Escaping Death to Earth, Raditz Invites Me to Join, I Wave Him Off: Isn't Retirement Nice?

After roaring himself hoarse, Gou Kong let out a long breath of stale air, then greedily drew in a deep lungful of Earth's damp air, feeling the cool current fill every corner of his lungs.

Ah, this feeling...

No one could understand.

This wild joy of escaping death by a hair was something he could only bury deep in his heart and carry with him to the grave.

"Are you all right?"

Raditz's hesitant voice came from beside him, those black eyes filled with concern.

"Of course I'm all right!"

Gou Kong whipped his head around and flashed Raditz a brilliant smile that could be called the peak of his life, even lifting a hand in a fine mood to pat the other man's solid, broad shoulder.

Raditz froze from the pat, his eyes plainly spelling out four words: this guy's not normal.

Mm, not normal it was, then. I'm happy, damn it!

"What the hell happened? Where did you go? What did you do? Why wasn't there a single word from you? And how did you find this godforsaken place? No, before all that, you didn't even take a Space Pod, so how did you make it to Earth alone? Your battle suit's been trashed to bits, there isn't a good patch of flesh on you, and the fact you can still move in this state is a damn miracle. What battlefield were you rolling around on just now?"

Raditz looked Gou Kong up and down, firing off questions like a string of cannon shots.

Well, from Raditz's perspective, this really was absurd.

As far as he was concerned, Gou Kong was one of the "casualties" who had vanished on the day Planet Vegeta was destroyed, only for this guy to suddenly come crashing down onto Earth safe and sound more than twenty years later!

Anyone would have been stunned.

"Brother, I'm in bad shape right now. I'll give you the details later." Gou Kong waved a hand, his tone carrying the laziness of someone who had survived a disaster. "To tell you the truth, the whole thing was so ridiculous I'm afraid you wouldn't believe it even if you heard it. Most importantly, right now I just want to lie flat, breathe deeply on this patch of land, and I can't even be bothered to gnaw on hot or cold food..."

"I see. Then there's no helping it. We'll talk next time."

Raditz shrugged and did not press him.

"Ah, right, Brother Gou Kong, since fate's let us meet again like this, why not just roll with us?" Raditz changed the subject, a trace of anticipation flashing in his eyes. "You know, after Planet Vegeta got blown up, almost all of us Saiyans died. Back then, a few lucky ones and I happened to be on other planets carrying out conquest missions, so we managed to keep our lives. Including me, there are three of us in total. Add you, brother, and that makes four. Those two over there..." Raditz pointed toward Son Goku and Son Gohan, who were swaying unsteadily in the distance. "If we count Kakarot and his son, that makes six."

Gou Kong looked in the direction he was pointing and saw that Son Goku and Piccolo were covered in wounds, unable to even stand steadily. It was obvious Raditz had beaten them badly.

Piccolo in particular was in even worse shape than Son Goku. One of his arms had been severed at the root, leaving only a bloody shoulder.

"Can that big guy still hold out?" Gou Kong frowned, looking at the purple blood flowing from Piccolo's severed arm, and looked away a little queasily. "He's lost too much blood, hasn't he? Just looking at him gives me chills."

"Either way, we've recently set our sights on a planet that'll sell for a high price, and we're getting ready to make a move, but we're a little short on manpower." Raditz wore an expression that said, you get it. "So, Brother Gou Kong, let's do it together?"

"Thanks, but I refuse."

Gou Kong did not even think before waving his hand, his tone firm and decisive.

"Huh? W-why?" Raditz instantly stiffened, his face filled with disbelief, as if he had heard some wild fantasy. "I went to all this effort to invite you, and you're actually refusing?!"

"How do you think I got these injuries? I fought for my damn life to crawl out of that hellhole, finally found a clean place where I can live in peace, and you want me to go back and keep risking my neck for that purple-skinned onion-head Frieza?" Gou Kong gave a scornful laugh, his eyes full of disdain. "Find someone else. Right now I just want to lie comfortably on this Earth and take it easy. Whoever wants to fight can go fight."

"B-but don't you miss your own people? Besides me, there's Nappa, Prince Vegeta! Those two survived too! They're all Saiyans like us! You know those two guys! And there's one you haven't met... anyway! It's been so long! If we gather together, who would still dare look down on us?" Raditz panicked, trying to use homesickness and the threat of their combined strength to make him stay.

"Enough, enough. I can't be bothered to say it a second time." Gou Kong impatiently cut him off, patting Raditz on the shoulder, his tone carrying the calm of someone who had seen through life and death. "What I hate most in this life is people ordering me around. You know my temper too. This Earth is pretty nice, so I'll retire here. Later, help me pass a message to Nappa and Vegeta: tell them Gou Kong's living damn well, no need to miss me."

"Brother Gou Kong... you won't even honor our brotherhood anymore..." Raditz showed disappointment on his face, but Gou Kong had already made up his mind.

What kind of joke was that?

This was a new life he had traded his life for!

In terms of probability, this was even harder than hitting the jackpot. Only an idiot would throw the life he had just clawed back into the wolf's den again!

More importantly, his direct superior was Frieza.

Working for that purple-skinned freak?

Only if Dodoria had stomped on his brain!

Just then, a weak but sharp roar interrupted the two brothers' conversation.

"Hey! You two! How long are you planning to chat?"

Gou Kong looked back and saw Piccolo clutching his severed arm, cold sweat pouring down his face, while Son Goku stood warily in front of Gohan, taking a battle-ready stance.

Seeing Gou Kong and Raditz with their arms around each other's shoulders, Goku's pupils contracted, and he shouted sharply:

"You two are wearing the same clothes. You're together! And you both have tails! So that means you're the other Saiyan that guy mentioned?"

"Well..." Gou Kong was momentarily at a loss, scratching the back of his head. "In terms of race, we really do count as one family..."

"Ha! So you came to Earth with this bastard... Damn it! Another powerful enemy at a time like this!" Goku's face darkened, waves of energy surging around him. He had clearly taken Gou Kong for a formidable enemy.

"It's a misunderstanding, all of it."

Looks like this mix-up had gotten out of hand.

He had absolutely no intention of hurting these people.

Most likely, Raditz had made the atmosphere too tense earlier, causing Son Goku to instinctively treat all Saiyans as enemies.

What the hell was going on here?

In the original story, Raditz had no idea why Kakarot had been sent to Earth, which was what made the misunderstanding grow deeper and deeper, until in the end they had no choice but to fight to the death.

But now, this situation...

Hadn't Gine said she would send Raditz a message explaining it?

There should have been a record on the scouter too, right?

How had it still ended up like this?

Gou Kong's face darkened. He turned to look at Raditz beside him, sending a silent question with his eyes: What the hell is going on?

Gou Kong glanced at the utterly baffled Raditz, and in his mind, he dragged this guy's IQ across the floor eight hundred times.

This idiot—he still hadn't figured out where the problem was?