Are you here to learn more about Tao Pai Pai , the famous assassin and hitman? So don't move, you're in the right place!
In this guide we will study Tao, the famous assassin. He is different from Son Goku's other opponents thanks to his fearsome fighting techniques, which makes him a deadly and dangerous opponent. He is the first person to seriously put the young Saiyan in trouble for the first time.
Tao the Mercenary, also known as Tao Pai Pai, is a significant secondary antagonist in the manga and anime Dragon Ball. He is a merciless assassin who never refuses a contract. He is highly skilled and is the brother of Shen, the master of the Cranes. Tao Pai Pai thus works for the Red Ribbon and also attempts to gather the Dragon Balls for their purposes.
Tao Pai Pai is one of the most important secondary antagonists in the Dragon Ball saga and marked Son Goku's childhood. In exchange for his services, he asks a very high price commensurate with his skills. For the assassination of Goku, Tao demands ten billion zeni (one hundred million in the Japanese version). However, he grants the Red General a discount of fifty million because of his birthday.
In this guide you will discover:
- A complete biography of the character
- The story of Tao Pai Pai during the Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z sagas.
- The assassin's favorite attacks and abilities
- Interesting anecdotes about the character
Ready to start this guide? So let’s get started without wasting a second!
APPEARANCE OF TAO PAI PAI:
Tao Pai Pai is a man of average height and build who appears to be around his fifties despite being several hundred years old . Tao has small squinted eyes, a thin mustache, and long black hair which he ties into a braided ponytail . He is equipped with a navy blue jumpsuit that covers his entire body and wears a long pink Chinese coat over it . (namely that in the Dragon Ball Mystical Adventure version, her pink coat was replaced by a blue one ). 🤔
He wears a kanji symbol on the front of his costume which means kill which indicates his profession as an assassin. Tao also has the inscription " Kill You " written on the back of his coat which reinforces his desire to kill.
In his cyborg version, the assassin wears a robotic helmet which completely covers his skull and a large part of his face. He has red lenses in his eyes that allow him to scan his opponent. Thanks to the many robotic parts that make up his body, Tao can remove his hands which hide secret weapons . He has a long retractable blade in his left arm and a sort of cannon in his right hand.
PERSONALITY OF TAO PAI PAI:
The character of Tao Pai Pai is presented in the series as someone evil and sadistic . He loves his job because he takes pleasure in the suffering of his victims while getting paid. He views his assassination contracts as a way to have fun. He makes no exceptions and has not the slightest scruple about eliminating children as he declares in his speech to the Red General when he says he is ready to assassinate men, women and children as long as the price is attractive. 🔪
Despite this and after his attempts to kill Son Goku as a child, he decided to spare little Upa after killing the latter's father. He also retained his desire to kill children after he converted into a cyborg . This is particularly the case when he tries to kill Son Gohan as a child, when he confuses him with Goku because of the physical resemblance.
Tao Pai Pai is fully aware of his horrible reputation as a bully and murderer and fully intends to fuel and maintain it. When he returns to a tailor to collect his new suit , he refuses to pay for it and instead offers to kill a person of his choice.
Also endowed with a dark sense of humor, he is capable of showing extreme cowardice when confronted with an adversary whom he is unable to defeat. This is totally the case when he throws a grenade at Goku's back after begging for mercy from the latter by saying that he was going to change his behavior and habits.
Although he kills mostly in a professional setting , he sometimes kills only for fun or when someone is making fun of him. The best example is surely the moment when Tao executes Mr. Satan 's mentor after the latter makes fun of the assassin's hairstyle. 😅
In the Dragon Ball Z saga, although Tao seeks to keep his original temperament, he is very afraid of Goku due to his past defeats and thus seeks to avoid the Saiyan at all costs. This fear paralyzes him even when he faces Gohan after realizing the relationship with Goku.
During the series, he prefers to use Goku's naivety in order to turn it against him. He thus manages to steal the Dragon Balls after occupying the young Saiyan with a puzzle .
Despite being more dangerous and powerful than the majority of humans, he learned from his mistakes following his defeats against Goku or Tenshinhan . He is in the future more cautious when facing fighters who can potentially be stronger than him.
