Cardinal

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"One could say that." — Cardinal, after being asked if he is the most powerful man on Earth

Cardinal
character image
カーディナル, Kādinaru
Detailed Information:
Appearances:	Killing General Copper Dragon Ball Z: The Forgotten: Planet Earth Saga Reunion Saga Fulfillment Saga Dragon Ball: Heart of the Dragon Three Foolish Monkeys (mentioned)
Species:	Human
Gender:	Male
Birthplace:	Lismore, Ireland, Earth
Birthdate:	January 27, Age 697
Date of Death:	n/a
Birth Power Level:	0.0001
Maximum Power Level:	5
Personal Pronouns:	私わし, 私わたくし
Height:	6'1"
Weight:	175.2 lbs
Hair Color:	White
Eye Color:	Blue
Rank:	Leader of the New Red Ribbon Army
Organizations:	Red Ribbon Army (Age 732 - Age 750) New Red Ribbon Army (Age 750 - present)
Favorite Food:	Rote Grütze
Favorite Vehicle:	Expensive German Hovercars
Hobbies:	Politics, money laundering, painting
Family:	Supreme General Silver (son) Dewberry (associate) Eugen (associate) File (associate) Glase (associate) Hallow (associate) Ifufe (associate) Jia (associate) Kindler (associate) Morucan (associate) Proprananik (associate) Quarlic (associate) Tresparson (associate) Captain Green (soldier) Private Wisconsin (soldier)

Cardinal (カーディナル, Kādinaru) is a Human featured in Dragon Ball Z: The Forgotten. He is featured in the fourth, fifth and sixth sagas and is introduced in the chapter, "Mist".

Cardinal served as member of the Red Ribbon Army under the moniker 'Staff Officer Crimson' until Commander Red ordered his son, Colonel Silver, to be executed in Age 750. Thereafter, he left the organization, joined King Furry's government, and founded a New Red Ribbon Army of his own.

Overview

Appearance

Cardinal is a human. He is a male, 77 years old; he is of German and Irish descent. He has stark white hair, short, in an almost buzz cut. His eyes are bright blue. Even in his advanced age, he stayed in good health, and is trim. His height is normal as well. His hands shake somewhat, as if with Parkinson's disease, but it is not widespread enough to make Cardinal invalid. He is also a very religious man, Catholic; he has a tattoo of a cross on the inside of his right hand as well (in TF, all religious references that Cardinal makes have been toned down). He also, curiously, wears the red ribbon arm band underneath his clothes, though it is not certain if this is because he was a member of the organization at one time.

Personality

Cardinal is, as mentioned before, a very religious man (though this is not seen as much in The Forgotten as it is in Our Truths). This could be based off of his German parents' influence. And despite being German himself, Cardinal does not speak with any kind of accent, other than that of high elegance. He is very haughty, daring, and smart. In fact, Cardinal is the smartest character in The Forgotten. His daring and bold personality has lead to him becoming very wealthy and powerful. Cardinal is one of the dominant political figures in the entire world. He is able to visit and consult with King Furry whenever he wants. He likely runs the UN and has almost unlimited authority wherever he goes. Cardinal is the leader of the New Red Ribbon Army, so he is not a good guy. He uses his army to exert control over other political groups and governments. Because of his vast wealth, Cardinal can bribe anyone he wants to, and his influence is second to none in the world. Cardinal is a good liar, and he can lie without the slightest hesitation. He believes in the greater good, and will do illegal and dangerous things to preserve society, even if it means killing, torturing, or doing other heinous things to people who would put society in danger (from his perspective).

After Cardinal loses his son, he becomes far more numb in life and his addictive personality (particularly in relation to painkillers) becomes evident. While he later hosts a tournament to atone for his past mistakes, it doesn't make him feel any better, as his pursuit of Ledas has cost him his son and a great deal of his power. He becomes more withdrawn at the end of the story and seems to be depressed by his loneliness.

History

Killing General Copper

In the first scene of this story, Cardinal visited Hasky in the Central City prison. Proprananik went with him. Cardinal offered to give Hasky her freedom if she completed a mission for him. He told her that eight days prior, the Red Ribbon Army Remnant had showed themselves to the world. They had begun pillaging and plundering, killing anyone they had come into contact with until they had arrived at South City. There, Earth's military had engaged them and had completely obliterated them. Only General Copper and Androids 11 and 12 had been taken prisoner. Hasky's mission was to break General Copper out of prison and to recover Androids 11 and 12 from the military. Once she had acquired the three, she was to bring them to Bonetown.

