Raditz's Rise

"How is that possible!"

Paragus was shocked. He had been training Raditz for a long time, and knew his fighting spirit and combat experience inside out. Though Raditz had improved somewhat under his training, there was no way he could have so easily blocked Paragus's surprise attack.

And this feeling... Paragus had encountered it somewhere before.

But before Paragus could give it much thought, Raditz had already launched his counterattack.

Raditz threw punch after punch, pulling each one back before kicking and retracting his leg. Every strike was on a completely different level. Now that his battle power surpassed Paragus's, Raditz's attacks were no longer something Paragus could block with ease.

"Bam!"

Paragus blocked another blow with both arms, but they nearly went numb. A sharp pain shot through the spots where he'd been hit.

"Argh!" Gritting his teeth against the pain, Paragus roared and charged at Raditz again.

His attack was blocked once more, and Paragus finally began to understand. This feeling was exactly the same as when he had fought Turles.

"Ki Sense! You've mastered Ki Sense?!"

Paragus blurted out the words in shock.

The revelation hit Paragus hard. Turles had taught him this way of fighting before, but he had never managed to learn it, no matter how many times he tried. His fighting instincts were too ingrained, and he wasn't a Saiyan with exceptional talent. That was why, until now, only Turles and Broly had mastered this technique.

But today, he'd seen his long-held dream come true in Raditz, a weakling he'd always looked down on. How could Paragus accept that?

"Argh! Die!"

Paragus roared furiously and attacked with ever-increasing intensity. The energy spilling from him sent ripples through the air.

But Raditz was worthy of his potential as an Elite Warrior. Turles hadn't taken an interest in him just because of his distinctive hairstyle.

As time went on, Raditz grew more and more familiar with Ki Sense. He could now precisely detect every move Paragus made, while Paragus could only track him with his eyes. The gap between them continued to widen, and Raditz gradually took control of the fight.

"Hm?"

Turles, who had been watching from the air, noticed something was off.

"What is it?" Broly asked, puzzled by Turles's voice.

"Nothing. I just noticed something interesting. Looks like Paragus is going to take a beating!" Turles said meaningfully.

Broly glanced at Turles, then turned his attention back to the two fighters. Before long, he noticed Raditz's change as well, and a look of understanding flashed across his eyes.

Broly had already learned to sense ki and could freely control its intensity, so he understood better than anyone how useful Ki Sense was in battle. When two fighters were evenly matched, the one who had mastered Ki Sense held the initiative—and this was especially apparent in battles at their current level.

Sure enough, now that Raditz had taken control of the fight, Paragus could only keep dodging and blocking his attacks. He couldn't launch a single counterattack.

But as the saying went, even the best defense could fail. Raditz's attacks grew faster and faster until Paragus's eyes could no longer keep up. At last, he left an opening, and Raditz struck him.

"Wham!"

Paragus was sent flying and slammed into the ground.

Raditz floated above him, looking down at Paragus in the crater with a smug grin. "Paragus, you didn't see this coming, did you? Hahaha!"

Raditz was overjoyed. Ever since joining Turles, he'd been the weakest of the four Saiyans. And that old bastard Paragus had used his higher battle power to train him like a dog. Now, at last, Raditz had gotten his revenge.

Paragus shook off his anger and realized that, with his current battle power, he couldn't beat Raditz. He rolled his eyes at him and ignored his taunts.

But Raditz wasn't about to let this hard-won opportunity slip away. He knew he couldn't stay transformed forever. Once the transformation ended, he'd be right back to being a puny weakling with a battle power of just 5,500. So he kept laying into Paragus, throwing back every insult Paragus had hurled at him during training.

Turles watched Raditz continue to taunt Paragus and felt speechless.

Turles just didn't understand. Had Raditz never considered that if Turles could help him master the tenfold boost from Great Ape Power, Paragus could probably do it too? What good would it do to provoke Paragus now? The transformation wasn't permanent. Once it wore off, Raditz still wouldn't be able to beat him.

Sure enough, Raditz was about to taunt Paragus a couple more times when—poof!—his transformation finally ended, and he returned to normal. Since this was his first time using the Great Ape Power transformation, it completely drained his stamina. He staggered, then dropped onto his rear.

Seeing Raditz transform back, Paragus grinned. He slowly climbed out of the crater and walked over to him, eyeing him with ill intent. "So, who's the one getting it today, my dear little Raditz?"

Raditz wanted to keep up his tough-guy act, but remembering what Paragus was capable of, he gave in and pleaded pitifully, "Paragus, could you at least not hit me in the face?"

"Heh heh heh. What do you think?" Paragus said with a sinister grin.

"..."

When begging didn't work, Raditz turned to Turles, his eyes full of pleading.

"..."

Turles was speechless, but remembering how much Raditz had endured in his experiments, he finally stepped in to help him.

"Paragus, what do you think of Raditz's transformation?" Turles asked, drawing Paragus's attention away.

"Hm?"

Sure enough, Paragus was distracted by Turles's question. He stopped intimidating Raditz and turned to Turles with a serious expression.

"Tell me, if every Saiyan could master this transformation, could the Saiyans become a true warrior race in the universe instead of being called wild monkeys?"

"And if you were the one to teach every Saiyan this transformation, wouldn't your standing as King of the Saiyans surpass that of the former King Vegeta?"

"What do you think, Paragus?"

Turles's words were full of temptation, just as he'd once kept feeding Paragus the idea of leading the Saiyans to rise to greatness.

At his words, Paragus's spirits lifted. He looked at Turles with a complicated expression.

To be honest, Paragus had mixed feelings about Turles. Turles not only had far greater talent and strength than ordinary Saiyans, but his ideas were completely different from theirs as well. Paragus both admired him and felt wary of him.

He admired Turles's talent and feared his ideas.

But Paragus had never been able to figure out what Turles was after.

"Turles, what are you really after? Becoming the Emperor of the Universe?"

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Paragus asked.

Raditz and Broly, standing nearby, also looked at Turles with interest.

"Hm?"

Turles was taken aback for a moment, then answered jokingly, "I want to become a god—a god who lives forever!"