Raditz had never heard the name before, yet something about it resonated deep within his soul—as if destiny itself had woven this meeting into the fabric of his long journey through time.
"I'm going to the Saiyan homeworld," he declared simply.
"Now?!" Both Supreme Kais exclaimed in unison, their voices rising in alarm. "No, no! Even though you're strong, if the demon appears, the danger is still immense! We should formulate a proper strategy, coordinate our forces—"
"No need." Raditz waved dismissively. "Just stay out of my way."
He rejected their well-intentioned offer without hesitation. He had no desire to burden himself with two Supreme Kais who would only slow him down. Whether facing Majin Buu or an even more formidable opponent, Raditz alone would be sufficient.
"Farewell." Without giving them any opportunity for further discussion, Raditz locked onto the distinctive energy signature of distant Saiyans and vanished via Instant Transmission.
The two Supreme Kais stood frozen, their expressions caught between shock and bewilderment. After a long, awkward silence, the Grand Supreme Kai finally found his voice. "Did... did he just leave? Without any further discussion?"
"I have absolutely no idea what goes through that man's mind," the Elder Kai muttered.
He suddenly flinched, his hand flying to his neck where a chill lingered. The spot where Raditz's hand had struck him earlier still throbbed with phantom pain.
The ancient Planet Sadala—once a beautiful and prosperous world—had descended into war-torn chaos. Civil strife consumed the Saiyan race like a plague. The Saiyans waged brutal warfare not only against other planets, but against their own people who dared resist these violent policies.
In the hearts of many Saiyans, concepts like compassion and kinship simply didn't exist. They recognized only strength. A warrior's power represented their entire worth as an individual. Even weak members of their own race could be discarded as worthless trash.
And so they hunted Yamoshi and his handful of supporters without mercy, disregarding all bonds of shared blood and heritage.
Vast plains had been cratered and scarred beyond recognition. Entire mountain ranges lay leveled to flat, smoking expanses. Cities had been reduced to charred ruins, their skeletal remains jutting from scorched earth. The sky itself hung heavy and dark, choked with smoke and ash.
Raditz materialized in the planet's upper atmosphere, gazing down at the devastated landscape below. It was difficult to believe this wasteland had once been the proud homeland of the Saiyan people.
"They destroyed their own planet like this..." Raditz shook his head in disgust. "No wonder other civilizations both fear and despise Saiyans. These fools brought it on themselves."
After a moment of contemplation, he shifted his focus groundward. A small group of Saiyans was desperately fending off pursuing enemies. Brilliant beams of energy lanced through the sky, crisscrossing to form a deadly net of destruction. Stray blasts detonated randomly, each one carving deep craters into the earth. Debris and soil fountained into the air while flames spread across the scorched landscape like living things.
"Yamoshi! What do we do?!" one of the fleeing warriors shouted desperately.
"Keep fighting while we retreat!" A powerful voice boomed from beside him, resonating like thunder and shaking the air itself. "Don't let them surround us!"
The enemy forces redoubled their assault, spurred on by bloodlust. These mighty Saiyan warriors wouldn't be deterred by Yamoshi's defiant shout.
"Don't let up! Keep the pressure on! Yamoshi and his traitors are weakening!"
"Warriors in Great Ape form—advance and crush them!"
The coordinated attack continued with brutal efficiency. While unleashing frenzied bombardments, several high-level fighters utilized artificial moon techniques to trigger their Great Ape transformations. This primal ability multiplied their already formidable strength approximately tenfold.
The transformed Great Apes thundered across the battlefield, their massive forms crushing everything beneath them as they charged.
Yamoshi and his group retreated faster, their movements tearing through the air with sonic booms.
Both sides exchanged long-range energy attacks in a deadly tug-of-war. Occasionally two blasts would collide mid-air, creating massive explosions that left ears ringing for miles. But this stalemate couldn't last indefinitely—the enemy simply had superior numbers. Though Yamoshi was an elite-class warrior, the gap wasn't wide enough to allow him to slaughter entire armies at will. Against such overwhelming odds, sheer numbers proved devastatingly effective.
Yamoshi's group was already showing signs of exhaustion. Several attacks had broken through their defenses, inflicting injuries that accelerated their physical decline. The Great Apes' enhanced power made them particularly devastating, with several transformed warriors relentlessly hammering Yamoshi's dwindling forces.
Some of these Saiyans possessed combat powers in the tens of thousands—but after transforming, they reached the hundred-thousand range. For Yamoshi and his companions, facing such destructive potential was nothing short of catastrophic.
"Is this really the one who left behind the legend?" Raditz frowned as he observed Yamoshi's retreating group from above. "How can he be so weak?"
The warrior hadn't achieved Super Saiyan, hadn't even approached that threshold. How could someone at this level possibly leave behind the Legend of the Super Saiyan God? Could he be some kind of prodigy capable of breakthrough under extreme pressure?
No, if I don't intervene soon, they're all going to die.
The combined assault from the Great Apes and regular Saiyan warriors proved brutally effective. Yamoshi's surrounded group lost two more fighters, their anguished screams cut short as devastating energy blasts consumed them.
"HAHAHAHA! Yamoshi, your time has come!"
"This is what happens to traitors who betray the Saiyan race!"
Yamoshi gasped for breath, his voice raw with desperation: "You're being controlled by darkness! Wake up! This isn't who you are—you weren't like this before!" Blood dripped from multiple wounds, and cold sweat poured down his face despite the searing heat of battle.
"Hmph. Attack!" The enemy completely ignored his plea.
The Great Apes roared with primal fury, unleashing devastating mouth beams—blinding strips of concentrated energy that spread wide like searchlights from hell. Simultaneously, the other Saiyan warriors fired their own shock waves. All attacks converged on the surrounded survivors from every conceivable angle—above, below, from all sides. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
Even Yamoshi and his companions recognized this was the end. They'd exhausted their strength to resist. All they could do was close their eyes and await death's embrace.
None of them noticed the figure that silently materialized between Yamoshi and his remaining allies.
The figure stood motionless, yet an invisible barrier formed around them—an impenetrable wall that deflected all incoming energy.
Like water striking reinforced glass, the rippling torrents of destructive power beat endlessly against the shield, only to shatter into harmless fragments. Raditz and those he protected remained completely unharmed.
In fact, a powerful counterpressure began emanating outward, pushing back against the assault itself.
"What... what the hell?!" The attackers' voices cracked with disbelief.
Yamoshi and his companions snapped their eyes open, staring at Raditz's sudden appearance as if witnessing a divine apparition. The Great Apes' roars died in their throats, their fur rippling in the shockwave. The other Saiyan warriors froze mid-attack, their Adam's apples bobbing as they swallowed nervously.
"He's... he's a Saiyan too!" someone finally managed to croak, spotting Raditz's tail.
Raditz had deliberately left his tail exposed, coiling it around his waist so everyone could see clearly. He was an unmistakable, pure-blooded Saiyan—but none present had ever seen him before. What made it even more unsettling was his instantaneous arrival. The teleportation technique was completely unknown to them. One moment empty air—the next, a stranger standing among them. Hair-raising didn't begin to describe the feeling.
"You... who... who are you?!" one warrior stammered.
Before anyone could formulate a better question, Raditz's gaze swept across the assembled warriors. The sheer weight of his presence—that overwhelming oppressive force—choked the words in their throats.
Even the massive Great Apes felt an inexplicable, instinctive urge to kneel before this stranger.
The silence stretched like a drawn bowstring, ready to snap.