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Dragonball Volume 12 Summary

New Characters:
Piccolo: AKA The Great Demon King Piccolo. A huge, shriveled green
monster with 2 antenna. Wants the Dragon Balls to make a certain
wish, and the list of Tenkaichi-Budoukai fighters so that he can
kill them all off. Had been imprisoned by Kamesennin's old
master, and released by Pilaf.
Tambourine: One of Piccolo's demon warriors. Is the one to kill
Kiririn.
Cymbal: Another of Piccolo's warriors, sent out to get the Dragon
Ball held by Yajirobee.
Yajirobee: Monk. Long, shaggy hair, and wears a yukata (a simple
top garment sort of like a robe) and sandals. A master swordsman
with an appetite that rival's Gokuu's.
Mutaito-sama: Kamesennin's old master. Died while imprisoning
Piccolo in the Denshi Jar several hundred years ago.

Fighting styles:
Mafuu-ba: A magic wind that can be used to trap Piccolo in the
Denshi Jar. Has a rather serious drawback.

Other notes:
Denshi Jar: The container that had held Piccolo prisoner for several
hundred years.

Story:
Volume 12

The audience wonders what's going on, and Chao-zu yells out "Ten-san,
don't die!" Kiririn asks if Gokuu will be killed, and Kamesennin
answers that even if he isn't, Gokuu will be disqualified for landing
outside of the ring. Tenshin's hands start glowing with the power
channeled from his body (which impresses Gokuu,) and he concentrates on
the fighting ring, then calls out "Kikouhou!!!!" Gokuu doesn't know
what to do, Kamesennin tells him to avoid the blast, and Chao-zu prays
to god. When the crowd's eyes recover, the fighting ring is gone, and
no one can find Gokuu. Then, Chao-zu says that both of them are still
alive. Tenshin realizes that he has to climb higher up. Gokuu is more
impressed, and realizes that Tenshin had tried to kill him. But,
Tenshinhan can float, and the ring is now gone, so when Gokuu lands it
will be outside of the ring, and he'll lose (Ten wonders if the boy can
grow wings quickly.)

However, while Tenshin had used up everything he had in the Kikouhou,
Gokuu still has one attack left -- Kamehame-ha. Which is fine by
Tenshin, because he can handle the blast and still float while Gokuu
still falls. Everyone thinks that Gokuu is wasting his time, but the
boy turns around at the last moment, and uses the blast to smash himself
into Tenshin. This Tenshin can't handle, and the two fall at the same
rate (Kamesennin is surprised, and Tenshin realizes that he's blown it.)
The announcer uses a capsule to make a flyer-cycle so that he can keep
an eye on the two fighters. Gokuu will hit the ground first, so he
musters the last of his Kamehame-ha power to slow his descent just
enough. The announcer is describing this, and Yamcha cheers from inside
the hospital. Then, the Matodog truck rolls down the street, Gokuu
slams into it, and then into the ground. Tenshin touches the ground
second, and wins the match. The announcer then says "farewell until the
next time in 3 years," to the departing crowd.

Kiririn gives his good jersey to Gokuu, commiserating with him.
But, Gokuu isn't angry (a loss is just a loss.) Tenshin wants to split
half of the prize money with Gokuu, who turns it down because money
doesn't mean anything to him. Tenshin knows that he has a lot to learn,
and Kamesennin suggests that they have supper (which makes Gokuu very
happy.) Tenshin says that he'll pick up the tab, Kiririn replies that
he doesn't know how much Gokuu can eat. As they're about to leave,
Gokuu realizes that he's forgotten the Dragon Ball inside the Budoukai
building. Kiririn goes inside to get Gokuu's stuff. The group wastes
some time talking about what they want to do next, then Kiririn screams
out. Inside, Kiririn is lying on the ground, dead.

