For the Spirit Bomb, Stirring Up Trouble

Raditz's mind raced as he weighed his options. Recruiting Kakarot now wasn't out of the question, but convincing King Piccolo would be difficult, and he had no good reason to lure Vegeta to Earth.

Weighing all this, Raditz made his decision in an instant. A slight smirk curled at the corner of his mouth as a mischievous idea took shape.

His advantage lay in knowing everything. Only by leveraging that could he gain power ahead of others. To deal with stronger opponents, training on King Kai's Planet was essential.

For the Spirit Bomb and Kaio-ken, he had to stir things up!

He deliberately activated his communicator, letting everything here be heard by Vegeta on the other side of the universe.

"Hey, Kakarot, you've grown up. Haven't you wiped out all the humans yet?" Raditz adjusted his tone to ice-cold.

"What are you talking about?"

"Huh? What's this guy saying?"

Not getting it was exactly the point. Raditz unwrapped the tail coiled around his waist and flexed it nimbly. "Don't you recognize this?"

Seeing the tail, everyone was stunned.

"T-tail...?" Goku glanced at Gohan, unease flickering in his eyes. "Just who are you..."

Aside from himself and his son, this was the first time he'd seen someone else with a tail. The stranger's bizarre armor and the aura radiating from him were enough to send chills down his spine.

Raditz said coldly, "Bastard! Looks like you've forgotten everything! Let me tell you how it is. There are things you need to know—about your birth and our people."

The others were too shocked to interrupt.

"First, you're not from this planet. You and I were both born on Planet Vegeta as Saiyans. We Saiyans are a noble, powerful warrior race. Everyone is born with immense combat ability. Your name is Kakarot, and I—I am your brother, Raditz!"

"What! Goku's brother?!"

"No way... this..."

No one could believe it. This guy who'd suddenly appeared was actually Goku's blood brother! And he was saying Goku wasn't even an Earthling—some warrior race, Saiyans... it was too horrifying to take in!

"Quiet, let me finish. Our job as Saiyans is to find habitable planets, wipe out the natives, and sell them at a high price to aliens who need them. Kakarot was sent to Earth to carry out that mission. For planets with high Battle Power, we send adult warriors. Earth's level was low enough that sending a child was sufficient. A child's Battle Power is low, but when the full moon comes, a Saiyan's true strength awakens. It wouldn't take long to clean things up."

"Ah..."

"So that's it..."

Master Roshi and the others were horrified. Remembering the rampages Goku went on after transforming into a giant ape several times, they all gulped. Even the warm sea breeze against their skin felt chilling now.

"No, I don't remember any of that. I grew up on Earth. I have nothing to do with Saiyans! And I'd never destroy someone else's planet!" Goku shouted, fists clenched.

"That's because you hit your head as a child and forgot your mission! Let me tell you—Planet Vegeta was destroyed by a meteor. Our parents and our people are cosmic dust now. Only four Saiyans are left alive! As one of the survivors, you're still remembered by us. You're weak now, but you're still a Saiyan with limitless potential... So I came to invite you to join us!"

With that, Raditz shut off the communicator and let out a long breath.

That should keep Vegeta satisfied for now. Next, he'd lure them to Earth and convince them.

"I'm not going with you! Go back!" Goku roared.

His reaction was expected. Raditz sighed. "Then there's no choice. I'll have to borrow your son. That tail is the mark of a Saiyan. You can't deny it."

"Stay away! Or I won't go easy on you!"

Goku shouted, body tensed and ready to strike. But for the first time, he felt fear in his heart. Even facing King Piccolo before hadn't given him this feeling. His mind went completely blank.

Raditz flashed forward, appearing behind Goku in an instant. The movement was so fast no one could track his speed.

Goku's eyes went wide as he froze in place!

As Raditz approached, Gohan burst into tears, flailing his arms as if to stop him.

Not gonna lie, Gohan looked kind of cute like that.

But Raditz still had to play the villain. He grabbed Gohan, spun back toward Goku, and launched a flying knee. The speed of the knee exceeded Goku's ability to perceive. It slammed solidly into him, churning his stomach and draining all strength from his limbs in an instant.

Goku hung in the air for a moment before crashing to the ground. He clutched his stomach, crying out in agony. In that single exchange, he realized the gap in their power. Cold sweat poured down his face.

The others had no chance to intervene either. They were utterly stunned.

"Goku, you can't beat me alone. If you want your son back, find a strong ally about your level and come after me!" Raditz floated into the air, thinking the hint was clear enough.

With that, he grabbed Gohan and flew off.

Arriving at the landing site of his spaceship, Raditz set Gohan down and waited for Goku and King Piccolo to come. He wasn't rough with the boy. Who knew how strong this kid could get when riled up? He'd be an incredibly powerful asset later. Besides, he was his nephew after all.

"Waaah! Daddy... waaah!!! Ah..."

Seeing Raditz wasn't paying him attention, Gohan wailed unrestrainedly, pounding on Raditz's thigh with his tiny fists. They had no real power but never seemed to tire.

This kid... Raditz wanted to cry but had no tears...

"Hey, stop crying! I'm your uncle, you know!"

"You're a bad guy! Waaah... I want my daddy! Boohoo..." Scolded by Raditz, Gohan cried even harder.

Raditz had no idea how to handle children. Then a sudden spark of inspiration hit him. He grabbed a branch and scratched something on the ground.

"Shut up! Cry again and I'll kill you right now, and your daddy can come collect your corpse! Get over here! You want to be a scholar, right? If you can solve this 'chickens and rabbits in a cage' problem, I'll let you go!" Raditz shouted again.

Maybe the threat worked, or maybe Gohan sensed the helplessness in Raditz's tone. He sniffled a couple of times and stopped screaming.

"You're not lying?"

"Why would I lie? I can kill you anytime. If you don't want to die, go quietly do some math."

Gohan sniffled, looking at Raditz with suspicion. In the end, he chose to believe him and slowly walked over to the ground where the problem was written, thinking hard.

Raditz couldn't help but sigh inwardly. To deal with a kid with scholar potential, you just had to give him math problems...