creature in the sky, his brow furrowed.

He found the name "Shenron" to be completely unfamiliar.

Shenron...

What on earth was going on?

High in the sky, Earth Shenron nodded its dragon head slowly after hearing Son Goku's words.

"I understand!"

"Until we meet again!"

As soon as the words fell, Earth Shenron transformed into a blinding light. The Dragon Balls on the ground followed the radiance into the sky, eventually forming a rapidly spinning sphere of light.

Immediately after, the sphere erupted with an even more brilliant glow, then suddenly shot out seven meteor-like streaks of light in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished from sight.

At the same time, the sky returned to its clear, sunny state.

The intense light forced Tapion to squint his eyes once more.

After adjusting slightly, he looked at Son Goku and the others with immediate vigilance and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you people?"

"Why am I here?"

By now, he had realized that he had been released from the box by this group of people.

As for how they managed it, he guessed it likely had something to do with that unknown creature from moments ago.

Facing the interrogation, Son Goku sensed that Tapion posed no threat and walked closer with a smile.

"You're the hero Tapion, right?"

"I'm Son Goku, the Saiyan Son Goku!"

"And I'm the one who rescued you from the box."

Upon hearing this, Tapion suppressed the anger in his heart and stopped Son Goku from coming any closer.

"Don't come any closer!"

"I'm asking you, where did you hear my name, and where did you get this box?"

"And how did you know I was sealed inside this box?"

Seeing this reaction, Son Goku felt a bit bewildered.

He didn't understand why the man was so angry all of a sudden.

However, he stopped as requested and replied truthfully, "The box was... uh, what was that guy's name again..."

Unable to recall it for a moment, he couldn't be bothered to think about it and turned to ask Vegeta.

"Hey, Vegeta, what was that old man's name again?"

"That sneaky old man is called Hoi!"

"Kakarot, you're such an idiot, you can't even remember a name!"

"Thanks, Vegeta!"

With Vegeta's reluctant reminder, Son Goku finally remembered the name of that pink-clad old man.

Turning his head to relay the message to Tapion, he saw that the man's face was etched with fury.

"Huh?"

"Why do you look so upset?"

Hearing this, Tapion could no longer suppress the rage in his heart and roared, "Damn it!"

"Why did you help him?"

"Why did you meddle in things that didn't concern you?"

"Why did you rescue me from that music box?"

"How could you be so foolish as to believe his words?"

"You have no idea what will happen now that you've set me free!"

"You have no idea!"

"You... you have no idea..."

By the end of his tirade, his voice had weakened significantly.

He knew that the people before him were completely ignorant of the situation and that their decision to save him had been born of good intentions.

However, he would have preferred to do without such kindness.

Watching him shift from manic to dejected, Son Goku and the others were utterly bewildered.

They had saved him out of the goodness of their hearts, and not only did they not receive a "thank you," but they were also met with a harsh scolding?

How could this man be so ungrateful!

Tapion slumped to the ground in despair, whispering to himself, "So, this day has finally come..."

"It seems my past fears are about to become reality..."

"No!"

"If he was able to pinpoint these people to help him, that means my younger brother has already..."

"Damn it!"

The thought that Minotia might have already perished filled him with unbearable grief.

In the next second, the realization that the monster sealed within him might be unleashed to wreak havoc on the world caused a surge of fury to ignite in his heart.

For a moment, he was overcome with both sorrow and rage.

Thud!

Thud!

"Damn it!"

"I won't let you get away with this!"

Tapion struck the ground twice in frustration, let out a roar, and quickly scrambled to his feet, turning to flee the area.

He felt no gratitude toward Son Goku and the others, only anger.

It was the anger one feels toward the ignorant.

Right now, he had no interest in dealing with these trivial matters; he only wanted to find a secluded place to contemplate a strategy.

However.

Just as he took a step to run away, he suddenly noticed two figures appearing before him.

To be precise, it was a young man wearing the same attire as Son Goku, holding another figure clad in black robes.

His brow furrowed instantly, yet he had no intention of stopping.

He pivoted on his heel, changing direction, determined to leave this place.

But before he could take two steps, as he passed the person who had just appeared, a single sentence reached his ears, causing him to freeze in his tracks.

"Where do you think you're running to?"

"The culprit is right here; don't you want to take revenge with your own hands?"

The person who spoke was none other than Tarble.

And the man he was holding was none other than Hoi, the wizard who had snuck away earlier.

"Tarble, you're finally back!" Son Goku exclaimed with delight the moment he saw Tarble return.

The next second.

He also saw the person Tarble was holding, though the man was facing downward, hiding his face.

Still, he recognized him as Hoi, the old man who had slipped away.

"Huh?"

"Tarble, isn't that the old man who ran off earlier?"

Hearing this, Tarble nodded. "That's right, it's that old geezer."

"I never took my eyes off him from the very beginning."

"Just now, while your attention was focused on Shenron helping to open the box, he used a special technique to slip away the moment the box opened."

"Fortunately, I kept my guard up and memorized his energy signature."

"Otherwise, I might not have been able to catch him!"