The sea breeze carried a salty, fishy scent as it swept grains of sand against the pink walls of the Kame House.
The peaceful island that once felt like a quiet paradise now seemed frozen in tension. The air itself felt heavy enough to suffocate anyone who breathed it.
Krillin collapsed into a beach chair, clutching his chest. His face looked pale as paper, and his breathing came out in loud, ragged gasps.
"I can't… that last punch… it drained all my energy… cough…"
His appearance looked so weak and pitiful that anyone watching might feel genuine sympathy.
That is, unless they noticed his hand holding a teacup perfectly steady, with his pinky finger slightly raised.
"Dad,"
Trin squatted beside him, holding a bag of potato chips he had quietly taken from the house. He munched happily while speaking with a full mouth.
"You're acting pretty well, but I just saw you refill your tea."
"Shhh."
Krillin shot him a glare and casually pulled a lollipop from his system inventory, stuffing it into Trin's mouth.
"What do kids know? This is called strategy. Just enjoy your snacks. You're sitting in the best VIP seat to watch the fight."
Trin obediently closed his mouth.
Father and son sat calmly at the edge of a battlefield that smelled of smoke and destruction, somehow creating the strange atmosphere of a relaxed seaside vacation.
Meanwhile, at the center of the battlefield, the tension had reached its breaking point.
"Hmph. If that bald guy can only throw one punch, then I'll deal with you two first."
Raditz rolled his neck, the joints cracking loudly.
His armor was shattered and blood hung at the corner of his mouth, yet the violent aura unique to a Saiyan only grew stronger with the pain. It felt like a wild beast slowly awakening.
Goku and Piccolo exchanged a glance.
Years of rivalry suddenly turned into silent agreement. Fighting alone meant certain defeat. Their only chance was to fight together.
"Piccolo, looks like we have no choice. Take off the weights!" Goku said seriously.
"Tch. I don't need you telling me what to do."
Piccolo snorted, though he still reached up and removed the heavy white cape and thick turban that weighed dozens of kilograms.
Goku quickly removed his own specially designed weighted vest, wristbands, and boots.
Thud! Boom!
When the equipment hit the sand, it sounded like massive objects crashing to the ground. The beach trembled slightly and a cloud of sand rose into the air.
Raditz's mocking expression froze for a moment. He instinctively tapped the cracked scouter attached to his face.
"Beep… beep…"
The numbers on the lens began jumping wildly.
"Power level 322… wait, it's still rising. 408… 416!"
Raditz frowned, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes.
"Just removing clothes increases their power levels? Some cheap trick… no. Their energy is actually increasing."
From his seat in the distance, Krillin's augmented vision activated automatically. Light blue streams of data refreshed across his field of view.
[Target: Son Goku]
[Race: Saiyan, Low-Class Warrior]
[Current Power Level: 416]
[Status: High fighting spirit. Physical potential not yet fully developed.]
[Target: Piccolo]
[Race: Namekian, Combat Type]
[Current Power Level: 408]
[Status: Suppressed anger. Ready to risk everything.]
[Target: Raditz]
[Race: Saiyan, Elite Warrior]
[Current Power Level: 1500]
[Status: Lightly injured. Enraged. Overconfident.]
"Four hundred versus fifteen hundred. Nearly a fourfold gap."
Krillin sighed inwardly.
This was not a difference that passion or determination could overcome. In the early Dragon Ball era, power level gaps like this were crushing.
"Let's go, Piccolo!"
Goku shouted as the sand beneath his feet exploded outward. He shot toward Raditz like an arrow released from a bow.
Freed from the restraints of the weights, his speed created a trail of afterimages in the air.
Piccolo followed immediately behind him. The Namekian's flexible body moved like a hunting serpent, attacking from a sharp angle at Raditz's flank.
"Too slow. You move like turtles."
Raditz stood still without even raising his guard, a cruel smile hanging on his face.
As Goku's heavy punch flew toward him, Raditz simply leaned slightly to the side. His thick brown tail snapped outward like a whip.
Crack!
The tail struck Goku across the side. Goku spun through the air like a top before crashing into the ocean.
At the same moment, Piccolo's knife-like hand slashed toward Raditz's neck from behind.
Raditz did not even turn his head.
He drove his elbow backward with perfect timing, striking Piccolo directly in the stomach.
"Ugh!"
