While Vegeta and Nappa were traveling toward Earth in their spaceship, the battle between Raditz and Ashura on Earth was nearing its end.
Their power levels were extremely close. Although Ashura had wished to no longer fear sunlight, he still couldn't defeat Raditz. After all, Raditz had once been an upper-class Saiyan warrior. Even if his training had deteriorated over the years, his talent couldn't be denied.
I still haven't sensed Kakarot's energy… Don't tell me the kid really got killed.
Without a scouter, Raditz grew more and more anxious. If that's the case… things will get troublesome.
What do I do? Do I have to transform into a Great Ape? But if I transform, I'll lose control…
Lower-class Saiyans lost rationality as Great Apes, but the royal bloodline and upper-class warriors did not.
However, there was a condition—one had to overcome the weakness of the tail.
Raditz had been evaluated as an upper-class warrior in his youth, which was why he was assigned to the same squad as Vegeta. Theoretically, his power level should have at least matched Nappa's. But due to neglecting training later on, his combat power had dropped to only around 1500, and he hadn't even overcome his tail weakness.
He should have been someone who could transform without losing his mind—but he failed to meet the requirements.
As Raditz wrestled with the decision, he suddenly noticed a purple figure appear silently in the sky.
The moment he saw who it was, his hands and feet went cold.
Ashura, who had been preparing his finishing blow, noticed Raditz had suddenly frozen in place.
"You dare get distracted while fighting me?" Ashura thought with irritation, ready to teach Raditz a lesson. But then he realized something was wrong—Raditz was trembling.
Ashura followed Raditz's gaze and turned around. Floating in the sky was an ugly-looking creature.
"Well, if it isn't that useless Raditz," Cui said from above, mercilessly mocking him.
As for Ashura—someone with barely over a thousand in power level—Cui didn't even bother acknowledging his existence.
"Cui? What are you doing here?" Cui's arrival made Raditz finally decide—he would have to transform into a Great Ape. Otherwise, he had no chance of surviving Cui.
"Mind your place, monkey. You should be calling me Lord Cui." Kui slowly descended. Facing Raditz—who was a head taller—his eyes were filled with contempt. "Kneel and apologize, and maybe I'll consider sparing your life."
If only Vegeta were here…
Raditz knew full well the gap between himself and Kui, and didn't dare act rashly. But as a proud Saiyan, kneeling was out of the question.
Besides— even if kneeling saved his life, if Vegeta ever found out, he would kill him anyway.
"Yes, if Vegeta were here, I might show some restraint," Cui continued, his expression turning unrestrained and arrogant. "Now talk. What are you Saiyan monkeys plotting behind Lord Frieza's back?"
"You traveled all the way to this remote planet…"
"We're not plotting anything." Raditz tried to buy time, scanning the sky with the corner of his eye for any sign of the moon. "Planet Shugga is too difficult to conquer alone. I came here to find help. My younger brother, Kakarot, was sent to this planet before Planet Vegeta was destroyed by a meteor. I came here to search for him."
Raditz spoke honestly, but omitted certain "irrelevant" details—like why he had waited until now to look for his brother.
But to Cui, Raditz's explanation meant something completely different.
Cui's eyes lit up. "What? So besides you three from Vegeta's squad, there are other Saiyans still alive out there?"
"Hahaha—Vegeta, I finally found something to use against you!"
Cui forced himself to calm down. "If there's one, there must be more. Cases like your brother's can't be rare. Such a big matter—and you didn't report it to Lord Frieza? Instead you Saiyans are secretly gathering the survivors…"
"I get it now. You're planning to join forces with them and start a rebellion!!!"
Raditz: "??? I'm not— I didn't— Don't make things up!"
Rebel against Frieza? Sure, the three of them had fantasized about it every day— but only in their heads. They knew very well how terrifying Frieza was. Thinking about rebellion was one thing. Actually doing it was suicide.
Convinced he had uncovered the truth, Cui no longer considered Raditz useful.
Even without his scouter, Raditz could sense Cui's murderous intent from his eyes. If he didn't act soon, he was as good as dead.
He desperately looked to the sky again—but the moon was nowhere to be seen.
(After all, it had been blown away by Master Roshi during the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament. There was basically no way for a normal person to find it now.)
Saiyans, besides the real moon, could also create artificial moons to transform. But the downside was that the multipliers didn't reach the full x10 increase. More importantly—Raditz didn't know how to make one.
"I should think about how to torture you first…" Cui said, baring a cruel grin at Raditz. "Maybe I'll start by breaking your arms and legs."
Before Cui could act, a voice sounded behind him.
"Hey. You, the catfish-looking thing."
"Even though he betrayed me, he's still my underling."
A green figure came into view.
It was the returning Demon King Piccolo.
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