Dragon Ball Roshi

 Beneath the pile of rubble, the magic-sealing rice cooker, which had been sealed by Mutaito and Taro so many years ago, finally failed due to a residual shockwave from a demon warrior's attack.

 At his peak, Mutaito's battle power was only about 200 or close to 300. However, the demon warriors attacking the human world had a battle power of over 1,000 each!

 This was equivalent to over 400 Raditz-level warriors from the original series!

 The energy difference between 1,000 and 200 was vast. Even a tiny stray shockwave was enough to break the magic seal that had imprisoned Mutaito's sealing technique.

 Crash!

 A green claw shot out from beneath the rubble, and a voice filled with excitement, joy, and just a hint of bitterness echoed from the darkness: "I, Damon King Piccolo... have finally come back!"

 Boom!

 Piccolo's massive form erupted from the rubble, his clothes in tatters. He was no longer the young and vigorous figure he had once been. Like the Heavenly God of today, his appearance had aged; his muscles were loosening, and wrinkles had appeared on his face.

 But would he accept growing old?

 Of course not!

 Even if Piccolo was older and weaker than he once was, he would still be the strongest!

 If it weren't for being betrayed, how could he have been sealed away?

 "Mutaito... that damned old fool!" King Piccolo floated in mid-air, veins bulging on his forehead, his fists clenched as he recalled the scene where he was sealed away by Mutaito, as well as...

 "And that bastard! He actually disrupted my mind with his words, allowing that old fool Mutaito to take advantage of me! It's infuriating! Both of you... should die!"

 Piccolo gritted his teeth, filled with hatred. It was because of a momentary lapse in focus that he was sealed in that dark, lifeless rice cooker for so many years!

 The more he thought about it, the angrier he became!

 "Ahhhhh!"

 White ki flames erupted from Piccolo's body, releasing a tremendous aura that sent the rubble and dust flying into the air.

 "Enough with the noise!"

 A shadow swiftly approached, and with a single kick, Piccolo was sent flying!

 Bang! Bang! Bang! King Piccolo crashed into the pile of rubble and lay there for a moment, dazed...

 This energy... is from the demon race?!

 Originally a genius martial artist, Piccolo also possessed extraordinary martial arts skills. He could clearly sense that... just where he had been floating moments ago, an incredibly powerful and terrifying aura was now lingering!

 Where did this come from? How did I not detect it?

 Demon race... Why is there such a strong demon warrior?!

 "I, Demon King Piccolo, am supposed to be the strongest demon in the world!"

 Struggling to free himself from the rubble, Piccolo raised his head, his face turning dark as he looked up...

 There, hovering in the air, was a massive, grotesque figure exuding an overwhelmingly powerful and evil aura. This was one of the demon warriors among the 400, holding the portrait given by the Black Demon King and glaring down at King Piccolo with an annoyed expression.

 The demon warrior pointed down at Piccolo: "You! Come up here!"

 A surge of anger rose in King Piccolo's chest. How dare someone speak to him like that?! But soon, he cooled down, realizing the vast difference in their power—several times stronger than his own. He couldn't afford to act rashly.

 Reluctantly, he complied, flying up to meet the warrior...

 The demon warrior scanned King Piccolo up and down, easily sensing the same demonic energy coming from him, and asked: "You're also from the demon race?"

 Piccolo felt a pang in his heart. The demon warrior's tone was as if he were saying: "You dare call yourself a demon?" It was a clear insult to him! When had King Piccolo ever been subjected to such humiliation? That damned fool!

 Piccolo reluctantly nodded: "Yes, yes, I am indeed a demon... but may I ask... who are you?"

 "I am of course a demon!" The demon warrior waved his hand dismissively, then said disdainfully: "How are you so weak? If you were in the demon realm, you'd have been killed by other demons long ago!"

 "I'm not weak!"

 "I'm strong! I was invincible among humans a hundred years ago!"

