First Encounter

On Lin Yuan's way back to West City, an unexpected scene unfolded in the World Martial Arts Tournament's lounge.

Inside the lounge, Master Roshi was explaining to everyone just how terrifying King Piccolo was when he was interrupted by a violent coughing fit.

"Cough, cough..."

As everyone looked on in confusion, Krillin, who had already "died," gradually regained the light in his eyes before breaking into a violent fit of coughing.

"Krillin!"

Seeing signs of life from Krillin, everyone hurriedly gathered around him, asking with concern how he was feeling.

After Krillin had recovered for a while, Master Roshi suggested that they act together from now on, and everyone agreed.

From their discussion, they learned that King Piccolo likely had two objectives.

The first was to collect the Dragon Balls, and the second was to kill the powerful martial artists of the world.

In other words, everyone in their group might be a target of King Piccolo. During such a dangerous time, it was best to avoid being alone whenever possible.

Thus, everyone headed together to the small island where Master Roshi lived to discuss what to do next.

In a forest, a tailed child was enduring hunger as he searched everywhere for something to fill his stomach.

This child was Goku, who had lost to Tambourine because he was hungry.

Before long, Goku caught the scent of roasted meat.

Following the smell, he found a large wild grilled fish. Without giving it much thought, he immediately grabbed it and began gnawing on it.

After eating and drinking his fill, Goku patted his round belly and let out a satisfied burp.

"Wow! That was really delicious! All right, time to keep looking for the Dragon Balls."

Goku muttered to himself as he took the Dragon Radar from his waist.

He pressed the switch, and the radar's screen lit up.

"Huh?"

Goku widened his eyes and brought the radar close to his face.

"Why is this Dragon Ball overlapping with me?"

That meant the Dragon Ball was nearby—within a range of a dozen meters or so.

Goku turned his body and looked around.

Just then, a chubby figure suddenly lunged at Goku. Goku reacted quickly and dodged to the side.

"Why did you attack me for no reason?"

Goku warily stared at the fat man who had ambushed him.

Yajirobe looked utterly innocent.

"You ate my grilled fish. What do you think?"

"You're lying. The grilled fish was already here when I arrived. It wasn't yours at all!"

Goku retorted with disbelief written all over his face.

"Does your grilled fish skewer and roast itself?"

Yajirobe was speechless. Was this kid really stupid or just pretending to be?

That seemed right... Goku suddenly realized that the fat man was correct!

Just then, one of King Piccolo's subordinates, Cymbal, followed the Dragon Ball to find the two of them.

The moment he saw the Dragon Ball on Yajirobe, his eyes gleamed.

He immediately threatened Yajirobe to hand it over.

Realizing that the newcomer meant trouble, Yajirobe went straight for it! He killed him with a single slash.

Then he and Goku started a fire and roasted Cymbal to eat.

Far away, when King Piccolo sensed that his son Cymbal had died, he was instantly enraged. He had just gone through the effort of giving birth to him, and someone had killed him so quickly?

"Tambourine, Cymbal is dead. Go kill whoever murdered Cymbal immediately! Go at once! The location is..."

King Piccolo transmitted his voice to Tambourine in his mind.

"Yes, Lord King Piccolo!"

Meanwhile, on the other side, Master Roshi's group decided to move their residence to an uninhabited island first. Then Master Roshi, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Krillin, and the others decided to search for the Dragon Balls.

They did not know what King Piccolo wanted the Dragon Balls for, but they certainly could not let him have his way.

Just after Goku and Yajirobe finished eating the roasted dragon, another unwelcome guest arrived.

It was none other than Tambourine, who had defeated Goku earlier.

Goku had eaten and drunk his fill, and fueled by his rage to avenge Krillin, he defeated Tambourine in under ten moves.

"Couldn't tell you were this strong, Goku."

Yajirobe said approvingly.

Goku also praised Yajirobe. He genuinely thought the fat man was formidable. If Yajirobe could kill Cymbal with a single slash, his strength was definitely no less than Goku's own.

Yajirobe found it a little strange and asked, "Why do they always manage to find us?"

Goku pointed at the Dragon Ball around Yajirobe's neck.

"As long as you're carrying that, they can find you."

...After their brief conversation, Yajirobe finally understood the whole story.

Meanwhile, King Piccolo had arrived not far from them.

Goku and Yajirobe both sensed a powerful, evil ki.

