Chapter 14 – Kakarot, You Failure!

Raditz terminated the transmission channel with a casual flick of his finger. Nappa and Vegeta were fully engaged in their own mission at the moment, cleansing a moonless world whose armies had an average combat level just above Raditz's pay grade. They don't need any distractions from him. Besides, his primary objective was to locate Kakarot and rejoin them as swiftly as possible, not to bother them with inane chatter.

While he was in thought, Raditz's scouter emitted a sudden, high-pitched beep, alerting him that it had detected the presence of another living organism nearby. He swiftly adjusted his gaze towards the source of the signal, looking down.

Beneath Raditz, a farmer stood, the first native of this planet he had seen. The farmer, dressed in simple attire of a straw hat and overalls, was trembling in his boots. Both his hands clutched a shotgun, a desperate attempt to defend himself from the looming threat that had unexpectedly descended upon his farm.

Raditz descended from his vantage point gracefully, landing soundlessly on the ground right before the human. To Raditz's surprise, these humans look biologically identical to Saiyans, except for one little detail - the tails. Raditz raised a brow. Interesting. Encounters with other species so remarkably similar to Saiyans were incredibly rare, and he couldn't help but find himself intrigued.

Now that he was face to face with the human though, he also found, to his amusement, that he towered over the pathetic thing, a somewhat unique experience, given Nappa towers over him and he dares not to tower over Vegeta. 

"Power level of 5. Impressive!" Raditz sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. His lips curled into a mocking smile as he glanced down at the human before him. "Impressive how much Kakarot has failed at his one and only job, that is…"

Dismissively, Raditz turned his attention away from the insignificant human. He pressed a button on his scouter and watched as the pod's doors closed with a hiss of pressurized air.

He's never assuming it would close by itself ever again. The last time he'd made that mistake, he found himself trapped in his pod, floating in the cold expanse of space, with a grotesque, spider-like creature that had unleashed thousands and thousands of tiny, wriggling offspring when he squashed it. They went everywhere. It's still Nappa's favorite pastime to play the recording of his screams and point out to him the exact moment he unlocked his new trauma. 

Raditz turned his attention back to the trembling farmer. The farmer raised his gun, intimidated by being the focus of Raditz's attention once more.

Raditz doesn't have time for this bullshit. With a swift and ruthless gesture, he raised his hand, his palm glowing with crackling energy. In the blink of an eye, a searing energy blast surged forth from Raditz's hand, obliterating the top part of the farmer's body. The man's legs wobbled briefly before giving out, sending him falling backward, his lifeless legs sprawled across the ground. His insides spilled outward, staining the earth beneath with a dark crimson.

Raditz stood there, tense, his eyes narrowed as he watched the lifeless corpse. He had fought enough species to be wary of any cunning post-mortem surprises. Silence descended on the scene of the murder. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, and an anticlimactic beat passed, then another with no sign of any retribution from beyond the grave.

"No surprise upon death either. Kakarot, you f*cking failure!" Raditz muttered bitterly, his frustration mounting. With an angry shake of his head, Raditz vaporized what remained of the farmer before rocketing into the sky.

As Raditz soared through the skies, he observed the situation of the planet below him, habitually gathering information that might be useful to him for his eventual conquest of this unremarkable planet.

His trusty scouter, clamped onto his ear, flashed incessantly, relentlessly bombarding him with new data acquired from the environment. While scanning the scouter's information, he half-heartedly noted the greenery, the pastures, and the flourishing flocks of whatever those weird-looking pink birds were. 

"Goddamnit, the power levels of the natives on this planet are abysmally low! Even a low-class warrior of Kakarot's caliber should be more than enough to conquer this backwater planet. Why the hell hasn't he done it already? What's taking him so long?"

Raditz's scowl deepened as he brooded over his little brother's sheer incompetence. Over two decades, Kakarot had made no progress whatsoever. It was nothing short of a disgrace!

However, a flicker of realization suddenly ignited within him. He furrowed his brows, the gears turning in his head.

"Wait a minute," he muttered to himself, "Could it be that there was an issue with his pod?"

Raditz frowned in contemplation while the landscape flashed past under him. He nodded to himself, his thoughts racing. 'Yes, that would make sense. If his pod was destroyed or severely damaged, then Kakarot would be left with pitiful knowledge about his heritage and no means to return or communicate with anyone."