At the mention of that place, Hasky realized that Cardinal was the man who had hired her several years prior to steal an infinite energy device from Colonel Violet. He refused to tell her what he had done with the device and called her a common thief, which offended Hasky. She floated the idea of not helping him until Cardinal told her that if she did not, he would have King Furry execute her at the end of the month. She relented and the man offered her further incentive - Ƶ12,000,000 if she succeeded in her mission. The woman requested supplies; Cardinal told her that Proprananik would assist her with whatever she needed.

Afterwards, Cardinal unlocked Hasky's cell. He put handcuffs on her and then escorted her to the roof, where a helicopter waited for them. On the walk, he thought to himself about how Copper, the last unaccounted for Red Ribbon officer, would soon be accounted for. He noted that Proprananik had taken out all of the cameras on the path there and had reassigned all guards so that no one would see them. He thought to himself that the androids would be a much-needed boost to the New Red Ribbon Army, especially if the defects of Android 8 had been rectified in their models. Cardinal knew that only Dr. Gero and Dr. Flappe had worked on androids in the RRA, so one of them had to have been responsible for 11 and 12. He resolved to send Hasky and Proprananik to Flappe's house once they returned to him and also decided to send Silver to Gero's location if Copper confirmed that the doctor was still alive. He knew he had a lot to prepare for in the coming days and resolved to get to work as soon as Hasky and Proprananik left.

In the second scene, Hasky told Proprananik that Cardinal had hired her once before to steal an infinite energy device from Colonel Violet in the Diablo Desert.

In the fourth scene, Cardinal, Silver, and Proprananik met with General Copper in Bonetown. Hasky was there too, though she did not get too involved in their conversation. Cardinal introduced himself and noted that Copper had refused to join the New Red Ribbon Army years ago, which seemed to have annoyed the old man. Copper was unapologetic. After Goku had destroyed the Red Ribbon Army, he had gone with Gero, for Gero had still been loyal to the Red Ribbon Army at the time. Cardinal, on the other hand, had resigned from his post due to Red having ordered Colonel Silver to be executed. Cardinal said that he had had no other choice. Copper agreed, even stating that he had asked Red not to go through with the order. However, Gero had still contacted Copper first, so that was why he had allied with the man.

Cardinal asked him how Gero was doing. The general informed him that Gero was still working on his androids. Once they were perfected, Gero's plan was to use them to kill Goku. Hasky butted in, asking Copper if he was referring to Androids 11 and 12. She threw their capsules to the ground, and seconds later, the two unconscious androids appeared before the group. Copper was surprised that Hasky had managed to snag them, though Cardinal informed the man that she was the greatest thief in the world.

He then asked Copper if he had said anything to the military after they had taken him hostage. The man denied it. When pressed on if he had been the only officer taken alive, he revealed that after being taken by the military, they had told him on the third or fourth day of interrogation that Lieutenant Colonel Teal had also survived and was telling them all he knew. Copper was unsure if that had been a lie or not, for he had not seen Teal die or be captured, though the man's name was also not common knowledge. Cardinal was taken aback, for Teal's survival had not been mentioned on the government's report of the battle. Copper could offer him nothing more, for he had never seen Teal during his confinement. Cardinal promised to look into it.

He ordered Copper to set up a meeting between them and Gero. Copper was surprised that Cardinal wanted to re-join the RRA. He told the general that he would fund Gero's research. Once they killed the kid with the tail, they would work together to find the Dragon Balls and take over the world. Cardinal declared that he would lead the Red Ribbon Army going forward, while Gero would lead the Androids Division and Silver would lead their military (which was very small at present). Copper seemed none to pleased with Silver's promotion following his failure to retrieve the Dragon Ball from Goku. Silver rebuffed him, stating that nobody in the army had been able to stop the kid, including Generals White and Blue. Copper conceded that none of them had the strength to kill the boy. They would have to rely on the androids for that. Cardinal promised to give Copper a new legion of soldiers after a new headquarters was established, but currently, the Red Ribbon Army did not have even one hundred soldiers in its employ. General Copper agreed to the partnership between the New Red Ribbon Army and the Red Ribbon Army Remnant.

