While Vegeta and Nappa hurtled toward Earth in their spaceship, the fight between Raditz and Shura was already winding down.
Their battle powers were nearly identical. Even though Shura had wished away his weakness to sunlight, he still couldn't beat the Saiyan. Raditz had once been classified as an elite warrior. He might have let himself go, but natural talent didn't just disappear.
'Still no sign of Kakarot. Is that bastard actually dead?' Without his scouter, Raditz's anxiety mounted. 'If that's the case, I'm in trouble. What should I do? Transform into Oozaru? But I'd lose my rationality.'
Low-class warriors lost their minds during the Oozaru transformation. The Royal Family and elites didn't. There was a catch, though, you had to overcome your tail's sensitivity. Raditz had slacked off on training, leaving his combat power stuck at 1,500. He had the qualifications to transform safely, but he hadn't met the conditions himself.
While Raditz wrestled with this internal debate, the corner of his eye caught a purple figure appearing in the sky. When he made out the figure's face, his blood ran cold.
Shura, who had been winding up a finishing move, noticed Raditz had stopped attacking. The Saiyan stood frozen.
"Distracted while fighting me?" Shura was irritated and ready to strike, but then he realized something was wrong. Raditz was trembling.
Shura turned around. An ugly alien floated in the sky above them.
"Oh, if it isn't the trash Raditz." Cui looked down at him with contempt, mocking him without mercy. He barely glanced at Shura. Just a small fry with a battle power over 1,000. Not worth noticing.
"Cui. What are you doing here?" The arrival made the decision for Raditz. He'd have to transform into a Oozaru. Otherwise, facing Cui meant certain death.
"You should address me with proper respect, Saiyan monkey. Call me Lord Cui." Cui descended slowly from the sky. Facing Raditz, his eyes brimmed with disdain. "Kneel and apologize. I might consider letting you live."
"If Vegeta were here..." Raditz knew the massive gap in their strength. He didn't dare act rashly. But as a proud Saiyan, he wouldn't beg so easily. The real reason was that even if groveling saved his life, if Vegeta ever found out, he'd execute him anyway.
"Yes, if Vegeta were here, I'd have to think twice. Unfortunately, he isn't." Cui smiled cruelly. "Tell me. What little schemes were you cooking up behind Lord Frieza's back? Traveling all the way to some remote planet like this."
"We had no secret plans." Raditz tried to buy time, scanning the sky with his peripheral vision for any sign of the moon. "Attacking Planet Shugo was too difficult. I came here looking for help. My brother was sent to this planet before Planet Vegeta was destroyed. I came to find him."
Raditz told the truth, but left out the minor detail of why he'd waited years to search for him. To Cui's ears, this explanation sounded completely different.
Cui's face lit up with delight. "What? You're saying there are other Saiyans stranded out there besides your squad? Hahaha! Vegeta, I've finally found your weakness."
Cui suppressed the wild joy in his heart. "One leads to two. Your brother's situation probably isn't rare. A matter this big, and you didn't report it to Lord Frieza. Instead, you were secretly gathering scattered Saiyans. I see it now. You're colluding to start a rebellion!"
'No way. Stop making things up,' Raditz thought, horrified.
Betraying Frieza was something Vegeta's team constantly dreamed of, sure. But they also knew Frieza's terror. It was only worth thinking about. Daring to actually do it? Never.
Cui thought he understood the whole situation. Raditz no longer held any value for him.
Even without a scouter, Raditz could feel the killing intent behind Cui's gaze. If he just waited, he'd be slaughtered. He snapped his head up, desperately searching the sky. There was no trace of the moon.
"Enough!" Shura shouted in fury. "I don't care who you are. Today, you will all die! In Shura City, my word is absolute."
Shura's body began transforming rapidly. Horns sprouted from his head, and long fangs extended from his mouth. His appearance shifted from a handsome young lord to a ferocious demon.
"Oh? A rare species that can hide its battle power?" Cui glanced at the reading on his scouter, mildly surprised. Even with the massive increase, the battle power only climbed to 1,800. "A measly thousand-something. Low-class level."
Cui flicked his hand casually. Before Shura's disbelieving eyes, he struck him down to the brink of death in a single blow. A tenfold difference in battle power left Shura completely helpless.
"Lowly race, be grateful for my mercy. You might fetch a decent price." A species capable of transformation was rare in the universe. Buyers would pay well.
"You're next, stupid monkey." Cui took steady steps toward Raditz.
The moon had been pushed away out of orbit by Master Roshi during the Tenkaichi Budokai. Finding it was impossible. Beyond observing the moon, Saiyans could create an artificial one to transform, but Raditz didn't know the technique.
"Let me think... How should I make you suffer?" Cui flashed Raditz a look of pure bloodlust. "Ah, I'll start by breaking your limbs."
Before Cui could finish his sentence, another voice rang out from behind him.
"Hey, you catfish monster over there."
