"I never expected to find such a formidable individual among humans. But this is where it ends for you. Remember this: the one who kills you is the Demon Clan warrior, Tambourine!"
After launching a relentless barrage of attacks yet failing to take down the human martial artist standing before him, Tambourine was clearly enraged.
"Piercing Claw!"
Evil energy instantly gathered within the sharp claws of his right hand, and he thrust his hand straight toward the Turtle Hermit's heart.
"Oh no!"
Seeing the claws rushing toward him, the Turtle Hermit's expression changed drastically.
Tambourine's speed and strength already surpassed his own;
Now, bolstered by his signature technique, the claws moved even faster—he stood absolutely no chance of blocking them.
Moreover, the moment he heard the words "Demon Clan," his resolve had wavered, causing his reaction to lag by a crucial half-beat.
Just as it seemed the Turtle Hermit was about to be impaled through the heart by Tambourine's claw—and meet his end—a figure suddenly materialized right beside him, seizing Tambourine's claw in a firm grip.
"This is a martial arts exhibition match—why are you trying to kill him?"
Gripping Tambourine's wrist, Goku furrowed his brows and demanded, his voice tinged with anger.
Even though Tambourine wasn't an official tournament contestant, Goku felt there was nothing wrong with him stepping into the ring to spar if he wished to do so.
The World Martial Arts Tournament existed for one purpose: to determine the strongest martial artist in the world.
As for the specific rules and procedures of the competition? Goku didn't really care about those.
If a powerful master was willing to step up and spar, he would be more than happy to fight an extra match.
However, a friendly spar was one thing; deliberately attempting to kill an opponent—especially when one's own strength was clearly superior—was simply going too far.
"You're asking for death!"
Just as he was about to finish off this rather formidable human martial artist, only to have some little brat interfere, Tambourine's rage exploded instantly.
And since this particular brat happened to be the very person the Dragon Radar indicated was carrying the Dragon Balls, Tambourine showed absolutely no mercy.
He opened his mouth wide, and a terrifying energy blast erupted directly from his maw.
Its destructive power was absolutely on par with—if not greater than—the full-force Kamehameha Wave the Turtle Hermit had just unleashed.
This sudden, unexpected mouth-blast struck Goku squarely in the head.
However, before Tambourine could revel in his triumph—intending to exert even more force and, while he was at it, impale the opposing Turtle Hermit through the heart—he discovered that the small hand gripping his wrist remained utterly immovable.
"How is that possible?"
He took a closer look and saw that Goku—who had just taken his mouth-beam attack head-on—was completely unharmed; not even a single hair on his head had been singed.
"I can do that move, too."
Goku opened his mouth, and an identical mouth-beam blasted forth.
Ever since he had gained the ability to transform into a Great Ape via Animagus magic—and, more importantly, learned to wield the Great Ape form's power with full rationality—he had naturally mastered the techniques inherent to that form.
Such as this mouth-beam attack.
However, he hadn't used his full power. Had he done so, this fellow named Tambourine would undoubtedly have been instantly obliterated by his beam right on the spot.
He had deliberately calibrated the attack's intensity to be exactly one-quarter stronger than the mouth-beam Tambourine had fired moments earlier.
Struck squarely by the beam, Tambourine was sent flying, severely wounded; he crashed to the ground and lay there for a long while, unable to even struggle back to his feet.
At that moment, the Turtle Hermit—having finally recovered his wits—rushed swiftly to Tambourine's side and, with a grave expression, demanded:
"You claim to be a warrior of the Demon Clan... In that case, is the one you serve...?"
"Why, Lord Piccolo Daimao, of course!"
Tambourine answered with utter brazenness, his face radiating arrogance:
"I never expected that humans still possessed martial artists of such caliber. But no matter—no matter how powerful you are, you are still no match for Lord Daimao.
I advise you to surrender immediately and hand over the Dragon Balls. Do so, and Lord Daimao might just spare your lives!"
"That's impossible... How could this be...?"
Upon hearing the name "Piccolo Daimao," the Turtle Hermit's body went rigid with shock; his face was etched with a look of sheer terror and utter disbelief.