BIOGRAPHY OF TAO PAI PAI:
Tao Pai Pai was born in the year 459, approximately two years before King Piccolo's War in which he and his older brother participated. Although younger, Tao was always one step ahead of his brother and this quickly established a sort of rivalry between them. The two brothers organize competitions over even the smallest things and a simple bowl of spilled rice was finally enough to separate them . Although it was never specifically stated in the story, Tao Pai Pai managed to obtain immortality at one point which allowed him to live beyond 200 years old . 😮
It was at the age of 279 that Tao began his career as a mercenary. He once seriously injured Mr. Satan after Mr. Satan made fun of his outfit during a visit to the latter's castle in the southern city. During his stay at the Crane School , Tao trained the young Tenshinhan for a while and he had a strong influence on the latter.
Dragon Ball: Red Ribbon Army:
Around twenty years after he began his career as a mercenary, Tao Pai Pai was hired by General Red of the Red Ribbon Army to eliminate Son Goku. The young Saiyan disrupts the organization's plans to dominate the world and he previously defeated all the agents sent who tried to eliminate him. 💀
After Commander Blue , one of the Red Ribbon's best fighters, fails his mission, is given the task of defeating Tao Pai Pai in order to redeem himself. In the Red Ribbon Army headquarters, Tao arrogantly declares that he will not need to use his hands or feet to defeat Blue and will only use his tongue . The soldier laughs at this remark and quickly goes on the attack. Exclusively in the anime, he uses his telekinesis technique but quickly realizes that Tao is completely immune to this power. In the rest of the fight, the assassin dodges his enemy's flurries of blows with ease and, true to his word, instantly kills Commander Blue with a lick to a pressure point on his temple .
Tao Pai Pai proves through this action to General Red and Colonel Black that he is qualified to kill Son Goku and that his services are worth a very high price.
Tao Pai Pai looks at the photo of his target and he has no problem having to kill a child. The Red General offers the mercenary the possibility of using a fighter plane to track Goku but Tao prefers to use one of the pillars of the headquarters so that he can ride it and use it when traveling. 🤛
Tao Pai Pai meets Son Goku for the first time in the Karin Lands just after failing to hit the young Saiyan when landing with his pillar. Goku questions the identity of his attacker and Tao declares that he was hired by the Red Ribbon Army to eliminate him once and for all.
Bora, a local warrior who has already repelled the Red Ribbon Army previously, decides to challenge the assassin in order to defend young Goku. The Saiyan had already saved Bora's son some time before and the latter therefore feels indebted.
The assassin openly mocks Bora, whom he greatly surpasses. He manages to block his spear with three of his fingers and Bora is unable to move. Tired of the fight, Tao propels Bora into the air and instantly kills him by sending his own spear which pierces his heart. 💥
Seeing little Upa crying over his father's corpse, Son Goku screams in rage and charges the famous assassin head-on. Tao Pai Pai quickly notes that the young Saiyan is a tougher opponent than Commander Blue. The fight is fairly balanced but Tao manages to dodge and parry Goku's barrage of blows. The assassin ends the fight by knocking out the young Saiyan with his Dodompa technique and leaves him for dead.
Overwhelmed by grief and anger, little Upa tries to attack Tao by throwing a small rock at him but the latter throws the projectile back at him and knocks him out instantly . The assassin grabs Goku's backpack and steals the three Dragon Balls inside. During his report to General Red, Tao notices that the fourth crystal ball is missing. The latter was in fact in the Saiyan outfit which allowed him not to be killed by the Dodompa ray .
Shortly after, Tao Pai Pai goes to town in order to find a new uniform because the previous one was destroyed by Son Goku's Kamehameha technique. Once there, he forces a local tailor to make him a new uniform based on his old outfit for free. The merchant tells him that it will take him three days to make the costume and the assassin decides to stay in town during this time and enjoy life. He then wants to obtain luxury for free by intimidating the locals and obtaining a hotel room. 😨
At one point and in order to keep himself busy, a sniper from the region tries to assassinate Tao but the latter very easily manages to deflect the sniper's bullet with only the help of his slipper. Once the three days are up, the assassin's uniform is finished but when the tailor asks him for money, Tao refuses, explaining that it would ruin his ruthless and cold reputation. In order to find common ground, the assassin offers his services to the tailor, explaining to him that as payment, he can eliminate the target of his choice . Horrified by the proposition and not wishing for anyone to die, the tailor refuses the proposition but Tao eliminates him on the spot with an attack on a pressure point. Once dressed in his new uniform, Tao Pai Pai returns to the Sacred Land of Karine with the objective of recovering the previously forgotten Dragon Ball.
