Tensions ran high in the Korin Sanctuary, as what was widely considered by the people of the world to be an unstoppable force seemed at last to have found itself facing an immovable object. On one side, the fearsome Red Ribbon Army Colonel Yellow stood with an entire squadron of soldiers, all with guns trained on their target and ready to fire as soon as their superior officer gave the word. On the other side, the mighty Chief Bora of the Karinga Tribe stood before them, armed only with a simple wooden spear and an impressively muscular physique which showed the wear and tear of dozens of battles upon his body. For days now the Red Ribbon Army had been scouring the Sacred Land of Korin in search of one of the Dragon Balls, terrifying Bora's people and scaring off the wildlife that called the sacred land their home. Now they had finally found it, but Bora wasn't about to let them continue to rampage across his people's lands without a fight, and indeed had already slain over a dozen of their soldiers that had already tried and failed to claim the ball. All but a handful were left, and with the threat of execution at the hands of Commander Red should they fail, the soldiers were getting desperate to finally succeed.
"Look chief, you've got one more chance to avoid what's coming to you!" Colonel Yellow called out, hoping that his blustering would sufficiently mask his mounting terror. "Give us the ball, and we'll leave you and your people in peace!"
"I do not care about the ball, but I cannot stand by and allow you to get away with the destruction you have wrought upon this land," Bora replied simply. "You will leave and return to your master empty-handed...or you will all die." The other soldiers tensed in response to Bora's ultimatum, but as Bora was busy staring down his foes, only his young son Upa was able to spot the soldier attempting to sneak up on the chief from behind.
"Father, look out!" he cried, prompting Bora to turn around quicker than the soldiers could react and throw his spear directly towards the unseen assailant, piercing through both his chest and the tree as it killed him where he stood. In a panic, Colonel Yellow and the other soldiers fired with everything they had, but the bullets merely bounced off of his skin as he flexed his muscles to brace for the impact. The colonel had no choice but to turn tail and run towards his plane as his soldiers were each killed in a single blow. With the danger having passed for the moment, Bora silently moved to bury the men he had just killed out of respect for their lives, while Colonel Yellow frantically scrambled to get in contact with his superiors at the Red Ribbon Army Headquarters.
"This is Colonel Yellow! HQ, this is urgent, do you read me?! Please respond!" The dog-man waited nervously for almost a minute before he was finally put in contact with Officer Black.
"Colonel Yellow, what is your status?" Officer Black asked rather calmly, considering the situation, only beginning to grow concerned as the colonel described what just occurred. "I see," he replied at last. "Listen closely; we have been monitoring the movements of the insurgents, and they are rapidly approaching your position. You must get the ball and return to headquarters before they arrive, or you will be vanquished just like our other officers. Is that understood?"
"Y-yes sir! I-I believe I have a plan to get the ball! I'll put it into motion immediately!"
"Yes, for your own sake, I suggest you do," Officer Black replied before closing the line, leaving Colonel Yellow to his scheming. Unfortunately for him, had Officer Black stayed on the line for only a moment longer, he might have overheard that one of the insurgents, upon coming within sight of the Sacred Land of Korin, had rapidly increased his flying speed to intercept his plane. If he had known this, he might have been more careful about what he said aloud.
"Alright, all I have to do is kidnap that chief's brat before the monkeys show up, and I'll have the Dragon Ball in my possession and be back in Command's good graces in no time!"
"Is that so?" an unknown voice said behind the colonel, one that sent shivers down his spine. As he turned to face the one who had somehow snuck up on him, he had barely any time to react before Tarble grabbed hold of him and shoved him through his own plane, tearing it apart and sending him hurtling towards the ground. He was certain he was going to end up as a bloody paste on the ground, but to his confusion, he suddenly found himself lying on the ground perfectly fine and released from Tarble's grip. No sooner had he realized this than the boy hit him over the head, knocking him out cold in a single karate chop.
"Not on my watch."
"So, that is how it is, then?"
