Universe 6, Earth.
Capsule Corporation headquarters, Bulma's home.
"Hey, Ken, how's Krillin and the others' training going?" Bulma asked.
"They've already surpassed Earth's Kami. They've each gone back down to the surface to continue their own training," Ken said, glancing down with his staff.
"Will they really be okay?" Bulma asked, a little worried.
Ken shook his head.
"Huh? They won't be? Then don't let them go stick their noses in it," Bulma said in a hurry.
"Sometimes even cannon fodder has its uses," Ken said with a faint smile.
"Then… Broly isn't planning to step in this time?" Bulma pointed at Broly beside them, who was happily eating steamed buns.
"He can show his face at the right moment," Ken chuckled.
Bulma fell silent and couldn't help letting out a sigh. "I never should've let Ai go. If Ai were still here, what's there to be afraid of from some Saiyan prince?"
"Best not to dwell on the past," Ken said with a laugh.
Bulma was left speechless and turned to leave.
Krillin and the others' training had officially begun.
…
Universe 6.
Raditz had parked his space pod on this planet, easily taken over the royal palace, and was enjoying a king's treatment here.
"Didn't expect to find such a nice planet this close to Earth," Raditz said, already acting like he owned the place.
Kneeling around him were a group of the planet's natives, not daring to even breathe loudly.
These aliens looked a bit strange—somewhat similar to Guldo from the Ginyu Force.
"Hey, do you guys know that fellow Guldo?" Raditz asked the king with a grin, gnawing on a drumstick.
At the same time, he had both feet propped up on the king's back.
The king frantically shook his head in terror.
"I thought you might be his relatives. As far as I know, Guldo's home planet shouldn't be in this region," Raditz mused with a smile. "Maybe some of his race migrated here a long time ago. I've heard that guy Guldo has all kinds of special skills. None of you can do anything like that?"
The king shook his head again, indicating they knew nothing and certainly had no psychic abilities.
"You're really killing the mood here," Raditz said, his tone turning even more scornful.
That same day—
A strangely shaped spaceship streaked down from the sky and landed on the surface of the planet, right near the royal palace.
The hatch opened, and a little boy who looked about five years old stepped out.
He wore a oddly styled battle suit, with short black hair standing upright and a young face that carried a hint of righteousness.
The boy strode straight into the royal palace and met Raditz's gaze as Raditz sat on the throne.
"Oh? Who's this? An Earthling?" Raditz blinked and narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. "You're still wet behind the ears. What are you doing here? Earth's technology shouldn't be advanced enough to build a ship that can reach this planet."
The reason Raditz called him an Earthling was because the boy's facial features looked somewhat like a human from Earth.
"I heard you've been throwing your weight around on Planet Kut. As a member of the Peacekeeping Force, I'm here to arrest you!" the boy snorted.
"I didn't mishear that, did I? What did you just say? You're here to arrest me? Do you even know who I am?" Raditz said, suddenly interested. He tapped the scouter on his face. "Let's see what your battle power is."
The scouter quickly locked onto the boy and started reading his power level.
"Oh? Battle power 500? Not bad. Stronger than my low-class warrior little brother," Raditz laughed. "But with that little bit of strength, you think you can challenge me, Raditz?"
Boom.
The boy didn't bother answering. His ki suddenly exploded.
Beep beep!
Raditz watched the numbers on the scouter race upward.
When he saw the final number, his soul nearly flew out of his body.
"Th–th–this can't be. No way this is possible! A battle power of 10,000!" Raditz stammered, trembling. "The scouter must be broken!"
In a flash, the boy's figure blurred, and he appeared right in front of Raditz.
Smack!
The boy swung his hand and slapped Raditz's face so hard his features twisted out of shape.
"Aargh—!"
Raditz let out a miserable scream as his whole body was sent flying, slamming into the wall behind him.
He slid down the wall, overwhelmed by terror, his face ugly with fear as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
"Y–you… who the hell are you?" Raditz asked, stunned, staring at the boy in horror.
