"Lord Great Demon King..."
"The radar shows that the seven Dragon Balls are...
...right down below us."
Inside the airship, Pilaf rubbed his tiny hands together, wearing a look of fawning subservience as he addressed the green figure seated upon the throne before him.
"All we have to do is recite the incantation to summon the Eternal Dragon, and then we can make a wish—fulfilling any desire we choose."
As the former boss of the Dark Streets, he had always harbored a grand dream.
That dream was to rule the entire world—to become His Majesty, the King of this realm. Once in power, he would have anyone caught urinating on the roadside publicly whipped, and anyone caught breaking wind would be torn apart by five horses.
He would cleanse this filthy world and transform it into a place of true civilization.
To that end, he had spent a great deal of time and effort developing a Dragon Radar, hoping to locate the seven Dragon Balls and use the Eternal Dragon's power to make his dream a reality.
Alas, just as he stood on the brink of success, his plans were thwarted by that dreadful little brat; his meticulously constructed castle was reduced to rubble.
When he attempted to gather the Dragon Balls a second time, he once again crossed paths with that same dreadful brat—and failed yet again.
He realized that relying solely on his own strength, he would never be able to defeat that dreadful brat, nor would he ever be able to conquer the world.
Consequently, he scoured through countless ancient texts until he finally discovered a solution.
That solution was to seek out the legendary Great Demon King Piccolo—and to harness the terrifying power that had once nearly destroyed the world—to sweep aside any and all obstacles standing in his way.
After ceaseless effort, he finally succeeded in dredging up the electric rice cooker in which the Great Demon King Piccolo had been sealed from the depths of the ocean, thereby freeing the imprisoned demon king.
In return, the Great Demon King Piccolo had promised him that once they had conquered the world, he would grant Pilaf a full half of the dominion.
"Excellent! All I have to do is make my wish to the Eternal Dragon, and I shall regain my youth and attain eternal life. It is truly magnificent!" The aged King Piccolo wore a wicked—
and terrifying—grin upon his face.
Having been sealed inside a rice cooker for three hundred years, his power had dwindled drastically, and he had precious little time left to live.
If the Divine Dragon truly possessed such miraculous power, then he would once again ascend to his peak, ruling this world for all eternity.
As for the three "ants" groveling below him—naturally, once he had finished using them, he would simply cast them aside.
Sharing half the dominion with them? That was simply laughable.
"Hahaha! Of course! Of course!"
Sensing the wicked and terrifying aura radiating from King Piccolo, Pilaf forced a smile, his face drenched in cold sweat born of sheer terror.
Pressing the button in his hand, the Dragon Radar displayed on the screen quickly zoomed in, finally locking onto the figure standing in the ring below— the Goku.
"That wretched little brat again! It seems the Dragon Balls are all on him!"
Upon seeing the Goku, Pilaf immediately began to tremble with rage and fear.
Gazing through the screen at the Goku in the ring and the cheering crowds surrounding him, King Piccolo asked with a look of keen interest:
"What exactly is going on down there?"
"Lord Piccolo, they are currently hosting the World Martial Arts Tournament..."
Pilaf quickly proceeded to explain all the relevant details regarding the World Martial Arts Tournament.
A wicked smile once again spread across King Piccolo's face:
"I like this tournament. Instead of having to hunt them down one by one, I can simply round up every single martial artist in one fell swoop."
Collecting the seven Dragon Balls to wish for the restoration of his youth and peak power—and to obtain eternal life—was currently his utmost priority.
His second priority was to slaughter every single martial artist in this world.
This was to eliminate the latent threat of someone utilizing the Mafuba (Evil Containment Wave) to seal him away inside a rice cooker once again.
"Tambourine, I entrust this mission to you.
You are not only to retrieve the seven Dragon Balls and kill every martial artist participating in this tournament, but you must also obtain the complete roster
of every contestant who has competed in the tournament over the last ten years.
To ensure our safety, leave absolutely no survivors when the time comes;
I have no desire to end up trapped inside a rice cooker ever again.