Cardinal asked him if he knew where Gero's lab was. He did, so the old man implored him to go there on the morrow and entreat the doctor. Copper was annoyed about that and asked them to send someone else. Silver told him that Copper, Cardinal, Gero, and himself (as well as Teal, possibly) were the only surviving officers of the RRA, and so they would have to do this themselves. Copper was shocked. He asked them what had happened to Colonel Violet. Awkwardness pervaded the air. Silver finally admitted that Violet had not remained loyal to their cause and had been dealt with as a result. Copper was not surprised, for she had fled when Goku had attacked the Red Ribbon headquarters. Nevertheless, he stated that they needed to find replacement officers soon.

Copper asked Hasky if she had recovered the Dragon Radar along with the androids. She showed it to him. There was a bullet hole in its face. The man admitted that the radar was broken and Gero had not yet been able to fix it (the bullet hole being a more recent wound). Gero had believed that he had fixed the radar before sending Copper to South City, but it was now broken again. Copper explained that General Blue had stolen the device from Goku shortly after Cardinal had resigned from the Red Ribbon Army. Commander Red had then given it to him. He speculated that Goku had gathered all seven balls, for none of them had appeared on the radar after he had received it, and none of his soldiers had found any in the ruins of the Red Ribbon headquarters. He reminded the others that the Dragon Balls recharged every year, so unless Goku was using them all the time, they would have a shot at gathering them. Cardinal promised to have his men attempt to repair it until a line of communication was opened with Dr. Gero.

Cardinal once more asked Copper where the man's lab was located. He revealed that it was in the mountains outside of North City and offered to take Cardinal and his men to see Gero. However, he warned that while Gero did not have many soldiers guarding him, he could have had activated another android or two since the disappearance of 11 and 12. Copper also admitted that Gero was unlikely to cede any power to Cardinal. The old man promised to deal with Gero as long as the line of communication was opened.

He ordered Silver to accompany Copper to Gero's lab. Afterwards, Cardinal instructed Proprananik and Hasky to visit Jingle Village in the far north in order to check up on Dr. Flappe, Gero's old partner in the androids division. Their mission was to find out if the man was still in contact with Gero and to find, take, and destroy any Red Ribbon Army documents he possessed. Proprananik was ordered to kill Flappe only if he was compromised. Cardinal questioned Copper about Flappe, but the general was unaware of Gero maintaining contact with the other doctor (though it wasn't like Gero told him everything about the android creation process). Cardinal then bade Proprananik and Hasky to leave at once and told the thief that he would pay her Ƶ4,000,000 to complete this mission. Satisfied at the generous amount, Hasky and Proprananik left.

In the sixth scene, on December 8, Age 756, Proprananik met up with Silver and Copper in the mountainous wilderness outside of North City, which was where Dr. Gero's laboratory was located. He told Silver that Cardinal had ordered him to spare Hasky, for she could be useful to them in the future. Silver didn't entirely disagree, though he thought that if she ever told anybody in King Furry's government about the New Red Ribbon Army, it would spark a world war.

Later, after Silver's crew met up with Gero, the doctor remarked that after Commander Red had ordered Silver's execution, he had not expected to see the man again. Silver replied that Teal had been sent to assassinate him, but had failed (and had been lucky to have escaped with his life). Gero remembered that Red had complained about Cardinal helping Silver escape, but the man assured him that his father had only provided him transportation away from the Red Ribbon headquarters. Still, the doctor was unconvinced that a man who had resigned from the Red Ribbon Army should lead them going forward.

Dr. Gero told Silver that he would not give either Android 11 or 12 to Cardinal's team, for neither android had been completed when they had been captured. He was not sure that they would remain loyal if they were removed from his care. For that reason, he decided to create a new android - Android 14 - for Cardinal to use. He assumed that Cardinal wanted the android to eliminate some of Furry's top men. Silver confirmed that, though he added that general security was also a reason for needing the android.

With that matter settled, Gero moved onto a more pressing issue: his desire to co-lead the New Red Ribbon Army. As Commander Red had misused his androids in the past, he was not keen on having history repeat itself. Proprananik stated that Cardinal would never be like Red. Still, Gero wanted their alliance to be a 50-50 partnership. Silver countered that since Cardinal would be paying for Gero's supplies, their partnership was not equal. The doctor dismissed that argument, for his androids, even 11 and 12, were more valuable than all the riches in the world, as they could eradicate it of all life if they so chose, including Goku.

