Raditz noticed the Sacred Fruit. If Turles got his hands on it, the consequences would be hard to predict! Earth's soil was too nutrient-rich; the Sacred Tree cultivated here was far better than those on other barren planets. Even eating a single fruit would have extraordinary effects.
He absolutely could not let him succeed!
Raditz instantly burst forth at nearly full speed, and his whole body ached from the strain. But to stop Turles, he would pay any price. Goku also noticed Turles's movements and closed in even faster, red light flickering around him. Turles moved as well, his eyes bloodshot as he roared and charged forward!
The three of them set off at full speed almost simultaneously, all for the same target!
Bang—
The tremendous collision echoed for a long while. Splinters of wood flew everywhere, several huge, gnarled roots snapped off to one side, and dust filled the air, obscuring everyone's vision.
Within the dust, Raditz was the first figure to emerge.
"Was I still one step too late?" Raditz stood the farthest away, gasping violently. In that instant, he had used x4 Kaio-ken, exceeding his current body's limits and greatly draining his stamina.
Goku emerged next. He waved away the smoke and dust, then immediately dropped to one knee, equally exhausted, sweat pouring down like rain. "I hit Turles."
Just then, Goku had rammed into Turles and sent him flying far away, smashing through several layers of trees and creating the scene before them. With the power he had possessed then, it had been enough to break several of Turles's bones!
"No... look up there."
Raditz pointed overhead. The bare branch was empty; there was nothing there.
Though he had taken Goku's powerful strike, Turles had already achieved his goal.
He had still gotten the Sacred Fruit. This was bad! Raditz was secretly alarmed. The thing he had least wanted to happen had actually happened. The situation did not look good!
"Goku, give me a Senzu Bean. He's using cheats, so we need to prepare too."
"Using cheats?"
"Don't worry about that. Keep a Senzu Bean for yourself, and give one to Vegeta while he's resting." Raditz glanced at Vegeta and decided to trust him. "Then we'll seize the remaining Sacred Fruit!"
"Just how powerful is that fruit?" Goku tossed him a Senzu Bean.
"Extremely powerful. Beyond imagination!"
Raditz caught the Senzu Bean and emphasized it solemnly. He had wanted to complain that Earth itself was the truly overpowered thing. Everything here was the best, or else so many incidents would never have happened.
Their brief conversation was interrupted by a burst of laughter. It was incomparably arrogant and wild. The laughter pierced through the smoke, making people's bones ache and the very air tremble.
That powerful Ki made Raditz feel as though he could barely breathe. His chest heaved sharply, and his expression changed drastically. Sure enough, the Sacred Fruit grown on Earth gave an enormous boost—so great it was almost unbelievable.
Turles slowly walked over as leisurely as if he were taking a stroll, the wicked smile at the corner of his lips filled with mockery.
"Kakarot, that hit hurt a lot! And you, Raditz, and Vegeta over there—since none of you will listen to me, I'll have no choice but to send you all to hell! Prince, elite warrior... before me, Turles, you're all nothing!"
Raditz burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at?"
"As far as I'm concerned, you're the most tasteless boss imaginable. Relying on Sacred Fruit to increase your strength would have been bad enough, but you were afraid of Vegeta's and my power and didn't dare act. You deliberately created an Artificial Moon, waited until we fought and exhausted ourselves, and only then dared to show yourself. You even ambushed Piccolo, sneakily stole the fruit to boost your strength, and then came back out to show off?"
Raditz gave Goku a meaningful look and stepped closer to Turles, one step at a time. "Do you know what the difference is between you and Vegeta? You don't have a Saiyan's pride."
"You!" Turles's mouth twitched, and his anger soared.
At the same time, Raditz shouted, "Goku!"
Goku immediately understood what Raditz meant. He charged out decisively toward Vegeta. At the same time, he had already taken out a Senzu Bean, ready to hand it to Vegeta.
Turles froze for an instant. Though he did not know what Raditz and the others were planning, he intended to stop Goku. With one hand, he fired several energy blasts to block Goku's path. Then he sprinted after him, determined to intercept him.
Smack!
A hand suddenly clamped around Turles's ankle, stopping his pursuit.
Turles's body jerked mid-dash. He turned his head, furious beyond measure. "Raditz, I'll start with you!" As he shouted, he plunged downward like a meteor crashing toward the ground, sonic booms erupting around him.
Raditz only felt a force capable of crushing his body slam toward him, nearly flattening him into a sheet. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately released Turles and fled outward.
Rumble—
Countless rocks on the ground shattered into fragments, then into powder, which the air currents blasted far away. The impact of Turles's descent was only slightly weaker than a Great Ape's stomp, forming a crater more than ten feet deep around him. Raditz ultimately failed to escape. He was struck by the surging force and collapsed onto the ground, his limbs limp.
Just one blow was this terrifying.
"I'll give you a quick death." Turles raised his hand, spreading his five fingers. A layer of Ki glowed as it gathered in his palm. If that strike landed on Raditz, it would be no joke.
Yet Raditz had a smile on his lips.
Two figures were reflected in his eyes: Vegeta and Goku. At the critical moment, they had eaten the Senzu Beans, and their condition had already recovered!
Goku immediately activated x4 Kaio-ken and surged ahead of Vegeta. The swelling red light shot straight through the air toward Turles. The numbers on Turles's Scouter jumped as he discovered that both of their Battle Power had risen to varying degrees!
"Damn it!" Turles spun around and flung out his palm. A pink energy wave surged forth like a tidal wave.
Goku and Vegeta's expressions hardened. They did not dare take it head-on and rapidly dodged in separate directions.
Taking advantage of this chance, Raditz, who barely even had the strength to crawl up, put the Senzu Bean into his mouth. If the Sacred Fruit counted as one cheat-code artifact, then Senzu Beans were another. Their miraculous ability to instantly restore full health and energy, paired with a Saiyan's growth after recovering from the brink of death, was the true perfect combination!
Raditz had drawn the fire onto himself. First, it allowed Goku and Vegeta to recover; second, it let him reach the limit of near-death, giving them a chance to turn the tables!
The instant the Senzu Bean entered his body, Raditz felt a warm, miraculous energy soak into every part of him. He felt as comfortable as if he were soaking in hot water after a day of exhaustion. Then, in mere moments, his entire body was filled with strength! His wounds healed, his energy was restored, even his spirit became incomparably invigorated, and his Battle Power grew stronger still!
With his back to Raditz, Turles's Scouter jumped again, and the number stopped at "40000"!
The effects of Sacred Fruit and the Saiyan trait of recovering from near death were both rather vague, so everyone could interpret them differently.
Here, I considered near-death recovery not to be a purely passive skill. It required mental, physical, and even environmental conditions to be met before it could trigger. The boost also depended on one's mental state at the time and the opponent's strength. (I saw an online post saying it could raise someone to roughly the opponent's level, which was pretty interesting.)
Of course, Saiyan settings themselves had plenty of contradictions. They were all for the sake of the plot, so there was no need to take them too seriously. It's Master Toriyama, after all—everyone knows how that goes.
Before you continue