Piccolo arrived first, hovering above a dark, ominous castle.
This was Garlic Jr.'s fortress.
Before he could even enter, three strange figures appeared in front of him.
Within the shadows, only three pairs of glowing red eyes were visible.
Piccolo felt their powerful auras and unmistakable hostility. His pupils shrank instantly.
Before he could even ask who they were, the three figures lunged at him.
They were Garlic Jr.'s subordinates—
Ginger, Nicky, and Sansho.
Seeing them attack without a word, Piccolo clenched his fists and counterattacked immediately.
But to his shock—
In terms of both strength and speed, all three were on par with him in his current state.
Worse still, they had the numbers advantage.
After dodging the first attack, Piccolo was struck squarely in the back by the other two.
"Gah!"
He screamed as he was smashed into the ground, forming a deep crater.
The damage wasn't fatal.
Piccolo leapt out of the pit almost instantly—but his eyes burned with fury.
He was already seething after accidentally losing to Krillin at the tournament.
Then he had exhausted himself fighting Goku, gaining no advantage at all.
He was already in a terrible mood.
And now—
With his stamina nearly depleted and his reactions dulled—
He had just been beaten around by three nobodies.
The humiliation ignited his rage.
Wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, Piccolo roared,
"Damn it!
I am the Demon King Piccolo!
I'm not someone any trash can step on!"
He charged straight at Ginger, his fist carrying enough force to shatter a skull.
But Ginger let out a strange cry—
His muscles suddenly bulged and expanded.
He effortlessly blocked Piccolo's furious barrage.
Piccolo froze as his punch was caught.
A cold sweat slid down his forehead.
His stamina was too low.
He couldn't win.
Before Piccolo could recover, the three showed no hesitation.
They joined hands and fired a combined energy blast straight at him.
BOOM!
Piccolo was swallowed by the explosion.
Seeing the billowing smoke, the three assumed he was dead and burst into wild laughter.
Floating above the smoke, Ginger sneered,
"Hahahaha! What a weakling.
That was really the Guardian of Earth from hundreds of years ago?"
Nicky laughed.
"Don't you get it?
It's not that he was weak—it's that we're strong!
Now that the Guardian is dead, Earth will become Lord Garlic Jr.'s playground!
Next comes the screams of humanity—HAHAHAHA!"
Inside Garlic Jr.'s Castle
Garlic Jr. had just summoned Shenron.
His wish had been granted.
Immortality.
He threw his head back and laughed maniacally.
"Father! I've finally achieved eternal life!
I'll fulfill your dying wish—
I'll kill the Guardian of Earth and avenge you!
I'll drown this world in darkness and rule it forever!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
At that moment, Ginger, Nicky, and Sansho entered.
Ginger bowed deeply.
"Lord Garlic, we've killed the Guardian you mentioned."
Garlic Jr.'s laughter paused.
"What?
He was my father's greatest enemy—
You defeated him so easily?"
Nicky grinned.
"My lord, absolutely.
He was pathetically weak.
The three of us crushed him effortlessly—
Blew him to dust!"
Garlic Jr. stroked his chin.
"Is that so…
To think a centuries-old enemy would die so easily.
What a shame—I wanted to torture him first.
Hahahaha!"
The three subordinates laughed along with him.
Then—
BOOM!
The castle doors were smashed open.
Goku walked in.
Staring straight at Garlic Jr., he said,
"You look familiar.
You're Garlic's son, right?"
Garlic Jr.'s pupils shrank.
"Who are you?
How do you know my name—and how dare you trespass in my castle?!"
Goku ignored the question and asked calmly,
"You summoned Shenron just now, didn't you?
What wish did you make?"
Garlic Jr. smirked.
"A wish? Hehehe…
Why don't you guess?"
Goku looked him over.
"Immortality?"
Garlic Jr.'s eyes widened.
"How did you know?!"
Goku smiled faintly.
"Anyone who wants to rule the world always makes the same boring wish."
Garlic Jr.'s expression twisted.
"You dare call my wish boring?!"
"Yes," Goku said casually.
"With your level of strength, immortality is nothing but a burden."
"INSOLENT MORTAL!"
Garlic Jr. roared, turning to his subordinates.
"What are you three idiots waiting for?!
Kill him!"
"Yes, my lord!"
The three shouted as their muscles expanded once more.
Goku assumed his stance, ready to finish them—
But then two figures burst in.
"Goku! Are you alright?!"
Goku blinked.
"Krillin? Kami?
Why are you both here?"
Kami looked at Garlic Jr.
"He came here for revenge against me.
How could I stay away?"
Krillin thumped his chest.
"You really don't treat me like a teammate, Goku.
Running off alone to fight enemies—is that looking down on me?"
Goku waved his hands quickly.
"No, no, I was just in a hurry."
Everyone then stared at Kami in confusion.
Garlic Jr. frowned.
"You… are the Guardian of Earth?"
Kami paused, adjusted his robe slightly—the 'God' symbol faintly visible.
Then he replied calmly,
"Of course I am.
Didn't you come to Earth to compete with me for this position?
Is there a problem?"
Nicky shouted,
"Then who the hell did we kill outside?!"
Goku's eyes sharpened.
"…Killed someone?"
"Don't tell me Piccolo—"
"Impossible!" Kami said instantly.
Goku understood immediately.
If Piccolo had died, Kami would be dead too.
Since Kami was standing right here—
Piccolo was alive.
Goku glanced at the three subordinates and understood everything.
They were strong—each nearly Piccolo's equal.
Three against one, they could defeat him.
But they clearly hadn't finished the job.
Nicky scoffed.
"What do you mean impossible?
That young guy who looked like you—Piccolo, right?
You're too late.
We blew him to pieces!"
A cold voice echoed behind them.
"With just the three of you…
You thought you could erase me?"
Piccolo stepped into the room.
Nicky's face went pale.
"How—?!
You were blown to dust!"
Piccolo sneered.
"With that pathetic energy blast?
You think it could kill me?
You didn't even notice when I dodged at the last second.
In my eyes, you're nothing but a bunch of useless trash."
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