Saiyan Pride

Thump! Thump! Dong dong dong dong!

His heart pounded powerfully, faster and faster, as if hundreds of people were simultaneously beating bronze hammers, striking directly against his ribcage. At the same time, dense fur sprouted from his body, and his physique suddenly expanded, stretching his tight-fitting suit to its limit and crushing the debris-strewn ruins. The transformation was incredibly swift; before Vegeta could even reach him, he had already become a Great Ape.

"ROAR!"

A beast awakened, a world-shaking roar.

Two Great Apes?!

Goku and the others retreated in horror, no longer knowing what to do. From the start, events had already surpassed their expectations. Raditz had explained the Great Ape transformation to them, but despite their thorough preparations, they had already gotten rid of the moon beforehand. Why was there still moonlight appearing?

They gazed at the mysterious orb hanging high in the sky, gritting their teeth tightly, utterly panicked.

"Are they all insane?"

"No, Vegeta isn't insane. Transforming into a Great Ape can cause a loss of reason, but a genius warrior can overcome it with one or two training sessions, much like training their tail. Lower-class warriors need to undergo a lot of battles to maintain their sanity, and... my brother said he wasn't sure if he could control himself either."

Goku's words made everyone gasp.

Only Nappa grinned and said, "Raditz isn't there yet. The chance of him going berserk after transforming is fifty percent. Sometimes he can control it, and other times he goes completely mad. It's best to be prepared."

A fifty percent chance in a battle they absolutely couldn't afford to lose – that was too dangerous!

Goku wanted to lend a hand, but his Battle Power was nothing compared to a Great Ape. Acting rashly would be no different from suicide.

Just then, Raditz stood up, pounding his chest with his hands, and spat out several Ki blasts that flew out in all directions.

The ruthless bombardment delighted Vegeta. As expected, Raditz's Great Ape transformation was far less coherent than his own!

Vegeta shouted, smashing his fist fiercely towards Raditz's head, the angle precise, aiming for the temple. His mighty arm unleashed immense power, both fast and vicious, radiating killing intent.

"BOOM—"

A soul-stirring, colossal sound echoed as the behemoth crashed to the ground!

Everyone was shocked – it was Vegeta who had fallen!

Just as the fist was about to touch Raditz's head, Goku couldn't help but activate the Kaio-ken and charge forward. At the critical moment, Raditz nimbly dodged, hooking Vegeta's ankle with his foot, causing him to stumble and fall.

He hadn't lost his mind. On the contrary, due to the soul replacement, his mental strength had increased several times over. He was now not only sober but also extremely alert!

He had deliberately appeared clumsy to make Vegeta careless.

Once the massive body fell to the ground, it wouldn't be easy to stand up again, and the initiative in the battle quietly shifted.

Raditz cheered excitedly, but he also made a mistake; he too had become careless.

Vegeta also had a tail, and he hooked Raditz's ankle with it. With a swift yank, he unbalanced Raditz, causing him to buckle at the knees and fall.

Both Great Apes had fallen!

Raditz, kneeling on the ground, lunged at Vegeta and slapped him hard across the face. He was met with a heavy counterattack to his abdomen, and then the two embraced, rolling several times, crushing the earth.

Finally, they simply began to brawl, fists connecting with flesh. Raditz even resorted to biting, the most primitive, clumsy, yet most violent attack!

Vegeta cried out in pain, "Trash, let go of me!"

Unexpectedly, Raditz did release his mouth, but he instantly followed up with a punch, striking Vegeta's nose directly, returning the favor.

"That's right, I was trash before, but don't you think people eventually grow? Even the weak will become strong one day. The belief in becoming stronger is unchanging in everyone's heart. I may not be as noble as you, but if you take that as your capital for arrogance, you're wrong!"

"I will defeat you today and prove it to you," Raditz took a step forward and unleashed the Kaio-ken in his Great Ape form!

The colossal figure moved with incredible speed, lunging forward, his palm instantly striking, covering Vegeta's head and slamming him to the ground, then pressing him firmly into the earth!

"Ridiculous! Uh... pant... What do you know? I was born a prince..." Vegeta suddenly laughed contemptuously, enduring the pain, speaking with a near-convulsing mouth, "I am the strongest..."

"Is that so?!" Raditz increased his force, punching Vegeta in the face. The entire area within a thousand meters sank several feet, as if terrifyingly trying to bore through the Earth!

Vegeta continued, "Do you know what I'm going to do? I don't need you to tell me what to do, I have my own way."

"You even have your brother, cooperating with Earthlings to rebel against me, losing the Saiyan dignity. You are both traitors to our race." He was so agitated that he spat out large mouthfuls of blood, flowing like a waterfall.

Raditz continued to press his head down, a sticky, warm liquid in his palm.

"Is that your reason? Do you think I don't know everything about Planet Vegeta?" Raditz pulled his arm back and punched Vegeta in the chest, causing the ground to sink several more feet.

"It was Frieza who destroyed Planet Vegeta, and he continued to make us work for him, humiliating us constantly, and punishing us cruelly for the slightest disagreement. No one has forgotten those days!"

With that, he delivered another punch.

"Indeed, at that time, we didn't have the strength to resist Frieza. But how long can we live in disgrace before we can get revenge? Will we wait until Frieza dies of old age? You are proud of being a Saiyan prince, so do something a prince should do, defeat him! If you want strength, we have it! A prince's dignity isn't the fear others have of you, nor is the title of prince the pride of a Saiyan! Only by constantly becoming stronger, gaining power, surpassing limits, surpassing Frieza, surpassing any other strong being in the universe, is that the—"

"PRIDE!!!"

Raditz's final punch gathered all his strength. He raised his hand high and brought it down with a devastating blow.

Accompanying the last two words was a deafening roar.

His fist finally stopped a few centimeters from Vegeta's face. The fierce fist energy caused the Great Ape's face to distort slightly, his fur standing on end.

"You decide. Training and growing stronger with us is definitely the fastest way. I will only offer help and will not interfere with you," Raditz opened his fist and changed it into a handshake gesture. "My brother over there, Kakarot, also has a Battle Power of over ten thousand. If he uses the Kaio-ken, he's not weaker than you. You're welcome to challenge us anytime."

Raditz actually admired Vegeta's pride. It was precisely because of this that Vegeta was unique and respected.

He was handsome and domineering when arrogant, and occasionally showed a contrasting cuteness. Moreover, this was his motivation to continuously become stronger.

The vast universe held too many powerful beings, and dealing with Frieza was just the beginning.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

Vegeta roared, as if wanting to expel all his overwhelming rage. The earth-shattering sound waves were clearly the surging, unyielding resentment.