Yajirobe

Goku and his companions returned to Kame House. Aside from Goku, Master Roshi, Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien Shinhan were all training intensively, each preparing for the coming crisis. Krillin looked at Goku and asked curiously, "Goku, why don't you seem nervous at all? Everyone's training hard. Aren't you worried?"

Goku smiled and replied, "Well, it's not like I'm not nervous, but I've got my own plans." He knew that although King Piccolo was dangerous, defeating him outright now might not be the best choice. Piccolo Jr., whom King Piccolo would produce after reviving, would become a powerful warrior—and could also become his son's companion and free "babysitter."

Cymbal held the Dragon Radar and carefully followed the bright dot on it. After confirming that the target was nearby, a smile curled across his lips. "It's here!" Following the radar's directions, he quickly spotted a plump sword-bearing warrior on the ground—Yajirobe. A Dragon Ball hung around Yajirobe's neck.

Cymbal flew down in front of Yajirobe and said darkly, "Hand over the Dragon Ball, or I'll chop you into eight pieces!"

Hearing the voice, Yajirobe glanced at Cymbal. Rather than panicking, he stared at Cymbal's enormous body. "With a body that big, you'd definitely taste great grilled." He swallowed, completely ignoring Cymbal's threat.

Enraged at being ignored, Cymbal immediately lunged at Yajirobe! The instant Cymbal reached him, Yajirobe sneered and struck like lightning, unleashing his special move, Quick Draw Slash. In an instant, he cut Cymbal in two at the waist.

Looking at the fallen Cymbal, Yajirobe happily skewered the chunks of meat and set them over the fire. As the aroma spread, he took a bite and grinned. "Smells amazing!"

In the dark hall of the airship, King Piccolo suddenly opened his eyes. His face darkened, his fists clenched, and intense killing intent churned around him. Just then, he had clearly sensed Cymbal's presence vanish. That meant his child had been killed. Piccolo's rage rose further, and an immense pressure enveloped the entire airship, making even the surrounding air tremble.

Pilaf cautiously approached while fawningly saying, "What a bother. Cymbal, he... he was such a good person... How exactly did he die?"

Piccolo snorted and snapped, "Shut up! What could mortals like you possibly understand? Cymbal was a good child. His death is a humiliation I cannot tolerate!"

Pilaf immediately fell silent, his skin going pale with fear. King Piccolo looked at him coldly, killing intent flashing in his eyes, then gave the order. "Pilaf, immediately take the airship to where Cymbal disappeared! I will make the murderer who killed Cymbal repay the debt in blood!"

Pilaf and his men immediately followed his orders, starting the airship and flying at full speed toward the place where Cymbal had died. Piccolo sat upon his throne, his gaze icy and his killing intent soaring to the heavens. In his heart, he swore to make whoever dared oppose him pay a painful price.

At Kame House, everyone gathered nervously. Master Roshi said, "King Piccolo is incredibly powerful. I'm afraid it'll be difficult for us alone to fight him. But if we can gather all seven Dragon Balls, perhaps we can use Shenron's power to destroy him." Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu nodded in agreement.

Thus, Master Roshi, Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu immediately decided to set off, taking a plane around the world to search for the Dragon Balls. Before leaving, Master Roshi instructed Krillin and Yamcha to remain at Kame House.

Krillin looked uneasily at the sky and nodded solemnly. "Master Mutai, you must be careful."

Flying on the Somersault Cloud, Goku closed his eyes and focused, relaxing his mind as he sensed the fluctuations of every presence on Earth. A moment later, he sensed a demonic presence suddenly vanish.

"Hm? Could that have been... Yajirobe?" Goku guessed that Cymbal might have been taken out by Yajirobe.

He also sensed a powerful demonic aura moving toward Yajirobe. King Piccolo is going to kill Yajirobe himself. I'd better go stop him.

Goku urged the Somersault Cloud onward, increasing its speed once more as the wind howled past his ears.