As the landscape below continued to blur past, Raditz's mind was working rapidly, connecting the dots. He cast his eyes upon the rudimentary buildings and farmlands of the rural area below. 'And if the technology of this civilization is truly this pathetic, then there would've been no way in hell for Kakarot to reach out to the rest of the universe.'

Raditz's eyes widened in realization. 

'And since Kakarot doesn't know when or if someone would even check in on him, had he killed everything like he is supposed to, then he would've starved to death!'

"I see," Raditz muttered aloud. "If this is the case, then Kakarot has actually made a smart decision. Honestly, I can't fault him for that. Probably would've done the same if I were in his situation."

The scouter, still affixed to his ear, emitted a loud beep, demanding his immediate attention by bringing up a figure. He pivoted his focus toward the device, scanning the incoming data.

"Oh? A power level of around 320 in this direction, huh? That's much higher than anything else on this planet, so it's probably Kakarot!" Raditz didn't waste a moment and abruptly altered his course, flying directly toward the source of the power level. "Don't worry, little brother. It may have taken twenty damn years or so, but the cavalry is here!"

•••

In a desolate wasteland, hundreds of kilometers away, a solitary figure dressed in a purple Gi with a billowing white cape stood hunched over. The desolation around him extended for miles, a fitting backdrop for his focused concentration.

The figure had his right middle and index fingers pressed against his forehead while his left hand gripped his right elbow for added support. The ground beneath him trembled from the immense power coursing through his body and his fingers.

With a grunt of exertion, he channeled his energy into his fingertips and a mesmerizing ball of crackling energy began to form. But just as the energy sphere was about to fully materialize, the figure immediately extinguished the flow of power, causing the pulsating sphere to fade away.

Straightening up, the figure revealed his unique features. His emerald-green skin glistened under the sharp sunlight, and two slender antennae sprouted from the top of his head, their tips curved slightly. A slow exhale revealed sharp, canine teeth in his mouth.

This figure was unmistakable to any Earthling, known far and wide as the Demon Lord Piccolo, who had once made his bid for world domination during the 23rd Tenkaichi Budōkai. Though ultimately defeated by the champion, Son Goku, there was no one else on Earth who posed a genuine challenge to his might.

"Damn it, still too slow," Piccolo muttered under his breath, his tone laced with irritation. "Even a dumbass like Son Goku would not give me this much time to charge it!"

Piccolo scowled with deep-seated annoyance. His new creation, the Makako-, no, the Makankan- no, the Mako- f*ck! His new creation is a mouthful, that's what! The Special Beam Cannon is an awe-inspiring and fear-inducing attack, capable of drilling through absolutely anything. If this attack lands, it's game over. 

For days, Piccolo had remained in this desolate wasteland, immersing himself in tireless repetition of his newly developed technique. Over and over, he performed the same movements, concentrating his energy with the singular goal of finding a way to reduce the agonizing charge time.

He has yielded minimal results overall. The hours of training had made him more adept at initiating the charging process, which did lower his overall charge time, but the fundamental issue that had been plaguing him from the start remained unresolved. His new technique was far from being battle-ready.

The sheer amount of energy the technique demanded certainly also did not help. In an attempt to maximize the number of times he could practice the skill within the constraints of his energy reserves, Piccolo had been forced to limit his practice to just the initial stages.

Piccolo settled into his stance once more, preparing to start another round of the arduous process of refining his technique. But just as he began to concentrate, an overwhelming surge of Ki flooded his senses. It hit him like a tidal wave, an absolutely massive energy signature that eclipsed anything he had ever encountered before. The intensity of it was staggering, sending shivers down his spine and causing his concentration to shatter and the attack to end prematurely.

Piccolo's eyes widened in alarm, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead, glistening on his green skin. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he turned to face the approaching entity with trepidation. Who or whatever this was, it possessed the highest Ki signature he had ever felt in his eight years of existence.

"What tremendous energy and at such speed! Ridiculous! This can't be Son Goku, can it? I'm screwed if it is!"

Piccolo's muscles tensed as he continued to watch the power level grow, transforming from an imperceptible speck into a distinct figure. The approaching figure gradually slowed its pace, landing with a surprising lightness on the same rocky outcropping where Piccolo stood.

The stranger was clad in peculiar armor, a form-fitting bodysuit adorned with abnormally long shoulder pads that extended past his shoulders, resembling overgrown fingernails. Oddly, the man's armor left his thighs entirely exposed, a design choice that seemed rather counterintuitive to Piccolo.

