Raditz's eyes were stern, his palms facing Tarble and Tarnip with deadly intent. The cold energy radiating from his hands hit them like an arctic wind, making them shiver involuntarily.
"I'm serious..." Tarble could see that Raditz wasn't joking. If they didn't successfully fuse, that energy bomb would never be retracted—it would fly directly at them.
"Understood! Let's do this!" Tarnip steeled himself and nodded to Tarble.
Both grew serious, thinking through every step in their minds repeatedly, not letting a single detail slip by. Correct movements were only the foundation—they couldn't successfully fuse on technique alone. The most important thing was that they needed to synchronize their minds and hearts under Raditz's overwhelming pressure to achieve perfect fusion!
Pressure breeds motivation, and it was under this crushing sense of oppression that they could concentrate like never before!
"Fu-sion—" Moving with practiced steps, the two approached each other like mirror images, their footsteps matching in perfect rhythm.
There's potential here!
"Ha!" The two finally came to a stop, stretched out their hands, and shouted in unison!
Suddenly, a dazzling light bloomed from their touching fingertips, quickly enveloping their bodies before spreading across the entire courtyard. Everyone raised their hands to shield their eyes, squinting as they tried not to miss the fusion scene, yet unable to fully appreciate the spectacle due to the intense brilliance.
At the same time, Raditz fired the energy bomb from his hand, sending it straight toward the fusing warriors. If the two had successfully merged, they should be able to block this attack, right?
Bang!
Everyone's hearts leaped as they looked toward the fusion point.
A massive explosion echoed in their ears, followed by a burst of thick smoke. Through the acrid haze, they saw a fat figure collapsed on the ground. The rotund man's face was scorched black, missing a tooth—he'd clearly been struck by Raditz's energy blast while in a daze.
"Is that... it?" The Saiyans stared in stunned silence.
"That's probably not right..." Yamcha's mouth twitched as he studied the failed fusion.
"Owwwwwwwwwwwww!" The fat body suddenly rolled around for several rotations, jumped up clumsily, then stretched his legs and wheezed non-stop.
Almost everyone was speechless...
No way? So weak?
Not even Vegeta could keep his composure—even the children on the sidelines couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"No, no, your fusion movements were wrong, and this fat form is a sign of failure. It's okay, you'll separate after half an hour." Raditz sighed softly. "This is why you can't rush these things. You should have taken more time to perfect your form."
These two had excellent memory, but remembering didn't mean they could execute flawlessly. When actually performing the technique, they were affected by various environmental factors, causing problems in their execution. Therefore, mastering any skill required continuous training and refinement.
Once successful, if everyone here could fuse properly, it would create a terrifyingly powerful fighting force!
"Hmph, this technique is still useless." Vegeta couldn't help but sneer.
"No, they just didn't succeed. Vegeta, you should remember the movements—why don't you try?" Raditz looked at him expectantly.
Vegeta immediately frowned. "I refuse to do those ridiculous movements! Even if it's useful, I won't do it!" After that, he quickly turned his back and stopped looking at the fat fusion failure. Those poses were fine, and the successful fusion form was acceptable, but it was simply too embarrassing!
Raditz knew Vegeta's character well and didn't press the issue.
"Hahaha, there's nothing wrong with failing the first time. As long as you remember the fundamentals and practice more, you'll understand its power when it works."
"Well... I'll start practicing tomorrow."
"Right! I'll definitely work hard."
The Saiyans decided to practice this technique one after another. After all, it was a move that Raditz praised so highly—there had to be something extraordinary about it. Although Tarnip and Tarble had failed, it was understandable. Tarble lived on Earth, while Tarnip preferred the unrestrained Saiyan lifestyle, so naturally their teamwork was insufficient.
What's more, it wasn't bad that they could even attempt fusion after such hasty, last-minute training.
They all wanted to become stronger, driven by the desire to compete with each other and learn new skills before their rivals. Everyone's eyes burned with fierce determination.
Even Goku and Vegeta's eyes ignited with flames—the fighting spirit inspired by the recent battle. Although their teamwork seemed evenly matched, it was obvious that Raditz had been much calmer than them. There was still so much room for improvement!
Vegeta was even more frustrated than Kakarot. He had not only Raditz in his sights, but also Kakarot and his entire family.
At that moment, a bright silver light suddenly appeared in the sky, adding a surprising streak of whiteness to the vast night. This was different from the light of stars and moon—it was the brilliance that traveled through time and space.
"Trunks!"
Raditz recognized what this light represented. In the Time Realm, both Patrolman Kain and the Time Kai had demonstrated this method of temporal transmission. Only official Time Patrol members could use this space-time power.
Trunks was the only Time Patrolman who would travel here on purpose.
Hearing this exclamation, little Trunks couldn't help turning his head, looking at the older warrior who had suddenly arrived, his eyes filled with confusion. This big brother looked somewhat like someone...
"Hey, Trunks, his name seems to be the same as yours," Goten suddenly noticed.
"Yeah, I heard that too."
Rukon looked at the two of them carefully, thoughtfully.
"They look alike too, just like you when you grow up."
Little Trunks was startled, then shook his head. "How is that possible? Don't worry about it, let's go play a game."
"Okay!" The two children didn't dwell on such things, immediately diverting their attention to games.
Future Trunks's arrival was warmly welcomed by everyone. Since he'd returned to his timeline, there had only been occasional news, and no precedent for him to visit in person.
"Trunks, aren't you maintaining the order of time and space? Could something have happened in this timeline?" Raditz asked.
In the evening wind, Future Trunks's hair swayed gently. He waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's nothing. The Supreme Kai of Time gave me a vacation and let me rest for a while. I heard her talked, and learned that Mr. Raditz was back, so I chose this time and space."
"It seems that the Kai is quite considerate."
"The Supreme Kai of Time is very kind to me. She asked me to take up the post after I solved the android crisis. By the way, thanks to the Namekian Dragon Balls, Earth has changed dramatically."
"So the good news is spreading! Haha, I've heard all about it from Bulma." Raditz said with a smile.
Unexpectedly, Future Trunks bowed slightly to Raditz. "I'm here to thank everyone, especially since I didn't have time to properly thank Mr. Raditz last time. In addition, I want to take advantage of this vacation to strengthen myself."
Future Trunks had ushered in a new future and saved his world. All of this was thanks to his journey to this timeline, so he was deeply grateful.
He was even more impressed by Raditz and Gohan's incredible strength.
This visit wasn't just a vacation, but also a training journey for Future Trunks to practice and improve himself!