Goku hurriedly sensed for Ki and found that Krillin was alive and well. He also couldn't sense any Ki from the Demon Clan, leaving him wondering why.
Suddenly, the sky in the distance went dark.
"Oh no! Shenron's been summoned."
Goku couldn't help blaming himself for being careless. It didn't matter whether King Piccolo revived or not, since he could destroy him with a wave of his hand. What mattered most was that they had lost one use of the Dragon Balls.
"Bulma, I have to go take care of something. Wait here for me. I'll be right back."
Without time to think further, Goku flew toward the place where Shenron had been summoned.
Time went back one month.
The Pilaf Gang found a rice cooker.
"King Pilaf, what's this rice cooker? And why is there a talisman stuck on it?"
As Shu spoke to Pilaf, he tore the talisman off.
"Don't!"
But Pilaf's warning came too late. A brilliant light appeared, and King Piccolo, who had been sealed away for hundreds of years, returned to the world.
"Hehehehe... I, King Piccolo, have finally come back to life!"
After emerging, King Piccolo threw back his head and laughed before looking at the three members of the Pilaf Gang.
"Since you released me, I'll give you a chance to live. Become my subordinates."
"Our King Pila-" Shu had just started to refuse when Pilaf clamped a hand over his mouth.
"King Piccolo, we're willing to be your subordinates." Pilaf chose to follow his heart without hesitation. Fortunately, he had stopped Shu, or the three of them might have lost their lives.
"Good. First, tell me about the current state of the world." King Piccolo felt he needed to understand the current balance of power. If someone was stronger than him, things would be difficult.
"The entire world is ruled by the Earth Kingdom now, but the one ruling the kingdom is a dog."
"Hmph, a dog ruling the Earth? Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous."
"Are there any powerful martial artists on Earth?" King Piccolo was still somewhat afraid of martial artists. One had sealed him away before.
"Yes. The most famous is Master Roshi, and another unknown one appeared some time ago. There used to be an army with the power to overthrow the kingdom called the Red Ribbon Army. Then, in a single day, the Red Ribbon Army was completely wiped out apart from a few who slipped through the net. They couldn't put up any resistance at all."
King Piccolo frowned at Pilaf's words. In that case, even if this unknown martial artist wasn't stronger than he was now, he couldn't be much weaker.
Hmm, to be safe, I'd better use the Dragon Balls to restore my youth before considering anything else.
"What? This evil Ki... Could it be King Piccolo?"
Master Roshi and the others had yet to leave. The Ki King Piccolo released after restoring his youth surprised Master Roshi.
But Master Roshi wasn't worried, because he sensed Goku flying toward King Piccolo.
With Goku's current strength, dealing with King Piccolo would be a piece of cake.
Meanwhile, the newly rejuvenated King Piccolo casually killed Shenron with a single blow, his expression somewhat grave.
After he had regained his youth, he had been unable to control the Ki surging within him, and it had burst out in an instant. Some of Earth's powerful martial artists had probably sensed it already.
I wanted to take my time and rule the era step by step. Shenron, you've led me astray!
Now I can only hope there aren't any martial artists on Earth stronger than me. Otherwise, sigh!
Fortunately, I kept a trick up my sleeve. If it comes down to it, I'll have to use that plan.
Just then, King Piccolo sensed an aura no weaker than his own flying toward him, and his expression instantly darkened.
King Piccolo watched Goku descend from the sky and land before him, only to discover that he was just a youth.
Since he was a youth, that meant he should be easier to tempt, so King Piccolo decided to give it a try.
"Young man, would you like to have endless wealth and power? Beautiful women, luxury cars and mansions, all within your reach?"
Goku couldn't help laughing. Someone with a battle power of just over 200 was asking him, someone with a battle power of three million, whether he wanted endless wealth and power?
Seeing Goku smile, King Piccolo was delighted and hurriedly said:
"Become my subordinate. Once I've conquered the world, you'll stand above everyone but me. What do you say?"
"Have you considered another possibility? After I destroy you, won't I stand above everyone?" Goku asked, smiling at King Piccolo.
King Piccolo instantly understood. This youth had never intended to become his subordinate from the beginning. He had come to kill him. As for whether he wanted to stand above everyone, that no longer mattered.
"You're too confident. What makes you think you can destroy me?" King Piccolo sneered, sensing that Goku's Ki was about the same as his own.
His opponent was just an ordinary Earthling, while his own rapid self-healing ability was enough to defeat him at equal battle power.
"Since you insist on courting death, I'll grant your wish." Before he had even finished speaking, King Piccolo pushed off the ground with both feet, lunging forward and punching at Goku.
"Pfft!"
Goku turned into an afterimage, instantly appearing in front of King Piccolo and driving a knee deep into his stomach.
King Piccolo vomited a mouthful of bitter fluid from the blow. His body broke the sound barrier in an instant and slammed into the ground.
Boom!!!
With a tremendous crash, a huge crater formed in the ground, sending up a cloud of dust.
When the dust settled, King Piccolo lay at the very center of the crater, his eyes vacant. For the moment, the blow had left him unable to fight back.
"You can sense Ki too. Did it ever occur to you that I could hide how much Ki I have?" Goku hovered in the sky, smiling down at King Piccolo.
"Damn it!"
King Piccolo gathered a large mass of energy in his hand and fired it at Goku, who knocked the energy blast upward with a swipe of his right hand.
Boom!
An explosion rang out above Goku's head, and the gust it created sent his hair fluttering in the air.
Goku instantly unleashed his Ki and charged at King Piccolo in the crater, punching him hard in the face. The tremendous force drove King Piccolo more than ten meters deeper into the ground.
Then Goku grabbed King Piccolo by the head, burst out of the ground and returned to the surface, where he punched him in the abdomen.
"Aah!"
King Piccolo flew backward. Goku quickly flew behind him and delivered a spinning kick that sent him flying even faster than before.
For a while, Goku kicked King Piccolo around in the air like a ball.
Damn it. King Piccolo struggled to his feet.
"Do you think you can beat me?" At this point, King Piccolo could barely get the words out.
"Seriously, man? You're in this state and you're still talking tough? If it were me, I'd be begging for mercy."
Goku truly hadn't expected King Piccolo to keep talking tough even now.
"Hehehe, I've planted bombs in all the major cities. The moment I die, they'll explode, killing millions. I killed Shenron too, so you can't revive the dead. You can't kill me." King Piccolo raised a hand and wiped the green blood from the corner of his mouth.
"So that's why you're talking tough. Too bad I know how to bring Shenron back to life. Now just accept your death." Goku shrugged.
Goku's words struck King Piccolo like a thunderbolt. He lowered his head and fell silent for a few seconds, then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, I never thought that I, the mighty King Piccolo, would be defeated by a brat. But our Demon Clan won't be beaten so easily."
"Hahaha, all of you, die!"
With those words, King Piccolo spat an egg from his mouth, then his entire body exploded. At the same time, violent explosions erupted across the Earth.
The force of King Piccolo's self-destruction did not harm Goku in the slightest. The egg he had spat out flew swiftly away, and Goku watched quietly, letting it fly into the distance.
How could Goku possibly stop it? This was his family's future nanny.
It was a pity about the people killed in the explosions, though. They would have to wait a year before they could be revived.
After a sigh, Goku flew toward the World Martial Arts Tournament.
This King Piccolo had been far more cautious than in the original story, but unfortunately, he had still fallen short at the final hurdle.