Piccolo's green face instantly turned dark purple. Bitter stomach acid rushed up his throat as his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
The difference was simply too great.
Even after removing the weights, even while fighting together, the two of them still looked like toddlers challenging a fully armed soldier when facing Raditz's power level of 1500.
"So this is Earth's strongest?"
Raditz sneered.
He grabbed Piccolo by the antenna and seized Goku by the ankle just as he rose from the water. Like swinging two sacks, he slammed their bodies together.
Boom!
Both of them groaned as their bones nearly rattled apart.
Raditz casually threw them into the air and raised both hands. Pink spheres of energy formed instantly in his palms.
"Let me show you something."
Two blazing pink energy blasts cut through the sky, chasing after the falling warriors.
Boom!
Two massive fireballs exploded in midair, black smoke rolling across the sky.
Goku and Piccolo crashed onto the beach in miserable condition. Their clothes were torn to shreds and burn marks covered their skin. The air smelled strongly of scorched flesh.
"Cough… this guy… he's like a monster…"
Goku struggled to push himself up. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes remained bright and fearless.
"Shut up. I can see that myself."
Piccolo clenched his teeth.
Five years ago, he had already suffered humiliation at the hands of Krillin.
Now, five years later, some random alien had arrived and beaten him into the ground again. The frustration nearly drove him mad.
"Dad, Uncle Goku looks like he's about to lose."
Trin stopped chewing his chips, concern appearing on his small face.
"Are we really not going to help?"
Krillin quietly opened the mission interface and calculated silently.
[System Mission: The Art of Acting]
[Mission Objective: Ensure Son Goku dies and travels to King Kai's planet for training.]
[Mission Reward: Unlock Namek Saga Map Pack. Trin Potential Development +5%. All Attributes +50.]
"He won't die. Your godfather is tougher than he looks."
Krillin took a sip of tea, hiding the faint trace of reluctance in his eyes.
"Trin, remember this. Sometimes temporary retreat and sacrifice allow someone to stand higher in the future."
Trin nodded slowly. He did not fully understand, but he trusted his unbeatable father.
If Goku did not experience this death, he would never learn the Kaio-ken or the Spirit Bomb. When stronger enemies appeared in the future, far more lives would be lost.
That was also why the system would not allow Krillin to interfere.
At that moment, Raditz landed slowly on the beach. He looked at the two battered fighters with disappointment and contempt.
"Kakarot, you are a disgrace to the Saiyan race."
Raditz stepped forward slowly. His boots crunched against the sand.
"You carry the bloodline of the strongest warriors in the universe, yet you choose to live with weak creatures and become this pathetic."
"If Nappa and Vegeta saw you like this, they would probably tear you apart and throw your remains away."
"Vegeta?"
Even while severely injured, Goku's curiosity about strong fighters surfaced immediately.
"Who's that?"
"Hmph. The surviving Saiyan prince. A true prodigy warrior. His power far exceeds mine."
Raditz smirked.
"Compared to someone like him, I'm only a mid-level fighter. But that doesn't matter. You're going to die here today, so there's no point knowing more."
When Piccolo heard that Vegeta was far stronger than Raditz, his pupils shrank.
One Raditz had already pushed them to despair.
And there were even stronger ones?
Just how terrifying was this universe?
"Goku!"
Piccolo suddenly shouted through telepathy, his voice urgent.
"Listen carefully! I've developed a new technique. I was saving it to defeat that bald guy, but now I have to use it on Raditz!"
"Really? That's great!"
Goku's eyes lit up like someone who had just found hope.
"But!"
Piccolo's teeth clenched as veins bulged on his forehead.
"This technique needs time to charge. At least one minute. You have to hold him off. Even if it costs your life."
"One minute?"
Goku glanced at the towering warrior across from him and gave a bitter smile.
Then his expression hardened with determination.
"It'll be tough… but I'll try. Leave it to me!"
"Don't die, Son Goku!"
Piccolo shouted and suddenly retreated.
He pressed two fingers to his forehead as his energy began compressing and gathering rapidly. Golden electric currents started crackling around his body.
The terrifying surge of power immediately caught Raditz's attention.
"Oh? What's that green guy trying to do?"
Raditz prepared to rush forward and interrupt.
But an orange figure stepped in front of him without hesitation.
Covered in blood yet burning with determination, Goku raised the stance of the Turtle School.
"Your opponent is me!"