Staring at Meruem, who now looked a size smaller standing before them, the three really didn't know what to say.
Even with him right in front of them, they couldn't feel the slightest trace of his presence.
Well… Pitou seemed to feel a little.
"King, how do you feel?" Youpi probed, and if only he'd wipe the snot and tears off his face it would help.
Snot hanging at the corner of his mouth looked downright gross.
"This feels better than anything I've ever known." Meruem clenched his fist and marveled.
"Pitou—! I missed you—did you miss me?" Meruem suddenly swept Pitou into his arms and nuzzled her cheek.
Youpi and Pouf stiffened and looked at each other. The King often showed affection to Pitou in front of them, but something was off.
He was… acting spoiled? Acting spoiled, right? Wait—coach, the vibe is all wrong.
Having come within a breath of true death, Meruem suddenly understood how deeply he loved Pitou.
In that moment when his consciousness almost truly dissolved, he thought of Pitou. The cat-girl willing to lay down her life for him; the cat-girl loyal to him alone; the cat-girl who wouldn't cling to life if he actually died.
The cat-girl who loved to lie on his chest and drift to sleep listening to each other's breathing—Pitou.
In my last life I never met a girl who would sacrifice everything for me without regret. In this life I'll treasure her twice over.
If she does not fail me, I will not fail her.
"King." Pitou didn't understand shyness, especially not in front of her two colleagues.
Since Meruem liked it, she certainly didn't mind.
So she boldly nuzzled back—and even flicked out her pink little tongue to lightly lick Meruem's ear.
"…" Youpi: Is the King okay?
"…" Pouf: Damn it, I'm so jealous of Pitou.
A huge circular pod tore into Earth's atmosphere at extreme speed from space, gouged out a massive crater, and a long-haired man with a monkey tail stepped out.
Son Goku's brother—Raditz.
He and his companions had run into trouble subjugating a planet, so he thought of his brother who'd been dispatched elsewhere—Kakarot.
It was also an early bug in the Z storyline. Even Vegeta with 18,000 battle power felt planets could be hard to take—so why send Raditz, with only 1,500, to seek help from Kakarot, whose power was even lower?
Frankly, a Saibaman was at 1,200—almost Raditz-level already.
At bottom, Raditz wasn't really looking for help conquering a world. He wanted an ally to raise his standing with Vegeta.
And his brother Kakarot was a decent choice.
"Who are you?" A nearby uncle rushed over with a hunting rifle and aimed at Raditz. His shaking hands showed his fear.
Good thing what walked out was just a strange man with a tail; if it had been some other bizarre creature, the uncle would have fired already.
"Hmph. Trash with a power level of five." A gunshot rang out—and a life was snuffed out by Raditz.
"Low-grade life… Why is there still life on this planet? What has Kakarot been doing?" Raditz muttered, tapping the scouter at his eye again.
"…Impossible. There's someone near 1,000 on this planet. And someone at 500 to the west. Kakarot? Whatever—I'll go take a look." Raditz lifted off and flew west.
Strangely, whether Frieza's men or Saiyans, many who couldn't use ki still freely performed Bukujutsu, a fairly advanced ki technique.
"Huh? I just sensed an evil ki—not very strong." Back from training at the Lookout and at home, Son Goku suddenly stood up.
"Hmm? That ki… forget it, nothing strong. Back to training. Son Goku, next time we meet I'll show you what I can do." Training in a frigid land, Piccolo also sensed Raditz's ki, but didn't care.
At 1,500, he no longer rated it. Incidentally, about a year before Raditz landed, Goku and Piccolo teamed up to take down a weirdo named Garlic Jr. So while not exactly friendly, Piccolo no longer rejected Goku outright. Rather than mortal enemies, they were rivals now.
The guy's power wasn't much, but thanks to a Shenron wish he had so-called immortality via endless resurrections. His low IQ got him easily dispatched by the two.
"Tch—so you're not Kakarot." Raditz glanced disdainfully at the long-haired man before him.
"Who are you?" Yamcha pulled the woman behind him and stared hard at the oddly dressed stranger whose ki was far above his own.
"So there are power types like this on this planet. No wonder Kakarot couldn't wipe you out. Fine—let me deal with Kakarot first." Raditz smirked and reached a hand toward Yamcha.
Beep-beep-beep-beep—the scouter chirped.
"What? Impossible! A low-grade planet like this has someone stronger than me? Two thousand? Is this one Kakarot?" Raditz stared at the readout in shock, then calmed.
"Kid—lucky you. I'll spare you this time." He gave Yamcha a look, then lifted off again, flying toward the 2,000 reading.
"Who the heck was that? I need to warn Krillin and the others."
"That evil ki… it's no less than Piccolo's was back then. That guy's killed a lot of people." Standing on the Lookout, always watching the world below, Kami had noticed Raditz the moment he arrived.
"Krillin, Tien—come here."
Answering the call, the two set aside their training and approached. "What is it, Lord Kami?"
"A powerful evil force has appeared on Earth. It's flying toward Goku. Hurry—get to him first. I fear Goku may suffer. That guy has a very special connection to him." Kami's tone shifted on the last line. He and Goku both had tails, and both had arrived on the same kind of pod.
Don't think Kami knows nothing—he knows far more than most imagine.
"Goku? I haven't seen him in a while. Heh-heh. Tien—let's go." The two flared their ki and shot toward Goku's place.
"This place is… Unbelievable. Kakarot, you're a disgrace to the Saiyan race." Seeing the house, rage finally crept into Raditz's expression.
The Saiyans had never intermarried with other races. Even with Planet Vegeta destroyed, Raditz could not accept marrying outsiders—especially from a weak species on a low-grade world.
"A power level just over fifty… Kakarot, this is what you chose?"
"What evil ki… Who are you? You show up at someone's house and keep babbling nonsense." Son Goku pulled Chi-Chi—who'd grabbed a broom to teach the stranger a lesson—behind him.
Gohan had long since hidden behind Goku, peeking nervously at Raditz.
"Power level: one? Kakarot, this is your offspring? Only one? That's… an embarrassment to the Saiyans!" Though a lower-class warrior, Raditz's pride in the Saiyan race surpassed anyone's—even Vegeta's.
"I'm not Kakarot—you've got the wrong guy. My name is Son Goku. I'm an Earthling." Goku stared solemnly at Raditz.
"Wrong? How could I be wrong! That face—just like Father's. How could I mistake it! An Earthling? An Earthling?! Damn you—where's your tail?"
"I ripped it off."
"AAAAH! You—who cast aside the Saiyan race's honor—I'll kill you!"
"Come on then—if you can." Goku's ki surged.
"Damn—3,000? You think I've got no answer?"
"Goku." ×2. Just then Tien and Krillin arrived from the Lookout.
"1,800… 1,700… Damn it. Why are there so many stronger than me on this backwater planet?" Raditz snarled.
"But… you ripped off your tail? Kakarot, I'll make you regret that."
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