Once there, he finds little Upa who immediately throws an ax at him. Tao dodges the projectile and begins strangling Bora's son in an attempt to receive information about the artifact's location. As Upa refuses to collaborate, Tao propels him towards the Karine Tower but he is saved by Son Goku at the last second.
Surprised by the turnaround, Tao challenges Goku to a duel and a new confrontation takes place. After being trained by Master Karine at the top of the tower, the young Saiyan's power has greatly increased and now exceeds that of the assassin. Seeing that his opponent is ultimately too strong for him and that he is unable to touch him, Tao decides to take out his sword in order to change the outcome of the fight. His blade is immediately destroyed by an attack from Goku and Tao definitively realizes that his opponent is far too powerful for him . 👊
The assassin then decides to abandon the fight and begins to climb the Karine tower in order to steal the Sacred Water which increased the Saiyan's power. He quickly arrives at the top but once at the top, Master Karine realizes the wickedness of the assassin and then decides to deceive the latter by offering him the wrong water . The Master then makes Tao believe that his power has grown in order for the latter to leave faster.
Tao Pai Pai then quickly descends the tower and once again challenges Son Goku once at the bottom. During the confrontation, the assassin fares a little better but he is still far from matching Goku's level. Realizing that he is not at Saiyan level , Tao Pai Pai then pretends to surrender in order to deceive his opponent for a fraction of a second.
Seeing his opponent helpless, Goku asks Upa if it is wise to let the assassin go. When the Saiyan's back is turned, Tao throws a grenade at him at point blank range and then jumps into the air to avoid the explosion. Goku immediately throws the grenade back at him and Tao Pai Pai disappears in a cloud of smoke. 🤞
At this point in the story, the professional assassin is presumed dead but Tao manages to rebuild himself as a cyborg thanks to all the money he had saved during his previous contracts.
Some time later, Master Shen, Tao Pai Pai's brother who is also the master of the Crane School , asks his disciple Tenshinhan to kill Goku in order to avenge his brother. However, thanks to Awesome Turtle, the master of the Turtle School , Tenshinhan realizes Shen's evil side and decides to abandon him. Chaozu, also a member of the Crane School, decides to follow Tenshinhan.
Dragon Ball Saga of Piccolo Jr:
With the fortune he earned during his career and thanks to his older brother, Tao Pai Pai was eventually rebuilt into a cyborg and is now called Tao Cyborg . The assassin participates in the 23rd World Martial Arts Championship in order to seek revenge for Tenshinhan's betrayal and defeat by Goku. During the playoffs, he brutally beats Chaozu and almost kills him. He is only holding back in order not to be eliminated from the tournament. The assassin manages to climb the ranks and find himself facing Tenshinhan during the competition. 🏁
Once in the ring, the two opponents exchange a long fixed look. Tao notices to his great regret while observing Tenshinhan's combat pose, that he cannot find the slightest weak point on his body after scanning it . Tao charges his opponent who immediately dodges the attack. Tenshinhan follows up with a counterattack and manages to send the cyborg face down to the ground . Tao Pai Pai quickly realizes that his powers are completely exceeded by those of his opponent. Tenshinhan then suggests to the assassin to forfeit . The fighter always has a form of respect towards the one who taught him to fight and he does not want his former master to suffer humiliation following defeat.
Tao Pai Pai understands that he will not be able to defeat his opponent fairly but he remains convinced of his victory. The assassin then decides to violate the rules of the championship and takes out a long hidden blade in order to land a quick blow on Tenshinhan. The slashing attack will leave a long scar on the latter's chest that he will keep for life. 🔪
Wounded by this cowardly attack, Ten then declares that Tao Pai Pai has completely lost his pride and honor as a fighter. The tournament commentator disqualifies the assassin but he continues the fight, declaring that he is only here to kill Tenshinhan and Son Goku . Tao then loses his blade which breaks following an attack from his opponent. The assassin then decides to use extreme means and uses his Super Dodompa which is immediately canceled by a Kiai from Tenshinhan. The latter then attacks Tao and knocks him out with a single punch to the stomach. Tenshinhan then lifts the assassin's defeated body and entrusts it to Master Shen , disappointed with the turn the fight took.
Dragon Ball Z Saga Cell:
Tao Pai Pai never made any further appearances in Dragon Ball Z as part of the manga. Exclusively during the anime, however, he makes two appearances in the Cell saga.
