The great ape shrank.
Muscle collapsed inward. Fur receded. Bones cracked, grinding as they twisted back into a humanoid frame. The island trembled as the last of the massive form dissolved, leaving only a bloody, battered Saiyan kneeling on the stone.
Raditz gasped, body trembling. His armor was in tatters, shredded by Yamcha's hybrid Spirit Ball barrage. Dozens of wounds dotted his arms and chest — precise punctures surrounded by spirals of torn flesh. The drilling force had left his body a landscape of agony.
He coughed, a spray of red splattering the ground in front of him.
Yamcha, Goku, and Piccolo watched in tense silence.
Raditz sagged forward on one hand, hair hanging like a curtain around his face. When he spoke, his voice shook with fear and desperation.
"K…Kakarot…"
Goku stiffened.
Raditz lifted his face slowly. His eyes were wide… terrified… pathetic.
"Brother… please…"
Piccolo's lip curled in disdain immediately. "Oh, now that he's beaten he wants mercy."
Raditz ignored him entirely, eyes locked on Goku with a trembling intensity.
"I… I apologize," he croaked. "For everything. For the way I spoke. For what I did. I… I shouldn't have attacked you. I shouldn't have threatened your br… your son" His voice cracked. "Please… Kakarot… we're blood. You're my little brother…"
Yamcha watched quietly, jaw tight.
This moment weighed more heavily on Goku than anyone else realized.
His Byakugan saw everything — the small tremor in Goku's hand, the conflict behind his eyes. Old instincts warred with newfound revelations. Goku may not have known Raditz a day ago, but the weight of family, that new idea of living family… it mixed with the guilt he still held over Grandpa Gohan.
Goku stepped forward, shoulders tense. "Raditz… I don't… I don't LIKE killing. I never have."
Raditz swallowed hard, sensing a sliver of hope.
"And you're my brother. I never knew that until today." Goku's expression softened just a little. "So… I'll spare you. I won't kill you."
Piccolo rounded on Goku instantly.
"YOU IDIOT!" he snapped. "He TOLD you—this bastard wanted the planet wiped out! He tried to kill your kid!"
"I KNOW!" Goku snapped back, far more forcefully than expected.
Piccolo recoiled, surprised.
Goku breathed in slowly.
"But… he's still my brother."
Yamcha closed his eyes briefly.
Sam's memories echoed faintly in his mind, an un-easy feeling at the idea of Goku sparing Raditz.His inherited memories from Neji that carried with them the cold, instinctual logic of a trained shinobi.
'A threat removed is a threat that never returns.'
'Sentiment is weakness in battle.'
'Mercy without foresight is death.'
And Yamcha knew all of those principles were true. But he also knew he wasn't Neji. He wasn't a shinobi, or a Saiyan.
He was Yamcha, he was Goku's friend first.
He stepped back, patting Goku on the shoulder, signaling his support. "It's your call, man."
Raditz's shoulders sagged in relief.
"Yes… yes, Kakarot… you made the right—"
He froze.
His pupils shrank.
His face twisted into something Yamcha immediately recognized.
Cruelty, hatred, and a murderous satisfaction.
Goku blinked. "Raditz?"
Raditz wasn't looking at him.
He was looking past them.
Out toward the sea.
And he was grinning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
— A Few Minutes Earlier —
The small boat cut through the waves, barely steady as everyone aboard clung to the railing.
All eyes were locked on the island in the distance — and the monstrous form that loomed over it.
Bulma held Toshi tightly against her chest. Toshi's tiny fists were clenched in her mother's shirt, eyes wide in fear as she watched the giant ape rampage across the rocks.
Chi-Chi had Gohan in her arms, the boy trembling violently as he watched his father being tossed aside like a rag doll.
Krillin gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white.
"This is… this is crazy…" he whispered. "They're gonna die. All of them…"
Master Roshi stood at the bow, expression hard with an uncharacteristic seriousness. "That's no ordinary enemy. The boys are strong… but…"
He didn't finish.
The ape fired a massive mouth blast.
A beam of pure destruction lit the sky, detonating across the island and scattering Goku, Yamcha, and Piccolo like leaves in a storm.
