"Come on, you little Earthlings! Let's see what you're made of!" Nappa declared before lunging at Bulma, whom he considered a worthy opponent. The Saibamans followed suit, each choosing their own opponent.
Thus, the warriors found themselves facing the creatures that had emerged from the ground. Since there were six creatures, three attacked Piccolo, who was considerably stronger than the rest. The others faced the remaining three.
Bulma watched the approaching enemy with a smile on her face. She faced him as her dark purple aura gently enveloped her body like a soft, honey-textured cloak.
Unlike usual, when fights typically began with an initial clash, Bulma accelerated to full speed from the start. She suddenly struck the Saiyan's abdomen with such force that a shockwave surged from his back.
The invader's body flew through the air and crashed into a rock formation, shattering it upon impact. Large chunks of stone fell to the ground, burying the man. Bulma floated a meter above the ground and pointed at the spot with her left palm.
"Come on, I know I didn't really hurt you. That armor of yours is pretty good. I could feel it," she said as an energy sphere formed in her hand. Her words affected her enemy, causing the pile of rocks to explode and reveal his figure.
"Wow! That was a great hit! You're fast, but I've fought many different enemies, so I can react to any situation," Nappa remarked, patting his body armor as an intense electric aura sparkled around him.
"Oh, let's see how you handle this, monkey," Bulma replied with a smile, using an offensive tone that caused Nappa to frown. It reminded him of the harsh comments he used to receive from his enemies.
"That comment isn't offensive?" Nappa asked with a smirk, his eyes cold as he closely watched the energy Bulma was channeling, planning his response.
"Yes, we Earthlings judge outsiders harshly. We're very inclusive, but do you think we would just accept creatures who make a living invading planets?" At this point, Bulma was being deceitful and hypocritical, since she realized her words were stinging her enemy's emotions, so she kept pressing.
She lied because Raditz was clearly still alive and had spent quite some time on Earth. She was a hypocrite because she knew that if these people redeemed themselves, they would be accepted on Earth. This version of the planet was extremely inclusive, unlike its counterpart in Universe Six. According to Whis, that version of the planet was destroyed. After all, its population couldn't stand one another.
But Bulma was willing to shatter her image just to provoke Raditz and make him falter. Even if it was just a crack or a tiny opening, the blue-haired woman was looking for a way to start destroying this invader.
"Hehe... I'd be offended if I were younger and inexperienced, but when you've heard as many curses and insults directed at your ancestors and yourself as I have, well, what does it matter? Come on, 'Little Dirt,' HAHAHA! I can be xenophobic too!" Nappa laughed. At that moment, he took advantage of his open mouth to fire a sudden energy blast.
Bulma, who had sensed his intention to attack, raised her right palm and projected an energy shield composed of hexagons. Then she fired a Ki blast from her left hand toward the Saiyan. Nappa's energy beam struck her shield, pushing her back slightly due to its power. She didn't care much, though, as she watched the invader dodge her Ki attack peculiarly.
Her body experienced a momentary burst of energy that radiated from her aura, boosting her movements and increasing her speed over short distances. This strategy was abrupt, energy-inefficient, and likely the result of her vast combat experience, but effective.
"Hehehe! Come on, Earth woman! Let me see just how special this planet is!" Nappa's aura blazed with greater intensity as he began firing Ki blasts at the blue-haired woman. He turned into a humanoid machine gun.
It was time to show this enemy the Saiyans' fighting style!
...
Meanwhile, the other warriors faced off against their enemies. Yamcha held a Ki-formed sword in his hand and kept his distance from the Saibaman who had chosen him as an enemy.
This strange creature had standard, repetitive, yet mechanical movements. However, over time, Yamcha could see that the creature was 'learning' from its experiences and becoming more flexible in its attacks.
It didn't launch Ki attacks, but it had movements stemming from its unique biology. For example, it could spit an acid from its head that could dissolve rocks and Ki.
Yamcha found this out the hard way when he was caught off guard by that move. He had to create a wall of energy to defend himself, and it worked. However, this also confirmed the acid's ability to corrode Ki-based structures.
From that moment on, he kept a safe distance from his enemy since he didn't know what other moves it had. He was right to do so. As time went on, the Saibaman became impatient, perhaps due to its way of life. Eager to end the fight, the creature lunged toward Yamcha, not caring about anything else.
Despite being cut by the Ki sword and losing an arm, the green creature growled and began to glow, alerting the warrior.
As it closed the distance with Yamcha due to its suicidal actions, a mischievous smile appeared on the Saibaman's face. Then, it exploded with an intensity surpassing anything one would have expected, given the power it had demonstrated.