The announcer weakly tells the group that a monster had killed
Kiririn, taken the Dragon Ball and the list of people that had entered
the Tenkaichi-budoukai. Gokuu demands the Dragon Radar, and rushes off
while calling for Kintoen. Kamesennin tries to stop him, but it's too
late. The Ball is close, and Gokuu chases after it. Kamesennin rages
-- if the creature could kill Kiririn so easily, it could do the same to
Gokuu. Oolong finds a sheet of paper left behind by the monster -- it
is marked with the kanji "ma" ("magic.") Kamesennin hears this and
rushes over. People ask him why he's so shocked, and he says that this
means the Demon King Piccolo is back. They ask who this guy is (Kushami
says that Piccolo is a stupid name,) but Tenshin knows that Piccolo was
really bad, a long time ago, before being killed. Kamesennin
acknowledges this.

[Flash-back] The name "Piccolo" is cute, but it identifies a
creature of great evil. Mutaito-sama, at the time (which was a LONG
time ago) had been a teacher with two pupils -- Kamesennin, and
Tsurusennin. Mutaito-sama had managed to use a magic wind to propel
Piccolo into a Denshi jar, trapping the demon king. But, the spell he
used took too much out of Mutaito-sama, and he died right after (the
men standing over Mutaito-sama's body are his two students.) The Denshi
jar was then thrown into the depths of the ocean. Chao-zu can't believe
that Tsurusennin might have rescued Piccolo, and Kamesennin reassures
him that someone else must have done it. However, Yamcha points out
that since Piccolo did kill Kiririn and take the Dragon Ball, what will
happen to Gokuu is... Kamesennin finishes "Gokuu will die." The group
puzzles over what to do next (they want to help Gokuu, but have no way
to track him), and Kamesennin wants to know why Piccolo wanted the list
of Budoukai fighters.

[Note: Much of Dragon Ball is based on the old Monkey King stories,
meaning that many of the big events are twists on the old
plots. The bit with the Denshi jar refers to a bag of wind
that some of the old gods had used for trapping victims.]
On Pilaf's aircraft, Piccolo asks Pilaf what the wish is he wants to
make. Pilaf asks to be made ruler of Earth, but is talked down to
ruling only 1/4 of Earth. Piccolo, however, wants the Balls so that he
can be made young again (apparently, he'd aged a lot inside the jar.)
He also takes his wrath out on the jar, and says that all of the
Tenkaichi-Budoukai fighters will feel his power (Pilaf responds, "Good
fighting...") Then, Kamesennin suddenly realizes that Piccolo wants to
kill off anyone strong enough to use Mafuu-ba (Magic seal attack,) which
had sealed Piccolo in the jar so long ago. The announcer understands,
because the Budoukai weeds out the lesser people. Tenshin wants to know
if this means that the best of the Budoukai fighters will be killed.
Meanwhile, Gokuu has found Tambourine. Seeing the Dragon Ball, he
goes crazy, accusing the monster of killing Kiririn ("Kiririn? The brat
was no challenge.") Gokuu vows to kill the monster in revenge, but is
still weak from the budoukai. After a bit of insulting, the monster
destroys Kintoen, and then smashes Gokuu Earth-ward -- the creature
enjoys killing things. Back at the Budoukai, the group has gotten
worried, since Gokuu is late in returning. They argue over whether to
wait some more, return to Kame House, or confront Piccolo (Oolong is
relieved, because he's not a fighter, and Piccolo won't try to kill him;
but at this point, Buruma might.) Of course, going to the police is out
of the question, and alerting anyone else would just cause panic. So,
they have to take things in their own hands, and the announcer says that
they really are the best people in the world. Oolong curses, because
his future looks bleak, and Kushami says EVERYONE's future looks bleak
right now.

Tambourine returns with Gokuu's Dragon Ball, and Piccolo marvels over
it. Tambourine also has 10 years worth of names of the people that made
it to the final rounds of the budoukai. He's told to post the pictures,
and Pilaf wants to help. When the creature comes to Kuririn's sheet, he
crumples it up, and asks if that really was one of the world's best
fighters. Mei finds Gokuu's sheet, and Pilaf reads it (made it to the
final rounds, twice. Of course, this is why he's so strong.) But, the
monster looks over, and says that he killed that guy, too. And, since
it was so easy, he tells Piccolo that the remaining victims will be no
challenge. Piccolo laughs, then says that because of Mafuu-ba, he wants
everyone of the Budoukai fighters dead. And he wants the Dragon Balls,
too. In a huddle, Mei and Shuu suggest to Pilaf that maybe this isn't a
very good situation, and that Pilaf's half of the world domination might
be in danger.

