Lin Chuan's criticism was so cruel.
It hit the nail on the head.
Raditz clenched his teeth, fury filling his eyes. "As Saiyans, each of us is born with our achievements already determined by fate, along with how great the gap between us and certain people will be!"
"That's right! My Combat Power is only 1,500! But I'm not as pathetic as you make me out to be! You think I don't want to get stronger?! You think I'm content with the way things are?!"
"Even if your Combat Power is as high as 5,000, you don't get to insult me like that!"
Those were Raditz's true feelings. He had always been fighting against fate, too.
Yet deep down, he still believed that talent determined everything!
Even though he was an Elite Warrior, his talent was only mediocre among Elite Warriors.
It was true that his birth Combat Power had reached 200, but Saiyans born at that level were a dime a dozen.
The reason he could stay by Prince Vegeta's side was that his father, Bardock, was a representative of the Low-Class Warriors. The king at the time had arranged it to show off to all the Low-Class Saiyans and win their loyalty.
"Is that so? Then why was your younger brother Kakarot able to get this far? And I'm very sorry to tell you that my birth Combat Power was only 50!" Raditz's agitation did nothing to stir Lin Chuan. Instead, he answered even more calmly.
His words left Raditz in disbelief once again.
On the other side of the galaxy, Nappa and Vegeta were even more shocked.
A birth Combat Power of just 50 meant he was only a Low-Class Warrior! And yet he had managed to raise his Combat Power to 5,000!
Raditz had been born with a Combat Power of 200, yet now he had only reached 1,500.
Nappa, a scion of a prestigious family among the Elite Warriors and an elite warrior himself,
had been born with a Combat Power of 800, but had only reached 4,000 so far.
Of course, Vegeta wouldn't compare himself to them.
He considered himself a genius. No matter what shortcuts any other Saiyan took, they could never compare to him!
He had been born with the highest Combat Power in Saiyan history: 2,000. Now his Combat Power had reached 18,000.
The highest Combat Power in Saiyan history.
"How exactly did you do it? Talos... No, Lin Chuan." Raditz took a deep breath.
He wanted to know.
At his question, Son Goku and Piccolo on the other side perked up their ears, too.
They wanted to know as well. They were curious how Lin Chuan had grown stronger.
They weren't fools. They naturally understood what Lin Chuan meant.
Hearing this, Lin Chuan smiled again.
Everything he'd said had clearly gotten through to Raditz.
The fact that Raditz had asked meant that his old beliefs had begun to waver, and that he longed to become stronger.
After a moment's thought, Lin Chuan spoke. "The Combat Power you're born with is only an innate advantage. It doesn't represent the limit of how much you can grow in the future!"
"So what if you're a Low-Class Warrior? Kakarot and I were born with Combat Powers of just two and fifty, but through hard work and training, we can still keep getting stronger!"
"A high starting point doesn't guarantee anything! A low starting point doesn't mean you're destined to be weak!"
"Let me put it this way: you think you've always worked hard, but I doubt you know what real hard work is!"
"When you think you've reached your limit, others may have put in ten times, a hundred times, or even a thousand times more effort than you!"
As Lin Chuan continued,
Raditz listened, dumbstruck, his mind churning.
Vegeta and Nappa, who were listening through the Scouter's communication function, were also deeply shaken by his words.
None of them were fools. They had all made their way through countless hardships and dangers.
But it was true that they had grown complacent over the years and had been wasting their time.
Once their Combat Power reached a certain peak, it stopped increasing.
Even gaining a single point of Combat Power was incredibly difficult.
Train of their own accord?
What difference did they think that would make, even if they did?
"Well said! So what if I'm a Low-Class Warrior? So what if my birth Combat Power was only 2? I won't give up easily."
"As long as I work hard enough, I can overcome anything!"
Lin Chuan's words had struck a chord with Son Goku.
His voice rang out.
Clearly, he agreed with Lin Chuan completely, because he had gotten this far one step at a time himself.
Piccolo nodded along, too. He didn't say anything, but he agreed wholeheartedly.
"Tch! Kakarot, you really think you can surpass me, your Elder Brother? Don't make me laugh!" Raditz ground his teeth in anger.
He said he didn't believe it and refused to accept it, but in truth, his resolve had wavered.
Thinking back to their earlier battle, he really had underestimated Kakarot badly. In the end, he had even felt a trace of fear.
If Lin Chuan hadn't shown up, he would probably be dead by now. He wouldn't have made it this far.
By then, Lin Chuan had fallen silent.
Son Goku had already caught his breath. Protecting his son, he answered firmly, "You really are strong, Elder Brother, but I don't think you're unbeatable! Piccolo and I have been training all these years, but we haven't worked as hard as we did in the past! Now that we've seen how much bigger the world is, our strength will absolutely soar over the coming months!"
"Don't you agree, Piccolo?"
Son Goku was confident. He was simple-hearted and guileless, and what he said was simply the truth.
"Hmph! Don't lump me in with you! You Saiyans are impressive, sure, but one day I, King Piccolo, will surpass you."
"And you think you're so strong, Elder Brother? You were nearly killed by my Special Beam Cannon! You arrogant fool. You don't even know how to train to become stronger, and rely on talent alone? Utterly foolish!" After his cold words, Piccolo's gaze fell on Lin Chuan again.
He knew that Lin Chuan was his true target!
After all, Lin Chuan had stopped the Special Beam Cannon—with one hand. It had surpassed Piccolo's limits and been powerful enough to kill Raditz.
He had done it so casually, without suffering so much as a scratch.
What did that mean?
The gap in their strength was like an unbridgeable chasm.
Piccolo's taunts made a vein bulge on Raditz's forehead, but he didn't lash out.
Of course he was angry, but what Piccolo said was true.
More than anything, he understood Piccolo's criticism: he had good talent but hadn't treasured it or trained properly, so who else was to blame for being so weak?
If he, Raditz, had really trained harder over the years—or tried harder to become stronger...
Perhaps things really wouldn't have turned out this way.
Seeing how Lin Chuan had raised his Combat Power from 50 to 5,000, Raditz could almost see a glorious future beckoning him, too.
At that moment, every thought he'd ever had—all his past ideas—became worthless.
Compared to becoming stronger, what else could they be but worthless?
Before you continue