A short while later, Dr. Gero told Silver's crew that once he perfected the technique of merging technology and flesh, he would turn all Red Ribbon Army soldiers into androids. After they took over the world, he would then turn all of humankind into androids. At the end of the sixth scene, Silver called his father, though he fell unconscious from his wounds before Cardinal answered the phone.

In the seventh scene, Cardinal had a phone call with Eigan, the leader of the Morizakura-gumi. In it, he told the man that he was sending Androids 11 and 12 to Seikishi City, where the Morizakura-gumi were located. He was also sending several of his associates with them in order to monitor the yakuza's attempt to reboot the androids. Additionally, he decided to send the Dragon Radar to them. Though he did not tell them what it was for, he promised them Ƶ100,000,000,000 if they could fix it. Afterwards, Quarlic called him and told him that Silver had woken up and wanted to see his father. Quarlic also revealed that while Silver was in stable condition, he wouldn't recover from his wounds for months. The doctors wanted him to get a lot of rest. Cardinal cut the communication and walked out of his room, thinking to himself that he had to remain calm. Gero would pay for what he had done, but Cardinal could not be blinded by his rage right now.

When Cardinal reached Silver's room, he was relieved to find that his son's feeding tube had been removed. He was still covered in bandages. The doctors told him that Silver's paralysis would dissipate over time. After hearing that, Cardinal dismissed Quarlic, who had been guarding Silver, and the only doctor in the room. Once they had left, Silver told Cardinal that it had been Gero's treachery that had led to the deaths of Copper and Proprananik. Cardinal already knew that. He told his father that Gero wanted to turn all of humankind into androids and had been experimenting on children. When Silver, Proprananik, and Copper had refused to go along with his plan, Gero had attacked them. Silver begged Cardinal to kill the doctor. He promised to do so, in due time.

In the meantime, however, Silver needed to focus on his recovery if he ever wanted to walk again. Silver told Cardinal that Proprananik had saved him, even though he had ended up with thirty-five bullets in him. Cardinal knew Proprananik was a good man. Once more, his son begged him to kill Gero. Cardinal promised to do so only after Androids 11 and 12 were re-activated, as Gero possessed androids of his own. He knew that since Gero would never squeal to King Furry, time was on their side. Impatiently, Silver pleaded with his father to nuke North City. Cardinal refused to do so unless Gero escalated things.

Changing subjects, he told his son that he might have located Lieutenant Colonel Teal. There was a man named "Haruspex" who had been transferred from the South City prison to witness protection on an island in the far south called Hosomaki. He would be sending Quarlic there the next day to investigate. Silver would join him down there as soon as he was able, if the matter was not resolved before then. Then, Cardinal mentioned that while it was sad that Copper was dead, for Silver had formed a bond with his former superior officer, now that Copper was out of the picture, Teal was the only remaining loose end. Once he was dealt with, the members of the NRRA would be safe from being revealed and they could begin working towards taking over the world (once the androids were re-activated, of course). By the end of Cardinal's long speech, Silver had fallen asleep.

Outside, Quarlic and the doctor waited for him. He ordered the doctor to keep Silver alive at all costs. The man promised to do so before being dismissed. Then, he told Quarlic about Teal, possibly masquerading as Haruspex, hiding out on the island of Hosomaki, which was located deep in the south of the world, near Akki. Quarlic wondered if the same aliens who had been on Akki were on Hosomaki. Cardinal didn't know, but wanted Quarlic to investigate. He ordered the man to leave that very night. Quarlic bowed, swearing he would not fail his boss, and was dismissed.

Following that, Cardinal took a walk through Bonetown, thinking to himself that it was much better off as a ghost town than a bustling trade port. Even so, it was perhaps the most important trade port in the world, for from there, he could send cocaine to South City, West City, and East City by train. As such, he had allowed 100 Morizakura-gumi members to stay in the town at all times, to protect the trade route. He wondered to himself if he would be able to re-activate the androids. If not, he would kill Gero by other means. He leaned against the wall of an abandoned cantina, noticing a Morizakura-gumi truck approaching in the distance, coming from West City. He thought to himself that it would only be a few years before the New Red Ribbon Army was truly flourishing, and grew hopeful at his organization's prospects.

