Chapter 8: Z Fighters vs Saibamen

"Let's get started; don't be afraid," Piccolo said.

The six vegetable-like creatures circled around the Z Fighters, their grotesque forms exuding a palpable sense of menace. But before the confrontation could escalate further, three familiar figures flashed onto the battlefield. "We are here," Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu announced in unison as they rushed to join their comrades.

"Look, Vegeta, there's more bald people like me," Nappa remarked, gesturing towards Tien and Krillin. "The small one, the two tall ones, and, ah, Vegeta, look, it's a Pokemon," he pointed at one of the Z fighters.

"I'm not a Pokemon; I'm Chiaotzu," the small, levitating figure protested with a high-pitched voice.

"You hear that, Vegeta? It's a Chiaotzu," Nappa said as he reached for a Poké Ball, and without hesitation, Nappa hurled the Poké Ball towards Chiaotzu, hoping to capture it; however, to his dismay, the ball bounced off harmlessly, failing to ensnare its intended target. Yes, Poké Balls in this world also existed.

"It didn't work, Vegeta. That scientist lied to me when I bought them," Nappa grumbled.

I retrieved the Poké Ball from the ground. "That's because you need to damage them first before trying to catch them," I explained.

"Okay, I'll come first." Tien cupped his fists and walked in front. The Saibaman wasted no time, dashing towards Tien.

Tien remained unfazed, channeling his Ki, and with a resounding shout, Tien unleashed a wave of energy from his hand, sending the Saibaman tumbling backward through the air.

Undeterred, the creature retaliated by spewing forth a noxious liquid resembling acid, aiming to incapacitate its opponent. Tien reacted swiftly, evading the corrosive substance with ease as he closed the distance between himself and the Saibamen and delivered a powerful elbow strike to the creature's chest, followed by a devastating blast of Ki energy that sent it hurtling to the ground.

The Saibaman's body convulsed briefly before falling still, the battle over almost as quickly as it had begun, and Nappa couldn't help but express his surprise at the earthling's prowess. "The Saibamen's combat power has reached more than 1,200, which is comparable to a third-rate Saiyan. How could it be possible for an earthling to win so easily?"

"Tien, be careful! He's up again!" Chiaotzu cried out, pointing at the fallen Saibaman that rose to its feet once more as it attempted to flee the battlefield.

Seeing this, my left hand rose, fingers poised like a sword, as I unleashed a wave of pressure that engulfed the Saibaman, and in an instant, the creature disintegrated into a mass resembling rotten cabbage. "I don't need this kind of useless minion." My eyes narrowed as I turned my gaze towards the remaining five Saibamen.

"I will say this to the remaining five of you; if you don't go all out, you will end up like him." The threat hung in the air, sending shivers down the spines of those gathered as they realized the true extent of my ruthlessness. I had only used the pressure of my Ki to kill the creature.

"This evil Saiyan won't even spare his own people," Chiaotzu whispered.

Piccolo, too, was taken aback by the sheer destructive power displayed to me. "It's power; it's destructive. He destroyed that guy with one bend of his fingers."

"Next, who is going to fight?" I said, challenging the Z Fighters to step forward.

The fighters were ready to face the green creatures, and Krillin stepped forward. "So, next, it's my turn," he declared. But before Krillin could finish, Yamcha interjected with concern in his voice. "Krillin, wait a minute. You have already died once. If you die again, the Dragon Balls won't be able to resurrect you. I'll let them know how powerful we are," Yamcha stated confidently.

While observing the scene, I said. "Hmph, you have some strength, but I'm not really impressed so far by your Z fighter's power."

"Kill him, little cabbage. If you can't kill him, then you will die instead," I commanded the creature before me.

Yamcha, undeterred by the ominous warning, let out a shout and charged towards the creature. In an instant, the two figures vanished from sight, leaving behind a whirlwind of motion.

"Disappeared?" Gohan exclaimed, his eyes scanning the battlefield in confusion. "Idiot, that's moving at high speed. Don't rely on your eyes. Use your senses to detect Ki. Others can see it except you."

Above them, the sound of battle echoed through the air, punctuated by flashes of movement as the combatants engaged in a deadly dance across the terrain, their forms merging and diverging amidst the grass and rocks. Yamcha clashed with the Saibaman; their movements were powerful and precise as punches were thrown and deflected, but despite Yamcha's relentless assault, the Saibaman countered each attack.

Yamcha seized an opening and tackled the Saibaman to the ground, delivering a powerful kick. The Saibaman quickly regained its footing, retaliating with a relentless barrage of strikes aimed at Yamcha.

Yamcha descended back towards the ground and attempted to launch a counterattack, but the Saibaman anticipated his move, evading his kick and leaping to higher ground, and lunged towards Yamcha, its claws extended and a piercing screech filling the air. However, Yamcha remained composed; he was only just testing the Saibaman's strength and wasn't going all out. Before the Saibaman could seize him, he vanished, and in an instant he reappeared behind the Saibaman, delivering a punch that sent the creature flying.

The Saibaman, caught off guard, scrambled to its feet, only to be met with a powerful Ki wave unleashed by Yamcha. The force of the attack sent the Saibaman crashing to the ground, creating a shallow crater upon impact, where it lay motionless.

"Damn you." Nappa's voice was full of anger and confusion. How could it be that another one of their warriors had fallen so easily?

Yamcha looked at the Saiyans and said, "These little green creatures are fierce but not that strong. The remaining four, I can fight them all by myself.

