Editing Mercenary Tao (section)

==Personality==
Mercenary Tao is portrayed as a deeply sadistic and evil character throughout the ''Dragon Ball'' series. He takes pleasure in killing, viewing his missions not merely as jobs but as opportunities to indulge in his brutality. Tao has no moral reservations about murdering anyone, including children, which he demonstrates on multiple occasions. This is evident when he expresses his willingness to kill "any man, woman, and child" for the right price during his pitch to the Red Ribbon Army. He also tries to murder the child [[Goku]] and coldly dismisses [[Upa]], telling him he is lucky to have survived after Upa attempted to avenge his father, [[Bora]]'s death  at Tao's hands.

Tao's sadistic nature is not limited to his work as a hired assassin. He enjoys his reputation as a cold and ruthless killer, and he makes every effort to live up to it. In the Funimation dub, Tao refuses to pay a tailor for making his clothes, explaining that paying would tarnish his fearsome reputation. He offers to kill someone for the tailor instead and, when the tailor refuses, kills him as well. Tao often displays a dark sense of humor, such as when he quips that he nearly hit Bora and Goku with his flying log on purpose because he is a hitman.

Despite his vicious nature, Tao shows cowardice when confronted with an opponent he cannot defeat. For example, after being outmatched by Goku, he begs for mercy and pretends to repent, only to try to kill Goku with a grenade while his guard is down. He also kills out of anger or frustration, such as when he murdered [[Mr. Satan]]'s martial arts mentor for making fun of his hairstyle. Interestingly, Mr. Satan survived their encounter, though it is unclear if Tao spared him or if Mr. Satan was simply lucky or resilient enough to survive.

By the time of ''Dragon Ball Z'', Tao remains as ruthless as ever but has developed a fear of Goku, acknowledging Goku’s immense power. This fear prevents Tao from attacking [[Gohan]] after realizing he is Goku’s son. Tao resorts to trickery rather than direct combat with Goku, using puzzle rings to distract him and steal his jacket containing four Dragon Balls. However, Goku quickly solves the puzzle and uses Instant Transmission to catch up to Tao. Realizing his plan has failed, Tao accepts defeat and tries to save face by congratulating Goku for solving the puzzle.

Although Tao is still a lethal assassin and a danger to those weaker than him, he has learned caution when dealing with powerful fighters like Goku and [[Tien]] Shinhan. This cautious approach reflects his recognition of the limits to his power and his desire to avoid another crushing defeat.