Preparing to Depart

He had nearly sacrificed himself for nothing. Looking at the scorched earth before him, Raditz still felt lingering fear.

The power of the Special Beam Cannon was no joke. Even though he had blocked the attack, his arm was still faintly numb.

After explaining everything to them, Raditz turned on his communicator, and the three of them put on a loud, dramatic performance together.

At last, Raditz put on a weak voice and said grimly, "Damn it, to think I'd fall at your hands. But you've let me know that Earth has Dragon Balls capable of granting any wish. My companions will come and revive me. Hahahaha..."

The moment he finished speaking, he abruptly shut off the communicator. His voice cut off as the signal continued transmitting to the other end of the universe.

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

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

"Looks like he's dead." Nappa was in the middle of battle, and his cold expression did not change in the slightest.

Vegeta blasted several enemies away with one hand and snorted. "Pathetic fool. He actually got killed on Earth. Looks like Kakarot betrayed us and joined forces with the Earthlings."

As he spoke, he waved his hand and fired an energy blast. The dazzling energy sent a dense mass of alien warriors flying, draining an entire natural lake in the process. Dense Ki swirled around him, erupting into white flames of energy. The ground trembled faintly as smoke and dust swept in all directions.

Seeing Vegeta like this, Nappa's Adam's apple bobbed, and fear appeared on his face.

He was a battle-loving Saiyan who worshipped only strength. Usually, he feared neither heaven nor earth, but Vegeta was the one exception. He knew perfectly well that Vegeta was furious right now. In that state, even he did not dare take a single hit from him.

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

"Look how nervous you are. How funny." Vegeta gave a sinister smile. "I'm not angry. I'm excited. Didn't you hear what Raditz said? Earth has Dragon Balls that can grant any wish!"

Only then did Nappa realize it. "Are we going to save Raditz?"

"Why save that piece of trash? We'll wish for eternal life, and then we can fight forever. Isn't that right?" Vegeta clenched his fists, and flames seemed to burn in his eyes.

The instant he heard of Dragon Balls that could grant any wish, he could no longer wait to obtain them. To him, eternal life was only the beginning! The blazing fire in his eyes was the unyielding fire of vengeance. Within those flames lurked the shadow of a demon—his greatest enemy, Frieza.

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

"Nappa, let's go to Earth!"

"B-but we're almost finished here."

"There's no need. Once you have eternal life, would you still care about this?" Vegeta shot back, piercing Nappa with an icy glare.

"U-understood." Nappa shuddered and fired his final shockwave.

The two of them decisively flew away from the battlefield, leaving the remaining aliens dumbfounded and grateful to have survived.

Back on Earth, Raditz returned to Turtle House with Goku and Piccolo, clearing up the misunderstanding with everyone.

Hearing that such incredible things existed in the universe, everyone could not help marveling at its vastness and their own insignificance.

"I never imagined something like this existed!" Bulma looked up at the sky. "My sister travels all over the universe too. I wonder if she's in danger."

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

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

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

"My sister is a writer. She travels throughout the universe gathering material. She hasn't come back in a long time, but we still keep in touch often."

Raditz comforted her. "There's no danger in the remote star systems for now, so don't worry. More importantly, let's hurry up and find the Dragon Balls. Krillin, go find the other powerful people 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 a long time ago, and nobody knew where Yamcha was fooling around. How was he supposed to find them?

"My machine can detect people's strength and location, but we'll need Bulma to inspect it first. Block the communications system, then check whether there are any listening devices." Raditz handed the Scouter to Bulma and taught her how to use it.

Although this Scouter was an outdated model, it still contained a considerable amount of advanced technology. The screen materials and sensor components were things Earth could not produce, so Raditz was especially careful. Frieza's subordinates all had one, making them seem worthless, but this was the only one he had. No matter what, it had research value.

After looking at it for a while, Bulma confidently promised that she could take it apart. She even said she roughly understood how it worked.

The genius scientist's reputation was no lie. Everyone else could only admire her, trusting that she could finish the inspection within half a day.

Taking advantage of the time, Raditz went to search for the Dragon Balls himself, while Goku and Piccolo went to spar on a large island by the sea. Gohan played with Turtle and Master Roshi, laughing happily.

Watching Gohan run around, Krillin recalled how he and Goku had trained under Master Roshi as children and could not help sighing. "I really miss those days~"

While he was reminiscing, Raditz had already flown a thousand miles away and found the first Dragon Ball.

When Shenron flew away, the Dragon Balls scattered to every corner of the world, and some were hidden in very secluded places. Although the radar showed their locations, the coordinates were two-dimensional, making their depth difficult to determine. Raditz often had to dive deep into the sea or enter caves. If some animal had swallowed one, that would have been even more troublesome.

After spending quite a bit of time, Raditz finally gathered all the Dragon Balls.

When he returned to Turtle House, everyone had already arrived. Even Chiaotzu and Oolong were there.

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

Yamcha responded casually, but Piccolo and Tien Shinhan remained silent, still wary of him. Raditz did not care. Once we get to King Kai's place, you'll understand.

He removed the Four-Star Ball from Gohan's hat and placed it with the others. These Dragon Balls felt exactly the same as they had before he crossed over. The only difference was that their radiance shone even more brilliantly.

"You all know roughly what happened, right?"

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

Tien Shinhan echoed him. "Honestly, if Goku didn't trust you, it would be hard for me to believe something like a crisis in the universe."

So they still doubt me. Raditz sighed inwardly, though it was understandable. If an alien suddenly dropped from the sky and told someone so many unbelievable things, only an idiot would believe him immediately. He would take it slowly. In any case, Goku was here.

Steeling himself, Raditz took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs!

"Come forth, Shenron!"