"Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions."
Vegeta shot a glance at Nappa. "Scouters only show surface values. Don't forget the lesson Raditz learned; it seems there are methods here on Earth to help them suppress their Chi."
He narrowed his eyes slightly. "We'll find out soon enough anyway. If he truly only has this much ability... hmph, I wouldn't mind sending that fellow to keep Raditz company."
He wanted geniuses, not trash. If the other party's talent was truly limited and he couldn't handle the responsibility, then someone would have to bear the brunt of Prince Vegeta's fury for wasting a year of his time coming to Earth personally.
"Haha, Vegeta, I think you're destined for disappointment!" Nappa bared his teeth in a wide grin. "By the way, before you vent your anger, can you let me give that kid a thorough thrashing? Being cooped up in that pod for a year has made my hands itch!"
"Do as you please," Vegeta replied dismissively. Suddenly, he snapped his head up. "Someone's coming."
"Eh?"
Nappa blinked, only then noticing that four figures had appeared on the distant horizon.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The four landed simultaneously, surrounding the two Saiyans. They were Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu.
The reaction of the four was remarkably consistent. They all took one look at the towering Nappa, ignored him a second later, and bypassed him to fix their cautious stares on Vegeta.
"This guy," Tien spoke in a low, heavy voice. "His Chi is incredibly intense."
"Yeah," Krillin narrowed his eyes. "That big bald guy isn't much, but this one is the real trouble. He's likely the Saiyan Prince Raditz mentioned. He's even stronger than we anticipated."
"Hey! You bastards!" The veins on Nappa's forehead bulged. He roared, "How dare you ignore me! What do you mean 'that bald guy isn't much'? I'll show you how I crush you bugs into paste!"
He suddenly exploded with powerful Chi, his muscles bulging as the ground cracked beneath his feet.
However, Krillin and the others still showed no intention of paying him any mind. To a man, they remained motionless, eyes locked onto Vegeta.
"Hey, Vegeta!" Nappa laughed from pure rage. He turned around. "Don't step in yet. Let me teach these arrogant runts a lesson they'll never forget!"
"Fine. I have no interest in these fools," Vegeta said flatly, glancing at his scouter. The displayed power levels for these four were unimpressive; the highest was the three-eyed fellow at 1,830.
Taking them out would be far too easy. In fact, even letting Nappa do it felt like overkill.
"Perhaps we should use those instead?" Vegeta's brow arched. "Nappa, didn't you bring the cultivation fluid? Let the Saibamen out for some fresh air."
Saibamen? Nappa slapped his head and laughed. "Hmph, good idea! You always know how to enjoy a show, Vegeta!"
He pulled a handful of seeds from his belt, scattered them across the ground, and squeezed a drop of cultivation fluid onto each. "This sandy soil is actually quite good for growing Saibamen. The survival rate might be surprisingly high."
Squelch!
As if to echo his words, the seeds rapidly swelled and sprouted once the fluid hit them. In the blink of an eye, eight weird, green, gnome-like creatures grew out of the earth, screeching as they surrounded Krillin and the group.
"Two each. Any problems?" Yamcha asked in a low voice, falling into a fighting stance.
"Piece of cake," Tien said expressionlessly. "A good chance to test the results of this year's training on these little guys."
"Go!"
At Krillin's command, the four struck simultaneously!
BOOM!
Tien flickered forward, his fists wrapped in Armament Haki, instantly punching through the skulls of two Saibamen!
Yamcha moved at high speed, dodging a pincer attack from two others before delivering a reverse sweeping kick that sliced them in half at the waist.
Krillin fired a Ki blast and split it into two, guiding them in perfect arcs to engulf two Saibamen.
Chiaotzu didn't even move his body; he simply extended his hands and used telekinesis to crush the remaining two into a pulp!
In that electric spark of a moment, all eight Saibamen were dead.
"WHAA?!!" Nappa's eyes bulged and his mouth fell open as he watched the scene in disbelief.
Each of those Saibamen had a power level around 1,200—similar to Raditz. To be instakilled in an eight-on-four advantage?
"Just as I thought." Vegeta was also startled, but he quickly regained his composure. He barked, "Don't be careless, Nappa! Scouters are unreliable against these Earthlings!"
"Actually, they're quite reliable," Krillin shrugged, glancing at his companions. "Hey, guys. Why don't we all power up at once? Turn the Haki on full blast and give these two Saiyans a bit of a shock?"
"Right!"