In his very first appearance, he works as the personal bodyguard of a certain Mr Borbonne . He is a man who runs a sort of shelter not far from the village of Chazke. This place is supposed to protect people from the threat posed by Cell . The relatively wealthy businessman hired Tao for his own protection . 👍
Everything goes well until Son Gohan makes an appearance in the village, which disrupts Mr. Borbonne's plans. The businessman's bodyguards surround Goku's son but the latter is joined by Mr. Lao , an old man from the village. The latter wears a Chinese-inspired martial arts costume. The old man quickly dispatches Mr. Bordonne's bodyguards to the ground, which forces the latter to send Tao to take care of him.
The two opponents exchange a long series of rapid blows and Tao ends up sending Lao to the mat. The assassin attempts to finish off his opponent with his Super Dodompa but Gohan intervenes at the last second, thus protecting Mr. Lao and himself from the deadly attack.
When the young Saiyan appears, Tao does not fail to notice that his facial features closely resemble those of Son Goku. Suddenly overcome with fear due to his previous defeats, Tao asks his opponent his name and is immediately reassured when he learns that the Saiyan's name is Gohan and not Goku . 🤔
His fear immediately returns when he learns that his young enemy is actually Son Goku's son. Tao Pai Pai then flees, resigning from his position as bodyguard. Mr Bordonne, upset, shouts at the assassin that he cannot abandon his post but the latter retorts that he can do so while disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
During his second appearance, Tao works as a henchman for someone named Vodka, a very rich gangster who has the ambition of becoming the emperor of the world following Cell's defeat. The latter hires Tao in order to collect the Dragon Balls for his own account.
For his part, Son Goku also seeks to obtain the precious artifacts and goes to Vodka's fortress, after having located two balls using Bulma's detector . Tao Pai Pai intervenes to protect the Dragon Balls but he does not immediately recognize his opponent because Son Goku is in his Super Saiyan form . Tao then laments when he realizes the identity of his enemy after examining him.
Knowing that he does not have the slightest chance of defeating Goku fairly, the assassin then offers a challenge to his opponent: The Saiyan must solve three very complex puzzle rings before dawn. He will obtain the Dragon Balls if he succeeds but if he fails, he will have to hand over his own artifacts. Tao Pai Pai offers to take Son Goku's jacket containing the Dragon Balls and decides to steal them while the Saiyan is distracted by the puzzles . 😅
With the stolen artifacts in hand, Vodka, Tao and a few bodyguards flee during the night in order to get as far away from the Saiyan as possible. Once the riddle of the puzzle rings is solved, Goku locates Tao Pai Pai using his ki and immediately joins him using instant movement . The Saiyan does not perceive Tai's ill will due to his great naivety, but the assassin gives him the Dragon Balls because he knows full well that he no longer has the slightest chance of keeping them. Mr Vodka, for his part, can only remain shocked by the situation and remains incomprehensible.
The death of Tao Pai Pai:
Although there is no further information on this, Tao Pai Pai and his brother Shen were both involved in something and died together during this event.
THE POWER OF TAO PAI PAI:
By the time Tao Pai Pai makes his first appearance, he is presented as being the most powerful character in the series at that point. Commander Blue , Son Goku's most dangerous enemy so far, is killed by Tao, making the latter the new powerful enemy of the young Saiyan. The assassin manages to defeat the soldier with a single swipe to the temple with his tongue after easily resisting a telekinesis attack .
At this point in the story, Goku is approximately as powerful as Awesome Turtle during the 21st World Martial Arts Championship . Tao Pai Pai greatly dominates Goku at the very beginning and only his clothes suffer damage from the latter's Kamehameha. 💥
Assassin Tao is one of the fastest characters in the Dragon Ball saga. Indeed, he is almost invisible to Upa's eyes , who only sees a slight blur during the assassin's furtive movements. Tao Pai Pai, however, is quickly overtaken by Son Goku after he climbs the Karine Tower and receives training from the master.
Several years after his defeat, Tao Pai Pai gained enormously in power after reappearing as a cyborg. He thus far exceeds Chaozu 's level although it is not very difficult, but his power is very much lower than that of Tenhsinhan who manages to defeat him with ease. Unlike the other androids of the Red Ribbon Army , Tao is only half-cyborg and thus can sense ki but his enemies can spot him. 📖
The power of Tao Pai Pai is precisely indicated in the leaflet for the film Dragon Ball Z, the Tree of Power . Its power level here is 240 units.
His strength increased little in the Dragon Ball Z saga because in the video game Dragon Ball Z Kakarot , Tao Pai Pai states that he probably could not defeat a single Saibaiman.
