"Grandpa! Grandpa Taro!!"
Bulma's shocked cry came from far behind Yamcha. She covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face. 'Thank goodness… No one's hurt. Thank goodness.' Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to her knees. Beside her, the bald little Krillin stood with his mouth agape, staring at the tiny figure standing before the giant ape's tail under the dark night sky.
'That person… Is that the Muten Roshi?'
Taro had teleported the instant Jarvis alerted him, though in truth, he had already been watching the situation due to the strange fluctuations in Goku's energy. Even if Bulma hadn't managed to call for help in time, he would have appeared to stop Goku—or rather, the Ozaru.
"Enough. Behave."
He let out a cold snort, his indifferent eyes locking onto the ape's crimson gaze.
Then, with a single squeeze of the hand gripping the ape's massive tail, a surge of white energy erupted from his palm, coiling around the appendage. With a sharp yank, he effortlessly lifted the beast off its feet, flipping it overhead before slamming it into the ground with a thunderous BOOM!
The earth shattered beneath the ape's colossal weight, collapsing into a crater.
At the same time, Taro's ears twitched slightly.
"...can grant any wish you desire."
The distant words drifted into his hearing. He turned his head, his pitch-black eyes swirling with a sudden crimson glow. His pupils dilated like telescopic lenses, his vision rapidly zooming in until the distant scene became crystal clear—the golden lightning, the emerald-scaled Shenron, and the trio of Emperor Pilaf's gang standing in the wilderness below the dragon.
'"Hmph."'
Taro's cold snort rolled like muffled thunder, transforming into an invisible shockwave that rippled outward in an instant.
"My wish is—"
Far away, beneath Shenron, Emperor Pilaf and his two lackeys were just about to shout their wish in ecstatic triumph when—WHAM!—an unseen force slammed into them. Before they could even process what was happening, the golden glow of Shenron became a distant sight as the world spun around them. The sensation of weightlessness made their heads swim.
Faintly, across the wilderness, their panicked screams echoed as they were hurled into the night sky like shooting stars.
Yamcha and Krillin, still on the ground, were utterly dumbstruck. 'What… just happened?' They were so far away—how had Pilaf and his gang suddenly been launched into the air? 'What did the Muten Roshi even do?' He hadn't moved… All he did was 'snort'.
'Can a person… do something like that with just' sound?
But that wasn't all.
The way Taro had effortlessly blocked the Great Ape's tail, then swung the monstrous beast around like a ragdoll—it was terrifying.
A single man, overpowering a mountain-sized ape with such ease.
The sheer impact of that sight was overwhelming.
They had heard countless legends about the Muten Roshi, but legends were one thing—seeing it in person was another.
When myth became reality, the shock was indescribable.
The Ozaru—Goku's transformed state—had reduced the area to ruins in mere moments, nearly crushing them all into paste. They had been forced to flee in terror. Yet in Taro's hands, the beast couldn't even resist.
It had even stopped roaring.
'Was it… afraid?'
Taro paid no further mind to Shenron in the distance. Without anyone to make a wish, the dragon wouldn't disappear so quickly.
Instead, he turned his attention back to the Great Ape he still held by the tail, staring into its blood-red eyes.
And just as Yamcha and Krillin had noticed, the beast was no longer roaring mindlessly. It had stopped its wild thrashing, lying in the crater it had created, its massive maw panting. Within its crimson eyes flickered confusion… and pain.
Taro silently observed the Great Ape in his grip, saying nothing.
Bulma and Krillin approached, helping Yamcha to his feet.
The heavy atmosphere kept them quiet as they looked up at Taro, waiting.
"Hey, Bulma…" Krillin tugged at Bulma's sleeve, whispering as he pointed at the mountainous form of the Great Ape lying beside them. "Look… he's trembling!"
"Ah…" Bulma narrowed her eyes, studying the beast. Sure enough, the terrifying Great Ape lay sprawled on the ground, its massive body shuddering uncontrollably, almost like convulsions. The young woman frowned, murmuring, "Is that still Goku…? Or have we lost him to… the other side?"
Krillin nodded grimly, his expression darkening. He glanced up at Taro's figure and muttered, "Can the Muten Roshi… really fix this?"
"Let's hope so," Bulma sighed. Compared to the Goku they knew, this savage Saiyan side was something none of them could accept.
Yamcha, meanwhile, stood there utterly lost, unable to follow their conversation.
Taro remained silent, his gaze fixed on the Great Ape's crimson eyes. His sharp senses detected something—within those once-violent, chaotic depths, a flicker of reason was slowly emerging.
'Is this still Goku…'
'Or is it Kakarot?'
He pondered.
The human mind—whether of the strong or the weak—was equally complex and mysterious. Even he couldn't fully decipher it.
But gradually…
The madness in the Great Ape's eyes receded, replaced by something more conscious, more 'aware'.
"Urgh…"
The beast's massive jaws parted, a deep, guttural growl rumbling from its throat. It was trying to speak—but after transforming, its vocal cords were no longer human. Words came out distorted, each syllable booming like distant thunder. Bulma and the others could even feel the vibrations in their chests from the sheer size of the creature.
"You… have something to say to me?"
Taro narrowed his eyes, his tone calm but penetrating. His voice resonated directly in the Great Ape's mind—a method Taro used to probe its thoughts. But the beast's mental state was too turbulent, too unstable. Like storm clouds clashing—one moment white, the next black—its consciousness was in violent flux.
"I… I…"
Finally, the Ozaru managed human speech—though its words were slurred, warped by its monstrous form. Each syllable rolled out like a muffled explosion.
"No rush. I'll wait."
Taro's voice remained indifferent as he released the tail he had been gripping, letting it drop carelessly to the ground.
BOOM!
The impact sent tremors through the earth, the tail carving a deep trench into the soil. Bulma and the others flinched at the sheer force.
"I… I…"
The Ozaru struggled, its voice broken. Then, suddenly, its crimson eyes blazed with renewed intensity, locking onto the tiny figure floating before it—Taro. Even though they had never truly met, the beast didn't find him unfamiliar.
Gathering the last of its strength, fueled by whatever clarity remained in its mind, the Ozaru threw its head back and ROARED—a deafening, earth-shaking bellow that carried all its fury, all its defiance:
"I—WON'T—ACCEPT—THIS!!"