"Damn baldy, ruining my plans!" As Raditz slowly shrank back from Great Ape form to his human shape, he shot a vicious glare at Krillin, who had thrown the Destructo Disc.
Forcing his power level down from 7,500, he hurled a full-power ki blast at Krillin just as it plunged to 3,000.
With no way to dodge, Krillin was blasted away by the max-output ki wave. However, unlike Raditz and the others who only used crude ki, the move left him injured but not dead. If it had been Piccolo's full-power ki blast, Krillin might not have died but would be gravely wounded; if it had been the Special Beam Cannon, he'd have been KO'd outright.
Remember, Raditz's 1,500 couldn't withstand Piccolo's 1,300-plus Special Beam Cannon.
It's clear that mastery of ki is the surest way to compensate for lacking power level.
"Damn baldy… cut off my tail." Raditz's tail had been severed, but his body was otherwise fine.
He was just a bit unsteady adapting to the loss of the tail; it didn't really affect his combat capability.
Goku, Tien, and Krillin, though above Raditz in power level, had all taken damage to varying degrees.
Goku, especially—nearly half his bones were broken. Raditz in Great Ape form was not like Vegeta in the original. When Vegeta went Great Ape, he grabbed Goku but, as a proud Saiyan prince humiliated, chose to torture him slowly instead of killing him at once. Raditz, mindless in Great Ape form, squeezed with full force the moment he had Goku in hand. With 7,500 versus just over 3,000, it was sheer luck Goku wasn't crushed on the spot.
Tien's injuries were less severe than Goku's. His Tri-Beam was powerful; it didn't stop the ape's mouth blast, but it canceled a large portion of it, leaving too little energy to be fatal.
Among the three, Krillin was least hurt. Together, the three might not have been easy for Raditz to beat. Raditz knew that, so he got ready to spit a few threats and bolt. "Hmph, Kakarot. You're lucky this time. Just wait—I'll bring my comrades here. It won't just be you. All of you will die. That's the price for defying Saiyan pride."
"Masenko!" In a split second, an orange-yellow energy cannon slammed into Raditz as he took off, badly injuring him in one shot.
"Who's dying?" Green skin, green body, twin antennae—Piccolo Daimao had arrived.
"Old Sun, getting hurt by trash like this?" Piccolo glanced dismissively at Goku, who lay off to the side.
"It's Piccolo—damn it. In our current state, we still can't beat him." Krillin had no idea Goku and Piccolo had teamed up earlier to take down Garlic Jr.
So he still saw Piccolo as that would-be world-dominating demon king. What he didn't know was that Piccolo wasn't the same as the old Demon King—he wasn't purely evil.
"Hmph, baldy, I've no interest in killing Son Goku while he's down. I'll kill him fair and square and then rule the world." Piccolo instantly understood Krillin's stance—he was on guard.
"I didn't expect a Namekian here, and with such a high power level. I underestimated this planet… Heh-heh. But don't think beating me lets you relax. I told you, my comrades will come avenge me. Kakarot, you're nearly dead, aren't you? With this planet's medical level, you won't be fine by the time they arrive. Their power levels dwarf mine. You're all dead." Flat on his back and barely breathing, Raditz still taunted the Dragon Ball fighters.
"Hmph, didn't know this, did you? We've got Dragon Balls. Even if Goku dies, we can bring him back. And there are senzu beans—never mind 'serious injury.' Even a severed arm comes back good as new." Krillin shot back. A man clinging to his last breath dared keep yapping?
"Dragon Balls? Able to revive the dead… I see. You've got Namekians here. Those must be the Namekian wish-granting orbs. Heh-heh. That gives my comrades even more reason to come. You're all dead. They've got ten times my power. Trash. At most one year—enjoy your final days… Hahaha."
"Vegeta, Raditz's transmission just cut off. He was probably killed." On a purple, unknown planet, a bald bruiser addressed a small man. The tone made it clear the small one was the boss.
"Didn't expect fighters like that out in the sticks. Raditz is trash, sure. But his brother's got 3,000—that's decent. Let's go, Nappa. To Earth." The short man spat out a chunk of meat he'd been chewing and spoke to the bald hulk.
"Oh-oh, to avenge Raditz?"
"Who'd avenge that waste? Didn't you hear? There are Namekian wish orbs there. So the Namek legend was true… Interesting. Three thousand or not—trash is still trash."
"Heh-heh-heh."
They each boarded a spherical pod like the one Raditz had used and headed for Earth.
One year. In a year, two Saiyans would arrive on Earth: Vegeta with 18,000, and Nappa with 8,000.
Meanwhile, a variable appeared on Earth. A strange-looking man shattered the scouter Raditz had worn and slung Raditz over his shoulder.
Piccolo stepped in front of the odd man.
"I don't care if he lives or dies, but who are you?"
"Piccolo Daimao? Long admired. I am Xibraska, newly appointed third corps commander of the Chimera Ant army, by order of our King, Meruem. I'm here to monitor Earth and capture this Saiyan." He gave his shoulder a shake, jostling Raditz, who was teetering on the edge.
Don't forget—Raditz is a Saiyan, and there aren't many left. Each one is precious research material.
Xibraska was one of Meruem's newly promoted corps commanders—a lucky one who possessed chakra, could use ki, had drunk Ultra Divine Water and survived, and whose power leapt greatly.
His power level was 5,000. For now, no one on Earth could match him.
"You think I'm not here?" Piccolo fumed as the man ignored him and simply hauled Raditz away. The stranger's ki was stronger than his, but that didn't mean he'd be cowed. He was Piccolo, son of the Demon King who once plunged the world into terror.
"Masenko!" He threw down the gauntlet. Piccolo wasn't yet the composed figure he'd become. Strictly speaking, he was only about seven; he just looked close to Goku's age because of the quirks of warrior-type Namekians. It had been only seven years since the Demon King's death.
Like Earthlings, Namekians had youth, adult, and elder stages, but warrior-types had only youth and adult, and their adult period was especially short; like Saiyans, they appeared adult right up until death.
"What do you think you're doing?" Xibraska caught Piccolo's Masenko one-handed.
"Piccolo—don't. He's not an enemy." Krillin, supporting Goku, hurried over and stepped in when he sensed the tension.
"Son Goku, don't order me." Piccolo muttered, unhappy. He swallowed his pride and let it go.
Xibraska turned his gaze to Goku, giving him a once-over. "You're Son Goku? Not as strong as the King described… The King had a message for you when I saw you."
"If you still want to get stronger, go to Kami and have him take you to King Kai. The Saiyans coming in a year will be beyond your imagination. You need at least ten times your current power to stand a chance."
With that, Xibraska flew off.
Raditz might have called himself Goku's brother, but Goku had no feelings for him, and it didn't look like the stranger was going to kill him. So Goku didn't object to Xibraska taking Raditz.
What Xibraska said before leaving, though, made Goku thoughtful.
If you want to get stronger, go to Kami and have him take you to King Kai… Who was King Kai? Was he strong? Or could he make Goku stronger?
Up on the Lookout, Kami, who constantly watched the world below, had already seen it all.
"Mm… Didn't think that guy would plant such a powerhouse on Earth without my noticing. He seems to know a lot—he even knows King Kai."
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