"What's wrong, Grandpa Jackie? Who is this Piccolo Daimao?"
Goku looked at the Turtle Hermit with wide-eyed curiosity.
"Piccolo Daimao... Is he that legendary Great Demon King—the one who once plunged the entire world into an abyss of terror?"
At that moment, Tien Shinhan—who was carrying the unconscious Crane Hermit—walked over with a deeply solemn expression on his face. Krillin, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu—the trio—also gathered around.
"That's right; it is indeed him. Three hundred years ago..."
Master Roshi quickly recounted the terrifying deeds of King Piccolo—how, back in those days, he had led his demonic warriors to obliterate city after city.
"At that time, everyone in the world—every single martial artist—perished at the hands of King Piccolo, save for myself, Crane Hermit, and our master, Mutaito.
It was only after Master Mutaito perfected the Mafuba—the Evil Containment Wave—and sealed King Piccolo inside a rice cooker that that era of terror finally came to an end.
I distinctly remember throwing that rice cooker into the depths of the ocean... How could this have happened?"
"Hahaha! Lord King Piccolo has broken free from his seal! Now that you know just how terrifying Lord King Piccolo is, why don't you just hand over the Dragon Balls and surrender immediately?"
Tambourine chimed in from the sidelines, issuing another threat.
He knew he stood no chance against that little boy; to save his own skin, his only option was to use King Piccolo's fearsome reputation to intimidate his opponents.
At the same time, this was also a ploy to fish for information.
"So, it's the Dragon Balls they're after! Goku, do you have all the Dragon Balls with you right now?"
Master Roshi turned his head to look at Goku.
Goku promptly took all seven Dragon Balls out of their box.
"They're all right here with me."
"Guard them well! You absolutely must not let King Piccolo get his hands on the Dragon Balls!"
Master Roshi stated sternly.
Although Goku didn't quite understand the reason why, he nodded nonetheless and placed the Dragon Balls back into the box.
"Um... I have a question. If everything you've told us is true, then where exactly were you—Master Roshi—at the time?"
Krillin and the others—who had just been thoroughly spooked by the terrifying tale of King Piccolo—finally regained their composure and asked, looking somewhat puzzled.
Based on what they had learned from Master Roshi the previous night, the Crane Hermit and Master Roshi had originally been fellow disciples under the same master, though they had eventually had a falling out.
"If, three hundred years ago, every martial artist in the world was wiped out—leaving only Jackie Chun, the Crane Hermit, and their master, Mutaito—then what became of the Turtle Hermit?"
"Ah... Hahaha! I'm getting on in years, so my memory's a bit fuzzy. What I meant to say was that I—along with the Turtle Hermit and the Crane Hermit—were the ones who survived back then.
"You see, the Turtle Hermit and I are actually brothers."
It was only then that the Turtle Hermit remembered his current guise—that of Jackie Chun—and he hurriedly corrected himself, offering this explanation.
Krillin and Yamcha wore expressions of deep suspicion, while Goku simply nodded, evidently having fully accepted the Turtle Hermit's explanation.
"So, it turns out that old geezer still had surviving disciples after all. No wonder that fellow managed to hold out against Tambourine for so long.
"In that case, I—Piccolo Daimao—shall take matters into my own hands! I will make you all experience the true terror of the Great Demon King!"
High above the tournament arena, concealed within an airship hidden amongst the clouds, Piccolo Daimao watched the footage displayed on the screen before him. Listening to the audio feed transmitted by Tambourine, he slowly rose from his seat.
Mutaito—the only one capable of performing the Mafuba (Evil Containment Wave)—had long since perished. However, as a precautionary measure, it went without saying that all of Mutaito's surviving disciples had to be eliminated as well.
Furthermore, with the seven Dragon Balls located right beneath him, he decided to descend and take action personally.
As for the boy who possessed the Dragon Balls and had defeated Tambourine—while the lad certainly possessed some skill, he was hardly a match for the Great Demon King.
Piccolo Daimao had never believed that any opponent capable of truly standing against him could possibly exist in this world.
His only concern—the sole thing he feared—was the Mafuba: the technique capable of sealing him away.
And evidently, that boy had no idea how to perform the Mafuba.