Raditz watched Son Goku walk toward him, looking a little flustered. "What? Kakarot, what are you going to do?"
Son Goku stopped ten meters in front of him, his expression calm. "I want you to understand that there's always someone stronger. Piccolo had a lower power level than you, yet he beat you with one move!"
"I wasn't on my guard! If I'd been ready, he wouldn't have stood a chance! My power level is way higher than his!!!" Raditz snapped, losing his temper.
"I see you're pretty attached to power levels. Then let me show you this!"
Son Goku took a deep breath and released a little of his ki—
"Bzzzz—"
The air seemed to freeze.
Raditz's Scouter began flashing wildly, emitting a shrill alarm. "Beep beep beep—beep beep beep—"
The numbers shot up—
100...500...1000...3000!
"Th-three thousand?!" Raditz's voice trembled, and sweat beaded on his forehead. "Impossible! That can't be right! You were a piece of trash born with a power level of only two! How could you possibly reach three thousand?!"
"Three thousand?" Son Goku tilted his head. "Oh, that's just my suppressed power. Want to see... the real number?"
Before Raditz could react, Son Goku's aura suddenly surged!
White light blazed into the sky, ripping through the clouds! Gale-force winds howled, sand and stones flew, and even Piccolo was thrown back dozens of paces by the shock wave. He stared in terror at the figure shrouded in white light!
"Beep beep beep—beep beep beep—"
The numbers on the Scouter rocketed upward—
5000...10000...15000...20000...24000...
"Crack!"
A wisp of smoke rose from the Scouter. Its screen shattered, and the device died completely!
"N-no... impossible..." Raditz's legs gave way, and he fell hard onto the ground. "The Scouter... it's broken... It has to be broken... Prince Vegeta, the strongest Saiyan, only has a power level of eighteen thousand..."
Son Goku reined in his ki, and the white light faded. He walked toward Raditz and looked down at his "big brother."
"Well, my foolish big brother," he said softly, but his words hit Raditz like a hammer. "What's my power level?"
Raditz trembled all over, his lips quivering. "W-what kind of monster are you...?"
"A monster?" Son Goku laughed. "No. I'm just a Saiyan from Earth who loves training."
He crouched down to meet Raditz's gaze. "By the way, you said Prince Vegeta has a power level of eighteen thousand?"
Raditz nodded instinctively. "Y-yes... Prince Vegeta is a Saiyan prodigy..."
"Eighteen thousand..." Son Goku stood up and gazed at the sky, a meaningful smile tugging at his lips. "Pathetic."
"Pathetic?!" Raditz shrieked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Prince Vegeta is royalty! He has the highest power level of all the Saiyans! How dare you call him pathetic?!"
"In my eyes," Son Goku said calmly, "he's just a bully who picks on the weak. If he dares come to Earth..."
He turned his head, a sharp glint flashing in his dark eyes.
"I'll beat him so badly his own mother won't recognize him."
Raditz's eyes widened.
Just then, he suddenly remembered something. A vicious grin spread across his face. "Kakarot... you're finished! What you just said was transmitted to Prince Vegeta through my backup Scouter!"
"Oh?" Son Goku raised an eyebrow.
"Prince Vegeta definitely heard you! He'll come and kill you!" Raditz laughed maniacally. "You're dead!"
Son Goku looked at him, then suddenly laughed.
Raditz's grin froze on his face at the sight of that smile.
"Perfect." Son Goku held out his hand. "Give me the Scouter."
"W-what?"
"The Scouter." Son Goku glared, and an invisible pressure enveloped Raditz. "Give it to me."
Raditz shuddered and quickly pulled out his only remaining backup Scouter, handing it over with both hands. "H-here..."
Son Goku took the Scouter and pressed the communication button.
Deep in space, on a barren planet.
Vegeta sat on a boulder, his black, spiky hair glinting coldly in the starlight. He was short, but a suffocating air of menace radiated from him.
"That useless Raditz," he said coldly. "He's been on Earth for so long, and there's still no word."
"Prince Vegeta," Nappa said from beside him, his massive frame like a small mountain. "Should I go check on him?"
"No need," Vegeta scoffed. "That pathetic planet is no match for Raditz alone..."
Just then, his Scouter crackled with static.
"Hm?"