"Yamcha!" Krillin shouted as he fought his own enemy. The sudden outburst took him by surprise, and he nearly had his eyes scratched by the Saibaman. He had to retreat quickly while focusing his Ki perception on Yamcha's location.
When the smoke and dust cleared, Yamcha was standing there, surrounded by a cracked, sizzling sphere of ki coated with greenish liquids. Was that Saibaman? He had been reduced to ashes by his own explosion.
"Damn it..." The warrior didn't know why, but he felt that he had reached a major turning point in his life. It was as if all his training and effort had been to survive this moment, to endure it and prevent his journey from ending here.
This fleeting feeling crossed his mind as he felt the adrenaline rush of the moment. However, it was quickly forgotten when he realized that these beings were capable of exploding. Therefore, it was best to end the fight to prevent his companions from getting hurt.
Yamcha could support anyone, but Piccolo needed it most, so he ignited his aura, flew toward him at high speed, and condensed a sphere of energy in his hand.
Only a fool would go near those cabbage-headed bastards again!
...
"Trash will always be trash," Vegeta muttered, glancing at the human hit by a Saibaman explosion. The human was flying toward the Namekian.
"After all, who makes legged vegetables fight?" Goku asked, punching the prince in the cheek and pushing him backward. The prince quickly recovered, though, responding with a knee strike that sent the warrior flying.
"Haven't you thought about what your name means?" Vegeta asked, twitching slightly as he rubbed his face and felt pain in the injured area. His enemy coughed slightly due to the sudden lack of air.
"Hehehe, that's why I made that joke. By the way, we're done warming up, right?" Kakarot said with a smile as his energy grew stronger; his crimson aura peeled away from his skin and rose into the air in trembling strands like seaweed beneath the sea.
A technique he had never used in actual combat was about to be activated under his control. The scouter on Vegeta's forehead began beeping due to his increased power. The prince simply pressed a button, deactivating its detection capability.
"Yes, the warm-up is over. Let me show you the power that allowed royalty to stand at the top," the prince replied. The violet aura around his body burned intensely and slowly shifted to a brighter color as his power increased.
"Kaio-Ken!" Goku shouted, fully activating the technique he had learned long ago under the guidance of Kami-Sama and King Kai. Although he preferred to tap into the power of his Ozaru self, he didn't know if Vegeta, as royalty, could do the same. Therefore, he decided to start at this level so that he could launch a perfect ambush with his full power at the right moment and land an effective blow.
"Imperial Burst!" Vegeta shouted, unleashing the technique that the royal family had inherited and perfected. This technique had earned the family the right to name the planet they conquered and made their home, 'Vegeta.' It allowed Vegeta to boost his power to immense levels without relying on the Ozaru transformation.
Both actions drew the attention of the other fighters, who watched as two enormous presences faced off in silence, staining the area with their colors. Red and purple clashed before the opponents locked fists once more.
"It seems Vegeta has gotten serious. I don't have a super technique like his, but I have my own methods," said Nappa as he pulled a small pouch from a hidden pocket on his body and swallowed a small pill along with many others.
Bulma launched attacks at him, but he managed to prevent them from destroying the pills while using his own body to withstand the ki blasts, shattering his armor. However, after swallowing what he wanted, a savage smile spread across his face.
"Freezer's army stimulants! We don't always rely on our own strength, you know? With so many planets at our disposal, there are some things that others can't do, but we can." Nappa burst out laughing as he felt his body fill with energy that had previously been beyond his limits.
Along with this surge of power, he experienced a rush of euphoria that numbed the pain from Bulma's attacks. His armor couldn't stop the full impact, so some of it reached his body.
"Oh, I didn't expect that, which is...perfect," the blue-haired girl murmured, excited by how different things were from what they "should" be. Plus, she was now interested in the combat drugs used in space.
She had to finish off Nappa quickly so as not to ruin the samples. Bulma ignited her energy, increasing her power alongside Nappa, who was laughing heartily.
Four sources of power surged, causing everyone on Earth to look in the direction of the battle. But even in that area, Piccolo saw this and decided he had already wasted too much time on these explosive enemies.
"Yamcha! Let's take care of these guys as fast as we can!" the Namekian shouted to his human companion. Yamcha nodded, figuring out how to join the fight without getting in his ally's way.
"It's time we finish this. We need to back up Goku and Bulma," Yamcha said to his two friends. They were being cautious around the Saibamans they were facing because they didn't want to fall victim to a sudden explosion.
"Alright!" Krillin exclaimed. He had also realized that the battle had already reached its climax, so it was problematic to waste time fighting such a strange creature.
"I'll be done in a moment," Ten Shin Han replied in a neutral tone as he pointed at the Saibaman. His hand was forming a mudra, the precursor to one of his techniques.
"It's time to end this!"