Raditz had initially planned to teach Tarble, but was surprised when the young Saiyan offered to become his apprentice instead. Being the master of Vegeta's younger brother? Wouldn't that technically place him a generation above Vegeta in hierarchy? Raditz considered this amusing thought—it certainly wasn't a bad deal.
"Ahem, I'm willing to be your teacher, but you must follow my instructions precisely. That means adhering to the rules, understand?" Before accepting the role, Raditz adopted the demeanor of a strict master, infusing his tone with stern authority.
"Also, if you truly want to increase your strength, you must train diligently. Can you endure hardship?"
Tarble stood at attention, his eyes blazing with determination: "Yes!"
His weakness had already cost him dearly, leaving him with profound regrets. Now, with an opportunity to become stronger directly before him, no training would be too harsh! A gentle personality didn't mean he lacked Saiyan blood—that warrior heritage still flowed and boiled within him!
"Your eyes truly resemble your brother's, but you're much more pleasant than he is. Honestly, his temperament makes him rather difficult to deal with," Raditz observed with a smile.
Hearing this, a shy smile bloomed across Tarble's face, reminiscent of a fresh sunflower.
"Alright then, come with me."
...
In the western region of the Phaeda system, Kado's army had completely surrounded Planet Mikado. They deployed thousands of fighters but found nothing. The entire planet was nothing but an empty shell. Space monitors detected no spacecraft leaving the planet's atmosphere.
Yet not a single person remained! How bizarre!
The dispatched troops completed three thorough sweeps before returning empty-handed, reporting the inexplicable situation to Kado.
Kado and Abo, seated upon bronze thrones, had no explanation but felt an unsettling uneasiness. What should have been a simple capture of Tarble and the exiles had transformed into a perplexing mystery that caught them completely off guard.
"Their remaining spacecraft are all still there, untouched! There's no possible escape route! Are you absolutely certain you searched thoroughly?" Kado pounded the armrest furiously.
The messenger knelt trembling, cold sweat drenching his uniform.
"We practically excavated the entire planet, Lord Kado. There's definitely no one there. Bioscanners detect no life signatures whatsoever in Mikado's atmosphere."
"How is this possible? None of them could survive in space, and they would perish instantly outside the planet's atmosphere. Yet how do you explain the abandoned ships?" Abo pondered, his brow furrowed deeply.
How could they vanish without a trace?
Suddenly, Kado had a flash of insight and slapped his thigh forcefully. "I've heard of a special ability called Instant Transmission, which allows instantaneous movement of matter between locations. It's a unique technique of the Yardrat people!"
"Yardrats? Isn't that the planet Delutha proposed to conquer? He should have occupied it by now, but we've received no updates from him recently. He wouldn't betray us, would he? No, that doesn't make sense—rescuing a Saiyan, when he doesn't even know about this situation..."
Abo shook his head, still finding the entire situation deeply puzzling. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't reach a satisfactory conclusion.
"Deploy search parties to every planet in the sector. If there's any information about the exiles, report immediately!" Kado's dark eyes raked across his subordinates like knife blades. "We must find them! And then eliminate them!"
The fury of the two brothers was palpable. Their subordinates' voices quavered as they responded: "Y-yes, my lords!"
...
On a barren planet, a massive Tree of Might stood majestically, towering over the landscape like an ancient guardian. Its roots continuously absorbed the planet's nutrients, creating fruits that could dramatically increase one's power.
The Tree of Might had been reborn.
After battling Turles, Raditz and his companions had obtained several seeds of the Tree of Might and kept them in reserve. He had long wanted to test the tree's effectiveness, but his focus on conquering Frieza's territory had prevented him from finding a suitable uninhabited planet. This journey to the Phaeda galaxy had presented an unexpected opportunity.
The barren planet was devoid of intelligent life, perfect for the Tree of Might to absorb soil nutrients. Though the planet was far less rich than Earth, each fruit could still increase Tarble's power level by over 1,000 points.
Raditz had sampled a fruit himself, but it produced almost no effect. It seemed the fruit's benefits diminished once a warrior reached a certain power threshold.
Beneath the massive tree, Tarble engaged Raditz in combat.
"HAA! YAAH! TA-TA-TA-TA!"
Tarble attacked ferociously, perspiration pouring from his body. Dozens of fist shadows blurred through the air in rapid succession, accompanied by guttural battle cries as he channeled all his strength.
"Too slow!" Raditz yawned while effortlessly parrying with one hand.
To Raditz, Tarble's fierce assault resembled a child's play—not a single punch could connect. The calm, almost bored Raditz contrasted sharply with the desperately panting Tarble.
But Raditz hadn't called for a halt, so Tarble could only continue. Gritting his teeth fiercely, he groaned with exertion as he launched punch after kick after punch.
"Faster!"
"Faster!"
Still dissatisfied, Raditz swept Tarble's arm aside with one hand and knocked him to the ground with a casual strike.
Despite controlling his power, the enormous gap in their abilities still sent Tarble crashing deep into the soil, creating a crater tens of meters in diameter. The glancing blow had nearly broken Tarble's arm. He lay gasping violently, momentarily robbed of strength.
"Did I tell you to stop and rest?" Raditz stood at the crater's edge, his expression cold. "Until I say stop, we continue. If you don't attack, I will!"
Tarble felt as though Raditz had transformed into a different person—frighteningly severe and unforgiving.
"Still lying there? Is that the extent of your willpower?"
"No! I can continue..." Tarble slowly climbed from the ground, cradling his right arm with his left hand, planting his feet firmly, determination burning in his eyes like glowing embers.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"Then come!"
Raditz retreated a short distance, and Tarble immediately launched himself forward, unleashing a powerful strike—only to be batted away once more.
"Are you able to continue?"
"I am!"
"Then keep going!"
Their exchange consisted of just these few terse sentences, the rest filled with battle cries and the sharp sounds of impacts cutting through the air.
They continued relentlessly, with Tarble attacking continuously, being easily defeated by Raditz again and again, only to rise once more and resume fighting! After dozens of such cycles, Tarble was finally knocked down with a single punch from which he could not recover.
"You've shown good perseverance lasting this long. We'll stop here today and continue tomorrow." Raditz's tone remained cool as he glanced toward Gure in the distance. "Please take care of him. Thank you for your patience."
Gure rushed over anxiously, embracing her scarred husband with deep concern.
Tarble smiled gently: "It's alright. I can endure this. Under Lord Raditz's guidance, I'm already becoming stronger."
With those words, Tarble relaxed and drifted into exhausted sleep.
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