One year had passed since the great battles of the past. Events unfolded just as they had in the canon story—peace settled on Earth for a time, yet the wheels of fate were already turning once more.
This was the destined day. The day Raditz would arrive.
The day when the existence of Saiyans—and proof of extraterrestrial life—would break through the veil of Earth's ignorance.
For most, it was just another calm morning. For Bulma, however, her world was about to collapse.
When the long-haired warrior Raditz descended, his very presence shook the foundations of her beliefs. Standing tall, armored, and utterly alien, he revealed truths Bulma never thought possible.
She trembled, her mind refusing to accept the words spilling from his mouth.
Aliens? A Saiyan race? And Goku… the cheerful, naive man who had been her friend since childhood… was also one of them?
Her eyes fell to the faint scar of where Goku once had a tail. Memories of that strange appendage flooded back. So it wasn't just some anomaly… it was the proof all along.
Before she could process more, Raditz moved with cold efficiency. Just as in the canon tale, he seized young Gohan and lifted him like prey.
His ultimatum rang through the air: Goku must choose—join his Saiyan brother or lose his son forever.
But Goku's heart had long chosen. His family, his friends, and this Earth were his home. He turned to Piccolo, his unlikely ally, and together they launched into pursuit, determined to rescue Gohan.
What none of them realized… was that they were being watched.
Far from the battlefield, Rudra stood in silence, his eyes sharp, his breathing calm. He had seen every detail of the unfolding chaos, and within him, a single thought repeated—not yet.
He was waiting. Waiting for the exact moment destiny faltered, for the struggle to reach its peak. That would be his time to step in.
And soon, that moment arrived.
Raditz proved stronger than expected. His power exceeded what Piccolo and Goku had prepared for. Piccolo's famed Special Beam Cannon—his trump card—was unleashed with a roar of energy.
Once. It missed.
Twice. It missed again.
The battlefield shifted into despair. Exhausted and battered, Piccolo and Goku found themselves cornered.
Goku fell, his body writhing with pain, his chest rising and falling in ragged gasps. He collapsed against the dirt, unable to stand, every nerve screaming in agony.
Piccolo, proud and stubborn, refused to give in. But Raditz's relentless assault left him staggering, blood dripping, his breaths shallow.
Death loomed closer with each strike.
And then… something changed.
Raditz's scouter emitted a sudden shrill beep. The glass lens flashed data across its surface: Unidentified Power Signature Detected. Power Level… 200.
Raditz froze. His head snapped toward the reading.
A figure emerged from the distance, walking calmly as though the battlefield were nothing more than an open street.
It was Rudra.
The air around him hummed faintly, though not with Ki in the usual sense. Life energy was Ki, yes—but Rudra's strength was rooted in something deeper. Chakra was not merely energy; it was the integral resonance of the soul. Seven cores aligned within, each a gateway leading toward Nirvana itself.
That was his truth. His secret.
Still, to the world—and to Raditz's scouter—it looked like nothing more than an average human fighter with a meager power level of 200.
Rudra allowed this misinterpretation. It was deliberate. He had trained his Ki manipulation for years, masking the vastness of his true potential. To reveal his real strength now would be to expose everything. And he was not ready for that.
Piccolo and Goku both turned their weary eyes to the newcomer. Neither knew who he was. Neither knew if he was enemy or ally. But at that moment, any chance at survival was welcome.
Even Kami, watching from the Lookout above, narrowed his eyes. A human with such unusual energy… yet the outcome, he believed, would not change. Fate would flow the same course, regardless of intrusions.
Raditz scoffed at the sight of Rudra.
Without hesitation, he launched forward, his armored frame cutting through the air like a spear.
Rudra moved just as suddenly, his body propelled upward in a swift strike.
Their paths collided.
But Raditz, seasoned warrior that he was, sidestepped at the last second. His lips curled in disdain.
"Humph…! That was close," Raditz muttered with a sideways glance.
The Saiyan felt no fear. To him, Rudra was just another weakling throwing himself at death.
With a flick of his hand, Raditz gathered a sphere of blazing Ki, its glow casting sharp shadows across the battlefield. He hurled it straight at Rudra.
Piccolo's and Goku's eyes widened in unison.
But Rudra didn't move.
He didn't flinch. He didn't even raise a hand. He simply stood there, as though the attack meant nothing.
The blast crashed into him directly, exploding in a violent roar. Dust and light consumed the air.
Raditz burst into laughter, his chest shaking with arrogance. To him, it was over already. Another fool eliminated.
Yet… the laughter faded.
His eyes sharpened. His scouter blinked in error. His breath caught.
From within the smoke, a silhouette emerged—calm, unharmed.
Rudra walked forward, his expression untouched. The energy that had struck him… was gone.
"What? How is this possible?" Raditz's voice cracked with disbelief.
Because the impossible had happened. Rudra had absorbed the Ki blast entirely.