Siblings

One day, Roland was training in the Gravity Chamber as usual when the Scouter on his body suddenly started beeping urgently.

Beep, beep, beep!

A string of numbers flashed repeatedly on the Scouter's screen. Roland picked it up, saw the reading, and was instantly shocked.

11,000!!

The staggering number meant the energy source was only a little over a hundred kilometers away. The Scouter Roland had taken from the Mapa People on Planet Mapa wasn't as advanced as the Frieza Legion's, but it could automatically sound an alarm when a powerful enemy approached.

Who could it be?

A trace of doubt flashed through Roland's mind.

Planet Vegeta was a high-level planet, but there were only a handful of warriors with battle powers over 10,000. Five, to be exact. Each was a top fighter who upheld the Saiyans' authority. Warriors of their caliber usually stayed near the Royal Capital; they would never appear in such a remote place.

It was probably a Saiyan. If it was someone from the Frieza Legion, he'd have to get ready to run.

As Roland wondered who it was, the energy source rapidly drew closer. Its terrifying power made the Scouter beep incessantly, something it had never done before.

Cold sweat dampened Roland's palms. He carefully crouched behind a rocky ledge and looked up at the sky.

He readied the Transfer Technique. If he confirmed the approaching figure wasn't a Saiyan, he'd use it at once.

Whoosh! A straight beam of light tore across the sky like lightning, followed by a thunderous boom as it broke the sound barrier. Soon, a figure appeared in his field of vision. Roland had excellent eyesight, and concentrating energy around his eyes really did sharpen his vision.

It was a Saiyan wearing the Frieza Legion's battle uniform. His hair rose in two hornlike locks, his face looked mature, and a cross-shaped scar marked his left cheek.

Bardock?!

Recognizing him, Roland murmured under his breath.

Why was he here? He was heading toward the Royal Capital.

Suddenly, Roland's nerves tightened, and a sense of urgency welled up inside him. As far as he knew, in the original story, Bardock had sent the young Goku away on the night he returned to Planet Vegeta. Just a few days later, Frieza had hurled a Planet Destroyer Ball from space and wiped out the entire planet.

Now that Bardock had appeared on Planet Vegeta, Frieza's destruction of the planet must be imminent.

He didn't have much time left.

As Roland watched Bardock, the warrior's instincts alerted him to Roland's presence.

A child? Bardock looked toward Roland, who was hiding behind the rocks below. Though surprised to find a Saiyan infant here, he was in a hurry to see King Vegeta and had no time to concern himself with it.

He cast Roland a brief glance, then swept over his head. In an instant, his figure dwindled to a speck and vanished into the vast sky.

Only after Bardock disappeared did Roland carefully emerge from behind the rocks. His heart pounded with urgency. "Bardock's already back, which means Planet Vegeta's destruction can't be far off. But why hasn't Sephiria's team returned yet?"

He couldn't delay any longer. He had to leave Planet Vegeta as soon as possible!

With that thought, Roland quickly replenished his food, then put the Gravity Chamber into a Hoi-Poi Capsule and took off toward the settlement. He went back to the mission assignment office to ask about Sephiria's ship. They told him her squad would arrive on Planet Vegeta in half an hour.

Roland was speechless. The timing was perfect. Without him, Sephiria would have arrived just in time to die!

You're lucky to have a little brother like me!

He muttered under his breath, then flew straight to the spacecraft landing area. Ordinary Saiyans' ships were parked on the open ground in the center of the settlement. Saiyans or Yugarites usually handled their registration and maintenance, but high-ranking Saiyans received different treatment.

Elite warriors came from prestigious families and were the backbone of Saiyan society. Each received attentive care, and their ships landed at a designated spaceport in the Royal Capital.

Roland soon arrived at the Royal Capital's Spaceport. He watched ships return from space one after another, then descend under the guidance of trained staff. Hovering in midair, he scanned the crowd for a familiar figure, but Sephiria was nowhere to be seen.

About ten minutes later, a striking figure emerged amid a crowd of admirers. It was Sephiria, whom he hadn't seen in a year. A few Saiyans followed her, presumably her team.

Sephiria was now nineteen. Her eyes were bright, her teeth white, her skin smooth as cream, and her silky hair fell over her shoulders. Her graceful figure was even more alluring than a year ago. Saiyans reached full maturity at this age and stayed youthful for a long time, only aging rapidly in their later years.

Sephiria walked in front with a cool expression. Her keen senses told her that Planet Vegeta felt different from before.

"Planet Vegeta's gotten a lot livelier."

"Everyone's back."

"Sephiria, there's a restaurant up ahead. The captain's treating everyone to a meal this time," the squad leader offered generously.

The captain was also an elite warrior. His name was Hertz, and he usually looked after Sephiria.

Sephiria shook her head. "No, I'm going home first."

"All right. Take some time to relax. We may have even tougher missions ahead, so we need to stay in top shape." Hertz shook his head regretfully. A few of the younger Saiyans wanted to persuade Sephiria to join them, but Hertz stopped them with a look. They all showed their disappointment.

"Big Sis!" a child's voice called out as Roland flew toward Sephiria.

From far away, she could see Roland, still about a meter tall, just as he'd been a year ago. He wore clothes made of finer material than most.

A glimmer flashed in Sephiria's gemstone-black eyes as she looked at him. Rather than catching Roland joyfully as he flew toward her, she raised a leg and kicked him with brutal force.

The sharp attack caught him completely off guard. Stunned, Roland hastily raised both arms to block it.

Thud!

The force of the kick traveled through his arms. Roland grimaced as he was sent flying.

Halfway through the air, something tightened around his neck: a slender hand had grabbed him by the collar.

"Big Sis, you don't have to greet me like that, do you?" Roland said with an awkward smile, his arms still numb.

"Why didn't you contact me this past year?" Sephiria stared at him expressionlessly. Her icy gaze seemed to drop the temperature around them by several degrees.