On that rocky plateau, the two formidable warriors, Raditz and Piccolo, observed each other with stoicism. Like apex predators in a tense standoff, they sized each other up, their unflinching gazes locked in a silent exchange.

After a brief moment, Raditz raised an eyebrow, a glint of amusement coloring his eyes.

"Well, unless father was very, very naughty, I'm going to guess that you are not, in fact, Kakarot." 

"What?" 

"Excellent question! You wouldn't happen to know a Kakarot do you? Would save me a lot of time, to be honest." 

"I have never heard of this person in my life." 

"Lovely." Raditz drawled, inclining his head. "In that case, do you know anyone stronger than you on this worthless planet?" 

"Wha-?! Stronger than-! You– Do you have any idea who you are talking to?!" 

"Yeah, a bitch who's going to die if you don't answer my question." 

Raditz transitioned into a casual stance, almost carelessly placing one hand on his waist while leaning slightly to the side. The majority of his weight rested on one foot, and his entire body exuded nonchalance. It was evident that he regarded Piccolo as anything but a threat, his demeanor unapologetically dismissive.

In stark contrast, Piccolo bristled with indignation. For him, this was the first time anyone had ever looked upon him with such blatant disregard. His presence typically invoked fear or cautiousness from those who recognized him, and even Son Goku, his mortal enemy, while never showing fear, had never shown him such blatant disrespect either.

The flicker of dismissal in Raditz's gaze was like a spark to a powder keg. Piccolo's anger surged, and a pulsing vein on his forehead demonstrated to the world his growing rage. He'll show this mysterious man! No one disrespects him like that!

With a subtle shift in his posture, Piccolo coiled his muscles like a predator, every inch of his being poised and ready for action, a mere feather drop away from unleashing his full power.

Before Piccolo could make a move, everything was brought to a sudden halt when the alien man raised a single index finger in the universal signal for 'wait'. With a swift motion, he manipulated something on the small device in his ear. A single beep confirmed the action, while a series of inscrutable symbols flashed across the screen, too distant for Piccolo to decipher.

Typically, this gesture might indicate a polite request for patience. But given the context, it was nothing short of a deliberate affront, and it sent Piccolo's anger surging even higher. Not even worth the time, is he?

The alien man released a contemplative sound, his attention fixed on the data displayed on his device.

"Hmm, a more powerful signature this way. 351, perhaps this is him?" Raditz shifted his gaze to the new direction, casting a sidelong glance at Piccolo out of the corner of his eye as he did. "Saved by the bell, big green." 

Utterly consumed by rage, Piccolo unleashed a quick, devastating blast, one that could have floored even Son Goku during the 23rd Tenkaichi Budōkai. The explosive energy surged from his palms, a fierce testament to his fury.

The alien man, unfazed, merely tilted his head slightly with minimal effort, all the while, his focus remained on the display screen in front of him, his eyes not veering from it. The blast rocketed past his head, a narrow miss by mere inches.

Finally, Raditz shifted his full attention to Piccolo, his eyes locking onto the Namekian.

"A sneak attack, huh? Someone is a dishonorable piece of shit." Raditz spat out, his voice dripping with disdain. He pivoted his body to squarely face Piccolo. "I would kill you right here if my greatest priority right now isn't to find Kakarot as soon as possible. But congratulations, you have officially pissed me off enough for me to leave you a parting gift." 

Raditz wasted no time and unleashed a blindingly fast energy blast that closed in on Piccolo with impossible speed. Piccolo's reflexes could not respond to the velocity of the attack as it struck him with devastating precision. The powerful beam obliterated Piccolo's arm at the elbow, sending a searing surge of pain radiating through his body. An agonized scream tore from his lips, and he crumpled to his knees, clutching at the limb.

"Don't commit suicide in despair now. I'm coming back for you after I find Kakarot." 

With that cruel and dismissive statement, Raditz turned and departed, leaving Piccolo to seethe in the bitterness of the second-ever defeat in his life. As if adding insult to injury, the force of Raditz's departure as he ascended into the sky created a fierce gust of wind that nearly swept Piccolo off his knees. Climbing to one knee and clenching his teeth in pain, Piccolo stared with burning resentment at Raditz's retreating figure as it vanished over the horizon.