Piccolo repeats his instructions to Tambourine, and his advisor asks
about the search for the Balls. In the face of possible dangers,
Piccolo allows that he needs another minion -- and spits out an egg
(looks rather painful and distasteful. Note that while the egg seems to
come from his stomach or chest area, this is not physically possible
later on in volume 14.) Piccolo decides to name his baby demon
"Cymbal," and gives the creature instructions to retrieve the remaining
six Balls. He also asks Pilaf where the next Ball is, and Pilaf points
it out on a globe-shaped Dragon Radar. Cymbal studies the map, and
Tambourine chooses to attack Namu, who currently lives in Siam. Shuu is
worried, and Pilaf tells him to keep his voice down, saying that
everything will be all right.

The group has told Tenshinhan about the Dragon Balls, and they
consider the idea of getting all seven to wish Kiririn back to life
(Oolong thinks that they might be a bit late when that happens.
However, Buruma has put the body in a storage capsule, and wants to
know if Oolong wants to join Kiririn ("I'm still alive.") Then
Kamesennin says, "Hmm... They're blue." "What, our next plan?" "No,
Buruma's panties." After getting beaten up for letting his mind wander,
the old man says that there's some danger in getting the Balls. Then,
Kushami tells them to watch the TV, which is describing the discovery of
Namu's body in his home, and the piece of paper placed beside him with
the kanji "ma" on it. They realize that it's started. But, if they ask
for help, or let the news leak out, there'll be useless panic.
Kamesennin asks Buruma how long it'll take her to build a new Dragon
Radar ("half a day, if I hurry.")

They rush off, and wonder what Gokuu's fate is (they hope he's still
alive, but they have their doubts.) In the jungle, Gokuu comes to -- in
pain and very hungry. He smells food and runs to find it. The cooking
fish is like a dream to him, and he quickly finishes it off. Which
leaves him happy, and fully recovered. He yells for Kintoen, but the
cloud had been destroyed. He's more intent than ever on finding the one
who'd killed Kintoen and Kiririn, and stolen the Ball. Planning on
following on foot, he uses the radar to locate the #4 Ball. Which is
right next to him. Looking for it, he suddenly has to dodge the boulder
thrown at him. He shouts for the bastard to come out, and the shaggy
guy that appears asks who's calling him a bastard. He accuses Gokuu of
eating his fish, and Gokuu had thought it'd been just growing there
("you ate my breakfast!!!") Gokuu accuses the guy of being the monster
that stole the Dragon Ball (because it is hanging on the guy's chest.)
They call each other names (winged monster, fish thief) and attack.
During the next lull, they both think "who is this guy." Then, Gokuu
realizes that the Ball has the wrong number of stars, and asks when the
guy had found it ("three years ago.") He apologizes, but the guy still
wants to settle the matter of the fish. Gokuu grunts, and the guy asks
why. "It's not a 'fish grunt', look."

This is the monster that beat up Gokuu, and he's looking for this
thing called a Dragon Ball. Cymbal asks if the guy had seen it, and the
guy just insults him. Then Cymbal sees the Ball and demands it. Gokuu
tells him not to hand it over, and the guy says he won't. Cymbal gets
ready to kill the guy, and Gokuu says "hey, this is my fight." Gokuu
says that the monster had killed his friend, and the guy just wants to
kill Cymbal to have him for breakfast. Cymbal doesn't care who he
fights first. The guy and Gokuu decide via scissors-paper-stone, and
the guy wins. The monster tells the guy that he'll regret this, and the
guy says the same thing back. They fight, and the monster gloats until
the guy stands back up, saying "This is one weird day." The guy thinks
about cooking Cymbal, who's disturbed about this form of fighting
spirit. Cymbal gets mad and uses a magic attack. The guy curses, and
Gokuu asks if he needs help (he doesn't.) Gokuu is impressed by the
sword cut. Back in Pilaf's ship, Piccolo feels the shock of Cymbal's
death. He goes into a coughing attack, and his servant asks if he's ok.
Piccolo says that Cymbal is dead, which he can't believe.