For a moment, I stood there, stunned, much like Nappa. It wasn't Yamcha's sudden strength that caught me off guard—it was the fact that, in the original timeline, Yamcha had let his guard down and been killed by a Saibaman faking its defeat.

Yamcha was ready to fight them all before his actions were stopped by Krillin. "Everyone stand back. The next fight is mine."

"I'll let you see the results of my training of a year." Krillin raised his hands, channeling his energy into a potent attack aimed at the enemy before him. An aura surrounded Krillin as he unleashed a powerful Ki wave, the energy pulsating with raw power as it surged towards the approaching Saibamen, and as the Saibamen soared through the air attempting to avoid the wave of Ki, Krillin seized the moment, and with swift and precise movement of his hand, Krillin manipulated the trajectory of his attack, causing the Ki wave to split into multiple projectiles aimed at the remaining enemies, as well as Vegeta and Nappa.

The Saibamen, caught off guard by the sudden attack, attempted to evade it, but the explosive energy honed in on them.

With high mastery of Ki, you could manipulate its trajectory mid-flight. Ki required control, and a fighter with enough skill could force their energy to track and lock onto a target, even if it tried to dodge. But typically, to maintain control over the blasts, your Ki needed to stay connected to you, limiting your own movements and mobility. In a high-speed battle, sacrificing mobility for precision could leave you vulnerable. But against these low-tier creatures, it was hardly a gamble.

However, I looked at the approaching Ki blasts and simply stood my ground. Nappa, meanwhile, braced himself for the impact. And as the dust settled and the smoke cleared, the devastating aftermath of Krillin's attack was laid bare. Three of the Saibamen had died, and Piccolo, who attuned his senses, detected a faint breath emanating from a pile of rubble nearby. 

Tien, Piccolo, and the others marveled at Krillin's strength and skill. "That was incredible, Krillin! You've become so powerful," Tien said. But Nappa, who saw this, was even more annoyed and began to complain.

Krillin surveyed the scene before him. "It's okay, it's a pity, one of them missed," he said between gasps for breath.

Suddenly the last remaining Saibaman lunged towards Gohan, but Piccolo reached out and grabbed the young boy's arm, pulling him out of harm's way, and swiftly threw the last Saibaman flying into the sky, and lastly it was engulfed by a searing beam of light that erupted from Piccolo's mouth.

Since his battle with Raditz, Piccolo has honed his skills, sharpened his combat effectiveness, and even surpassed Raditz's strength by several thousand power level points.

"Thank you, Piccolo." Gohan gazed up at Piccolo with gratitude for the Namekian's timely intervention and couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude knowing that for the past few months he had played a crucial role in shaping him into a skilled warrior. But Piccolo merely shrugged off Gohan's gratitude with a nonchalant wave of his hand. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to save you. I'm just warming up for the next big battle."

At this time, a laughing voice was heard within the clearing smoke. "Hahaha, is that the best attack you could do?" I said.

Two figures emerged slowly from the dissipating haze; it was me and Nappa. And to their horror, they found that neither Saiyan had suffered so much as a scratch from the devastating assault they had just weathered.

"They took that hit like it was nothing; they're not even breathing hard," Tien said. If Krillin's attack had him instead of the Saiyans, he would certainly be injured.

"Dammit, I put most of the power I had in that attack," Krillin muttered grimly. Despite Krillin's attack packing some strength, my use of Ki effortlessly shielded me from its effects. With a power level surpassing 25,000, merely reinforcing my body with Ki was more than enough to counter his assault.

The Saibamen had all been eliminated with little effort. The Z Fighters had a much easier time compared to the original events, and even Yamcha managed to survive the Saibaman's suicide attack. It was clear that growing more of these disposable creatures would be pointless, as they would be swiftly defeated without causing any meaningful damage.

Deep within, I harbored a sense of caution, and since crossing into this world, I have made a conscious decision to adhere to the original plot. Any deviation from the established events and I would lose the transmigrator's advantage. In most stories, the protagonist would rely on their memories of the series, predicting and planning for every event with ease, but here, it seemed that my memories wouldn't be as reliable. Changes like Yamcha surviving this encounter or the Z Fighters being stronger than I anticipated showed that this world had diverged from the one I thought I knew.

As for why this happened, I had a theory. The original story I knew was "written" by Akira Toriyama, but his storytelling was often inconsistent, constantly needing to be fixed or guided by his editors. This led to countless plot holes and absurd jumps in power levels with each arc. The Z Fighters, for example, were inexplicably weak during the Saiyan Saga, only to suddenly experience massive power boosts that defied reason in the next arc.

But this world was more unforgiving, operating under its own rules. Not everyone shared the same talent, innate power, and potential. If it followed Toriyama's logic, most Saiyans wouldn't be capped at meager power levels of less than 3,000—they'd have already overthrown Frieza long before Goku ever came into play.

This is why I never considered reviving a worthless warrior like Raditz. To think that someone with a mere power level of 1,500 could grow to match a Saiyan Elite like me was laughable. Raditz had never demonstrated the potential to rival Nappa's growth, always lagging behind, hindered by his cowardice and inability to fully unleash the power of his Saiyan bloodline. Even if he somehow managed to improve, it would take him years to reach a level that could be considered useful, and by then, we'd already be facing enemies far stronger. At this stage, even the Saibamen—a mere artificial lifeform—possessed greater potential than Raditz.

Looking up at my opponents, I smirked and said, "If you're done with your warm-up, why don't we get serious? There's no need to drag this out any longer."