"A Saiyan. Cabba," the boy said calmly. "You've violated Galactic Law. I'm taking you to the main prison."
As he spoke, he strode forward, a pair of cuffs appearing in his hand.
"W–what did you say? Saiyan? You said you're a Saiyan?" Raditz froze, his eyes flickering wildly as he hurriedly asked.
"That's right." Cabba nodded and stepped up to snap the cuffs onto Raditz's wrists.
Raditz: "…"
"Hmph. You think something like this can restrain me?" Raditz snorted, full of disdain.
"These are forged from cosmic essence blended with ultra-high-grade alloy. There's no way someone at your level can break them," Cabba said calmly.
Raditz strained with all his might, trying to snap the cuffs.
No matter how hard he tried, he only managed to make his wrists ache. The cuffs didn't budge.
Raditz's eyes went wide in disbelief.
But then something suddenly occurred to him. He quickly called out to Cabba, who was turning away toward the king. "Wait! I'm a Saiyan too! I'm one of your people. You shouldn't be treating me like this!"
"Saiyans are elite warriors of universal peace. We'd never do things like this. You don't deserve to be called a Saiyan," Cabba said with a cold snort.
Raditz was completely lost.
"Are you alright, Your Majesty?" Cabba went over and helped the king to his feet.
"Thank you, thank you!" the king said, bowing again and again.
"I've already subdued this villain. I'll take him back and lock him up," Cabba said with a smile.
"What a heroic young man!" the king exclaimed, full of praise.
"If you run into any trouble you can't handle in the future, our Peacekeeping Force will rush over as soon as we get the call!" Cabba saluted.
Raditz: "????"
That's the first time I've ever heard such a righteous speech.
Did I walk onto the wrong set?
Elite warriors of universal peace? Saiyans?
Aren't we Saiyans supposed to invade other planets, wipe out the inhabitants, and then sell the planet?
Since when did we become elite peacekeepers?
Raditz really couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Y–your tail. Where's your tail? You say you're a Saiyan, so why don't you have a tail?" Raditz demanded. "There's only one answer—you're not a Saiyan. You're a fake."
"My tail?" Cabba stopped and looked back at Raditz.
Raditz deliberately showed off the tail behind him.
"Looks like I'll have to bring you before His Majesty the King and let him decide your fate," Cabba said, resting his chin in his hand, his young face falling into deep thought. "I've heard that a long, long time ago, Saiyans did have tails… but after constant evolution, our Saiyans' tails disappeared ages ago. This guy is definitely a weirdo! We'll take you back and let everyone have a look."
"King? King Vegeta is still alive?" Raditz's eyes lit up at the word "king."
"King Vegeta?" Cabba looked confused. "What are you talking about? Who's King Vegeta?"
"You've got to be joking. If you're a Saiyan, you should at least know King Vegeta," Raditz shouted.
"I don't," Cabba said, shaking his head.
"Then you must at least know Planet Vegeta, right? Are you Saiyans that split off from Planet Vegeta long ago?" Raditz pressed.
"Planet Vegeta? Never heard of it," Cabba said, shaking his head again.
Raditz: "…"
"Then tell me—what planet do you Saiyans live on?" Raditz demanded.
"Planet Sadala," Cabba answered honestly.
"Sadala?" Raditz's voice jumped several pitches.
"What? Surprised?" Cabba snorted.
Raditz stared hard at Cabba's battle armor, his mind going hazy for a moment.
"Sadala? You said you live on Planet Sadala?" Raditz repeated in shock.
"Of course," Cabba replied, tugging Raditz toward the ship outside.
The people of the planet, seeing Raditz captured, all raised their hands and cheered, thanking Cabba from the bottom of their hearts.
Many of them brought local specialties and tried to cram them into Cabba's ship.
"No need, really, there's no need. Thank you, everyone. This is just my duty," Cabba said, bowing and thanking them one by one.
Raditz was completely dumbfounded.
Not because the natives were showering the kid with gifts.
But because… this kid actually lived on Planet Sadala?
Wasn't Planet Sadala destroyed a long time ago?
Why is it still around?
