"Power level 81..."
Raditz walked straight toward the person. Only when he got closer could he make out what the man looked like.
"I never expected it to be this guy."
A somewhat chubby boy sat on the ground, wolfing down fish from the grill.
A yellow crystal ball bearing a single star hung from his chest.
This was Yajirobe.
Yajirobe glanced up at the person before him and mumbled through a mouthful, "What're you looking at? If you want some, go catch your own."
He showed no sign of stopping, as if the stranger who had suddenly appeared was less interesting than the grilled fish in his hands.
"I'm not interested in your fish," Raditz said evenly. "I'm interested in the ball around your neck."
"Hm?"
Yajirobe finally stopped chewing and casually wiped his mouth. "This? I found it a year ago. Pretty, right? You want it? Not giving it to you."
The corner of Raditz's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. "I'll borrow it. I'll give it back when I'm done."
Once he'd made his wish, he could just grab any ball and hand it to Yajirobe. Whether it was the same one was debatable, but he'd be returning one either way.
"No."
Yajirobe replied without hesitation, lowered his head, and went back to gnawing on the fish, as if the conversation was over and Raditz could leave.
"How about this? I'll treat you to a feast in exchange for borrowing your ball."
At the mention of a feast, Yajirobe's eyes lit up, but he wasn't stupid.
"Let me eat first, then you can borrow it."
"..."
Raditz didn't have the money for a feast. He was still freeloading off Bulma, after all.
Realizing that words alone wouldn't work, Raditz lowered his stance slightly, and his aura turned sharp in an instant.
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to force the issue."
Before the words had left his mouth, Raditz's figure blurred, leaving only a faint afterimage where he'd stood.
The next moment, he appeared at Yajirobe's side.
A lightning-fast hand chop struck straight for his waist, with a clear target in mind—to disarm him first.
"Hey! You!" Yajirobe was startled. He sprang backward as if his butt had been fitted with a spring, his chubby body displaying agility that belied its size.
He rolled to his feet in one fluid motion, putting some distance between them.
He brushed the grass off his clothes. The lazy look vanished from his face, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
With a hand on the hilt at his waist, Yajirobe made his move.
He planted one foot and shot forward.
"Iai Slash!"
Just as he neared Raditz, he swiftly drew his sword and slashed at him.
Raditz's expression tightened. The blade's flash split his body in two.
"..."
Yajirobe looked puzzled. He'd deliberately used the back of his blade for the draw, so he wouldn't take Raditz's life.
But that slash hadn't felt like anything at all, as if he'd cut through thin air.
"Hey!"
Raditz strolled out from behind a tree.
Seeing him appear again, Yajirobe frowned and asked, "What kind of magic is that?"
"Afterimage Technique. What do you think? Want to keep going?" As he spoke, Raditz's figure flickered again.
In an instant, several "Raditzes" appeared around Yajirobe, impossible to distinguish from one another.
One of them even reached straight for the ball on his chest!
A flash of the blade, and the figure split in two.
"Damn it!"
Yajirobe cursed under his breath and swung his sword like the wind, weaving a curtain of blades as he chased the afterimages.
One after another, they vanished, only for even more to quickly surround him.
"Can you do anything besides dodging?!"
Frustrated, Yajirobe suddenly stepped forward. The ground quivered as he brought his heavy blade down on a seemingly solid figure, his attack fierce and imposing.
This time, Raditz didn't dodge. He leaned to one side and spread his hands, gathering a golden vortex of energy in each palm.
The two merged and fused, becoming a brilliant ball of energy!
"Get out of the way!" Raditz cried, firing the energy ball from his hands.
Yajirobe watched the energy blast shoot toward him, his pupils contracting. At the last possible moment, he rolled to the side.
The blast grazed his clothes and slammed into the rock wall behind him.
"Boom!"
The rock wall collapsed in an instant. Stones flew everywhere as dust billowed through the air.
"That was close." Yajirobe looked at the collapsed wall, still shaken.
He weighed up the situation. His opponent had a strange speed and powerful attacks. If they kept fighting, he might not come out on top. More importantly...
"I'm done, I'm done." He suddenly shoved his sword back into its sheath with a clang.
The decisive move even left Raditz momentarily stunned.
"All you do is dodge. This is boring. My fish are going to burn!" Yajirobe grumbled, sounding both impatient and upset about his food.
"I told you, I'm only borrowing it." Raditz spoke again and pointed to the One-Star Ball. "I need it for something. I'll return it as soon as I'm done. As compensation..."
"I owe you a feast—not some campfire meal," Raditz said seriously. "A restaurant in town. The kind where there's plenty of meat."
"You... promise?" Yajirobe asked suspiciously, his hand unconsciously reaching for the crystal ball.
He'd found the ball, and aside from being shiny and pretty, it wasn't much use to him. But if it meant a feast...
Yajirobe thought it over, swallowing hard.
"Of course. I promise," Raditz said.
"Just a promise isn't good enough," Yajirobe muttered. His eyes suddenly lit up. "How about this? I'll come with you! I'll watch you use it, then you hand it straight to me when you're done. After that, you take me to get that feast!"
That was beyond what Raditz had expected. He frowned slightly. "The place I'm going might be a little far, and the timing..."
If he brought this guy along, he could end up causing trouble when Raditz summoned Shenron to make his wish.
Yajirobe patted his belly. "Cut the nonsense. Either I come with you, or the deal's off. You choose."
Raditz looked at the other man's unyielding expression, then glanced at the One-Star Ball he absolutely had to get. In the end, he sighed. "Fine, but you have to listen to me on the way."
"Don't worry. I only care about food." Yajirobe quickly stuffed the rest of his grilled fish into his mouth and spoke.
A day later, near a rocky area.
Following the Dragon Radar, Raditz found Goku without a hitch.
From a distance, he saw Goku dragging a massive boulder with his own tail.
It was training to overcome the weakness of his tail.
"Goku, long time no see!"
Goku curiously watched the aircraft come to a stop. When its hatch opened, he saw someone step out.
"Oh, it's Raditz! Haha, how did you know I was here?"
"Because of this, of course."
Raditz took the Dragon Radar out of his pocket.
"I've collected the other six Dragon Balls."
"So that's how!" Goku readily handed over the Four-Star Ball without hesitation. "Here you go!"
Raditz took the ball, glanced at Yajirobe, who was following beside him and looking around curiously, then said to Goku, "Goku, after I summon Shenron, the Dragon Balls will scatter. When that happens, could you help me pick up one more in addition to the Four-Star Ball?"
"Hmm..." Goku tilted his head and thought for a moment, then slapped his chest. "Shouldn't be a problem! Leave it to me!"
Once he got the Four-Star Ball, he could summon the Flying Nimbus and immediately catch up with a second one.
"Great. Then I'll leave it to you."
Raditz placed the seven Dragon Balls together, then stepped aside and shouted the incantation: "Come forth, Shenron!"
At once, golden light poured from the Dragon Balls, illuminating the darkening sky around them as a colossal green dragon soared into the heavens.