Raditz streaked across the sky at high speed. He didn't mind using a lot of his ki to accelerate because he had plenty of it, and Earth was smaller than other planets he had visited.
This attitude showed his disdain for primitive planets. Even though the human he encountered was stronger than the reports said, his contempt did not diminish.
This attitude had been built up over decades of crushing worlds under his power. He had been through arduous, even deadly, battles, but he had always managed to overcome them. What surprises could a world as weak and backward as this one hold for him?
"It seems that Dad deactivated the mental programming that the ships brought for infants. Otherwise, I can't explain why this world hasn't been ravaged by Kakarot," Raditz muttered, noticing that Earth's civilization seemed intact.
He had expected to find ruins and cratered landscapes! Of course, encountering an Earthling didn't change his mind; after all, there were always a few survivors left on the worlds the Saiyans conquered.
But this was clearly different. He could see bustling cities, and although he flew over them quickly, his keen eyesight allowed him to see relatively untouched buildings and nature.
This showed that, for some reason, his younger brother had not acted like many child Saiyans when they were sent to other planets on their first missions, as had happened to him in the past.
The Saiyan ships used to send their children took advantage of the journey to indoctrinate them, teaching them about their culture, purpose, and the importance of not interacting with the natives. In the past, many young Saiyans had deserted their people due to the upbringing they received in those remote places.
Thus, Raditz thought that Goku might not know much about his Saiyan heritage. After all, he had noticed that much of the population bore a strong resemblance to his race, except for those Earthlings with peculiar appearances.
Kakarot could have been raised by a native of this world and believed himself to be one of them! At that moment, Raditz remembered the strange rumors he had heard and read about Earth while studying it.
In the past, this planet had given birth to powerful and even legendary figures in the North Galaxy, such as Olivue. Many beings had become interested in this world for this reason, but they found something extremely frightening: people assimilated very quickly with Earthlings.
The universe is a cold place full of conflicts that escalate beyond the individual and often involve entire races. The worst thing that can happen to a race that has left its home planet is to lose its connection to its previous culture and assimilate into another.
This fate is usually suffered by the losers, who become slaves or vassals of the winning race. A species is considered officially extinct in the universe only when it has lost track of what characterized it culturally.
But Earth does this without resorting to violence! No one knows if this is the work of a higher power. After all, not everyone knows that there are truly mysterious things in the cosmos, such as magic or the Other World.
The simple fact that this world is capable of such a thing frightens many comical races but also inspires some to try to find peace here, as was the case with the last remnants of the Triclops.
"I just hope it doesn't consider me an enemy," Raditz muttered as he flew over the ocean, getting closer to the place where he could feel the calming energy shock.
They had probably already noticed him, so the Saiyan increased his speed and arrived at a deserted island with only a few trees. There, he found several figures watching him descend with curiosity.
"Hey, Goku, he really looks a lot like you," Krillin muttered after examining the figure descending from the sky. The figure bore many similarities to Goku, if one ignores his imposing height and long hair.
"But he looks angry," commented Piccolo. Sensing Raditz's arrival from the Lookout, he decided to descend when he noticed the direction of his journey.
Over the years, Piccolo and the others had interacted occasionally. In particular, he spent a lot of time with Bulma, who took advantage of the young Namekian's intelligence by teaching him science and using him as an apprentice.
"He doesn't seem as gentle as Goku. His ki is unusually cold," said Tenshinhan, tensing his body when he sensed Raditz. He reminded Tenshinhan of Tao Pai Pai, the brother of his former master Tsuru, who was a famous assassin.
Thus, Ten Shin Han could tell that the number of people Raditz had killed was infinitely greater than that of the world's best-known assassin.
"Hmm? A guy with no nose, a Namekian, and a Triclops... Earth sure is weird," Raditz said brazenly, regardless of whether he was being heard.
"Oh, the monkey can talk." Piccolo didn't know why, but even though the visitor hadn't done anything, his presence made Piccolo uncomfortable. He, too, could feel the cold Ki produced by the continuous killings.
After all, his father wasn't considered a demon for giving flowers to others but for massacring the population. The Namekian didn't have to guess much. This Raditz was probably like the Saiyans that Kami-Sama had told him about: planetary conquerors who didn't hesitate to massacre billions to fulfill their purpose.
"Haha, since I'm in a good mood, I won't do anything to you. After all, I haven't seen my little brother in a while. Kakarot! The last time I saw you, you were this big, and you were a crybaby," Raditz said, gesturing with his hands to show how big his brother was when he was a baby.
"It's me, your older brother, Raditz! I traveled for almost a year just to see you," the long-haired Saiyan declared with enthusiasm, his tail separating from his waist and waving gently behind him.
Goku, who had remained silent, stared at his brother. Some vague memories of a long-haired boy who always made faces at him flashed through his mind.
Chi-Chi, who was carrying Gohan, looked at her husband with concern but said nothing. She knew this moment was important to him. For the same reason, Bulma, who enjoyed participating in events, remained silent and paid attention to everything happening.