He jumped off the Somersault Cloud and landed in front of Yajirobe. Yajirobe was tending a fire, grilling a huge piece of meat that filled the air with a rich aroma. Sniffing eagerly, Goku walked over, tore off a piece of meat, and began eating it in huge bites.

Seeing a stranger run over and rudely eat his meat, Yajirobe immediately flew into a rage. He glared at Goku and shouted, "Hey! Who are you? Why are you stealing my meat?"

Still chewing, Goku smiled and said, "Yajirobe, this meat smells so good that I couldn't help taking a bite! You're really good at grilling! Oh, right, I'm Goku!"

Yajirobe sized Goku up and asked suspiciously, "Goku? How do you know my name? Have we met before?"

Goku answered with a grin, "Nope, but I heard you're really strong! You took down that monster just now, didn't you?" As he spoke, Goku reached out and tore off another piece of meat to keep eating.

Yajirobe snorted smugly. "Of course! Don't let his size fool you. He wasn't all that strong."

Goku smiled faintly and said casually, "Yeah, but his boss isn't some ordinary guy. He already knows you killed his subordinate, and he's rushing over in a rage to deal with you personally."

Yajirobe snorted dismissively. "Tch, what boss? When he gets here, I'll take care of him with one slash too! Once I chop him down, I'll grill him and eat him just the same!"

Hearing Yajirobe's confidence, Goku thought, This guy really isn't afraid of anything. Fine, I'll let King Piccolo teach him a lesson.

Goku patted his stomach and stood up, saying innocently, "All right, then. I'll sit here and wait to see how you deal with his boss."

Master Roshi took Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu through snow-covered mountain ranges in their aircraft, finally stopping before a massive iceberg. Looking at the Dragon Radar, Master Roshi pointed at the iceberg and smiled. "The Dragon Ball is inside there."

Tien Shinhan smiled slightly at that, raised his hand to gather his energy, and unleashed the powerful Ki Cannon Technique with a low shout. A huge beam shot toward the iceberg. With a tremendous roar, the iceberg was blasted directly into fragments, ice and snowflakes swirling through the air.

Looking at the iceberg that had been effortlessly shattered, Master Roshi sighed in admiration. "You're truly incredible. That power is far from ordinary."

After the ice and snow settled, Master Roshi stepped forward and carefully searched through the broken ice. Before long, he found the Dragon Ball. He picked it up, brushed away the icy chips, and said excitedly, "Found it! This is the first Dragon Ball we've found!"

Master Roshi, Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu found the location of the next Dragon Ball indicated by the Dragon Radar. It was actually on a huge pirate ship.

After the three boarded the ship, they saw the pirate captain sitting on a throne. Master Roshi smiled politely and said, "Could you part with that ball for us?"

Hearing this, the pirate captain rubbed the Dragon Ball in his hand and sneered. "Sure. Give me a million in exchange."

Master Roshi took out his wallet and searched through it for a long time, only to discover that he had just a few dozen left. He sighed helplessly. "Oh dear, we don't have that much money."

The pirate captain's expression darkened. He coldly made a gesture, and all his men immediately raised their guns, aiming their barrels at Master Roshi and the other two. Master Roshi shook his head helplessly. "I don't really like using violence."

The pirate captain scoffed at that and gave the order without hesitation. "Fire!"

In an instant, gunfire erupted. Bullets rained down on Master Roshi and the others, kicking up a massive cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the pirates were astonished to find that every bullet was floating in midair, suspended before the three of them without harming them in the slightest.

Chiaotzu had used his psychic powers from the side, freezing every bullet in midair. The next moment, he lightly waved his hand, and all the bullets flew back in the opposite direction, striking the pirates' legs with precision. Cries of pain immediately filled the air as the pirates collapsed one after another.

Seeing this, the pirate captain's face turned pale. He hastily handed the Dragon Ball to Master Roshi with both hands and stammered, "D-Don't attack! Take the Dragon Ball! Just take it!"

Master Roshi lightly patted the pirate captain on the shoulder and smiled. "Wouldn't it have been better if you'd done that from the start?" The three took the Dragon Ball and turned to leave the pirate ship.