Garlic Jr. looked at the enormous monster before him. It exuded a heavy, savage aura brimming with power. Piccolo and the others floated behind him, surrounding him and preparing Ki attacks.
Blood oozed from a smoldering wound on his arm. His body showed no signs of healing; rather, the ability he had used had worsened his injuries. The demon narrowed his eyes, feeling life drain from him.
"I suppose this is the end, but at least I'll make you work a little harder!" Garlic Jr. channeled the rest of his energy, all the Ki generated by his self-destructive ability. His energy shifted from purple to pure darkness, reflecting just how concentrated it had become. With a scream, he fired at Ozaru, who responded by firing his own energy cannon from his mouth.
A thick stream of crimson energy shattered the dark attack and engulfed the demon's body. In his final moments, as the ashes of his body floated beneath the intense crimson light, Garlic Jr. briefly thought of his father, who had urged him to follow a predetermined path.
Now, at the moment of his death, he felt no hatred or rage, only peace and freedom. What he had longed for unexpectedly came to him, making him laugh out loud as his life's flame was dying out.
"In the end... I reached the..." The rest of his words were lost in the powerful, deafening explosion that followed the energy blast as it collided with the floating debris of the previously destroyed fortress.
Soon, Ozaru's body began to change, reverting from its gigantic ape form to its original humanoid form. Goku's clothes hadn't torn during this process because Bulma had created adaptive garments for him when he was a child.
"Phew! I barely kept my sanity, but I already feel like I can control this power properly. It's impressive to have so much energy at my disposal," said Goku, scratching the back of his neck as he voiced his thoughts.
"If I didn't know you, I'd think you were a dangerous monster. Your ape form is scary!" Krillin replied confidently, approaching his friend and patting him on the back while wearing a big smile.
"But, speaking of scary things, your lack of a nose scared me at first," Goku remarked absentmindedly. Instead of being embarrassed, Krillin touched the space where his nostrils should be.
"Hehe, you have a tail, Ten Shinhan has three eyes, Piccolo is green, and Yamcha...well, he's the weirdest because he doesn't have anything remarkable!" the bald guy joked. This caused the swordsman to roll his eyes with a smile.
"Ha-ha. At least I have a real girlfriend, not some made-up one!" Yamcha blurted out. This time, Krillin was genuinely embarrassed. He blushed and pointed at his friend, shouting at him.
"She's real! One day, I'll introduce her to you! Maron has sent me photos of her. She's incredibly attractive!" the bald man retorted, causing the others to laugh at his reaction. Even Piccolo chuckled briefly before looking up at the sky toward the Lookout.
"This is just a test. The real threats will come from space in a few months. I hope you prepare well because these beings are much more powerful and dangerous," said the Namekian in a serious tone. The pleasant atmosphere gradually grew tense.
"We understand that, Piccolo. We must protect our planet at all costs," Ten Shinhan replied, determination evident in his three eyes.
"Then let's wait for them and give them what they deserve," said Yamcha, bringing the topic to a close. Then, everyone went their separate ways, preparing for what was about to come.
…
Months later, Capsule Corp.'s satellites detected a signal from the Saiyan spaceships approaching Earth. They calculated the course the ships would take if their heading remained unchanged.
These spaceships were headed for the renowned East City, one of the planet's most important capitals. With only a few days left before the invaders' arrival, Bulma relayed this information to the World King, with whom she was already in contact.
Thus, under the government's guidance and amid warnings of an imminent meteor shower that could endanger the city, citizens were evacuated, or forced to evacuate in cases where some refused to leave their homes.
This prevented the unnecessary loss of many lives, as the beings aboard the spaceships would show no mercy, Raditz claimed, having told them everything he could about his two former comrades.
Amid the tense anticipation of many, two beams of light pierced the atmosphere. Two spheres streaked through the clouds at high speed, though they were visibly slowing down.
Tearing through buildings as if they were made of paper, they crashed violently into the ground. A massive explosion occurred upon impact, but instead of creating a crater, they merely kicked up a huge cloud of dust. This was an interesting phenomenon, though the shockwave from the impact shattered windows throughout much of the city.
When the dust settled, the drones controlled by Doctor Gero, who had lent them to monitor the arrival of these beings, revealed the structure of those ships. Those interested in watching the conflict but unable to participate due to weakness or choice were able to observe the upcoming battle up close.
Everyone could see the ship's hatches slowly opening and expelling cold mist. Soon, two mismatched figures emerged. One was tall, burly, bald, and had an arrogant look on his face, partially covered by a scouter.
The other man was very short with a lot of hair and two prominent receding hairlines. He didn't look arrogant, but serious. Yet, there was a sort of regal and proud air about him, as if he felt superior to you simply by existing.
"Hey, Vegeta! Looks like this planet isn't as hospitable as that bug planet," Nappa complained mockingly as his scanner indicated there were no traces of energy in the vicinity.
"Hmph. This planet's detection technology must have picked us up a short while ago. They've surely evacuated," Vegeta replied. Instead of using his scouter, he relied on his own energy perception, a somewhat rudimentary ability he had come to value highly ever since discovering it through the Space Forum.
