Joining Forces

"Put the child down."

Piccolo's voice struck the ground like shards of ice, purple energy crackling in his palm. The reading of 316 on the scouter meant Raditz did not take him seriously at all.

"Another overconfident piece of trash." Raditz gave the Gohan in his hand a shake. "What, you want to snatch this brat too?"

"Snatch?" Piccolo sneered. "This child's potential is far greater than that trash beside you. He'll become the biggest obstacle to my conquest of the world, so only I can deal with him."

Son Goku struggled to his feet, gritting his teeth in fury. But he knew full well that neither of them could defeat Raditz alone.

Raditz could not be bothered to waste words. Carrying Gohan, he turned and left. "Kakarot, the western island in one day. If you don't show up, get ready to collect your son's corpse."

His figure quickly vanished into the sky.

Only Son Goku and Piccolo remained. They stared at each other in awkward silence.

"You want to join forces with me?" Piccolo spoke first, his tone mocking. "Son Goku, so there really is a day when you need my help?"

Son Goku clenched his fists, his pride burning. But the moment he thought of Gohan, nothing else mattered.

"Yes." He lowered his head, forcing the words through clenched teeth. "A temporary truce. After we save Gohan, we'll settle the score."

Piccolo folded his arms, his gaze sharp. "That Saiyan is too strong. I can't kill him alone. And your son's potential is over eight hundred. If he's taken into space, he'll become an endless problem in the future."

He paused. "So we'll cooperate for now. Kill that Saiyan first. Afterward, we continue our feud."

Son Goku took a deep breath and nodded heavily. "Fine!"

Inside the spaceship, Gohan was thrown onto the cold metal floor. His butt hurt badly from the fall, but he gritted his teeth and made no sound, cursing Raditz bloody murder in his heart.

Damn it, couldn't he be gentler when carrying a kid? What a savage with no decency!

He looked around. It was a circular chamber, with the hatch tightly sealed. When he tried to circulate his energy, he found that it was indeed being suppressed—the entire chamber was a giant restraining device.

Gohan sat cross-legged and tried to draw upon the energy within him. Potential battle power of over eight hundred sounded awesome, but he had no idea how to use it. It was like sitting on a mountain of gold but being unable to pull out even a single coin.

After trying for quite a while, he finally condensed a faint white glow the size of a ping-pong ball in his palm.

Gohan: "..."

That was it? It would be humiliating to let anyone know. What a disgrace to Saiyans!

He remembered that in the original story, Gohan could only unleash his true power when he was angry. So he cursed Raditz from head to toe in his mind. The angrier he got, the more the white glow in his palm buzzed and swelled until it was the size of a basketball. His hand jerked in fright, and the energy ball fell to the ground, blasting a small crater.

Holy crap, it actually worked?

But the problem was that energy built up through anger was especially unstable. He could not exactly curse while fighting, could he?

Just then, the spaceship suddenly shook and took off. Gohan pressed himself against the observation window and looked outside. Mount Paozu grew smaller and smaller, soon becoming a vast expanse of ocean.

The western island, right?

He sat back down, his brow tightly furrowed. In the original story, Son Goku and Raditz died together in this battle, and Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon pierced through both of them. But now that he was here and knew the plot, was he supposed to just watch his dad die again?

No. Absolutely not.

He had to do something. But with his current strength, taking Raditz head-on would be suicide.

Things would work out when they got there. Gohan shook his head. He would play it by ear when the time came. If all else failed... he could cry! It would be embarrassing, but better than dying.

In the sky, one red and one purple aura streaked across the heavens.

Son Goku and Piccolo flew side by side, the atmosphere awkward. Two mortal enemies who had fought for years were actually going into battle together.

"That Saiyan's battle power is at least fifteen hundred," Piccolo suddenly said. "The two of us combined only come to around seven hundred."

Son Goku's expression darkened. The gap was more than double.

"But that doesn't mean we have no chance." There was a hint of pride in Piccolo's voice. "I've been training a technique recently. It's extremely powerful, enough to pierce any defense. The only problem is... it takes too long to charge, and I haven't fully mastered it yet."

Special Beam Cannon. He had originally developed it to deal with Son Goku, yet now he would have to use it against a Saiyan first.

"Really?" Son Goku's eyes lit up. "Then I'll keep him busy and buy you time."

"At least you're not stupid." Piccolo said coldly. "But don't expect me to hold back. Once the Saiyan is dead, we'll still have our score to settle."

Son Goku snorted. "Who's afraid of who!"

The western island. Grayish-brown rocks lay exposed, while the sea wind howled through clouds of sand and dust.

Raditz leaned against the spaceship, waiting in boredom. Two points of light rapidly approached on his scouter, and a cruel smile curled across his lips.

"They really dared to come."

"BOOM!"

Son Goku and Piccolo landed one after the other, shaking the ground and sending sand and stones flying.

"Kakarot, you even brought help?" Raditz folded his arms and curled his lip disdainfully. "You think the two of you can beat me just because you joined forces?"

His answer came in the form of two auras erupting at once. Golden-yellow and purple light reflected off each other as the air pressure over the island plummeted.

