Hearing Turles's new condition, Raditz nodded and patted him on the shoulder. "Saiyans should get along with each other."
"Fine. Come with me."
Raditz waved a hand. "Oh, right. Remember to pay those people back for the walls you smashed."
I'm a civilized Earthling.
Saiyans? Don't know them.
Turles: "..."
Paying them back was out of the question. He could just make the creditors harmless.
An empty, desolate wasteland.
Raditz looked at the two of them. "Before we start, just to be safe, I'd better ask."
He tapped his temple. "This thing of yours hasn't been..."
Watching his gesture, Turles understood. He snorted. "We removed the surveillance from our Scouters ages ago. Otherwise, how could we have done anything under his nose..."
"Good. As long as it's gone."
Raditz cut him off, pulled a Hoi-Poi Capsule from his clothes, and tossed it to the ground, releasing the spaceship.
He opened the hatch, beckoned Turles over, and went inside.
Reiz hesitated, then followed.
Amond? Amond was still lying in the ruins. How could that matter more than learning how to get stronger?
Inside the ship, Raditz led them to the door of the Gravity Chamber and pushed it open. "Here we are. This is the secret to how I got stronger."
Turles peered inside. The room was small, with alloy walls and a cylindrical control console in the middle that reached from floor to ceiling.
"What's so special about this place?"
"Try it and see." Raditz walked into the room and stopped at the control panel. He glanced back with a smile. "Just a warning: there's a risk of death."
Reiz stopped in his tracks, swallowed, and sheepishly stepped back.
Hey, there was no shame in staying alive.
Turles didn't back down.
He entered the room and stood firm.
That's the spirit! Looking good!
Raditz rested his right hand on the console. Instead of operating it right away, he asked, "Turles, why do you think Saiyans are called a warrior race?"
Turles frowned, puzzled.
"Saiyans are a warrior race by nature. What other reason could there be?"
"No." Raditz shook his head, his fingers gliding lightly over the control panel. "I mean, what makes us worthy of being called a warrior race?"
Turles fell silent for a moment.
"Great Ape Transformation?"
"That's only part of it."
Raditz's gaze settled on Turles. "Turles, how long has it been since you experienced being on the brink of death?"
Turles's pupils contracted.
"You mean..."
Before he could finish, Raditz's finger swiped sharply across the panel.
"Vmm—"
20 times!
"Ugh!"
Turles's whole body sank under the weight. Against his will, he slowly hunched over.
"Well? Do you understand now?"
Turles didn't answer. The gravity—gravity far beyond the norm—pressed him down.
"If you think that's not enough, I can turn it up."
30 times!
Turles's knees slammed into the floor with a bang. His expression was dazed, and though his mouth opened, no sound came out.
40 times!
"S-stop..."
Turles summoned the last of his strength and forced two words from his throat.
"Click."
The gravity returned to normal.
Turles lay sprawled on the floor, panting heavily. Sweat pooled beneath him.
He raised his head and looked toward Raditz at the console. The guy had one hand in his pocket, his breathing steady and his expression unchanged, as if the gravity from moments ago had never existed.
Turles's eyelid twitched.
"You trained in an environment like this to get stronger?"
"Half right."
"It wasn't just training. You also had to get close to death, then recover."
"You know what Saiyans are capable of."
Of course Turles knew.
Recovering from the brink of death made a Saiyan's battle power surge.
But it was easier said than done. How many times in a Saiyan's life could they get that chance?
Not everyone made it back from the edge of death. With bad luck, they really died.
He stared blankly at Raditz. How many times had this guy gone through it?
Hm?
Raditz noticed Turles's complicated gaze, as if he could read his thoughts.
How many times?
He'd lost count.
There were no shortcuts to getting stronger, but there could be a helping hand.
Senzu Beans.
Turles had never dreamed such a thing could exist.
Compared to them, the Tree of Might Fruit was downright pathetic.
"Okay."
"I've told you how to get stronger. Now give me the star map."
At that, Turles turned his head toward Reiz at the door.
Reiz immediately understood. He turned and left the spaceship, quickly flying toward their own ship.
A moment later, a notification sounded from the spaceship's main control panel as a stream of data came through.
Raditz examined the star map he'd received. It was densely marked with the coordinates of countless planets. Zooming in on any one of them even revealed a brief note.
Some said "cleared"; others said "avoid."
He looked pleased.
Still, he turned to Turles and issued a threat.
"If you've faked this, you'll die horribly."
Turles's mouth twitched.
He'd noticed that this Saiyan had a mischievous streak now and then.
"Get lost. Don't follow me anymore." Raditz waved a hand, shooing him away.
Turles kept backing up as Raditz drove him out of the spaceship.
The hatch closed, the engines started, and the ship turned into a streak of light as it sped into space.
Turles was left standing there, lost in thought.
The method he'd learned from Raditz seemed useful, but it had one fatal problem.
He returned to his own ship. Reiz was treating Amond's injuries.
When Turles came back, Reiz stopped operating the Healing Tank. "Lord Turles, how did it go? Did he get the star map?"
"Yeah."
Turles leaned back in the pilot's seat.
"Reiz, can you replicate the Gravity Chamber on his ship?"
Reiz was the ship's technical expert. He thought it over carefully before answering, "Lord Turles, with our technology, building a replica won't be difficult."
"How long?"
"Two weeks, if we work fast."
Turles nodded, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.
"Lord Turles." Reiz hesitated, then said, "With all due respect, the Tree of Might Fruit can make us stronger too. Why do we still need to..."
Turles raised a hand, cutting Reiz off.
"The Tree of Might plan stays as it is. Keep looking for a suitable planet."
"At the same time, we'll build a Gravity Chamber."
With that, he closed his eyes.
Ever since learning Frieza's true strength, he'd felt a growing sense of urgency.
Planting the Tree of Might required a lot of consideration.
There were plenty of planets in the universe suitable for growing one, but some had to be ruled out because powerful warriors held them. They also had to stay far from the territories of Frieza and the other powerful forces.
After finding such a planet and planting the Tree of Might, they'd have to wait for it to bear fruit. Then, after eating it, they might discover their battle power had increased by only a few thousand.
Fruit that granted an increase of tens of thousands, like the one on Kabacha Planet, was actually rare.
He'd once thought that with the fruit's help, he could reach the top of the universe someday.
But now he understood. The boost those fruits gave was a mere drop in the bucket in the face of true power.
At this rate, when would he ever surpass Frieza?
He needed to get stronger faster.
The Gravity Chamber and the Tree of Might.
He would pursue both paths.
"I need more allies, preferably other Saiyans..."
"Vegeta and the others are under Frieza's close surveillance, and they're uncontrollable..."
Suddenly remembering something, Turles opened his eyes. His gaze lit up.
"Kakarot!"