Raditz lay at the edge of a deep crater, his head resting on his hands and his body sprawled over the soft grass. He watched the drifting white clouds, completely relaxed, his eyes slowly closing.
Ever since arriving in the Dragon Balls world, he had either followed Vegeta and the others into battle every day or worked out ways to improve his own strength. Even aboard the spaceship, he had only slept as part of his routine. He had never properly enjoyed the pleasures of leisure.
Yet today, stealing a moment amid the chaos, he had rested peacefully for fifteen minutes. He did not need to think about anything—only enjoy the breeze, the scent of grass, the sunlight... Huh? Where had the sunlight gone?
Raditz felt a shadow suddenly fall over him and snapped his eyes open.
"Damn!" Raditz jumped in fright. Gohan's face was right in front of him. "You nearly scared me to death!"
Perhaps seeing that Raditz no longer seemed as terrifying as before, Gohan actually dared to approach and observe him on his own.
"I... I finished it."
"Finished what... You, you finished it?" Raditz realized what he meant halfway through and was instantly shocked.
A four-year-old kid had solved the questions that quickly? Raditz wore an extremely awkward expression. Chi-Chi, your education is really something...
Just then, two powerful Ki signatures approached from this direction. Raditz sensed them even faster than the Scouter could, and he looked toward the sky. A moment later, the beeping finally sounded.
His keen instinct for Ki truly surpassed machinery.
Raditz was delighted. Luckily, Goku had arrived in time. Otherwise, the matter of promising to let Gohan go would have been difficult to settle. As Goku and Piccolo drew near, he stepped forward to meet them.
"Kakarot, you finally made it."
"I came to take back my son!" Goku shouted with imposing momentum.
Beside him, Piccolo's white robe billowed in the wind like surging waves. He stared solemnly at Raditz. "A long time ago, I sensed a powerful Battle Power suddenly descend upon Earth. So it was you. But do not misunderstand—I am not like Goku. I only came to defeat you! You have become an obstacle to my conquest of the world."
Even so, Goku had already told him about the Saiyans' strength along the way. Piccolo did not dare let down his guard in the slightest and remained utterly serious.
Raditz smiled faintly, removed his Scouter, and tossed it aside. It contained communication equipment, and perhaps Frieza had even installed a listening device inside. Turning it off would not necessarily be safe.
That single movement immediately put Goku and Piccolo on guard.
"It's fine. As long as you're here." Raditz picked up Gohan. "Gohan, your father is here. Go back." With a wave of one hand, he directly returned Gohan to Goku.
Goku caught him in his arms and rubbed Gohan's head. "Are you okay, Gohan?"
"Mm..."
"What exactly are you planning?" Sensing that something was amiss, Piccolo assumed a fighting stance and grew even more wary.
Goku quickly told Gohan to run far away first, so he would not be caught up in the fight later.
"Don't be afraid. I merely wanted to keep others from hearing what I'm about to say. That device can detect a person's strength and location, but it can also be easily tapped. So, to be safe, we won't use it for now. Everything I'm about to tell you is true, and it's very important."
"Heh, I wouldn't be so sure." Piccolo grinned, clearly unconvinced.
He was the incarnation of the Demon Clan. Back in King Piccolo's era, lying casually had been commonplace. Evil people did not have the word trust in their hearts. So he did not believe a single word Raditz said.
"Kakarot, I've already returned your son. That is my sincerity. The only reason I took him was to lure you here with Piccolo. And besides... it was just a little prank."
"This..." Goku hesitated. After all, the person before him was his older brother, and he truly had not harmed Gohan.
He did want to hear what Raditz had to say.
But Piccolo was not as easy to persuade as Goku. He remained vigilant. "That alone isn't enough to convince me."
"Then there's only one way!" Raditz knew direct communication would be difficult, so he decided to show them some of his strength. That would let them understand the terror of a Saiyan.
Raditz leaned forward slightly, then suddenly accelerated!
Whoosh!
A faint sound split the air as Raditz vanished from before them. Goku and Piccolo had not yet removed their weighted clothing, so their reactions were a beat too slow. By the time they sensed the Ki behind them and turned around, Raditz had already driven an elbow into each of their backs.
The immense impact threw both men off balance, sending them tumbling forward. They rolled several times before finally steadying themselves.
At the same time, the same two words rose in their minds—So fast!
Raditz gave them no chance to catch their breath and charged straight at Goku. His hands cast out a barrage of afterimages, each blow smashing Goku so hard that he had no chance to fight back.
After training, Raditz's Battle Power had reached 1,800, making him even stronger than he had been at his peak of 1,500 more than a year ago. His speed and strength were completely beyond what Goku and the others could keep up with.
"Arghhh..."
Goku tried to counterattack, but his powerful punches were always effortlessly deflected by Raditz. Meanwhile, every punch Raditz landed left him in agonizing pain. At that moment, Piccolo attacked from behind, his right hand held across his chest in a knife-hand stance.
Piccolo was incredibly fast, the wind howling around his strike. His knife-hand was filled with powerful Ki, as if it could cut through anything.
But Raditz was faster!
Without even looking behind him, he lashed out with his tail and struck Piccolo in the knee. The tremendous force knocked Piccolo off balance and sent him crashing to the ground. Then a sweeping blow struck Piccolo's head, flinging him more than a hundred meters away.
"His tail!" In the midst of the crisis, Goku saw hope and lunged forward with all his strength.
The corners of Raditz's mouth lifted slightly. He intercepted Goku with one hand as a blue energy sphere instantly gathered in his palm. "Boom—"
Smoke and dust rose everywhere as Goku was blasted away, his clothes shredded and his body hurled far into the distance.
"D-Damn... It looks like... we're completely outmatched..." Goku got back to his feet, sweat continuously pouring from his pores.
Piccolo was also breathing heavily. Having taken only two hits from the tail, his stamina had already been greatly depleted.
"I have a new technique, but it needs time to charge. Can you keep him occupied?"
"Let's try it. His tail... I almost managed to grab it just now."
"Heh heh, your brother is far stronger than you are. Saiyan... so there was a reason you were this strong." Piccolo revealed his fangs and smiled bitterly.
Goku could only smile wryly as well.
Neither of them had ever encountered an opponent as powerful as Raditz. The difference between them was like heaven and earth. Goku even felt that Raditz had been holding back. Otherwise, Raditz could easily have killed either one of them.
"Alright, we'll stop here." Raditz took the initiative to raise a hand and call a halt, shocking them both.
What Raditz was really thinking was that he had not had time to train his tail yet. What if he got too cocky and they grabbed it, then one Special Beam Cannon killed him instantly? Although his Battle Power was higher than theirs, his fighting skills and experience were far inferior to those two battle-hardened warriors.
In any case, the goal of intimidating them had been achieved. They should be much more willing to listen now.
"You should believe me now. Killing you would be easy, but I held back just now to tell you that I am not your enemy. And what I'm about to say is ex—treme—ly—important!"
Goku and Piccolo exchanged a glance, then nodded. They did not argue further and quietly listened on.
That was exactly the effect Raditz wanted. Having gained their initial trust, it was time to start bringing in allies.
Before you continue