The guy makes sure that Gokuu doesn't want some, and then decides
that Cymbal is quite delicious. Gokuu asks his name, and he wants
Gokuu's first. Then, he says "Gokuu" is a weird name, and that his own
is Yajirobee, and he is a monk. Piccolo comments that Cymbal was going
after the Dragon Ball when he died, and he telepathically commands
Tambourine to check out the site. Meanwhile, Tambourine is beating up
Gilan, while the neighbors watch on. Gilan tries to put on a good show,
but fails. Gilan makes 6 dead, and Yamcha will be number 7. However,
he gets this message. He gives Piccolo the status report, and is
praised for his work. However, Cymbal is dead, and he should find out
what happened. In the ship, Pilaf is wondering why the weird demon king
is whispering to himself (Mei tells him that this is telepathy.)
Tambourine says that he understands and is on his way.

Yajirobee is still commenting on how good Cymbal tasted, and is still
hungry. Gokuu says that the man is in danger, and also realizes that
the other man's voice sounds just like that of his dead friend, Kiririn.
Which annoys Yajirobee, but if this Kiririn sounds like him, the guy
must be good looking ("No, he's short and has no nose." "He's a
monster!!") Yajirobee starts heading off to find another monster to
eat, and Gokuu says "see you again!" This stops Yajirobee, who doesn't
want to meet the boy a second time. Gokuu warns him about the Ball
again, and the guy wants to know what's so special about it. Before
Gokuu can get too far, he's interrupted buy the appearance of
Yojirobee's next meal. Gokuu realizes that he'd been wrong, and that
Tambourine is the one he really wants to kill. He yells out, and
Tambourine sees them. Yojirobee says it's ok to kill the monster, as
long as he's the one that gets to eat it. Then Tambourine recognizes
Gokuu.

Tambourine and Gokuu banter for a while (about the killing of Kiririn,
and how Gokuu will be next,) before the demon tells the boy to come on.
However, he's never seen One Pattern before, and is so confused that he
gets really trashed. Yojirobee just stands there, and Tambourine gets
back up, to Gokuu's annoyance. The monster can't believe that a human
could stand up to one of Piccolo's minions. Tambourine thinks that his
breath-blast has killed Gokuu, but that didn't happen. He tries to
escape, and Gokuu uses his bo to give him some altitude, and follows it
up with Kamehame-ha. Tambourine's death is even more painful to Piccolo.
On the ship, the demon king and his minion are getting excited over the
recent events, and Pilaf asks who on Earth is that strong. Mei answers
"Godzilla?" Piccolo tells Pilaf to take him to Tambourine's last known
location -- he has to see this killer for himself.

Piccolo fumes about his loss, when Pilaf notices something. Four of
the Balls are heading towards a fifth one. Piccolo's not the only one
going for the Balls.

[Note: A story inconsistency here. Yajirobee was found, near the
Budoukai site, to have the #1 Ball. Since Pilaf has a Radar mapper that
can pinpoint the location, and number of stars, for each Ball, Piccolo
should have told Tambourine to get both the #1 and #4 Balls when he was
in the area, rather than send his minions out on two separate trips.
Either Toriyama overlooked this point, or Piccolo was in such a hurry to
get the list of Budoukai entrants that the side trip to locate Ball #1
would have taken too long.]

Tenshin comments on how easy it was to get the first four Balls.
They talk about what happened in the last few chapters, and Tenshin
wants to beat Piccolo. Problem is, if they use the wish to make him
stronger, they'd have to wait a year to revive Kiririn. Tenshin wants
to learn to use Mafuu-ba, and Kamesennin tells him that it's out of the
question. (However, Tenshin thinks that the old man might try to use it
himself.)

