Omen of War

() "Is this year just bad luck? Of all times, I had to run into a dense meteor swarm... It's going to waste a lot of time again. Damn it!"

Betkas sat in his spaceship, suddenly opening his tightly shut eyes. He looked at the halted ship, then glanced out the window. When he saw the dense meteor swarm drifting past like a torrential downpour ahead, his face twisted with irritation.

Meteor swarms were common in space, but dense, wandering ones were rare. And now Betkas had run into one—it had to be said that his luck was, in a sense, extremely poor. Because of the swarm, he wouldn't be able to move for a while, unless he took a detour.

But either option would cost a massive amount of time; the only difference was whether he stayed still or moved. He wanted to blast the swarm apart, but he wasn't a creature like Frieza who could survive in space. He could manage a short time out there, but there was no way he could completely destroy that dense meteor swarm.

If he couldn't destroy it all, he'd just be wasting his energy. So even if he wanted to act, he couldn't.

"It looks like I'll have to wait. If I take a detour, I'll be at least a month late getting back. By then, the Namek situation will probably be over."

Betkas leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and spread his hands on his knees. He could only wait patiently...

Meanwhile, on Earth...

"Hey... isn't this planet a bit too light? No gravity at all!"

Nappa moved his arms easily, then looked at the city he'd already leveled into rubble and spoke with curiosity.

"Hmph. That's not a bad thing for us. Anyway, let's find the people first. And next time, don't do anything so stupid. If you accidentally destroy the Dragon Balls, we'll have come all this way for nothing."

Vegeta stood nearby, sneering coldly.

"Oh, right..."

Nappa snapped back to reality, realizing he had been a bit reckless. After calming down, he and Vegeta opened their scouter to scan the planet's high-level combatants.

"Huh... this planet really is unusual. There are a few guys with decent power levels gathered over there. One's only 1,432, another's 2,511, and a few more are between 1,800 and 2,200. Looks like the initial assessment of this planet was wrong. No wonder Raditz died here."

Nappa detected several readings and paused, then found it somewhat amusing.

"Hmph. Whatever. Let's go find them."

Vegeta said flatly, then floated into the air and shot off toward the detected location at high speed. Nappa followed close behind. The two streaked across the sky like meteors.

...Elsewhere...

"Uncle Piccolo... two very strong ki are heading this way!"

Son Gohan trembled as he sensed the two powerful presences, speaking with concern.

"Hmph? Strong. One of them counts, but these two are on a completely different level from that Saiyan we met two years ago. Actually, no—they're far weaker. At least that gives me confidence I can find a chance to take down the weaker one."

Piccolo sneered, his tone full of confidence. Gohan was stunned beside him—he couldn't imagine that opponents he perceived as so powerful were considered "too weak" in Piccolo's eyes. Even if it was just one of them, it was still shocking.

Of course, Piccolo was only comparing Vegeta and Nappa to Betkas, not because he himself was that strong.

"True... but I'm relieved that guy from two years ago didn't show up."

Krillin crouched nearby, his tightly clenched fists finally loosening as he spoke, seeming to relax mentally.

Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha felt much the same as Krillin. Even Piccolo included—what they all feared was Betkas coming again. They'd have no chance of winning then. Even if Son Goku returned from training with King Kai, his odds wouldn't be great. After all, Betkas had shown his full power when he invaded Earth—nearly 110,000 in battle power.

That had raised their standards considerably. Facing someone like Vegeta with just over 29,000 or Nappa with 12,000 didn't stir much tension or fear. After all, once you've looked down from a height and endured the worst punishment, would you still be scared of a measly wire hanger hitting you?

That was basically the logic.

Only Gohan, as a new fighter who hadn't experienced it, was filled with unease. Especially since this was his first major battle—one wrong move could mean big trouble.

"Listen up. Be ready. Don't throw your lives away for some stupid reason. No matter what, we have to take down the weaker one. That way, when Goku comes, he'll have an easier time. I'm sure his strength has improved a lot, and he should be able to handle the stronger Saiyan. So our goal is just to kill the weaker one. Got it?"

Piccolo spoke sternly to the group. Krillin and the others, being experienced, understood and nodded seriously. Gohan, the rookie, would probably need time to grow.

...Korin Tower...

Korin was speaking gravely to Fortuneteller Baba. "This is all of it."

He handed her a thick, heavy little pouch containing over a dozen of the best beans from the last two years.

"Don't worry. Son Goku will be back as soon as possible. According to him, with Senzu Beans, it won't take more than an hour."

Fortuneteller Baba said reassuringly to Korin.

Yajirobe watched the pouch with a pained, thirsty look. He hadn't touched a Senzu Bean in two years—Korin had been strict, making sure he couldn't get a single one.

"Good. I'm relieved. Those Saiyans coming to Earth aren't as strong as the one from two years ago, but they're still more than Piccolo and the others can handle. Maybe only Goku, training under King Kai, has a chance. Two years ago, just in case, I planted Senzu Bean seeds and made that greedy idiot save them. We've barely got this stock. I hope it helps."

Korin said sincerely to Fortuneteller Baba.

"I'd better get going. Otherwise, there might not be enough time."

Fortuneteller Baba looked at Korin, then vanished from his and Yajirobe's sight.

...King Kai's Planet...

"I hope Fortuneteller Baba can hurry! That way, I'll have the confidence to use Kaioken continuously to get back."

Son Goku stared seriously into the distance, then clenched his fist.

The idiot still thought Betkas was coming.