Preparing to Depart

Almost wasted a life for nothing. Raditz still felt a chill looking at the scorched earth before him.

The power of the Special Beam Cannon was no joke—even blocking that attack, his arm was still tingling faintly.

After explaining things to them, Raditz opened his communicator, and the three of them put on a show, shouting in unison.

Finally, Raditz put on a weak voice and said darkly, "Damn it, to think I'd fall to you. But you've let me know Earth has Dragon Balls that can grant any wish. My comrades will come revive me, hahaha..."

He cut off the communicator abruptly, the sound dying mid-sentence, the signal transmitting to the other end of the universe.

The final message crossed space and reached the scouter of two Saiyans precisely.

After a burst of static, Raditz's voice faded completely.

"Looks like he's dead." Nappa was in the middle of battle, his cold expression unchanged.

Vegeta blasted several enemies away with one hand and snorted, "Poor fool, getting killed on Earth. Looks like Kakarot betrayed us and conspired with the Earthlings."

As he spoke, he waved a hand, sending a brilliant energy wave that blew away a dense crowd of alien warriors and drained an entire natural lake. Dense ki swirled around him, erupting in white light. The ground trembled slightly, and dust scattered in all directions.

Seeing Vegeta like this, Nappa's throat tightened, and he showed a fearful expression.

He was a battle-hungry Saiyan who only believed in power. Normally fearless, he was afraid of only one person: Vegeta. He knew full well that Vegeta was in a rage right now, and even he wouldn't dare take a single hit from him in this state.

"Vegeta, calm down. He was just a low-class warrior..."

"Look at you, all nervous. Hilarious." Vegeta smirked wickedly. "I'm not angry—I'm excited. Didn't you hear what Raditz said? Earth has Dragon Balls that can grant any wish!"

Nappa finally caught on. "Are we going to save Raditz?"

"Save that trash? For what? We'll wish for eternal life, so we can keep fighting forever. Right?" Vegeta clenched his fist, fire burning in his eyes.

When he heard about Dragon Balls that could grant any wish, he couldn't wait to get them. For him, eternal life was just the beginning! The fire in his eyes was an unyielding flame of revenge, and within that flame, a demon's shadow wandered—the great enemy buried in his heart: Frieza.

He had been forced to serve Frieza for years, pretending not to know the truth behind Planet Vegeta's destruction, all to build strength for revenge. Now eternal life was beckoning him, meaning defeating Frieza was only a matter of time. How could he not be tempted?

"Nappa, let's go. To Earth!"

"But... we're almost done here."

"No need. With eternal life, would you even care about this?" Vegeta shot back, a cold glare piercing Nappa.

"G-got it." Nappa shuddered and fired one last blast.

The two flew off decisively, leaving the remaining aliens stunned, grateful to be alive.

On Earth, Raditz, Goku, and Piccolo returned to Turtle House and cleared up the misunderstanding with everyone.

Hearing that such incredible things existed in the universe, everyone marveled at its vastness and their own insignificance.

"I never imagined something like this!" Bulma looked at the sky. "My sister's traveling across the universe too. I wonder if she's in danger."

"Hey! Bulma, you have a sister?" Goku, Krillin, and the others were shocked.

Master Roshi's eyes gleamed as he cupped his hands. "I wonder if your sister likes mature men?"

"Bam!" A frying pan sent Master Roshi flying into the sea...

"My sister's a writer. She's been traveling the universe for material and hasn't been back in a while, but she still contacts me often."

Raditz reassured her, "Remote galaxies aren't in danger yet, so don't worry. For now, let's hurry and find the Dragon Balls. Krillin, go find the other strong fighters on Earth. Since we're going to train, bring everyone along!"

"Oh, okay. But... I don't know where they are?"

Tien Shinhan and Launch had flown off together long ago, and Yamcha was wandering who knows where. How was he supposed to find them?

"My device can detect people's strength and location, but I'll need Bulma to check it out—block the communication system and see if there are any listening devices." Raditz handed the scouter to Bulma and taught her how to use it.

Though this scouter was an old model, its technology was still highly advanced. The screen material and sensors couldn't be produced on Earth, so Raditz was extra careful. Sure, every one of Frieza's soldiers had one, making them seem cheap, but he only had this one, and it was worth studying.

Bulma looked it over for a while, then confidently guaranteed she could disassemble it, claiming she roughly understood the principles.

The reputation of a genius scientist wasn't fake. The others could only admire her, trusting that with her ability, she'd finish checking it in half a day.

While she worked, Raditz went to find the Dragon Balls himself, while Goku and Piccolo headed to a large island by the sea to spar. Gohan played with the turtle and Master Roshi, laughing happily.

Krillin watched Gohan run around, remembering when he and Goku trained under Master Roshi as kids, and sighed, "I miss those days~"

As he reminisced, Raditz had already flown a thousand miles away and found the first Dragon Ball.

When Shenron flew off, the Dragon Balls scattered across the world, some in very hidden places. Though the radar showed their positions, it only gave 2D coordinates, making depth hard to gauge. Raditz often had to dive into the sea or crawl into caves, and if some animal had eaten one, it was even more troublesome.

It took a while, but Raditz finally gathered all the Dragon Balls.

Back at Turtle House, he saw everyone had already arrived, even Chiaotzu and Oolong.

"Haha, looks like I'm late." Raditz set down the Dragon Balls and greeted everyone.

Yamcha responded casually, but Piccolo and Tien Shinhan stayed silent, still wary of him. Raditz didn't mind, thinking that once they got to King Kai's place, they'd understand.

He took the Four-Star Ball from Gohan's hat and placed it with the others. These Dragon Balls felt exactly the same as before he'd crossed over, except the light they emitted was even more dazzling.

"You all know roughly what's going on, right?"

"You'd better not try anything." Piccolo said coldly.

Tien Shinhan chimed in, "Honestly, if Goku didn't trust you, I'd have a hard time believing in some universal crisis."

Right, still suspicious of me. Raditz sighed inwardly, but it was normal. An alien suddenly drops in and tells you a bunch of unbelievable things—only an idiot would believe it right away. He'd take it slow. At least Goku was on his side.

He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and shouted loudly.

"Come forth, Shenron!"