As he spoke, the intimidating figure of Tao Pai-pai stood across from the leadership of the Red Ribbon Army, clad in his iconic pink changshan with the kanji for "kill" emblazoned in blood red ink on the front. Although the man would look quite ordinary under normal circumstances, with the red ribbon around his braided hair even serving as a potential point of ridicule to some, anyone with any knowledge of the man's twenty year career as an assassin would soon learn the folly of making such remarks, albeit not without losing their life shortly thereafter. In all of his many years of living, nobody has ever come close to defeating the mercenary in battle, a reputation which has served him well in his relatively recent occupation. Now, having just been briefed on everything that his employers knew about the two that would become his targets, he was about to embark upon what he had every reason to believe would be yet another successful mission.
"Yes, these two aliens are rather formidable indeed. The elder one, Tarble, has only been defeated once thus far, and that was only after one of our men discovered their weakness by chance," Officer Black confirmed. "I would recommend grabbing their tails in order to neutralize them as quickly as possible and ensure that you can-"
Tao Pai-pai scoffed. "On the contrary, I have no plans of utilizing this weakness of theirs," he said simply, to the shock of both Officer Black and Commander Red.
"What?! But, with their power, they may even be a match for-!"
"Do not finish that sentence if you value your life," the mercenary replied back, not raising his voice in the slightest yet still making his murderous intent plain to hear. Once he realized that Officer Black was sufficiently cowed, he continued. "From what you two have told me, these two may be the most challenging targets I have ever had the pleasure of killing. I'm not about to deprive myself of that opportunity unless it truly becomes necessary...which I highly doubt will be the case." With his point having been made, the mercenary began to walk towards the courtyard of the Red Ribbon Army Headquarters before Commander Red spoke up.
"Before you leave, we would also request that you bring the four Dragon Balls in their possession to us, as well as whatever device they have that allows them to ascertain their location, if possible," he remarked, to which the mercenary nodded, being vaguely familiar with the legend.
"Very well. It shall be done. And, oh, don't bother with any transportation you may have provided for me," he said, spotting Officer Black out of the corner of his eye. "I simply need a large cylindrical object; a tree, or this pillar, perhaps," he added, gesturing to one of the pillars lining the courtyard that helped to support the overhang above it. The two officers cocked their heads in confusion, not sure what the mercenary was getting at, before he simply pried the pillar from its foundations and hoisted it over his shoulder. "I shall be back before the hour is up. Do be sure to have my payment ready for me when I return, or I will be quite...cross." With that dire warning, he threw the pillar into the sky and leapt off after it, landing upon it and using it as a board to sail through the sky in pursuit of his targets. As Officer Black stood in stunned silence, awed by the mercenary's power, Commander Red let out a hearty laugh.
"Ha ha ha! It's as if the job has already been done!"
"Uh, guys? You might want to take a look at this."
Bulma sat at the base of Korin Tower, poring over the Dragon Radar and an odd peculiarity that she had finally noticed now that the group had some time on their hands. After Goku carefully tucked the four-star Dragon Ball into his uniform once Tarble gave it to him, the two Saiyans made their way over to the girl to see just what the situation was.
"What's wrong? Is the next Dragon Ball somewhere that would be difficult to reach?" Tarble asked, to which Bulma shook her head.
"It's not that. See, there's supposed to be seven of them, and we've got four now. Two of them seem to be clustered in one location which roughly matches where the Red Ribbon Army is rumored to keep their headquarters, but the last one...isn't on here." The two boys both cocked their heads in confusion, not quite sure what Bulma was getting at.
"What do you mean? You said that the Dragon Balls give off some kinda electronic-electromagnet-electromagnetic signature that you can track from anywhere in the whole world, didn'tcha?" Goku asked, leaving both Tarble and Bulma surprised that he could pronounce the word "electromagnetic," albeit after a few tries, let alone that he remembered her explanation of how the device worked. Bulma simply nodded in response, not sure what it meant herself.
"Yeah, they do, which means the only explanations I can think of for why one of them isn't on the radar at all are that someone has either found a means to block that electromagnetic signature, or...someone or something else destroyed one of them." The group fell silent as they contemplated the implications of Bulma's theories until Bulma tried to lighten the mood a bit. "Although, if it helps, I kinda feel like the rest of them would just become inert if one of them was destroyed, so hopefully it isn't that." With that, the group breathed a sigh of relief before a question came to the forefront of Tarble's mind.