Tien and Yamcha nodded. Chiaotzu stepped back slightly to give the three space. His Armament Haki was only average, but he was fascinated by Observation Haki; combined with his psychic powers, he could now easily predict the future several minutes ahead. It had left the other martial artists, who thought Observation Haki wasn't that useful, with their jaws on the floor.
Snap!
The three men planted their feet firmly. With perfect synchronicity, their muscles tensed, and their previously restrained auras exploded outward.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Violent shockwaves erupted from them. Their skin took on a jet-black metallic sheen. The ground cracked inch by inch under the impact. The pressure was suffocating!
Beep-beep-beep!
Vegeta and Nappa's scouters wailed in a synchronized alarm. The numbers on the screens began to dance frantically:
[Krillin: 1,500 → 5,200!]
[Tien: 1,830 → 6,500!]
[Yamcha: 1,200 → 4,500!]
"Hey! There must be a mistake! Is this a joke?!" Nappa's face twisted. "They're all around five or six thousand? How is that possible?!"
Even the scarred-faced guy, who looked the weakest, was higher than him? How could a bunch of mere Earthlings all have power levels surpassing the great Nappa??!!
"Now you know who the real 'trash' is," Krillin grinned, his black fists cracking. He suddenly stomped, shattering the ground, and lunged at Nappa like black lightning.
"Take this! Gum-Gum... Kong Gun!"
This was the name Big Brother Shane had helped him come up with during sparring. He didn't know why it was called that, but it sounded imposing, and he liked it!
Whirr!
A blinding golden light condensed at the tip of his black fist. Wrapped in a surging torrent of energy, it blasted outward!
Not good! Sensing the terrifying impact, Nappa's face went pale. He crossed his arms in a desperate block. He was still sent sliding back over a hundred metres, groaning in pain. When he finally struggled to his feet, his forearms were a bloody mess.
"You bastard!" Nappa roared in fury, but as he moved to counter-attack, he realized Tien and Yamcha had already flanked him.
Krillin seized the opening. With a loud shout, they all struck at once!
BOOM!
Three jet-black fists slammed into Nappa's chest. The dual impact of Armament Haki and Chi punched right through his battle armour!
"Pfft-agh!"
Blood sprayed from Nappa's mouth. His massive frame was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing heavily into the distant earth. When the dust cleared, a massive crater remained. Nappa lay there in the "Yamcha pose," unable to move, his breath fading.
"Nappa!" Vegeta frowned and called out.
"Ah... sorry..." Nappa struggled to lift his head. "I... I really can't get up, Vegeta..."
Useless piece of junk! Vegeta's face darkened. He looked up, his cold gaze fixing on the three in the air.
"Hey, Saiyan Prince," Krillin said, flicking the blood off his knuckles with a grin. "Your buddy doesn't seem to take a hit very well. Now, it's your turn."
"..."
Vegeta's grim expression suddenly vanished, replaced by a cold sneer. "Interesting."
He ripped the scouter off his face and crushed it in his hand. He cracked his neck, his lips curling into a predatory arc. "It seems Earthlings are indeed more interesting than I imagined... However—"
BOOM!
A violent wave of Chi erupted from Vegeta! The ground caved in instantly as a sandstorm-like shockwave swept outward. His hair stood on end, surrounded by a blinding golden aura. His power level began to climb at a terrifying rate!
"—If you think this level is enough to challenge me... Huh??"
Vegeta's sneer froze. He realized that the three in front of him weren't showing fear; instead, they were all smiling and waving toward something behind him, shouting greetings. They weren't paying attention to him at all!
"Hey! You lot! What kind of trick is this now!" Vegeta roared. Just a moment ago, they were treating him like a formidable enemy!
"Eh? He didn't notice?" Yamcha said, surprised.
"Makes sense. It seems these Saiyans don't have the ability to sense Chi without their scouters," Tien sneered.
"Um, your name was Vegeta, right?" Krillin shrugged at him. "Of course we can't challenge you. But there are plenty of people who can deal with you. Hey, Shorty, why don't you look behind you?"
Shorty? Vegeta was livid, his jaw tightening until it nearly snapped. He wanted to punch that little bald head into a red mist. But this wasn't the time for that. He spun around and looked behind him.
In the distant sky, two figures were approaching on clouds. Two clouds: one was creamy yellow, carrying a black-haired young man in an orange martial arts gi who was waving and grinning foolishly; the other was pure white, with a tall, imposing young man in a black cloak standing upon it, his face calm and his gaze piercingly cold.
"Oh? So it was you two who finally arrived..."
Vegeta narrowed his eyes, his gaze scanning back and forth between them. "Kakarot, and... Shane, the one who killed Raditz."
