I Am Raditz

A day had passed since their escape from Slug's clutches. Everyone had rested well in the canyon, recovering their strength. Piccolo and Vegeta, who had sustained serious injuries, had finally returned to their normal fighting condition after extensive recuperation.

Slug, having returned to his base, was also in poor condition. The psychological blow combined with the enormous physical exertion had left him utterly exhausted. He had spent an entire day in an advanced recovery chamber before resuming command.

Just as both sides concluded their recovery periods, Frieza arrived!

The disc-shaped spaceship touched down on Namek. As its hatch opened, numerous soldiers poured out, surrounding a slowly emerging dark figure in their midst. It was a hovering throne, upon which Frieza sat with a sinister smile.

"So this is planet Namek? Quite pleasant, hehehe..." Frieza surveyed the lush greenery, the vast blue sky, and felt the occasional gentle breeze with obvious satisfaction.

"Lord Frieza, your new scouter," said a soldier beside him, presenting the device.

"Thank you." Frieza donned the new scouter, smiling with habitual malice. "Everyone, spread out. You have three days to bring me the Dragon Balls."

"Yes, Lord Frieza!" The soldiers responded in unison.

With that command, countless warriors took to the sky, blanketing the horizon like a swarm of locusts as they scattered toward every corner of Namek.

Frieza returned to his ship on his floating throne, leaving only two guard-like figures at his side. He asked casually, "Have you located the source of the signal?"

"My lord, your suspicions were correct—it was indeed Turles!"

"That conniving wretch actually conspired with Slug and deliberately leaked their location. Is he hoping to profit from my confrontation with Slug? Heh, I'll accommodate his little scheme. After all, no one in this universe can truly rival our power! Not even Slug!" Frieza's eyes gleamed with terrifying delight, sending chills down the spines of everyone present.

The forces dispatched by Frieza spread out across the planet. Their overwhelming numbers compensated for their individual lack of fighting prowess, making them more than sufficient to overcome Namek's defenders.

Soon, the vanguard discovered their first target—a village already surrounded by Slug's forces.

Both armies had found the same location, one trailing the other by mere minutes.

"Haha, as expected—just follow their lead. These Namekians aren't particularly strong fighters, so they'll be dealt with easily," remarked a dinosaur-like soldier of Frieza's army, brandishing an energy cannon while laughing boisterously.

"Let's go!"

His companions echoed the sentiment, grinning maniacally with fanatical expressions.

The Namekian warriors found themselves caught in a three-way conflict as Slug's legion and Frieza's forces engaged in ferocious combat.

Combat-capable Namekians were few in number. Though most possessed power levels exceeding 2,000, they could barely withstand the onslaught of the space invaders. Frieza's savage legion launched an all-out assault, employing various high-tech energy cannons and laser weapons to devastate vast swathes of land.

Even Slug's troops fell within the attack range, suffering heavy casualties from the relentless bombardment.

Frieza's army held the advantage with their scouters. They could identify suitable targets for attack, and when encountering stronger opponents, they would converge for coordinated sieges. Their eyes bloodshot with battle lust, they unleashed destruction without restraint. Laughter, shouts, screams, and weapons fire mingled in the stagnant air, rising skyward with the smoke.

The scouters' urgent "beep, beep, beep" warnings were constant, with too many blinking dots appearing on their displays to manage effectively.

The Namekians fell one after another despite their resistance. Many civilians perished in indiscriminate attacks, while their soldiers sustained grievous injuries. Yet behind them lay the Dragon Ball and the elderly and children—they had nowhere to retreat!

They would protect their homeland to the bitter end.

Fortunately for them, Slug's legion suffered even greater losses in this three-way battle. They were the first to fall in significant numbers, their equipment and combat effectiveness inferior to Frieza's forces. They could neither match the Namekians' determination nor withstand the concentrated firepower of energy weapons.

The brutal conflict bathed the entire village in blood. Hundreds of warriors from various factions perished there. Thick black smoke rose from the scorched earth, permeated with purple heat haze. Radiant energy blasts filled the sky, continuing to harvest lives.

In a distant canyon, Raditz suddenly stood up, gazing toward the horizon.

"That energy signature... it's Frieza!"

"It's... a deeply unsettling presence. It instills an inexplicable dread," Krillin and Tien remarked, their pupils trembling.

"And there are so many alien fighters! So many evil energy signatures, all concentrated in that direction!" Gohan pointed toward the end of the canyon, his expression alarmed.

The Namekian beside him suddenly exclaimed, "That's in the direction of Nail's village. Could they have found it already?"

"Damn these monsters!"

"Frieza and his troops can't sense energy, but they possess the most advanced scouters, making it easy for them to locate targets," Vegeta said, looking pointedly at several Namekian fighters. "So if you can't suppress your power level, you'll be discovered very quickly."

The Namekian fighters, still ignorant of how to conceal their energy, had no rebuttal to Vegeta's observation.

Raditz contemplated the situation. Current developments aligned closely with his expectations. Frieza's forces had already engaged Slug's legion, with both sides suffering casualties—positive news for their group. As for the fallen Namekians, they could be revived with the Dragon Balls.

The only critical issue was securing the Dragon Balls themselves before all seven fell into enemy hands!

For this purpose, there was one location they absolutely needed to reach—a place where both the Dragon Balls and their guardians were of paramount importance.

"Excuse me, could you take us to the Grand Elder?" Raditz asked directly.

During their time together, the Namekians had shared fundamental knowledge about their world, including how the Grand Elder had created all their offspring and imbued the Dragon Balls with magical properties.

Raditz also knew that the Grand Elder possessed the ability to unlock hidden potential, and that the fate of the entire planet was tied to his survival.

"Well..."

"Only by meeting the Grand Elder can I help you more effectively," Raditz stated firmly.

The Namekians exchanged glances before finally choosing to trust him.

The Namekian fighters led the way, with Raditz and his companions following toward the Grand Elder's dwelling. To avoid being tracked by scouters, they suppressed their power levels to those of ordinary soldiers, ensuring that even if detected, they wouldn't draw significant attention.

The remaining Namekian refugees lived in tents deep within the canyon—extremely well-hidden and difficult to locate. Without attention-grabbing power levels, any minor energy readings would likely be mistaken for the indigenous creatures inhabiting the area.

Meanwhile, at the devastated village where the fierce battle had raged, a mysterious figure emerged from the shadows, setting foot upon the ravaged terrain...

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