Later, after shooting down the lavish spaceship belonging to the King of Planet Soph as it tried to flee, Vegeta thought he heard the man mutter something before he died: "...that long-tailed one...in the direction of Earth..."
"Heh..."
A cold, cruel smile tugged at Vegeta's lips.
"Vitelli... Back then, you fled to some remote planet in a panic because you were afraid of my revenge, didn't you? How laughable!"
He sprang to his feet, the campfire stretching his short but powerful shadow across the ground.
He turned to Nappa and Raditz and issued his order without hesitation:
"It's decided! Forget Frieza! We're preparing to leave for Earth right now!"
"Earth? Now?!"
Raditz was aghast. Forgetting his fear, he hurriedly tried to talk Vegeta out of it:
"Your Highness, the Frieza Force's scout ships must still be searching for us in the surrounding star systems! If we launch our spaceship now, they'll definitely detect the energy spike! If that draws Frieza himself here... the three of us will be dead!"
He hadn't even finished speaking when Vegeta slowly turned his head. His eyes were already filled with murderous intent.
"Raditz..."
Vegeta's voice was terrifyingly low.
"If you don't even have the guts to break through, then a piece of trash like you... has no reason to keep living."
He turned his back and walked straight toward the one-man spherical spaceship parked nearby.
As he reached the hatch, he didn't stop. He simply tossed out a cold order:
"Nappa, deal with him."
Nappa's massive frame quivered slightly, a trace of hesitation crossing his face.
He looked at Raditz, whose face had gone ashen and whose whole body had begun to tremble, and opened his mouth.
"P-Prince Vegeta, our Saiyan race is almost extinct. Raditz is a Saiyan, after all. I..."
Vegeta spun around, the terrifying force radiating from him erupting as he bore down on Nappa like a tangible weight.
"Nappa, do you want to die too?"
The icy killing intent silenced Nappa at once, choking off every plea on his lips.
He gritted his teeth, anguish flashing across his face, then steeled himself and raised his thick arm, aiming his palm at the despairing Raditz.
"S-Sorry, Raditz."
Nappa's voice was low.
A blazing ki blast shot from Nappa's hand, hurtling straight toward Raditz, who stood motionless as if he'd already given up resisting!
Dazzling energy swallowed Raditz in an instant. A tremendous explosion rang out, and the shock wave sent sand and stones flying in every direction!
"Am I... going to die?"
At the last moment before the energy struck him, Raditz's mind went blank.
He seemed to see a tall, indistinct figure standing before him. The figure's back slowly overlapped with the blurry image of his father in his memories.
Without thinking, he opened his mouth and whispered so faintly it was barely audible:
"Is that you... Father?"
BOOM—!!!
The ki blast exploded squarely on target, filling the area with smoke and churning energy.
But as the shock wave began to subside and the smoke gradually cleared, Nappa and Vegeta both froze.
Raditz was still standing there completely unharmed—not even the hem of his clothes was torn!
It was as if the ki blast that could have flattened a small mountain had been nothing but an illusion!
"W-What?! H-How is this possible?!"
Nappa's eyes widened as he stared at the impossible sight before him.
Vegeta furrowed his brow, a flicker of suspicion crossing his eyes.
He swept out his hand, raising a fierce gust that instantly scattered the smoke and residual energy around them.
Only then did they see that someone had appeared in front of Raditz.
A young man in a black Battle Suit, with black hair and eyes and an amused smile on his face, stood there casually, as if he'd been there all along.
"Who are you?!"
Nappa shouted in alarm and uncertainty, instinctively adopting a fighting stance.
The instant Vegeta recognized the face, his pupils contracted!
A flood of emotions surged through him—shock, disbelief, and an overwhelming fury!
He ground the name out between his teeth, one syllable at a time:
"Vi—tel—li!!!"
"Hey, it's been a while, Prince Vegeta."
Vitelli greeted him with a smile, as if nothing had happened.
His gaze passed over the dumbfounded Nappa and settled at last on Raditz, who still hadn't figured out what was going on and was staring foolishly at his back.
Vitelli gave Raditz a teasing grin and joked:
"Raditz, I haven't seen you in ages. When did you develop such unusual tastes? Now you're calling the people who save you 'Dad'?"
Only then did Raditz finally process what had happened.
When he recognized Vitelli, his face instantly turned bright red. He leaped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and protested loudly:
"I-I wasn't! I saw it wrong! I got it wrong! Vitelli, you bastard! What are you doing here?!"
Seeing Raditz's flustered, furious expression only made Vitelli's smile brighter.
He drew out his words with a playful grin:
"Oh? So you got it wrong~ All right, I believe you."
After a pause, he added in an especially obnoxious tone:
"But sure, you can fool your buddies. Just don't fool yourself~"
"You...!"
