Saiyans typically recognized only two categories of their own kind: the strong and the useless. Nothing else mattered.
These warriors who now knelt on scorched earth had always considered themselves among the strong. From birth, they'd been acknowledged as elite-class warriors—the cream of Saiyan society. Their training had progressed rapidly, their combat prowess was undeniable, and their mission success rate remained flawless.
Yet today, dozens of proud Saiyan warriors—including several in their massive Great Ape forms—all knelt before a long-haired stranger. They hadn't chosen this humiliation willingly. The crushing pressure bearing down on their shoulders left them no choice but to bend their knees or be driven into the ground.
The terrifying oppression made their chests heave violently, stealing their breath, threatening to rupture their lungs entirely.
"Good timing on my part, I'd say." Raditz spoke casually. In truth, even without Instant Transmission, he could have easily arrived before the shockwaves hit their targets. He probably would have had time to adjust his hair while he was at it.
Yamoshi and his companions had survived certain death. After taking stock of their miraculous salvation, they couldn't stop trembling. Their eyes fixed on Raditz with expressions of profound awe and gratitude. The evidence was undeniable—everyone else knelt in unified submission while they remained standing unharmed. This stranger had come to save them.
More than that, Raditz had suppressed everyone in an instant. In all of Yamoshi's experience—no, in all of Saiyan history as he knew it—no one could accomplish such a feat. This warrior's combat power exceeded the very limits of their calculation methods.
"Please... excuse me... who exactly are—"
"No need to ask," Raditz interrupted, his gaze settling on Yamoshi. "I'm just a Saiyan passing through. My name isn't important." He paused, studying the battered warrior intently. "What I need to know is this: were you fighting at full strength just now?"
"Uh... yes, absolutely." Yamoshi gestured at his battered body. "As you can see, I'm covered in wounds. I don't have the strength left to keep fighting."
"Same for us," the Saiyans behind him added weakly.
Raditz examined them with a critical eye. They genuinely appeared pushed to their absolute limits, completely spent. Could the legend of the Super Saiyan God really have been created by warriors this weak? Perhaps the legend referred only to a regular Super Saiyan? But even that transformation required power levels far beyond what these fighters currently possessed.
At that moment, the kneeling Saiyans began shouting and struggling against the invisible force. They desperately tried to stand, tried to move—but rising proved agonizingly difficult. In their panic, several attempted to launch ki waves, but Raditz's telekinetic barrier effortlessly deflected every attack.
Could my presence here have altered the historical trajectory? Raditz wondered as he observed the furious warriors surrounding them. Maybe the stress of this situation will trigger a spontaneous breakthrough in one of them—an instant transformation into Super Saiyan?
"There's only one way to test that theory." His voice carried across the battlefield. "Let's reset the situation."
With a casual wave of Raditz's hand, all pressure vanished instantly. Yamoshi and his group stood stunned, uncertain what had just happened. The attacking Saiyans likewise froze for a heartbeat, confused by their sudden freedom.
Then, like a dam bursting, everyone exploded back into violent motion. The enemy Saiyans immediately resumed their assault on Yamoshi's group, channeling all their rage toward Raditz into even more savage attacks against the "traitors."
The chase began anew. Yamoshi and his companions frantically dodged the relentless barrage, while their pursuers unleashed hell itself upon them.
Raditz rose higher into the sky, observing from a purely analytical perspective—a scientist watching test subjects react to stimuli.
Round after round of insane attacks drove Yamoshi's group to the edge of desperation. They ran for their lives with every ounce of strength remaining. But they'd already been exhausted before Raditz's intervention. If not for that brief respite, they would have collapsed already. With their stamina still critically depleted, the outcome remained inevitable.
Sure enough, within two minutes, a ki blast caught Yamoshi squarely in the back. He crashed to the ground hard, and one of the Great Apes prepared to sit on him with devastating, crushing force!
THOOM!