Pilaf is afraid of what's going to happen if someone gets the other
Balls, but Piccolo reminds him that they're useless without the one he
has. He'll worry about that problem later, after he's dealt with the
killer of his children. Yojirobee wants to know if anymore suppers are
going to be coming for his Dragon Ball, and Gokuu says that the next one
is very close. They look around for it, but don't see anyone coming
towards them. Until they glance upward and see Pilaf's ship. Mei's
voice booms out to Piccolo that they've arrived, and Shuu tells her that
she's thrown the wrong switch -- that one's for the outside PA system.
Then she tries it again and gets it right. Yojirobee repeats Piccolo's
name, and Gokuu realizes that the demon king is the one who sent out the
other monsters. But, Yojirobee is about to remember something, and
suddenly, he recalls just who Piccolo is. He rapidly gives Gokuu the #1
Ball. Gokuu wants to know why the guy is giving away his treasured
possession, but doesn't get a good answer. The guy runs off, despite
the imminent appearance of supper.

Below them, Pilaf spots someone moving, and wants to know where to
land. Piccolo doesn't care. Then Pilaf gets a good look at Gokuu and
stammers out "it's him." Then he tells Piccolo that this is the shrimp
that keeps beating them out of the Dragon Balls. So, this is the one
that faced Tambourine and Cymbal -- he'll now face Piccolo's wrath.
Gokuu accuses the monster of killing his friend and taking the Dragon
Ball from him, and the monster acknowledges this and wants the Ball that
Gokuu now has. Hiding behind a tree, Yojirobee recognizes Piccolo.
Piccolo wants his revenge, and Gokuu says that Piccolo will be next.
This amuses the monster, and Gokuu attacks -- Yojirobee expects the boy
to die now.

Piccolo is surprised at how fast Gokuu is. Pilaf is watching this,
and wants them to escape from that little monster. Further, Yojirobee
can't believe that Gokuu has lasted this long. The servant tells Pilaf
to quit trying to run away, and watch. Piccolo hadn't expected anyone
on this planet to put up much of a fight, and is amused. Then he gets
serious. He wants the boy to surrender, but he gets his thumb bitten
first. Gokuu finally realizes that he's out-matched, and Piccolo says
that at this point he himself only has half of his original power
(because of his extreme age.) Gokuu extends his arms, and Piccolo is
terrified that the next attack will be Mafuu-ba. Instead, it's
Kamehame-ha. Gokuu thinks that he's won, but is wrong. Piccolo isn't
impressed by the attack, and decides to kill the boy. Gokuu wants to
win, and Yojirobee thinks that he should go out and help soon (but not
just yet.) Piccolo asks Gokuu if he'll like the next attack, and Gokuu
tries to understand this. Our hero dodges the first blast, but gets hit
by the second. He falls, lifeless, to the ground.

Piccolo and his servant are happy, Pilaf and Shuu are stunned by the
monster's power. He returns to the ship, triumphant. It is now His
Time. They leave to get the other 5 Balls. Yajirobee comes out, and
decides not to eat Gokuu. But, the corpse twitches, and Yojirobee hears
a heartbeat. He slaps the boy, who starts to cough and then asks for
water. At the river, the guy tells Gokuu to drink his fill. After,
they both agree that this is a bad situation, and that Gokuu is
powerless against the monster. Gokuu asks Yajirobee to take him to
Karin Tower (pronounced "karin tou", or "Clint", and Yajirobee wants to
know who Clint is.) Yaji agrees, as long as he gets fed along the way.
Meanwhile, Chao-zu finds the 5th Ball, and Kamesennin discovers that
the remaining 2 Balls are coming their way -- obviously, Piccolo is
approaching. Gokuu thanks Yajirobee for helping him, and the guy says
that he just really hates dead things.

End of book 12.

-- Curtis H. Hoffmann July 1, 1993