He once again took a careful look at Cabba's armor.
By now, the two of them had already boarded the spaceship.
The ship took off and soon soared into the void of space.
Raditz glanced at Cabba's clothes, then thought of the ship from earlier, and suddenly threw his head back, knocking the back of his skull hard against the ship's hull.
"What kind of trick are you trying to pull?" Cabba frowned.
"No, no, I'm not trying anything. I finally figured it out!" Raditz said, overjoyed.
"Figured what out?" Cabba asked, puzzled.
"I think I've traveled through time! I must have gone back more than a thousand years!" Raditz said excitedly. "I've time-traveled to an era when Planet Sadala still exists!"
Cabba: "????"
"I'm the chosen one!" Raditz burst into wild laughter.
But his laughter didn't last long.
Cabba stepped up and slapped him twice across the face, knocking out several of his teeth.
"I don't really get what you're talking about," Cabba said with a snort, "but you killed a lot of people on Planet Kut. You'll be sentenced to death. Still, since you're a Saiyan, they might commute it to life in prison."
"You're taking me to Sadala?" Raditz asked excitedly.
"A Saiyan with a tail—His Majesty will be very interested. He might use you for experiments, so you'd better be mentally prepared," Cabba said with a smile.
"W–what did you say? I came from the future to this era! I should count as your descendant! You can't treat me like this!" Raditz panicked.
"We'll talk about it once we get to Sadala," Cabba said with a huff.
After a long, long stretch of travel, Raditz still hadn't seen Planet Sadala.
"Why aren't we there yet?" Raditz was on the verge of tears.
"It's very far away, alright?" Cabba said flatly.
Raditz: "…"
…
Another long yet fleeting stretch of time passed.
Universe 9, Realm of the God of Destruction.
Ever since Bardock became this universe's God of Destruction, this place had been renamed Planet Bardock.
"Bardock-sama, are you ready?" Mojito asked, a stone floating in his hand as he called out to Bardock across from him.
Bardock gave a slight nod. His expression grew serious, yet he didn't transform.
Whoosh.
With a flick of Mojito's hand, the stone hurtled at high speed toward Bardock.
"Hakai!" Bardock swung his arm. A purple-red aura of destructive energy enveloped the stone.
The football-sized rock was instantly erased by Bardock's power of destruction, reduced to nothingness without leaving a trace.
"Excellent. As expected of Bardock-sama—you grasped the technique so quickly," Mojito said with a smile. "Though you're still just at the beginner level."
"It's nothing special," Bardock said calmly. Then he asked, "It's been almost four more months now. What level have I reached?"
"Aiya, Bardock-sama, haste makes waste," Mojito sighed. "But you have made progress. You've gone up one level—you're now at level 32."
"Only 32…" Bardock's expression grew even heavier.
He'd spent ten months and barely gone up two levels.
At that pace it was only about two levels a year.
And the higher the level, the harder it would be to advance.
At this speed, it would take at least ten more years before he could defeat the weakest God of Destruction, Champa.
Bardock felt an enormous pressure weighing on him.
"Ten years…" Bardock fell silent.
"Actually, Champa-sama isn't the weakest God of Destruction anymore. Back then he was, yes, but now it should be Ai-sama. After all, when they said 'weakest God of Destruction' at the time, Ai-sama hadn't become a God of Destruction yet," Mojito said with a gentle smile.
Bardock: "…"
"I don't hit women," Bardock said, shaking his head. "I'll still challenge that fat cat."
"I think Bardock-sama should start by polishing his fundamentals," Mojito said thoughtfully.
Bardock nodded.
As long as he could get stronger, he didn't care how.
"Kakarot, Raditz, Gine… wait for me," Bardock muttered under his breath.
But the moment he finished, an image of Gine suddenly popped into his mind.
"Why is my name last?" Gine glared at him in his head.
A bead of sweat rolled down Bardock's cheek as he weakly protested, "There's no particular order…"
"Even if there isn't, my name should still be first!" Gine argued righteously.
Bardock couldn't help shaking his head.