"You talk too much," Piccolo said coldly.

"Looking to die."

Raditz's figure suddenly vanished. Son Goku's pupils shrank as he instinctively dodged to the side.

"Boom!"

The spot where he had just been standing exploded, sending shattered rocks flying.

"Your reactions are pretty quick." Raditz's voice came from within the dust cloud. But the next second, Piccolo had already circled behind him, his palm wreathed in purple energy as it slashed fiercely toward the back of Raditz's neck.

"Perfect!"

Without even turning around, Raditz threw a backhanded punch. Piccolo grunted as he was blasted away, but he flipped through the air and landed steadily, a cold smile instead curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Son Goku, go!"

He did not need to say it. Son Goku had already charged forward. His hands came together at his waist as blue energy gathered wildly.

"Kamehameha!"

A thick blue energy wave roared out and struck Raditz head-on. The massive explosion swallowed his figure, dust and smoke shooting into the sky.

"Did we get him?" Son Goku panted.

But Raditz slowly walked out of the smoke. His battle armor was somewhat damaged, yet his skin had not even been scratched.

"That was it? It wasn't even enough to scratch an itch."

Son Goku and Piccolo's expressions changed at the same time.

"The difference in battle power can't be made up with numbers." Raditz rolled his neck. "You two are too weak."

Before he finished speaking, his figure vanished again. This time, he was even faster. Son Goku only saw a blur before a heavy punch struck his chest, sending him flying like a kite with its string cut.

"Goku!" Piccolo's pupils contracted.

"Don't worry. You're next."

Raditz's voice suddenly sounded beside his ear. Piccolo spun around sharply, but he was still a step too slow. A knee drove viciously into his stomach, forcing him to double over in pain.

Raditz grabbed him by the hair and yanked him upright. "A piece of trash with barely over three hundred battle power dares oppose me?"

An energy blast gathered in his palm, crackling sharply.

"Piccolo!"

Son Goku struggled to his feet, the energy around his body surging madly. Golden aura burst from within him, and the ground cracked inch by inch. Gritting his teeth, he forced every last bit of power from himself.

"Haaahhh!!"

His battle power instantly soared past eight hundred.

Raditz raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Oh? You can increase it further? Interesting."

Yet there was still no fear on his face. So what if it was over eight hundred? He had fifteen hundred!

"I'd rather die than watch Gohan get taken away!"

Son Goku roared and charged forward, his fist carrying terrifying force as it smashed toward Raditz. Raditz casually threw Piccolo aside and raised an arm to block.

"Boom!!"

Their fists collided, and a shockwave swept in all directions, forcibly scraping away a layer of the ground. Raditz was actually knocked back a step.

"You've got some strength now." He rubbed his fist, his smile turning even crueler. "But that's all it is."

His figure suddenly accelerated. Son Goku could see the movements, but he could not keep up with the speed.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Three consecutive punches sent Son Goku crashing heavily to the ground. He lay sprawled there, every bone in his body feeling as though it had come apart.

Raditz slowly walked over to Son Goku and planted a foot on his back.

"Well, Kakarot? Are you willing to join us now?"

"Ptoo." Son Goku spat out bloody saliva. "In your dreams..."

"Still talking tough?" Raditz's gaze turned cold. He raised his right hand high, a white energy blast forming in his palm and growing larger and larger.

"Say goodbye to this world."

Son Goku closed his eyes.

I'm sorry, Gohan... Dad couldn't save you...

Just as the energy blast was about to fall—

"Bang!!!"

A deafening sound came from the direction of the spaceship.

Raditz froze for a moment and instinctively turned his head.

A huge bulge suddenly swelled from the side of the spaceship, followed by a "Rumble!"

The entire hull was smashed open by brute force, and a small figure burst out. Golden aura wrapped around the tiny body, every strand of hair standing upright, eyes full of furious tears.

It was Gohan.

"Don't you bully my dad!"

A childish voice, yet filled with boundless fury, rang across the deserted island.

Like a golden cannonball, Gohan slammed viciously toward Raditz.

Raditz did not react at all. His scouter had just shown that the brat only had a battle power in the teens—how had it suddenly...

"Bang!!"

Gohan's head crashed solidly into Raditz's chest.

"Urgh!!"

Raditz let out a muffled groan and flew away like a kite with its string cut, smashing heavily into the mountainside. Rubble tumbled down, burying more than half of him.

The entire world fell silent in an instant.

Goku froze. Piccolo froze as well.

The two stared blankly at the small figure in the air—the golden aura blazing around him, his hair standing on end, and that terrifying presence that made their hearts pound.

Was that... Gohan?

In midair, Gohan panted, stunned even himself. When he had sensed Goku facing death, his mind had gone hot and he had stopped thinking entirely. By the time he came to his senses, he had already burst out of the spaceship.

He looked down at his hands, then at the pile of rubble in the distance, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Holy shit... a headbutt worked better than an energy blast? Was this some kind of Saiyan traditional skill?

"G-Gohan?" Goku's disbelieving voice came from below.

Gohan scratched his head, a little embarrassed. But just then, movement came from the rubble.

"Cough, cough..."

