King Piccolo Suffered a Setback

Before long, King Piccolo's Airship arrived above Yajirobe. Pilaf reported to Piccolo, "My lord, we've arrived." King Piccolo opened his eyes and gave a chilling smile. "Good."

When Yajirobe saw the Airship overhead, with a huge "Demon" emblazoned on it, he suddenly remembered the legends of King Piccolo he had heard as a child. Frozen with fear, he stammered to Goku, "W-what do we do?"

Goku looked completely unconcerned. "Didn't you say you were going to roast his boss and eat him?"

Yajirobe turned pale and said tremblingly, "I-I didn't know his boss was King Piccolo!"

Goku shrugged helplessly. "Not my problem. You talked big yourself, so even if you have to do it through tears, you'd better see it through."

King Piccolo and the Pilaf Trio stood on the Airship's terrace. Pilaf observed the ground through binoculars, and when he spotted the Dragon Ball hanging around Yajirobe's neck, his eyes immediately lit up. But the moment he noticed Son Goku beside Yajirobe, his expression changed drastically. Why is that annoying brat here too?!

Pilaf hurriedly turned to King Piccolo. "My lord, that brat is Son Goku! Should we land and take the Dragon Ball from them?"

King Piccolo snorted, his eyes full of disdain. "Land? Too troublesome." With that, he stepped onto the edge of the terrace and leaped down from the sky without hesitation, plummeting toward the ground. His huge figure carried overwhelming pressure, like a demon god descending from heaven.

Goku looked up at King Piccolo's descending figure, a smile curling across his lips. "He's finally here. Now this'll be fun." Yajirobe, meanwhile, broke out in cold sweat and involuntarily backed away several steps. Panicked, he asked Goku, "Hey, can you handle this guy?"

King Piccolo landed heavily, and the air itself seemed to freeze. He swept a cold gaze over Yajirobe and Son Goku, then fixed his eyes on the Dragon Ball around Yajirobe's neck. "Was it you who killed my child?"

Yajirobe instinctively nodded, then hurriedly tried to correct himself in a panic. "N-no... it wasn't... I didn't..."

Goku immediately added, "He killed him. I saw it myself."

Yajirobe glared at Goku furiously and roared in exasperation, "You little bastard, what nonsense are you talking about?!"

King Piccolo turned his gaze toward Goku and snorted. "Brat, who are you?"

Goku remained calm and said provocatively, "I was the one who tore off your other child's arm."

Piccolo's face darkened, fury blazing in his eyes. "Good. Two rebels gathered together—saves me the trouble of finding you separately!" With that, his aura erupted, crashing down on Goku and Yajirobe like a mountain.

Goku remained composed and slightly turned his head toward Yajirobe. "It's too late to be scared now."

Yajirobe's face went deathly pale. He swallowed hard, wondering how he had gotten himself into this mess, but he still forced himself to look calm as he gripped his sword and stood beside Goku.

King Piccolo stared coldly at Goku and Yajirobe. "It seems I've been dormant for too long. Even little brats like you dare to act insolently before me. You truly don't know the difference between life and death... Crushing you would be as easy as crushing ants."

As he spoke, dark green energy flared around his body, and a chill spread through the surroundings. Dust swirled across the ground, while the trees trembled violently. Yajirobe was shaken by the overwhelming aura. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and the hand gripping his sword hilt trembled slightly.

Piccolo charged toward Goku and Yajirobe at tremendous speed, kicking Yajirobe and sending him flying into the clouds. Piccolo instantly leaped after him and kicked him back down again. Yajirobe crashed heavily into the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust and leaving a deep crater. He curled up at the bottom of it, too badly hurt to move.

Seeing Yajirobe's miserable state, Goku recalled how Yajirobe had eaten Senzu Beans like snacks in the anime. That guy wasted so many Senzu Beans. Consider this a lesson for you.

Piccolo stared coldly at Goku, his eyes brimming with killing intent. "Brat, now it's your turn!"

Goku stood casually with his arms crossed and said lightly, "You're no match for me. You're already this old, yet you still think you can contend with me?"

King Piccolo trembled with rage and let out a furious roar, firing a blazing Demonic Light from his fingertip at Goku. It streaked past Goku without even touching his shadow. Goku was too fast, like a bolt of lightning, effortlessly dodging all of Piccolo's attacks. Piccolo's fury only grew, and he unwillingly fired dozens more Demonic Lights in succession, yet none struck their target. Each missed blast slammed into the ground, sending dust flying as though venting Piccolo's anger.

"Don't get too full of yourself, brat!" Piccolo roared as he tore off his coat, revealing the "Demon" symbol on his chest. His aura surged explosively, killing intent filling his eyes as he charged straight at Goku at astonishing speed.

Piccolo threw a powerful punch at Goku, only for Goku's body to send him flying back with a violent recoil! Piccolo was hurled dozens of meters away and crashed to the ground. He struggled to rise, but could not stop himself from coughing up blood. His eyes were filled with incredulous shock as he stammered, "Y-you... why do you have such tremendous power?!"

Goku approached Piccolo with an indifferent expression. "King Piccolo, your era is over."

King Piccolo glared at Goku, his fury mixed with deep apprehension.

"Get lost," Goku said.

As King Piccolo prepared to leave, Goku walked over to Yajirobe and swiftly removed the Dragon Ball from around his neck, tossing it to King Piccolo.

Piccolo looked down at Goku and snorted. "Hmph, brat, I never expected you to hand over the Dragon Ball willingly. Once I regain my youth, you'll regret this!"

Goku smiled carelessly and waved his hand. "Sure. Hurry up and do it, then. I'll be waiting."

Goku's attitude drove Piccolo into a boiling rage, but he knew that he could not defeat this brat before him right now. Suppressing the humiliation in his heart, Piccolo turned and flew back to the Airship. The Pilaf Trio and Piccolo's followers held their breaths when they saw him return in such low spirits, terrified of provoking him. Pilaf was drenched in cold sweat and did not dare ask questions. He hurriedly operated the Airship and accelerated away from the area.

As the Airship gradually vanished into the distance, Yajirobe slowly crawled out of the crater, clutching his waist and grimacing in pain. "Ow, this is killing me! Goku, you could obviously beat that guy, so why did you let him go?!"

Goku smiled casually. "I just like having fun. He wants to regain his youth, so I'll let him. I'm actually looking forward to seeing him get stronger."

Yajirobe looked at Goku in confusion and muttered, "You really are one weird guy."

King Piccolo sat upon the throne in the Airship, clenching his fists, his eyes burning with rage unlike anything he had felt before. Through gritted teeth, he ordered Pilaf, "Find the remaining Dragon Balls immediately, and be quick! I've had enough of waiting."

Pilaf frantically activated the Dragon Radar and scanned carefully. To his surprise, it showed that the other five Dragon Balls had already been gathered and were rapidly approaching their location. Half excited and half terrified, Pilaf reported, "M-my king, good news! The other five Dragon Balls are all together. It looks like someone else collected them, and they're coming toward us!"

Upon hearing this, Piccolo sneered, a trace of satisfaction appearing on his cold face. "Excellent! It seems heaven is helping me. I'll soon have all the Dragon Balls. Once I regain my youth, I'll go teach that Son Goku a proper lesson. I absolutely won't let him off easily!"

Meanwhile, Master Roshi, Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu were aboard a plane, flying toward their final target. The five Dragon Balls in their hands gleamed with golden light beneath the sun. Master Roshi stared at the Dragon Balls and said to the other two, "The remaining two Dragon Balls are most likely in King Piccolo's hands. As long as we can take them and summon Shenron, our wish will be for Piccolo to disappear from this world forever!"