Piano Pov:

It had been three years since their family had been dethroned, slaughtered, and humiliated. It had been three years since his beloved father, his idol above all else, was painted with a brush of insult in the highest manner.

But most importantly, it has been three years of planning to reclaim all that was lost. Three years of hiding from Kami's watchful eye. Three years of guiding his powerful, yet obnoxiously arrogant little brother. Three years of a step by step process of getting revenge.

Everything is in place. His brother is powerful enough to take revenge against Goku. They are ready to take on his cohorts and the rest of the human population. He is watching them succeed. He is watching him.

But despite all of this, I feel unease. Something isn't right. Something is….off. There's always a feeling of someone watching them. Watching their every move. Placing them into certain spots, as if they're mere pieces of a chess board. It was unnerving, and he was the son of the demon king.

Piccolo doesn't understand my logic. I don't either. He found my thoughts to be mere paranoia. He thinks I'm insane, but I'm not. He even ordered me to bed, as if I'm a mere child.

Admittedly, it feels somewhat satisfying that Piccolo even showed him any concern at all. But that feeling is easily squandered by the fact he doesn't take me seriously. I'm not his equal, or even his right hand. I'm just an old fool who has forgotten to take his meds.

Perhaps I am just paranoid. But why wouldn't I be? Everything feels just as perfect as it did three years prior, and that perfection was destroyed in mere hours. He may have father's memories of that day, but he does not have father's feelings of that day. To equate such a thing would be similar to comparing someone who watched Titanic to someone who barely survived the crash of said ship. They're inequitable.

Regardless, the tournament starts tomorrow. Redemption starts tomorrow.

The next day

The five disciples of Korin, an energetic Puar, and a very reluctant Yajirobe found themselves on Papaya Island for the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. Each fighter walked towards the venue with a confidence they hadn't felt three years prior.

Tien's mind was calmer than it has ever been. The training he had partaken in not only increased his power to the point of being on par, if not greater than the demon king himself, but also gave him peace. His friends he had made has helped him become stronger than ever before, and also gave him a purpose. No longer will he kill for money. The mercenary of before was long gone. Now, he will protect the people he cares about.

Yamcha was excited. He knew he was still weaker than Tien by a noticeable amount, but he had closed the gap tremendously. He still couldn't beat his rival (or even push him that much), but he should be able to do much better than their last fight.

Yurin smirked with a confidence only a Crane student could have. She knew that she and Chiaotzu were weaker than their comrades, but she knew the two of them were stronger than they could ever have dreamed to be. She was determined to showcase just how far they have come.

Chiaotzu was floating by his friends with a small smile. Despite still being childlike in nature, his mind has grown wiser under Korin's tutelage. He understood what his purpose was and he understood what he felt. To be the person his friends need him to be. Though admittedly, what he feels for Yurin is a scary thought that he has kept to himself (though Yamcha figured it out, and the two have talked about it on occasion ever since).

Krillin has improved the most. He now had a mild lead on Yamcha and has proven himself to be a natural. Yamcha even believes he has the potential to be the strongest, second only to Goku. But what has improved the most was his confidence. He still falters, and doubts himself, but he now believes he can actually make a difference. He can help his friends save their world from anyone who dares to cause it harm.

Yajirobe on the other hand really wishes he could stay on the lookout. Unfortunately, Yurin and Korin are making him enter the tournament with them. He can still here their nagging annoying him in his head, "You're about as strong as Krillin. You're entering." He grumbled something offensive about the two as he crossed his arms.

Today was going to be a good day. Or so they think.

Bulma and the Gang

Bulma was livid. Roshi has continued to be a perv, Turtle won't stop apologizing and showing Turtle Junior the sites, Tights won't stop commenting on story ideas, and worst of all, her boyfriend hasn't contacted her in THREE years. He is going to DIE today.

"Yo Krillin, have you found them yet?" Yamcha asked.

Bulma's anger flared when she heard his voice. She turned to stomp towards him when she saw his face. All anger went away as she rushed to his side.

"What happened to your face?!" Bulma blurted out worriedly.

Yamcha looked at her and blinked in confusion. He self-consciously touched his face, only to feel a rough scratch mark. His mouth made an 'oh' expression and he rubbed the back of his head with an awkward expression.

"I was sparring Chiaotzu and Yurin, and I stupidly didn't dodge their dodon rays fast enough." He said with an awkward laugh.

Bulma blinked in surprise. "You sparred Yurin?"

Yamcha raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Yeah. We trained together for three years after all. Why?"

A tinge of jealousy went through Bulma, before turning into hurt. He spent three years hanging out with another woman and never once thought to talk to her. Her eyes narrowed into a glare.

"Good luck in the tournament." She stated coldly, before storming off.

Yamcha stared after her, in definite confusion. He knew he somehow hurt her feelings, but he had no idea how.

"Hey Yamcha, I found Roshi and the gang!" Krillin called out.

Yamcha snapped out of his thoughts and called back, "On my way!"

