Mark of the Demon

Tambourine's killing spree continues as he executes Bacterian with an electric shock attack. Aboard Pilaf's airship, King Piccolo creates his third offspring, a dragon-like demon named Cymbal, tasked specifically with hunting down the Dragon Balls. Piano warns his father that spawning more children accelerates his aging, but Piccolo dismisses the concern, confident that the Dragon Balls will solve that problem soon enough.

In the forest where Tambourine left him, Goku wakes to a frog licking his face. Starving and weak, he stumbles through the wilderness in search of food, encountering a carnivorous fruit that tries to eat him and a kangaroo that punches him around. Things look bleak until he catches the scent of something cooking and discovers a massive fish roasting over a fire.

Back at Kame House, Roshi and the group explain the Dragon Balls to Tien and Chiaotzu. They form a plan to use the Dragon Balls against King Piccolo rather than immediately wishing Krillin back. Bulma constructs a freezing capsule to preserve Krillin's body. On television, news reports reveal the deaths of multiple martial artists, connecting the dots to the demon threat. Meanwhile, Man-Wolf's body floats down a river, Tambourine's calling card impaled through him. After eating the fish and regaining strength, Goku checks his radar and spots a Dragon Ball nearby, only to have a boulder hurled at him by a wild stranger with a sword.

Cymbal's birth introduces a second demon actively working to collect the Dragon Balls, splitting King Piccolo's forces. Piano's warning about the aging side effect of spawning children plants a seed that directly motivates Piccolo's eventual wish for restored youth.

Goku's recovery and renewal of his vow to avenge Krillin marks the turning point from defeat back to determination. The mysterious sword-wielding stranger who appears at the end, angry about his stolen fish, is about to become one of the saga's most memorable characters.

This episode serves as a bridge between Goku's defeat and his comeback. The group at Kame House shifts into strategic planning mode, while the mounting body count of martial artists drives home the urgency. Yajirobe's mysterious debut at the episode's closing moments introduces a wild card that will shake up the story considerably.