Tarble

()(What should I do!!! I'm about to start school!! (⊙o⊙)... I can't keep calm. Going back to school means less time to play on the computer... I'm crouched in a corner drawing circles forever... I'm not going to tell you I haven't done my summer homework... So, in a fit of "excitement," I hurriedly threw together a chapter... and then filled in the plot hole from chapter one.)

"I hope that guy hasn't left!"

The young man gazed into the distance at a village wreathed in thick black smoke. His expression immediately tightened, and he sped up as he flew, murmuring to himself...

But in the next instant... a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, startling him. He abruptly halted his rapid flight, then stared in surprise at the handsome, light-haired man standing before him... It was Betkas.

"Hmm... you're a Saiyan?"

Betkas had only just appeared when he caught sight of the distinctive tail wrapped around the young man's waist. His eyelid twitched, and he stared at the young man, demanding an answer...

"How can you... You're a Saiyan too?!"

The young man's expression changed dramatically. Then he spotted the tail wrapped around Betkas's waist and froze in surprise before speaking...

"Wait... You look a little like Big Brother Vegeta... Is that just my imagination, or a coincidence?"

Betkas gave a slight nod, then said with some uncertainty...

"Vegeta? You know my brother?!"

The young man asked excitedly...

"Hmm? Brother? You..."

Betkas's pupils involuntarily shrank. He took another careful look at the young man standing before him... His hairstyle was much like Vegeta's, and his face looked weak and frail, yet he bore a striking resemblance to Vegeta...

Then there was the old Battle Armor he wore... Betkas immediately reached a conclusion...

"You're my second older brother, Tarble!"

Betkas closed his eyes, then slowly spoke... At that moment, he felt quietly relieved. He did remember that there was a character named Tarble in Dragon Ball, though he only appeared in the story after Majin Buu...

And when Betkas had been born, Tarble had already been sent to another planet. As time passed, Betkas had gradually forgotten about him...

Now Tarble had appeared again, and Betkas remembered him at once.

"You know me?! And you called me your second older brother... Could you be Betkas?!"

Tarble looked a little surprised, then asked in astonishment.

"That's right... I'm Betkas..."

Betkas gave a lazy yawn, then answered... He had no reservations about Tarble at all, because Tarble was a kind-hearted fellow in the original story. That was probably because he had grown up on this planet and been influenced by it...

"It really is you?!"

Tarble exclaimed in delight... When he'd left, Betkas had only just been born. He'd received only one specific piece of information: the newborn Third Prince, Betkas, had slightly less potential than Vegeta. They would then assess his personality, and if he was like Tarble, he would be sent to another planet.

He hadn't learned anything after that. By then, he was no longer on Planet Vegeta... Now, seeing Betkas as a grown man, he felt an unexpected sense of closeness...

"I can't believe you're on such a low-level planet, Second Brother. Father really was too much back then..."

Betkas carefully sensed the area around them, then spoke...

"Betkas... where is Big Brother now?!"

Tarble froze, then asked in confusion. He had great respect for Vegeta, even though the two of them hadn't been close. They simply hadn't spent much time together.

"As for Big Brother Vegeta... Heh... I'd guess he's off somewhere setting off fireworks on some planet right now..."

Betkas suddenly seemed to think of something and smiled as he spoke...

"...I know that sort of behavior is perfectly normal to Saiyans... But I hope you and my brother won't commit so many pointless killings, Betkas... Because..."

Tarble glanced discreetly at the devastated village behind Betkas, then began to speak slowly. But before he could finish, Betkas cut him off.

"Because life is equal? Or because... the strong should protect the weak?!"

Betkas said expressionlessly...

"Th-this..."

Tarble froze at his words... He truly didn't know what Betkas's personality was like. But if Vegeta had been there, he would have been blasted to death for what he'd just said. No one was allowed to criticize Saiyan invasions and slaughter. In fact, it could be said that every Saiyan had to do those things... What Tarble was saying was practically the complete opposite of Saiyan ideology...

From the moment Betkas had appeared, Tarble had already realized that Betkas had slaughtered the village. He couldn't sense a trace of life there... The brutality of it all made him deeply uncomfortable. But since Betkas was his younger brother, whom he'd never met before, he hadn't criticized him. He'd only hoped Betkas would stop doing things like that...

"Second Brother Tarble... You need to understand one thing. In this universe, if you don't have strength, you get beaten up. If you have strength, you can do whatever you want. That's why the Saiyans are under Frieza's control: that guy is strong enough! So everything has to be built on a foundation of strength. Without it, everything becomes impossibly distant. The weak will never be able to change the will of the strong."

Betkas spoke in a leisurely tone...

"But... you don't need to be strong in order to live peacefully with others!"

Tarble immediately replied without hesitation...

"Heh... You really are naive. You're also an outcast among the Saiyans... If Father or Big Brother Vegeta were here, that one sentence of yours would be enough to turn you to space dust... Saiyans, famous for their love of battle, living peacefully with others? What a joke!"

Betkas curled his lip in disdain, then mocked him... He finally understood why Tarble had been so weak in the original story. It wasn't just because he lacked talent. It had more to do with his own nature... He didn't desire to become stronger. Someone like that could never become powerful. No wonder he'd arrived on Earth with such a pitifully low battle power. He was a disgrace to the Saiyan royal family...

Fortunately, Vegeta had already changed somewhat by then. Otherwise, Tarble would probably have been killed by Vegeta without a word.

"Hey, hey... Are you angry?"

Betkas smiled at the look of indignation on Tarble's face and his tightly clenched fists... But the next second, his smile froze...

He suddenly felt a strange energy inside him, like a stream, moving through his body beyond his control...

"On Lairas Planet..."

Bardock suddenly sensed something. He frowned slightly and murmured, "That unique energy hidden inside that guy is starting to be released... If that guy becomes a Super Saiyan now, it'll probably be a lot easier. I wonder what kind of energy it is... The Saiyan Seal I used as a Super Saiyan Fifth Form was undone just like that..."