Mount Paozu
"Chi-Chi, where's Gohan?" Goku asked his wife after searching the house upon returning from King Kai's planet.
"Naruto took him. He said there's a really good private tutor in West City who can help Gohan with his studies."
Goku's face fell. "Ah? What a shame. I was going to take him to train with me this time."
The moment Goku mentioned it, Chi-Chi became furious. She pointed at him and let loose, "Training, training, training! You come home maybe once in a blue moon, and all you do is train. As a father, you're completely useless! Gohan doesn't love fighting like you do. His dream is to become a scholar, so what we should be focusing on is his studies. You should be helping him with his schoolwork!"
Chi-Chi didn't throw a violent tantrum. She was simply venting her frustration. Their family wasn't short on money now, so managing the household wasn't as exhausting as it could've been. But Saiyans had no concept of taking care of a family, Chi-Chi handled everything.
At the mention of studying, Goku made a bitter face. "Chi-Chi, you know that's the one thing I'm worst at."
Making him study was worse than having him fight Piccolo, at least fighting was enjoyable.
"Even if you're bad at it, you could at least spend more time with us! We're your family! Do you even know how many days total you've been home these past few years?"
"We need companionship! Do you understand?!"
Goku listened intently to her words, a rare sight.
"I understand." After a long silence, Goku suddenly shouted, startling Chi-Chi. Just as she thought he'd come to his senses and planned to focus more on family, she heard him say,
"Chi-Chi, come train with us this time!"
Chi-Chi froze.
Before she could react, Goku scooped up his wife and flew toward Kami's Lookout, ignoring her protests.
"Goku, are you even listening?! Wait, put me down!"
"If we train together, we'll always be together, right? Turns out you want to train too, Chi-Chi. Should've said so earlier!"
Chi-Chi ground her teeth and screamed, "Son Goku, you idiot!"
A year passed in the blink of an eye.
At 11:43 AM, two streaks of light cut across the sky. Two attack balls landed in the center of a prosperous city, leaving deep craters in the ground.
The hatch slowly opened. Vegeta stepped out first. Seeing the Earthlings gathered around in curiosity, he scoffed. "Tch. A bunch of trash."
"What a backwater place. We wasted a whole year getting here." Nappa grumbled as he stepped out, his massive frame making the pod feel cramped. "If it weren't for hearing about those magical orbs, we never would've come to this godforsaken rock."
The moment the two appeared, every Z Fighter on Earth immediately took notice. Vegeta and Nappa didn't bother hiding their ki, their auras blazed outward like beacons.
"What powerful ki," Yamcha muttered, slowly raising his head. "I wonder if we can win."
"Tien..." Chiaotzu watched his companion with worry.
Tien patted his shoulder. "It's fine. Let's go meet these opponents from vast universe. We've trained this long. Isn't this what it was all for?"
Krillin glanced anxiously toward the Saiyans location.
"Though they're all just trash," Vegeta sneered, surveying the surroundings, "this planet looks decent. Should sell for a good price."
Nappa eyed the terrified Earthlings nearby and smiled maliciously. "Then let me give these bumpkins a warm welcome."
"Nappa, be careful. Don't use too much force, or the price won't be worth it," Vegeta warned with a sinister grin.
"Rest assured." Nappa raised two fingers. "I'll be gentle."
He lifted his fingers upward.
In an instant, the sky shattered and the earth split. The entire city was swallowed in blinding white light. Within three seconds, it was completely leveled. Nothing remained. Only Vegeta and Nappa were left standing in the wasteland.
"Hahaha! My greeting was enthusiastic enough, wasn't it?!" Nappa laughed loudly. "Too bad there's no audience left. I'd love to do it again."
"Nappa, don't go overboard." Vegeta cut off his excited teammate. "Don't forget why we came here."
"Right, Vegeta. Let's go find those wish-granting orbs. Find the strongest one on this planet. He should know where they are."
Vegeta pressed the scouter on his ear. "Eh? On such a weak planet, there are actually several units with power levels over one thousand. Interesting."
"What? Then what should we do?" Nappa asked impulsively.
"Idiot. A mere thousand-plus combat power, what is there to worry about?" Vegeta scolded. Then the scouter sounded an alarm. "Hmm? There's a guy with a combat power of 1,300 coming this way."
Nappa laughed. "1,300? Just little trash."
Soon, the fighter Vegeta mentioned appeared before them. But he was beyond their expectations. Even Vegeta showed a trace of astonishment.
Because they knew him.
"Hey, isn't that Raditz? Didn't think you'd still be kicking." Nappa's voice carried a flicker of amusement at the sight of the newcomer, then twisted into confusion. "But why's your power level dropped?"