The Lookout

Kami watched Piccolo and Piano from the lookout. He knew something was off about the two of them. Somehow or another, they're hiding something. There was a magical field around them made to hide ki and hide themselves, yet he could see and feel them just fine. It was…troubling.

"Kami, it's time for the tournament!" Goku urged excitedly. "I don't wanna be late and miss all the fighting!"

Kami chuckled despite himself. Despite Goku becoming so much stronger, more skillful, more intelligent, and wiser, he still views fighting like a kid in a candy store. It was both endearing and somewhat alarming.

"Yes. We'll be on our way soon." Kami's smile fell. "However, I must warn you of something."

Goku's expression turned serious. "What is it?"

"As you know, Piccolo and Piano have been planning something over the last few years. I fear today we will learn what that plan is." Kami replied gravely.

Goku was quiet for a moment. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's gooo!"

Kami's eyes widened in surprise, before turning into a small smile. "Alright then, let us go."

Kami put his hand on Goku's shoulder and used instantaneous movement. The two teleported directly on Papaya Island.

"Let's go find everybody!" Goku exclaimed excitedly.

"You go on ahead. I have things I must do beforehand." Kami thought about it for a second. "Let them know what we're dealing with. We may need their help with whatever they are planning."

Goku nodded. He spread out his ki senses, looking for the higher ki levels. Quickly pinpointing where they are, he hurried in that direction.

Kami watched him go momentarily. He let out a deep sigh of stress. Even now that Daimao is gone, his sins are still wreaking havoc on the populace. But unlike Daimao whose goals were all impure, Piccolo and Piano's deeds goals are actually understandable. They want revenge for their father's death.

If he didn't banish the evil within himself, knowing it would create a living manifestation of his own sin, so many lives wouldn't have been lost. The demon king wouldn't exist, and the demon princes wouldn't exist either. This is all his fault.

At the time, he reasoned with himself that by doing this, he would prevent Garlic from being the next guardian of earth. However, he knew that was a lie. Garlic never had a chance of being the guardian. The imp was evil, selfish, and all things impure. Just like his other half.

If he wasn't so selfish, wanting the guardian position for mere bragging rights, none of this would happen. He can cast blame on Daimao and his sons or Garlic and his son, all he wants. However, the truth is he is at fault. For all of this.

Today he is going to rectify that. He may die today, but at least no one else will have to die because of him. Goku will be a better guardian anyway.

The Concession Stands of the World's Martial Arts Tournament

Goku found everyone and let them know what was going on. Each individual felt some level of unease after he was finished. Krillin plopped down on the grass with a complete lack of confidence.

"I don't wanna die again. Once was bad enough." Krillin admitted with some fear.

"I must agree." Roshi added gravely.

"You won't." Goku responded confidently. "None of you will."

Each of them looked up at him in surprise. His smile was confident, as if death was a ridiculous concept.

"Hey, you may have trained with Kami, but the rest of us have not. We may not have a chance." Krillin somewhat snapped.

"Yeah, but almost all of you are stronger than Tambourine now. Some of you are stronger than Drum was, and Tien is even stronger than Daimao." Goku pointed out confidently. "And none of this even includes Yurin's ability to make people around her stronger. We've got this."

They all stared at him in shock. They looked at each other, as if to verify what he said is true.

"Hey, how do you know all of that if you haven't even seen them in three years?" Bulma questioned.

"Oh, Kami has taught me how to sense ki. I know how strong all of you are." Goku responded with a grin.

They were in a momentary loss of words. Slowly, their confidence began rising again. Despite each person still feeling alarmed, they began to feel pride in themselves again.

Each of them talked about the upcoming tournament, talking about who they want to fight and how they're going to achieve their victory. However, Tights coughed to get their attention.

"You can't win a tournament without signing up for it first ya know." Tights stated matter-of-factly.

They all gaped in surprise, before the participants ran towards the sign up booth. Yajirobe stayed where he was, causing Tights to raise an eyebrow.

"I didn't wanna be here in the first place." He pointed out.

Yurin quickly ran back and grabbed him by his ear, causing him to help as she dragged him to the sign up booth. He chanted "okay, okay I'll do it. Just let go, okay!?" The whole way there.

Tights chuckled. Who needs brainstorming when you're surrounded by these dorks? The novels basically write themselves.

Author's note:

We're finally back into the action! I'm quite excited for this saga, as it will diverge from canon in various different aspects.

Well, whether to use Garlic Junior or not was a very close race. 58 people voted, with 57 saying to go into the Deadzone saga to one person saying don't. So by "barely" squeezing out a victory, Garlic Junior is happening!

Review responses:

Awareness Bringer: I'm glad you like it. I will be using Japanese words at times and English words at others. Thank you for your continued support!

Hyunkelakor: You will find out what he wished for soon, if you haven't figured it out already. However, I haven't seen any fanfiction with this idea before, so I think it'll be interesting at the very least.

LWexe: Yamcha and Krillin aren't really "slackers" in the traditional sense. They actually train very hard. But in comparison to the crane students, they relax a LOT more. This is what they meant by Yurin being on their case about it all of the time. I'm glad you love the friendship aspect, and thank you for your reviews.