Piccolo stared as Gohan shot upward like a cannonball, yellow energy leaving a contrail behind him.
"That's right," came Vegeta's mutter. "Keep him busy, kid." The sarcasm in his voice made it plain that he had no faith in Gohan's ability to beat the alien. Piccolo gritted his teeth and took off as well, not deigning to waste words on the spiteful Saiyan. It was petty ignorance on Vegeta's part, if he didn't think that Gohan could win. The boy's power was much greater than most people realized.
He could hear the hiss of air as Vegeta caught up with him. The Namekian coolly ignored him. Their alliance was temporary at best, and Piccolo was not about to get friendly with the villainous prince.
The creature's eyes bulged with disbelief as the three fighters rushed at it.
"I killed you!" it screeched, pointing a shaky finger at Piccolo.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you," the Namekian answered calmly. The creature continued to stare at him incredulously as he stripped off his weighted cape and turban and carelessly let them fall to the ground. It seemed to be waiting for him to keel over. Piccolo smirked—it would have a long time to wait.
"And you might want to keep an eye on your opposition," he added casually. Right on cue, Gohan slammed his fist into the beast's side, sending it careening through the air. Gohan gripped his forearm with one hand and held the other up high, fingers splayed.
"Masentko. . ." he shouted as brilliant yellow chi collected above his palm. He compressed it into a rough boomerang within seconds. Bringing his hand down with a shout, he shot it at the alien, who avoided the attack by smoothly curling its body out of the way. Gohan didn't seem daunted; the fact that his energy hadn't made contact with his enemy didn't even seem to have registered. His face remained frozen with an almost insane rage as he launched himself forward. Piccolo flanked him, flying neck and neck with his former pupil. Gohan had eyes for nothing but the creature. His fists shot out with crippling accuracy, landing blow after punishing blow on the purple scales. Piccolo joined the fight, but his sparring was merely busywork, a pretext to watch Gohan closely. The young half-Saiyan had been like this before. Piccolo knew from experience that when push came to shove, Gohan had a knack for pulling out all the stops in a most impressive display of power. But Piccolo also knew that the chi that almost exploded out of him at such moments wouldn't last long.
The beast upended itself and plummeted into the lake with a splash. Gohan followed him without hesitation, and Piccolo followed them both. He hardly noticed Vegeta come behind them and linger for a moment above the surface before plunging in as well.