Raditz's combat power had once been 1,500. Now, both their scouters read 1,300.
"This city..." Raditz ignored Nappa, scanning the ruins. His voice trembled. "Don't tell me you destroyed it."
"What're you on about, Raditz?" Nappa said casually. "Us Saiyans wrecking cities, that's normal, isn't it?"
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Panic cracked Raditz's voice.
"What did we do? Just said hello, same as always. You've seen us do this plenty of times." Nappa scratched his head, bewildered. He turned to Vegeta with a puzzled look. "Did this guy scramble his brains when he fell?"
"For old times sake, since we used to be teammates, I'll give you some advice." Raditz's face went pale, as if he'd just remembered something horrible. "Get out of here. Run as fast as you can!"
"Hey, have you lost your mind? Talking to us like that." Nappa's face dropped. He was about to teach Raditz a lesson.
Then several figures descended from the sky, Tien, Chiaotzu, Krillin, and Yamcha.
"Earthlings? Four of them. And they look pretty skilled." Nappa forgot about Raditz the moment he spotted the Z Fighters. He pointed his scouter at them. "Let's see what you've got. About 1,200 each. And they think they can stand in our way?"
"Nappa, these Earthlings can hide their combat power." Vegeta shot a thoughtful glance at Raditz. "The scouter readings aren't reliable."
"You're right. Can't trust the machines blindly." Nappa nodded. "Plenty of guys in the universe can hide their power. We ran into a bunch of them back on Planet Shikk, remember? One guy even pissed himself from fear. Hahaha."
"Nappa, I recall you still have some Saibamen seeds," Vegeta suggested. "Plant them."
The Saibamen were a traditional Saiyan weapon, small monsters grown to conquer planets. Their combat power varied depending on the soil, maxing out at 1,200. That number was close to Raditz's level from a year ago. If Raditz weren't able to transform into a Oozaru, Vegeta wouldn't have brought him along at all.
"Vegeta, you really love to play." Nappa laughed, pulling a bottle from his pocket. "Six left."
Nappa crouched, placed the seeds in the dirt, covered them, and poured a vial of special liCuid on top. "The soil here is perfect. Looks like we'll get a batch in their strongest state."
With strange gurgling sounds, several ugly little green monsters crawled out of the dirt.
Krillin was shocked. Just a few years ago, he wouldn't have stood a chance against them.
Outside of the Z Fighters, no one on Earth could beat these monsters.
"Let's send out four to fight. You four, kill them." Vegeta ordered. "First round, you earthlings versus Saibamen."
"This is his territory." The Saiyans and the Earthlings locked eyes, but Raditz alone lingered in the air, muttering to himself. "Pray he doesn't show up. Otherwise, even you, Vegeta, wouldn't stand a chance."
Raditz's expression hardened. "I think I felt his ki."
"One on one. Let's put on a good show." Vegeta sneered at the Z Fighters. "If you lose, you tell us where the Dragon Balls are."
Krillin's eyes narrowed. "And if you lose?"
"Then you earn the right to fight Nappa. Happy?"
'Thanks a lot,' Krillin thought dryly.
"Let me test these guys first." Krillin stepped forward.
Yamcha raised his right hand, blocking him. "I'll handle this."
"Saibaman, eliminate him." Vegeta coldly pointed at one of the creatures. For some reason, the moment he laid eyes on Yamcha, he felt a surge of intense dislike.
"Chitchikugoo!" The chosen Saibaman brimmed with confidence, its crimson eyes fixed on Yamcha with a bloodthirsty grin.
Why didn't Raditz use Saibamen? Because these creatures only obeyed those stronger than themselves. If Raditz planted one, he'd likely end up having to fight it himself.
"Hah!" Yamcha struck first, moving at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
Saibaman giggled and vanished too.
Then-
*BAM!*
Saibaman's head was smashed into the dirt.
One move. Yamcha finished it.
"Impossible. Is an Earthling this powerful?" Nappa tapped his scouter. "Combat power just hit 2,000. As expected of a race that can regulate their own strength."
"Next. Or come at me all five at once." Yamcha crooked his finger at Vegeta, his expression arrogant. "You're next."
It wasn't just Vegeta who disliked Yamcha, Yamcha disliked Vegeta even more.
"Hmph!" Vegeta flashed a malicious grin. "You let your guard down!"
A dark shadow crept silently behind Yamcha. Saibaman that had just been defeated grabbed him from behind. As Yamcha tried to break free, Saibaman's body began to glow white.
Then-
*BOOM!*
Flames and the roar of a massive explosion engulfed Yamcha's figure.
Saibaman knew it couldn't beat Yamcha. So, it self-destructed.
===============
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