Any who dare to defy this Great Demon King shall surely perish."
"Go forth! Go and slaughter them, Tambourine!"
"Yes, Lord Piccolo! I won't let a single martial artist escape alive!"
Tambourine—a demonic warrior created by the Great Demon King Piccolo—spread his wings and soared out of the airship.
Meanwhile, just as Goku was stepping down from the ring, the blond-haired announcer began introducing the contestants for the second official match.
"Next up, let's welcome Contestant Jackie Chun and Contestant Wolfman to the stage!"
The prepared Master Roshi and Wolfman were just making their entrance when they spotted Tambourine descending from the sky.
"Sir, the second match is about to begin immediately. If you wish to watch, please head to the spectator stands; do not interfere with the upcoming match."
Mistaking Tambourine for a spectator who had wandered onto the ring by mistake, the blond announcer hurriedly used his microphone to loudly shoo him away.
As for Tambourine's green skin, his bizarre catfish-like head, and the wings sprouting from his back—none of these things actually frightened the announcer.
After all, the contestants who participated each year were a motley crew; there wasn't a strange appearance he hadn't seen before.
Last year, one of the quarter-finalists—Contestant Giran—also possessed wings and a dragon-like head; he had looked even stranger than the fellow standing before him now.
"Get out of my way—now!"
Seeing that Tambourine remained motionless, the impatient Wolfman charged forward and delivered a swift kick, intending to boot Tambourine right out of the ring.
He had waited so long—finally securing his chance for revenge—and was already bursting with impatience. Yet here was this eyesore of a guy, wasting precious time; how could he not be furious?
Three years ago, Jackie Chun had destroyed the moon—an act that left Wolfman permanently unable to revert to his human form, forever dooming him to be shunned by human girls.
Consequently, he had spent three years subjecting his fearsome werewolf body to grueling training, honing his martial arts skills to the thirtieth dan—all for this very moment: the chance to exact his revenge upon Jackie Chun.
"So this is what martial artists have become these days? How utterly weak."
Tambourine gave a dismissive wave of his hand, as if shooing away a fly.
The "Werewolf"—a fighter boasting a 30th-dan mastery of boxing—was instantly sent flying like a cannonball. He slammed into the wall beside the ring, smashing a massive hole into it; critically injured, he was left clinging to life by a mere thread.
"In that case, there is nothing left to worry about!"
Acting out of caution, he hadn't immediately gone on a wild killing spree upon entering the arena. Instead, he had patiently waited for an opponent to come to him, using them as a test subject.
The result of that test was clear: the martial artists of this era were nothing more than pathetic fodder. Even the quarter-finalists couldn't withstand a single, casual strike from him.
And so, he could now unleash his full power and slaughter to his heart's content.
"What?! He finished him off with a single blow? Who is this guy?"
The spectators in the stands looked on in utter bewilderment.
A complete unknown had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and instantly annihilated the Werewolf—a fighter who held a 30th-dan rank in boxing and had successfully reached the quarter-finals.
It was truly unbelievable.
"He's incredibly strong!"
At the same time, Master Roshi—standing in the ring—along with Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien Shinhan—watching from the competitors' platform—all wore expressions of grave seriousness.
Based on that single strike alone, they could already tell that their opponent was a true master—a formidable master.
"First, I'll wipe out you quarter-finalists and seize the Dragon Balls. Then, I'll systematically purge every other martial artist, one by one."
Having effortlessly disposed of the Werewolf, Tambourine charged directly toward Master Roshi—who was currently fighting under the alias "Jackie Chun."
"Such incredible speed!"
Sensing a mortal threat, Master Roshi dared not let his guard down. He immediately activated his "Max Power" state—bulking up his muscles to their absolute limit—and braced himself to absorb Tambourine's attack head-on.
However, it quickly became apparent to everyone watching that, in the ensuing exchange of blows, Master Roshi was rapidly being pushed onto the defensive.