The gray clouds hung frozen over Papaya Island, not a breath of wind could penetrate them.
A massive ring-shaped spaceship blotted out the sky like an overturned black cauldron, sealing the entire island beneath it.
A biting, murderous chill filled the air. The surrounding seawater had been forcibly stilled by the invisible pressure, unable to raise even the slightest ripple.
The spectators had long since been evacuated. Amid the empty ruins, the remaining Z Fighters stood as though facing a great enemy.
Unable to withstand the terrifying pressure, Krillin dropped heavily to one knee on the rubble-strewn ground, gritting his teeth as he struggled to endure.
In the deathly silence, a small figure was the first to break the stalemate.
Gohan, wearing a tiger-head hat, seemed curious about the huge thing in the sky—or perhaps the untamed Saiyan nature of a newborn calf was at work.
Giggling, he wriggled free from Bulma's embrace and wobbled through the air toward the tall green figure at the very front.
"Piccolo... Uncle!" The little boy hugged the Demon King's leg and called out in a childish voice.
Piccolo stiffened all over, and an extremely unnatural expression flashed across his fierce face. He grabbed Gohan by the scruff and tossed him back into Bulma's arms as if stuffing away a parcel.
"Idiot, keep an eye on your child!"
His words were harsh, but the Demon King's broad back firmly shielded mother and son, the muscles across it taut as iron.
Bulma held her son tightly and, for once, did not argue with him.
A dull mechanical grinding sound came from midair as the hatch at the bottom of the spaceship opened wide.
More than a hundred fully armed alien soldiers poured out like locusts, forming a dense black mass as they hovered at low