The Mafu-Ba

A Secret From the Age of Mutaito

King Piccolo laughs at the foolish old human who dared challenge him, but his smile fades when Roshi reveals they have met before and that his own teacher was none other than Master Mutaito. The name strikes the Demon King like a thunderclap. Roshi calmly decapsulizes a humble Electric Rice Cooker, and Tien, drowsy and helpless behind the rocks, suddenly understands exactly what his master intends to do. On the airship, Pilaf, Mai, and Shu trade confused looks while Piano alone seems to grasp the danger of what is unfolding below.

The Sealing Technique Unleashed

Roshi plants his feet, sweeps his hands into position, and sends the Evil Containment Wave screaming toward the demon. The spiraling vortex hooks Piccolo and drags him inexorably toward the waiting rice cooker. For a single perfect moment the sealing looks flawless, and the ancient evil that has terrorized the world seems destined to vanish inside a lunch appliance. Then, at the final instant, Roshi's weary arms misjudge the angle by a hair. The stream of energy veers wide of the container, the jar fails to close, and the Demon King bursts free of the binding.

A Promise and a Last Breath

Released from the technique, Piccolo stands unbowed while Roshi, drained of every drop of life the move demands, tells him that someday he will still be defeated. The old master's body fails him where he stands, and he collapses dead on the rocky ground. Far away, riding toward Korin Tower, Goku shivers with the sudden certainty that something terrible has just happened, though Yajirobe waves him off. Back at the battlefield Piccolo telekinetically drags Roshi's five buried Dragon Balls up from the soil and coughs his own two back into his hands. With all seven orbs finally together he crows about the eternal youth he is about to claim, and Tien can only weep in silence from his hiding place.