"Is there anything you can do about this?" he asked, to which Bulma could only shrug.
"Well, I can tinker with it a bit, try and boost the sensitivity to see if that'll get through whatever interference could be causing this, but I've got no idea whether or not that'll help," Bulma admitted sheepishly, to which Tarble smiled in response.
"Not to worry. If anyone can get to the bottom of this, it's you," he said earnestly, turning away to speak with Goku just in time to miss the blush on Bulma's face. "In the meantime, with the only remaining balls that we can track in the possession of our enemy, I say that we take the fight to them. We'll stay here until Bulma modifies the Dragon Radar, and after that is done-"
"LOOK OUT!" Bora cried abruptly, having spotted something hurtling towards the group from the sky which the rest of them had failed to notice. Without another word, Tarble and Goku leapt out of the way while Bora swiftly pushed Bulma out of danger mere seconds before a stone pillar crashed into the ground where she had been standing. The fighters barely had any time to get their bearings when none other than the legendary assassin Tao Pai-pai leapt from the falling pillar so that he could land safely on top of it after it had impacted.
"Greetings!" he called out rather amicably, considering the circumstances. "I trust that my fearsome visage needs no introduction?" Although he expected to meet a sea of terrified faces in response to his arrival, he instead was met with numerous expressions of confusion and bewilderment. Only Bulma seemed to have any idea who he was, and was indeed shaking in her boots as she instinctively hid behind Tarble for protection while Upa retreated to the teepee that he shared with his father. The assassin simply scoffed. "I had expected a significantly greater portion of mortal terror, but no matter! I am here for one reason and one reason only; to kill you two alien brats on behalf of the Red Ribbon Army! I have heard of the destruction you two have wrought upon my employers...and I am eager to test your mettle in battle." With that introduction out of the way, he assumed a combat stance, prompting the two Saiyans and Bora to ready themselves for a fight as well before Bulma tried in vain to pull Tarble away.
"Hang on, Tarble, think about this!" Bulma implored. "Tao Pai-pai isn't just another Red Ribbon goon; he's the world's greatest assassin! He's even killed one of the previous World Martial Arts champions! He's not someone to be taken lightly!"
"She's right, you know!" the mercenary butted in, prompting Tarble to turn towards Bulma and do his best to reassure her.
"Don't worry. He may be formidable, but I highly doubt that he can take on all three of us."
"You'd be surprised," the mercenary butted in again, causing Tarble to glare at him.
"Would you stay out of this?" he asked, his annoyance evident as the mercenary simply scoffed in amusement at Tarble's irritation.
"Simply making conversation before your inevitable demise, my furry-tailed friend," Tao Pai-pai replied with a sinister glint in his eye. "However, if you wish for a demonstration..." Without another word, he fired off his signature Dodonpa directly towards Goku, encompassing his entire body in a blast of ki and sending him sprawling across the ground before he finally stopped, unmoving. The rest of the group was left in utter shock at how easily Goku was seemingly dispatched, with Bulma rushing to his side while Bora was the first to act.
"You would dare shed a child's blood in this sacred land?! You will pay for this with your life, assassin!" With that, Bora charged towards the mercenary with his spear in hand against Tarble's warning to stay back, only for Tao Pai-pai to send the large man flying into the base of Korin Tower with a single slap of his hand, leaving him and Tarble as the only warriors left standing. Adding insult to injury, the mercenary smirked in Tarble's direction as he decided to taunt the Saiyan warrior.
"Well, now that the chaff is out of the way...let us see what you are truly capable of," Tao Pai-pai remarked as he entered into a combat stance once more, delighting in the look of absolute rage which crossed Tarble's face at the supposed loss of what had quickly become his closest friend and his only kin on this world. As Bulma looked up from examining Goku's body, she witnessed a side to Tarble that she had only seen glimpses of previously, one that seemed to be possessed of a well of righteous anger that was both awe-inspiring...and terrifying.
