The blue beam ripped across the night sky like a divine thunderbolt.
Raditz barely had time to twist his body—too slow, too late.
"NOOOO!" he roared as the Kamehameha consumed him.
The impact was catastrophic.
A column of light and fire tore into the heavens, blazing like a newborn star. The ground shuddered. Rocks split. The night itself seemed to recoil. Then—silence.
An endless, aching silence.
⸻
When the dust finally settled, the air still trembled with leftover energy.
Ash and glowing embers drifted lazily through the smoky air.
And in the center of a smoking crater—Raditz knelt.
His body shook violently.
His Saiyan armor was shattered, his shoulder burned raw. A deep crack split his chestplate from collar to waist. Blood dripped from his mouth, streaking his chin crimson.
The pride of a Saiyan…
was broken.
"Ghh… ghhh…" He coughed, spitting a mouthful of thick blood onto the rock below. His tail dragged lifelessly across the ground.
His eyes burned with equal parts fury and disbelief.
Goku descended through the haze, white aura fading around him. His expression wasn't one of triumph. It was grief.
"Raditz…" his voice came low, heavy with exhaustion.
The older Saiyan looked up weakly. "Ka…karotto…"
"It's over," Goku said. "You can't fight anymore. You don't have to keep doing this."
Raditz's lips twitched. "Tch… You're… still soft…"
From above, Piccolo hovered, his aura a storm of purple lightning spiraling around his arm.
"Goku! Don't drop your guard!" he barked.
"I know," Goku answered quietly, not taking his eyes off Raditz. "But… he's my brother."
Piccolo growled. "He's a monster! You'll regret this!"
Goku knelt slightly, holding out his hand. "You don't have to die here. It doesn't have to end like this."
Raditz stared at that open palm.
For a flicker of a second—something human passed behind his eyes. Regret? Pity? Or… calculation?
Then—he moved.
ZAAK!
Raditz lunged forward, seizing Goku's wrist in an iron grip.
Goku's eyes widened. "Wh—?!"
CRASH!
Raditz slammed him to the ground, pinning him under his knee, one arm crushing his throat.
"IDIOT! FOOL!" Raditz spat, blood and rage mixing in his breath. "Always trusting everyone! Always believing in mercy!"
"GOKU!" Piccolo roared, his energy flaring brighter. "I told you, damn it!"
He aimed, charging his Special Beam Cannon, the swirling lance of energy vibrating the air itself. But Raditz was too close—too fast.
"You've doomed yourself, brother!" Raditz hissed. "I'll kill you! Then I'll take your brat—and deliver him to our leader!"
Then—something changed.
Raditz froze.
A high-pitched alarm blared from his scouter.
BEEEEEEEEEP—!
His eyes darted to the side.
"What… what is this power?!"
He turned toward the pod—
toward the cracked glass.
Inside, light pulsed wildly. The metal warped and groaned.
And from within, a small, shaking voice echoed.
"…Daaaaaad!"
The pod burst.
BOOOOOOM!
A wave of golden-red energy exploded outward, scattering stone and smoke.
The shockwave sent ripples through the night.
And in the heart of it—
Gohan.
⸻
The boy stood amidst the dust and fire.
His black hair whipped upward from the force of his own ki.
Tears streamed down his cheeks—but his eyes burned with raw fury.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" he screamed, voice cracking with emotion.
"DON'T TOUCH MY DAAAAAD!"
Raditz turned, trembling despite himself.
"W-what… what is that boy…?!"
His scouter shrieked again.
Power Level: 800… 900… 1200… 1800… 2000… 2100!
"Two thousand…?! Impossible!"
Before Raditz could move, the child moved first.
BANG!
A headbutt—small, perfect, devastating—slammed directly into Raditz's chest.
CRACK!
The sound echoed like the splitting of stone.
Raditz flew backward, body folding in half before crashing into a cliffside. The rock collapsed under the impact.
KRAAAASH!
The field went silent again.
Gohan landed shakily, ki still flickering around him like sparks from a dying star. He trembled, gasping for breath, tears still falling—but not from fear.
"D… Dad?" he whimpered. "Are you… okay?"
Goku lay on the ground, staring up at his son through blurred vision. His chest ached—but his heart swelled with pride.
A single tear escaped him.
"Gohan… you did it…"
Piccolo descended slowly, eyes wide. "That… that child… his power…"
Dust settled. Raditz didn't move.
⸻
Then, a low growl.
"Ghhh… RRAAAARGHHH!"
Raditz rose from the rubble, body trembling, armor shattered beyond repair. His eyes burned crimson with madness.
"NOOO! I won't lose to weaklings like you! I… AM… A SAIYAN!"
