Another day passed, and the deadline Frieza had set for Planet Vegeta's destruction drew closer. Many more Saiyans returned to Planet Vegeta aboard their spacecraft. One of those ships carried Bardock, Goku's father.
As he neared Planet Vegeta's orbit, Bardock spotted Frieza's personal ship in the distance. The unease in his heart immediately intensified.
"Look, it's Frieza's ship!" shouted his companion from the cockpit, pointing toward it.
Bardock sat in the cockpit with his arms folded, his expression gloomy. "I don't know what Frieza's up to, but he actually came to Planet Vegeta himself."
"I heard he's been here for quite a while. It's really unusual, though—ordering all of us back to Planet Vegeta out of the blue. If there's some big mission, he could contact us through the Communicators. There's no need to make us come back!" His companion sounded puzzled.
"Take off your Scouter first. Be careful he doesn't hear us!"
"Oh, right!"
The small Saiyan hurriedly took off his Scouter. In truth, most Saiyans of any standing had no fondness for Frieza. Their submission was simply a means of making a living.
"Everyone's coming back one by one."
"I don't know if there's some kind of plot, but that guy definitely isn't up to anything good." Bardock was on high alert, while the rest of his people were still enjoying the thrill of conquering planets, unaware that a crisis was approaching.
The ship landed in an open area of the settlement. When Bardock heard from one of the Saiyans keeping order that Frieza was asking about Super Saiyans, he immediately realized what Frieza was planning and grew even more anxious. When he got home and saw his wife, Gine, Bardock proposed sending their son in the Incubation Pod to a distant planet.
Gine was a petite Saiyan, her fluffy hair falling past her earlobes and making her look especially small. Since her battle power was low, she was a non-combatant who handled meat for her people.
Hearing her husband say he wanted to send their younger son away, she grew agitated.
"Why, Bardock? Kakarot's only three years old, and we haven't even taught him to talk yet!" Gine's gentle nature was unusual among Saiyans.
Bardock said, "I feel like Frieza's planning some kind of plot. It's too dangerous for Kakarot to stay on Planet Vegeta. Tonight, I'll steal a ship and send him to another planet. If there's no danger, we can bring him back."
"But..." Gine couldn't bear to part with him, but in the end, Bardock persuaded her.
That night.
Bardock stole a newly built Spherical Spacepod from the research center. Since it had just been made, no monitoring equipment had been installed. Then the couple carried it to a secluded spot where no one was likely to find them.
The Spherical Spacepod echoed with the cries of a fussy child. Gine looked at her son with a pained expression. "Don't fuss, Kakarot. If nothing happens, we'll bring you back very soon."
"Hey, Bardock, why don't we run away together?"
"We can't. The energy signatures from our bodies would be easy to detect. Kakarot will be safest on his own," Bardock said firmly. Gine looked disappointed. "Raditz is out on a mission with Prince Vegeta, so he should be all right. If something really does happen to Planet Vegeta, we'll have to tell him to find Kakarot..."
"I found a planet called 'Earth' in the database. The people and resources there are worthless, which makes it an inconspicuous, low-level planet. Kakarot will be safe there."
Bardock comforted his wife. The couple placed their hands on the ship's glass canopy and looked at the child inside.
Then they pressed the ship's launch button. The pod slowly rose into the air before shooting skyward with a whoosh, soon becoming a point of light that vanished into the brilliant night sky.
"Goodbye. You have to stay alive!"
"We'll come get you soon."
"Be careful of the Galactic Patrol..."
A point of light flashed in the night sky, forming a cross-shaped gleam. Bardock and Gine gazed after their departing son and embraced. They had no idea that the ship would carry a powerful being destined to change the whole world...
Their son, Kakarot, was about to embark on the most glorious journey of his life!
In a certain ravine, where the cliffs had split apart.
The sun shone brightly, and not a cloud marred the sky.
The clear sky was spotless, as if washed clean by the rain, and displayed a beautiful shade of blue.
The Spherical Gravity Chamber, over eight meters tall and gleaming black, stood in a hollow in the ravine. Six sturdy metal supports were driven into the rock, and the operating equipment gave off a trembling "hummm."
Pat, pat!
Sand blown in from outside gathered speed at the ravine's mouth and struck the Gravity Chamber. Fine grains piled into great dunes across its top and around its base.
Inside the Gravity Chamber, everything was unusually still. The gravity had been set to eighteen times normal, and the air pressure to fifteen times normal. The harsh conditions made the whole room feel oppressively heavy, while the powerful gravity pressed dust flat against the floor. In this extraordinarily punishing environment, a black-haired boy strained to swing his arms and perform a variety of intense movements. As his body moved rapidly, sparkling beads of sweat seeped from his skin like a fine drizzle.
Whoosh—
He shut off the gravity, and the training room immediately returned to normal. After eating a Senzu Bean, Roland opened the hatch and stepped outside, carrying a water bottle.
The intense gravity training had made Roland's strength soar. His body was like a bean sprout breaking through the soil, growing vigorously with the nourishment of rain. He had started at sixteen times normal gravity, but in just over a month, he had raised it to eighteen times. Naturally, his strength had increased considerably as well.
"Battle power: 810!"
Roland pointed his Scouter at himself, and a smile appeared on his face.
His strength was, of course, nothing compared to the results Goku achieved training in a Gravity Chamber. But Roland wasn't pushing himself too hard. His body hadn't even begun to develop yet, and overexerting himself would only have adverse effects. It was better to take things gently.
So when he trained, Roland spent half the day in the Gravity Chamber and the other half training in normal conditions, allowing his body to adapt to the changes.
Perhaps because he had been born adapted to Planet Vegeta's ten-times-Earth gravity, Roland's strength didn't grow as noticeably as Goku's. Even under eighteen times normal gravity, his battle power had only risen to 810. Perhaps the benefits of gravity training would become more apparent once he could handle higher multipliers.
Roland wasn't dissatisfied, though. If anything, he was already quite content.
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