With one last scream of fury, Tarble flew towards the assassin with all of the power he could muster, with Tao Pai-pai only barely managing to counter his incoming punch with a blow of his own, the collision of which sent a shockwave throughout the area that knocked Bulma off of her feet. No longer willing to give his opponent even a fleeting second to catch his breath, Tarble continued to go on the offensive, raining down a lightning fast flurry of blows which Tao Pai-pai largely succeeded in countering. However, as the exchange of punches and kicks between the two fighters continued, it quickly became apparent that for every strike Tao Pai-pai managed to land upon his opponent, Tarble in turn would land a strike against him in retaliation, and sometimes manage to land two of them in rapid succession. Faced with this indisputable fact, Tao Pai-pai grimaced as he leapt away from Tarble, having taken a somewhat more thorough beating compared to his opponent. Not wishing to make Tarble aware of the fear hidden deep within his heart, the assassin masked it with a chuckle.
"Incredible! I can see why you gave the Red Ribbon Army such trouble! However, even you cannot hope to fare well against my signature technique!" With that, he began charging up a Dodonpa with all of his considerable power behind it. "Now, then, prepare to meet the same fate as your fellow monkey brat! DODONPA!" As the assassin fired the ki blast towards him, Tarble simply stood there with his hands cupped together, relying upon a memory over a decade old to help him counter this powerful ki technique. In his mind's eye, he could see the image implanted into his brain all those years ago: what must have been a recording of his brother, Vegeta, as a young boy, firing off a purple beam of ki with such extraordinary power behind it that it blew through an entire squad of Saiyan soldiers that had been ordered to train with him. With everything he needed to fire off this ultimate technique at his fingertips, Tarble curled his fingers and placed both of his palms together at chest level in order to charge up enough ki, then thrust them outwards.
"GALICK GUN...FIRE!" Tarble cried out, letting loose a powerful beam of purple ki that met the Dodonpa right before it would have impacted against Tarble's chest. Although it was his first time ever using the technique compared to the many times which Tao Pai-pai had utilized the Dodonpa to assassinate his targets, the two beams only clashed for a short time before it became clear that Tarble's Galick Gun had significantly more power behind it. With barely enough time to let out a cry of shock, Tao Pai-pai was overwhelmed by the Galick Gun and sent flying into the base of Korin Tower, which somehow managed to weather the blast much better than he did. Knowing that he was outmatched, yet unwilling to concede the battle just yet, Tao Pai-pai staggered to his feet in the tattered remains of his clothing as Tarble flew towards him, fairly winded himself after pouring all of his power into that attack. Tarble seemed ready to finish the assassin off with one final blow when Tao Pai-pai interjected, having come up with a last-ditch effort to save himself.
"Wait! Please, proud warrior, forgive me!" the assassin cried, getting onto his hands and knees as Tarble's rage momentarily subsided in the face of his confusion. Seeing this, the assassin continued, "I swear, if you let me go, I'll never commit evil deeds again! I'll-I'll become a farmer, that's what I'll do! I'll become a peaceful country farmer, a-and you'll never have to hear from me again! Just-just let me go, please! Have mercy on me!"
Although Tarble was only distracted by the assassin's pitiful display for a moment before his desire for revenge won out, it was enough time for Tao Pai-pai to proceed to the next stage of his last-ditch plan: tossing a bomb directly in between where Bulma had fallen and the teepee in which Upa was currently hiding. Left with barely any time to react, Tarble flew towards the bomb without thinking, manuevering himself in such a way that his body was able to absorb the brunt of the explosion. While Bulma and Upa were left relatively unharmed, the same could not be said for Tarble, who was left sprawled on the ground trying desperately to stand back up and continue the fight. Capitalizing on his chance, Tao Pai-pai quickly leapt over to the fallen Saiyan and landed a powerful kick to his stomach, leaving the boy winded. As one foot went to clamp down upon his tail, the other continued to kick Tarble while he was down, breaking numerous bones until one final palm strike to the forehead left the boy unconscious. With no one else seeming capable of stopping him, Tao Pai-pai readied himself to fire off another Dodonpa at point blank range in hopes of finishing Tarble off, unaware that someone was indeed prepared to try and stop him.