A green figure descended into view.
"Sure, this punk betrayed me. But he's still my subordinate."
It was the returned Great Demon King Piccolo Jr.
Cui saw Piccolo and froze. "Huh? A Namekian? How did you end up here?"
'A Namekian?' Piccolo caught the word, then sensed the ki radiating from Cui.
"Not bad ki," Piccolo said. "Way stronger than those two demons."
"Namekian, you sure talk big. Let me see what you've got." Cui didn't think a backwater like Earth could produce warriors with combat power over ten thousand. Still cautious, he aimed the scouter at Piccolo. "Hahaha, just a piece of trash with 2,000 combat power. Only slightly better than Raditz."
Seeing the number, Cui was completely relieved.
"I see now." Realization dawned on him. "You wild monkeys aren't just gathering Saiyan remnants. You've allied with Namekians, too."
Raditz stared at him, baffled.
"Unfortunately, you've run into the great Cui this time. Dealing with someone like you, I only need one hand. Actually, even if I stand perfectly still, you can't even scratch me."
Raditz looked at Piccolo, then at Cui. He figured Kakarot was probably dead. On a planet with so many warriors exceeding a thousand in combat power, a low-class Saiyan wouldn't survive. He had no doubt about the 2,000 reading Cui had gotten from Piccolo. Someone like Shura, who could change their power at will, was rare across the universe. There was no way this Namekian could do the same. Raditz was in serious trouble either way.
"Is that so?" Piccolo listened to Cui's boastful words and revealed a wide grin. "Then I'll make my move."
The next instant, Piccolo moved. Cui's confident smile was still on his face when Piccolo threw a punch. The moment his fist connected with Cui's body, his combat power suddenly surged.
This was a technique designed specifically to deceive those who relied heavily on scouters.
*Pffft!*
Cui coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Im... possible..." He clutched his abdomen, collapsing to his knees in agony. His internal organs churned as if his stomach had been pierced through.
"Only a measly 2,000 combat power?!" Cui's eyes bulged wide, bloodshot from the extreme pain.
Piccolo sneered. "Is this the combat power you were talking about?"
*5000... 10000... 15000... 20000?!*
In Cui's astonished gaze, Piccolo's combat power skyrocketed, Quickly surpassing the scouter's reading by a large margin. When it broke through the 20,000 mark, there was a sudden *crack* as the device shattered.
"How is this possible? How do you have such immense combat power?"
Combat power exceeding 20,000 could secure a significant position even in the formidable Frieza Force. That was at least the level of someone like Dodoria or Zarbon. A mere Namekian on a remote planet shouldn't possess power that even King Vegeta had lacked.
Piccolo had no interest in explaining. He raised one hand toward Cui, energy gathering in his palm.
"Wait... you can't kill me! I'm part of the Frieza Force!"
*BOOM!*
Before Cui could finish, Piccolo blasted him with a ki wave, leaving nothing behind.
"Frieza Force? Why would I care?" Piccolo said dismissively. "You made an enemy of me, the Great Demon King Piccolo. Still, I'd like someone to explain what's going on. And what exactly is the Frieza Force?"
As Piccolo spoke, he turned his gaze to Raditz, who was trying to slip away unnoticed.
Raditz's throat tightened. He turned his head with difficulty, meeting Piccolo's gaze. "I was just passing by. You believe me, right?"
-Frieza Force Planet 66-
"Emperor Frieza! Emperor Frieza, something terrible's happened!" A soldier sprinted through the base, shouting in panic.
"Shut up!" A cold voice stopped him. "His Majesty is resting. Do you want to die, Cranberry, waking him at this hour?"
The speaker was an alien with green hair and blue skin, handsome by most standards.
"Sorry, Lord Zarbon!" Cranberry trembled. Terror clawed deeper inside him. Anyone who disturbed Frieza's rest never met a good end.
"Only because you're connected to me would I even bother," Zarbon said, glaring. "What happened? What's all this fuss about?"
Cranberry answered Quickly. "According to the Recon Center, Squad Leader Cui's combat power has vanished."
A vanished combat power meant elimination.
"Oh?" Zarbon raised an eyebrow. "Where was he? What mission was he on?"
"Squad Leader Cui wasn't on a mission. He went to a very distant planet privately, at the edge of the galaxy. According to the last transmission from his scouter, the enemy's combat power exceeded twenty thousand."
If Cui had been eliminated during an official mission, the Frieza Force would send an even stronger warrior to that planet to wipe out the threat. But if it was personal business...
"Twenty thousand in combat power? Not bad. In a while, I'll arrange for someone else to visit that planet. Show the guy some proper respect, try to meet his demands, and recruit him into the Force." Zarbon nodded. "Alright, I understand the situation. You may go. Be more careful from now on, don't bother Emperor Frieza over something this trivial again. If it had been Dodoria, you'd already be dead."
"Remember, there won't be a next time."
"Yes!"
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