Dragon Ball Z: The Forgotten

Planet Earth Saga

Cardinal was introduced in The Forgotten as the man put in charge by the UN to find Ledas. He was also the leader of the new Red Ribbon Army, which was at this time, the most powerful political organization on the planet. His was originally tasked to find the "rogue alien" somewhere in Police Chief Nagamo's city, however it soon became apparent that this alien was much more dangerous than even Cardinal had expected. Eventually this led to Cardinal having to take drastic measures, and kidnap the alien and his friend. Of course, Cardinal had to use the help of several of his lackeys, as well as his son's soldiers to successfully complete this venture. He was infuriated when Shoekki killed File, and made Shoekki commit suicide with the power of his influence. Afterwards, Cardinal and gang left Earth along with their prisoners Ledas and Ryori in order to escape Majin Buu.

Reunion Saga

Cardinal returned to Earth and immediately started making calls to people in order to find out more about the aliens that populated Earth. He allowed his son to use the poison bullets against Ledas but did not go with him to see the act done. Instead, Cardinal went to King Furry and had a heated exchange with his old friend. Cardinal was shocked that there were so many aliens on Earth, and angered that the king had told him nothing about it. However, Cardinal became resigned to the fact that he could not take on any of the aliens, so he quickly left the king's chambers to call of the attack his son was about to commence. He was too late, as the communications were already dead.

Fulfillment Saga

Cardinal was in the city when Vegeta and The Benefactor were fighting above it. He wanted to use Police Chief Nagamo's helicopter to go and find out what had happened to General Silver and the rest of his army. As he was talking with Nagamo however, Private Wisconsin appeared, killed the Police Chief, and told Cardinal what had happened to the rest of the army. He showed Cardinal that he had re-captured Ryori and suggested that they should use the boy as leverage against Ledas. Before much else could be said, Private Wisconsin and Cardinal were forced to flee, as there were many explosions going off around them. As that happened, Ryori woke up and escaped. Wisconsin went to pursue him, but he was hit by an energy blast, mortally wounding him. Cardinal killed Wisconsin to put him out of his misery and declared the New Red Ribbon Army dead. More energy blasts fell around him, and this caused a nearby building to collapse on top of Cardinal.

After Vegeta and The Benefactor left the city, Cardinal was rescued by Nurse Yorokobi. She took him to the same ambulance as Ryori. Inside the vehicle, Cardinal and the boy talked for a few moments, with Cardinal swearing he never killed Shoekki and Ryori calling him a liar, until Ryori attacked him with a shard of glass and stabbed him multiple times in the arm. Ryori was subdued by Yorokobi and the other nurses, and Cardinal was transported to the hospital at once. Once there, he complained about the amount of painkillers he could take; and because of this, he bribed Yorokobi with quite a bit of money to bring him some more, through illegal means. He was disheartened during this time to realize that he was all alone and that no one had come to visit him in the hospital.

Cardinal was eventually visited by Ledas, after the Saiyan had vanquished The Benefactor. Ledas forced Cardinal, under penalty of death, to bribe the police to let Ryori go (for attacking Cardinal). As well, he forced Cardinal to buy a new house for Ryori and pay for all of his future expenses. Cardinal did not want to do any of that, but he was forced to.

Some time later, he sent letters out to many of the world's greatest heroes, including the Z Fighters and Ledas, to invite them to a tournament. This was truly to forget the past and forge a new peace between himself, Ledas, and the other powerful fighters on the planet. Almost everyone showed up and many fights took place under his watch. He personally set up and watched Ledas' duel with Vegeta. He watched Ledas and Vegeta fly off into the distance as well. During the finale's montage, Cardinal was seen watching the rest of the fighters leave. Eventually, everyone left, and he was left utterly alone, showing just how far Cardinal had fallen since his introduction two sagas earlier.

Dragon Ball: Heart of the Dragon

Three Foolish Monkeys

In the second scene of this story, after Morucan told Jia that they were going to replace the batteries to the ki-suppressing device in Ledas' house, he informed her that Cardinal was waiting in the nearby Morizakura-gumi warehouse and wanted to talk to her. She went inside to see him.

Trivia

• This is the only character in The Forgotten who is also featured in another one of KidVegeta's non-DB stories.
• Along with Ryori, his New Red Ribbon Army Scientists, and Mr. Satan, Cardinal is one of the few humans to never die during The Forgotten.
• Cardinal's theme is Ballade in G minor, Op. 23, No. 1.