Battle Power Twenty Thousand

A month is neither long nor short—for Raditz, it was just the right amount of time to enjoy a taste of life on Earth.

These days, he'd grown familiar with Earth living.

Looking up, the sunlight painted the land in a perfect layer of brilliance. People crossed paths under the azure sky, while white clouds drifted lazily overhead. Skyscrapers stood in close ranks, and grand aerial tunnels cut through the city, adding a touch of style to the whole scene.

On the wide roads, cars packed the lanes. Raditz propped one hand on the car door and the other on the steering wheel, driving slowly through the bustling street.

"Why isn't the car ahead moving?" Goku tapped his arm impatiently with his fingers.

"Ha, big cities have something called morning rush hour. Whether it's the latest flying car or that ordinary sedan up front, they all have to sit in this traffic jam." Raditz answered from the driver's seat, braking again after barely moving.

Krillin and Yamcha, sitting in the back, laughed. "Ha, Goku doesn't even have a driver's license yet—he probably hasn't been on the streets in ages."

"Huh? Krillin, you can drive too?"

Goku knew Yamcha was an old hand at driving, but he hadn't expected Krillin to be laughing along.

"Heh heh, I learned right after the World Martial Arts Tournament ended!" Krillin grinned proudly, pulling out his license. "See, Goku? Bet you didn't see that coming."

"Why not just fly wherever you want to go?"

Raditz shot Goku a disdainful look. "Driving is a pleasure! Besides, flying around all the time makes a bad impression."

Goku scratched his head, looking half-understanding, half-confused.

"Speaking of which, Gohan really can't come out to play?"

"Sigh, Chi-Chi won't let him. I can't do anything about it."

"Gohan hasn't had a chance to go out lately, has he?" Krillin could picture the scene and chuckled.

Raditz couldn't help but smile too. Ever since he'd come back, he'd been staying at Goku's place. When Chi-Chi first met Goku's older brother, she was utterly shocked and made a big feast that day to welcome him. Every day, he and Goku trained for eight hours, then did farm work and odd jobs. Goku, who usually focused solely on training, had started working hard—all thanks to Raditz. That earned Raditz high praise from Chi-Chi, who kept saying Goku was lucky to have such a good brother.

But poor Gohan was in trouble. Because he'd fallen a year behind in his studies, Chi-Chi forced him to do a stack of practice problems taller than a desk. Even Raditz found the sheer volume alarming, and once Chi-Chi put on her stern face, no one in the house dared argue with her.

"Looks like there's an accident up ahead. Maybe we should just fly?" Yamcha leaned against the doorframe, bored, and yawned.

At seven in the morning, they'd finished breakfast, and Raditz drove Bulma's new flying sports car into West City's busiest commercial district. Then... they never got out of the car.

Raditz shrugged. "No choice."

They all got out, and under the gaze of the crowd, stored the car into a capsule. People idly looked around, puzzled by Raditz and the others' actions.

The next second, everyone's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, frozen in shock. They saw the four of them fly straight into the air!

"Am I dreaming?"

"I don't know either..."

"Hey, did you see that? They can fly!"

"Damn, I didn't film it!"

After a brief silence, the crowd erupted into heated discussion. Many still stood dumbfounded, rubbing their eyes or pinching their thighs, thinking they were having a daydream...

Once in the air, the four moved unimpeded, gliding forward with ease.

Below, traffic was still jammed. At an intersection, several cars lay overturned, police shouted, and gunfire rang out. On the other side was a bank, where a modified armored car had stopped at the entrance. Several men with machine guns sprayed bullets at the cops.

Well, a bank robbery. No wonder traffic was blocked.

By tradition, this was the moment for the Son family to show their strength, Raditz thought. Sure enough, Goku leaped down, with Krillin and Yamcha following immediately.

Raditz shook his head and dropped straight down as well.

The four landed. Goku shouted, "Stop that!" and walked straight into the hail of bullets.

"These idiots—what are they trying to do? Looking for death? Hahahaha!" The robbers laughed wildly.

The police immediately ceased fire, afraid of hitting innocents. But the robbers, seeing prey, laughed even more ferociously, firing nonstop. "Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!"

"Hmph." Raditz smirked contemptuously, casually reaching out.

A dozen bullets were caught in one hand in an instant, the gun smoke dissolving into nothing. Goku and the others weren't about to be outdone; they caught the robbers' bullets too, then opened their hands, letting the rounds clatter to the ground.

What they found ordinary left everyone else stunned. Who could catch bullets like that? The robbers were dumbfounded.

"Keep firing!" the boss roared in fury.

The robbers kept spraying wildly, as if trying to empty all their ammo. The four leisurely caught bullets while strolling closer, as if on a casual walk.

Yamcha and Krillin wore casual clothes, one hand in a pocket, looking even more relaxed. The hems of their jackets fluttered slightly, oozing style, drawing gasps from the young women watching nearby.

The cops were so shocked they dropped their guns, staring at the four in disbelief. Other onlookers gasped and made exaggerated expressions.

Then the robber boss crawled into the car, hoisted a rocket launcher, and aimed at Raditz. "Ha! I've still got this weapon! Die!"

Seeing the boss pull out a rocket launcher, the other robbers perked up, feeling they'd regained the upper hand. Even an armored car could be blown through—surely it could punch through them.

Raditz crooked his finger at them, sneering dismissively.

"You!" The boss was furious. He was the leader of a gang, after all—how dare he be provoked like this? Enraged, he fired a rocket, howling with a twisted face.

In an instant, Raditz's eyes flashed. He erupted with a terrifying aura, a white energy shroud enveloping his body. Ripples spread in all directions, power surging like a tide.

Before the rocket even touched Raditz, it was completely disintegrated, exploding within the surging energy!

Seeing this, Goku dashed forward, knocked the robbers down with a few punches and kicks, and reached the car. One punch sent the door flying. The boss looked left and right, snot dripping from his nose. His Adam's apple bobbed, and trembling, he raised his hands.

This is no damn human!

The boss scrambled out of the car, shouting, "Police, I want to turn myself in! Don't let them beat me! I surrender!"

Police: "..."

"Let's go!"

Ignoring the shouts from the police and civilians behind them, the four sped away. From then on, West City had a legend of four nameless heroes...

Raditz went to the mall and picked out a few Earth outfits to avoid the embarrassment of walking around in a Battle Suit. He also chose a formal shirt for Goku and bought a gift for Chi-Chi. Krillin and Yamcha each grabbed some things too. They chatted and laughed, Raditz cracking joke after joke, making everyone roar with laughter, almost as if they'd forgotten the powerful enemy about to arrive.

At that very moment, Bulma was dozing on the lab bench at home. A month ago, Raditz had asked her to raise the measurement ceiling and accuracy, and she was nearly finished.

Raditz's Scouter lay sideways on the table, a number flashing on the screen—20,000.

First time the author speaks—thanks for the collections and votes.