Raditz crawled out from the debris. His chest was caved in, blood ran from the corner of his mouth, and he looked utterly wretched. Yet his eyes were filled with shock and greed.

He looked down at his scouter. The numbers jumped wildly before finally settling on two thousand!

"Two thousand..." Raditz muttered, then suddenly burst into laughter. "Two thousand! A brat only four years old actually unleashed a battle power of two thousand!!"

He stared fixedly at Gohan, the greed in his eyes nearly spilling over.

"A genius! A true genius! Stronger even than Prince Vegeta!"

Goku and Piccolo's expressions changed at the same time. A battle power of two thousand?!

Piccolo swallowed. He had thought the Special Beam Cannon might be enough to win, but now it seemed...

Gohan was stunned too. Two thousand? Wasn't it supposed to be one thousand three hundred? How had it risen by so much?!

He could feel the ki inside him draining away rapidly. This burst state would not last long.

And though Raditz was injured, he clearly was not dead. If anything, he was even more excited.

"Wonderful... this is truly wonderful..." Raditz panted as he wiped the blood from his mouth, his smile twisted. "As long as I take you back and train you properly... you'll definitely become the strongest warrior in the universe!"

He slowly raised a hand, gathering another energy blast in his palm. This one was even larger and more terrifying than before.

"But for now... I'll have to knock you unconscious first."

Gohan's heart tightened. Damn it, this lunatic! He could still fight after taking such heavy injuries?

He wanted to dodge, but his body would not obey him. That outburst had already drained most of his strength; now, even standing steadily was difficult.

At that critical moment—

"Kamehameha!"

"Special Beam Cannon!"

Two figures leaped up at once. A blue energy wave and a purple energy wave roared out, blasting toward Raditz.

Goku and Piccolo had seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Raditz's pupils contracted sharply. He had no time to react at all—

"BOOM!"

The two energy waves struck him simultaneously, and the enormous explosion swallowed his figure. The shockwave swept in every direction, making the entire deserted island tremble.

Gohan was blown away by the shockwave, hitting the ground and rolling several times. He struggled to raise his head and looked toward the center of the explosion.

Smoke and dust filled the air, making it impossible to see what was inside.

Had they won?

Goku and Piccolo landed as well, panting heavily as they stared intently into the smoke. Their combined attack, poured out with all their strength, should have been enough to take down Raditz, right?

But the next second, rustling sounds came from within the smoke.

A figure slowly emerged.

Raditz.

His battle armor was torn to shreds, his body was covered in blood, and the dent in his chest was even more pronounced. Yet he was still standing.

Not only was he standing—he was smiling.

"Heh heh... hahahaha..."

He raised his head and looked at the two pale-faced men, his smile cruel and crazed.

"Is that all you've got?"

Though his aura had weakened considerably, it still firmly overwhelmed the two of them.

Son Goku and Piccolo exchanged a glance, and both saw despair in the other's eyes.

Their all-out attack... still hadn't killed him?

Was this the strength of a Saiyan with a power level of fifteen hundred?

Terrifying.

Raditz strode toward them step by step, each one seeming to stomp on their hearts.

"Now... it's my turn."

The energy sphere in his palm lit up once more.

Son Gohan sat on the ground, his heart pounding as he watched the scene unfold.

This wasn't right. It hadn't happened like this in the original story!

In the original story, Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon had clearly pierced through Raditz! How could this...

Wait!

Son Gohan suddenly realized.

Because of him, the plot had changed!

Earlier, his headbutt had injured Raditz. But precisely because of that, Son Goku and Piccolo had launched their combined attack too early. At that time, Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon hadn't charged enough power at all!

It was over, it was over. This was the butterfly effect.

What was he supposed to do? If this continued, his dad and Piccolo would both die, and then he'd be taken away too.

He desperately recalled the original plot... right! In the original story, Son Goku had grabbed Raditz from behind, and then Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon had pierced through both of them!

But now, Son Goku and Piccolo could barely stay on their feet. Who was going to grab him?

Son Gohan gritted his teeth.

Fuck it, I'm going all in!

He struggled to get to his feet, but his legs were as limp as noodles. He tried twice and failed both times.

No. Don't panic.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and once again drew upon the remaining ki within his body.

Anger, anger, anger...

Think about Raditz's arrogance. Think about Dad being stomped beneath his feet. Think about that bastard planning to sell him off into space as child labor...

Damn it, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got!!

Bzzzz

A faint golden aura rose from his tiny body once more. Though it wasn't as terrifying as before, it still had some force behind it.

Son Gohan opened his eyes and clenched his little fists.

Even if he didn't know how long he could hold out... even if he still might not be able to beat him...

He couldn't keep hiding off to the side and crying like he had in the original story.

He was Son Gohan.

Son Goku's son.

And, more importantly, a transmigrator who knew the plot!

"Hey! You long-haired, one-eyed freak!"

His childish yet ringing voice echoed across the deserted island once again.

Raditz stopped and turned to look at the tiny figure.

Son Gohan stood there, golden aura blazing around his body. Though small, he stood perfectly straight.

He pointed at Raditz, his little face taut, and said something that left everyone stunned.

"Come at me!"