Mount Paozu
Time flew by like a fleeting shadow four months passed in the blink of an eye.
"Dad, let's go. I can already sense that evil ki."Gohan looked upward, eyes narrowing on the two space pods descending through the atmosphere.
"Mm. Let's move!"Goku took off first, body exploding forward with a boom, streaking toward the landing site of the incoming ships.
Kame House
"Master, I'm heading out!" Krillin called, turning to Roshi.
"Be careful out there. If the sky falls, let the tall guys hold it up. Don't try to play hero." Roshi's voice was serious Krillin was as important to him as Goku.
"Got it, Master. I can sense Goku's already moving! I'm off, bye!"
Goku hadn't bothered to suppress his energy, so Krillin, Tien, and even Piccolo were drawn to him like moths to a beacon. One by one, they all changed course toward his location.
Roshi's sunglasses glinted as he watched Krillin disappear into the distance.
"Finally gone… that brat kept me waiting this long. I missed my yoga session because of him. Sensei Mitsukami… here I come, mwah mwah!!"
His expression twisted into a lecherous grin as he dashed back into the house, pulling out a treasured limited-edition yoga training DVD.
"Alright, follow me now lift your legs… stretch higher…"
The voice from the TV purred temptingly. Roshi removed his sunglasses, and unsurprisingly a stream of heat burst from his nose.
…
"Yep, still the same dirty old man," muttered the sea turtle outside, nodding as if confirming a long-held truth.
Three thousand kilometers southwest of Mount Paozu
"Hey, Goku here so early?" Krillin waved as he walked up the hill to where Goku stood.
"Yeah. Krillin, you don't need to be here for this."
"Relax, I know I'm not strong enough. I just came to watch." Krillin smiled he knew Goku was just looking out for him.
Whoosh!
Piccolo, Tien, and Chiaotzu arrived one after another.
"Hmph. A bunch of weaklings. Here to die?" Piccolo sneered.
Tien said nothing, ignoring the jab.
"Aw, come on, Piccolo we're all friends here," Krillin tried to smooth things over.
"Friends? With you lot? Don't make me laugh."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Krillin wasn't bothered. He'd already noticed in the past four months that Piccolo's killing intent toward them had all but vanished.
"Hey, Goku why isn't Gohan here?" Piccolo asked when he didn't see the boy.
"Huh? He's not? Wasn't he the one who told me to come in the first place?" Goku only just realized Gohan hadn't followed him.
"…Unbelievable." Piccolo sighed.
Back at Mount Paozu
"What is it?" Gohan had been about to take off when Raditz grabbed his arm, an odd look on his face.
"Gohan… if possible, could you spare Prince Vegeta and Nappa?" Raditz asked hesitantly.
"Uncle, as far as I know, they've always looked down on you treated you like a servant. Why would you plead for them?"
"Because, ever since I came out of my incubation pod, I've been with Prince Vegeta. Sure, he's got a bad temper and too much pride, and he treats me like an underling… but for years, he's been the one dealing with Frieza's army so Nappa and I could survive. I owe him that much." Raditz's voice grew firmer as he spoke.
"Heh. Uncle, I have to admit you're starting to look a lot better in my eyes." Gohan smiled faintly.
"So you'll spare them?" Raditz brightened.
"Don't worry. Unless absolutely necessary, I won't kill him. There aren't many Saiyans left in the universe, after all."
"Thank you, Gohan."
"Alright, let's go. They should be landing any moment now."
The two shot into the air, racing toward the target location.
Mid-flight
Raditz glanced at Gohan oddly. "Why are you… flying standing up?"
He didn't get it. Flying prone reduced wind resistance why would Gohan choose to stand? Was it some kind of special training?
"Flying face-down is uncomfortable. I like it this way. Got a problem with that?" Gohan's mouth twitched irritation creeping in.
Why did everyone in this world have such a weird reaction to his flying posture?
"No problem at all! You do you!" Raditz quickly lowered his head and pushed for more speed.
"Hmph!" Gohan snorted, too annoyed to bother. He simply placed two fingers to his forehead and Instant Transmissioned to the site.
"You're here, Gohan!" Goku greeted.
"Yeah, Dad. Haven't they landed yet?"
"Almost."
Goku looked up he could already make out a tiny black dot against the sky.
"Hey, Gohan where's your uncle?" Krillin asked.
"Right behind. He'll be here soon." Gohan pointed in Raditz's direction.
They chatted idly until.
"Here they come!" Piccolo barked.
All eyes went skyward as two space pods plummeted into the heart of a distant city, thirty kilometers away.
BOOM!! CRASH!!
Beep beep…
Twin craters split the city center. Streets collapsed, cars exploded chaos erupted. Yet curiosity drove some Earthlings to approach the crash site.
Inside the craters
Creaaak!
The hatches opened, and two figures one tall and massive, one short and lean rose into the air.
"Aliens?!"
"That big guy looks ripped!"
"Uh… konnichiwa? Hello?"
A few bold souls even stepped forward to greet them.
"Nappa… too noisy," Vegeta muttered with a frown.
"Got it, Vegeta. Heh-heh-heh…"
Nappa raised his right hand, two fingers extended. "Here's a little gift for you all."
A surge of energy burst from his body.
In an instant, the city erupted in a blinding flash. Everything people, buildings, streets was vaporized. Nothing remained but an empty crater.
"Ah… nice and quiet." Nappa dusted off his armor.
Back with Goku's group
"Bastard! How could you?!" Goku roared.
He'd deliberately chosen an uninhabited spot to wait for them, even flaring his ki to guide their landing yet Nappa had still chosen to annihilate an entire city without hesitation.
Gohan's brow furrowed.
"Baldy, if I didn't want to see what your Super Saiyan form looks like, you wouldn't be walking away from this."
With that, he launched himself toward Vegeta's position. The others followed suit.
Far off, Raditz also felt Nappa's energy spike and saw the mushroom cloud with his own eyes.
"Idiot… I just begged for your life, and you go digging your own grave." His voice was cold with fury as he veered toward Nappa.
At Vegeta's location
Beep beep beep beep! The scouter on Vegeta's ear screamed.
One… two… three…
Seven power levels were closing in fast.
"No way… how can there be so many strong fighters here?" Nappa muttered, alarmed. Two of them were far beyond his own level one at 8,000, the other at 10,000.
Those two were, of course, Goku and Raditz.
Goku's rage had caused his ki to flare, while Raditz still hadn't mastered full suppression.
"Nappa, something's off. Don't underestimate them. I'll take those two you handle the rest. Got it?" Vegeta's eyes gleamed with excitement. He hadn't expected Earth to hide warriors like this.
"No problem, Vegeta!" Nappa relaxed instantly at the plan.
Little did he know… among those "rest" was a Super Saiyan.
Poor Nappa.