Somewhere on a remote island on Earth.
Vegeta's already shattered pride took yet another blow.
"Kakarot…" Vegeta opened his mouth as if to demand an answer, but the words stuck in his throat.
"You must be Prince Vegeta, the one Raditz told me about. I'll tell you straight your bloodline rank doesn't prove anything," Goku said calmly, as if reading his mind.
Over by Nappa
"Raditz… tell me, how did you do this?"
"I already told you," Raditz replied evenly, still maintaining his Kaio-ken.
"No. I refuse to believe a low-class warrior could train you to this level in just four months!" No matter how many times Raditz explained, Nappa simply wouldn't believe it.
"Enough, Raditz. I gave you face, but if he doesn't want to live, stop wasting time. I'm not in the mood to wait," Gohan cut in, watching their fight like it was some kind of circus act.
To him, it was nothing but a waste of time.
Piccolo, standing silently to the side, twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Inside, a sharp stab of jealousy hit him.Damn it… any random Saiyan can catch up to me now. Looks like I'll have to push forward with the fusion plan. Just sitting in meditation won't stop me from being left in the dust…
He lost all interest in watching and simply flew off into the sky.
"Huh? What's with Piccolo?" Krillin asked.
"Maybe that fragile little glass heart of his just cracked," Gohan said knowingly.
He didn't stop Piccolo this little skirmish could be handled by almost anyone.
(Tien: I'm not just 'anyone.')(Krillin: Neither am I.)(Chiaotzu: …)
Back to the fight
"Nappa, I'll give you one last chance live or die!" Raditz's voice hardened.
Deep down, he knew it was Gohan who had spared his life before, and he'd sworn loyalty to him.
In these four months, even though Goku had beaten him senseless tens of thousands of times, Raditz had felt something he'd never known warmth.
Goku and Gohan never treated him like a dog or looked down on him they called him 'big brother' and 'uncle.'
Even Chi-Chi, a pure Earthling, was tolerant toward this unexpected houseguest.
Training, eating, sleeping without fear or burden… Raditz hadn't been treated like a person in a very long time.
In the Frieza Force, there were countless warriors stronger than him and just as many who scorned him.
Now, he cherished this life. And if anyone tried to take it away, he'd personally see them gone.
A trace of killing intent leaked from Raditz as he stared Nappa down. One more stupid word, and he'd strike.
"I… I… if Prince Vegeta surrenders, I'll surrender too!" Nappa blurted out.
Simple-minded, yes but not entirely stupid. Vegeta was still standing over there. If Nappa pledged loyalty to Raditz now and Vegeta won, he'd pay for it later. The fear Vegeta inspired in him still outweighed Raditz's.
"Hmph. Then stand there and watch. Any funny moves, and I'll kill you on the spot." Raditz didn't attack, instead flying to Gohan's side.
"Gohan, my apologies," Raditz said formally.
"It's fine, I heard it all. He's not a threat handle it your way," Gohan replied with a wave, showing no blame.
On Goku's side
"Heh… haha… well, well, Kakarot. Well played, Raditz!" Vegeta suddenly laughed loudly.
Goku frowned. Vegeta wasn't stupid he had to know the gap between them. So why the arrogance?
"Vegeta, leave Earth. You're not my match," Goku said earnestly.
With his current power level of 500,000, Goku felt no fighting spirit toward him.
But good advice falls on deaf ears.
Instead of leaving, Vegeta sneered, "Kakarot, I noticed your tail is gone cut off, isn't it? Do you know the difference between a low-class warrior and an elite? An elite can transform into a Great Ape and still keep his mind. Even if your power is in the hundreds of thousands, my transformation multiplies mine tenfold giving me 240,000. What will you use to fight me?"
As he spoke, Vegeta raised a hand, gathering energy. A pale, radiant sphere formed in his palm.
"Gohan don't look up! When I transform, I can't control myself!" Raditz immediately averted his gaze in alarm.
"Artificial Moon appear!" Vegeta hurled the glowing sphere into the sky.
It exploded into a dazzling full moon, flooding the land with Blutz Waves.
Nappa looked down, avoiding transformation.
Gohan simply stood there neither looking up nor down expression unchanged.
Vegeta, however, turned his gaze skyward. Under the artificial moon's radiation, his face twisted, his body swelling as black fur sprouted.
His flexible armor stretched to fit, avoiding a wardrobe malfunction.
Five meters… ten… fifteen…
Minutes later, a towering giant ape loomed over the Earth.
"Haha! Kakarot, feel the power of the prince!" Vegeta roared with laughter.
"Strong? Not really," Goku said softly finally feeling a spark of battle intent.
Suppressing his own ki to match Vegeta's, he rose into the air to meet the Great Ape's gaze.
"Arrogant!" Vegeta swung both massive hands to crush Goku.
Smack!
"I'll crush you! Huh?!" Vegeta opened his hands in confusion Goku had vanished.
"Crush me? With what?"
Goku had sidestepped at high speed and reappeared standing on Vegeta's nose. He grinned, drew back his fist, and slammed it down.
Wham!
"Argh! You bastard!"
No matter the form, the nose was a weak spot Goku's punch brought tears to Vegeta's eyes and blood streaming down his face.
"Whoa! That's a lot of blood!" Goku darted back and forth, evading the crimson spray.
"Bastard!!"
Goku's taunts drove Vegeta past reason now more beast than man, he threw himself at Goku with full force.
But he couldn't land a single blow. His increased size and power came at the cost of speed.
If Goku were only at 100,000 power, Vegeta's speed would still be dangerous but Goku was holding back and staying ahead.
"Kakarot will you only dodge?!" Vegeta roared, trying to bait him.
"Alright, no more dodging," Goku said, stopping abruptly to face him.
"Hmph. Then take this!" Vegeta swung a colossal fist toward him.
"I'll give you one too!"
Goku met the blow head-on.
BOOOOM!
The shockwave swept the air clean of dust.
Vegeta staggered back three steps. Goku floated in place, unmoved.
"Impossible! I'm at 220,000! There's no way your measly hundred-something thousand could match that!"
"Who told you that was my full power? What you felt earlier was maybe half of it if that," Goku said bluntly, exposing his hand.
"You're bluffing! Prove it take my final attack! If you dodge, the Earth will be destroyed!"
Vegeta rose into the sky, hands clasped over his head. Between his fur-covered palms, a violent purple energy sphere formed, wrapping his whole body in its glow.
"Galick Gun!!"
A ten-meter-wide beam lanced down from the heavens, shaking the Earth itself.
"Here comes the iconic scene," Gohan thought, recalling from his past life the first beam struggle between Goku and Vegeta though this time, the setup was different.
Goku spread his hands, knees bent in the air.
"Come on then!" His ki flared just a bit higher.
He chose to take it head-on.
The audacity made Vegeta pour even more into the blast.
BOOM!
"He blocked it? No way!" Nappa's eyes bulged in disbelief.
Vegeta himself could hardly believe it.
"Hot… it's so hot! Get out of here!!"
The searing beam began to scorch Goku's palms, filling the air with the faint smell of roasted meat. He snapped his knee upward, kicking the Galick Gun off-course.
It veered at a forty-five-degree angle into the void, disappearing among the stars.
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