Yamiru couldn't help but be shocked.
What level of boss was Dabura? He was someone capable of going head-to-head with a Super Saiyan 2 Gohan (albeit a weakened version)! If he truly had to face such a terrifying foe, with his current strength, calling Yamiru cannon fodder would be an understatement!
However, the fortunate thing was that whether the giant, terrifying figure ahead was truly Dabura, it didn't matter, because it was already just a corpse. His Golden Veil, which could see ki, confirmed this. There was no ki emanating from the body.
Even if the corpse bore a face so strikingly similar to the Demon King of the Demon Realm, any residual power from such a terrifying being didn't matter to him, since he couldn't see it with his Golden Veil.
This provided him with some reassurance.
Like Son Goku, Yamiru also didn't pay any attention to the towering armored knights on either side and walked toward Pilaf and his companions without concern.
The sound of footsteps was especially crisp and sharp in the deathly quiet hall.
Tights was a little frightened by the eerie atmosphere and clung tightly to Yamiru's arm.
Though small in stature, Bulma seemed completely unaffected by the atmosphere around them. She seemed like the type of child who could still ride the Flying Nimbus without fear — her pure heart kept her from being influenced by her surroundings.
Son Goku, similarly to Tights, hesitated slightly and turned to ask Yamiru, "Yamiru, they already found the Dragon Ball. Should we really take it from them?"
"Of course not, that would be doing something bad," Bulma replied, giving Son Goku a glance. "But, maybe we could borrow it for a while? We could negotiate."
As they got closer, the conversation reached the ears of Pilaf and his subordinates, who were on stage.
"Big Boss, they know about the Dragon Balls too?" the cold and elegant military-clad girl, Mai, bent over and whispered in Pilaf's ear.
"It seems they want the Dragon Ball we have, Big Boss. What should we do?" the dog-headed warrior, Shu, also whispered.
Pilaf snorted disdainfully and then shouted loudly, "You guys really think you can take what belongs to King Pilaf? Stop dreaming!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Pilaf threw three capsules, and three massive battle robots appeared in place.
Mai and Shu immediately understood the King's intentions and swiftly entered the cockpits of the robots. With a series of buzzing sounds, three powerful lights illuminated from the robots' chests, focusing on Yamiru, Son Goku, Tights, and Bulma as they walked down the steps, the beams shining so brightly they were almost blinding.
"Wow!" Son Goku winced, his eyes pained from the brightness.
Bulma shielded her eyes and shouted, "Don't do that! We can buy it from you! How much do you want for the Dragon Ball?"
From the robot on the left, Mai sneered, "She's acting like we'd accept any price they offer."
Shu, in the right robot, gripped the controls tightly. "Exactly, they're so arrogant. Besides, how could Pilaf be bribed by money when he's determined to collect all seven Dragon Balls?"
Pilaf, in the middle robot, shouted, "I want one hundred million! How about it, are you scared?"
"Alright," Bulma sighed in relief. One hundred million was all? That was manageable.
"One hundred million? That's too outrageous!" Tights squinted her eyes, still affected by the bright light, muttering, "Only Bulma, the one who brings in the company's profits, could agree to that without blinking…"
Pilaf was stunned by Bulma's reaction. "Really? Really? That's one hundred million…"
"Are you dumb?" Yamiru shouted loudly. "This is none other than the famous daughter of the Capsule Corporation chairman — oh, actually, she's the second daughter! The first daughter is the one standing next to me." His foot was stepped on disapprovingly by Tights. Yamiru quickly turned around and made a face at her. Then, he swiftly pulled a Dragon Ball from the bundle behind Son Goku.
"Respectable King, look!"
Yamiru continued, his tone filled with a pure innocence, as though saying "I'm a fool, I don't understand how precious the Dragon Balls are, and I'm easy to rob, so come rob me! We already have our own Dragon Ball, you know. If you won't sell it for one hundred million, then I guess we'll just have to give up."
'If you don't want to be the bad guys robbing us, then let them be the bad guys who rob us instead' — Tights glanced at Yamiru, surprised, but understanding his intention.
Sure enough, after seeing Yamiru take the Dragon Ball from Son Goku's bag and display it under the intense light, Pilaf and his two subordinates showed signs of unexpected joy.
"Ah," Bulma covered her eyes, but even through the gaps in her fingers, the light was still uncomfortable. She turned her head and immediately noticed something was off with Son Goku, bathed in the bright light... "Oh no."
"Hahaha! You idiots!" Pilaf and his two subordinates laughed out loud. "You actually revealed that you have a Dragon Ball! Three fools! Shu! Mai! Don't go easy on them!"
"Yes! King Pilaf"
Suddenly, Gatling-like gun barrels appeared on the three battle robots, all targeting the four people below. Then, a barrage of blue gunfire erupted with a "da-da-da" sound.
Tights flinched at the sound of gunfire, rushing forward to protect Bulma, but was quickly pulled back by Yamiru, along with Bulma. The black silhouette of Yamiru blocked part of the light, and the sisters could hear, amid the dense gunfire, the same muffled "poof-poof-poof" sounds coming from in front of Yamiru's back.
With their sharp eyes, they couldn't even see how Yamiru used both hands to swiftly catch the incoming bullets.
Four years ago, Yamiru needed to predict the trajectory of bullets to dodge them, but today, he could clearly see the bullet paths and catch them with his bare hands without harm.
After the storm of bullets, Pilaf and his subordinates stared, dumbfounded, at Yamiru, who appeared completely unfazed.
The ground in front of Yamiru was littered with spent bullet casings, but suddenly, Yamiru felt something was wrong because Son Goku, who was standing beside him, was acting strangely! He neither dodged the bullets nor made any move to block them! Moreover — thump, thump, thump, there was a growing sound of a heartbeat next to him!
"Ah, I didn't have time to tell you earlier, but when Son Goku saw the light, he seems to have mistaken the round light source for a full moon and started transforming..." Bulma said beside Tights.
Tights was horrified when she heard this. "What? Isn't that bad?"
Yamiru, furious, threw three bullets at the bright light sources on the battle robots, smashing the lights with explosive crashes. Thick smoke billowed up, and the strong light was immediately extinguished.
Meanwhile, Son Goku's breathing grew heavier.
"Ugh..." Son Goku's eyes glowed with a blood-red light. It seemed like he still retained some of his sanity. Feeling his teeth itch, he looked at Yamiru and squeezed out some words, "Yamiru... did I... do something wrong?"
"Why the hell did you imagine that thing as the full moon? Are you an idiot!" Yamiru rushed over and grabbed Son Goku's shoulder.
"Because I saw the round light and... remembered what Bulma said... Hehe... sorry..." Son Goku's face, which was becoming increasingly twisted, showed a hint of shame, creating an odd atmosphere. He could feel an overwhelming surge of violent power building up inside him, a power that would definitely exceed Yamiru's! His mind began to cloud... Realizing something bad was about to happen, Son Goku spoke his final words to Yamiru before losing his sanity completely: "Don't die... Yamiru..."