The Great Ape's descent halted mid-air. Raditz's invisible support caught the massive form, and the transformed Saiyan went flying backward instead.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
In an instant, every pursuing Saiyan was driven to their knees again, their legs hammered into the earth with bone-breaking force. Cries of pain echoed across the battlefield.
"What the hell do you want from us?!"
"It hurts…it HURTS!"
"Damn you! AHHH—"
Raditz ignored the chorus of curses, lost in thought. Still not right. This level of pressure isn't enough to trigger the Super Saiyan transformation. They need more. The crisis needs to be greater.
The attacking Saiyans looked ready to weep from frustration but ceased all aggressive action, settling into an uneasy standoff with Raditz and Yamoshi's group.
Suddenly, lightning struck from a cloudless sky.
The brilliant flash blinded everyone momentarily. The heavens darkened instantaneously, as if primordial chaos had wrapped the entire planet in suffocating shadow. Everything plunged into absolute darkness.
A voice rang out from the void, dripping with displeasure: "How pathetically slow!"
"What is this?!" Raditz's head snapped upward. Despite all his knowledge and experience, even he couldn't identify the source of this unnatural phenomenon.
"The Dark Magisters... they're coming!" Yamoshi's voice cracked with horror. His companions broke out in cold sweats, their exclamations overlapping in panic. They recognized this scene all too well—the memory seared into their minds as if it had happened yesterday, not months ago.
The evil Dark Magisters had corrupted the darkness lurking in Saiyan hearts, transforming proud warriors into the monsters who now hunted them. Seeing these orchestrators of suffering appear filled Yamoshi not just with surprise, but with a ball of white-hot fury burning in his chest.
His ki began to rise—just slightly, but noticeably. His breathing accelerated, becoming ragged. He clenched his fists so tightly that his bones produced audible cracking sounds.
Logically, it should have been impossible for the completely exhausted Yamoshi to increase his power any further. Yet his rage was fueling him, strengthening him continuously in defiance of all natural limits.
Another lightning bolt struck a nearby Saiyan warrior. The devastating magical energy blasted him into charred black carbon, his scream cut mercifully short.
From the darkness emerged more than a dozen figures—Dark Magisters shrouded in flowing black robes that concealed their hands, feet, and forms completely. From a distance, they appeared as nothing but billowing, ominous cloth floating against the void.
"The Saiyans have proven... disappointing." The lead magister's voice emerged as a gloomy rasp, like wind through a cemetery.
"Hehehehe... they're no longer needed anyway." Another voice cackled with sadistic glee. "Let's offer their energy as sacrifice to our master."
The magisters began chanting in unison, their words forming patterns of dark power. Suddenly, a young Saiyan's head began expanding grotesquely—swelling larger and larger until—
BOOM!
His skull exploded like an overripe fruit, showering the area with gore.
The sheer power of their magic shocked everyone into backing away. Even the hardened Saiyan warriors felt primal fear crawl up their spines.
Raditz sensed Yamoshi's rage intensifying exponentially. His ki climbed higher! Anger is making him stronger!
Yamoshi's fury reached unprecedented heights. Without warning, he launched himself forward with explosive speed and seized one magister's head in a crushing grip. The sudden attack forced the spellcasting to cease abruptly.
So fast! None of the Dark Magisters had perceived Yamoshi's movement. He'd simply appeared among them like a vengeful spirit.
"You would be wise to cease this aggression, Saiyan." The lead magister struggled to maintain composure despite the threat. "You led the others in rebellion and have survived this long. You're clearly a talented fighter. I could spare your life—make you one of our subordinates instead."
"Oh? A subordinate?" Yamoshi's voice had gone ice cold, empty of all emotion except murderous intent. His eyes reflected the same frozen fury. His grip tightened inexorably around the magister's skull. "Then die as mine!"
CRUNCH!
Blood sprayed in arterial fountains. The Dark Magister's head exploded into fragments of bone, brain matter, and dark magical energy that dissipated into the void.
The remaining magisters recoiled in shock, their arrogant confidence shattered as completely as their companion's skull.