You've Been Recruited

Planet Kai.

The raging energy storm had completely subsided.

That azure-gold pillar of light reaching from sky to earth was drawn entirely back into Son Goku's body like a whale sucking in water. Without that immense ki holding them up, the floating mud and rocks and the uprooted turf came raining down with a series of crackles.

North Kai crawled out of the bottom of the pit in a sorry state. Under normal circumstances, once such a violent transformation that shattered one's limits was undone, a Saiyan's body would surely bear an enormous burden and fall into a state of exhaustion.

But at the center of that massive crater.

Not only had Son Goku not collapsed, he even leisurely rolled his neck, his joints letting out a string of crisp pops.

His breathing was steady, as though the commotion that had nearly overturned the underworld moments ago had merely been an insignificant warm-up.

"Lord Kai, I'll be heading out first!"

Son Goku dusted off his training gi, raised his right hand, and pressed his joined index and middle fingers to his forehead.

"Leaving? Snake Way is a million kilometers long. Even with your current strength, flying back would still take—" North Kai adjusted his cracked sunglasses, looking as though he had seen a ghost. "Wait, that stance is—"

Before he could finish.

Son Goku closed his eyes. His immense ki spread unimpeded across the sea of stars, directly locking onto Bulma's presence far away in West City.

Whoosh—

A faint gust stirred, and Son Goku vanished completely from where he stood, as though an eraser had wiped him out of existence.

Only North Kai remained, mouth agape and disheveled in Planet Kai's cold wind.

"The Yardratians' secret technique, Instant Transmission?!"

"This kid can even do that?!"

Meanwhile, on Earth, in the wilderness outside West City.

Boom! Boom!

Two massive fireballs trailing thick smoke brutally tore through the atmosphere and slammed into the ground with the violent force of falling meteors.

The extreme heat of atmospheric friction severely distorted the surrounding air. The pungent stench of ozone and the charred smell of rock spread through the area. The terrifying impact kicked up waves of earth dozens of meters high.

The bedrock had been smashed into two enormous circular craters. The soil at their bottoms had been completely vitrified, while dark-red magma churned uneasily through the cracks.

Hiss—

Accompanied by the sound of pressure venting from valves, the scorching pod doors slowly opened.

A bald, burly man with a face full of brutish flesh was the first to leap out from the crater. Viscous hibernation fluid from the space pod still clung to his dark brown muscles, dripping onto the scorching rocks with sizzling sounds.

He ground down with his broad foot, crushing the hard bedrock beneath it into powder.

He rolled his thick neck.

"Tch. What a weak planet. The gravity's so light, it's like stepping on cotton." Nappa flexed his broad shoulders and ripped off the already-burned-out scouter over his left eye, tossing it beneath his feet like garbage.

Then another, comparatively shorter figure descended slowly to the ground, though his aura was cold and arrogant to the extreme.

His arms were folded across his chest.

Vegeta's icy gaze swept over the desolate surroundings before finally lifting toward the azure sky.

"The air composition is far too mild. There isn't even a trace of blood in the air." Vegeta snorted coldly, his voice full of arrogance etched into his bones. "An environment like a greenhouse can only breed useless trash. Calling this a low-level planet is already giving them too much credit."

Even without scouters, the two could easily use their exceptional Saiyan vision to see across dozens of kilometers, making out the enormous steel metropolis at the end of the horizon—West City.

Towering glass facades and crisscrossing elevated rail lines gleamed with prosperity under the refracted sunlight. But in Nappa's eyes, it was nothing but a heap of worthless scrap metal that would shatter at a touch.

"Look over there, Vegeta." Nappa pointed at West City and laughed wildly. "All flash and no substance. A civilization this fragile could be sunk underground with just two fingers. That idiot Raditz actually said this garbage dump had resources that could greatly increase our strength?"

Vegeta withdrew his gaze, his expression utterly unmoved. "It is precisely because they are so weak that they waste their energy on those useless metal machines."

His voice was freezing. "Whether Raditz had his eye on the technology here or was ambushed by some low-grade weapon is no longer important. Trash that has lost its value has no right to live under the Saiyan name."

"The scouters broke on the way here, so we can't locate that trash's exact position now." Nappa gave a savage grin and raised his right hand.

Crackling destructive lightning immediately formed between his two fingers.

"But it doesn't matter. I'll level this city first as a warm-up. Once we make some noise, that trash will notice and come crawling over to see us himself."

Vegeta stared coldly at the city's outline without any intention of stopping him. "Do as you please. Just be quick. If Raditz dares to toy with us, I'll crush him and this boring planet with my own hands."

Having received permission, the smile on Nappa's face grew ever more vicious. He suddenly raised his arm, and the ki blast at his fingertips rapidly expanded, emanating an oppressive wave of destruction.

One strike was all it would take for that city to vanish from the map forever.

Just as that violent energy was about to be released.

A voice pierced through the billowing smoke and dust, reaching both of them with perfect clarity. Low and rough, yet carrying an unhurried composure that treated everyone with contempt.

"Nappa, I'd advise you to put your hand down."

"If you wreck Bulma's turf, selling the two of you by the pound still wouldn't cover the damages."

The energy sphere in Nappa's hand abruptly froze.

Vegeta's brow furrowed slightly. His cold gaze, sharp as a blade, stabbed toward the cliff above. The voice was familiar, but the effortless ease in that tone felt utterly unfamiliar to him—and deeply displeasing.

The wilderness breeze scattered the dust.

On the cliff not far away, a line of people had somehow appeared, standing there in silence.

Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha... standing shoulder to shoulder.

Not a trace of violent aura leaked from them; even the rhythm of their breathing was barely audible. They were like weathered rocks, completely merged with the wilderness. Yet at the slightest disturbance, these martial artists, who had restrained their ki to the utmost limit, could unleash thunderous killing moves in an instant.

Their sudden appearance made Vegeta's heart skip for no reason. Earthlings' ability to conceal their ki surpassed everything he knew.

And at the very front of the group—

Stood a man who was familiar, yet completely unfamiliar.

He was no longer wearing the Frieza Force's standard lower-class warrior armor. Instead, he wore a custom-made black gravity combat suit, fitted and cleanly tailored, with a tiny Capsule Corp. emblem printed on the chest.

His once-messy, leg-length hair had been neatly tied behind his head. With his arms crossed, he looked down at the two men in the crater.

The servility and impatience once carved into his bones had faded away. The current Raditz carried a blade-like chill about him, along with the presence of a strong man tempered through brutal special training.

"Raditz?!"

Nappa's eyes widened, his face the picture of someone seeing a ghost. "You piece of trash, you dare speak to us in that tone?!"

Raditz did not even spare Nappa a glance.

His gaze passed straight over him and locked firmly onto Vegeta. There was no rage on his face, nor any fear—only a calmness frightening enough to chill the blood.

"The times have changed, Vegeta."

Raditz uncrossed his arms, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists. The violent aura suppressed within him began to simmer faintly.

"I came to officially inform you—starting today, the two of you have been absorbed by Earth. If you don't accept it, you can make your move right now."