I miss my family so much I'm starting to hallucinate…
…
Universe 7, King Kai's Planet in the North Area.
Goku raised both hands high above his head, quickly gathering a small Spirit Bomb.
The Spirit Bomb formed in Goku's right hand.
"Okay, King Kai!" Goku called, taking a ready stance.
"Good. Let's begin! You have to keep up with this brick's super speed!" King Kai said. A brick floated in front of him as he called out to Goku.
Whoosh!
Under King Kai's control, the brick shot off, circling the planet at high speed.
Goku focused his breathing, then suddenly hurled the Spirit Bomb in his hand.
Boom!
The Spirit Bomb smashed straight into the fast-moving brick.
Goku grinned.
"Amazing," King Kai said, stunned, then praised him over and over. "Well done, Goku! I didn't think you'd get this good with the Spirit Bomb."
"This is the result of hard training," Goku said with a nod and a smile.
"Like I told you before, the Spirit Bomb gathers energy from plants, humans, animals, all living things, even the atmosphere itself, and releases it all at once!" King Kai explained. "On a tiny planet like ours, the Spirit Bomb already has this much destructive power. The Earth you'll be fighting on is many times larger than this place, and it has the sun behind it as a massive energy source! The Spirit Bomb you gather there will be unimaginably huge. It might even destroy the very Earth you're supposed to protect. So unless it's absolutely necessary, you must never use it. Got that?"
"Got it," Goku said with a nod. "It's fine. I can beat Vegeta with Kaio-ken, right? Plus, I've got a little Ultra Instinct too, even if I've only just started with it."
"That's right," King Kai said with a smile. "For now your Ultra Instinct is only at the evasion stage… using it to dodge your opponent's attacks is a pretty good option. But if you keep training, I'm sure you'll have a major breakthrough someday."
"Yes, sir," Goku replied.
"The day of the showdown is drawing near. The Saiyans will arrive on Earth tomorrow," King Kai said, smiling as he gazed up at the stars, his eyes full of anticipation.
But the moment he finished speaking, he suddenly realized something. His expression changed.
"Th–this is bad!" King Kai yelped.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Goku asked, startled.
"I forgot to factor in the time you need to run back along Snake Way," King Kai said, half laughing, half crying.
"Huh? Can't you just send me straight back to Earth?" Goku said, dumbfounded. "Do I really have to go back along Snake Way? It took me at least six months to get here the first time."
"Let me see if I can get in touch with that Ken you mentioned. If I can, maybe he'll come pick you up," King Kai said after a moment's thought.
Goku nodded hard.
"Ken should be on Earth… the Earth in Universe 6, right?" King Kai asked, turning to Goku.
"Yeah, I think so," Goku nodded again.
The two black antennae on King Kai's head twitched slightly as he looked toward Earth.
In the next instant, his antennae pierced through the vortex above Universe 7's Earth and reached Universe 6's Earth.
King Kai searched all around for Ken.
A minute later—
King Kai hurriedly withdrew his sensing. He took off his black sunglasses and rubbed his eyes vigorously.
"How'd it go, King Kai?" Goku asked anxiously.
"My eyes… that was brutal," King Kai said, rubbing until he was almost in tears.
Goku: "…"
"It's a whole other universe away. Just looking across like that is murder on the eyes," King Kai muttered, cold sweat running down his face.
"Could you see anything?" Goku asked.
"Not a thing… do you know how hard that was on my eyes?" King Kai snapped, face dark. "Looking at the Earth in another universe is more exhausting than staring at the end of the universe itself!"
Goku was at a loss for words and hurriedly asked what they should do.
"What else? You'd better start running. At this point we leave it up to fate," King Kai said.
Goku was speechless.
"Let's at least change your clothes first…" King Kai said. His antennae twitched again.
An invisible divine power wrapped around Goku.
Snap.
Goku's clothes were instantly refreshed.
"Whoa, this feels so light!" Goku said excitedly.
"It's not just lighter. This is made from special materials—a lot of attacks won't even scratch it," King Kai explained.
