Training

King Kai's Kikoho shot out in every direction, flying at Raditz from all angles.

Holding Gohan, Raditz's movements were somewhat sluggish. Fortunately, he had already grown accustomed to the gravity. He threw himself into high-speed evasive maneuvers, darting and leaping through the dense encirclement of Kikoho, narrowly escaping attack after attack.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of attacks came and went, yet Raditz dodged every one of them.

This looks too easy. King Kai was secretly astonished that Saiyans could be this powerful, and immediately shouted, "I'm speeding things up!"

As he spoke, King Kai launched a fiercer assault. His hands moved faster, firing Ki Blasts one after another.

The first grazed Raditz's back, practically skimming against him, startling him badly. Before he had time to recover from his shock, the second and third followed right behind. Their incredible speed left Raditz scrambling, no longer as relaxed as before.

Bang!

The third blast struck him.

With an explosion, smoke and dust filled the air. Raditz rolled several times before falling flat on his back.

He felt as if his internal organs had been shattered. Intense pain coursed through every nerve. Worse still, Gohan had been knocked unconscious by the blast and slumped directly onto his chest, crushing the breath out of him.

"Damn it, I'm still far from good enough..."

Raditz gave a bitter laugh, climbed back up, and resumed training.

And so, everyone immersed themselves in training without the slightest slackness. Every day, King Kai announced how long remained until the Saiyans arrived, keeping everyone on edge and driving them to work even harder.

Besides the regular training, Raditz also did extra physical conditioning every day. He worked harder than anyone else, and his progress was astonishingly fast. King Kai watched with repeated praise, while marveling at the immense fighting potential of Saiyans.

After a month, Goku and Piccolo had both caught Bubbles and joined Raditz's ranks, while the others continued struggling to catch up. Worthy of his Saiyan blood, Gohan gradually adapted to ten times gravity and was able to walk slowly.

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed. Under King Kai's guidance, nearly everyone had improved by leaps and bounds. Raditz chose Goku as his sparring partner, while Piccolo could not get along with anyone else and ultimately paired up with Gohan. The others also formed pairs and began combat training.

Boom!

A tremendous crash echoed across the skies above King Kai's Planet. Two figures crossed paths, leaving only traces of their Ki in the air. The force of their fists spread outward, whipping up fierce gusts that wrinkled the silk-like grasslands of King Kai's Planet into wave after wave.

Goku and Raditz!

Their intersecting figures halted in midair, then turned and charged at each other again.

Goku swung his right fist, throwing a hook straight at Raditz's face. The powerful blow stirred up a gale that rushed at him as the air spiraled. Unfazed, Raditz extended his left hand and grabbed Goku's fist before its force could fully erupt!

Goku tried to pull free, but Raditz was stronger. He hurriedly kicked up with his left leg. Raditz had anticipated it, raising his right arm to block the kick. Then he twisted his wrist, seized Goku's ankle instead, and hurled him heavily downward with his right hand as his left hand released Goku's fist.

Whoosh!

Bang!

The ground was smashed into a huge crater. Goku lay in its center, crying out in pain.

"It's not over yet." Pressing his advantage, Raditz fired several Ki Blasts in succession, bombarding Goku just as King Kai had trained him.

Goku immediately leaped out of the crater and dodged at high speed, closing in on Raditz as he weaved through the attacks. He had long since adapted to the burden of gravity, and without heavy gear on him now, he moved incredibly fast. After several swift turns, he was already in front of Raditz.

"Ha!" Raditz had been prepared. He raised his leg and swept it sideways.

The sweeping kick flew directly toward Goku, carving a sharp arc through the air as it struck for his waist.

At that moment, red light erupted around Goku, his Ki blazing intensely. In an instant, Goku vanished, moving so fast that even Raditz failed to see him.

Kaio-ken!

By the time Raditz reacted, Goku had appeared behind him, his hands clasped together and raised over his head like a hammer before smashing them down!

At the critical moment, Raditz twisted his body into an almost impossible angle and barely evaded Goku's attack. Even so, the gale raised by the force of the blow alone shattered a corner of his Battle Suit's shoulder guard.

Goku tried to continue the attack, closing in and throwing several punches in rapid succession.

"Don't get too full of yourself!" Raditz dodged left and right, adjusted his stance, and immediately counterattacked. Their fists clashed as they launched a frenzied barrage. In the air, only the shadows of their punches could be seen, not the fists themselves.

After several hundred exchanges, Raditz and Goku grew more excited with every blow. Their Saiyan blood was ignited, and they fought with their most instinctive, fiercest methods. Their fists collided head-on, releasing violent shockwaves!

"Ahhh! Ta-ta-ta-ta..."

Goku fought more fiercely with every exchange. Kaio-ken enhanced his strength, making him no weaker than Raditz.

Raditz, on the other hand, was gradually being suppressed by Goku and was frequently struck during their exchanges.

"Ha!" In his excitement, Raditz clenched his teeth and shouted. He too used Kaio-ken, red light bursting around his body like burning flames as his Battle Power soared.

It happened almost instantly. Goku had no time to react and could only continue attacking. Their figures tore through the air, their fists colliding with booming crashes. Storm-like ripples surged outward in all directions. This time, Raditz landed a direct punch on Goku's chest, the force seeming to bore into his body before blasting him away with a bang.

After taking the punch, Goku crashed into the ground again, smashing out a deep crater. His Kaio-ken state had already dissipated.

Seeing this, Raditz could not help slipping into show-off mode. With his hands on his hips, he shouted, "My foolish little brother, with that incomplete Battle Power of yours, you can never defeat me!"

After saying something so embarrassingly melodramatic, even Raditz felt a little awkward.

Then he saw everyone staring at him with blank expressions. Raditz's face reddened even more, and he felt utterly humiliated.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Gohan was the first to cry out.

"Yeah, as expected of Raditz."

"Goku's older brother is quite a bit stronger than Goku."

"Even what he said was so cool. I need to work harder too!"

Piccolo did not praise him, but he held out his fist toward Gohan. "Brat, where are you looking? We're fighting!" As he spoke, his fist had already slammed into Gohan's face, followed by a nearly inaudible, soft "Tch."

"..."

The sudden reversal caught Raditz completely off guard. So they actually liked that kind of thing!

Looking at Goku slowly climbing back to his feet, Raditz felt a sense of crisis. If he had not used Kaio-ken just now, he might have been a little weaker than Goku. Goku's talent really was incredible.

He had to train even harder!