Now this is more like it. A nuclear-level attack wasn't something to take lightly.
Satisfied as he admired the destruction he had caused, Raiga called out once more, his voice converted into universal language by his energy detector.
"Hurry up and hand over your spacecraft, or I won't guarantee that my next attack won't land on your city."
A Mapaan officer, trembling and on the verge of tears, spoke up. "Sir… we don't have any spacecraft here."
Raiga narrowed his eyes, a glint of cold light flashing within them. "You don't?"
The officer turned pale, panic washing over his face. "W-we do… but only cargo ships! We Mapaans rarely interact with people from other planets, so smaller cities like this don't have advanced ships."
"A cargo ship will do. Can it perform interstellar travel?"
The officer hesitated before nodding bitterly. "It can."
Raiga remained expressionless, though deep down, he was overjoyed. As long as he had a ship capable of interstellar travel, that was all that mattered. He had long wanted to escape Frieza's surveillance.
"Do you have an energy detector?" Raiga asked again.
Perhaps realizing there was no point in resisting, the officer became much more cooperative. "Our detectors aren't very precise."
"Bring me one. Also, take me to inspect the ship you mentioned. Don't try anything funny—you know what will happen if you do. While you Mapaans might possess powerful weapons, I doubt any exist within this city. I could destroy everything before your reinforcements even arrive."
The Mapaan officer seemed to deflate completely, his face filled with despair. "Please, follow me."
Under the officer's guidance, Raiga arrived in front of a medium-sized spaceship. The vessel was around thirty meters long and eight meters tall, its body shaped like an elongated oval. Designed for cargo transport, its interior boasted an enormous storage capacity.
"Sir, this is the only interstellar-capable spacecraft we have."
Raiga inspected the ship and was immediately satisfied. He didn't care about its appearance or specifications—so long as it could leave the planet, it was enough.
"Remove all tracking functions from the ship. I don't like being monitored."
The officer replied, "All ship functions are controlled by the central computer. You can disable tracking from there."
After getting a general understanding of the ship's capabilities and acquiring a basic energy detector, Raiga dismissed the Mapaans, then boarded the ship and activated its operating system. With assistance from the onboard computer, the cargo ship gradually ascended.
As the Mapaan officer let out a long sigh of resignation, the ship swiftly departed from their city.
In truth, the Mapaans were fortunate. If another Saiyan had come to Planet Mapa, it was highly likely that a merciless massacre would have already begun.
Of course, Raiga himself wasn't sure whether Frieza would send others to wipe out any lingering Saiyan threats after he left.
...
The spaceship soared across the sky, swiftly returning to the location where Raiga had originally crash-landed on Planet Mapa.
On the dried-up riverbed, his spherical, white space pod remained embedded in the crater from its impact. Due to the planet's arid climate, even after being left exposed for over a month, the pod's exterior had merely gathered a thin layer of dust, with no significant damage to its functionality.
Raiga copied all planetary data from the pod's database—including Earth's coordinates—and transferred the information to the cargo ship. Surprisingly, the entire process took more than half a day.
As night fell, the silent sky was soon dotted with twinkling stars.
Raiga lay comfortably on the vast plains, reminiscent of the African savanna. Beside him, a campfire crackled, roasting a freshly hunted beast over the flames. With a ship, food, and a destination all set, the final preparations were all that remained before he could break free from Frieza's surveillance.
Thinking about it, life was starting to look promising. The sense of urgency he had felt upon realizing he had been reborn into the world of Dragon Ball—especially on Planet Vegeta—was finally fading.
"This cargo ship's storage space is enormous. If I stock it with food, I can carry a massive supply. Tomorrow, I'll focus on gathering as much as I can."
With that plan in mind, Raiga leaped onto the top of his spaceship, reclining with his hands behind his head.
He gazed at the vast cosmos above. The brilliant Milky Way stretched diagonally across the night sky, its silky bands shimmering from northeast to southwest. Countless stars twinkled like diamonds, scattered across the heavens.
"Beautiful."
A soft smile formed on Raiga's lips as he lay atop the ship, and before long, he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
...
The next morning.
The sun shone brightly, and the weather was pleasant.
As the gentle warmth seeped into his skin, Raiga gradually woke up. After a simple breakfast, he set off to gather supplies. He flew tirelessly across the plains, each time carrying back massive beasts several times larger than himself.
Fortunately, there were no other witnesses, or they would have been terrified by his monstrous strength.
After hours of effort, the cargo hold was completely stocked with edible meat, vegetables, and water, all carefully stored in separate compartments. Clapping his hands together in satisfaction, Raiga adjusted the ship's temperature settings via the onboard computer.
With everything prepared, he took a deep breath and cast a final, complicated glance at the old Saiyan space pod. Then, without hesitation, he unleashed an energy blast, obliterating the pod in a fiery explosion. He then crushed the energy detector in his hand.
"This marks the end of my ties to Planet Vegeta."
No one would be able to track him down now.
Stepping into the ship's main cockpit, Raiga exuded confidence as he issued his command to the central computer. "Ship, take off immediately. Set course for Earth."
"Beep!"
"Command received. Retrieving coordinates for 'Earth' from the database. Coordinates confirmed. Initiating flight sequence."
"Destination: Southern Quadrant of the North Galaxy, Solar System, Earth. Estimated travel time: six months."
"Proceed with launch?"
"Launch!"
With a bold declaration, Raiga leaned back into his seat, his gaze fixed ahead.
The cargo ship gradually lifted off, then shot through Planet Mapa's atmosphere. A powerful downward force pressed against his body as the blue planet shrank into the distance.
Moments later, the hazy glow of the planet completely vanished from sight.
A small smirk tugged at Raiga's lips. He was finally free.
Now, his journey to Earth could truly begin.