Piccolo moved to head out… and he CERTAINLY didn't make sure to shorten his steps so Gohan, who kept looking at him even as he held his father's hand, could keep up.
"So," Kayos said asked, hands jammed into his pockets, "how are we explaining the giant dragon appearing in the middle of the city?" He had thrown on a brown canvas jacket over his shirt but otherwise was dressed pretty much the same as he had been when Piccolo had last seen him.
'Might be the only smart one here,' Piccolo thought as Goku and his friends began to stammer that it was fine and they were SURE that summoning a giant magical dragon in the middle of a major city wouldn't cause any problems. 'He seems to be the only one here that thinks more than two steps at a time.' He frowned as he watched the man rock on his heels. 'Of course he's also a weakling… no training and its clear he isn't interested in learning. Just spending a few hours with him shows me he'll never be a fighter. One ki blast or a proper punch and he'd be dead and gone.'
That… well, he wasn't sure how he felt about all of that.
Goku stepped up towards the pile of Dragon Balls, placing the last one down and causing them all the pulse with energy. Piccolo's fingers twitched and he could hear his father commanding him to wish for immortality. And yet he also heard Kayos' comments about how that was a foolish wish and forced such thoughts from his mind. As the man had said it would be a wasteful, foolish wish, and doing so would also turn Goku and his allies against him. And as much as he hated to admit it he needed them at the moment in order to deal with Raditz.
"Hey Krillin?" Goku said, turning towards the short fighter. "Why don't you do the honors?"
"Me? You… you sure?"
"Yeah," Goku said at once. He walked over and placed his hand on Krillin's shoulder "I know you blame yourself for what happened with Yamcha. So go ahead... bring our brother home."
Krillin stared at Goku for a moment before rubbing his arm against his eyes, Piccolo merely rolling his eyes at such a display. But soon enough the Buddhist stepped forward and Goku returned to his family, taking hold of Gohan's hand. It was only because Krillin had begun to speak that Piccolo didn't cry out in surprise when Gohan used his free hand to grab onto his finger.
"Eternal Shenron!" Krillin called out, thrusting his arms skyward. "By your name I summon you forth!"
The Dragon Balls lit up even as the skies grew dark above them, the moon and stars disappearing so that the only light was that of the Dragon Balls. From them burst forth seven beams of light that twisted together to take on the form of a great serpentine dragon. Piccolo stared up, feeling a sense of… well, he refused to call it wonder… build in him as the energy condensed and transformed into the great dragon who could make the impossible a reality.
"I am the Eternal Dragon!" Shenron declared. "State your wish and I shall grant it!"
Krillin swallowed, head tilted up as he called out. "All Mighty Shenron, we ask you-"
'I must ask you to stop and listen to me before you continue.'
"Did… did you hear that?" Bulma asked, looking about.
"Mommy, who was that?" Gohan asked.
Goku frowned. "Kami?"
Piccolo scowled at the mention of his other half. 'Wonderful. The very last being I wanted to hear from.'
'That might be, Piccolo, but I will be heard all the same,' Kami stated. 'You can not wish for Yamcha to return.'
"Wh…what?" Krillin stammered out. "Why not?! Why can't Yamcha come back! He deserves to return-"
'I mean that this is not the right time to bring him back,' Kami continued. 'When Yamcha died I went to see him… I was able to convince King Yemma to allow him to run upon Snake Way, the great path of the Otherworld. Should he complete his journey he will find at the end of the path King Kai, the wisest and most cunning fighter in our galaxy.'
"Really?!" Goku exclaimed. "And he'll teach Yamcha?"
Piccolo heard Kami murmur in confirmation. 'With this new threat coming I felt it best that Yamcha learn from him. The techniques that King Kai can teach him will give you a grand advantage in the challenges to come. I ask you to give Yamcha one year to learn under King Kai before you bring him back to life.'
"Well, if you say so," Tien muttered. "I suppose learning some super secret moves would be nice."
At once Piccolo felt Kami leave his mind. 'Hmmpf. leave it to the old bastard to disappear after giving a command, not bothering to even say goodbye.'
"Wow, the most cunning warrior on the entire GALAXY!" Goku exclaimed. "I wish I could train with him."
"DID YOU MISS THE PART WHERE YOU'D HAVE TO BE DEAD?!" Chichi roared, causing Goku to wave his hands about rapidly, cringing in the face of her rage.
"I didn't mean it like that, Chichi, I swear!"
"Good on Yamcha," Krillin said. "Its about time he got a chance to shine."
"Yeah," Tien agreed with a nod, "we'll have to train even harder to make sure he doesn't show us up."
"I hear a lot of chatter but no wishes!"
Everyone started, realizing that with the news of Yamcha's training they'd forgotten about Shenron.
"Oh, well…" Krillin began, shifting from foot to foot, "it turns out we don't… really need you anymore. Think you can just head off till you recharge?"
"I can not," Shenron declared. "I have been summoned and must grant a wish before I might depart. Now then… state your wish!"
"Huh," Goku said, scratching the top of his head. "We haven't ever needed to figure out what to do if we didn't need a wish." He looked around at the others. "Anyone have any ideas?"
"We could just ask Shenron to kill Raditz," Bulma said.
Piccolo found himself shaking his head. "That won't work. If Raditz is stronger than Kami than Shenron can't kill him."
"Seriously?!" Bulma cried out.