Ninja Murasaki is Coming!

Goku climbs to the fourth floor of Muscle Tower and finds himself in total darkness. Kunai knives fly at him from the shadows, but he dodges every one. When the lights come on, the floor is revealed to be an artificial forest, complete with trees, a pond, and even a small house. Ninja Murasaki announces himself with dramatic flair, but Goku quickly spots him and nails him with a rock, knocking him out of a tree.

Count to Thirty

Murasaki challenges Goku to close his eyes and count to thirty while he hides. Goku agrees but gets stuck on the number twenty-six, peeking just in time to see Murasaki crawling under a hollow rock by the pond. After restarting his count and finishing, Goku searches everywhere. He wanders into the house and discovers a stash of dirty magazines hidden under the floorboards. Eventually spotting a breathing pipe in the water, Goku grabs a teapot from the stove and pours boiling water down the pipe, flushing a screaming Murasaki out of the pond.

Weapons Drawn

Murasaki challenges Goku to a footrace that turns into a dirty-tricks gauntlet, complete with caltrops on the ground. When weapons finally come out, Murasaki draws his sword while Goku counters with the Power Pole. A mid-air lunge goes horribly wrong for Murasaki when he lands directly on the planted pole. After Goku slices his sword in half, Murasaki proposes an unarmed fight, only to cheat with a hidden boomerang shuriken that strikes Goku from behind.

The boiling teapot scene is peak early Dragon Ball comedy. Goku's innocent problem-solving, pouring scalding water down a breathing pipe, clashes perfectly with Murasaki's supposed ninja mastery. The fearsome assassin is reduced to screaming about his burnt tongue while hopping out of a pond.

The Magazine Discovery

Goku stumbling across Murasaki's hidden stash of dirty magazines is a classic Toriyama gag. Goku's complete innocence about what he's found, contrasted with Murasaki's panicked embarrassment, delivers comedy that works on two levels for different audiences.

Landing on the Pole

Murasaki's unfortunate landing on the planted Power Pole is one of the most physically painful gags in the series. His agonized reaction sells the moment perfectly, turning what should be a tense sword fight into slapstick of the highest order.

Ninja Murasaki makes his proper debut here as the fourth-floor guardian of Muscle Tower. His fighting style blends genuine ninja techniques with cowardly tricks, making him one of the most entertaining antagonists of the Red Ribbon Army Saga.

General White's flashback depicting Murasaki defeating other ninja is anime-exclusive, as is the subplot of Suno praying for Goku back in the village. The boomerang shuriken introduced here will carry into the next episode as the brothers arc begins.