Piccolo's body plummeted through the air, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Even with his immortal body, he still needed time to recover. Raditz seized the moment to mess with his head, deliberately trying to shake up Piccolo's thinking.
The current Piccolo had lost most of the hostility from his Great Demon King days, and Goku's kindness had rubbed off on him somewhat. You could say Piccolo had stepped away from being purely evil and was now somewhere between good and bad. Later, when Raditz brought him into the Z fighter group, Piccolo slowly grew attached to Gohan, which changed his whole mindset. Everything was heading in a better direction.
The only problem was that sneaky bastard Slug, who made sure to drag Piccolo down with him even as he was dying, poisoning Piccolo's mind with his own twisted will.
Luckily, Piccolo still had his sanity at this point. There was still a small chance to save him, and since Piccolo the 'Aura Farmer' was pretty smart, Raditz couldn't bring himself to just wipe him out completely.
I'm giving you a chance here. Don't waste it, Raditz thought to himself.
"Piccolo, have you seen the power of a Super Saiyan?"
"Hah... hah... too bad you can't kill me." Even though he could revive himself, the stress still had Piccolo gasping for breath and sweating bullets. Immortality could only restore him to his original state. He didn't have the crazy Saiyan physique, so all he could do was barely hang on against Raditz.
"I know words alone won't convince you." Raditz shrugged, like he'd seen this coming from a mile away.
The more casual Raditz acted, the more freaked out Piccolo got. Who knew what other tricks this guy was hiding?
He wasn't scared of the Mafuba technique, but he couldn't be sure about other moves.
Raditz smiled slightly. "Don't worry, I just want to teach you something. Your immortality isn't as amazing as you think it is."
"Damn it!"
"Don't get worked up, just listen. The so-called immortal body actually has tons of limitations. For example, there are gods who can completely erase your entire existence—body and soul. Or someone could wish to cut your lifespan short, or kill the other you..."
As he spoke, Raditz's laugh got more and more over-the-top, so exaggerated it was downright creepy.
Goku caught on when he heard this and shouted, "Oh! Piccolo and Kami's lives are connected!"
"What?" Vegeta, hearing this for the first time, was completely stunned.
He still didn't know Piccolo's backstory, let alone this weird thing about two people sharing one life.
But Piccolo knew exactly what "the other you" meant—Kami!
"No way. If you kill Kami, there won't be any Dragon Balls left on Earth. You're bluffing, Raditz."
"Maybe, maybe not. I'm different from Goku though. You should know what I'm capable of."
After saying that, Raditz went quiet. The two stared each other down—one with a calm smile, the other already drenched in sweat.
Finally, Piccolo cracked. He knew Raditz was way more ruthless than Goku, and might actually kill Kami to get to him.
"What do you want me to do?"
Raditz snapped his fingers. "Tell me where the remaining Super Dragon Balls are, then work for me."
Being threatened sucked, but when someone had your life in their hands, anyone would have to give in—even Piccolo.
After Slug got mixed into his personality, his greedy side became way more obvious.
Piccolo's mouth turned down in a frown, and he said reluctantly, "I only found this one. I'm still searching for the rest."
"Really? Guess I'll have to ask Zuno. Maybe I'll check with Jaco sometime too. Anyway, there should be some in Universe 6. With my current state, I don't have a shot at crossing universes..." Raditz muttered to himself for a bit, then decided to secure the first wishing orb.
He glanced at Goku. "Watch Piccolo. I'll be right back."
With that, Raditz searched for energy signatures in the direction of Planet Bodo to see if any escaping spaceships were left, then teleported away following the remaining traces!
Reaching outer space, Raditz immediately put up a protective barrier and flew through the vast, endless space. The bright galaxies and brilliant lights painted countless colors across the dark void.
Among them was one twinkling planet that caught his attention. It was the only thing giving off this mesmerizing glow in the darkness. Layers of light radiated from its translucent core, with stars scattered throughout!
The massive Dragon Ball was the size of a regular planet. Compared to Namek's Dragon Balls, it was like comparing an ocean to a water drop.
The huge size matched the incredible power of the Super Dragon Ball. It could grant almost any wish—across star systems, across universes. Even killing gods might not be impossible!
Seeing such an enormous Dragon Ball, Raditz quietly gathered his energy, flew to the Super Dragon Ball's surface, and placed his hand on it. Right now, all he could see was endless crystal surface stretching in every direction. Light danced through the crystal, and stars sparkled beneath his feet.
Here we go! Raditz's heart pounded hard. He focused all his energy and concentrated his full strength. The mental power he'd been training for so long burst out instantly, rushing across the Super Dragon Ball's surface, trying to cover the entire planet-sized sphere.
His massive energy field only made it halfway before the veins on Raditz's forehead bulged and his strength hit its limit. The Super Dragon Ball was just too big!
"Half should be enough," Raditz thought and decided to give it a shot.
His mental power spread like a huge net that caught half the Super Dragon Ball. At the same time, Raditz groaned and used Instant Transmission!
Suddenly, an incredible space distortion rippled through the universe! The planet-sized Super Dragon Ball vanished into thin air!
Whoosh!
"Gah... Raditz, what the hell are you doing?!"
King Kai, who'd been napping in his chair, got jolted awake by the loud rumbling. When he opened his eyes, he saw a huge, crystal-clear orange planet right in front of him, super close to his own planet.
And there was Raditz, breathing hard like all his strength had been drained.
For a moment, King Kai was speechless.
"Hey, I really couldn't think of anywhere else suitable to stash this thing. Lord Kai, your place is pretty empty anyway, so mind if I borrow some space?"
"This is where a god like me lives! You can't just use it as your storage room!"
Raditz looked up at the sky and said casually, "I remember that time in the West Galaxy..."
"I said storage room! This... near my planet... ah, you're right, it is pretty empty. Just move it over here." King Kai suddenly changed his tune when he heard "West Galaxy"—after all, he owed Raditz a favor, which made him feel awkward about refusing.
Raditz caught his breath a few times, looked at the Super Dragon Ball, and smiled with satisfaction. The first wishing orb was his!
"Hey Raditz, why does this thing look like a Dragon Ball?"
"It is a Dragon Ball."
"It's so huge..." King Kai was blown away, his worldview getting rocked again.
The King Kai didn't even know about Super Dragon Balls. There was definitely something wrong with Universe 7's god system! Whatever, let him be shocked on his own. Raditz pressed his fingers to his forehead and disappeared in an instant...