"EAT LEAD, YOU BASTARD!" Bulma cried out, having shakily gotten back to her feet and pulled out the very same gun that she had used to shoot Goku when they first met. Now, that same gun was quickly emptied into the back of Tao Pai-pai's head, and while it did little more than leave a handful of bloody welts where the bullets had hit him, it was still enough to throw off the assassin's aim as the Dodonpa hit Tarble in the shoulder instead of his brain. With an angry growl, the assassin grabbed Tarble's unconscious body by the tail and threw him towards Bulma with enough force to knock her unconscious as well. With a quick brush of the back of his head, the bloody bullets clattered to the ground, and Tao Pai-pai casually walked over to where the young prospective couple had fallen in order to ensure that they were both dead. So preoccupied with this was he that he failed to notice a small buildup of ki coming from another presumably fallen opponent, one that he only registered upon hearing the child's voice.
"Ka...me...ha...me..." Goku muttered weakly, having only just regained consciousness after the Dragon Ball in his pocket absorbed the brunt of the Dodonpa and seeing both Tarble and Bulma go down before his unfocused eyes. With barely any time to defend himself from an attack coming from an opponent he had sworn was dead, Tao Pai-pai hastily charged up a retort with what strength he had left, hoping against hope that it could stand against the young boy's power.
"DODONPA!"
"HAAAA!"
With that, the assassin found himself in the midst of a beam clash once more, and while he reasoned that he would have been able to fend off the boy's attack easily at his full power, he realized too late that his fight with Tarble had drained him too severely to succeed in doing so now. Thus, with true fear in his eyes as he contemplated the attack that could have meant his end, he could only scream in terror as the Kamehameha enveloped his Dodonpa and later his entire body in a wave of blue ki. Left barely able to stand, Tao Pai-pai could only watch dazed as Goku too fell unconscious, having used up all his energy in the hopes that it would be enough to finish the assassin off. Not wanting to take any more chances now that he was left with one foot in the grave, the assassin made the heart-wrenching decision to retreat for now, hoping that he would recover more quickly than his enemies so that he could finish them off at a later date. Making sure to grab any Dragon Balls he could find so that he would not return to the Red Ribbon Army empty-handed, the assassin staggered over to the pillar that he had used to get there, reasoning that it would take all of his remaining strength to throw the pillar back towards their headquarters. Before he had the chance to put this into effect, however, he quickly found himself stymied once again by a presumably fallen opponent as a spear sailed through the sky and embedded itself into the pillar, taking his left hand with it. As the bag with the Dragon Balls he had gathered fell to the ground from his torn open hand, Tao Pai-pai could only cry out in agony as he turned towards his attacker: none other than Bora, who had just managed to get back to his feet himself. Left with nowhere to go, the assassin watched as Bora moved towards him with surprising speed for someone so bulky, breaking Tao Pai-pai's other hand with a single powerful blow.
"As I told you before...you will pay for this...with your life," Bora said through gritted teeth, readying another powerful blow to finish the assassin off. Left with no other choice, Tao Pai-pai frantically attempted to land a kick towards the chief's chest in hopes that it would be enough to kill him, only to realize too late that his opponent was ever so slightly faster. With the sickening crunch of his ribs pressing into his heart ringing in his ears, Tao Pai-pai looked up towards the sky as he began to lose consciousness, thinking back on the one decision he had made over the course of his long life that he had ever truly come to regret.
"Brother...forgive...me..." the assassin muttered to himself, before everything faded to black.
When Goku awoke next, he found himself lying in a cot with Upa watching over him, turning to alert his father to the boy's awakening as soon as he realized that his eyes were open. As Bora ducked under the teepee's opening to check on Goku, the Saiyan child noticed the bandages wrapped around the chief's head, but was nonetheless thankful that he seemed to have fared better in the recent battle than the rest of them. At his father's stern insistence, Upa scampered off to go check on Bulma and Tarble in an adjoining teepee, giving Goku the chance to question Bora on just what had transpired since he passed out.
