I Am Raditz

Water cascaded like a monstrous waterfall, white foam spraying across the sky as rising mist filled the air, surrounding the battlefield like a misty veil.

Lord Slug stood by the seaside, his forehead bruised as he gritted his teeth in pain. Cool water spray splashed over him, yet he felt even hotter, sweat pouring down his face.

He had successfully caught Frieza by surprise with his sneak attack, but knocking Frieza into the water hadn't ended the battle. After only two seconds, Frieza had regained his composure and counterattacked.

The tremendous force was too much for Slug to withstand. His arms resisted stubbornly as his muscles trembled uncontrollably. Despite his best efforts, he was quickly overwhelmed by Frieza's terrifying power.

"CRACK! CRACK!"

Two successive sounds echoed as Slug's arms snapped, purple plasma oozing from the broken joints with sickening splashes.

"You're far too weak. With such limited strength, did you truly believe you could compete with me for control of the universe?" Frieza's smile concealed his cruelty as he stood tall, gripping Slug's fingers with both hands before twisting forcefully.

"AAAHH!" Slug's agonized scream pierced the sky, his eyes filled with panic and fear!

As a tyrant of the universe, Frieza had proven overwhelmingly powerful—even after Slug had consumed the Tree of Might fruit that Turles had given him.

King Kai once believed that Slug was comparable to Frieza, but he had clearly never witnessed Frieza's final form.

With no other option, Slug had to sever his own arm with his remaining hand before retreating in humiliation. The massive severed limb fell headlong toward Frieza, only to be blasted to pieces by an energy wave.

At that moment, Goku appeared behind Frieza with blinding speed, driving his foot into the tyrant's back. Having recovered from his previous injuries, Goku's combat power had increased significantly. Enhanced by Kaio-ken x10, his strength had grown exponentially, and his kick sent Frieza flying.

"Perfect opportunity!" Seeing Goku's success, Raditz immediately took to the air, positioning himself in Frieza's flight path before delivering a powerful uppercut that sent him flying in the opposite direction!

When facing the Ginyu Force, Raditz had possessed a power level around 40,000, but after swallowing the Senzu Bean, he had grown to more than 200,000. This punch concentrated all his strength, deforming Frieza's cheek upon impact.

"BOOM!"

Finally, Slug swung his remaining fist in a decisive strike. The powerful hammer blow, fueled by rage, once again hurled Frieza into the churning water.

"I never expected to be fighting alongside you, Lord Slug," Goku said to the towering figure.

"Nor did I. Medamatcha never mentioned Frieza was here. This monster is far too powerful."

Slug was still shaken by the encounter.

Cooperating with the Saiyans had become absolutely necessary—otherwise, they would all perish.

Suddenly, a waterspout erupted skyward. Frieza stood at its center, feet together, palms stretched to his sides, tail arched in a perfect curve. His eyes resembled pools of blood, overflowing with rage.

The Regal Pose...

The others might not recognize it, but Raditz knew it well. Frieza had used this same posture when transforming into his golden form. Elegant and noble, yet containing infinite killing intent.

"You all... have truly angered me now." Frieza's lips curled into a smirk, though his complexion had grown deathly pale.

Until now, he had approached his battle with Raditz and the others with a playful attitude. His overwhelming strength had made him feel invincible. No matter how powerful the Saiyans became, they could only provide him with a light warm-up, so he had used merely a fraction of his true power—enough to defeat Raditz.

But the appearances of Goku and Lord Slug had disrupted his plans, especially when they joined forces against him. This enraged him beyond measure.

Blue veins bulged on his forehead as his brow furrowed deeply. He raised his hands with violent force!

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

Continuous explosions ripped from the coastline to the distant mountains. Raditz and Goku were blown backward by Frieza's raised hands, retreating more than a hundred meters.

Poor Slug was too large a target—while his size gave him reach during attacks, it also made him easier to hit. Nearly a third of Frieza's energy barrage struck Slug's body, piercing through him and leaving massive holes in his hands, feet, waist, and abdomen.

Purple plasma poured from Slug's mouth like a waterfall as his enormous body gradually shrank before collapsing backward.

"One down." Frieza's cold eyes swept over Slug without lingering, then locked onto Raditz and Goku.

"Damn it! He's furious now—he's going to get serious," Raditz muttered.

"Any more Senzu Beans?" he asked Goku.

"We had seven in total. One was used during the Metal Planet battle. The three of us just used one each. The rest are with Krillin, but they..." Goku suddenly froze, his expression changing as if he sensed something. "Krillin!"

Not only Krillin—Vegeta was approaching too! Searching more carefully, Raditz could sense several Namekians from the Grand Elder's place as well!

Raditz shook his head. With their limited strength, they would die if they joined this battle. Only Saiyans could constantly break through their limits with their battle instincts—others couldn't make such rapid progress.

Moreover, even Raditz didn't know how far these instincts could take them. Perhaps they would soon reach the limit of their power growth.

Raditz only hoped to improve slightly more through his near-death recovery—ideally getting closer to the Super Saiyan transformation!

"INCOMING!" Goku suddenly shouted, his pupils contracting as he barely had time to adopt a defensive stance.

In the next instant, Frieza had already closed the distance, stepping heavily onto Goku's crossed arms. The air rippled at the point of impact, and Goku was violently launched backward.

Raditz quickly raised his hands to defend, but he only blocked two punches before Frieza spun around, flicking his tail at the ground.

Frieza landed gracefully and walked slowly toward Raditz. Each step he took made the ground tremble, the tide surging behind him creating a magnificent backdrop for the emperor of the universe.

"Raditz, you Saiyans have thoroughly irritated me. If you were Vegeta, I wouldn't even bother asking again, but for you—I'll offer one final chance. How about becoming my subordinate?"

Extending an olive branch once more, Frieza reached out his hand invitingly. He didn't truly want to recruit Raditz—he simply wanted to witness the proud Saiyan's humiliation when forced to surrender before him.

He had already won.

"Hey, what do you mean 'you wouldn't bother asking Vegeta'? Frieza, you seem prejudiced against me." From atop a low hillside, Vegeta stood with folded arms, calling down condescendingly.

Frieza's head snapped up at the sound, but heard only three words before someone shouted "SOLAR FLARE!"

His eyes were instantly assaulted by blinding light, rendering him temporarily unable to see. Frieza covered his eyes, howling in pain.

At that moment, a barrage of energy blasts came hurtling toward him!

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