 Piccolo forced a twisted smile and cautiously asked. "Demon realm? Are you from the demon realm?"

 He wasn't the Kami, so this term was new to him. He had always referred to himself as part of the demon race based on his own understanding of his identity, but never had he imagined there was actually a place called the Demon Realm.

 This guy is so strong... Could he be the Demon King of the Demon Realm?

 Why am I so unlucky, to run into the Demon King right after I've been freed?!

 The demon warrior ignored King Piccolo's question and shook his head. "Ugh, you're so weak that I'm not even interested in killing you! Here's what I'll do. Since you're also a demon, I'll give you a chance to live."

 Upon hearing this, Piccolo felt a chill in his heart.

 Who would want to spare me?

 The demon warrior unfurled the portrait in his hand and asked, "Since you've probably lived among humans for many years, I'll ask you this. Do you recognize these two people?"

 He pointed at the two people in the image.

 King Piccolo sighed. "I've lived for a long time, but… most of that time was spent sealed inside a rice cooker!" Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a cold chill. Had he just escaped his prison only to meet an untimely death?

 In his despair, his gaze fell on the portrait the demon warrior was holding…

 "Huh?! This person…" King Piccolo leaned closer to the image, examining it more closely. The portrait clearly depicted a human, and the more he looked, the more familiar the face seemed!

 Wasn't this the same bastard who had caused him to be sealed by Mutaito?!

 "Speak! Do you recognize him?" The demon warrior demanded.

 King Piccolo jolted upright and quickly replied: "I recognize him! I recognize him!" He pointed at the portrait of Taro, drawn by the Black Demon King and Red Demon Queen, grinding his teeth. "Even if he's turned to ash, I would recognize him!"

 "Good… you recognize him." the demon warrior smiled.

…

 The demon warrior smiled, but in the heavens, Kami could not find a reason to smile.

 His face was grim, yet he couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh of relief. He had been nervous just moments before. If King Piccolo had been killed by this demon warrior, even he—this dual existence—would have perished!

 He wasn't afraid of death, but if he died... what would happen to Earth's precarious situation? Would he just let these demons kill all the humans? Would humanity's world be utterly destroyed by them?

 "Kami-Sama, the evil energy that appeared on Earth…" Mr. Popo walked over. As the servant of several generations of Earth's gods, he was an accomplished martial artist and had immediately sensed the presence of the demons.

 So much evil energy—it was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.

 "It's the demons! They're from the Demon Realm…" Kami gripped his staff tightly, his face full of concern. In his senses, the energy of the Black Demon King and Red Demon Queen felt like two filthy suns descending upon Earth. The demonic energy had already covered the planet, like two nails driven deep into his heart.

 "Is this Heaven's way of destroying humanity?"

 Kami sighed in despair.

 Mr. Popo said: "I wonder how Taro is doing? He left Earth thirty years ago to train. I wonder if he's become stronger?"

 The Heavenly God Piccolo also thought of this person.

 Mutaito's disciple— Mu Taro!

 Thirty years ago, after gathering the Dragon Balls and making a wish for instant transmission, he came to the temple asking Kami to take him to train with King Kai!

 Kami frowned. He recalled many things from years ago. Taro, the disciple of Mutaito, was indeed not an ordinary person. Even him, a god, couldn't fully see through Taro's abilities!

 But… no matter how impressive he was, what could he do against such a vast disparity in strength?

 Kami sighed again. "I fear he hasn't made much progress in his training. After all, he drank the Elixir of Immortality, and his potential is already exhausted... Taro's strength is impressive, and while he might have been able to defeat Piccolo, compared to this group of demons, he's still too weak!"

 Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind:

 "Taro once said he had seen fragments of future scenes… He knew his potential was exhausted, yet he insisted on me taking him to the afterlife to train with King Kai…"

 "Could it be… that he saw the future invasion of demons into Earth back then, and that's why he tried to escape here?"