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As the Z-Fighters were still on their way, three space pods suddenly tore through the atmosphere and slammed toward the ground at terrifying speed.
By the time the group rushed to the landing site, the once-busy district had already turned into a field of rubble.
In the center of the ruins stood three figures, tall, medium, and short. Each wore an unfamiliar battle suit, a thin scouter covered their left eye, and most eye-catching of all, thick tails were wrapped around their waists.
Since Goku had learned the truth of his origins and the Saiyan race from Kami, the sight of those tails instantly made him realize the connection between himself and these newcomers. Unlike the original timeline, Raditz hadn't come alone this time. He arrived with Vegeta and Nappa.
A long-haired Saiyan who looked a lot like Goku stepped forward.
"Kakarot, you've grown, but I recognized you right away. You look exactly like our father.
But look at what you've been doing all these years on Earth. Why are the humans you were supposed to wipe out still alive and well?"
...
When Vegeta failed to get any information out of Goku about the Dragon Balls, he decided to beat the answers out of them.
Far away in West City, Broly also sensed the arrival of the three Saiyans. A quick look through his True Eye told him something was off. These three… their power levels weren't wrong because they were weak. They were wrong because they were too strong.
Raditz, still the weakest of the trio, already had a battle power close to 2,500. Vegeta and Nappa were even more shocking. Instead of the expected 20,000 and 8,000, Vegeta was pushing 40,000 while Nappa was hovering around 15,000.
And that was just their resting power. Once they got serious, their numbers would definitely shoot even higher.
Broly let out a low, dangerous laugh. "Heh… hahaha… now that's interesting. A butterfly effect, huh?" Bulma and the other four girls who knew him immediately understood that smile. It only appeared when Broly's blood was boiling and his fighting spirit started going wild.
Maybe it was because he had trained Goku personally for so long. With Goku being far stronger than in the original timeline, Vegeta's team had also ended up way stronger than they were supposed to be.
But Broly wasn't bothered. If anything, he looked even more excited. He had waited a long time for an opponent who might actually be worth fighting.
To him, only one of them qualified: Vegeta. And only Vegeta after transforming into a Great Ape. In his current base form, Broly honestly couldn't bring himself to care.
...
While Broly was getting fired up, things were going terribly wrong on the battlefield.
Other than Goku and Piccolo, the rest of the Z-Fighters were getting tossed around like rag dolls. Vegeta and the others were watching from above, arms crossed, while six Saibamen tore into the Earth warriors. Two surrounded Goku, two jumped Piccolo, and the last pair ganged up on Tien, Chiaotzu, Krillin, and Yamcha.
Goku and Piccolo could hold their own, but the other four were completely overwhelmed.
Because Vegeta's group had arrived more than three years earlier than expected, the Z-Fighters didn't have the power they were supposed to have by this point. Goku was stronger thanks to Broly's training—around 1,500 at the moment—but he had never traveled Snake Way, never trained under King Kai, and never learned Kaioken or the Spirit Bomb. He could suppress two Saibamen, sure, but beating them quickly wasn't happening.
As for the others… without the proper three years of preparation, the Saibamen were a nightmare.
But Piccolo was the one feeling the most pressure. Even these small fry created by the Saiyans were this tough. So how strong were the three actual Saiyans?
His gaze drifted briefly to the shortest Saiyan, the one standing confidently in the center. The other two clearly treated him with respect, which meant he was the real monster among them.
Piccolo felt his stomach tighten.
In the middle of the chaos, he caught sight of Goku casually fighting like he was sparring in the World Martial Arts Tournament, with absolutely zero sense of urgency. That relaxed, almost cheerful expression made Piccolo want to scream.
Seeing Krillin and Tien on the verge of collapse, Piccolo finally snapped.
"Goku, you idiot! Do you not see what's happening right now? How can you still act so relaxed? The Earth is about to be wiped out! Are you seriously not worried at all?!"
But Goku, dodging a punch like nothing was wrong, replied calmly:
"Relax. Earth isn't getting destroyed. There's someone who hasn't shown up yet. Not sure what's keeping him, but if he gets here in time, he'll take care of this for sure."
Piccolo froze.
If he didn't know Goku as well as he did, he would've called that the dumbest thing he'd ever heard. But Goku wasn't the type to place his hopes on someone else. If he said this mystery person was strong, he meant it.
That only made Piccolo more curious. He shifted closer to Goku and shouted:
"Goku, are you saying there's someone even stronger than you on this planet? Who is he? Why haven't I heard of him? Wait… don't tell me… it's him?"
"If it's really that guy, then… maybe we actually stand a chance."
"....."