Tao Pai Pai

Mercenary Tao (also known as Tao Pai Pai in the japanese) is an assassin from Dragon Ball.

Dragon Ball
Tao was hired by the Red Ribbon Army to take out Goku and he demonstrated his abilities by killing General Blue a former high ranking officer. He beat Goku, thinking he was dead and killed his friend Bora, but he forgot one of the Dragon Balls. Tao came back four days later to fight Goku again and lost when Goku kicked a grenade at him blowing him up. Later it was revealed his brother was Master Shen. In the Piccolo Jr. Saga he participated in the World Martial Arts Tournament, rebuilt as a cyborg and sought to gain vengeance on Tien Shinhan. However Tao was defeated once again and taken away by Master Shen.



Dragon Ball Z
Tao makes two appearances in Dragon Ball Z, both during the Cell Games saga.

In his first appearances he acts as the muscle for a man who runs a shelter that can supposedly protect people from Cell. However Gohan showed up and disrupted the man's plans. When an old martial artist from the town takes on a few henchmen, Tao was called out to fight him. After exchanging a few blows, Tao had the man at his mercy and was about to finish him off with his Super Dodon Wave, when Gohan stepped in. At first relived that the boy was not Goku, whom he still feared from their last confrontation, he soon fled after finding out he was Goku's son.

In his second appearance, Tao was working for a businessman who wanted the Dragon Balls to wish for immortality, in order to save himself from Cell. However Goku showed up and he was also looking for the Dragon Balls. Though he wanted the two Dragon Balls Tao had, he was disappointed not to have anything to give in return, so the assassin made him a deal. If Goku could solve three complex puzzle rings by dawn the next day, he could have the balls. Tao then took Goku's jacket, with the Dragon Balls inside and he and his boss made a break for it, thinking Goku wouldn't be able to track them down. However Goku managed to solve the puzzle rings and found them with his Instant Transmission.

Abilities
Tao is an extremely skilled fighter and a master assassin, to the point where he can even kill someone with only his tongue, doing so by using his tongue to pierce their temple, striking a pressure point and killing them, a technique he used to kill General Blue. Tao can also manipulate energy in the form of the Dodon Ray, the signature technique of his brother, Master Shen's, Crane School. It is unknown if he invented this technique or Shen did, though his version of the attack in the video game, Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is called the Original Dodon Pa, hinting that he may have invented it. After becoming a cyborg, Tao's abilities were enhanced and he gained hidden weapons within his arms that he accessed by removing his hands. These weapons came in the form of a blade and a cannon that could fire the Super Dodon Wave, a more powerful blast version of the Dodon Ray. He could also use these openings as compartments to store items.

Trivia

 * Tao is the first villain that Goku faced to use an energy attack.


 * "KILL YOU!" is written on the back of his shirt, though this is edited in some episodes.


 * Normally, Tao charges 10,000,000,000 zeni (the currency in the Dragon Ball series) for one kill, but he gave Commander Red half off since it was his 20th Anniversary.


 * Tao bears a resemblance to Gabbachi, the main villain of Kajika, another manga created by Akira Toriyama.