The shockwave reached the boat, tilting it violently.
Chi-Chi screamed, Gohan cried, and Toshi buried her face in Bulma's shoulder.
Krillin's breath hitched.
And a fire lit in his eyes.
"I can't…" he whispered. "I can't just WATCH this. That's Goku out there. Yamcha. Piccolo. They're risking everything! If Piccolo dies we can't even bring them back!"
He shook his head violently.
"I'm DONE running!"
Before anyone could stop him, he leapt from the boat and sprinted across the water using bursts of ki, determined to reach the battlefield.
"Krillin, no!" Bulma cried.
Roshi exhaled heavily.
"…That boy's going to either save the day… or get himself killed."
The mothers soothed their children — their voices trembling.
Then—
They felt it.
Two enormous spikes of ki shot upward from the island — bright, fierce, unmistakable.
Roshi's sunglasses glinted as he stared toward the island. "They… they're getting stronger!"
Bulma lifted her head. "Yamcha…!"
Chi-Chi gasped. "Goku—!"
Gohan's small voice trembled. "…Papa…?"
Toshi's eyes shimmered. "…Daddy?"
They watched as the Oozaru staggered under a barrage of glowing projectiles. They watched as a tiny figure — Krillin — landed a perfect throw. They watched Raditz shrink.
Relief washed over the boat like warm sunlight.
"They did it…" Bulma breathed. "They actually—"
A sudden glare filled the sky.
A small point of red light.
Growing.
Fast.
"GET DOWN!" Roshi yelled.
A blast was coming straight toward them.
— Back to the Present —
Raditz's grin widened, voice dripping with venom.
"Oh, Kakarot… you truly ARE a fool."
Goku's heart dropped.
"No…"
Raditz raised one trembling hand and fired.
A crimson blast surged toward the boat — toward their families — cutting across the ocean in a blazing line.
Bulma screamed.
Chi-Chi shielded Gohan with her entire body.
Roshi braced, even knowing it was hopeless.
The children cried.
And then—
A thunderous roar of ki split the air as streak of white-blue energy appeared between the blast and the boat—
Yamcha.
He planted his feet on the surface of the water, aura flaring like a wildfire, teeth bared in absolute fury.
With one hand, he caught the blast.
He didn't even budge, his feet held stable on the surface of the water below, steam rising where his aura clashed with the ki attack.
His fingers closed.
The blast was crushed like paper.
And with a shout, he hurled it straight upward where it detonated harmlessly.
The sea fell silent.
Bulma gasped. "Y-Yamcha…"
Toshi's eyes flooded with tears. "DADDY!!"
Roshi stared, utterly shocked. "That… that power…!"
Yamcha didn't look at them yet.
His face…
Was frozen in an expression he almost never wore.
Rage.
True, bone-deep fury.
He forced a smile — strained, trembling, but trying his best to reassure the people he loved most.
"Hey… you're all okay," he said gently, voice tight. "Master Roshi… take them back to Kame House. Please."
Roshi swallowed. "…Yamcha…"
"I don't want them to see what comes next."
His eyes softened for a moment as he looked at his daughter.
"Daddy will be right back," he promised. "I promise."
Toshi nodded, though she clearly didn't understand. But she trusted him completely.
Gohan sniffled. "B-Be careful… Uncle Yamcha…"
Yamcha vanished in a burst of light.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
— Back on the Island —
Raditz staggered backward as Yamcha landed with a ground shaking thud, his ki whipping around him like a living storm.
Goku stared, breath caught in his throat. "Y-Yamcha…?"
Piccolo took one step back, instincts screaming at the power and killing intent he could feel pouring off of him.
Yamcha's voice was ice.
"You… tried to kill my family."
Raditz snarled weakly, pulling himself upright. His earlier cowardice evaporated beneath his fury.
"They are WEAK! They deserve to die! They're nothing compared to the SAIYAN—"
Yamcha disappeared from sight.
No warning. No shout.
One moment he stood across the battlefield.
The next—
His fist was buried in Raditz's stomach.
Blood exploded from Raditz's mouth.
Even Goku jolted at the speed.