"Goku, I don't want this glass bead anymore. Here, take it. Bye-bye~~"

Once Yajirobe learned that the other side had come for the Dragon Ball, he decisively took it off and handed it to Goku before making a run for it.

Before long, a jet plane hovered above Goku's head.

Goku was certain the enemy was inside. It was an evil energy unlike anything he had ever encountered—powerful enough to make him feel suffocated.

Goku stared fixedly at the plane as its hatch opened.

A tall green figure slowly descended.

A large character for "Demon" was printed on his purple clothes. His skin was dark green, two antennae grew from his head, and wrinkles covered his body.

It was King Piccolo!

"Hey! Are you the boss of those bad guys who killed Krillin? Tell me!"

Goku blurted out.

King Piccolo ignored Goku and muttered to himself.

"You have a Dragon Ball on you. It looks like you're the one who killed my sons."

"Damn it, you really are with them. I'll never forgive you! I'll defeat you and avenge Krillin!"

Seeing that the other man had also come for the Dragon Ball, Goku became certain that he was part of the same group as Tambourine and the others.

When he heard the little brat in front of him say he would defeat him, King Piccolo burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha! It seems you don't know how formidable I, King Piccolo, am. Fine. Warriors like you are people I'll kill off sooner or later anyway."

Unable to hold back any longer, Goku attacked first. He moved in a blur straight in front of Piccolo and threw a punch.

So fast!

Piccolo was secretly startled. Before his body could react, Goku's iron fist struck him squarely.

Goku pressed the advantage, his fists and legs striking Piccolo again and again. He drove Piccolo back step by step, leaving him with no chance to retaliate.

"Yah!"

Goku launched himself into a flying kick, sending Piccolo flying.

With a bang, Piccolo crashed heavily onto the ground, then slowly climbed back to his feet.

"Ahahaha, I never thought there would be someone in this world capable of knocking me down. No wonder you were able to kill Tambourine."

As he spoke, Piccolo removed his heavy outer cape and tossed it aside.

"Now, I'll use my true strength. Consider yourself fortunate—you'll die at the hands of King Piccolo."

"I'm not afraid of you!"

Goku shouted, then forcefully kicked off the ground, shooting toward King Piccolo like a cannonball.

"Too slow."

Piccolo said disdainfully. As he dodged, he chopped at Goku's neck with the edge of his hand.

Goku nimbly twisted in midair, flicking his tail to change direction and barely avoiding the strike.

The moment he landed, he spun around.

"Kamehameha!"

At close range, Goku suddenly charged up, dazzling blue light gathering between his palms.

King Piccolo's pupils contracted slightly. He clearly hadn't expected this little brat to unleash an attack of this level so quickly.

"Boom!"

The energy wave struck Piccolo squarely in the chest, kicking up a cloud of smoke and dust.

Goku panted heavily as he backed away several steps, his eyes fixed on the center of the smoke.

However, when the dust settled, King Piccolo was still standing in the same spot. Only a large hole had been blasted through his clothes, revealing the completely unscathed green skin beneath.

"H-How is that possible?!" Goku said in shock.

Piccolo vanished from where he stood.

Before Goku could react, a sharp pain tore through his abdomen—Piccolo's fist had already sunk deep into his stomach.

Goku's eyes bulged, drool spilling uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth as his entire body bent into an arc.

"Too weak."

Piccolo said coldly, then sent Goku flying dozens of meters into the air with a snapping kick.

Goku curled up in agony midair. Before he could adjust his posture, Piccolo had already appeared above him, clasped his hands into fists, and smashed them viciously into Goku's back.

"Ah!"

Goku let out a miserable scream and plummeted toward the ground like a meteor, blasting a massive crater into the hard earth.

Goku lay at the bottom of the crater, feeling as though every bone in his body had shattered. His mouth was filled with the taste of blood, and his gaze gradually lost focus.

Piccolo slowly descended to the edge of the crater, looking down at the dying Goku. Raising a hand, he fired an energy blast.

"Boom!!"

When the smoke cleared, Goku lay in the deep crater without a trace of breath left in him. King Piccolo removed the Dragon Ball from Goku's body and returned to the jet.

Shortly after King Piccolo left, rain began to fall from the sky.

Yajirobe, who had been hiding behind a rock the whole time, came over to Goku's side. He muttered, "Seriously, who did you have to mess with? Why'd you pick King Piccolo? I feel sorry for you, so I'll dig you a grave and bury you."

Just as he reached out to pick Goku up, he heard—though he wasn't sure whether it was an illusion—Goku's heart beat once more...