Planet Tumart

Was the worldview about to collapse?

No, no, no. Overthinking it. These weren't Autobots, just ordinary mechanical combat weapons.

Raditz involuntarily raised one eyebrow, his expression carrying a trace of indescribable astonishment. Looking again at the terrified eyes of the people below, he could imagine the pain they had suffered under long-term enslavement.

"Anyway, since you came after me, I'll take you all out!"

To hell with anything else—these machines had to be dealt with. Raditz looked at the robots standing six or seven meters tall without the slightest fear and charged straight into the barrage.

The dark gray robots began striding forward, their bodies rumbling. Apart from the main cannon barrel on their chests and the two guns in their hands, armor panels on their shoulders, arms, legs, and backs opened, revealing countless firing ports. Every targeting device locked onto Raditz, waiting only for a signal before swarming him and unleashing countless shells at once, shooting him full of holes or blasting him to ashes.

"Come on!" Raditz shouted first, seizing the initiative.

At the same time, shells shot forth. The deafening roar continued without end, and crimson explosions flashed wildly, igniting a blazing glow across the dark planet.

The attack lasted a full minute, leaving everyone dumbstruck.

Who could possibly survive such a violent assault?

"H-He isn't dead, is he?"

"Forget it, let him go. We can't defy that will..." An older man pulled the terrified child beside him into his arms, stroking her head with fear on his face.

If one looked closely, they could see that the old man's hands were trembling too.

"But maybe he can save us."

"Shh! Aji, don't say that. It's impossible." The man beside the old man made a silencing gesture. "If they hear you, we'll be in trouble."

"Waaah..."

"Don't cry, child! There's nothing we can do. Once you endure it as long as I have, you'll learn to accept it." Every wrinkle on the old man's dejected face seemed to have been worn smooth by indifference and numbness.

Everyone sighed together, huddling in the back and trembling.

At that moment, a black silhouette gradually emerged from the firelight. Long hair swayed in the scorching currents of air—it was the figure of a man. The old man's eyes suddenly widened, nearly popping from their sockets. A mouthful of saliva caught in his throat, and he broke into a violent coughing fit. The others were equally shocked, all standing frozen with their mouths agape.

He had actually walked out of the bombardment alive, and he appeared completely unharmed!

Raditz's strength had already surpassed these people's comprehension. He lightly flicked the sparks from the tips of his hair, clenched his fists, and rolled his neck.

"Old man, don't crush a child's hope. Nothing is—" Raditz swung his arms and charged at the gray robots. His extreme speed dragged his voice out behind him, yet it remained thunderously loud. "IM—POSS—IBLE!!!"

One punch pierced through the heavy armor plating. The hard alloy was as brittle as cheap plastic beneath his fist, and the surging Ki tore it in half before continuing through the next one...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three sharp blasts in a row!

These machines posed no threat to him at all. Even if they all came at once, Raditz would merely smile.

For example... right now!

After three machines were instantly destroyed, the rest swarmed forward and surrounded Raditz. His method of controlling Ki was exceptionally effective against the machines' detection systems; they could not determine just how vast the gap between friend and foe was.

They trapped Raditz within a narrow area and aimed every firing port at him. Several long guns were practically pressed against his face.

The moment before the shooting began, Raditz smiled.

He spread his arms as if stretching, gathering profound power in his palms. The instant they fired, he moved as well!

White radiance fell like a curtain, blocking everyone's vision. Even the mechanical weapons lost their lock. A shockwave spun around Raditz, sweeping out a ring of light, and every machine was annihilated in an instant.

Along with their attacks.

"Done!" Raditz clapped his hands, looking utterly relaxed.

The survivors became even more frightened and kept shrinking backward. If electronic shackles had not locked their hands and feet, they would have turned and run.

"I saved you. You don't need to be this scared, right? Look at me—I'm pretty much the same as you. I'm human too." Raditz pointed to his face, then turned around once. He wore a training T-shirt and a leather jacket, and his tail had been completely cut off. He truly looked no different from an ordinary person. "Take a good look."

His words seemed to move the old man somewhat.

Yet everyone still looked terrified. Some even seemed to be staring at a demon. "You don't understand at all. We're not afraid of you—we're afraid of them! They'll come back! They can't be killed!"

Raditz grew even more confused, frowning in complete bewilderment.

These people appeared to have been imprisoned. Combined with the "them" they kept mentioning, this might be the key to unraveling the mystery of the Metal Planet.

"Tell me, what happened to this planet, and what do you mean by 'them'? My friend and I were traveling through space when we were pulled here. Why?"

The barrage of questions made them hesitate.

After a long while, the old man finally rose shakily to his feet and approached Raditz. His aged, deep-set eyes were like shriveled red date pits as he sized up the young man before him and let out a sigh.

He had originally been unwilling to explain the reason, but the words Raditz spoke when he emerged from the flames, along with the overwhelming strength he displayed, made the old man see him in a new light.

Hope?

Perhaps there was some.

They had not seen a new life appear in all these years. Now that they had encountered one, wasn't this precisely an opportunity...?

"We are the native inhabitants of this planet. This planet is called Tumart, and we call ourselves Tumartians. Over the long history of the universe, we have multiplied for who knows how long. We may even be one of the oldest civilizations." The old man's voice was filled with pride as he looked up at the sky, as though reminiscing about those glorious days of old. Though he had not witnessed them himself, the records he had read in ancient texts were enough to inspire every member of his people.

"In the distant past, our civilization's technology developed to its peak. It was an age of technology surpassing all other humans of that time, and our race flourished as well."

"But who could have expected... after a period of prosperity, our technological advancement suddenly came to a halt, and all that prosperity vanished. Later, Planet Tumart declined..." The old man's expression dimmed as he spoke.

Raditz had guessed the answer. He swept his gaze around and said, "So you wanted to replicate the civilization of that era and recreate that pinnacle!"

The desolate planet echoed with metallic reverberations, as if affirming Raditz's words.

Tumart = tomato, the Bird Master's naming method.