Vegeta Arrives

Time flew by during training, and three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Outside West City, inside the Gravity Chamber.

"Phew... ha..."

Heavy pants rose and fell without pause.

Piccolo, Raditz, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha gritted their teeth and persevered in their respective gravity zones. Under the maximum gravity each could withstand, their clothes were drenched in sweat, and their muscles trembled faintly beneath their skin.

Suddenly—

Piccolo's movements came to an abrupt halt.

He raised his head, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes, as if a slumbering beast had suddenly opened its eyes.

[This energy... evil, cold, and... there are two sources?]

[One is as violent as a wildfire, the other as dark as an abyss.]

He closed his eyes and extended his senses into the depths of space. The two energies were piercing through the atmosphere at astonishing speed, carrying undisguised murderous intent and savagery.

"Everyone!"

Piccolo opened his eyes and spoke to the others:

"There are two very powerful energy signatures... heading toward Earth! They'll be here in less than ten minutes!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing.

Raditz's body stiffened.

[They're here... They're finally here!]

[Prince Vegeta... and Nappa.]

[The man who once made me afraid to even raise my head... the Saiyan Prince in the Frieza Force who looked at me like I was garbage.]

Cold sweat seeped from his palms, then evaporated from the warmth of his clenched fists.

Son Goku's voice came through the communicator, as carefree as ever. "Heh heh, Piccolo, you sensed them too? Let's go show them what Earth's warriors can do!"

The Gravity Chamber's hatches opened at the same time. The group emerged, exhausted but excited.

Raditz was the last to leave. He looked back at the place where he had spent a year: its cold metal walls, the grating roar of the gravity equipment, and... the Earthlings who had sweated, cursed, and collapsed alongside him.

[A year ago, I was a prisoner.]

[Now... I'm a warrior.]

He took a deep breath, caught up with the others, and streaked toward the approaching energies.

High above a wasteland.

With two deafening booms, a pair of spherical spaceships slammed into the ground like meteorites, sending clouds of dust hundreds of meters into the air. The earth shook violently, and the shock waves wiped out every plant for hundreds of meters around, leaving behind two enormous, bottomless craters.

After a moment, the dust slowly settled.

"Click—hiss—"

The hatches opened slowly.

Two figures stepped out of the spaceships and onto Earth.

The one in front was short, yet radiated a suffocating pressure. His black hair stood straight up like flames. A white cape hung over his standard Saiyan Battle Suit, and a cold, arrogant smile played at the corners of his mouth.

He was none other than the Saiyan Prince, Vegeta.

Behind him stood a giant as imposing as an iron tower. He was bald, with a thick black beard, and wore a Battle Suit as well. His muscles bulged all over, and the ground sank slightly with every step he took. An advanced Scouter hung from his thick neck, beeping softly.

It was Nappa.

The two flew out of the craters and hovered in midair, looking down at the scene before them.

Then they saw Son Goku and the others.

Vegeta frowned slightly. The group stood not far away, watching them with strange expressions, as if they were monkeys at a zoo.

[These Earthlings... aren't they afraid to die?]

A flicker of displeasure crossed Vegeta's mind, but arrogance quickly suppressed it. He snorted and swept his gaze across their faces.

The Scouter began reading out their power levels.

"Beep—power level... 1,240." Nappa looked at Raditz and sneered. "Raditz, you useless piece of trash. A year's gone by, and you're still this weak."

Raditz's expression changed, but he didn't answer.

Vegeta's gaze shifted to Piccolo.

"Beep—power level... 1,480." Nappa raised an eyebrow. "A Namekian? This trash planet actually has aliens?"

The corner of Vegeta's mouth curled into a cruel smile. He was about to taunt him when his gaze suddenly settled on the black-haired man in the middle of the group.

Son Goku stood there with his hands in his pockets and a faint smile on his face.

The Scouter pointed at him—

"Beep—"

"..."

No number appeared.

Vegeta's pupils contracted slightly. He raised a hand and pressed the Scouter, whose lens flashed frantically, but it continued to display a string of garbled symbols.

[What's going on? Is the Scouter broken? No... that's not it. It's this guy's energy...]

[It's unfathomable, like a vast ocean. The Scouter can't measure it at all!]

A bead of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, but he quickly wiped it away.

"Hmph, putting on a mysterious act." Vegeta snorted. He decided to ignore the strange Kakarot for the moment and turned his attention to the most "familiar" traitor.

He glared at Raditz.

"Raditz."

Vegeta's voice was quiet, yet icy.

"You've got some nerve, betraying me. Betraying the Saiyan pride and King Frieza, then hiding on a low-class planet like this... living like a stray dog?"

Raditz's body stiffened instinctively for a moment.

[Here it comes... That look again.]

[That superior look, as if he were staring at a bug he could crush whenever he pleased. In the Frieza Force, every time I failed a mission, he'd look at me like that... then cut my supplies and send me on a reconnaissance mission I couldn't possibly survive.]

His knees trembled. The fear carved into his bones by years of living under the Saiyan hierarchy coiled around his heart like a cold snake.

[I... I'm afraid.]

[Even though I've gotten stronger, even though I've already...]

His gaze drifted unconsciously to Son Goku's profile.

His younger brother tilted his head and gave him an encouraging smile. His lips moved soundlessly:

"You can do it."

Raditz's pupils trembled slightly.

Memories surged through him like a tide—

Chi-Chi serving curry rice and smiling as she asked him, "Want an egg with that?" Wuhao and Wuqi lying across his back, pounding him with their little fists and calling him "Uncle"; the nights on Earth, with no pursuers and no alarms, when he slept deeply without dreaming of slaughter...

[This is... the path I chose.]

[Not for Saiyan pride, not for Frieza's dominion... but to protect the people who ask me what I want to eat.]

He took a deep breath, forced down his fear, and straightened his back.

As he stood fully upright, the pride of an Elite Warrior burned within him for the first time—in his own way.

"Prince Vegeta," Raditz began, his voice wavering slightly, but growing firmer with every word. "A wise man knows which way the wind is blowing. My brother Kakarot... no, Son Goku, is the true strong one."

He raised a hand and pointed at Vegeta, his voice suddenly rising:

"He'll lead us Saiyans to glory, instead of making us wag our tails for Frieza! That so-called princely pride of yours... is nothing but an excuse to be a murderer's lackey!"

"What did you say?!" Nappa roared furiously, veins bulging on his forehead. "Raditz, you're a useless piece of trash with a power level barely over a thousand, and you dare call Prince Vegeta a dog? You must be tired of living!"