Planet Kano!

Galactic Patrolman Jaco was lying beneath the spaceship, inspecting the damage. This time, though, the ship had taken a direct hit to its power system, so the damage was pretty serious.

As he stared at the dense web of wires, Jaco's eyes began to glaze over. As a combat officer in the Galactic Patrol (self-appointed), he found this kind of work rather difficult. He should have been on the front lines, arresting Space Pirates—not flying this old wreck on routine patrol and getting shot down by pirates, forcing him to land on this planet.

Jaco grumbled indignantly to himself as he casually plugged a wire into the circuit board. To his surprise, the ship actually started up. He let out an excited whoop and immediately crawled out from beneath it.

"Tights, I've fixed the ship! We can leave here right away!" Jaco found his companion Tights taking pictures of the scenery nearby and loudly announced the good news.

Tights, who had been taking picture after picture of the distant scenery, immediately turned around at his words and looked at Jaco with delighted surprise.

"Jaco, really?"

Hearing Tights question him, Jaco was instantly displeased. He pointed at the ship, which had started up, and said smugly, "You think a little thing like this could stump an elite like me?"

Tights followed the direction of his finger. What she saw was a burst of sparks, followed by thick smoke billowing from the ship. Her forehead creased with worry, and she asked in a strained voice, "Jaco, are you sure the ship can still be used?"

Jaco had no idea he had tinkered the ship into complete disrepair. He nodded smugly. "Of course! Can't you see?"

Tights shouted furiously, "You idiot! The ship's on fire! How are we supposed to start it up?"

"Impossible, I..." Jaco turned around, saw the smoking ship, and was too shocked to finish his sentence!

"Moron! Hurry up and put out the fire!" Tights had already dashed toward the ship. She didn't forget to snap at the dumbstruck Jaco as she went.

Jaco came back to his senses and hurried after her!

After an hour of frantic effort, the two finally put out the fire. Soot-covered and carrying buckets, they stared at the ship in silence, unable to recover from the shock.

"Jaco, can you still fix the ship now?"

"What do you think?"

"Then how are we going to get off this planet?"

"I already sent a distress signal. Once Patrol Headquarters receives it, they'll come get us."

"How long will that take?"

"...I don't know!"

"..."

"Jaco, I'm going to kill you!"

At that moment, a gigantic spaceship loomed in outer space before Planet Kano, with several small escort ships lined up behind it.

"Bekum, have you detected the ship's signal?" asked a vicious-looking Space Pirate Leader of one of his subordinates.

"Boss, I've got it. It's on Planet Kano. We intercepted the distress signal that idiot patrolman just sent!"

"Excellent. Land at once! I want that Galactic Patrolman captured alive!" the Space Pirate ordered.

The subordinates nearby immediately began cheering.

Jaco and Tights had no idea the Space Pirates who'd attacked them had caught up. Worse, Jaco's actions had led the pirates straight to them!

After their scuffle, Tights lay sprawled on the ground, staring at the sky in despair. She knew Jaco was unreliable. After all, back on Earth, he'd needed Bulma's help just to fix his ship.

But she hadn't expected him to be this unreliable. Now they were stranded on this desolate, uninhabited planet, with no idea when another patrol ship might arrive. The thought of surviving by hunting and gathering made Tights want to cry.

Suddenly, Tights spotted several fireballs appearing in the distance. Her years of roaming the universe told her at once that spaceships were landing. She quickly called out excitedly, "Jaco! Come out! There are ships!"

Hearing the commotion, Jaco crawled out of the ship. He'd been sorting through the supplies that were still usable and had thought Tights was in danger.

"Tights, what's going on?" Jaco held a Laser Gun and warily scanned their surroundings.

Tights was taken aback by his reaction, and a flicker of gratitude showed in her eyes. Then she exclaimed happily, "Look, ships are landing! We're saved!" She pointed up at the sky.

At her words, Jaco immediately looked up and saw the ships about to land. But his race's natural gifts gave him extraordinarily sharp eyesight, and he could clearly see the Space Pirates' skull insignia on the ships. His expression changed dramatically, and he hurriedly said, "Quick, Tights, hide! It's those Space Pirates!"