⸻
Goku, cradling his unconscious son, struggled to stand.
Piccolo hovered beside him, battered and pale.
"He's still alive…" Piccolo muttered. "That bastard's too stubborn to die."
Goku nodded grimly. "Then we end it now."
Piccolo clenched his jaw. "One more shot… That's all I've got. But if I miss—we're finished."
Raditz staggered forward, panting, voice breaking into manic laughter.
"I'll kill you both… tear you apart… and that brat—he'll be next!"
Goku looked down at Gohan, brushing a hand through his messy hair.
"I made a promise…" he whispered.
Then he laid the boy gently on the ground.
And without another word—he launched himself at Raditz.
⸻
Raditz barely reacted before Goku was behind him—arms locking tight across his chest.
"W-what?! Kakarot!?"
Goku's grip tightened. "It ends here!"
Raditz thrashed, muscles bulging, but Goku's hold was unbreakable.
"GOKU!" Piccolo shouted. "Are you insane!?"
"DO IT!" Goku yelled, straining, his voice cracking under the pressure.
"FIRE IT, PICCOLO! NOW!"
"I'll hit you too!"
"I DON'T CARE!"
Raditz screamed, panic in his voice for the first time.
"You wouldn't dare—you'll die too!"
Goku's eyes blazed. "If it means saving my son—and this planet—then I'll die a thousand times!"
Piccolo's hands shook. Then, slowly… they steadied.
"Damn you, fool…" he muttered.
He raised his glowing hand.
Energy spiraled, condensed, spun into a killing beam.
"SPECIAL… BEAM… CANNOOOOOON!"
⸻
The Special Beam Cannon screamed across the battlefield like lightning.
A single, piercing spiral of purple-gold light cut through the air.
Goku closed his eyes.
Raditz screamed.
The beam struck them both—clean through the chest.
THWOOOOOSH!
Then came the explosion.
KABOOOOOM!
⸻
Silence returned.
Only the whisper of wind carried the smell of ash.
Piccolo lowered his smoking hand, arm trembling violently before he dropped to one knee, gasping.
Before him—smoke. And within it—two shapes.
Goku.
Raditz.
Both fallen.
Both barely breathing.
Goku coughed blood, his voice weak but clear.
He turned his head toward the small, unconscious boy nearby.
And smiled.
"Chi-Chi… I kept my promise…"
⸻
The sky turned gray—not from clouds, but from the dust and smoke that blanketed the ruins. The scent of burnt earth lingered. The battlefield was quiet, but not peaceful.
⸻
Minutes later…
A small white capsule ship descended through the haze, engines hissing.
Inside, Bulma gripped the controls; Krillin sat beside her, pale.
"W-what was that explosion!?" she gasped.
"I don't know," Krillin said, voice shaking. "But the radar says they're right below us… Goku… Piccolo… and that Saiyan."
The ship touched down hard on the scarred plateau.
They rushed out—
and froze.
Goku lay sprawled on the ground. His arms open. His face calm.
Peaceful.
Still.
Krillin's heart stopped. "No…"
Bulma stumbled forward, tripping on debris. "GOKU! No, no, no—!"
They fell to their knees beside him.
"Come on, wake up!" Krillin shouted, shaking his friend's shoulder.
Nothing.
Bulma pressed her hands to her face, tears spilling freely. "You… idiot… You big, stupid idiot!"
Krillin looked away, jaw clenched. "He… sacrificed himself… to stop that monster."
Then Bulma gasped. "Gohan!"
A few feet away, the boy lay unconscious, face streaked with dried tears. Bulma gathered him up carefully, cradling him.
"It's okay, little one… You're safe now. Your dad protected you."
Krillin wiped his face. "We can bring him back. The Dragon Balls—they can wish him back!"
Hope flickered. But it didn't last.
From behind the wreckage, a weak, guttural laugh cut through the silence.
"…Heh… heheheheh…"
Bulma froze. Krillin turned, fists up. "Who's there?!"
"…heheh…"
Raditz.
Barely alive. His armor was gone. His chest still smoking from the hole Piccolo's beam had left. Yet he laughed.
"Dragon Balls…" he croaked. "Interesting…"
Piccolo's shadow fell over him, energy swirling in his palm. "You're still alive?! Not for long!"
Raditz coughed blood, grinning through broken teeth.
"Kill me if you want… but it won't change anything…"
Piccolo frowned. "Talk."
Raditz wheezed, forcing the words out.
"In… exactly one year… two more Saiyans will come."
Krillin's face went pale. "What?!"
"Real warriors," Raditz said with a sick grin. "I was the weak one."
He chuckled. "One of them is Nappa… a brute. The other…"
He paused, eyes darkening.
