Deep in the mountainous valley surrounding the Crane School, in a secluded grove behind a slippery gorge, hidden from the world, Tenshinhan unleashed his frustration upon tree and stone. His weakness had cost him everything he had toiled and suffered for. He tasted bile in his mouth, remembering how Tao Pai Pai had asked Kakarot to accompany him on his next assignments as a reward for his victory. The assassin had never praised anyone before, and yet, the monkey-tailed boy had impressed him. If Tenshinhan had won, would he have gotten the same treatment?
All his rage vented out, Tenshinhan flew back to the school. The world moved on as if nothing had happened. For the first time since his arrival, he decided to take a day off. All his training had been for nothing, after all. What greater harm could a little rest do?
Immersed in his thoughts, he didn't notice the Crane Hermit beside him. "Come with me," the master said without further ado. They walked to the inner training yard, where the old man paced back and forth, as he used to do when putting his thoughts in order. Finally, he stopped and turned to him. "Tell me, what do you think about Kakarot?"
The sound of his name made Tenshinhan snarl. "He is a—"
"I did not ask what you feel about Kakarot," the Crane Hermit cut him off, "but what you think of him. Coldly analyze his arrival, stay, and rise in our ranks, until his recent departure."
Tenshinhan did his best to put aside his emotions and think of Kakarot with a calm mind. "He was already strong when he came to us, much more than any martial arts master outside of Mutaito's line."
"I also thought about my old rival, the Turtle Hermit. Of how he might have trained and sent the boy to destroy us. I have seen traces of his style, or perhaps it was my mind playing tricks on me. But no, if Roshi could grow a spine and become that ruthless, he would have done so centuries ago. So what other alternatives remain?"
Tenshinhan didn't know any more martial artists who met the requirements.
"Kakarot has only been with us for six months," the master continued. "In that time, he has mastered our combat style, discovered and delved remarkably into his knowledge of ki, learned the Sky Dancing Art, the Solar Flare, and the Dodonpa, and beaten every one of our students. An outstanding improvement, wouldn't you say?"
It was true. Even for Tenshinhan, who had been considered a genius, achieving Kakarot's accomplishments had taken five years of constant training. How could the monkey-tailed boy have done so in such a short time? Unless... "What if he already knew it?"
The Crane Hermit's ever-present smirk turned bitter, like a poisoned dagger. "A part of me suspected it from the beginning, but pride in having found another exceptional student blinded me to the evidence. The only problem is that there is only one man capable of teaching our way outside these walls."
"Tao Pai Pai," whispered Tenshinhan, as a chill crept up his spine. "But why?"
"Tao and I have always had our differences. Were we not brothers, one of us would have died at the hands of the other a long time ago. Tell me, Tenshinhan, did you ever hear about the Demon King Piccolo?"
Tenshinhan nodded. The Crane Hermit had mentioned the fearsome enemy of his youth only once and in passing, and yet he would never be able to forget it. It was the one time he saw fear in his master's eyes.
The Crane Hermit let out a long sigh before continuing. "After his defeat, the world was left bereft of powerful warriors, and Roshi, the man who would become the Turtle Hermit, was too soft. Sure, he would fight with all his heart when the moment came, but he didn't have it in him to uproot evil before it could flourish.
"Tao was only a child then, so I took on the responsibility of shaping him into a martial artist strong enough to be an ally in the fight to defend the world should the threat arise again. An equal. But my younger brother had never known a horror like Piccolo's. He had never felt the impotence of facing an invincible enemy. His strength made him arrogant, and in the absence of challenges on his level, I fear he may have turned his sights toward us."
"But Tao Pai Pai is a member of our school, what reason could he have to infiltrate an agent in it?"
The Crane Hermit turned his back and looked up at the sky. "Centuries ago, I created a terrible technique as a secret weapon to destroy someone as strong as the Demon King Piccolo: the Kikoho. It can bring forth energy beyond that of the user, resulting in an unimaginable destructive power. Its secret lies in using not just ki as a source of power, but life itself.
"While I worked on it, Tao saw its devastating effects, and not knowing its heavy toll, he has coveted it ever since. But such a technique can only be entrusted to someone who embodies the virtues of the Crane School. Kakarot was shaping up to be a perfect candidate. Without a doubt, my brother's goal was for me to teach the boy the secrets of the Kikoho, which he would later learn from him.
"If Kakarot is my brother's pawn, we need to do something to balance the scales in our favor, don't you think?"
"Whatever it takes, Master."
The streets of North City were pure chaos. Earthlings and vehicles of all types came and went, and everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Being surrounded by people made Kakarot feel suffocated, as if that mass of flesh was stealing his air. Beside him, Tao Pai Pai walked upright, and people parted before him.
