Chapter 45: The Initial Appearance of Evil

With the match concluded and evening approaching, John, having won the championship, decided to treat everyone to a lavish dinner.

On the way to the restaurant, Goku asked John, "How have you trained? Why has your power increased so much after not seeing you for years?"

Krillin chimed in, "I know! We haven't just been doing regular training over the past three years; we've also been training in a gravity chamber that can adjust up to ten times Earth's gravity."

"That's why we've improved so quickly. I can barely train in four times Earth's gravity now, while John can move freely in ten times gravity," Krillin explained.

Goku nodded in realization, "I see! I need to train in one of those gravity chambers too."

"Of course! Recently, I've made breakthroughs in my research on materials. The gravity chamber can now control from 1 to 50 times gravity," Bulma joyfully added.

"1 to 50 times gravity? Bulma, you're amazing!" Goku exclaimed.

Before long, they arrived at the restaurant. At that moment, Goku suddenly realized he had left his Dragon Ball and Power Pole at the tournament venue. He decided to head back to retrieve them.

Krillin said, "It's okay, Goku. I'll go get them for you. You just fought a tough match with John and must be tired."

Their conversation reminded John that today was the day King Piccolo had sent his minions, and Krillin had died at their hands.

Although John believed that with Krillin's current strength it was hard to say who would kill whom, he wanted to avoid any accidents. He said, "Let's not argue about who goes; we should all go back together since it's not far."

"Let Bulma and Master Roshi order for us; it will take some time from ordering to serving anyway."

Without waiting for others to respond, John led the way back to the tournament venue.

The others exchanged glances but said nothing more. Some went into the restaurant to order while others accompanied Goku back to the tournament site.

They chatted and laughed along the way until they reached the venue.

Suddenly, screams and cries echoed from inside the tournament hall along with the familiar voice of the host shouting, "Who are you? Why are you trying to steal our participant list?!"

Having arrived at the entrance of the venue, John and the others rushed inside and saw a creature with bat wings grabbing a tournament staff member by the neck, demanding the participant list.

At the same time, it was holding Goku's Four-Star Dragon Ball; clearly, it was also after that.

"Stop it!" Goku yelled as he charged forward and threw a punch.

However, Goku's shout startled the winged creature. Realizing Goku was attacking, it hurled the staff member at him.

Goku immediately abandoned his attack and opened his arms to catch the staff member safely.

As Goku reached out to catch him, the creature smirked and lunged at Goku.

But with so many people around him, Krillin stepped up first to block Goku from harm.

Seeing its attack thwarted, the creature flew back into the air.

"You guys are martial artists participating in this tournament, right? Just in time! I'll take care of you all now so I won't have to hunt you down later," it boasted arrogantly.

"Remember my name! I'm Dambalin, one of King Piccolo's minions. To celebrate his resurrection, I'll kill a few of you as a gift!" 

Unfortunately for Dambalin, no one recognized King Piccolo except John; he showed no fear at all.

Seeing no sign of fear on these warriors' faces frustrated Dambalin. He continued: "Looks like King Piccolo's reputation needs a reminder!"

He then looked at Krillin and Goku again and said: "Then let's start with you two!"

With that, Dambalin dove down from above and attacked Goku.

However, after their exchange began, Dambalin realized he had seriously miscalculated. Even though he had exhausted much energy fighting John earlier, that didn't mean he could bully Goku.

As Dambalin swooped down for an attack, Goku ducked under it and delivered a simple straight punch right into Dambalin's stomach. As Dambalin staggered back from the blow, Goku followed up with a swift kick that sent him crashing into the wall of the venue with a loud bang.

"Cough cough!" Dambalin gasped as he clutched his abdomen from the impact. Purple blood trickled from his mouth as he wiped it away angrily.

Seeing his own blood only fueled Dambalin's rage further. He shouted furiously while spreading his wings wide: "You bastards! I'll kill all of you! None of you will survive!"

With that declaration, he opened his mouth wide and shot an energy blast toward Goku and his friends.

Goku simply extended one hand and caught the energy blast effortlessly.

Dambalin was stunned; his previously furious mind suddenly cleared as fear filled his eyes when he looked at Goku and his friends. He shouted in terror: "Who... who are you?!"

The group ignored Dambalin's fearful question. Goku simply replied casually: "We're Earthlings!"

After saying that, Goku prepared to take Dambalin down.

At that moment, Krillin stepped in front of him. For some reason upon seeing this creature, Krillin felt an uncontrollable urge to kill him rising within him.

"Let me handle this one," Krillin said. "You just fought against John; your stamina isn't fully restored yet."

Dambalin was enraged by their underestimation of him. He couldn't believe they all thought they were so strong. Seeing them switch opponents only fueled his anger further as he charged directly at Krillin for an attack—determined to kill someone and regain his confidence.