Raditz’s eyes went wide, incredulous.
“How is this possible?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Just yesterday I flattened you with a single blow—how could you possibly have a Power Level like this? No, wait—we’re both Saiyans, and you live on this planet. There’s no way you could have a number this high!”
Oryon rolled his shoulders and said, “Don’t underestimate Earth. Someday your brother’s Power Level will be far higher than this number!”
With that, Oryon settled into a fighting stance.
“Come on, Raditz. I’ll beat you with pure strength!”
Raditz stared at Oryon’s Power Level reading, his mind racing through calculations.
Suddenly he spread his hands wide, striking an enthusiastic pose.
“Hey, if you’ve got strength like this, why waste your time with these losers? Join forces with us! We’ve got two more comrades, and their Power Levels are higher than both yours and mine. The four of us together—every planet in the universe would be ours for the taking! Whatever you want, you’d have it. Whichever planet you wanted to destroy, you could destroy. That’s the life a Saiyan is meant to live!”
Raditz held out his hand, inviting him.
“What do you say? Join us. Vegeta’s sure to think highly of you!”
Oryon’s expression turned cold, and he snorted.
“Don’t bother trying to recruit me. I wouldn’t lower myself to keep company with your kind.”
Raditz’s eye twitched a few times, and he snapped, “Tch. Ungrateful bastard. Do you really think just because your Power Level is close to mine, you can actually beat me?”
“What else would I think? Just get on with it already!”
Raditz swept his gaze over Oryon and Goku.
“Tch. I offered you two a spot out of pure goodwill, and not only did you refuse to appreciate it, you had the nerve to talk back! Since you’re both so eager to be trash on some backwater planet, then I’ll grant your wish—sleep forever on this mud ball of a planet!”
With that, Raditz let out a roaring shout, and his full aura burst free.
“Haaah!”
A piercing burst of energy erupted behind him, and he shot toward Oryon like a meteor.
His fist, sandbag-huge, carried enough force to shatter heaven and earth.
Oryon clenched his right fist and met the blow head-on.
“BOOM!!”
Their fists collided, sending ripples rolling outward through the air.
Oryon had little real combat experience, but his intimate knowledge of the Dragon Ball storyline told him exactly what came next: a wild, probing flurry of punches.
“Ah-da-da-da-da—”
Oryon surged forward, taking the offensive against Raditz.
His fists hammered into Raditz like a machine gun, blow after relentless blow.
Raditz scrambled to raise both hands, trying to block every single punch.
Crack, crack, crack!
He managed to catch dozens of them.
But each time Oryon’s fist slammed into his palms, they went a little more numb.
To bleed off the impact, Raditz kept backing away.
Goku’s face lit up with delight.
He could see it clearly: Oryon had Raditz on the back foot, driving him steadily backward.
Piccolo’s eyes narrowed sharply despite himself. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“This kid… he’s actually this strong?”
After trading that exchange, the two of them broke apart, putting distance between themselves.
“Damn it!”
Raditz shook out his numbed arms, seeming to realize he might not be able to beat Oryon after all.
But backing down rashly would only earn him Vegeta’s contempt.
Oryon looked at Raditz and asked, “What’s wrong? Weren’t you going to put me to eternal sleep? Come on, then.”
Oryon curled his lip in contempt and crooked a finger at him, beckoning him closer.
Pride mattered more to a Saiyan than anything else, and Raditz was no exception.
He felt utterly humiliated.
“You bastard—looking down on me!”
Raditz roared, and this time he went on the attack himself, his fists raining down on Oryon like a storm.
But though he aimed a punch straight at Oryon’s face, it landed on nothing but air.
In that brief instant of shock, Oryon’s fist slammed into Raditz’s face.
“Smack—”
Raditz’s head snapped to one side, a thread of bloody spittle flying from his mouth.
He let out a pained grunt, and his face began to swell red.
It wasn’t over.
Oryon pressed in again, backhanding another punch straight into Raditz’s face.
“Ugh!”
Raditz’s head snapped the other way, a mouthful of blood spraying from his lips—along with a tooth that clattered to the ground.
Mimicking the way Raditz had just tormented Goku, Oryon kicked him off his feet and ground a heel hard into his chest.
“You can die now!”
With that, Oryon bore down, grinding his foot in.
Raditz let out an agonized howl, the sound identical to the one Goku had made just moments before.
Blood brothers, sure enough—even their howls came out in the same pitch.
For a moment, Oryon found himself unable to finish it.
Watching the scene unfold, Goku found himself praising him.
“Amazing. Just amazing.”
Piccolo swallowed hard as well.
“How is this possible? He beat Raditz single-handed—he’s stronger than Goku…”
Pinned under Oryon’s foot, Raditz was filled with fear and disbelief.
“How is this possible?”
“I, the great Raditz—beaten by a Saiyan exiled to Earth?”
“Crack!”
By now, several of his ribs must have snapped under the pressure.
“Waaargh—!” he howled again. Get faster updates on g.com.
With death bearing down on him, all of Raditz’s pride vanished in an instant.
He begged for mercy at once.
“W-wait! Wait a second! I give up—spare me. If this keeps up, I’ll die… I’m begging you, let me live.”
“Don’t let him go!!!”
It was Piccolo!
“If Goku hadn’t spared him earlier, he wouldn’t have nearly gotten himself killed by him.”
Oryon nodded slightly.
“Sounds like Goku grabbed your tail earlier, didn’t he?”
Goku’s pupils shrank in surprise.
“H-how did you know that?”
Oryon laughed.
“You told me yesterday. I already figured you’d pull that move…”
Goku scratched his head.
“Oh, right, I forgot I told you. Ha ha ha, and you actually guessed it! Still, Oryon—can we let him go?”
Oryon looked at Goku.
“Are you serious?”
Goku nodded.
“If you hadn’t been able to beat him, I’d have killed him no matter the cost. But since you’re stronger than him, he’s no threat to Earth’s safety anymore, so there’s no need to kill him. After all…”
Oryon finished for him.
“After all, he’s your brother?”
Goku nodded.
“Fine!”
Oryon lifted his foot and let him go.
Goku opened the Attack Ball and carried Gohan out.
“Daddy, Daddy, you beat the bad guy!”
Cradled in Goku’s arms, Gohan was overjoyed.
“It wasn’t Daddy who beat him—it was your Uncle Oryon!”
Goku turned to Raditz.
“Go on. Never come back to Earth again!”
With that, he carried Gohan over to stand beside Oryon.
“Shall we go?”
The two of them turned, ready to leave.
Piccolo, clutching his severed arm, shouted, “You can’t let him go!”