She focused particularly on the scouter Raditz was wearing. She narrowed her eyes because she understood these tools quite well. It was not for nothing that she had dismantled the ones that came on Goku's ship.
Surely Raditz was being spied on by both Vegeta and Freezer's direct subordinates. She had already warned the others not to reveal anything important. They had even hidden the Dragon Ball in little Gohan's hat! Who knows if the scouter had improved over time to include video monitoring?
Freezer would inevitably be drawn to the emergence of a Namekian in such a remote world, but it would take him longer to realize the implications than to show him one of the most famous objects in the universe.
The Namekians were already well-known throughout the universe for their magic, technology, and strange spheres that could supposedly grant wishes. Without a doubt, Freezer would either come to Earth or try to find Namek.
"Well? Aren't you going to say anything? Did you fall on your head as a child and lose your memory?" Raditz became a little concerned about his younger brother's unusual silence, but he used a mocking tone to speak, finally prompting Kakarot to respond.
"I remember you, but what are you doing here?" Goku asked, causing Raditz to frown because he didn't like the tone in which he was spoken to.
"Because of you! Why else would I come to this broken world? I already told you. I came to see you. You are my brother, a Saiyan, one of the last representatives of the most powerful race in the universe.
Your destiny is not to stay here but to go out into the universe, to fight and conquer planets," Raditz replied, smiling broadly, although this apparent joy did not reach his eyes.
"Oh, I'm fine here. You can leave," Goku said, his tone colder this time. The atmosphere became extremely tense. Why had he given that answer?
Bulma wondered this because she could sense Goku's emotions. She noticed that he wasn't as calm as he appeared. In fact, his emotions were quite turbulent, and his disgust was growing.
Goku's sensitivity to ki had already told him what kind of person his supposed older brother was. Just as Piccolo and Tenshinhan had realized the true reason Raditz's ki felt cold, Goku could discern it too.
"How boring. However, it seems something interesting is here." Raditz looked at Chi-Chi. Noticing his gaze, she turned slightly, preventing him from seeing too much of Gohan. However, he had already noticed him long ago.
"You have a son! That's incredible! Maybe he's nicer than you," Raditz muttered. He felt quite emotional about it, but he knew he couldn't act as he wished.
Why didn't he destroy the Scouter when he was alone? Things weren't that simple. Although he had behaved foolishly in front of Vegeta and Nappa, he was intelligent and knew that destroying the scouter abruptly without context would only cause more trouble.
As he thought about the device, an idea occurred to Raditz. He put his hand to his ear and began to laugh exaggeratedly, drawing everyone's attention to the device on his face.
"HAHAHA! Let's see how many power units this little guy has! Let's hope he deserves to live!" Raditz's words caused Goku to reveal his murderous intent, cooling the atmosphere.
'Good! That's a perfect excuse! If Goku had even a little strength, he could destroy the scouter. It's an easy loss for a fool like me, right?' Raditz thought without questioning some more important things. After all, despite his intelligence, his plans had always been that straightforward and careless.
"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH MY SON," Goku declared, standing still for a moment and subtly glancing in the direction of Bulma before turning to look strangely at Raditz and taking a step forward.
"Oops, then I'll scan you, Kakarot," Raditz said as he finally used his scouter on his younger brother. Even though he could sense the Ki, the direct feedback from the tool was extremely useful.
"100, 200, 300, 5... Huh? You're one of those who can control the emission of their natural energy! That's a complicated ability," Raditz commented. His eyes sparkled with interest. After all, he himself possessed that ability, something he was secretly proud of. It had saved him a lot of trouble.
Only someone with excellent Ki perception could detect anything in him. Such people were rare in the universe, though; only those from special planets like Metamorus or Yadrats had demonstrated this unusual perception.
What Raditz didn't know was that, for species who had long since mastered ki, the basic learning processes observed in the universe were uninteresting.
They would dismiss their supposed concealment or control of energy as flawed. Martial artists on Earth had much more sophisticated ways of controlling their ki, so their supposed concealment was more of an unintended consequence of their mastery than a deliberate practice.
"Satisfied? You should leave," Goku urged his brother again, but he refused.
"No, Kakarot. I came here for you, and I won't leave without you," Raditz declared, snapping his fingers. Bulma, who had been watching, remembered the message she had received from Kami-Sama.
'That man carries the remnants of a wish made with the Dragon Balls, just like Goku. But, unlike Goku, the energy of this wish is concentrated in his mind, as if protecting him from the influence of something, probably the tyranny of his own Ki. Help him. Don't let Goku and the others misunderstand him.'
Bulma sighed. She had not expected this scenario. After evaluating Raditz's emotions, she confirmed that he seemed to be acting deliberately, guided by caution and deep fear.
Therefore, the blue-haired girl communicated with Goku telepathically to make him understand. Then, it was time for the two brothers to take action.
Goku took a step forward, a crimson aura emanating from his body. The scouter began to recalculate the power units emitted by the Saiyan. However, Raditz paid no attention to these notifications. He also walked toward his brother, emitting a similar red aura that seemed to emulate thick blood.
The two Saiyans were about to fight!