First Meeting with Son Goku

Watching the young man riding a cloud suddenly appear at the Lookout, Turles raised an eyebrow.

The orange martial arts gi, the signature wild, spiky hair, and the golden cloud that could carry a person all made the newcomer's identity clear. It was Son Goku, who had sensed Turles's energy and ridden the Flying Nimbus over.

Turles hadn't expected Son Goku to come looking for him before he had a chance to go find him.

Seeing his childhood idol, Turles couldn't quite describe how he felt. He wasn't exactly excited, nor could he say he was happy. He seemed to feel nothing but calm.

Son Goku immediately noticed the man who looked so much like him. In particular, his eyes kept drifting to the tail around Turles's waist. He'd once had a tail like that himself.

The two of them stood there, silently gazing at each other, neither saying a word.

As they watched Turles and Son Goku stare at each other, the others present couldn't help glancing back and forth between them—looking at Turles, then Son Goku, then back at Turles.

There was no helping it. The two looked so alike that, if not for Turles's somewhat darker skin, they could easily have passed for twin brothers.

But on closer inspection, aside from their skin tone, the two were quite different.

Turles had a more mature air about him, and his dark skin gave him a somewhat sinister appearance at first glance. Yet his deep, penetrating eyes transformed that sinister look into a distinctive kind of charm.

Son Goku, on the other hand, seemed like a boy who had never quite grown up. He was as tall as Turles, but his face still wore a childlike, innocent smile that made him seem approachable.

"Kakarot?"

Raditz spoke up, though his voice was uncertain.

Even after seeing Turles, Raditz still found it hard to believe that his little brother looked so much like their father. If that was the case, then what did that make him? Had he been adopted?

And to make things even more awkward, there was also a Turles standing right in front of him who looked exactly like him. Worse still, Raditz remembered the first time he'd seen Turles, when he'd blurted out, "Dad."

That was why Raditz wasn't sure who the person in front of him was, even though he already knew that the planet where Kakarot had been exiled was the one beneath their feet.

"Kakarot? You mean me? I'm not Kakarot. My name is Son Goku. Nice to meet you!"

Raditz's voice drew Son Goku's attention away from Turles, and he immediately corrected him.

"Son Goku? You're not Kakarot either?" Raditz scratched his head, confused.

Son Goku had left Raditz completely bewildered. He thought he'd mistaken someone for Kakarot again. After all, Kami had pulled off Son Goku's tail long ago, and it had never grown back. Naturally, Raditz hadn't connected Son Goku with the Saiyans.

"Pfft!" Turles couldn't help laughing at Raditz's reaction.

When everyone turned to look at him, Turles stifled his laughter and slowly asked, "So you're Son Goku? Did you used to have a tail like ours?"

As he spoke, Turles unwound his tail from around his waist and swung it behind him, making it whistle through the air. There was clearly plenty of strength behind it.

"Huh? How did you know? Oh, right, you have tails too." Son Goku blinked, then slapped his palm and excitedly asked Turles, "Does that mean you're my big brother?"

"Cough, cough!" Both Turles and Raditz choked at Son Goku's suggestion.

Turles was at a loss with this family. Raditz had called him Dad when they first met, and now Son Goku had called him big brother. They really were a family.

Turles glanced at Raditz and gave him a look.

Raditz understood what Turles meant and gave him an awkward smile. Then he pulled Son Goku aside and began explaining things to him.

Thanks to Turles's guidance, Raditz no longer looked down on his brother. And because Turles wanted to revive the Saiyan race, Raditz had nothing but praise for him as he spoke to Son Goku.

Raditz also learned from Son Goku why he didn't know that his name was Kakarot.

Under the Saiyan system of upbringing, Saiyans sent to remote planets were implanted with certain memories as infants. These included basic combat experience, their own names, and the mission to conquer the planet.

Son Goku had been both lucky and unlucky.

He was lucky that, upon landing on Earth, he had been found by his late grandfather, Son Gohan, who had taken him in and raised him.

But he was unlucky in that Son Gohan was a bachelor with no experience looking after children. So, during a mountain climb, Son Goku fell out of Son Gohan's basket, hit his head, and lost all his Saiyan memories.

After learning about Son Goku's childhood, Raditz tenderly ruffled his hair and comforted him. "Kakarot, you've had a hard time. Don't worry. From now on, your big brother's got your back. Stick with me, and I'll make sure you live in comfort and eat well."

Watching Raditz act like the perfect big brother, Turles's mouth twitched. If he hadn't known what Raditz was really like, he might almost have believed him. Who knew that this thick-browed guy could act so well?

Besides, Raditz thought he could protect Son Goku? Did he have any idea what kind of overpowered monster his little brother was?

Son Goku, of course, didn't know Raditz's true nature as well as Turles did. Having lost his grandfather when he was young, he was moved by Raditz's sudden show of brotherly affection.

Son Goku could be naive at times, but that didn't mean he wasn't smart. On the contrary, his pure heart made him especially sensitive to people's good and bad intentions, so he knew Raditz wasn't lying to him.

But now that he'd accepted Raditz as his big brother, he didn't need to hold back when challenging him. The very next moment, Son Goku invited Raditz to fight.

Son Goku had been drawn there by Turles's energy, but Turles had already hidden his energy perfectly. So Raditz, who couldn't hide his energy as well, became Son Goku's target instead.

The pleased expression on Raditz's face froze. He stared at the little brother who had just turned the world upside down, and suddenly felt that he didn't want a little brother after all. He wondered if it was too late to change his mind.

After a long moment, Raditz came to his senses. He decided he'd teach this little rascal a proper lesson and show him just how formidable his big brother was.

"Sure!" Raditz smiled, giving no sign that he planned to go easy on him.

Even more excited now that Raditz had agreed, Son Goku hurried to the center of Kami's Lookout Plaza and struck a classic fighting pose.

Raditz didn't hold back either. Rubbing his wrists, he walked over to stand opposite Son Goku.

As he passed Turles, who had been watching the whole time, Turles suddenly said, "Raditz, you're not going to rely on your higher power level to bully Kakarot, are you? How about keeping your power level as low as you can?"

Raditz looked at Turles in surprise, not understanding. Turles offered no explanation, but Raditz confidently agreed anyway, though inwardly he didn't think much of the suggestion.

After all, his power level was already 8,000. Even if he suppressed it as much as possible, it would still be at least 500. He didn't believe Kakarot could beat him with a power level of only 300.

But as he looked at Kakarot, who stood ready for battle, Raditz suddenly felt a hint of unease for some reason.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"

He shook his head sharply, telling himself the same thing.