"However, several figures are approaching. Should we give them a little greeting? To congratulate them on their effort to evacuate their city?" Nappa commented, holding out his hand in which a yellow energy ball was forming.
"Go ahead. Destroy this empty city. Let them rejoice for a moment for having evacuated it," Vegeta declared before slowly taking flight with his arms crossed beneath his chest.
The bald Saiyan laughed and rose into the sky before releasing the energy ball he had created. The ball flickered softly as it was drawn by the planet's gravity. Upon hitting the ground, it erupted in a terrible explosion, creating a golden dome of rampant energy that obliterated all the buildings and structures in the city.
However, Nappa and Vegeta took a closer look and noticed a detail they had initially overlooked: the lack of a crater or obvious ground destruction. This stood out like a sore thumb.
"What's going on with this planet's ground density? The gravity isn't as intense as on those super-dense worlds, and this planet isn't nearly as large. Something strange is happening here, Vegeta," Nappa assessed carefully. Though he didn't say it, he felt a twinge of terror at the situation.
The most dangerous thing in the universe was always going to be the unknown. Strange, unexplained situations like this posed a significant risk, especially since Earth had a peculiar reputation throughout the galaxy.
"Nappa, fire a more concentrated beam of energy," Vegeta ordered. The bald Saiyan nodded and pointed downward with two fingers, channeling his ki into them.
He fired a powerful beam of energy that quickly struck the ground. The two Saiyans observed how the energy struggled to penetrate a thin layer of soil.
"Wait, I have an idea," Vegeta said before descending to the ground. Nappa stopped attacking and followed him. When Vegeta landed, he crouched down and used his gloved hand to stroke the ground and dig up a pile of dirt.
He then fired a Ki beam from his index finger and noticed that his energy barely had any effect on the ground. This quickly led him to a conclusion that terrified him, much like Nappa. Someone or something had altered the soil of this planet, and perhaps other factors as well, giving it distinctly unnatural characteristics yet with a sense of purpose.
Clearly, the soil could withstand an attack simply by digging into it. This couldn't be natural; there was clearly an intention behind it: to make the planet resilient enough to withstand energy attacks and perhaps even deliberate physical assaults.
"This will be a problem, but it also makes Earth more valuable, even though no one will buy this place. It's like a cursed world," Vegeta muttered, narrowing his eyes as he gently touched his scouter, knowing his words were being monitored.
How could he not be aware of Freezer's caution toward him and the other Saiyans on his team? Although he had his own thoughts and ideas, he always tried to behave exactly as the Emperor wanted without drawing any more attention to himself.
"We've only been here five minutes, and the legendary oddities of this planet have already begun to manifest," Nappa remarked, looking away as he sensed several people approaching in the distance. Likewise, his scouter reacted, calculating their power levels.
"Interesting data," Vegeta said as he watched the numbers appear. However, he had learned not to trust his scouter completely, especially since the Space Forum had complicated the device's detection capabilities.
Soon, a group of fighters appeared before the two Saiyans, who had risen quite high into the sky to avoid contact with the ground until they could confirm that it was safe.
The two invaders were most interested in the two people leading the group. One of them resembled Raditz, so the Saiyans quickly concluded that he must be Kakarot, their companion's younger brother.
The other person looked very much like the Saiyans, but the scouter identified her as an Earthling. She had blue hair and eyes and wore a confident smile as she watched the pair of alien invaders.
"So, did you kill your brother? It seems a low-class Saiyan like you found something promising on this planet," Nappa began, though the topic was problematic from the start.
"It's none of your business, baldie," Goku retorted, not even glancing at the bald Saiyan, but instead focusing on Vegeta, who was floating calmly and letting the wind blow through his hair.
"You know, for the prince of an entire race, you're pretty lowly. Am I really the low-class one?" Goku asked with a mischievous smile, but his words were clearly offensive and struck a nerve with the invading Saiyan, who slowly frowned.
"No matter what has happened to this world, I will do my utmost to reduce it to cosmic dust." After taking a deep breath, Vegeta replied, making the imminent tension of the battle palpable.
"Yeah, well, hello? Should I address you as Your Majesty? Even though you no longer have a kingdom or subjects or a planet..." Bulma said suddenly, causing Vegeta to focus on her more.
"Now that I have your attention, I have a question. Why the hell are you here? Don't you have more important things to do on the other side of the galaxy?" The blue-haired woman asked, causing Vegeta to stop crossing his arms in slow motion.
"We just want to avenge our fallen comrade. But what do we see here? A Saiyan, an Earthling, someone with Triclops genes, two more Earthlings, and a Namekian." It was only now that the prince realized there was a member of that mythical race present.
This pointed to one thing: magical treasures! There must be magical treasures in this world! If the stories circulating throughout the universe were true, then one of the treasures had to be related to wishes.
However, he couldn't bring himself to believe something so far-fetched. The rumors, legends, and stories were exaggerated and full of strange elements, such as planets that were actually planet-sized magical devices.
The Saiyan's plan now included capturing the Namekian alive and asking him questions, especially ones that would help him understand this race and the magical atmosphere surrounding the countless tales related to it.