All the color drained from Tights's face. She trembled as she asked, "Jaco, are you sure? Didn't you say we'd shaken them off?"

Jaco fell silent. After a moment, he said uncertainly, "Maybe... maybe they tracked the distress signal I sent."

Tights was speechless at his answer. The little gratitude she'd just felt vanished without a trace.

"Jaco!"

Tights had given up completely. She shouldn't have expected anything from Jaco. After adventuring through the universe with him for so long, how could she not know he was a complete weakling? And none of the people who became Space Pirates were pushovers. Jaco stood no chance against them.

Before long, the ships landed. Tights and Jaco were already hiding behind a boulder, secretly watching.

When they saw the people emerge from the ships, the two exchanged a glance and gave up all hope. The Pirate Leader was the very alien who'd pursued them earlier. Jaco had recognized him from the wanted posters on the Galactic Patrol's mission list.

Carefully shifting their bodies, the two began to retreat, hoping to find a good hiding place.

Unfortunately, the pirates were equipped with Scouters. Tights's power level could be ignored, but Jaco's was over 500. On this nearly lifeless planet, he stood out like a candle in the dark.

Suddenly, the Space Pirate Leader looked straight toward the place where the two were hiding, and a cruel smile gradually spread across his face!

"Run!" Jaco had better eyesight, so he realized at once that they'd been spotted. He grabbed Tights and took off running.

Unfortunately, Jaco didn't know how to conceal his power level. Even though he tried his best to hide, the pirates still found them!

"Well, well, well! Look who we have here!"

"Isn't that a Galactic Patrolman? The Space Pirates' nemesis!"

"So he's our nemesis? Then how'd he end up in our hands?"

"Hahaha!"

The Space Pirates surrounded them and mercilessly mocked Jaco, not taking the Galactic Patrol seriously at all.

Jaco's expression darkened. He wanted nothing more than to pull the trigger on his Laser Gun and shoot the bastards dead. But with Tights there, he didn't dare act rashly. If he attacked, Tights would have little chance of surviving the fight that followed.

They'd spent years constantly getting on each other's nerves, but all their adventures together had made them close friends. He already felt guilty that Tights had been dragged into this attack because of him. He couldn't bear the thought of her losing her life because of it!

"All right, capture them both. And remember to disarm the patrolman!" After taunting them, the Pirate Leader gave the order, and all the pirates moved in.

"Tights, I'll hold them off. When you get the chance, run. Once you get away, hide immediately. Your power level is so low that they'll have a hard time finding you." As the pirates advanced, Jaco quickly stepped in front of Tights and whispered his instructions.

Tears immediately welled in Tights's eyes, but she knew there was no time to argue. She simply nodded firmly and whispered, "Jaco, be careful too. I'm still waiting for you to go adventuring with me. I haven't finished my novel yet!"

Jaco understood what Tights meant. He was the main character in her novel, so he said nothing and simply watched the approaching Space Pirates with a solemn expression.

Just as Jaco was about to pull the trigger, several Ki Blasts suddenly shot in from above the Space Pirates. The pirates in the air were blasted to dust before they could even scream. As the smoke cleared, nearly all the pirate grunts were dead; only a few with decent power levels had managed to block the attack.

Everyone present was stunned by the sudden attack. Only Tights was overwhelmed with relief. She whispered happily to Jaco, "Jaco, looks like we're saved!"

Although the sudden arrival of others had surprised him, Jaco didn't lower his guard. He continued to watch the Space Pirate force warily.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" The Pirate Leader was furious to see his subordinates wiped out.

"Raditz, your power level still isn't good enough! When we get back, you're going to keep training!" A young voice rang out above the battlefield, drawing everyone's gaze.

Three figures appeared before them. All three wore Battle Suits belonging to the Frieza Force. One of them, a young man with spiky hair that reached past his knees, also wore a single-ear Scouter.

At the sight of their familiar uniforms, the expressions of Jaco and all the remaining Space Pirates changed dramatically. They had all recognized the three before them. In particular, the tail wrapped around one of their waists gave away their identities!

"Sai...yans!" the Pirate Leader gritted out, identifying the newcomers one word at a time.