Veins bulged on Raditz's forehead. He was so furious he nearly choked.
"Die, Vitelli! Haaah!!!"
At last, Vegeta could no longer hold back his fury! His aura burst from his body in an instant.
With a furious roar, he launched himself at Vitelli like a cannonball, his fist packed with terrifying force aimed straight at Vitelli's face!
"You bastard! You dare show your face in front of me, Vegeta?! Die!!!"
Faced with Vegeta's full-force attack, Vitelli simply raised a hand and flicked it away as casually as if swatting a fly.
Smack!
A soft sound rang out.
Vegeta flew backward even faster than he'd charged in, tumbling across the ground like a rolling ball before finally coming to a stop after a dozen or so turns. Dust billowed around him.
"Blegh!"
Vegeta suddenly spat up a mouthful of bile. Agonizing pain churned in his chest, and his face was full of shock and disbelief.
Vitelli shook out his hand and put on an exaggeratedly surprised expression. His voice was a little over the top as he said:
"Wow! How terrifying, Prince Vegeta! That punch almost finished me off! No wonder you're the noble Saiyan Prince. You really are frighteningly strong!"
The heavily sarcastic words only fanned the flames!
Vegeta struggled to his feet, his eyes bloodshot with fury.
He glared at Vitelli, his voice trembling with utter disbelief and unwillingness to accept defeat:
"H-How the hell...? How did you get so strong?! How could you possibly be stronger than me, Vegeta-sama?! I don't believe it! This can't be happening!!!"
"Haaah!!!"
Vegeta powered up again. His aura surged even more fiercely, and the white energy around him suddenly turned pale gold. His hair stood on end, and his power rose dramatically!
"Hmph! You think I, Vegeta, can't beat you? You're wrong, Vitelli!"
Vegeta extended his right hand and pointed his thumb at himself, his face alight with a mix of fervor and confidence.
"Now, I am Super Vegeta!"
And then...
Vegeta charged back in, brimming with confidence!
Vitelli casually swatted Vegeta away again, sending him flying like a kite with its string cut.
Vegeta struggled out of the rubble and fell silent.
His mouth began moving unconsciously as he rambled:
"How is this possible... I'm Vegeta... the noble Saiyan Prince... How could I be inferior to a mere elite-class warrior like you...? This must be an illusion... That's it. It's all an illusion..."
Seeing Vegeta lying on the ground as if he were questioning his whole life, Vitelli shook his head and couldn't be bothered to humor the poor prince any longer.
He walked over to Raditz, who was still standing there gaping, and reached out to push his hanging jaw shut. Then he teased him with a grin:
"Well? Regretting it now? I told you back then that you'd have a better future as a scientist than as a fighter. See what happens when you don't listen to good advice?"
Raditz slowly recovered from his shock. At Vitelli's words, a rueful, complicated smile appeared on his face.
He was quiet for a moment before answering in a low voice:
"If I'd really listened to you and become a scientist back then... I'd probably have died with Planet Vegeta when it exploded. As a combatant, at least... I got to come out on missions with Prince Vegeta and survive until now."
"Cough, cough..."
Vitelli awkwardly rubbed his nose and smiled.
"Uh... Let's not sweat the details."
He quickly changed the subject and looked at Nappa, who was so nervous that sweat seemed to be coming off his bald head.
"What about you, Nappa? How've you been? It's been ages. Have you gotten taller?"
Nappa nervously rubbed his smooth scalp.
Faced with this old acquaintance whose strength was unfathomable and who'd just beaten Prince Vegeta with a casual flick, he had no idea what to say. All he managed was a smile more painful than crying.
At last, Vegeta had somewhat recovered from doubting himself.
He forced himself to move despite feeling as if his entire body were falling apart, then struggled over to Vitelli.
Though he'd suffered a crushing defeat, his eyes were still full of stubborn defiance and pride.
When he spoke, the familiar, shamelessly arrogant tone was still there:
"Damn it! You... how did you do that?!"
Vitelli smiled at him and played dumb:
"Do what?"
Vegeta's face turned the color of liver. He practically roared his question:
"Obviously, I mean that ridiculous power of yours! How did you get so strong?! I'm Super Saiyan Vegeta! And yet... I couldn't even take your casual attack! This makes no sense!"
Vitelli looked at him—terrible at fighting, yet always eager for a challenge and unable to accept losing—and sighed helplessly.
Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Vegeta by the cheek. Under Vegeta's disbelieving gaze, he squeezed it gently like dough, carefully testing how it felt.
"Tsk!" Vitelli pursed his lips and reached a conclusion.
"Not as satisfying as Kakarot's."
"You... how dare you!!!"
Vegeta froze, then instantly flew into a rage!