I Am Raditz

Super Saiyans existed only in legends. Records and rumors spoke of ultimate warriors within the Saiyan race, but these claims had always been questioned since the current generation had never witnessed a so-called Super Saiyan firsthand.

Noticing Vegeta's intense gaze, Raditz remained silent.

Others might not know, but he understood the secret to the Super Saiyan transformation: a pure heart combined with extreme emotion—anger being the most effective catalyst. These were secondary conditions, however. The primary requirement was reaching a specific threshold of power.

Reflecting on Goku's first transformation, Raditz recalled his brother had a base power level of around 3 million. Vegeta had trained relentlessly for three years under 300 times gravity to achieve his transformation.

As for special cases like Broly's super-powered bloodline or the seemingly effortless transformations of Goten and Trunks, those were exceptions. For the older generation without special heritage or background, there was no shortcut—only hard work.

Throughout Saiyan history, despite their large population, none had transformed. Their power levels had simply been too low to meet the basic requirements. Though called a warrior race, they were merely warlike rather than truly powerful. Many advanced cosmic civilizations looked down on them. The average Saiyan possessed a power level of several thousand, with the elite reaching only ten or twenty thousand—far below the transformation threshold.

Once someone became a Super Saiyan, everyone else would bow down before that incredible power. That phenomenal strength would certainly be enough to defeat Frieza.

But they were still far from reaching that level. Raditz hoped that before confronting Frieza, he could unlock more of his potential and increase his strength further, at least approaching the necessary limit.

After considering everything, he felt it was still premature to face Frieza. "Let's return to the spaceship first and assess our current situation," Raditz suggested.

"Good idea. We should be able to communicate with Earth from there."

"I'll handle the controls!" Gohan volunteered. Under Tumat's guidance, he had learned the basic operating procedures of the spaceship.

Everyone boarded the vessel and activated the Earth communication equipment. After nearly two hours of troubleshooting, they finally established a connection. The communicator had been modified from the system in Nappa's scouter pod and could interface with the scouter Raditz had left on Earth for repairs.

The modified system was immune to Frieza's surveillance networks and could transmit information across vast cosmic distances.

As soon as they activated the speaker, Bulma's exuberant voice came through: "Hey there! You finally contacted me! Earth has been completely restored—you guys did amazing work!"

"Let me say something too..." Yamcha's voice came from nearby. "Goku, are you doing alright? Haha!"

"Quit interrupting! Now that we've finally established communication, don't waste it with gibberish." Bulma reclaimed control of the conversation and launched into a barrage of questions. Her curiosity about the universe exploded all at once, and she even mentioned calling Krillin to join them.

Her rapid-fire inquiries overwhelmed everyone, especially at the prospect of Krillin joining and potentially extending the call indefinitely.

Raditz quickly interrupted: "Hold on, Bulma. Let's save the details for when we return to Earth. Since Earth has recovered, we should end the call for now."

"Wait! Don't hang up yet! I have one more question—have you already used the Dragon Balls?"

"Huh? We found the four-star ball and summoned the dragon to fix everything. How else do you think Earth was restored?"

"But..." Bulma's voice was filled with confusion. "I used spare parts to build another Dragon Ball radar. It's still showing active Dragon Ball signals, including one that's moving at high speed."

Shocked, Raditz quickly activated his Dragon Ball radar, reducing the magnification to its minimum setting. Sure enough, he detected Dragon Ball signals!

They had been so focused on Earth's Dragon Balls that they had completely overlooked Namek's.

Could it be... someone had already set their sights on Namek's Dragon Balls? But who? Raditz's eyes widened, a chill running down his spine like a cold serpent, causing his hair to stand on end.

"Hello? Is anyone there? What's happening?"

"Nothing serious. We're picking up signals from the Dragon Balls on Namek—Piccolo's home planet. The Dragon Balls were originally created by Namekians, so it's not surprising their planet has its own set. Let's discuss this when we return."

Raditz ended the communication, and everyone stared at the radar with grave expressions.

Nappa snorted. "I've said all along that the Namekians' magical powers created the Dragon Balls. Their planet must have even better ones."

"Shut up, Nappa," Vegeta coldly interjected. "Didn't you notice that one of these signals is moving rapidly? Under what circumstances do you think Dragon Balls would travel that fast?"

Nappa fell silent. Though not particularly bright, even he could deduce the answer.

...

On planet Namek, an enormous spaceship rested in an open field. Inside stood numerous cosmic warriors of various appearances. At the forefront was a gray-skinned man with a face resembling Goku's—Turles.

Facing Turles sat Lord Slug in the command chair. Though aged, his imposing presence remained undiminished. Seated there, he exuded an aura of dominance, as if the entire universe belonged to him.

"You weren't lying after all," Slug chuckled, observing the display on the virtual monitor. "By reaching Namek one step ahead of Frieza, we've gained the advantage."

"Frieza was only concerned with placing tracking devices on my ship. He doesn't realize I've been intercepting his communications. I know his every move."

"Is that so?" Slug smirked, clearly wanting Turles to elaborate.

Turles had indeed been monitoring Frieza, intercepting his communications and learning that he planned to abandon the Earth's Dragon Balls in favor of Namek's. The Ginyu Force had already been mobilized. More importantly, he'd discovered that Vegeta and Raditz had arrived in this galaxy and had even killed Dodoria and Zarbon.

This was excellent news for Turles. Let them fight amongst themselves, he thought—I'll simply reap the benefits.

He had promptly informed Slug about Frieza's movements and the existence of Namek's Dragon Balls, allowing Slug's forces to reach Namek ahead of Frieza.

But Turles remained cautious with Slug, who was, after all, another aspiring overlord. He had no intention of serving Slug completely. Faced with the interrogation, Turles maintained his composure. "Frieza's forces encountered a Saiyan attack, so he's preparing to deal with them. Whether he'll send the Ginyu Force or handle it personally, I can't say for certain."

"It would be unfortunate if Frieza came to Namek himself." Though confident, Slug was also realistic. There were many self-proclaimed emperors of the universe, but few with genuine power. Frieza's strength exceeded his own—a direct confrontation would be problematic.

"It doesn't matter. Frieza's unlucky—the distance to Namek is too great. It will take him three days to arrive. By then, our wish will already be granted."

Turles smiled slyly, a gleam in his eyes. He had lied to Slug. In reality, Frieza needed only one day to reach Namek...

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