Son Goku Strikes Back!

The Tailor and the Tomahawk

At the base of Korin Tower, Upa paces with a little tomahawk, anxiously wondering if Goku ever reached the summit. Three days have already passed. In a nearby town, Tao Pai-pai's replacement suit is finally ready, but when the tailor dares ask for payment, the assassin stabs him dead with a single fingertip and pockets his weapon. Moments later his flying pillar smashes back down at Korin. Tao demands the final Dragon Ball, and Upa throws the tomahawk at him in a hopeless last stand. Tao simply ducks and sweeps the boy off his feet, then holds him aloft by the throat and prepares to finish him.

A Dive From the Sky

Just as Upa is flung toward the tower, Goku comes plummeting down out of the clouds, calls for the Kinto-Un, and snatches the boy out of the air. Upa's relief is matched by Tao's disbelief. Goku tells the child to stay safely on the cloud, then plants himself on the ground between the assassin and the last Dragon Ball. When Tao asks how he survived the Dodon Ray, Goku calmly explains that the Four-Star Ball shielded him. Tao sneers that lightning will not strike twice and warns that this kill will take only three seconds.

Three Seconds the Other Way

Tao launches himself at Goku, but Goku simply leans backward, letting the punch sail over his head, and counters with a rising blow that rockets the killer into the air. In a single fluid motion Goku springs up and kicks Tao straight into the tower wall. Landing calmly, he announces that three seconds have already passed. Shaken, Tao cannot believe what three days of training have done to the boy. When Goku mentions the sen'nin at the summit, Tao grins, curious to see how much the brat has truly grown and already plotting his next move.