He answered the signal, and an unfamiliar voice came through—
"Vegeta, I know you can hear me."
Vegeta frowned. "That voice... It's not Raditz?"
"I'm Kakarot," Son Goku said with a hint of amusement. "A Low-Class Warrior from Earth. I hear your power level is eighteen thousand?"
Vegeta's expression turned cold. "Kakarot? That piece of trash sent to Earth? Where's Raditz?!"
"Oh, him," Son Goku said with a chuckle. "He's on his knees, trembling."
"What?!"
"Vegeta," Son Goku said, his voice suddenly turning serious. "I'll be waiting for you on Earth. If you don't come..."
He paused, enunciating each word.
"Then you're my grandson."
"Click."
The communication cut off.
Vegeta froze for a second.
Then—
"Boom—!!!"
A violent aura burst from him, shattering every boulder around him! His eyes blazed with towering fury, and his hair stood on end!
"Kakarot—!!!"
He roared and formed a massive energy sphere in his hands, hurling it at the distant mountain range!
"Rumble—!!!"
The entire range turned to dust in an instant!
"P-Prince Vegeta?!" Nappa stumbled backward in fright.
"Nappa! Get the ship ready!" Vegeta's voice was as cold as ice, but his eyes burned with murderous fury. "We're going to Earth now! I'll make that damned Kakarot... and that spineless Raditz..."
"Die without a trace!!!"
Nappa shuddered and quickly bowed his head. "Y-yes! Prince Vegeta!"
Moments later, a spherical spaceship shot into the sky and raced toward Earth.
Earth.
Son Goku turned off the Scouter and casually tossed it back to Raditz. "Here. It's yours."
Raditz took it with trembling hands, his face full of fear. "K-Kakarot... you're really not afraid of Prince Vegeta? He... he has a power level of eighteen thousand..."
"Eighteen thousand?" Son Goku laughed. "My power level right now is... about five million."
"F-five million?!" Raditz's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Y-you're joking, right?!"
"I never joke." Son Goku turned his back to him, his voice calm. "Raditz, I'll give you two choices."
"First, I kill you, just like you were about to kill that farmer."
"Second, you stay on Earth under my supervision. You don't hurt any Earthlings, and you don't use a Scouter to contact anyone off-world. In return..."
He turned his head, revealing a smile that sent a chill through Raditz.
"I'll teach you to grow stronger. Strong enough to... surpass Vegeta."
Raditz froze.
He looked at his younger brother, the "Low-Class Warrior" once mocked by the entire Saiyan race, and felt a jumble of emotions unlike any he'd ever experienced.
Fear, resentment, jealousy... and a trace of something he didn't even want to admit to himself... anticipation.
"I..." He lowered his head, his voice hoarse. "I choose the second..."
"Good." Son Goku nodded, then suddenly punched Raditz on the head!
"Thwack!"
"Ow! What are you doing?!" Raditz clutched his head and groaned.
"That's a lesson." Son Goku drew back his fist, smiling brightly. "Remember, on Earth, you don't pick on the weak. Otherwise..."
He clenched his fist, and his knuckles cracked.
Raditz shuddered. "I-I understand..."
Piccolo stood to the side, his green face full of complicated emotions as he watched.
"Son Goku..." he murmured. "What kind of monster are you...?"
Son Goku looked at him, his smile turning warm. "Piccolo! I'm leaving Raditz in your hands! Teach him how to farm! How to cook! How to be a proper Earthling!"
Piccolo: "...What?!"
Raditz: "...Farm?!"
"Oh, right!" Son Goku said casually as he flew toward West City in the distance. "Raditz! Remember to eat a good meal! You're too skinny!"
Raditz looked down at his muscular build, then at Son Goku flying away, completely baffled.
"What is this guy..." he muttered. "What's going through his head...?"
Piccolo sighed and turned toward his stone house. "Come on, Saiyan. First, we're getting water."
"G-getting water?!"
"What else?" Piccolo shot him a cold glance. "On Earth, people who don't work... don't eat."
Raditz: "..."
He gazed up at the unfamiliar blue sky, suddenly feeling like he might cry.
"I... I'm an elite Saiyan..."
"How did I end up having to haul water...?"
In the distance, Son Goku had already vanished beyond the horizon.
Before you continue