"What? No, impossible! How could your Power Level be that high?" Raditz cried out, fighting through the pain.
"There's nothing impossible about it. If you don't believe me, why don't you check with your scouter?"
With that, Piccolo unleashed all his Ki.
Raditz stared at Piccolo, speechless, as the number on his scouter kept soaring.
5,000!
10,000!
18,000!
A puff of white smoke rose from the scouter. Piccolo's Power Level had exceeded its maximum measurable limit, and the entire device exploded on the spot.
"No, impossible! This planet is supposed to be a low-level planet! W-why?! Then Kakarot... doesn't that mean...?" Raditz hadn't expected that he and his brother would meet in the Underworld.
"Kakarot? Who's that? Never mind. I'll take you to Old Son first and let him have a look at you."
With that, Piccolo split off four streams of Ki and dislocated Raditz's limbs.
"Ah!"
The sudden pain made Raditz cry out, cold sweat streaming down his face.
"Stop yelling. Your limbs are just dislocated. They can be put right back. Don't tell me you can't even handle this much pain." Piccolo looked at Raditz's agonized expression and spoke coldly.
By then, Goku, at home in West City, had already sensed the Ki Piccolo had unleashed, as well as another presence.
If he wasn't mistaken, that meant his newfound older brother Raditz had arrived.
Just as Goku was about to fly over to find the two of them, his gravity bracelet vibrated. He looked down and saw an incoming video call from Piccolo.
He swiped to answer, and Piccolo's green face appeared before him.
"Hey, Piccolo, I was just about to come find you and ask what was going on," Goku greeted him.
"It's nothing. I've already taken care of it. Take a look at this guy. Do you know him? He's got a tail, just like you."
Piccolo turned the camera toward Raditz, and Goku saw that his newfound brother really was in terrible shape, lying miserably on the ground with all four limbs dislocated.
"Haha, he's my older brother, Raditz."
"What? Your brother?"
Piccolo panicked a little. He'd beaten Old Son's brother so badly. Would Old Son get back at him?
"Don't worry. This brother of mine hasn't done anything decent. Beat him all you want. I wanted to teach him a lesson anyway. Just keep him breathing. We have Senzu Beans, after all."
Goku still hoped Raditz would survive. He was his brother, after all, wasn't he? Even Vegeta had been redeemed in the original story, so why couldn't he?
"Good! That's a relief. I'll bring him over with me." Piccolo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, Raditz, lying on the ground, suddenly heard a familiar voice. It was his father's voice! And the only one who could sound like his father was Kakarot!
Raditz endured the pain and struggled to lift his head for a look. That was right! He looked exactly like their father. It had to be Kakarot!
"Kakarot! You're alive! That's great!"
Raditz instantly felt he was saved. He had thought the two brothers would meet in the Underworld.
But now, it looked like his little brother Kakarot knew this green-faced alien!
If his brother knew someone with a Power Level of 38,000, his own Power Level might be around that number too.
Great! That was even higher than Vegeta's.
"Kakarot, tell that green-faced guy to let me go!"
Goku looked at Raditz, who clearly didn't understand the situation, and shook his head helplessly.
"My dear brother, you'd better take a look at your situation. I'm not going to help you either. You have to pay for the mistakes you've made, so watch what you say. You're in his hands."
After speaking to Raditz, Goku turned back to Piccolo.
"Piccolo, bring him over with you."
Piccolo nodded. After hanging up the video call, he looked at Raditz.
Raditz had quieted down by then. He seemed to understand the situation he was in.
"Are you taking me to see Kakarot?"
Piccolo smiled faintly at the much more obedient Raditz.
"Yes, if the Kakarot you're talking about is Son Goku."
"Okay."
Raditz knew perfectly well that it was Kakarot. He didn't ask anything else and was very cooperative.
Piccolo casually grabbed Raditz by his Battle Suit and flew toward Goku's house.
Meanwhile, on a planet very far from Earth.
"Vegeta, what do we do now?" Nappa looked at Vegeta, who was eating a fruit.
Vegeta casually tossed away the half-eaten fruit and stood up from the rock.
"What else? We go to Earth."
Nappa was startled to hear they were going to Earth and hurriedly spoke in a panic.
"What? Go to Earth? Vegeta, didn't you hear the conversation through the scouter? That guy has a Power Level of 38,000!"
"That's just what he said himself. All he did was overload an old-model scouter. I can do that too. We'll go take a look first. If he really has 38,000, we'll leave!"
"Vegeta, why do we have to go to Earth? Raditz might already be dead!" Nappa really didn't want to go. It was too dangerous.
"Because Raditz is one of the few Saiyans still alive. If he's still alive, we have to find a way to rescue him! If Raditz is alive, that means his brother Kakarot might be alive too. For the Saiyans, we can't abandon either of them!"
"I don't think they'll kill Raditz. If they really wanted to kill him, they wouldn't go to so much trouble. Let's go!"
Vegeta spoke with his back to Nappa. There was actually another very important reason he hadn't told Nappa: Earth was that woman's home, and he wanted to see it.
Nappa watched Vegeta walk toward the spacecraft and followed helplessly. He didn't know why, but ever since Vegeta had disappeared for a year more than a decade ago, his personality had changed.
The old Vegeta clearly wouldn't have cared about their lives, but now he seemed a little more human.
Still, this is good too. It benefits me, Nappa thought silently as he looked at Vegeta's back.
Before long, Piccolo arrived at Goku's house carrying Raditz.
After putting Raditz's limbs back in place, Piccolo let him go.
Now free again, Raditz didn't try to escape. Instead, he asked Piccolo a question.
"Where's Kakarot?" Raditz was being much more deferential now.
"Hmph, he'll be here soon."
Piccolo could sense Goku's Ki approaching.
A few seconds later, Goku appeared before them.
"Hey, you're here."
Piccolo nodded to Goku, signaling for the brothers to talk, then turned and left to find Krillin and the others.
Looking at that familiar crab-shaped hair, Raditz couldn't help feeling nostalgic. Perhaps the only difference between his little brother and their father was that his brother had no scar on his face!
"Raditz, what did you come to Earth for?" Although Goku knew the reason, he thought it best to ask.
Raditz looked delighted to hear Goku ask and hurriedly answered.
"Vegeta sent me to find you. He said you're one of the few Saiyans left alive, and that we should band together so we can survive."
Raditz's words left Goku bewildered. Was that what Vegeta had said? Had he read a pirated version of the original story?
"Kakarot, come with me. Vegeta was right. We're the last Saiyans!" Raditz was actually appealing to his emotions.
Goku looked at Raditz. He could tell that Raditz seemed a little different from the original story. Even Vegeta sounded different from the original.