Yamcha ripped his hand free and stepped back, expression colder than winter.
"I'm sorry, Goku," he said without looking away from Raditz, byakugan piercing through his very being. "But nobody tries to hurt Bulma, Toshi, or Gohan. Nobody."
Goku swallowed hard, fists tightening.
He didn't like it.
But deep in his heart… he understood. He had almost lost his family. His real family, the one he had built here with the people that he loved.
"...Do what you need to do," Goku said quietly.
Raditz looked between them, horrified.
"Y-You'd side with THEM over your OWN BLOOD?!"
"I have a real family here," Goku said softly. "And you tried to kill them."
Piccolo snorted. "And even if you DID wipe them out… we could just wish them back with the Dragon Balls."
The words echoed.
Raditz froze.
His head turned slowly toward the shattered scouter lying in the dirt.
Piccolo's eyes widened as a faint, crackling voice came through the damaged device.
"…Raditz… report… power levels… Dragon Balls… immortality…"
Another voice — deeper, furious.
"…If that weakling dies, then we'll come ourselves. Prepare the pods. A year maximum, we'll wipe that planet and take the wish for ourselves…"
Piccolo's blood ran cold.
"Oh, hell."
Yamcha's eyes never left Raditz.
But when Piccolo whispered:
"They're coming in a year… TWO of them…"
Yamcha muttered:
"Then we'd better finish this one first."
Raditz tried to stand. "You… you're ALL DEAD! Nappa and Vegeta will—"
He didn't finish.
Yamcha stepped into his stance.
A stance no Hyuga had ever taken. His aura flared even brighter. He knew he was pushing his limits. He was forcing the first gate now, not harmonious, but pushed to its max level of output.
He felt the strain on his body, but he didn't care.
His feet set wide, torso low arms extended — palms forward, but fingers curled slightly like claws.
"Goku will carry the name of the Saiyans, and we'll make sure you and your race of marauders are lost to history."
Ki ignited around his hands, twisting into savage arcs of energy that bent like fangs.
Raditz, his body already broken and bleeding, could only look on, terrified.
Yamcha's aura howled around him, a sound like a pack of wolves descending on wounded prey.
"Eight Trigrams: Wolf Fang Barrage"
Raditz tried to step back—
And Yamcha vanished.
Then the world exploded into motion.
"TWO!"
His clawed ki strikes ripped into Raditz's shoulder, tearing through muscle.
"FOUR!"
Another quartet of strikes, to the ribs this time — not disabling, but shredding flesh and shattering bone
"EIGHT! SIXTEEN! THIRTY TWO!"
The blows came too fast for Raditz to count, each one a hybrid of Hyuga precision and wolf-style ferocity.
Ki fangs bit into nerve points, tendons, joints. Not disrupting or shutting down. His claws tore them apart. Flesh parted, at times slicing; other times, the fangs seemed to bite in and rip out their target.
Raditz screamed.
"STOP—STOP—!!"
Yamcha didn't.
He couldn't.
This wasn't a fight anymore.
This was punishment.
"SIXTY FOUR!"
Another flurry struck Raditz's abdomen, tracing deep lines of tearing ki.
He fell to his knees.
Yamcha blurred behind him.
"ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT!"
The fastest barrage yet rocketed into Raditz back, reducing it to a canvas of bloody slashes and gouged flesh. His armor was gone, left in tattered pieces scattered around the battle field.
Ki erupted like a pack of wolves tearing a carcass.
Yamcha appeared in front of Raditz once again as his body began to fall. A final blow, a dual palm strike thunderous in its intensity, hit Raditz's sternum with a bone-shattering crack, launching him backward. He hit the ground in a limp, bloody heap, barely conscious, breath shallow.
Yamcha stood over him.
Raditz tried to gurgle a threat, a plea — anything — but only blood came out.
Yamcha crouched, gripping Raditz by the hair and lifting his face just enough to meet his eyes.
"If anyone threatens my family… this will be the least of their punishments."
He let Raditz fall.
The Saiyan lay there, broken in a way he could never have imagined. Shallow breaths came in ragged gasps, staring up at the sky with fading vision as the trio surrounded him.