They were headed for the assassin's next target: a business tycoon whose conglomerate controlled most of the city's economic activity. Apparently, his competitors had had enough of this and had pooled resources to hire Tao Pai Pai.
In the two weeks he had traveled with the World's Greatest Assassin, Kakarot had seen him kill the young heir to a great fortune, an up-and-coming crime lord, and a journalist who refused to accept payments for hiding his investigations into a corruption plot in the West City political class. None of them were warriors, just regular Earthlings someone wanted dead. Finding them was a bigger challenge than killing them, and that wasn't too complicated either.
Kakarot had observed the assassin day and night but had found nothing he could learn from him. He did find weaknesses. Tao Pai Pai didn't train, so his strength must have been stagnant for a long time, and he never fought opponents on his level, so his technique would be rusty. Besides, his pride was something to be reckoned with. He needed to always be pristine, if he found even a speck of dust in his tunic, they would stop in the nearest settlement and have them cleaned before continuing. Kakarot had also seen him apply black dye to the roots of his hair, eyebrows, and mustache every morning, since his true color was as white as that of the Crane Hermit; after all, both men were centuries old.
They arrived at their destination, a luxurious restaurant that looked more like a palace. They went in and asked for a table. The Earthling who attended them looked them up and down with a haughty gesture, but as soon as Tao Pai Pai waved around a thick bundle of bills, the man gladly led them to a table in the great hall.
From his seat, Kakarot could see the target: a fat man dressed in a white suit, surrounded by food, women, and a dozen well-built bodyguards dressed in black. They seemed to be celebrating something by the way they feasted and laughed. Tao Pai Pai had his back to the group but kept his attention fixed on them as he sipped his cup of tea.
"When will we attack?" Kakarot asked, leaning forward in his chair. "They're distracted, I could kill them all in a second."
"Patience is a virtue, and this tea is excellent. Look at the target. He is happy, won't be going anywhere."
Kakarot snorted and sipped his tea. It was just leafy hot water. If he'd known they were going to wait, he would have ordered something to eat.
A while later, after his third cup of tea, Tao Pai Pai got up from his chair. Kakarot walked with him to the tycoon's large table, full of half-emptied dishes and bottles. They waited in silence until the fat man noticed their presence. "And who are you?" he asked with his big face red by the drink. "You must be the oldest, ugliest waiter I've ever seen. Where are the others, the young girls?"
Tao Pai Pai smirked with his mouth but his eyes revealed his contained anger. "You are a greedy man, Mr. Pennybags. Whether it's money, food, drink, or women, you never seem to have enough. You have so much, one would assume you could afford good manners. Alas, you will die as vulgar as you have lived."
The tycoon awkwardly rose from the chair, and his bodyguards sprang to position, guns pointed at Tao Pai Pai. "What did you say, you damn hick?" he yelled behind the wall of armed men.
Tao Pai Pai disarmed them all before they could react. The assassin used his superior speed, but his movements were not efficient. Obviously, it wasn't needed against these opponents, but that lack of care would be his downfall when Kakarot decided to kill him. The entire entourage fell to the floor, dead.
"I'm in a good mood today. Whoever wishes to keep his life, go away now," Tao Pai Pai said to the rest of the people at the restaurant, who rushed out without a second thought.
The tycoon tried to run away but stumbled and fell on his ass on the polished marble floor. Tao Pai Pai picked up some unused chopsticks from the table and examined them closely. Without a word, he threw them at the tycoon's throat, where they sank halfway. The fat man brought a hand to his neck, but there was nothing he could do. His white suit ended up covered in blood.
As they left, Tao Pai Pai went up to the Earthling who attended them at the entrance, who looked petrified at the crime scene. "The tea was sublime. I will definitely return to this establishment."
They put North City behind and made their way back to the Crane School. Without the scouter, it was difficult to be sure, but Kakarot guessed Tao Pai Pai's power level to be between those of Tenshinhan, whom Kakarot had already surpassed, and the 120 of the Crane Hermit. Kakarot's own power would not be very far behind. He was confident that he could kill him if he used all he had, although he knew that the fight would be very even and he couldn't let his guard down for a single moment.
They walked for several hours until they reached a wind-swept plain, and Tao Pai Pai stopped. The hair on Kakarot's tail bristled at a sense of imminent danger, but they both remained still and silent.
Finally, Tao Pai Pai turned to him. "Have you ever wondered why I let you come with me when I've worked alone for years?"
"Not really. But then again, I too had my reasons for accepting."
Tao Pai Pai chuckled, a self-assured smile on his old face. "There are two reasons. The first: I do not like that my brother has a more powerful disciple than Tenshinhan. I have no affection for the boy, but when the time comes, I know that his loyalty to me surpasses what he has to his master. That I can use to my advantage. You, on the other hand, strike me as a free agent.
