I Am Raditz

In the vast expanse of space, the spaceship hurtled toward Namek at maximum speed.

Just six hours earlier, King Kai had contacted Raditz with alarming news: Lord Slug and Turles had already descended upon planet Namek and begun searching for its Dragon Balls! Slug's original docking position had been extremely close to Namek, allowing his forces to reach the planet almost immediately, taking advantage of their proximity.

Though Frieza hadn't moved yet, the Ginyu Force's ship was already en route to outpost M187, scheduled to arrive in three days. After receiving this intelligence, Raditz had discussed the situation with everyone and made an immediate decision.

Regardless of how Frieza planned to deal with them, Turles would never leave Earth alone. If he obtained the Namekian Dragon Balls, they would face an even greater threat.

They had to reach Namek!

Angila, as Raditz's first subordinate, was entrusted with an important responsibility. Raditz instructed him to gather surviving fighters from planet Filo and bring them under his command. To prevent any potential betrayal, Raditz left no space navigation tools behind, promising to enhance Angila's strength upon their return.

The rest of the group boarded the spacecraft, quickly established positioning and navigation parameters, and fired up the engines.

Target: Namek!

Thus, the spaceship had been traveling at high velocity through space for six hours, rapidly approaching planet Namek.

...

Leaning against the metal wall beside the console, Piccolo stared fixedly through the transparent shield into the vast emptiness of space, lost in thought. His eyes were clear and focused, like sharp beams of light reflecting off a still lake.

As they drew closer to his ancestral homeworld, even Piccolo found his usual composure wavering. Though outwardly maintaining his cold demeanor, internal turmoil had begun to stir within him. He kept his arms crossed, but his fingers unconsciously tapped against his biceps.

In the quiet spaceship, he was the only one who hadn't rested. He didn't require much sleep to recover his strength and had grown accustomed to solitude. The noise of recent days had been somewhat jarring for him, making the empty main cabin at night particularly comfortable.

Yet sometimes, he had to admit, the presence of others wasn't entirely unpleasant.

Especially Goku's son—though the child's chatter could be annoying, his innocent expression and the way he called him "Uncle Piccolo" had somehow wormed its way into his heart.

Could it be that I, Piccolo, have changed? he couldn't help but wonder.

"Hey, Piccolo." Raditz's voice suddenly broke the silence as he approached. "We're almost at your home planet. Aren't you at least a little excited?"

Surprised by the company, Piccolo paused before responding: "I never grew up on Namek, so I'm not particularly excited."

"I said the same thing once, but when you see your homeland, there's always some inexplicable emotion—just like when I first saw Earth again." Raditz remarked casually, leaning against the wall opposite Piccolo.

Piccolo continued gazing outward, sidestepping the topic. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Can't sleep. Battle is imminent, and the enemy we're facing is extraordinarily powerful. I can't say I'm confident."

"Hmph. I wouldn't have guessed." Piccolo allowed a sly smile. "Those two techniques you learned from King Kai—the Kaio-ken and Spirit Bomb—should be sufficient, right?" His tone carried a hint of mockery. If not for these techniques, the gap between Piccolo and Raditz wouldn't be so significant.

But King Kai had chosen to pass these skills to only two people: Raditz and Goku.

Now that the conversation had begun, Raditz didn't mind chatting a bit more to break the late-night monotony. He sighed and said: "It's not enough! Remember when I first came to Earth and told you about Frieza? I mentioned his power level was 530,000, right? But that's not even close to his full strength. As a member of the Frost Demon race, Frieza typically doesn't present in his true form—he uses transformed states to move about."

"Transformation? Like that Zarbon character?"

Raditz nodded, then shook his head.

"Though both involve transformation, the principles differ. Zarbon's transformation is similar to the Saiyan Great Ape transformation. By altering his body, he increases his strength to improve combat effectiveness. The Frost Demon family is different—their transformations actually suppress their power, because their natural strength is too immense to control."

Such a bizarre concept—transforming to suppress power? Just how powerful were they? If 530,000 wasn't their full potential...? Piccolo's expression shifted to one of horror as he finally turned to face Raditz directly.

He had limited knowledge of the broader universe, but he'd never heard of such a terrifying concept: being so powerful that one needed to suppress their combat ability. It seemed incredible. Yet Raditz's words couldn't be dismissed—Frieza was undoubtedly such a being.

"Would you like to hear something even more shocking? Something even Vegeta doesn't know."

"Go on."

"Frieza's power level in his suppressed state is 530,000, but after transforming, it can exceed one million."

Piccolo gasped, his already green face turning even paler. One million? This had to be a joke. The terrifying thing was that this "joke" seemed entirely plausible.

If 530,000 had given him some hope of victory, the figure of one million was astronomically beyond reach.

"It's too early to be surprised. That's just his first transformation. He can transform twice more, each representing a qualitative leap in power. In his final form, Frieza's power level reaches—120 million!"

By the end, even Raditz felt his chest tightening as he spoke, his voice shifting with the gravity of his words.

Piccolo's eyes widened, his body frozen in place like a stone sculpture.

120 million! How could such a being exist in the universe?

"And that's not all. Besides Frieza, there are two other members of the Frost Demon clan that I know of: his brother and father! However, they won't be showing up anytime soon, so we don't need to worry about them for now."

Don't worry? Regardless of whether his brother or father appeared, a single Frieza was already insurmountable!

For the first time, Piccolo was so shocked that his heart nearly stopped.

"Such a being is virtually impossible to defeat, isn't it?!"

Raditz's eyes grew distant, as if gazing toward a massive hope on the horizon. He spoke slowly: "Not necessarily. As far as I know, there are several methods to defeat him, though each carries significant risk." He looked at Piccolo and smiled. "But if combat becomes unavoidable, you have to try anyway—that's what it means to be a warrior, isn't it?"

Piccolo was stunned.

He suddenly realized that Saiyans were truly a remarkable race—sometimes troublesome, sometimes incredibly reliable. Unexpectedly, he found himself smiling back: "I'll leave it to you, then."

By now, the spaceship had drawn ever closer to Namek. Only half a day's journey remained.

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