"The Princess Vegetta. Heir to the Saiyan throne. The strongest of us all."
Bulma whispered, "A… princess?"
Piccolo's jaw tightened. "A leader… without mercy."
Raditz coughed one last time. Blood filled his mouth.
"She'll… tear you apart. All of you. Not even your magic balls will save you."
Then his body went limp.
The last Saiyan breath escaped his lungs.
Raditz was dead.
⸻
A cold wind swept the plateau.
Ash swirled.
And the world felt smaller.
Piccolo lowered his arm slowly. "One year," he muttered.
"We have one year."
Krillin's voice shook. "Can we… can we even stand a chance?"
Piccolo didn't answer. He stared toward the horizon, where the night sky was fading to dawn.
For the first time in his life, Piccolo didn't know.
Goku was gone.
The Earth was quiet.
But peace… was only the calm before the storm.
⸻
Elsewhere.
Star System Alro-9. Planet Voon.
A charred wasteland under a crimson sky.
The stench of death hung heavy. Oceans were dust, cities were bones. And amid the ruin—two Saiyans feasted.
One was massive, bald, thick-bearded—laughing as he tore into the roasted limb of a three-eyed beast.
The other… sat quietly on a cracked stone, legs crossed, eyes half-lidded.
The Princess.
Vegetta.
Small, lean, and lethal. Her armor gleamed gold and black, the crest of the extinct Saiyan royal house shining faintly on her chest.
Her hair—long and dark—was braided high like a whip down her back. Her eyes, jet black, burned with icy clarity.
In one hand, she held the arm of a fallen enemy—and took a deliberate bite. Her movements were elegant. Detached. Like killing planets was a chore she'd long grown used to.
Then—BEEP. BEEP. BEEEEE—KZKT!
The large Saiyan, Nappa, lifted his scouter. His face darkened.
"…Heh. About time. Look at this, Vegetta."
She didn't move. She finished chewing, tossed the remains aside, and wiped her mouth.
"The scouter from Raditz just went dark," Nappa said. "He's dead."
The world fell quiet.
Ash drifted past like snow.
Vegetta didn't flinch.
Her voice was cool. "He took longer than I expected."
"You… expected this?"
"Raditz was weak," she said simply, standing, brushing imaginary dust from her armor. "His mission was simple: retrieve Kakarot, assess the planet. If he died—it's because he underestimated his brother."
Nappa laughed, gnawing another bone. "Ha! The idiot probably got himself killed by some Earth trash. Maybe Kakarot's gone soft!"
Vegetta didn't laugh.
Her eyes gleamed.
"That's not what interests me."
Nappa blinked. "Then what does?"
"In his last transmission," Vegetta said slowly, "he mentioned something…"
She smiled faintly.
"Dragon Balls."
"Dragon… what?"
"Artifacts," she said, voice sharpening. "He claimed they can grant any wish. Any wish."
Nappa froze. "You mean… we could—"
"Revive Raditz?" Vegetta burst out laughing—a harsh, venomous laugh that echoed over the dead planet. Even Nappa tensed.
"Revive Raditz? Please. What's next, wish him a sense of humor?"
Nappa chuckled awkwardly. "Heh… fair enough."
Vegetta turned away, the red light of the sky reflecting off her armor.
"No. We won't waste a wish on garbage."
Her tone was final—cold and royal.
"If the Dragon Balls are real, we'll use them for something that matters."
"Like what?" Nappa asked cautiously.
She turned, eyes gleaming like onyx blades.
"Immortality."
Nappa's grin faltered. "Immortal…? You mean—"
"Yes," Vegetta said. "We destroy worlds. We rule weak species. But there's always someone stronger. Always one name above us."
Her voice dropped to a hiss.
"Frieza."
Nappa's grin disappeared completely.
Vegetta's gaze turned upward. "As long as we serve him, we're nothing but pawns. But if I become immortal…"
Her lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile.
"Then one day… I'll kill him myself."
She turned away, cape billowing like a dark flame.
"Prepare the pods. We're going to Earth."
Nappa straightened immediately. "We're heading for the Dragon Balls?"
"Yes," she said—and then paused, eyes narrowing.
"But there's something else."
"What now?"
"Kakarot had a child. A half-breed. Raditz said his power was unstable."
"And?"
Vegetta smirked over her shoulder. "I like unstable things."
Nappa chuckled. "Planning to recruit him?"
She stepped into her pod. "Planning to test him. A half-Saiyan raised by humans… could be a weapon."
Her eyes glinted as the pod door slid shut.
"Or a threat."
The engines roared. Flames burst from the soil.
As Planet Voon burned behind them, the two Saiyan ships rose into the blood-red sky.
Their destination: Earth.