"What's going on? Did I get him?" Goku asked, prompting Bora to chuckle.
"Not quite, but if you hadn't attacked him when you did, I suspect I would not have been able to best him on my own. You and that Tarble fellow are quite remarkable, and I thank you both for your assistance in dealing with that monster." Goku frowned as a thought occurred to him.
"Aw, but he wouldn't have even come here if me and Tarble hadn't been around. We totally put you and your kid in danger!" Bora offered Goku a reassuring smile.
"Perhaps, but if you hadn't come here, my son would probably have been kidnapped by that Colonel Yellow fellow and put in just as much danger, not to mention that the Red Ribbon Army would likely have their hands on another Dragon Ball. Regardless, you both did a good thing today." Goku smiled slightly in response to Bora's encouragement, accepting the chief's offer to help him up onto his feet so that they could both exit the teepee.
"Thanks for nursing me back to health, mister!" Goku said, to which Bora simply smiled.
"Think nothing of it. It's the least I can do for you both, considering," Bora replied before his expression darkened as he caught sight of the teepee in which Tarble and Bulma were being kept. "I only wish I could have done the same for your friend."
At this, Goku's eyes widened in alarm. "A-are they-?!"
"Your friend Bulma is fine, as far as I can tell; she will awaken in a few hours. As for Tarble, however...I did my best, but his injuries were too severe for me to treat with the medicinal herbs at my disposal. He is alive, but...I fear he may never awaken." Goku's face fell as he desperately sought some faint glimmer of hope from the imposing chief.
"Come on, there-there has to be something we can do for him! This...this can't be it!" As tears threatened to spill out from Goku's eyes, Bora thought long and hard before remembering a tale he had been told in his youth.
"There may be a way, but it will not be easy," Bora began, causing Goku to look up at him with a hopeful expression. "It is said that at the top of Korin Tower lives a hermit by the same name, a holy being that grows a crop of magical beans which are said to keep a man full for ten days...as well as heal just about any injury. I attempted to climb the tower once in pursuit of greater strength, but I could only make it about a third of the way before turning back. I am not sure that anyone has made it, but if anyone could, it would be the two of you." After mulling over it briefly, Goku gave Bora a determined nod and rushed towards the base of the tower which stretched past the clouds.
"Don't worry, Tarble! I'll get those beans for you in no time!" Goku cried before leaping as high as he could towards the tower, climbing higher and higher until he disappeared from sight.
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS I LAY DORMANT, BUT AT LAST, I HAVE RETURNED!
Not even gonna bother making excuses for how long this took; I've been focusing on other fics and busy with other things for so long that it just kinda slipped my mind, but coming back to this story fresh after all this time seemed to give me a new surge of inspiration. Hopefully y'all enjoy what I've got written down here. Still not gonna do a proper list of power levels yet, but this chapter has hopefully demonstrated where everybody falls more or less: Goku at his canon level of power for now while Tarble is sitting pretty at a power level somewhat above that of Tao Pai-pai, forcing him to utilize the same dirty tricks he used against Goku in canon.
As for review responses, hoo boy, we've got a lot of them after all this time, so without any further ado, here we go!
Abyssdoor says:
"I think you're the first english-writing author that I've seen using "Tao Pai-pai" instead of just "Mercenary Tao" or (worst case) "General Tao" as some people here call him (even when he was never really part of the Red Ribbon)."
Yeah, I try to be accurate to how the manga names things when I can, particularly since the manga names are often much cooler (see: Kienzan vs Destructo Disc).
Aurora Orozco Zuiga (Had to plug this one into Google Translate since my high school Spanish knowledge has retreated into the never-ending void, so apologies if I butchered any of this) says:
"Everything was great. Knowing that Goku already knows many things and he is not being an innocent fool I think he will be but at least he knows his origin. What? Tarble and Bulma not that. I know what is happening where Vegeta is if there is no story but it would be very uncomfortable if your brother took your wife away from you and bulma would look like a whore. When [Tarble] finds out that [it translated this bit as "vegetables," but I'm assuming you meant Planet Vegeta?] was destroyed, he will have many questions."
