I Am Raditz

A man stepped out of the shadows and into the ruins.

The ground was littered with corpses and shattered armor. He approached an intact body and removed the scouter from the dead soldier's ear.

"This will be useful," the man smiled. Behind him, a contingent of fighters charged forward, wielding laser guns and energy cannons.

"Master Turles, we must retreat!"

A soldier called out from behind.

The figure who had emerged from the shadows was none other than Turles himself. He nodded and moved to the front of his troops. "You're right—the situation has turned against us. You go ahead! I'll cover our retreat."

"Thank you, Lord Turles!"

The soldiers were deeply moved. They could no longer withstand the siege from Frieza's army.

Meanwhile, Slug's soldiers fled in disarray, withdrawing hastily toward their headquarters.

Turles displayed a sly smile, gathering a pink energy sphere in his palm. He aimed it at Slug's retreating forces. "Farewell!" The word left his lips casually as the energy blast shot forth, striking the fleeing soldiers from behind. The massive orb of light expanded, its brilliance piercing to the eyes.

"BOOM!"

The explosion was deafening, the flames intense, as black smoke rose skyward.

Frieza's soldiers hovering in the air were stunned. This warrior had helped eliminate their enemies and wore the same battle armor as them. He appeared to be another of Lord Frieza's subordinates, yet none had seen him before. As they pondered this, Turles looked up at them.

The same pink energy sphere formed in his palm once more, the light already blooming into several swirling beams.

"We're in danger! Run!"

All their scouters registered the same astonishing power level—an opponent far beyond their capacity to challenge! Their only option was escape, and even then, only the luckiest might survive.

Turles's objective was to leave no witnesses. He unleashed another energy blast, the exploding sphere engulfing numerous soldiers, the scorching energy wave reducing many to charred husks. Those fortunate enough to initially escape were quickly caught as Turles dispatched them effortlessly with single strikes.

His energy bombs filled the sky, encompassing Frieza's army, Slug's forces, and the unfortunate Namekians within their destructive radius. After a savage bombardment, none remained alive.

Turles was quite literally mowing them down like grass, ending the conflict with disturbing ease.

With no one left to oppose him, he entered the chamber where the Dragon Balls were kept. He collected the four spheres, then exited and snapped his fingers, reducing the structure to rubble.

"Four stars again—we seem destined for each other," Turles smiled wickedly before darting into the valley.

Inside Frieza's spaceship.

A dog-faced soldier lay dead on the floor as Frieza glowered, his wine glass shattered in his grip once more.

"Useless! All of them, utterly useless!"

"So many energy signatures vanishing instantaneously—even Turles couldn't be responsible!"

Frieza found himself missing Dodoria and Zarbon, who had always handled matters competently. Though perhaps not exceptionally powerful, they were reliable and understood his intentions implicitly.

Unlike this dead canine fool who had only aggravated his anger. Killing him had been a necessity.

"Find that wretched Turles, immediately!"

"I apologize, Lord Frieza, but that powerful energy signature has disappeared again." A soldier was pushed forward by the others, his body drenched in sweat as he spoke with a trembling voice. "We can't locate... we can't locate him..."

Though not particularly strong by elite standards, Turles was nonetheless a Saiyan with natural fighting talent. Following the battle on Earth, he had studied techniques for manipulating his power level at will and explosively increasing his strength when needed. Having independently mastered the ability to conceal his energy, he could now effectively evade detection by scouters.

Frieza's eyes narrowed, and the reporting soldier's head exploded with a sickening "splat."

"Worthless... Contact the Ginyu Force and inform them they have half a day at most. If they fail to reach Namek within that timeframe, they will face... consequences!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The crew acknowledged in unison, their backs drenched with cold sweat. Serving the emperor of the universe was supposedly an honor, yet it felt more like constant torment. Being near their king was like standing beside a tiger.

Aboard his own spacecraft, Slug was equally furious. He repeatedly struck the handrail, his eyes bloodshot as he roared in rage.

"I ordered you to watch that Saiyan! How did you allow him to escape?! Where are Wings and Medamatcha?!"

"They all departed to search for the Dragon Balls!"

"He breached our ship to escape but didn't steal our Dragon Balls. What is he planning?" Slug's rage gave way to perplexed contemplation as he pondered Turles's objectives regarding the Dragon Balls.

He now understood why Frieza had arrived on Namek so quickly—most likely Turles's doing. The claim that Frieza would need three days to reach Namek had been a lie, intended only to lower Slug's guard.

Slug felt unease growing within him. Against Frieza, he lacked the confidence for direct confrontation. His chances of collecting all seven Dragon Balls had diminished significantly...

This realization only intensified his hatred for Turles.

Raditz and his companions, flying toward the Grand Elder's dwelling, also sensed the powerful energy signature that had suddenly appeared and then vanished. During this brief interval, every minor energy reading in Nail's village had disappeared.

It was as though everyone had died in an instant.

"Uncle Piccolo, that was Turles's energy..."

"Yes, it was." Piccolo nodded slightly.

"He finally made his move." Raditz had anticipated that Turles wouldn't remain idle for long. Attempting to seize Dragon Balls at this juncture was entirely logical.

With this development, Turles had transformed from a resourceless wanderer into a legitimate contender in the battle for the Dragon Balls.

"Don't worry about that clown—he'll show himself soon enough. Our priority is meeting the Grand Elder as quickly as possible."

Vegeta could no longer contain his impatience. "What exactly is so special about this Grand Elder?"

He had followed Raditz's lead without question for some time, enduring the need to suppress his power level to avoid detection, all to meet some Namekian elder. If there wasn't substantial benefit to be gained, his anger would be legendary.

"You'll understand when we arrive. You won't be disappointed," Raditz replied while monitoring the surrounding energy signatures.

The Namekian fighters leading them glanced at Raditz with curious eyes. This alien seemed to know everything about their world, which they found rather surprising.

"Everyone, we're about three sections of distance from our destination. We can increase our pace slightly," one Namekian suggested.

They accelerated their flight, their silhouettes crossing the sky as they headed toward the distant mountain peak.

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