Seeing Goku strike again—killing with a single move—Master Roshi's soul shook.
The enemy Krillin had exhausted himself against…
Goku had erased with one punch.
For the first time, Roshi truly began doubting his own judgment.
No wonder Goku had asked Bulma to build the radar. No wonder he'd insisted on going alone to deal with Demon King Piccolo.
With strength like this…
Maybe Goku really could kill Piccolo.
Bukanda, seeing Shen die, hadn't been afraid.
After all, that "Solar Flare + slicing technique" combo was sinister—Shen had only died because he'd been caught off guard.
But Russell… had been punched straight through the chest by Goku.
No trick.
No gimmick.
Pure, overwhelming power.
Bukanda's will to fight collapsed on the spot.
He spun around and bolted into the sky.
But Goku wasn't about to let him escape.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Goku's body flickered—
And in the next instant, he was already in front of Bukanda, blocking his path.
Bukanda's pupils flashed with fear.
With nowhere left to run, he opened his mouth and fired a beam straight at Goku.
Goku hovered midair, unhurried—tilting his head slightly.
The blast missed him by a hair.
Bukanda panicked and tried to change direction—
But Goku calmly raised a hand.
A Kamehameha formed.
And then—
The beam swallowed Bukanda whole.
In an instant, Bukanda dissolved into smoke and vanished.
Tien stared, eyes wide, the truth slamming into him like a hammer.
No wonder he beat me in one move…
Goku is the strongest in the Turtle School—by a ridiculous margin. Like a cliff you can't climb.
Goku returned to everyone and looked at Krillin.
"You okay, Krillin? That Solar Flare plus Destructo Disc combo was amazing!"
Krillin's jaw nearly hit the floor.
"G-Goku… you… you're seriously THIS strong?!"
"Don't praise me. After all my suffering and training, that 'ultimate move' I worked so hard on… it's nothing compared to you!"
Goku smiled.
"How is it nothing?"
"Even Demon King Piccolo—if he gets hit by that—he'd probably lose his head."
Just then, Puar came sprinting out of the house, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Bad news! Bad news! Demon King Piccolo is on live TV!"
"He's going to destroy West City first—he's heading for it right now!"
Bulma's face went white.
"What?! West City?!"
"My mom and dad are there!"
"They'd never abandon the animals and run away by themselves!"
Goku's expression hardened instantly.
"Bulma, don't be afraid. I'll deal with him."
"Which way is the King's Castle? Tell me—now!"
"Goku, don't be reckless!" someone shouted.
But Goku's senses had already spread outward.
Far away, like a stain in the air—he felt it.
That faint, wicked presence.
"No need," Goku said quietly. "I've already locked onto him."
And with that—
He shot off alone, flying toward the King's Castle.
Yamcha panicked.
"We can't just sit here! We should go too!"
Tien nodded hard.
"Right. We can't let him take that risk alone."
"The more of us there are, the more power we have!"
Krillin's fists trembled slightly.
He lifted his head, forcing courage into his voice.
"He's right."
"We can't dump the entire burden on Goku."
"I learned the Evil Containment Wave too."
"If Goku can't beat Piccolo… then we'll have no choice but to seal him!"
Tien suddenly frowned.
"Wait—Goku learned it too. But he didn't take a rice cooker."
"Did he forget… or is he that confident?"
"Either way, we can't let him go alone," Tien said. "We're going."
Krillin turned to Roshi.
"Master, please—prepare a rice cooker. We're going to back Goku up!"
Roshi knew he couldn't stop them.
So he hurriedly drew the sealing talisman for them.
Launch fetched a sturdy rice cooker.
Tien got into a plane, taking Krillin and Yamcha with him.
The three of them flew toward the King's Castle.
Bulma watched the plane disappear into the distance, then finally looked away—her hands clenched tight.
"That Demon King… he destroyed an entire city with a single blast…"
"I don't know if Goku can really beat him…"
Launch squeezed Bulma's hand.
"Don't worry. Goku's years of training won't be wasted."
Violet nodded firmly.
"Yeah. I believe in him."
Roshi exhaled slowly, voice heavy.
"Relax. In my judgment… Goku is already incredibly strong."
"Even if he can't defeat Demon King Piccolo, he won't be helpless."
"And with Krillin and the others going to support him…"
"We will solve this."
"But after that…"
"One year from now, we must gather the Dragon Balls as fast as we can."
"If we delay too long… those who die won't be able to come back."
A Moment Earlier…
In the throne room.
Demon King Piccolo had just taken the King's seat.
He stood before the cameras, smiling like a god looking down at insects.
"People of the world—look carefully."
"I am your new king."
"Demon King Piccolo!"
"You've already seen the city I erased."
"You've already witnessed my power."
He coughed lightly—then leaned back into the throne as if it belonged to him by birthright.
"Now then…"
"Let your new king announce his 'policies.'"
Piccolo tapped the skull ornament at his wrist, smiling wider.
"First, let me tell you the words I hate most."
"Justice."
"And peace."
"Let me be clear—I won't restrain you."
"In fact, I want you to do whatever you please."
"From this moment on—abolish the police."
"War."
"Violence."
"Looting."
"Murder."
"Go ahead."
"No one will blame you."
"No one will arrest you."
"All criminals across the land—indulge yourselves."
"My Demon Clan will erase anyone who dares to preach 'justice.'"
"And then…"
"This world will become a beautiful new world of fear and evil!"
The broadcast cut to scenes of prisons being opened.
Criminals pouring out like a flood.
People watching from home screamed in panic.
Piccolo enjoyed every second of it.
The camera returned to him.
He spread his arms, drinking in the terror.
"Of course, my rule doesn't stop there."
"You can experience an even more exquisite nightmare."
"Do you know how many regions exist in this world?"
"That's right."
"Forty-three."
"So I had numbers from one to forty-three written on slips."
"Today is May 9th—my coronation day."
"So from now on, every May 9th…"
"I, Demon King Piccolo, will draw lots."
"The region that gets chosen…"
"I will personally destroy."
"With a single Demon Light Blast, I can erase a city and everyone in it."
"Don't worry."
"Death will be instant."
"The pain won't last more than one second."
He threw his head back and laughed.
"I simply want to see the expressions on human faces… when fear twists them into despair!"
All across the world, people went pale.
Hope shrank.
Despair spread like poison.
"A region per year…?!"
"If you're lucky, you can only live forty-three years at most…"
"Is there really no one who can stop him?!"
A winged henchman stepped forward with a lottery box.
Piccolo smiled.
"Then let's begin our first draw."
"Which region will it be…?"
He reached into the box.
All over the world, people held their breath.
Please don't be us… please…
A moment later, Piccolo pulled out a slip.
"Hehe… it's not far from here."
He flipped it toward the camera.
"Region 29."
"West City."
"People of West City—I'm coming."
"If you want to live, run as far as you can."
"Hahahahaha!"
"And if you don't like my methods…"
"You're welcome to challenge me at this castle."
"Fire missiles if you want."
"You'll just die faster."
West City erupted into chaos.
People abandoned everything—fleeing in panic.
Cars crashed.
Screams filled the streets.
Piccolo stood up, preparing to depart.
But just as he stepped away from the camera—
A bolt of lightning seemed to split his mind.
His veins bulged.
Cold sweat poured down his face.
"…Impossible."
The winged henchman stared.
"What is it, Lord Demon King?"
Piccolo's voice was tight—almost strained.
"…Shen is dead!!"
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