"The second reason, and really the only one that should matter, is that I've been hired to kill you. Several months ago, a very polite girl paid me a fortune in gold and jewels to kill a young boy with a wild black mane and a monkey tail, who she claimed killed her poor father. Like all students of the Crane School, you've had your head shaved, but that tail waving behind you is unmistakable."
That damn brat, Gyuma's daughter, Kakarot thought. I should have killed her then."Of course," Tao Pai Pai continued, "killing you during my stay at the Crane School was out of the question, as my brother would never forgive it, and I need him alive; for the moment, at least. But after separating you from the herd, I can say that you died during one of the missions, and no one would be the wiser."
Kakarot breathed in deep and let out a hearty laugh.
Tao Pai Pai looked at him with an uncertain smile. "Do you find the thought of imminent death amusing?"
"No, it's not that. It's just that I was also planning to kill you, and doing it here, in the middle of nowhere, will be much easier than back at the Crane School."
"I praise your ambition, young man, but it does no good to the dead." Tao Pai Pai crouched and got on guard.
Kakarot threw the first blow, but the old man had good reflexes. He hit back, landing a fist in his face. Kakarot wiped the line of blood from his mouth and smiled. This would be a good one.
They exchanged punches and kicks by the hundreds, mostly hitting each other's guards. Still, no significant damage had been delivered by the time the sun had began sinking to the west. The fight drew out, but Kakarot did not mind. He was enjoying himself, and Tao Pai Pai's age would make him tire faster.
Kakarot began to push his opponent back, slowly at first, but with each passing minute, the result of the fight became more evident. The Earthling's breathing hastened as he blocked Kakarot's blows, but the incessant attack began to make a dent in his defense.
Tao Pai Pai managed to give him a kick that sent him several meters back and took advantage of the lull in the fight to take out a capsule that contained a fierce-looking saber inside. The Earthling waved it in the air with a bloodthirsty smile and charged again.
Kakarot, breathing hard, kept his distance and dodged the sharp blade, which whistled every time it cut the air. He concentrated ki in his hand and fired a Dodonpa with his arm folded so as not to expose it to his enemy's sword. The beam struck the middle of the blade and caused a small explosion. Steel shards flew in all directions, but most ended up on Tao Pai Pai's chest, who ripped off his damaged and bloody tunic.
The assassin gasped out of fatigue, his wounds, and blood loss, which would only get worse as the fight went on. Then he raised his arms in surrender. "You're pretty good, kid, I'll give you that... But you ain't better than me." He lowered his arms, a Dodonpa readied in each index finger and fired at will. "Die!"
The barrage of ki blasts left no place uncovered, and the explosions they caused raised chunks of earth and a cloud of dust that swirled in the wind. When it stopped, Kakarot still stood, wounded but in fighting condition.
Tao Pai Pai contemplated him with drenched in sweat and an open mouth. He tried to fire another Dodonpa, but had run out of ki. He swallowed loudly and raised a hand as if begging for mercy. "You have defeated me, I admit it, but there is no need to kill me. We can join forces, I'll be your servant, your right-hand man." Tao Pai Pai brought his other hand behind him as he spoke. What he was looking for was a grenade, which he threw at Kakarot as he cackled.
The Saiyan kicked it back. The grenade landed before the old assassin, who stopped laughing. For an instant, time seemed to stop. Tao Pai Pai's face reflected the thoughts that crossed his mind in that split second. He should kick the grenade away, but it was about to explode. He had to move away, but he was exhausted. He...
The grenade went off in a large fireball. Kakarot felt the blast rumbling in his chest. He slowly approached what was left of Tao Pai Pai, a smoking raw ruin. What he had thought a corpse twitched and opened two eyes filled with fear.
It would be best to put him out of his misery. Kakarot extended a finger and began to charge a Dodonpa, but stopped.
Tao Pai Pai's jagged breathing stopped, then he let out a painful sigh of relief. With the wounds on his throat and chest it must have been difficult for him to speak, but his eyes, which reminded him of those of a rabbit that knows it's been hunted, thanked him for his mercy.
"Don't misunderstand my gesture, old man. The Dodonpa is the world's greatest technique, and someone like you does not deserve it. You are now the World's Second-Greatest Assassin, so you will have to settle for the second-greatest technique." Kakarot stepped back and cupped his hands. "Kame..." The white-blue light swirled into existence between his fingers. "...hame..."
Tao Pai Pai's face reflected the fracture inside his mind. Despite his wounds, he managed to speak his last words. "Who the hell are you?"
Kakarot smiled. "Death."
Power Levels
-Kakarot (12 years old): 109
-Tao Pai Pai (291 years old): 110