The Red Ribbon Army Headquarters was in utter chaos.
"Run for your lives!"
"It's a monster! Bullets don't work! Even rocket launchers bounce off him!"
Flames engulfed the base, smoke billowing into the sky as building after building crumbled. Screams echoed across the compound. Soldiers dropped their weapons and fled in terror. It was no longer a battle—it was a massacre.
Son Goku, alone, had single-handedly dismantled the Red Ribbon Army's main base.
Inside the command center, Commander Red slammed his fists on the table.
"Cowards! Useless vermin! What kind of Red Ribbon Army is this?!"
Black, his ever-stoic aide, calmly delivered the final blow to his morale. "Sir, even the remaining forces have begun retreating. We… underestimated Son Goku. Severely."
Sweat beaded on Red's brow. Fear had finally begun to seep in.
"Commander, we should retreat while we still can. We've lost too much already. The Dragon Balls are not worth dying for."
Red growled. "Retreat? When we're so close? Never!"
"But our lives—"
At that moment, a photo transmission came through—from Colonel Violet.
It showed Dr. Brief and his wife, surrounded by soldiers, bound in ropes and held at gunpoint.
"Looks like the blue-haired girl didn't show up," Red muttered. "But this might be enough to break that brat…"
He turned to Black.
"Put this up on the main screen. Let the monkey boy see what happens when he defies us."
"Yes, Commander."
Goku continued carving his way through the army. He could've stormed straight into Red's office using the radar. But he didn't.
Because he knew—killing Red wouldn't be enough.
The real threat was the system.
Even if Red died, someone like Black would simply rise up and take his place. The army would reassemble under a new tyrant.
So he chose a different path: strike fear into every last soldier. Shatter their morale. Break their will.
He wasn't here to kill a man. He was here to end the Red Ribbon Army—permanently.
"HELP ME!"
"SPARE ME—I'LL NEVER DO BAD THINGS AGAIN!"
The headquarters crumbled piece by piece under Goku's onslaught. The ground was littered with fleeing soldiers and smoldering wreckage.
Finally, he reached the signal. The Dragon Balls were near.
He paused—just as a massive screen flickered to life.
The image was clear: Capsule Corp's garden. Dr. Brief and his wife tied up, surrounded by rifles.
Goku's brows furrowed.
Too slow.
Red emerged from his office, laughing.
"Hahaha! Son Goku, right? Not so smug now, are you? Couldn't find your grandfather, so we found something better. Your friend's parents. Surprised?"
Goku's voice was low. "What do you want?"
Red's laugh stopped.
This was it. The boy was biting.
"Simple," Red said, "Give me your Dragon Balls and your radar. Walk away. And they live."
Goku didn't speak right away.
He thought of Bulma's suggestion—that they could revive her parents with the Dragon Balls if it came to that.
But… no. Watching them die—he couldn't. Even if he could bring them back.
He took a deep breath, removed his satchel, and held out the Dragon Balls and radar.
"Here."
Black stepped forward and accepted them.
"I've done what you asked. Now let them go."
Goku turned away.
His eyes met Red's one last time. The look said everything.
You break your word, you die.
Red wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "Don't worry. I'm not interested in their lives. They'll be released shortly."
As Goku's figure vanished from view… Red burst into laughter.
"Six! Six Dragon Balls! Just one more and my dream comes true!"
Black blinked. "Sir… what do you mean? Your dream to rule the world, right?"
Red puffed on his cigar.
"Rule the world? That's a side effect. What I really want… is to be tall."
Black's face froze. "Come again?"
"You heard me," Red said, voice growing giddy. "All my life I've been mocked. 'Little man,' they called me. 'Tiny general.' But soon I'll be tall, strong, majestic! And then… the world will respect me. The women—hah! The legs!"
Black's jaw dropped. "We lost thousands of soldiers… for this?"
"What's wrong with wanting to grow tall?" Red snapped, suddenly furious. "You think it's a joke?! You don't know what it's like to be laughed at every day!"
Black clenched his fists. His voice shook.
"I gathered intelligence on the Dragon Balls. I believed we were going to conquer the world. That we'd make history. Not help you with some pathetic complex!"
Red's eyes flared. "How dare you?! You forget your place, Black!"
"You're unfit to lead," Black said coldly.
Visions of the fallen filled his mind—men who had died for a lie.
"You never deserved to be Commander."
He pulled out a gun.
One clean shot.
Red dropped to the ground, dead. Eyes wide with disbelief.
Black lowered the weapon, eyes steeled.
"From today on… I am Commander Black."
"The world shall be mine."
"Heh… hahahahahahahahahaha!"