"Mwahahahaha, and here I wondered who it was. Turns out it's cowardly Raditz. Weren't you killed by these Earthlings? So you ran away, huh? When it comes to running, you really are a pro." Nappa's face went ugly at Raditz's words—first anger, then sudden mockery as something occurred to him.
Though Raditz and Nappa both served under Vegeta, their power levels differed too much. Under normal circumstances, Raditz handled the scut work.
No helping it. The Saiyans are a warrior race; rank is decided by power, especially when they were still working in Frieza's strength-worshipping army.
So while they appeared to be comrades under Vegeta, their relationship was nothing like close.
The gap in strength had simply been too great.
If Vegeta weren't here, and if there weren't so many strong Earthlings around, Nappa wouldn't have wasted words—he would have taught Raditz a lesson on the spot.
If it were the old Raditz, he would have cringed and fawned at Nappa's words. He wouldn't have shown much backbone. Otherwise he wouldn't have come to Earth to find his brother to boost his standing in front of Vegeta and the others.
From dead last to second-to-last.
But the Raditz now wasn't the Raditz of before. Call him Super Raditz and it wouldn't be wrong. With a battle power of 30,000, no one present could match him, and he had gained some special abilities as well.
"Ran away? Do you think I'm you, looking this pathetic?" Nappa was disappointed—he didn't get the spineless, cringing Raditz he'd expected.
"Do you want to die?" Nappa flew into a rage and moved to rush him, but a hand pressed hard on his right shoulder and stopped him cold.
"Don't be rash, Nappa. This Raditz is… off. He doesn't feel like before," Vegeta said, staring intently at Raditz in the sky.
"I've got a feeling his battle power has risen a lot. He might even be no weaker than me."
Trust the Saiyan prince's instincts. He was sharp. He was only off by a bit—not "no weaker," but outright stronger, even surpassing the base forms of Vegeta's hated rivals, Dodoria and Zarbon.
"No way! Vegeta, you're joking, right? Raditz was only 1,500. How could he climb that high in a year?" Nappa was stunned. Raditz had been stuck at 1,500 for ages; they'd figured he'd be there for life.
"Look at how the Earthlings react. Don't forget—the little baldy just now used some method to fight above you. And the three-eyed one and Kakarot— even they're treating Raditz like a grave threat. Think it through. Earthlings have secret arts to suppress battle power and to probe it."
"And hasn't Kakarot's power risen a lot too? There's got to be something on Earth that raises battle power. If even that waste Raditz could climb this far, then what about us? Maybe we could rise enough to challenge Frieza." Vegeta watched Raditz, hovering above them, and a flicker of greed crossed his eyes.
Vegeta could be indifferent to many things, but he was fanatical about growing stronger. His proud heart hated Frieza deeply, whether or not he knew Frieza had destroyed Planet Vegeta.
"Then let's make Raditz hand it over." Nappa stiffened, showing the same greedy look.
"Idiot. You think Raditz will meekly give it to us?" Vegeta sounded exasperated.
That Nappa—loyal, sure, but his brains… bird-brained. After too long with him, Vegeta felt his own IQ slipping.
"Then I'll beat it out of him!"
"Nappa. Are you even listening? I said Raditz might be no weaker than me. The little baldy who just hit harder than you, and Kakarot—they're all treating him like a top threat. You think you can take him?"
"Ah—sorry, Vegeta." Nappa rubbed his shining dome with a sheepish grin.
"Raditz! So you're not dead. Your ki's climbed this far… Is it because of Meruem?" Goku spoke next after Nappa, staring up at Raditz in the sky. His face was serious, but his eyes flashed with excitement.
"You dare speak the King's name aloud? Kakarot, don't think being my brother will stop me from killing you!" At the mention of Meruem, Raditz's face changed drastically. He fixed Goku with a murderous glare.
The earlier air of casual ease was gone.
Meruem? Who was that? From Raditz's tone, his swift rise in power clearly involved this person. Vegeta etched the name in his mind.
Vegeta's hearing was far better than normal. Not quite Piccolo's freakish level, but above Nappa's.
"King?" Krillin's expression turned complicated. On King Kai's planet they had heard Meruem's name. He wasn't painted as purely monstrous, but it wasn't praise either.
Don't forget King Kai's ability—if he wishes, he can watch anywhere in the galaxy, even the universe.
So Meruem and the Chimera Ant army, rising like a rebel host, naturally came under his eye. After all, Goku had honestly told King Kai that Meruem had sent them to train with him.
What Meruem was doing now was plundering other planets' resources and planting the Tree of Might. Better than massacring natives and selling their worlds, sure—but only by degrees.
The Tree of Might drains all life from a planet. That alone was reason enough for the Z-Fighters to be wary.
Only big-hearted Goku felt no particular guard against Meruem. Krillin and Tien's attitudes had shifted completely.
Besides, they and Meruem weren't comrades—just acquaintances who'd met a few times.
If Meruem knew it was King Kai who had blackened his name with the Z-Fighters, who knows whether he'd still have sent Goku to train with him.
"What are you here for?" Tien, silent till now, fixed Raditz with a stare.
"Me, three-eyes? I'm here to catch up with old friends—and to tell you some news." Raditz smiled sardonically.
"What news?" Krillin asked evenly. At present, Raditz's ki overshadowed the Z-Fighters entirely. Even with Kaio-ken, Goku might not match him.
"You two come as well, Vegeta, Nappa. Some of it concerns you." Raditz's words drew Vegeta and Nappa in, too.
"First, I need to tell you this—Vegeta, Kakarot: our mother world, Planet Vegeta, wasn't destroyed by a meteor. It was…" Raditz slowly laid out the truth of the Saiyans' fall.
"What! Frieza—I'll kill you!" "Frieza!"
Faces turned grim all around at the news.
Then Raditz added another bombshell.
"And right now… Frieza is heading to Namek." He dropped the line with relish.
"Immortality! We cannot let him have it!" For once, Vegeta and the Z-Fighters were in rare agreement.
"In a little under two months, the Frieza Force will reach Namek."
"So I want to hear your thoughts. What do you say?" Raditz looked around with interest.
"Stop him, of course. I'm going to Namek." Piccolo, healed by a senzu, spoke solemnly.
If he hadn't known, fine. But knowing now, he couldn't turn away. Namek was his mother world.
"Count me in!" Goku chimed in.
"I want to see how strong this 'Frieza' is. Good chance to test my training." Challenging the strong was always Goku's favorite thing.
"Arrogant Kakarot. Frieza isn't someone small fry like you can handle." Vegeta sneered as soon as Goku finished.
"What did you say?" The Z-Fighters were already hostile over Yamcha's death and the invasion. The air turned tense again at Vegeta's jab.
"Easy." Seeing things slip, Raditz let his full ki spread. Over 30,000—enough to pin down everyone ready to brawl.
"That kid can be revived with Dragon Balls. So let's all talk calmly. Our goal is the same: stop Frieza from getting the Dragon Balls." Raditz's words shut the Z-Fighters up.
"Hmph. I've no objection—provided certain people don't hold us back." Plans can't keep up with change; even Vegeta hadn't expected Frieza to get Namek's intel.
Compared to Frieza, everything else was a trifle. For this, he could tolerate—for now.
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