Raditz Arrives

Somewhere on Earth, a farm.

A farmer carrying a shotgun stared in stunned silence at the spherical spaceship descending from the sky. The ship slammed into the field, kicking up clouds of dust and flattening a large patch of crops.

"W-what is this?!"

The hatch opened, and a figure stepped out.

It was a tall Saiyan with spiky black hair, clad in the combat armor of the Frieza Force. He had no tail—no, it was wrapped around his waist. His face bore an air of haughty arrogance, and his eyes swept over his surroundings as if looking at ants.

Raditz.

He raised a hand to tap the Scouter on his ear, and a string of numbers flashed across the red lens.

"Combat power... five?"

He looked at the trembling farmer, a cruel smile curling his lips.

"A piece of trash with a combat power of only five."

The farmer raised his shotgun with shaking hands. "D-don't come any closer! I-I have a gun!"

"A gun?" Raditz laughed, throwing his head back as if he had heard a joke. "Hahahaha! You dare point such a toy at a Saiyan?"

He raised his hand, and a purple energy sphere condensed in his palm. The light was blinding, and the energy fluctuations caused the surrounding air to distort.

"Die, garbage."

The energy sphere flew from his hand, hurtling straight toward the farmer and the village behind him!

The farmer closed his eyes in despair.

But the expected explosion did not occur.

"Boom?"

The farmer opened his eyes to see a figure in an orange gi standing before the energy sphere. With a casual wave of his hand, as if swatting a fly, the man swiped the energy sphere—which could have destroyed half the village—up into the sky.

"Whoosh—"

The energy sphere vanished into the clouds, turning into a tiny speck of light.

"What?!" Raditz's pupils constricted.

The orange-clad figure turned slowly, revealing a face both familiar and strange to Raditz—a face that looked exactly like his father, Bardock.

Looking closer, the newcomer had messy black hair, sharp, angular features, and a tail swaying lazily behind him.

"Hi, Raditz," Son Goku said with a bright smile, waving his hand. "How are you?"

Raditz stiffened, his Scouter flashing wildly.

"Kakarot? You... you are Kakarot?!"

"The one and only," Son Goku tilted his head. "Big brother, what are you doing on Earth?"

Raditz snapped out of his shock, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "You're asking me what I'm doing?! I should be asking you that! What is going on with this planet? Why haven't you wiped out the natives yet?!"

"Why would I kill them?" Son Goku looked puzzled.

"What?!" Raditz's eyes widened, and he roared, "It seems you've forgotten your mission, Kakarot! Let your big brother help you remember your task!"

He raised his hand again, condensing an even larger energy sphere!

"Wait," Son Goku waved his hand. "Let's fight somewhere else. There are a lot of innocent people here."

Raditz paused for a moment, then sneered, "Hmph, it doesn't matter where we go, you can't escape this beating! Lead the way, my foolish brother!"

Son Goku smiled and took flight.

[Piccolo...]

[It's good to let you see the world.]

In the wilderness not far from West City, at Piccolo's dwelling.

Piccolo sat cross-legged on a rock, meditating. Years had passed, and he had grown from a teenager into a young man. His green skin shimmered in the sunlight, and his white martial arts gi was spotless.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes.

"Two energy signatures... one is Son Goku, and the other..." He furrowed his brows. "Evil, violent... filthy!"

"Piccolo!"

Son Goku's voice drifted down from the sky.

Piccolo looked up to see Son Goku descending slowly, followed by the tall Saiyan.

"Son Goku," Piccolo stood up and asked coldly, "who is he?"

"Just a cold-blooded idiot," Son Goku shrugged.

Raditz was enraged by the remark. "Kakarot! You dare speak to your big brother like that?!"

Piccolo looked at Son Goku in shock. "This guy... is your brother?!"

"Yeah," Son Goku nodded. "We both belong to the Saiyan race."

"I see," Piccolo said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Then why did you bring him here?"

"To let you see the world," Son Goku said earnestly. "And while you're at it... help me loosen him up."

"What?!" Piccolo and Raditz shouted in unison.

Raditz laughed wildly. "Kakarot! Have you lost your mind?! You think this green-skinned trash can handle me?!"

Piccolo looked at Raditz coldly. "Who are you calling trash?"

"I'm saying everyone here is trash!" Raditz spread his arms, his face full of arrogance. "Especially you, green-skinned freak! My Scouter shows your combat power is only 116! While I—Lord Raditz—possess a combat power of 1,500!"

Every Earthling knew how to suppress their combat power, which was why the value on Raditz's Scouter was only 116.

Piccolo didn't know his exact current combat power, but he felt that the guy in front of him was indeed a little bit stronger than himself.

"What? Scared?" Raditz sneered. "Kneel and beg for mercy, and perhaps I'll let you die quickly!"

Piccolo didn't back down, instead assuming a fighting stance. "I, King Piccolo... never beg for mercy!"

"Spunky! Then go to hell!"

Raditz moved.

His speed was astonishingly fast, slightly exceeding Piccolo's reaction time!

In a flash, Raditz appeared before him, slamming a heavy punch toward Piccolo's abdomen!

"Bang!"

Piccolo blocked the heavy punch with both hands, but the force sent him stumbling back a dozen steps, his arms numb.

"Oh? You blocked it?" Raditz raised an eyebrow. "Not bad! But what about next time?"

He turned into a blur, his fists and kicks raining down like a storm! Piccolo blocked rapidly; at first, he felt a bit flustered, but gradually he realized that although Raditz's combat power was higher than his, his control over his ki was clearly inferior, and he had no advantage in technique either. Thus, he began to enjoy the match.

"Too slow! Too slow!"

Raditz mocked him while attacking. "Did you not eat today?! Trash! Are these soft, powerless punches supposed to be scratching an elite warrior like me?!"

Piccolo was getting annoyed by Raditz's psychological warfare.

Using you as a whetstone and you're still this arrogant. So what if your combat power is high? Your ki control is so poor! If it weren't for the fact that finding a well-matched opponent isn't easy, I would have already beaten you into the dirt!

"Saiyan." Piccolo slowly raised his hand toward the still-chattering Raditz.

"You just said... you are an elite warrior?"

"And I am just trash with a combat power of a little over a hundred?"

Raditz's pupils contracted violently, sensing that something was wrong.

A dangerous arc spread across the corners of Piccolo's mouth, and a green aura slowly rose from beneath his feet.

"Now, let this 'trash' teach you—"

"What fighting is."

"Bang!"

The ground beneath Piccolo's feet collapsed with a roar, and his figure vanished instantly. When he reappeared, he was already above Raditz's head!

Raditz looked up in a panic, only to see Piccolo's cold, white eyes.

"Your ki... is too scattered."

Piccolo's voice was right in his ear.

"Boom—!!!"

A hand-blade struck the back of Raditz's neck, and Raditz slammed into the ground like a meteorite, blasting out a crater ten meters in diameter!

Piccolo landed slowly, standing at the edge of the pit, looking down at the coughing, blood-spitting Raditz.

"Cough... cough cough..." Raditz struggled to crawl up, his Scouter already half-shattered, dangling precariously from his ear. "Impossible... I am an elite warrior... how could I lose to this... this trash from a low-level planet..."

Piccolo didn't respond, instead looking toward Son Goku.

Son Goku nodded at him. "The rest... leave it to me!"