Vegeta and Nappa, the Miserable Raditz

In an unknown galaxy an immeasurable distance from the Solar System.

On a grey-black planet capable of sustaining life, two men dressed in Frieza Force combat uniforms were gnawing on the creatures of this world.

Of course, they had roasted them over a fire first.

Without a doubt, they were Vegeta and Nappa.

Originally, Vegeta and Nappa hadn't cared in the slightest about Raditz going to Earth to find his younger brother, Kakarot.

After all, he was born a low-class warrior with a combat power of only 2.

Even if he had survived until now, how much combat power could he possibly have?

To them, he probably wouldn't even be helpful for cleaning up a battlefield.

After all, even someone like Raditz was nothing but trash in Vegeta's eyes.

His presence made no difference, whether he was there or not.

If it weren't for the fact that there were so few Saiyans left, he would have discarded him long ago.

Upon learning that Raditz had arrived on Earth, if he and Nappa hadn't already conquered this planet, he wouldn't have even bothered to pay attention.

The initial developments were indeed somewhat unexpected; after all, there was actually a method on Earth to control one's combat power.

But later, upon learning that Raditz had been nearly killed time and time again, his temper flared up instantly.

In his own words, he had truly raised a useless glutton all these years.

To think he was actually inferior to Kakarot, who was born with a combat power of 2 and now had a power level of barely over a thousand!

He couldn't do anything right, but he was number one when it came to eating.

However, for him, Raditz had also brought back a piece of special news: there was someone else on Earth.

Although he didn't know who it was, the fact that the individual's combat power reached as high as 5,000 points meant that Earth had already caught the attention of the Frieza Force.

For such a remote planet, the value was almost zero. No one would travel all the way there to investigate a planet that couldn't be sold for much money.

"Vegeta, is it really okay to just let that kid Raditz relay the message? The value of that planet is worth at least a hundred large, mineral-rich life-sustaining planets." Nappa swallowed the food he was chewing and spoke up.

They say that people with simple minds have well-developed limbs, but while Nappa had well-developed limbs, he wasn't truly as brainless as the original records described.

He had a brain; he was just single-minded.

"It doesn't matter! I actually want to see how the other party reacts! As a fellow member of the Force, for him to speak so insolently after knowing that Raditz is my subordinate—who is the captain leading him? I am quite curious." A cold, sharp light flashed in Vegeta's eyes as he continued, "No matter how incompetent Raditz is, he is still my subordinate! He is not someone just anyone can bully."

He had his own plans; doing this definitely served a purpose.

For him, as long as there was utility to be gained, that was all for the best!

If they were unwilling to cooperate, he would consider how to handle them only after understanding the specific details.

Although he had always remained in the upper-middle tier of the Frieza Force and could not even be considered a top-tier warrior, Vegeta, with a combat power as high as 18,000, feared no one except Frieza and the Ginyu Force. Even when facing Dodoria and Zarbon, he had always maintained his pride!

As arrogant as he was, it was only after experiencing the brutal beatings on Planet Namek in the original story that he had truly come to his senses.

Earth.

Looking at Raditz before him, Lin Chuan's expression shifted unpredictably.

If this recruitment had been directed at those scouts from the Frieza Force, they probably would have accepted it.

After all, who would turn down an achievement delivered right to their doorstep?

What a pity!

Whether it was Vegeta's idea or Raditz's plan, they had chosen the wrong person.

Lin Chuan was not the least bit interested in such matters.

Looking at Raditz, Lin Chuan's perception shifted from merely thinking he was useless to slowly revealing a trace of pity.

Frankly speaking, Raditz was indeed pathetic.

Not only did he lack any glorious achievements in his life, but he also died miserably on Earth, and at the hands of his own younger brother.

Was he evil? He certainly was quite evil.

To force Son Goku to submit, he had demanded that Son Goku kill one hundred Earthlings to prove his loyalty.

He even kidnapped his own nephew to use as leverage.

But in reality, was that truly evil?

Not really!

When it came down to it, it was highly likely that Raditz just wanted to demonstrate his strength, and therefore aggressively tried to make his younger brother, Son Goku, obey him.

From the moment he arrived on Earth until he perished alongside Son Goku, one could say he only killed that farmer who attacked him with a gun...

In other words, Raditz died quite unjustly.

As the first boss to appear in the early stages of the grand universe saga, he exited the stage right after ushering in a new era.

To describe the life of Raditz, only one word suffices: miserable.

In his early days, he followed the King's orders and stuck by Vegeta's side, only to become a bottom-tier laborer after the destruction of Planet Vegeta.

Later, he finally managed to find a sense of purpose, only to be dragged into a mutual destruction by his own younger brother.

He had certainly brought his death upon himself, but who could say for sure that it wasn't a scripted death?

If Raditz were truly irredeemably evil, he wouldn't have asked Son Goku to kill one hundred Earthlings as a show of loyalty; he would have simply wiped out the Earth entirely.

Given Raditz's strength, he was actually capable of doing so.

To put it bluntly, Raditz still possessed a shred of humanity.

Just think about it: Nappa was mindless and brutal, torturing and killing at the slightest provocation.

Vegeta was cold and heartless, not even sparing a loyal teammate like Nappa.

By comparison, when Raditz arrived on Earth, he didn't engage in large-scale destruction, and after finding Goku, his primary approach was persuasion.

Even after being rejected, he only resorted to threats and inducements. If it had been Nappa or Vegeta, would they have offered so many chances?

And that wasn't even the most pathetic part.

Even on the verge of death, Raditz still believed his loyalty would earn him a resurrection, thinking Vegeta would come to Earth to gather the Dragon Balls and summon Shenron to revive him.

He lived a stifled life, existed in a stifled way, and died an even more stifled death.

The most tragic part was that he didn't even know how miserable he truly was...

From initially wanting to kill Raditz to gain an entry ticket into the Z-Fighter circle, to now feeling a touch of compassion.

Lin Chuan felt a bit moved.

He was a living, breathing person, and this was a real world.

It wasn't a game, and it wasn't just following a plot... His thoughts would constantly change based on his encounters and experiences.

Watching Raditz before him, still proudly trying to negotiate, Lin Chuan genuinely wanted to tell him that for all his obedience, he wasn't even worth a glance in the eyes of Vegeta and Nappa.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Chuan's gaze sharpened, and he began to lecture:

"First! My assessment of you isn't just simple mockery! I look down on you from the bottom of my heart! Because you, a guy who seems to have a brain, are actually quite brainless."

"Second, based on the fact that we are both Saiyans! You have a combat power of 1500, yet you can only display this level of performance. Being so weak that you can only find amusement in bullying your own younger brother—in my eyes, that is the most useless display imaginable."

"We Saiyans should grow stronger and more courageous with every battle, yet what you displayed in front of your brother was nothing but timidity and cowardice!"

"Finally, you're being sold out and you're still helping them count the money! You are truly an idiot! Those words just now—they were taught to you by Vegeta, who is far away on another planet, weren't they? Don't you realize that saying those things will only bring about your own destruction?"

"This is Earth, after all, separated by an endless galaxy. If I decided to kill you on a whim, who could possibly protect you?"

Having said that, Lin Chuan wore a mocking expression.

He suddenly changed his initial plan and decided to lend Raditz a hand.

Of course, that would also require the other party to be willing to take his hand and climb out of the abyss.

Since Vegeta was using him to test the waters and recruit him, he would change Raditz instead, allowing him to face Vegeta a year later.

Raditz versus Vegeta—what an interesting prospect that would be.

He didn't expect Raditz to defeat Vegeta, but under his tutelage, defeating Nappa should be completely out of the question.