"I feel like I've sensed this ki somewhere before," Raditz said, looking puzzled. "That's right, it was recently. I came into contact with it."
Raditz thought back over the people he'd encountered recently and immediately recognized it. "Isn't this Kami's ki?!"
"Mm, it's a little different, and there's a trace of evil in it."
He already knew who was coming. It was Piccolo.
"I didn't expect him to come looking for me so soon. I've only been on Earth for a few days, and he's already in such a hurry. Looks like his strength has improved a lot." Raditz thought it over with amusement, not showing the slightest panic at the arrival of a powerful enemy.
No matter how much his strength had improved, he was still a pushover compared to Raditz.
A few minutes later, a green figure appeared before Raditz, landing steadily on a rock pillar not far away. It was the newly reborn Piccolo.
"Raditz, you didn't expect it to be me, did you?" Piccolo sneered.
Raditz sized him up, quietly sensing his ki. "Piccolo, you're a lot stronger than your father was. Are you here to avenge him?"
Piccolo didn't deny it. His eyes turned even sharper, and his voice brimmed with hatred. "Today is the day you die. I'll tear you limb from limb!"
"To be honest, you've improved a little, but if that's all you've got, I'd advise you to give up." Raditz shook his head, completely at ease. "I have more important things to do. I don't have time to play with you."
"Play?" Piccolo's fury flared, but he forced himself not to attack right away. Instead, he taunted Raditz. "You can stop wasting your time looking. That guy left a long time ago."
Raditz's eyes narrowed. "You know who I'm looking for?"
Raditz was a little surprised that Piccolo knew why he'd come here, considering he'd only just arrived.
Besides, Piccolo had shown up not long after Raditz got here. That meant he'd already been nearby, and might have been there for a long time.
"Looks like you know a lot. Good."
Piccolo sneered. "You don't need to know, and you'll never get the chance to." As he spoke, he removed the headband and outer garment he was wearing. The clothes dropped straight to the ground, slamming into it and leaving a small crater.
"Oh!" Raditz looked at the small crater. No wonder Piccolo had improved so quickly. He'd started training with weights a long time ago.
By Raditz's reckoning, Piccolo's power was now around 500, and it was still slowly increasing. He was several levels stronger than he'd been at this point in the original story.
"Heh, you've been training hard," Raditz said, a sly smile appearing on his face.
"I hope you're still smiling later." Freed from the extra weight, Piccolo loosened up his muscles.
Then he shot forward, thrusting his right claw straight at Raditz's chest.
Raditz didn't move. Just as Piccolo's fingers were about to reach him, Raditz shot out his left hand and caught Piccolo's wrist with perfect precision.
At the same time, his right fist slammed into Piccolo's abdomen like a cannonball!
"Pfft!" Piccolo's eyes bulged as he spat out a mouthful of blood. His body curled up like a shrimp, the tremendous force carrying through him.
"Looks like, just like your father, you can't recognize the gap between us," Raditz said, looking at Piccolo, who had been sent staggering by a single blow and couldn't stand.
"W-why?" Piccolo asked with difficulty, coughing up blood. "Your power was only 500 before. Even if you've gotten stronger... how can I not even fight back?"
"Power level?" Raditz seized on the term. "Where did you learn about power levels?"
Piccolo clenched his teeth and said nothing.
Raditz's expression changed as an invisible aura pressed down around them. "Think carefully. You and Kami are one and the same, so if I kill you, he'll die too. I won't kill you."
"But I could seal you inside a Rice Cooker like Master Mutaito. Don't come crying to me later!"
When Raditz said "Rice Cooker," he clearly noticed Piccolo stiffen, trembling just a little.
Looks like that worked. Even after being reborn, the fear of being sealed hadn't gone away. Raditz thought.
"I'll take you there," Piccolo finally relented, his voice hoarse.
Piccolo led Raditz to a cave. It was pitch-black inside, but they could just make out a metal door.
After showing him the place, Piccolo immediately tried to leave.
But Raditz stopped him. "Not so fast. Come inside with me. I still have plenty of questions for you."
Piccolo looked unhappy. After considering the consequences, he had no choice but to follow Raditz inside.
When they reached the door, Raditz made no move to open it himself. He ordered, "Open it."
A flash of menace passed through Piccolo's eyes before he concealed it. He grabbed the iron door with both hands and yanked it off.
Behind it was a room resembling a laboratory. Discarded machinery was scattered around, and a single computer sat in the center, its screen glowing faintly.
Raditz walked closer and saw a countdown displayed on the computer.
[5:21]
[5:20]
[5:19]
"Just as I thought."
Raditz looked at the familiar countdown screen. "So it really was you, Dr. Gero."
Just like the laboratory he'd escaped from, this one was in the process of self-destructing. Once the timer ran out, the place might be incinerated and collapse.
"Number Zero, you found this place in the end. Too bad I've already left." A sudden voice came from the computer, tinged with amusement.
Seeing that Dr. Gero was still watching everything from behind the computer, Raditz looked around. "Were you the one who sent Piccolo my battle footage?"
"It was just a test. More importantly, Number Zero, you've truly surprised me." Dr. Gero, fleeing frantically far away, sounded moved as he heard Raditz's question.
"You were spying on me, weren't you? When did you start?" Raditz already had a few guesses, but he needed to confirm them.
When did he start?
Dr. Gero couldn't help feeling a little wistful.
At first, he hadn't taken the android he'd casually created seriously.
He'd only sent a Micro-Robot to investigate the place where Raditz's signal had first gone offline, intending to retrieve him.
He wanted to see whether Raditz was dead or alive.
That was how he found Capsule Corp, the world-famous company belonging to Dr. Brief in West City.
The android who'd escaped his control had somehow become connected to someone like that?
Dr. Gero realized there was more to the situation than he'd thought.
So he had a Micro-Robot capable of recording images stake out the place for a long time.
Much later, he discovered that the Number Zero android was still alive, and saw many things he hadn't expected.
An alien spaceship, Scouters, a Gravity Chamber, and beans that could restore one's stamina?
As these things began to appear, Dr. Gero could no longer sit still. He secretly sent Micro-Robots to steal the relevant data.
However, of those things, he had only managed to recreate the Scouter.
Using the Scouter, he noticed things he'd never paid attention to before.
So many powerful people had existed in the world all along.
What shocked him even more was Number Zero's power level.
The Number Zero he'd once casually released had a power level that made him invincible in the world?
He began to doubt whether the Scouter was accurate.
Afterward, he recorded the World Martial Arts Tournament from afar, informed King Piccolo when a "powerful power level" suddenly appeared, and then got in touch with Piccolo Jr., telling him the secret of his father's killer.
He'd done all of it to observe Number Zero's actual fighting strength.