I'm assuming from this that you don't like the ship of Bulma and Tarble, but if the objection is based on it presumably being infidelity, then A. Vegeta isn't gonna show up in this story for a *while*, and B. When he does, he won't be getting with Bulma to begin with, so no worries there. I know a lot of people enjoy the Bulma/Vegeta ship, but I feel like this ship has its own qualities that I'd like to explore. And yeah, he will *definitely* have some questions about Planet Vegeta's destruction, but that realization isn't coming his way for a *long* time.
Darkjaden says:
"I love this story and with Tarble there Goku will have someone he want to train with because unlike Piccolo they are friends."
Indeed! He's basically a friendlier, generally kind-hearted, and much weaker Vegeta for him to hang out with way earlier than they meet in canon.
Reishin Amara says:
"Commander red...kinda an idiot...wanted the Dragonballs for a few inches...of course frieza mentioned wanting the same lately...Considering Bulma made a shrink gun u would think she could solve that..."
Yeah, that whole plot point in the Broly movie was kinda stupid. And believe me, that idiotic desire of Red's is gonna cost him sooner than you'd think...
KakashiHatakeDFS says:
"I think I'm gonna end up leaving a review on every chapter of this (εanyway, I'm anxiously waiting to see how this saiyan influence affects goku in the long run, and how vegeta will take his brother not being the weakling he thought he would be. as always, anxiously awaiting a new chapter!"
Glad you liked the story! Honestly, not too sure how it would affect him in the long run, as beyond knowing more about his heritage, it hasn't really done much so far. Think he might develop a sense of longing for his own biological parents since he doesn't know that they're dead too, and he could potentially learn how to control the Oozaru form with Tarble's help, but I feel like that'd blow the Dragon Ball arcs even more wide open than Tarble's inclusion already does, lmao.
Various Guests say:
"First of all, I want to say that I've never read a story about Tarble so cool and fitting, so thank you for your contribution. And I also have been wondering when will Vegeta show up. Since you'll be covering all the pre-z sagas and he appears in the character label, will he show up earlier?... (That would be nice... while at it, you can ad a love triangle chapter ( ͡ ͜ʖ ͡)) This is amazing! Please keep going •w•"
Glad you liked it, although you might be disappointed as far as the love triangle possibilities: I generally don't do that, plus doing it with two brothers fighting over a woman in particular has been done to death. As I mentioned above, Vegeta probably won't show up until around when he does in canon, and he isn't getting with Bulma in this story, but that doesn't mean I haven't given thought to him getting with somebody. Perhaps a certain fiery Dragon Ball character who is painfully underutilized beyond the original Dragon Ball series? ;)
"Update."
Welp, I did eventually, lol. Sorry it took so long!
"Love this! Need more!"
And more you shall receive, dear reader!
"Love this story! Need more!"
I suspect this is the same person as the last one, in which case I appreciate your enthusiasm, lol.
Daemon Wolf 22 says:
"I just found this story today, already read all five chapters. I don't browse the DBZ section often, but when I do, I don't see many stories that take place in the Dragon Ball era. I never watched Dragon Ball, partially due to not having the chance because Netflix seemingly hates this particular franchise or something, but I do know the gist of it and I played Advanced Adventure, so I've got a pretty good idea of who's who and what's what here.
I love Tarble from his concept alone, but the series itself hasn't bothered to even TRY to use him, so it's quite satisfying to see fanfics that make use of him, especially one like this. I wasn't expecting to go all the way to this point in time, but I'm certainly happy to see where it goes from here.
This has a lot of potential. No rush, but please, don't let this die like so many others."
Eh, I admittedly kinda did, but I promise I'll try and update it a bit more consistently from now on. Glad you've been enjoying this fic so far, though!
Finally, A says:
"It's so hard to find a good Tarble FF and I really like yours. I hope you will continue at any time. :) Lg"
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy the latest chapter.
As always, feel free to let me know what y'all think in the reviews below. Thank you all for reading, stay safe, wear a mask and get vaccinated if possible, have yourselves a fantastic night, and take care.