"Thanks, King Kai!" Goku grinned. "Great, the kanji on my chest is still 'Turtle.' I was worried you'd dress me in something ugly like your outfit."
"You little brat," King Kai said, his face darkening. He slipped around behind Goku and quietly changed the "Turtle" on Goku's back to "King Kai."
"Get ready to go," Goku said, his expression turning serious.
"That character on your back looks quite stylish, if I do say so myself," King Kai said with a big smile.
"Alright, I'm heading back!" Goku waved.
"Be extremely careful. Your enemies are stronger than you think. Don't let your guard down!" King Kai reminded him.
"King Kai, thank you for teaching me!" Goku said. "Since this place is only for people who've died, if I happen to die in battle… I'll come see you again! I'm off!"
With a powerful leap, Goku broke free of King Kai's Planet's gravity and landed on Snake Way.
"What a guy. He's got limitless potential—no wonder he caught the eye of a God of Destruction's attendant," King Kai said with a smile. "And his heart is as clear as crystal. I didn't think there were humans like that. But his sense of humor still needs a lot of work. Next time he comes, I'll drill him properly!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Goku bounded along Snake Way at incredible speed, feeling his body lighter than ever.
Then he lifted off and flew as fast as he could toward the entrance.
…
Universe 6, Earth.
Capsule Corporation headquarters, Bulma's home.
"By the way, those two Saiyans will land on Earth tomorrow," Ken said to Bulma out of nowhere.
Bulma: "…"
"Huh? Tomorrow?" Bulma squeaked, her face going pale. "Why didn't you say so earlier? I need to warn everyone!"
"Go ahead and notify them, so they can mentally prepare," Ken nodded.
"Should we move the battlefield to Earth in Universe 7?" Bulma suggested.
"Isn't that portal one-way? How are you planning to get over there?" Ken asked.
"Well, we have you, don't we? You can just take everyone to the Earth in Universe 7," Bulma said.
"At my speed, it'd take at least a bit over two hours of flying to reach Universe 7's Earth," Ken said after thinking it over. "Too much hassle. I don't really feel like moving… kind of in full slacker mode lately."
Bulma was lost for words.
"I've been thinking a lot lately. Now that I've become a true angel with endless life, I shouldn't be grinding so hard anymore," Ken sighed. "I think I've already stressed Merus out with how much I was pushing."
Bulma decided it was better not to respond at all.
"Amarella, still asleep?" Ken suddenly asked Amarella inside his body.
"Mnn…" Amarella stretched, showing off her curves perfectly within Ken's body.
"Aren't angels supposed to not sleep?" Ken asked.
"Only weak angels fall into deep sleep," Amarella mumbled, rubbing her bleary eyes as she woke. "What is it?"
"Nothing. Just wanted to ask if you were asleep. If you're not, go back to sleep," Ken answered.
Amarella: "…"
"I was asleep. You're the one who woke me up," she snapped.
…
Universe 7, Galactic Patrol Headquarters.
Inside Merus's room.
Merus had been quietly keeping track of Vegeta's movements.
"So the day's finally here," Merus murmured to himself. "One way or another, I should go see Goku and Vegeta's battle in person… Observing on-site is better. That way I can get a deeper understanding of their power."
With that thought, Merus stopped hesitating.
He opened the window and flew straight out into space.
In an instant, Merus donned his angelic attire, the blue halo around his neck flaring into view.
Staff in hand, his body shone with a radiance like the stars.
Whoosh.
Merus sped off toward Earth.
…
The vast starry sky, the boundless universe.
Two spherical Saiyan pods streaked through space, leaving twin trails of light.
"Approaching Earth! Approaching Earth! Approaching Earth!"
Inside the pods, the computer's mechanical voice suddenly sounded.
Vegeta opened his eyes, his gaze sharp.
"We're finally here," Vegeta said, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"Prince Vegeta, look—that's Earth," Nappa's voice came through the scouter.
"From up here, that planet looks completely lifeless," Vegeta snorted.
"It does," Nappa agreed.
As the two talked, a streak of light, dazzling as a star, shot past their pods at incredible speed.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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