TAO PAI PAI’S FAVORITE ATTACKS:
Pressure Point Attack : With his quality as a professional assassin, Tao Pai Pai knows the weak points of the human body perfectly. By touching certain specific points of the human body, he can cause partial or total paralysis in his opponent until he loses consciousness. If he applies longer pressure on a weak point, he can go so far as to kill the latter.
Dodompa : this is the famous technique of the crane school also used by Tenshinhan. The user fires a beam of yellow energy from their index finger towards their opponent.
Super Dodompa : an attack used by Tao Pai Pai in his cyborg version. The assassin disconnects his robotic hand which reveals a hollow cavity through which he will fire a powerful charged energy ray. Tao can also adjust his attack so that the Super Dodompa follows his target until it explodes.
3D Scan : Used by the cyborg version of Tao Pai Pai. Using an accessory placed in his eyes, he can scan his opponent in order to evaluate him and know his weak points.
Levitation : unlike the original anime and manga, Tao has the ability to fly a little in certain episodes of Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
Crane Style Assassin Strike : Tao Pai Pai's most famous melee combo. The assassin, after having punched his opponent several times, followed up with a powerful knee strike to the face and another to the stomach. Tao continues with a flurry of punches with his fingers and after an aerial sequence, sends his opponent crashing to the ground. Finally, Tao executes a powerful knee strike in the stomach of his enemy who is still on the ground.
Ultimate final strategy: this is a rather cowardly-looking fallback strategy for the assassin. When he is convinced that he will lose to his opponent, Tao implores his enemy, saying “Forgive me!” which generally makes the latter leave if he is merciful. When his opponent's back is turned, Tao Pai Pai throws a grenade towards him and inflicts great damage with the explosion.
SOME ANECDOTES:
- Depending on the versions and dubbings, Tao has been called under several names. The assassin is called "General Tao Pai" in a late 1980s English dub but is named Taopaipai as a single word in the manga version. He was also referred to as General Tao in another adaptation which generated an error, leading some characters to think that the assassin is one of the leaders of the Red Ribbon Army . This error has fortunately been corrected in the new remastered versions. The name Tao basically refers to a chicken dish served in American Chinese restaurants. 🍝
- The inscription “KILL YOU!” is written on the back of his outfit in the majority of versions. In some adaptations, the words are replaced with a simple "YOU". This completely changes the meaning of the message, going from an offensive interpretation to completely confusing. In some versions, the word on his back has been completely erased.
- In the Budokai Tenkaichi video game saga, Tao Pai Pai does not have the ability to fly. The assassin actually does not know the technique of air dancing despite this being a characteristic of the Crane school to which he belongs.
- Once he becomes a cyborg, Tao has a normal voice in the majority of versions but in the German dub, he has a very robotic voice. Tao Pai Pai cyborg was bald in his original design and had the right side of his face completely uncovered. 😮
- The Kanji of the name Tao Pai Pai can mean "Peach White White" when reading it. Indeed, Akira Toriyama , the author of Dragon Ball, specified that he wanted to give him a cute name that could sound like a joke in order to contrast with the deadly assassin side of the character.
- In order to show his criminal and evil side, Tao Pai Pai was named "Kryminator" in the Polish version. The French dub is based on this version but retained the one-word TaoPaiPai nomination.
- In the Japanese adaptation of the anime, the Crane master addresses the assassin as "Pai Pai", which may suggest that Tao is a family name.
- Tao Pai Pai is the very first professional assassin who was hired to kill Son Goku. The second will be Hit in Dragon Ball Super. The difference between the two killers is that Tao was hired by one of Son Goku's enemies. In the case of Hit , it was Goku who anonymously initiated the contract for himself so that he could fight against him again.
FAN OF TAO PAI PAI? SUPPORT HIS GOKU AND HIS FRIENDS!
The guide to Tao Pai Pai is now finished, we hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it. The mercenary is an iconic villain who left his mark on Son Goku during his childhood. It should be remembered that Tao is Goku's first serious opponent and who almost killed him during their first confrontation. His most iconic moment is arguably during his very first appearance, when he instantly kills Commander Blue, Goku's main rival at the time. Tao Pai Pai after this demonstration of power, is thus the second strongest and most dangerous opponent after King Piccolo and his sons. 👍
For now, if you love the Dragon Ball universe, we invite you to discover this magnificent hoodie !