Swoosh! The two clouds closed the distance quickly. As the pair stepped off, Goku waved cheerfully. "Yo, Vegeta! You're finally here! We've been waiting for ages!"
Shane merely gave Vegeta a brief, indifferent glance. His eyes were as calm as a windless pool, but it was that very stillness that made Vegeta's heart skip a beat upon making eye contact. This guy is wrong. This aura is way too powerful!
"Nappa!"
Vegeta couldn't maintain his composure. He turned and barked, "Don't just lie there! Check the power levels of these two! Now!"
"Cough... got it..." In the crater, Nappa struggled to activate his scouter. After a few beeps, his face twisted in disbelief as he read the numbers: "Kakarot's power level is... eh? Is it broken? How can it be 16,000?"
"How much?!!"
Vegeta's pupils contracted sharply. He snapped his head back to Goku. "16,000? That's impossible!"
That value was higher than King Vegeta's ever was! It was only 2,000 lower than his own—the elite genius of the Saiyans!
"Impossible! It can't be!" Vegeta hissed in disbelief. "That's not a level a low-class warrior could ever reach! Kakarot! What the hell did you go through this past year?!"
"Hehe, just training~" Goku laughed, then pointed at Shane. "But mostly it's thanks to Big Brother Shane! He taught me an amazing Armament Haki and took me to see Kin—ah, I should probably keep that a secret. Anyway, being his sparring partner for a year, my growth was naturally... well, crazy!"
Reaching a level nearly equal to my own just by being a sparring partner? Vegeta's face was hideously grim. He glared at Shane, his voice squeezing through his teeth. "And him? What about his power level? Answer me, Nappa!"
"That guy..." Nappa's hesitant voice came back. "Strange. The machine really must be broken. It says zero..."
Zero? Vegeta spun around, his eyes boring into the scouter in Nappa's hand. He roared, "Are you joking! How could a scouter show zero? You must be pressing the wrong button! Check again!"
Kakarot was at 16,000, yet he was clearly acting as the subordinate to this Shane fellow. Shane's power level had to be higher than Kakarot's; there was no way it was zero!
"B-but..." Nappa's fingers blurred as he mashed the buttons, cold sweat dripping from his bald head. "No matter how many times I reset it, his value is always zero. The machine is just broken!"
"Big Brother Shane," Krillin finally couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. "Stop playing with these two idiots. Show them your power level. We're curious too!"
"Yeah," Yamcha added with a chuckle. "Hiding it all the way down to zero... I know it's the principle of suppression, but that level of control is just... insane. We can't do that at all."
"Big Brother Shane?" Goku also turned with an inquisitive look.
"Fine then." Shane sighed and offered a small smile as he felt the weight of everyone's gaze. "I suppose I'll... satisfy your curiosity a little."
"Nappa!" Vegeta barked. "Focus! Get an accurate reading this time!"
"Y-yes!" Nappa gripped the scouter tightly, beads of sweat rolling down his temples.
Shane slowly raised his right hand. Black-and-red lightning began to spark and spread across his arm, coiling around his body like serpents. Simultaneously, a suffocating, terrifying pressure descended upon the desert!
Beep-beep-beep!!!
The scouter let out a piercing shriek as the numbers on the screen went into a wild frenzy:
[12,000... 16,000... 20,000...]
"No, how can this be..." Nappa murmured, trembling. "T-this machine is definitely broken..."
"Stop talking rubbish! Nappa, tell me! What is his power level!"
"I don't know, it's still go—"
Snap!
A second later, the scouter exploded, emitting black smoke and shards of plastic.
"This...?" Nappa swallowed and looked toward Vegeta.
It exceeded the limit? Vegeta's gaze froze. The scouters they were using were old models from Frieza's army, but if he remembered correctly, the limit was around 22,000! How could it blow up?
"Hehe, looks like your Saiyan gear isn't up to much. Try this one." Krillin grinned mischievously and pulled a sleek, silver-white scouter from his gi, tossing it to Vegeta. "Here. A Bulma Special Edition, upgraded from Raditz's old one. Guaranteed durable and reliable."
Vegeta caught it suspiciously and put it on.
Beep-beep-beep!
The moment the scouter locked onto Shane, it let out a shrill warning. The numbers on the screen began to skyrocket once more!
25,000... 30,000... 50,000...
After three or four long seconds, it finally settled. The final power level displayed was...
"EIGHT... EIGHTY THOUSAND?!!!!"
Vegeta screamed in shock, his entire body jerking back in terror! He stared blankly at the indifferent Shane walking toward him. A wave of bone-chilling fear surged from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
How is this possible?! How can this be happening?!!!