Did Piccolo HAVE to kill Goku or did he choose to?

[nickzambuto]

When Goku sacrificed himself to kill Raditz, I always thought it was an inevitability. Like there was no other way for Piccolo to kill Raditz, except to shoot through Goku as well.

But at the end of the Super Hero film, Piccolo holds Cell in place while Gohan executes the monster with the SBC. Gohan simply aimed for a headshot and didn't touch Piccolo at all.

So it got me wondering. When Goku held down Raditz, did Piccolo HAVE to kill them both? Or did he choose to kill his enemy Goku? Piccolo can hit a bullseye from thousands of feet away. So he probably could have taken off Raditz's head while missing Goku, Goku was much shorter and his head did not line up with Raditz.

I think Piccolo CHOSE to kill Goku, he realized it was not satisfying for him, and for some reason Goku never held it against him.

[theherodjl]

I would imagine he did have to. Piccolo was missing an arm and didn't have a moment to regen, he only had enough time to collect energy for one more shot, and despite being injured too, Raditz was likely still stronger than they were. If Piccolo didn't fire then and there, they would not have gotten another chance to get him as Raditz was flailing around to rip himself out of Goku's grip. The situation with Cell Max wasn't quite the same as Gohan was stronger than Cell Max was and if the makankosappo missed, Gohan could have been able to take it out another way.

[Koitsukai]

I don't see how he would've been able to spare Goku. Whatever pierces Raditz, would pierce Goku. Shooting something that might pierce Raditz but lose force by the time it hits Goku might fail to pierce Raditz in the first place, and that's not something they can afford.

In SH, Piccolo is grabbing Cell Max like a snake, Cell is also huge and needs to be hit in the head only, so Piccolo was easier to avoid.

[nickzambuto]

I don't see how he would've been able to spare Goku. Whatever pierces Raditz, would pierce Goku. Shooting something that might pierce Raditz but lose force by the time it hits Goku might fail to pierce Raditz in the first place, and that's not something they can afford.

In SH, Piccolo is grabbing Cell Max like a snake, Cell is also huge and needs to be hit in the head only, so Piccolo was easier to avoid.

With Piccolo's skill, I feel like he could have hit Raditz with a headshot without touching Goku. Raditz was a lot taller than Goku so it is possible.

[Yuji]

I don't see how he would've been able to spare Goku. Whatever pierces Raditz, would pierce Goku. Shooting something that might pierce Raditz but lose force by the time it hits Goku might fail to pierce Raditz in the first place, and that's not something they can afford.

In SH, Piccolo is grabbing Cell Max like a snake, Cell is also huge and needs to be hit in the head only, so Piccolo was easier to avoid.

With Piccolo's skill, I feel like he could have hit Raditz with a headshot without touching Goku. Raditz was a lot taller than Goku so it is possible.

Raditz is a smaller target than Cell, was struggling, and Goku held him in a way he was directly parallel behind him. Goku couldn't exactly stretch his neck or torso out of the way.

[Hellspawn28]

Goku give up his life to defeat Raditz and keep everyone alive.

[PerhapsTheOtherOne]

I think he did, mainly because he was low on options due to not wanting to waste energy on regenerating his arm at the moment while he had Raditz dead to rights, as well as not wanting to chance missing his shot by aiming anywhere but centre-mass.