One Against Two

Raditz lay sprawled at the edge of a deep crater, his head pillowed on his hands, the soft grass beneath him. He gazed up at the drifting white clouds, his whole body relaxed, his eyes slowly closing.

Ever since arriving in the Dragon Ball world, he'd spent every day following Vegeta and the others into battle, or else training on his own to boost his strength. Even sleeping in the spaceship had been a routine necessity. He'd never truly enjoyed a moment of leisure.

But today, he stole a break, resting steadily for a quarter of an hour, thinking of nothing, just savoring the breeze, the scent of grass, the sunlight... Huh? Where'd the sunlight go?

Raditz felt a shadow suddenly fall over his face and snapped his eyes open.

"Whoa!" Raditz jumped, startled. Gohan's face was right in front of him. "You trying to scare me to death?"

Maybe because Raditz no longer seemed as terrifying as before, Gohan had actually dared to approach and observe on his own.

"I... I finished."

"Finished what... you, you finished?" Raditz caught himself mid-sentence and was instantly shocked.

A four-year-old kid, solving problems that fast? Raditz's expression turned awkward. Chi-Chi really knows how to teach, huh...

Just then, two strong ki signatures approached from nearby, faster than the scouter. Raditz looked toward the sky. A moment later, the "beep beep beep" sounded.

His keen instinct for ki truly surpassed machinery.

Raditz felt a surge of relief. Good thing Goku showed up just in time, or he'd have had trouble keeping his promise to let Gohan go. As Goku and Piccolo drew closer, he moved to meet them.

"Kakarot, you finally made it."

"I've come to get my son back!" Goku shouted, his aura blazing.

On the other side, Piccolo's white cloak fluttered in the wind like surging tides. His expression was grim as he stared at Raditz. "I sensed a very strong battle power suddenly descend on Earth a while ago. Looks like it's you. But don't misunderstand—I'm not like Goku. I'm only here to defeat you! You've become an obstacle to my conquest of the world."

That said, Goku had already told him on the way about the Saiyans' strength. Piccolo didn't dare be careless; he was dead serious.

Raditz gave a light smile, took off his scouter, and tossed it aside. Not only did it have communication components, but it might also contain Frieza's listening devices. Even turning it off wasn't safe.

His single move made Goku and Piccolo tense up with vigilance.

"No worries. You're here, that's what matters." Raditz picked up Gohan. "Gohan, your dad's here. Go on back." With a single-handed swing, he tossed Gohan straight to Goku.

Goku caught him in one arm and patted his head. "You okay, Gohan?"

"Mm..."

"What are you really planning!" Piccolo, sensing something off, assumed a fighting stance, even more on guard.

Goku quickly told Gohan to run far away so he wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.

"Don't worry. I'm just making sure no one else hears what I have to say. This device can detect people's strength and location, but it's also easy to bug. So, for safety, I'm not using it for now. Everything I'm about to tell you is true, and it's important."

"Hah, I'm not convinced." Piccolo grinned, looking thoroughly skeptical.

He was the embodiment of the Demon Clan. Back in King Piccolo's era, lying offhand was second nature. Evil scum had no concept of trust. So he didn't believe a word Raditz said.

"Kakarot, I've already returned your son. That's my sincerity. The truth is, I only took him to lure you and Piccolo here. And also... just a little prank."

"Well..." Goku hesitated. After all, this was his older brother, and he really hadn't hurt Gohan.

He was willing to hear what Raditz had to say.

But Piccolo wasn't as easygoing as Goku. He remained wary. "That alone won't convince me."

"Then, it's got to be this way!" Raditz knew direct talk wouldn't work, so he decided to show off his strength, to let them understand the terror of a Saiyan.

Raditz leaned forward slightly and suddenly accelerated!

Shwoosh!

A faint sound of air being split, and Raditz vanished from their sight. Goku and Piccolo hadn't even shed their heavy gear yet, so their reactions were a beat slow. By the time they sensed the ki behind them and turned their heads, Raditz had already slammed an elbow into each of their backs.

The massive impact threw them off balance. They stumbled forward, hopping several times before steadying themselves.

Two words flashed through their minds—so fast!

Raditz didn't give them a chance to catch their breath. He charged straight at Goku, his fists blurring into a storm of shadows, each blow hammering Goku until he couldn't fight back.

At this point, after training, Raditz had reached a Battle Power of 1800, even stronger than his full-power 1500 from over a year ago. His speed and strength were completely beyond what Goku and the others could keep up with.

"Aaaagh..."

Goku tried to counterattack, but his fierce punches were easily deflected by Raditz, while every one of Raditz's strikes sent searing pain through him. Then Piccolo attacked from behind, his right arm held horizontally like a knife.

Piccolo was incredibly fast, the wind howling as his hand blade, charged with powerful ki, seemed capable of cutting through anything.

But Raditz was faster!

Without even looking back, he whipped his tail around and smacked Piccolo's knee. The immense force knocked Piccolo off balance, sending him crashing to the ground. A follow-up sweep caught Piccolo's head, flinging him hundreds of meters away.

"The tail!" Goku saw a glimmer of hope in the crisis and lunged with all his strength.

Raditz's lips curled slightly. He caught Goku with one arm, a blue energy sphere instantly gathering in his hand. Boom—

Dust and smoke erupted. Goku's clothes were blasted to shreds as he flew backward a great distance.

"D... damn, looks like I'm completely outmatched..." Goku stood up again, sweat pouring from every pore.

Piccolo was also breathing heavily. Just two hits from the tail had drained his stamina drastically.

"I still have one new technique, but it needs charging. Can you hold him off?"

"I'll try... the tail... I almost grabbed it just now."

"Heh heh, your brother is far stronger than you, Saiyan... So this is why you're so powerful." Piccolo bared his fangs, a bitter smile on his face.

Goku could only force a wry smile as well.

Neither of them had ever faced an opponent as formidable as Raditz. The gap between them was like heaven and earth. Goku even felt that Raditz was holding back—otherwise, he could easily kill either of them.

"Alright, let's stop here." Raditz raised his hand to call a truce, stunning the two.

In truth, Raditz was thinking that his tail hadn't been trained yet. What if he got too cocky and someone grabbed it, then a Special Beam Cannon blasted him into oblivion? Sure, his Battle Power was higher, but his combat skills and experience were far inferior to these two battle-hardened fighters.

Since the intimidation had already worked, his words should carry more weight now.

"Now you should believe me. Killing you would be easy, but I held back just now to show you that I'm not your enemy. And what I'm about to say is—ex—tremely—important!"

Goku and Piccolo exchanged a glance, nodded, and stopped arguing, listening quietly.

This was exactly the effect Raditz wanted. After gaining a bit of trust, it was time to start recruiting allies.