High above the world, atop the Heavenly Lookout, the air was so thin it felt almost solid.
This was the highest point on Earth, a sacred domain only a chosen few could ever set foot upon.
Yet today, the atmosphere here carried an unmistakable sense of farewell, mixed with something oddly awkward.
Mr. Popo, whose face was usually calm and unreadable, now looked visibly distressed. His features were scrunched together, and his round body swayed uneasily as he wrung his hands, like a child about to be sent away to boarding school.
"Lord Kami… do you really have to go?"
His voice trembled, thick with emotion.
"The lower world is dangerous. And that Piccolo…"
Standing before him was a completely unremarkable middle-aged man.
A receding hairline. Gray at the temples. Thick-rimmed glasses. A cheap gray suit that looked like it had been bought on clearance.
He looked exactly like the kind of exhausted office worker who would fall asleep on a commuter train after overtime, plastic bag of discounted vegetables in hand.
This body belonged to a man named Mr. Shen, an utterly ordinary human.
But within it resided the God of Earth.
"I have to, Popo."
Kami spoke through Mr. Shen's vocal cords. His tone was stiff, the accent slightly off, as if he had not fully adjusted to using this body.
He lifted his arm and tested the unfamiliar limbs.
Crack.
A sharp pop echoed from his lower back.
"Ow…"
Kami grabbed his waist, his face twisting in pain.
"This body is really subpar. A small movement and my back is already aching. And the eyesight is terrible. Without glasses, I'm practically blind."
He adjusted the glasses slipping down his nose and let out a wry smile.
One of King Piccolo's incarnations was about to enter the World Martial Arts Tournament.
As Earth's God, Kami could not directly interfere in mortal affairs.
Even more importantly, he could not kill Piccolo. As two halves of the same being, Piccolo's death would mean his own disappearance.
The only option was disguise.
Blend in. Enter the tournament. Use the Evil Containment Wave to seal Piccolo away.
"But still…"
Tears welled up in Mr. Popo's eyes.
"What if you get hurt, Lord Kami? Popo would be very sad."
Kami stepped forward and awkwardly patted his head.
The gesture was natural for his original elderly form.
Coming from a middle-aged salaryman, it looked unintentionally ridiculous, like a door-to-door salesman trying to comfort a customer.
"Thank you, Popo. For all these centuries."
There was a trace of relief in Kami's voice.
"Watching humanity live and die from up here… it grows tiring."
"This trip below is my vacation."
"And I want to see with my own eyes how much Goku has grown."
His gaze suddenly sharpened, drifting toward a distant corner of the world.
"And that bald kid… Krillin."
"Krillin?"
Mr. Popo tilted his head.
"The clever little one?"
"Yes."
Kami frowned slightly.
"Recently, something strange has been happening in the lower world."
"It doesn't feel evil, and I can't sense its ki. But it feels… wrong."
"Like a flaw in the rules of the world itself."
"It's coming from the direction of Kame House."
"I hope it's nothing dangerous."
Kami straightened his tie, picked up a briefcase, and walked toward the edge of the Lookout.
The wind tugged at his ill-fitting suit, briefly revealing red underwear beneath.
"Well then. I'm off."
He stepped forward and jumped.
"Ah! Lord Kami! That body can't fly!"
Mr. Popo screamed in horror, tears bursting free.
"Oh no. I forgot!"
Kami's panicked voice echoed from midair, followed by frantic flailing.
He barely managed to control a thin thread of ki, wobbling toward the ground like a kite with a snapped string.
Mr. Popo leaned over the edge, sniffling as he watched the shrinking figure fall away.
"Please come back safely… and don't forget to eat on time…"
…
Elsewhere, on the opposite side of the world.
In a dim underground bar, the air reeked of cheap tobacco, mildew, and alcohol.
"Another vodka! Strong!"
A burly man slammed his hand on the table.
The other patrons sat frozen in fear. Three unconscious bodies already lay near his feet.
Then the wooden door creaked open.
Jingle.
The bell above the door rang, its cheerful sound painfully out of place.
A man entered, dressed in a long pink robe with a single large character emblazoned on his chest.
Kill.
He wore sunglasses. A long braid trailed behind his head.
Most striking of all were his hands and half his face.
Cold metal.
Tao Pai Pai.
Once the world's greatest assassin. Now a heavily modified cyborg.
Silence fell over the bar.
The burly man squinted, bolstered by alcohol, and staggered to his feet.
"Hey! You dressed like a clown. What are you staring at? This place is mine!"
Tao Pai Pai stopped.
His mechanical eye glowed faint red as it scanned the man.
"I'm looking for a boat."
His voice was flat and metallic, devoid of emotion.
"A boat to Papaya Island."
"Huh? What's at that dump? Watching fighters beat each other?"
The man snorted and reached out to shove him.
"Get out. Don't ruin my drink."
His palm stopped ten centimeters from Tao Pai Pai's chest.
Slash.
No one saw what happened.
The man froze. A thin red line appeared around his wrist.
Two seconds later, blood sprayed everywhere.
His hand hit the floor with a wet thud, fingers twitching.
"Aaaaagh!"
The pain arrived late. He screamed and rolled on the ground, clutching the stump.
Tao Pai Pai never removed his hand from his sleeve.
A blade slid quietly back into his mechanical arm, spotless.
"Too loud."
He raised his right hand. The fingertip opened, revealing a gun barrel aimed at the man's forehead.
"Please! Don't kill me!"
The man knelt, sobbing uncontrollably, humiliation spreading across his pants.
"Tell me where the fastest boat is."
"I'm entering the World Martial Arts Tournament."
"I have a debt to settle with a couple of brats."
Every time he thought of the boy riding a flying cloud, staff on his back, his circuits overheated with rage.
Three years.
All his money spent.
His pride sold to a mad scientist.
All to become this monster.
The Super Dodon Ray.
A gift prepared for Goku.
And for Krillin.
"The port! There's a speedboat! I'll take you! Please!"
The man bowed again and again.
Tao Pai Pai turned and walked out.
"Lead the way. One second slow, and I take your other hand."
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
Tao Pai Pai stared at the dark sky, vengeance burning red in his mechanical eye.
"Wash your necks and wait, brats."
"This time, I'll slice you into sashimi."